Her Dream Prince

by Nancy Wells

  “I wish I could say otherwise but alas, your husband speaks the truth,” one of the twins answered.

  Elliot wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Emily blushed at the public display of affection. Emily had imagined that Elliot’s behavior would be the same to everyone without exception, but there was an enormous change in his attitude around the twins. He was not being his usual aristocratic self with them like he was with her aunt and the other servants. There was a substantial amount of change in his demeanor.

  The twins were observing Elliot’s behavior. They were keeping a keen eye at the arm wrapped around her shoulders. There was no emotion of hatred or contempt on their faces though. They were smiling and Emily felt relief at that.

  “I would like the two of you to meet my lovely wife, Emily. She is simply the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat at his words. It was the first time Elliot had declared his feelings for her. Whenever she recalled the day she met him, she wanted to go back in time and shake herself to stop fearing him. If she had known he was such a kind man, she would have never dreaded her wedding to him.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Emily,” the other twin said, bowing his head towards her. “I am Russell and for the record, I do not agree with my brother or your husband. We are not the same. My brother is a known rogue and a hellion. I am the nice one between the two of us. If you are ever in need of help, you have to come knocking at my door.”

  Elliot and Shane guffawed at his words. Emily looked at her husband in surprise. She never thought he would laugh in public with such abandon. The twins clearly meant a lot to him.

  “Brother, you crack me up with your jokes,” Shane said, poking his brother on the shoulder.

  She was looking from one to the other, not understanding their joke. She felt bad for Russell. He was offering his help and they were making fun of him. Why would anyone want to mock someone who would offer their services? He was being a gentleman and his own brother found it hilarious. Emily decided to save the poor man from further humiliation.

  “I will contact you, sir, if ever the situation arises. I am grateful for your kind offer,” she said.

  Everyone looked at her with surprise. Shane’s mouth was hanging open while Russell was smirking in triumph. There was a kind of boyish charm to their behavior. They seemed like two mischievous boys in the bodies of adults.

  “I like them a lot, but they are both hellions, Emily,” Elliot said. “Do not get fooled by their innocent looks.”

  The most astonishing thing for Emily was Russell laughing the hardest at Elliot’s words. Joining in their laughter, she felt elated. There was a freeing feeling in laughing with such abandon. There were no judgmental stares from either of them at her reaction. She knew that fine ladies do not act like that, but as long as her husband had no objection to her behavior, she would remain the happiest woman on this planet.

  A servant brought tea on a tray. The servant served tea to everyone with a single lump of sugar on the saucer along with a small spoon. Elliot picked up his sugar lump and deposited it on her saucer. He remembered that she took two lumps of sugar with her tea. Smiling up at him, she thanked him with her eyes. Elliot returned her smile with one of his own.

  “Marriage suits you, Elliot,” Russell said. “But is Lady Emily as happy as you are?”

  Elliot knew the purpose behind their visit. Russell wanted to see for himself if Emily was in need of saving. Russell was hiding his true emotions with a veil of humor, but Elliot was not fooled by his tricks.

  “I am happy, sir. Elliot is very kind to me,” Emily said. “He brings joy to my life.”

  Emily’s eyes were welling up. Tears of joy were dancing on her lashes as she recalled everything he had done for her. Her love for him gave meaning to her life.

  Russell was looking at her intently. Emily was becoming uncomfortable with the way Russell was looking at her. He was observing her every movement with keen eyes. This man was not as nice as he seemed before. Emily slid closer to Elliot and tugged at his coat. Elliot wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she curled into his embrace.

  “Are you satisfied, Russell?” Elliot asked, smugly. “The lady has made her point.”

  “You are one lucky bastard, Elliot.” Russell chuckled.

  The twins stayed for some time while Emily cozied up to them again. Turns out, they were both very nice. Russell was protective of her because he had played the role of matchmaker between her and Elliot. Emily would remain indebted to him for the rest of her life. He had given her the most beautiful gift anyone could offer. He had brought love into her life.

  Elliot had gone with the twins while Emily was alone in her house. Emily wanted to do something special for Elliot. She had given leave to her maids and had asked the cook to prepare his favorite dishes. She wanted him all to herself when he returned in the evening. Elliot had promised he would be back before the sun set. Early in the evening, she had picked out the fanciest gown from her closet and was waiting for him in the garden.

  Her daydreaming was put to a halt when someone cleared their throat from behind her.

  “Excuse me, Your Grace.”

  Emily turned around towards the source of the voice. She found her old maid, standing with her head bowed. Elliot had dismissed her from her duties when she misbehaved with Emily, so she should not be allowed in her house. Emily took a step away from her, afraid of her ill intent.

  “What do you want?” Emily asked her. “Who brought you inside?”

  Emily did not want to be alone with her, and was sorry she had released her maids for the evening. If even just one of her maids was nearby, she might have felt a little safe. Emily was looking around for a weapon if the maid attacked her and she needed something to defend herself.

  “I wanted to apologize for my behavior. You were my mistress, I should have treated you with respect,” the maid said with obedience. “You were kind to me and I misbehaved with you on every occasion. I am not here to ask for my old position; I just wanted to express my remorse.”

  Emily was not expecting that. It never occurred to her that the maid would come to her senses and realize her mistake. Emily truly believed that the woman felt remorse for her rude attitude. Emily felt there was no harm in accepting her apology. The maid felt remorse, she should respond in kindness. She believed it would be the honorable thing to do.

  “I accept your apology, madam.” She smiled kindly at the maid.

  “You are very kind, Your Grace. I wish I had never misbehaved with you,” she said in a subservient manner.

  Emily felt good about herself. The one person who thought she was not good enough for Elliot had accepted the error in her judgment. There was no one left who deemed her unfit for the position of a duchess. This was a moment of great import to her.

  “I thank you for the kind words,” Emily said. “I do not hold any grudges against you.”

  “You are a gift for the duke. He is fortunate to have you in his life.” The maid looked at Emily’s dress and smiled kindly. “I do not want to overstep my boundaries, Your Grace, but I observe your attire. You are perhaps waiting for your husband. I have known him for a long time. Perhaps, I can suggest something that will help you in understanding his likes and dislikes. You can ask me anything about him,” the maid said.

  “There is no need for that, madam,” Emily said. “I know my husband very well. I know about his likes and dislikes.”

  Emily was in love with him. She observed his every step with detail. She knew about his every secret. They did not require the assistance of someone else to increase their happiness.

  Emily was looking at the face of the maid, waiting for her response when she felt a heavy object hitting her on the head. She fell onto the ground and everything went dark.

  When Emily woke up, there was a terrible pain in the back of her head. The last thing she remembered was the maid in her garden and then everything blacked out. The cursed maid had abdu
cted her. She was regretting her decision of trusting the maid. No one changes in such a short time. She should have known something was wrong when the maid behaved in a subservient manner to her.

  Emily was lying on a cold floor in a dark place. With a pounding heart, she listened for any movement in the darkness, but everything was silent as a tomb.

  “Hello! Can someone hear me?” she asked, loudly.

  Her own voice reflected in the darkness. After a few moments, a door opened and the place became visible in the light coming through the door atop the stairs. She was held hostage in an old cellar. When a figure approached her with a walking stick, it took her a while to recognize her own aunt. She came towards her in anger and grabbed her hair. Emily screamed as her aunt shook her head violently.

  “I looked after you all my life and you refused to keep me in that huge house of your husband’s,” she shouted. “I was right about you. You are just like your mother, selfish and self-centered.”

  Emily had never seen her in such anger before. Her aunt’s hatred for her had increased tenfold. Emily was sure her end was near. This was how she was going to die, bound and alone in a dark place at the hands of her only blood relative. Her aunt would beat her like she used to do in the past, but this time she would not let her go until her last breath escape her body.

  “Please, Aunty, I will give you money and jewels,” Emily begged her. “Whatever you desire, it is yours.”

  “I have no interest in your money, ungrateful girl.” Her aunt spat on her face. “I have already lined up another buyer for you. He is willing to pay a sum of my desire.”

  Emily’s mind stopped working for a moment. All she could hear was a ringing noise in her ears. The shock of her aunt’s words was like another blow to the head. Her aunt intended to take her away from her husband, from her home, from the love of her life. She begged and screamed but her aunt did not take any pity on her.

  “You cannot do that to me,” Emily said in a last desperate attempt. “I am married now. You have no authority over me. You sold me to him.”

  When Emily saw her aunt’s leg coming towards her, she curled into a ball to protect herself. The leg came down on her knees and she whimpered at the pain.

  “This will remind you how much authority I have over you.”

  Emily was thinking of a way to protect herself. She was aware that Elliot would never reach her in time. He might not even be aware of her whereabouts. Her aunt mentioned a buyer. She wondered who that might be, but she doubted he would be anyone good. Her aunt must have found the coldest bastard she could get her hands on. She was punishing her for throwing her out of her house. There was also a possibility that she might be selling her to the same gambler Elliot had mentioned.

  “If you disfigure me, you will not get any money from your buyer,” Emily said hurriedly when she saw her aunt’s leg rising into the air again. “He will not accept faulty goods. You might never get paid.”

  Her aunt faltered for only a moment and then smiled smugly. In the back of her mind, Emily remembered one small detail that broke any hope of rescue. She had given leave to her maids and then left the house in the same manner as Elliot’s former wife. Emily cried silently as she realized her mistake. Elliot would think she betrayed him too. He was so vulnerable when he told her about Sara’s betrayal. It must be painful for him to realize that even after everything he had done for her, she left him too. Even at a time like this, Emily was more concerned about him than her own safety.

  “The new buyer will have no objection to your broken state because he intends to do far worse than that. He will make you scream with his brutality because he has a score to settle. He is doing this for vengeance.” Her aunt smiled maliciously when Emily’s eyes got wide in horror. “Your husband sold him to a slaver's ship. He escaped and has returned to take his revenge. He is taking the duke’s wife.

  “My husband would never do something like that,” Emily said. “Your buyer is lying.”

  Emily was grasping at straws. It was her desperate attempt to buy herself some time. Emily was not interested in whether Elliot had sold someone. She had trust in his judgment. She was confident that the person must be deserving of the punishment if Elliot had sold him to the slaver’s ship. Elliot would never harm an innocent person.

  “I do not blame your husband for throwing the man into slavery. The man ran away with his wife. The duke had every right to do what he did.”

  The servant who ran to the colonies with Elliot’s wife was the buyer. He was here to take revenge on him. Emily was truly scared now. A small hope she had been harboring in the small corner of her heart vanished. This man had suffered slavery at the hands of Elliot. He would not take pity on anyone who was associated with Elliot.

  “If you know my husband did the right thing, then why are you taking me away from him? Why are you taking sides with that villain?”

  “I am not taking sides with anyone. I am taking my own revenge. You and your husband threw me out of your house like garbage. This way, I will get my revenge and get paid in the process too.”

  Emily had endured cruelty at the hands of this woman, but she never went so far as to put her life in danger. This woman never did anything good for her except when she sold her to the duke under the false pretense that he might harm her. If there were even a shred of kindness in her heart, she would listen to her pleas and spare her life.

  “I am your own blood, Aunty. Have some mercy on me. You raised me. Surely, I must mean something to you.”

  “You mean no more than the bugs under my shoes.”

  Ignoring her pleas, her aunt shut the door behind her and left her again in the darkness.

  Alone in the darkness, she cried her heart out. She had no clue how much time had passed. There was no sense of time in the darkness. No one was coming to her aid, neither Elliot nor the twins. Everyone had abandoned her. This was not her aunt’s cottage. She had never seen this place before. She had no clue where she was held hostage. She sobbed until she blacked out from grief.

  Elliot spent the day with the twins. They were both the most annoying people anyone had ever met and yet he could not stay away from them. Both of them would constantly bicker about small things. They would tease one another constantly, but if, God forbid, they targeted someone else, they would make that person regret the day they were born. At the moment, that unfortunate person was Elliot.

  “I have to have her. She is so innocent and beautiful, her radiance blinds me.”

  One of the twins was making fun of him. He had no idea whether this was Shane or Russell. They were both insufferable despite what they claimed. They were mocking him because he once made the mistake of showing interest in the identity of the girl. He never used the words they were currently using, nor did he ever bat his eyes as the twins seemed to be doing.

  “Please, Russell. Find her for me. Who is this goddess? I want her. I want to make her mine. She is so pure and innocent. A debased person like me should corrupt her with my strange tastes in bed.”

  This was not true either, but he had to admit, it was pretty damn humorous. He did corrupt her innocence with his demands and unusual methods of intercourse. She had become more debased than he. When he had noticed the dew at her cunny after smacking her bottom in the carriage, he had a near heart failure. It never occurred to him that she would enjoy the unusual acts. There was a time when she was afraid of him, but now she had become his perfect partner. He was wondering at what precise moment he fell in love with her. She intrigued him from the beginning, but he would have not called it love. He was in love with her now. He could not imagine his life without her.

  “Look at that smile, Shane.” Russell nudged Shane with his elbow. “Elliot is smiling. Does he do that? Have you ever seen him smile?”

  “Never. He is always brooding and wants to murder us,” Shane replied.

  They were the only people that Elliot could trust with his life. They would be happy for him if he shared his joy with them. If
something were to happen to him, they would be responsible for Emily. They would protect her with their lives, he was sure of it. Elliot had already decided to name them as her guardians in his will.

  “I love her,” Elliot said. “Thank you for bringing her into my life.”

  Elliot was the only child of his parents. He was thirteen when they died in a house fire a long time ago. He was left in the care of his servants. He had no friends until he met the twins. They worked as stable boys in his house. They were the most mischievous boys he had ever met. Their friendship grew so strong with time that he fixed a monthly stipend for them and sort of adopted them.

  “Why do you have the same look on your face?” Shane asked, exasperated. “What did you do now?”

  “What are you talking about?” Elliot asked, puzzled.

  “You had that same look on your face when Lady Sara left you.” Shane pointed to his face. “You are masking something with this façade.”

  Elliot was wearing his heart on his sleeve. The twins could see through his veil of deception. Elliot loved her, but he could never become her prince. He would always remain the monster in her dreams. Her prince had a name and it was not his. He wanted to confess his feelings that night, but when he learned about her sweetheart, he changed his decision. He locked his feelings deep inside his heart because he did not want to give her a reason for leaving him. He was always in fear that one day he would return home and she would be gone. He showered her with gifts to give her a reason to stay. He was in a conundrum on how to make her fall in love with him.

  “I love her but she does not return my feelings. She is in love with another. His name is Willy.”

  Elliot was expecting sympathy from the twins. He thought they would feel his pain. He was expecting compassion. To his disappointment, they did not provide him with comfort. They made fun of him. They were laughing at his misery. Their guffaws were deepening his wounds. He was regretting his decision of keeping them around. He should have been more careful about choosing his friends.