Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
I alternate between self-pity and fury during the drive back home as I make my plan to reclaim what is mine. When my beautiful carriage rolls to a stop in front of the manor, little Nico comes running down the front steps. After helping me out of the carriage, Kyros swoops his son up into his arms.
“I missed you, Papa.”
“I missed you, too.” He pulls golden locks out of the boy’s eyes and kisses his forehead.
“Papa, why does the duchess look indignant?”
Kyros turns to me, giving me a chance to answer.
“Because an impostor is trying to take my home from me.”
“What does impostor mean?”
“Someone pretending to be someone they’re not.”
“Like when I pretend to be a great lion come to eat all the deer in the forest?”
“No. An impostor pretends to be another person, not a creature.”
“Oh, so if I went around acting as if I were Papa?”
“Exactly.”
“I should not like to be Papa,” Nico says. “Papa doesn’t have nearly so much time to play as me.”
A second carriage pulls up behind mine, and the pretend duke jumps out without waiting for one of his men to open the door for him. He meets my gaze briefly, scowls, and then strides past us all into the manor, his henchmen in tow.
“Is that the impostor?” Nico asks.
“Yes. He pretends to be the master of this house.”
“But you’re the master of this house.”
“Exactly, Nico.”
“He looks nothing like you. He’s not a very good impostor. Shall I be a lion today and gobble him up?”
I finally look away from the doorway Eryx disappeared into. “No, I think today we should gobble up sweets from the kitchen. What do you say to us seeing what Cook is up to?”
Nico squirms out of his father’s arms and starts dashing toward the servants’ entrance to the side of the house. “Race you!” he calls over his shoulder.
I follow after him, eager to fortify myself with sugar.
I TRY NOT TO GRIT my teeth as I watch my things moved back to the duchess suite the very next day. Thankfully, I’ve also refurbished this room since Pholios’s death, though I did it in a light blue, thinking perhaps one day I would have a lover move in. I pictured a man lounging in dark silks ready to pleasure me whenever I want, day or night. I was preparing to ask Sandros if he’d like to move in and leave Zanita’s, though after what happened to him the night Eryx Demos showed up, I doubt he’ll want to come around anymore. The doctor said he’d be fine in the long run, but a nasty bruise was forming when I ordered a couple footmen to return him to Zanita’s. I’ve given the madam a name and full description of Eryx, should she wish to press charges.
I expect to see the servants moving the fake duke’s belongings into the master suite next door, but I find no one coming or going as I rearrange my things in my new room. Odd, but I have much more important things to occupy my mind.
Like how I’m to be rid of Eryx Demos.
I can think of plenty of things I’d like to do. Poison his supper. Push him out of a moving carriage. Set a couple of starving wolves loose in his rooms. Those are quick solutions, but they are not smart ones. The duke cannot perish under any strange circumstances. Everyone will look to me as the primary suspect, especially as my new reputation and character become widespread.
That means I’ll have to try legal tactics first.
“Kyros,” I say, finding the footman in the hallway.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“I have something that I need done… quietly.”
“Your business is your business, Your Grace. I don’t see why the duke need hear of it.”
I smile at him. “I’m in need of a private investigator. Could you go into town and find me one with a great reputation and send for them? They are to use discretion when coming to the manor.”
“Of course, Your Grace.”
“Thank you.”
I would go and do it myself, but I have a solicitor to deal with. A promise is a promise.
Vander thought me an easy mark. He thought he could just hand over all my property to some stranger and I wouldn’t put up a fuss. I’ve acted too well for too long.
But he wasn’t the only one I had fooled. I walk into my parlor and pull out a pen and paper from the desk.
Dear Father,
Such unexpected news has reached me. Mr. Vander, the solicitor whom we share, has informed me that the late Duke of Pholios has a grandson. An Eryx Demos has taken up residence in the manor.
It’s so strange, considering the duke never mentioned having so much as a child. Not to mention the newcomer looks nothing like the duke. He also has no hints of an aristocratic upbringing. One would think he was a member of the working class with the way he dresses and carries himself. He does frighten me at times.
Mr. Vander tells me the duke changed his will sometime during the two months of our marriage so that this estranged grandson inherited everything. So curious, since I never saw the solicitor or any of his employees come by the estate. You know I was by the duke’s side every hour of the day, but I must have simply forgotten the meeting.
I was initially writing to tell you that I wanted to gift you a monthly sum of money, but then I remembered the new duke is in charge of the money now. I am unable to help with your earldom’s finances. I shall do my utmost to remain in the new duke’s good graces and be the best lady of the house I can be, as is my duty.
All my love,
Chrysantha
I give the letter to Doran with instructions for the footman to deliver it immediately and straight into my father’s hands. I’ve no doubt that I dropped enough hints without being entirely obvious. Father lived with me for years and never once suspected I was acting the entire time.
By midday, I peek my head into the master suite, only to find that it is unchanged. No clothes in the wardrobe. No chests or trunks containing personal items. Not even a book on the nightstand.
Odd. Very odd. Did Eryx come ahead of his belongings?
When I ask for the location of the fake duke, Mrs. Lagos directs me to the study.
“His Grace said he was going to familiarize himself with the accounts,” she says. “Perhaps you might offer a helping hand. He seemed a bit overwhelmed.”
I laugh. “I’ll do that.”
“That boy is in over his head.”
“He’s only a few months younger than I,” I say. Not to defend him but to see what Mrs. Lagos will make of that.
She harrumphs. “Women age up quicker than men. You might as well be twenty-five compared to him.”
“Don’t let His Grace hear you say it.”
“Oh, he shan’t. You, however, are always fun to gossip with, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Lagos. I hold you in high esteem as well.”
She walks on with a blush in her cheeks.
Squaring my shoulders, I make for the late duke’s study, where he kept all his account books, correspondences, and everything else of import. After Pholios’s death, I used the room to handle the accounting, but for anything else, I prefer to use the parlor, where more natural light enters in through the windows. Or be outdoors in the gardens. The study always felt stifling, even with the improvements I made to it. Perhaps I should have knocked out the outer wall and put in more windows?
Something to consider once Eryx is gone.
I don’t knock, because whatever else, this is still my home. Not to mention that would be a sign of respect. Since I haven’t an ounce of it for Eryx, I barge right on in.
He’s buried in papers. They clutter the floors and desk. I believe I even see one stuck to the bottom of his unpolished boot. His hair is as unkempt as ever, and he has the top button of his shirt undone. Highly scandalous, yet again.
“I see your bodyguards are not in the room with you. Aren’t you afraid someone might murder you in the study?” I don’t know why it amuses me to keep bringing up his death. Perhaps because it will make me seem less suspicious. Perhaps the idea is titillating enough to carry me on another day. Or maybe I simply look for ways to belittle the man, because it is the little things in life that provide the most enjoyment.
He looks up, and I realize that he’s wearing a pair of reading glasses. Something about the sight is… off-putting. Normally, Eryx looks like a barbarian who lives in the woods and slays panthers with his bare hands. But with the glasses? He looks studious. He looks smart . He somehow looks the part of a wealthy duke.
I hate them.
I hate him.
Attractive and man standing in the way of everything I’ve ever wanted should not go together.
Eryx scoffs. “They’re not my bodyguards. They’re my valets.” His eyes drift to the right corner of his gaze as he finishes the lie.
I won’t call him out. This time. “In that case, you ought to fire them.”
“Why?”
“Have you seen yourself? What are they doing with your hair? And what are you wearing? You look like an orphan.”
Eryx removes the glasses from his nose and plops them on the desk. “Because I don’t spend exorbitant amounts of money on clothing or hair pomade or whatever else gentlemen are expected to pamper themselves with? I’m a man, not a peacock. And speaking of money—” He reaches for a stack of papers before him, so there must be some method to the mayhem around him. “Would you care to explain these?”
He brandishes them in the air like they’re a weapon.
“What are they?”
“Bills. From the dressmaker, the shoemaker, the jeweler, perfumeries, cosmeticians. Then there’s the carpenter, the mason, needleworkers, painters, an arboretum, and the list goes on.”
I roll my eyes. “Have you missed all the signs of renovation throughout the manor? Did you think the finished rooms always looked this impeccable? Pholios didn’t exactly have an eye for these things, and the manor went years without a lady to maintain it. Since I spent all my time married to the late duke at his bedside, I hardly had time to perform my duties as duchess. I’ve only recently managed to begin updating everything.”
“And the dresses and jewelry? Am I to understand you were in need of updating as well?”
“I am a lady. We always need pampering. If you had any sense, you would visit the tailor. Speaking of which, where are your things?”
“What things?”
“Your clothes? Personal belongings? Last I checked, the master suite was still as I left it. Since you made such a fuss over my vacating it, I assumed you’d wish to move in immediately.”
He puts his glasses back on and resumes reading whatever he had been. “I already did.”
“In the time I walked up to the study?”
“Just before lunch. You missed the cedar chest on the opposite side of the bed.”
“You—you have only a single chest?”
Eryx sighs. “Again, I’m not a peacock. A man needs naught but a single coat, five shirts, and two pairs of pants.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “I cannot tell if you are joking.”
“I’m quite serious. You can wear one pair while the other is being washed.”
I cannot speak for a full five seconds. “That’s it! I could abide everything else, but this just proves my point all the more. There’s no way you’re a nobleman! You haven’t the manners nor the style nor anything else to suggest good breeding. Where did Vander find you? A gutter somewhere?”
“Duchess, I have spent the last five years in the king’s army, killing and conquering in the name of Naxos, out on the front lines. The fact that I’m still alive should tell you several things. First of which, that I’m a damned good soldier, and second, I don’t give a damn what you think. Third, I’m sick of killing and quite eager to take up a quiet life at this country estate.
“Now,” he continues, returning his attention to the papers before him, “what about these expenses? Men’s clothing. Expensive colognes. Male jewelry. What the hell is all this? Do you parade about as a man half the time?”
He is such an idiot. I just stare at him.
He blinks once. Then a look of surprise crosses his features. “Am I to understand that you have a lover you’re financing?”
“Who did you think the man in my bedroom you so rudely knocked unconscious was?”
His mouth pops open. “I thought he was a servant. When he refused to leave, I had to use force. You mean to tell me that was your—”
“It’s none of your business, really.”
He looks back down at the paper before him. “Why are you paying for so much? These expenses are ridiculous. Has the lord no—”
“He’s no lord. He’s… my mistress.” Or was about to be. I hadn’t actually gotten around to asking him.
I appear to have finally shocked Eryx into silence. Then: “You’re paying him for—for favors?”
“For sex,” I clarify, since Eryx seems rattled by the whole discussion.
“ Why? ” he asks, clearly dumbfounded. “Have you seen yourself? A woman like you doesn’t need to pay for such things.”
I let a smile grace my lips. “Is that your way of offering?”
His eyes dart down to my mouth at the same time he barks out a vehement “No!”
I said it to rattle him. I have more interest in being around a wild boar than I do this man. I laugh and flick a lock of hair off my shoulder. “Then I shall continue to spend my money as I see fit.”
Eryx finally manages to collect himself. “Except, none of this was your money. You’ve been spending my fortune.”
A feeling of dread settles low in my stomach as he prattles on.
“I’m halting all the renovations to the manor. Your role as duchess permits you to rearrange furniture, not decimate this historic home. As for all of your personal purchases, I shall take them out of your stipend, which means you shall receive your first one in approximately…” He pauses to do some quick math. “One year’s time.”
Eryx’s form shifts in front of me, and it takes me far too long to realize that I’m the one shaking.
“You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I am.”
“For what reason? You have money aplenty! I’ve made you the wealthiest man in the city with my investments! You don’t need to take anything from my stipend. You’re just being petty.”
“Is it petty to remind you where you stand? Then perhaps you shouldn’t have told me I look like an orphan.”
“Is your ego so sensitive? Are you so insecure that you cannot take a joke?”
“Considering both my parents no longer walk this world, perhaps you can glean why I take such high offense.”
That shuts me up. For about a second. “Perhaps I’d be more inclined to feel sorry for you if you weren’t stealing my money, lands, and manor.” And if he weren’t a man. He already has such an advantage in the world. It’s hard to feel sympathy for him at all. His parents are dead? Well, at least the law forbids anyone from trading him for money. Never mind that particular law is now fixed. It wasn’t at the time I suffered for it.
He says nothing as he puts his signature on some document before him. I try a new tactic. “If I have my stipend, I’m likely to spend more time out of the manor spending it.”
“No, Duchess, I’m feeling petty enough to put my foot down on this issue. And I’ll be monitoring all the items in the manor, should you try to pawn something off. I will come for you, not the servants, if anything goes missing, including my family’s heirlooms, which I noted you’ve stored in the attic. You may go now.”
I don’t slam the door in my wake, but I do raise a certain finger to the closed door where the duke cannot see. Precisely at that moment, his supposed valets approach and see the gesture.
Argus raises a single brow, while Dyson salutes me.
“You just keep putting the prick in his place, Your Grace,” Dyson says. “I haven’t had this much entertainment since we visited that brothel in Pegai. When are we due for another outing, Argus?”
“Don’t use such language in front of the lady, and there will be no outings. His Grace has far too much to do.”
“Not even a short one? Perhaps we sneak away for an hour while Eryx is handling some boring business in town?”
“That’s Your Grace ,” Argus reminds him, “and I don’t think you could fill a whole hour of a woman’s time if you tried.”
This time Dyson is the one to give Argus a pummeling. “I’ll have you know I’ve kept scores of women up all night with my prowess! I shan’t have you disgracing my good name in front of the lady.”
Dyson puts Argus in a chokehold, but the bigger man slings his elbow into Dyson’s stomach. He doubles over, yet strikes out with his leg, sending Argus flat on his ass.
At the noise, Eryx throws open the door to his study to find Dyson hunched over, Argus on the floor, and me staring at the two of them in astonishment.
“Quit showing off for the duchess and get your sorry hides in this room at once.”
Argus rolls onto his feet, grabs Dyson by a scrap of his shirt, and hauls him into the room. Eryx doesn’t spare me a glance as he shuts the three of them within the study.
If those two men are valets, then I’m the empress of all seven kingdoms.