Chapter Twenty-One
The Grand Duke’s Dark Side
“Please make sure these are sent out today,” I said to Lydia, handing her my small stack of letters.
Not only did I have my reply to Viscountess Evsea in the pile, I’d also written to Marquess Talwick thanking him for his support, plus the other three nobles who were considering the policy.
And, while I was at it, I’d written to all my friends back in the capital to assure them I was doing fine and would see them soon at the hunting competition.
And yes, my hand hurt. If they weren’t so personal, I’d have had Bella assist me.
“Yes, my lady,” Lydia said, taking the bundle of envelopes from me. “I’ll do it immediately.”
“Thank you.” I beamed at her, then turned to Bella. “What’s that in your hand?”
“Ah, Sir Hayes caught me on my way over here.” She put the envelope in front of me. “Apparently, this is the shortlist he drew up for your chief aide for your consideration.”
“Oh, right. His Highness did mention that to me in the garden yesterday.”
Her eyes twinkled at my words. “Oho, did he?”
“Bella, if you’d like to daydream, go and read a romance novel.”
I was not going to talk about whatever the hell that was in the garden yesterday. I couldn’t make sense of it, so I was opting to ignore it instead. I was sure he was only messing with me.
There was no way that man was obsessed with me, right?
Exactly.
I opened the envelope and scanned the little note Sir Hayes had added, telling me to choose my top three candidates for an interview.
Right.
This shouldn’t be too difficult.
It wasn’t the first time I’d hired an assistant.
I pulled out the contents and looked them over. There were eight options, all of noble birth—some heirs, some second or third born, and all qualified.
And all men.
“Bella.”
She looked up from the monster book she’d been reading. “Yes, my lady?”
“Did Sir Hayes say where the Grand Duke was?”
“In his office, I believe.”
“Excellent. Let’s take a walk, shall we?” I swept up the papers and tucked them against my body as I stood.
Bella hurriedly put down the book and darted to the door to open it for me. The Grand Duke’s wing was in the northern section of the castle with the western area blocked off for governmental affairs, which was quite convenient for me being on the east side.
“Lady Alicia.” The knight standing guard outside Kalon’s office bowed.
“I’m here to see the Grand Duke,” I said.
He shifted uncomfortably. “His Highness is very busy and—”
“I don’t remember phrasing it as a question.” I knocked twice on the door before pushing it open, and the three men inside all stilled and looked at me. “Forgive my interruption.”
Kalon raised his eyebrows. “What brings you here in such a rush, darling?”
Ugh.
Darling, my arse.
I wanted to roll these papers up and smack his handsome face silly.
“I need to speak with you about this.” I held them up instead of turning them into a weapon.
“Of course.” He turned to the young man next to him. “Sir Leslie, have you met my fiancée yet?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t had the pleasure, no, Your Highness.” He turned to me and bowed. “Sir Leslie Brewford, my lady. I’m a knight of House Morver.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Leslie. I’m Lady Alicia Vermillion.” I smiled. “I apologise for interrupting your meeting.”
“Not at all, I was only delivering a letter from my lord. Now that I’ve done so, I’ll take my leave.” He turned back to Kalon. “I will pass your message on to Count Morver, Your Highness.”
Kalon nodded. “You may leave. Hayes, Bella, give us a moment.”
“Yes, sir.” Sir Hayes ushered the other two out of the room and shut the door firmly behind them.
Kalon sat back in his chair and met my gaze. “It appears my guard is lacking for you to be able to waltz in here as you please.”
I waved my hand. “Do you really think one lousy knight could get in my way? Sir Hayes himself would have trouble stopping me.”
“Did you desire to see me that badly?”
“If the thought of it makes you happy, I’ll allow such delusions.” I crossed the office and slapped the papers down on his desk. “What is this?”
He slid them towards him. “It looks like the shortlist for your chief aide that Sir Hayes delivered to you this morning.”
“Wrong. He gave it to Bella because they were both heading my way.”
“I will be sure to reprimand him for his laziness.”
“That’s hardly the point here,” I said. “Do you really not know what the issue is?”
Kalon flicked through the sheets. “Are they unqualified in your eyes?”
“They’re all men.”
“Yes, they are. They’re the most qualified men for the job.”
“Out of who?” I asked. “All the possible candidates? Or just the men in Stein?”
“Alicia.” He placed his elbows on the desk and linked his fingers, using his clasped hands as a rest for his chin. “What is it that you’re trying to say?”
“I fail to believe that there isn’t a single noblewoman in all of Stein who isn’t qualified to be my aide. Were they even considered when you drew up this list?” I raised my eyebrows. “Or was it assumed that a woman couldn’t assist me adequately?”
“Hayes!” Kalon shouted.
The door burst open. “Sir!”
“Did you include women when you were pulling together the list for Alicia’s aide?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I spun around to look at him.
He flinched. “I… didn’t think to, my lady.”
“Hmph.” I snatched the sheets from Kalon’s desk and scrunched them up, then walked over to Sir Hayes and handed him the paper balls.
“I have no intention of allowing someone’s gender to influence my choice, but I can’t accept it if this hasn’t been done fairly.
Please redo the shortlist, making sure to include noblewomen who are qualified.
Judge them by the same parameters you do the men. ”
Sir Hayes looked past me at Kalon. “Your Highness?”
“It sounds like you’ve been given an order, Hayes.” Amusement tinged Kalon’s tone. “You best get to it.”
“I don’t know why you’re having such a jolly time over here.
” I crossed his office and stopped at the side of his desk, gripping the edge.
“I just sent a letter to Viscountess Evsea regarding her offer and, as you wished, informed her that you’re an extremely jealous man and cannot bear my first official appearance being anywhere other than at Stein Castle. ”
Kalon stilled. “You really did that?”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t mind rumours spreading about how obsessed you are with me.” I leant forwards. “So, my extremely jealous fiancé, what are you doing sending me a list that mostly comprises of young, single, handsome noblemen to be my aide?”
His eyes darkened. “Alicia…”
“It’s fine by me, for what it’s worth. I have no problem spending eight hours a day being advised and guided by a handsome gentleman who’ll follow my every order.” I straightened up and held out my hands in a shrug. “In fact, that sounds like an ideal situation.”
“Hayes.” Kalon’s tone was so cold a chill ran through the air.
“Y-yes, Your Highness?” Sir Hayes froze, still gripping the paper balls I’d shoved at him.
“Redo that list. If I see one man’s name on it when it comes back, I will cut off your head and let the children in the town use it as a football.” His eyes blazed with a deep-rooted fury that was kind of sexy.
Damn it.
I had no business finding him hot when he was threatening to behead someone.
“Understood. I’ll just… dispose of these.
” Sir Hayes walked over to the fireplace and tossed them onto the flames enthusiastically.
“There. Just the noblewomen, yes? I’ll get right on that.
Does anyone know where Ark is?” His words were nothing but rambles as he headed for the door. “Ark! Bella—have you seen Ark?”
“I haven’t, Sir Hayes. Why?”
“I don’t want my head to be used as a football.”
“I can’t imagine that’s something anyone aspires to, Sir.”
I pressed my lips together and dropped my chin, desperately trying to hold in my laugh. Oh, Bella.
“Hayes,” Kalon called coldly. “Stop dillydallying. While you’re out there, do that other thing we spoke about earlier as well.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Shut the door.”
“Yes, sir!”
The door slammed shut, and I finally let my small laugh escape. “Was it really necessary to threaten him with that?”
He turned his blazing purple gaze to me, and a chill ran down my spine. It was clear that this was the version of him everyone feared, and for a second, I really thought he might slice off my head and let the children use it as a football.
I didn’t know they had footballs here.
“Do not provoke me in such a manner again,” he warned me, his tone only a little less icy than it’d been with Sir Hayes. “Especially not when your point is already well made.”
I held up my hands and took a step back from his desk. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“I would hate to scare you with the true extent of my possessiveness when we’re only just starting to get along.”
“That’s very considerate of you, Kalon,” I said, walking towards the door. “But I don’t think such a thing is possible. I’ll let you get on with your—”
The screeching of a chair against the floor reverberated through the room, followed by fast, thunderous footsteps as Kalon got closer to me.
He closed his hand over mine on the door handle, stopping me from opening it, and pressed his hand against the door just above my head, boxing me in between his body and the door. “Oh? You don’t think so, darling?”
His mouth was right by my ear, and the cool use of the word ‘darling’ trickled over my skin like the seductive threat it was.
Well, I was here now, and I knew from the book that Kalon was a jealous, possessive man.
Then again, maybe riling him up wasn’t the best idea.
But still, something inside me demanded I ask the question: just how dangerous could this man get?
“Why don’t you try me?” I whispered, clenching my hand into a fist and pressing it against my stomach.
“You say it like I can’t feel you tremble.
” His lips brushed my earlobe as he spoke.
“I’m the kind of man who gets jealous enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to lock you up if it meant no other man could lay eyes on you.
I would tie you to me if it meant keeping you safe, and I wouldn’t think twice about taking the heads of anyone who dared to even think about hurting you.
I’d line them up outside the castle gates as a warning. ”
My heart pounded with every word he spoke. There was no denying that he was dangerous and that the twisted devotion he was capable of could hurt, but he didn’t scare me.
His words were cold, but his touch was warm.
There was nothing terrifying about the tender way he trailed his fingers up my arm and across my shoulder, as if he were committing the shape of those curves to memory.
I couldn’t bring myself to be scared as his large hand cradled the side of my neck and he pressed his thumb against my jaw, turning my face towards his.
Maybe a part of me was just as twisted as he was.
“I would raise an army and go to war, maybe even burn down the entire empire if I had to.” He brushed his thumb across the curve of my jaw in a gentle way that was so contradictory to his words.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you by my side.
That’s the kind of man I am. That’s how deep my desire to possess runs. ”
“So?” My voice was barely a whisper. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
He tensed. “It doesn’t scare you?”
“Why would it? At no point in any of that did you ever say that you’d hurt me.”
A chuckle escaped his lips, one tinged with disbelief. “Most normal people would find it terrifying.”
“I guess I’m not a normal person, then.” I mean, he had been my choice of hero when I’d read the book, so…
He was silent for a moment, then slowly, a cold, bitter laugh trickled out of him and swept across my skin. “Carry on like that, and I might really get obsessed with you. Then what would you do?”
“I suppose I’d start collecting the heads of my enemies.”
“We can arrange that either way.”
“I’ll keep it under consideration.” I couldn’t help but smile even though this conversation was so ridiculous. “If story time is over, might you release me now? I want to sweettalk Chef Archer into baking me some cookies.”
“You just found out how jealous I can get, and your first move is to tell me you’re going to sweettalk another man? Perhaps I should tie you to one of the chairs in here to teach you a lesson.”
“Don’t be so ridiculous. The happily married fifty-two-year-old father-of-three Chef Archer only wants me for my compliments.”
“Don’t compliment other men when you don’t compliment me.”
“If I don’t get my cookies, I’m going to cry,” I protested. “Then I won’t be able to compliment anyone, much less you. And if you want to be complimented, do something worth being praised for.”
Kalon sighed, dropping his forehead to my shoulder. “No. This won’t do. I’m going to have to lock you up so nobody finds out how easily I give in to you.”
I grinned as he stepped away from me. “How interesting,” I replied, opening the door. “I always wondered what it would take to bring the great warlord Grand Duke Kalon Stein to his knees. Now I know.”
“You—”
“Thank you for your time!” I sang, closing the door behind me and grabbing Bella by the hand. “Quick, run!”
“M-my lady! What did you do to upset the Grand Duke?” she asked frantically, following me down the stairs.
I looked over my shoulder at her and grinned. “I think I found his weakness.”