Her Dream Prince

by Nancy Wells

  “Who do you think is the mistress of this house, Emily? You or her?”

  He did not have to elaborate on the ‘her’ part in his sentence. Emily was already aware of who he was talking about. She had hidden it well from him, but there was no fooling him. Elliot had a keen eye when it came to noticing people’s behavior.

  “I am sorry, Elliot.”

  “That is not the answer to my question, Emily.” She looked down at the floor. “Look me in the eye when I am talking to you,” he said, enunciating his every word.

  Emily was trembling with fear when she saw him transforming into his old self. He was once again the same man who had caused her grief. Her kind and loving Elliot was replaced with the merciless and angry duke. She would have begged at his feet, but she knew it would never work. The duke never listened to anyone’s appeals.

  “Your Grace, forgive me,” she said, stammering. “I am the mistress of this house.”

  “Have I been an unkind husband to you?” he asked.

  Emily had no idea what he was getting at. He had been a kind husband to her and he knew that, so why was he asking these questions all of a sudden? Elliot never said anything without a proper reason. This could be the prelude to his real query.

  “No, Your Grace, you have been a very good husband and I am grateful to you for that.”

  “Tell me the truth, Emily. Why were you dishonest with me?”

  Emily looked down at the floor, ashamed to meet his gaze. He was feeling betrayed and he had a good reason to feel that way. In her quest to avoid the maid, she had hurt him. He had asked for her honesty and she had disappointed him. She had no choice but to tell him the truth. If she lied, he would instantly know it and would not be pleased.

  “She reminds me of my aunt, Your Grace. I am afraid of her.”

  Both of them dismissed her opinions and made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. The maid considered her lower than a beggar. She believed Emily did not deserve to be in this house. Her aunt called her all kinds of filthy names and treated her worse than a beggar. Both of them looked the same to Emily.

  “Are you telling me that you did not believe me when I assured you of your safety?” he asked incredulously. “All I asked in return for my kindness was your faith in me. You assured me time and again that you felt safe in my presence. All this time you have been lying to me.” Emily opened her mouth to protest and Elliot held his palm in the air, silencing her. “You will not talk until I grant you permission to speak. You will lower your drawers and bend over the bed. When your bottom is red enough that you cannot sit comfortably for a week, you will start to take my words seriously.”

  Emily was not aware that Elliot intended to punish her for hiding things from him. They promised to start their relationship based on honesty and mutual respect. She could have made a complaint to him and he would have dismissed the maid, but instead, she chose to hide it from him.

  She lowered her drawers to her ankles and bent over the bed. Elliot’s approval meant so much to her that she would gladly endure punishment at his hands rather than let him be upset with her. Elliot meant a lot to her. He was her everything. She would never dream of hurting him intentionally.

  Pulling her by her legs, he scooted her to the edge of the bed until her feet touched the carpet and her bottom was at the edge of the bed, facing upward. Elliot removed his coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Pulling out his belt from the loops of his breeches, he folded it in half. With his other hand, he pulled up the skirt of her dress over her head.

  “Count to ten. You put your hand on your bottom and I will start from the beginning. You lose count and I will start all over again.”

  He emphasized his point by striking the bed with his belt. Emily jumped at the thumping noise but kept her position. Elliot raised his hand and brought down the belt across both her buttocks horizontally. She clutched her hands into fists and her face contorted in pain.

  “One,” she said after a while, breathing hard.

  Elliot waited for her breath to become normal and then brought down the belt a little above the first blow.

  “Two,” she whimpered.

  Tears started flowing from her eyes as the belt came down on her left buttock for the third blow. The belt hit her on both globes alternately for three more strikes while Emily punched the bed with her fists and wailed.

  “How many strikes so far, Emily?”

  “Six, Your Grace,” she said, sniffling.

  Emily wanted to rub her bottom. The bite from the belt was making her wild with discomfort. She had felt pleasure when he smacked her bottom with his hand, but right now there was no pleasure for her as he thrashed her bottom with his belt.

  The belt hit her on the tender spot between her butt and thighs and her head shot up from the bed.

  “Seven,” she shouted.

  Elliot consecutively brought down the belt at the same tender spot while she kicked and screamed until the number of blows reached ten. She was afraid to get up from the bed even when her punishment was over. She was waiting for his orders.

  “Summon the maid to your chambers and relieve her of her duties. I am giving you one last chance to do it on your own. I am going to my study and if she is still here when I return, I will smack your bottom again.”

  Emily waited for the door to close behind him and then slowly pulled up her drawers. She whimpered when the friction of the clothes renewed the sting on her bottom. Crossing herself, she took a deep breath and rang the bell for the maid. She had never used the bell before. The doorknob turned and her palms started to sweat. The maid did not bother to knock. She entered without permission and glared at her.

  “You rang the bell?” Her words sounded accusatory.

  The maid kept looking at her with hatred and disdain. This was the gaze of a person that hated the other person to the extent their mere presence was a nuisance to them.

  “Yes, I did,” Emily said, gulping.

  “What do you want?” the maid asked loudly in anger.

  Emily flinched at her high pitch. This was why she never wanted to confront her. The maid treated her worse than a lowly servant. Elliot would be disappointed if she did not dismiss the maid before his arrival. The thought of his disappointment gave her enough strength and courage that she looked her in the eyes.

  “You are disrespectful to me. I want you gone from this house.”

  A flash of anger came over her features. Emily cowered at her reaction. The maid looked angry enough to strangle her with her bare hands. Emily took a step back when the maid pointed a finger in her direction.

  “You are a scum of the village. I do not answer to someone like you. This house belonged to my mistress. You are not deserving of all the finery. You are a filthy fraud that can never replace my mistress.”

  Emily was reminded of her position prior to living in this house. She was not suitable for the status of a duchess. It was not her intention to replace the old duchess because Elliot was still in love with her. It was a painful truth and she had made her peace with it. She was content with Elliot’s care and respect. She was not from high society, but the duke married her and made her the mistress of this house. The maid had to acknowledge her as her mistress too.

  “I am the mistress of this house now.” Emily held her head in the air and wished her legs would stop shaking. “It matters not whether you accept me. You are no longer part of this household.”

  Emily shrieked when the maid attacked her. Emily waited for the blow but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the duke, standing in the middle of the room, holding the outstretched hand of the maid in his hold. He was shooting daggers at the maid with his gaze.

  “How dare you!” Elliot hissed at the maid.

  Elliot never went to his study. He waited in the adjoining room to listen to their conversation. Elliot could not believe his ears when the maid entered without knocking or asking for permission. He knew the maid might be rude to her, but he had never imagined this
amount of insubordination. When Emily screamed, he burst through the door and stopped the maid from harming her. He had not expected such a violent outburst from her. All this time, Emily had been silently suffering and he had no idea.

  “Your Grace…”

  Elliot did not let the maid complete her sentence. He pushed her away and stood between her and his wife. It was a defensive pose, born out of protectiveness for his wife.

  Emily had forgotten about his position and reputation. His kindness only extended to her. He was still an unforgiving master to his servants. It made her feel like a horrible person, but she was enjoying the discomfort of the maid. She called her filth and scum, she deserved Elliot’s wrath.

  “She is my wife and the duchess of this house,” Elliot said, glaring at the servant. “You had no authority to enter her room without seeking permission. When she asked you to leave her house, it meant you were no longer a member of this household. I warned you before, but you did not heed my words. Get out!”

  Elliot was so angry; he wanted to strike the maid. She was a mere servant in his house and she was treating his wife with disrespect. The maid had forgotten her place.

  “Forgive me, Your Grace,” she started pleading in a tearstained voice.

  Elliot hated the obedient pose of the servant. She misbehaved with his wife right before his eyes and did not offer an apology to her. She was giving him respect but treated his wife like a commoner. Emily deserved to be treated like the mistress of this house. This was her house and everyone should know it.

  When the maid looked at the murderous expressions on the duke’s face, she became frightened and started to tremble. It never crossed her mind that the duke would love his young bride. She had heard whispers that the girl was sold for a few coins to the duke. She believed that the girl was a passing fancy for their master.

  Elliot dismissed her with a wave of his hand. The maid kept begging but one sharp look from him and she fled the room in tears.

  “Come here,” Elliot said.

  Elliot opened his arms and beckoned Emily for a hug. Emily ran towards him and hid her face against his chest. Elliot rubbed her back while she cried. He was soothing his distressed wife. The servant called her a scum, and she did not defend herself. He felt she agreed with the maid. She believed she was not good enough for him, but the truth was he did not consider himself worthy of such an innocent soul. Emily deserved a far better man than him. He was not welcome in any social event. He wanted to give her all the happiness that a young maiden dreams of, but his reputation among the ton would never allow such dreams to come to fruition. Due to his tainted reputation, Emily would never be invited to parties and balls.

  “You are far more precious than gems to me,” Elliot said. “Do not listen to anyone except me. You mean a lot to me.”

  “I do not understand her attitude,” Emily said. “Why was she so cruel to me?”

  Elliot felt a pang of regret in his heart. The maid was Sara’s personal maid who came with her when she wed him. He should have known that her behavior would be disrespectful towards anyone who was replacing her mistress. The maid never gave him any reason to throw her out, so she stayed in his service even after Sara was gone, but now she had crossed a line.

  “It is not your fault, Emily. Some people are not used to change,” Elliot said, sighing deeply. “You do not have to worry about her anymore. I believe in your honesty. You can never betray me like others did.” Elliot held her face in his palms and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “This is the only thing that should matter to you.”

  Emily was suspecting that Elliot was referring to his first wife. Who else might have betrayed him? From her time with Elliot, she had come to know him very well. He was the kindest person she had ever known. Elliot never gave her any reason to fear him, except when he was disciplining her, but that was for her own good and she consented to it. Elliot was not the savage and barbarian everyone believed him to be. What if all those rumors were false? Elliot believed that her aunt brutalized her by hitting her with a stick but he did not consider a murder brutality. There could be only one possible explanation.

  “Do you wish to ask something, Emily?” he asked, raising a brow.

  If she lied, he would know instantly and would not be pleased. Elliot’s happiness meant the world to her. She had vowed never to hide anything from him. He was her husband and he deserved honesty from her.

  “I…” She cleared her throat. “You do not love me but you protect me fiercely when someone intends to do me harm. How can this be possible if you took the life of the woman who was the love of your life? It is hard to believe.”

  All smile and playfulness vanished from his face. Emily started to tremble, dreading the consequences of her words. She should have never mentioned his wife. She was a fool, believing he would share his darkest secret with her. Everything felt so good until she opened her mouth and spoiled the peaceful moment.

  “My wife ran away with a servant to the colonies. After two years, the servant returned with the news of her demise. My wife died while giving birth to another man’s child.”

  In the few weeks that he had known her, all her waking hours were focused on his happiness. Emily devoted her whole life to him and did not ask for anything in return. The difference between her and Sara was clear to him. He loved Sara and did everything in his power to keep her happy, but she never confessed to loving him nor did she devote herself to him. Emily was doing everything in her power to keep him happy. Elliot felt it was only fair that Emily knew about his secret. She did not give him any reason to doubt her good intentions. They shared a connection on a deeper level than she realized. They were both burnt by the betrayal of their loved ones.

  Elliot did not realize that he was doing the same to Emily that Sara did to him. Emily loved him and would do anything for him, but he did not see her love.

  “Everyone is blaming you for her death.” Emily looked at his face, worriedly. “You have to tell them the truth.”

  Emily was giddy with relief. Her husband was not a murderer. She wanted to scream the news from the top of the cliff; let the whole world know of his innocence. A kind-hearted man like Elliot did not deserve the scorn of society.

  “No, Emily.” Elliot put a finger to her lips. “Promise me, you will not say a word of it to anyone. This rumor must never die.”

  Elliot did not resent telling her the truth, but he was worried. Emily seemed much too happy at the news. She could ruin his whole life’s works by opening her mouth to one wrong person. Emily’s intentions were good, but it was often the goodness of an honest person that crumbled the foundations of something based on a lie. He lied to protect himself, but most people might not agree with his methods.

  “But why? Why would you want that?” she asked.

  Emily wanted to understand his reasons. Who in their right mind would live their entire life as an alleged murderer? People who had actually taken a life would deny the accusations and yet here was this strange person who was accepting responsibility for a crime he never committed.

  “I would rather be known as the man who killed his own wife than the man who became a laughingstock because his wife ran away with a servant. It is not the sort of fame I want for myself.”

  Emily was still not grasping the purpose behind this deception. She wanted to have faith in his decision, but this was beyond her understanding. People would have made fun of him, but they would have never shunned him. He abandoned all the world for the sake of his ego.

  “Make me understand, Elliot,” she said. “How is being called a murderer better than being mocked by some people?”

  “You would never understand. You have lived a sheltered life inside the safety of your cottage. The world is a very cruel place. It devours the weak. This is how the world works. It only answers to the powerful.”

  Elliot recalled the day his friends had informed him about the return of the servant. The servant was bragging about his conquest of eloping with his wife
to none other than his friends, Shane and Russell. It was his good fortune that no one was around at the time. Otherwise, everyone would have known his secret. It was never his intention to harm the servant, but he was becoming a threat to his reputation. The twins threw the man onto a slaver’s ship and he never heard from him again.

  “You are very wise,” Emily said. “I wish I could become like you.”

  Emily understood his reasons now. She knew nothing of the upper class of society. She had no inkling how brutal they could get. People of the ton could push a person to bedlam with their wagging tongues.

  “I would never wish my life upon you, Emily. I wish you never have to suffer from a broken heart.”

  Emily became sad when she heard his words. Elliot’s words were screaming of the hurt he felt. Elliot was worried about someone breaking her heart, but little did he know that he was the only person who was holding her heart in his hands. He could crush her heart in seconds. The only person who could break her heart was Elliot.

  Chapter 10

  A month and a half had passed with no unpleasant encounters. Emily understood the true meaning of the word, happiness. Her husband might not love her, but he doted on her nonetheless. He showered her with gems and jewelry. Her maids were her perfect companions whenever Elliot was not around. All the servants in the household were more than ready to do her bidding. They loved her for her kindness and manners. She was respectful to all of them. She did not consider herself superior to them. Elliot was not happy about her extra friendliness with the servants, but he did not ask her to change her behavior because he respected her decisions. She had slowly and gradually brought the servants to like him too. It was not an easy task, but his behavior towards her had made the process easier.

  Their life was calm and serene for a long time, but it did not last forever. Emily was learning to stitch from the elderly maid in her chambers when the younger maid came knocking on her door, informing her of a surprise visitor.