Courting Trouble

Discord.

|Discord.|

“Where is she?” Duke growled and a startled Mishpa pointed upwards. He narrowed his eyes at her and she stared back wide eyed.

“The attic?” he growled again and she gulped before nodding her head in accession. He was angry, she could see that and a most terrifying sight outside an angry General. His features which were usually mild had hardened and his green eyes had turned darker even as they announced the storms that were raging behind them.

Duke brushed past Mishpa and took the lift to the second floor. He then climbed up the winding stairs to the third floor, taking two steps and some times three at ago before barging into Malisha's room without much of a knock. He opened the door abruptly and was not prepared for sight that greeted him.

Malisha was curled up into a ball in the middle of her new bed. All around her spent tissues littered the bed and the floor below it. A closer inspection revealed that she was fast asleep and he deduced that she must have cried herself into that state. Duke was disturbed and for a moment, he debated on wether to wake her up or not. Eventually, he decided to let her be.

As his exhaustion dragged him down, he settled on a white and gold baroque settee that was part of the new furniture that he commissioned for her room. It was comfortable and for that he was grateful. He laid back on the armrest and took to studying the room which had been emptied of all boxes. With the wall of cardboard gone, he was surprised to find that three large windows draped in white drapes and soft yellow blinds made up  most of the walls. The wallpaper had also been changed. It was now mostly white with small gold patterns that reflect the sun making the room to appear brighter and sunnier while at the same time giving it an aura of peace and calm.

Duke turned back to look at the sleeping form that was Malisha and a smile formed on his face as all his anger dissipated. He thought back to the reasons that had made him mad and that no longer mattered and shook his head. It was so hard to remain mad at her when she looked so fragile, so broken even as she breathed softly on her bed.

Yes, she had missed their lunch date and that had made him inexplicably mad and worried more so when she refused to answer his calls. Alfred’s efforts to reach her through her PA said that she had given her the day off, while calls to the house said that she was indisposed or rather, that was what Mishpa had told him.

At this, Duke had slowly worked himself into a fit. A state of agitation that caused him to quickly clear his schedule postponing for the next day everything that had been left in his calender. The more urgent matters, he had left for Alfred to handle before leaving his office to find his fiancèe.

After sleeping for several hours, Malisha finally woke up to find that darkness had already set in. The sun had set and there was a still form lying on her sofa.

“Thomas?” she called and the form stirred a bit. “Thomas baby, Is that you?” she call again.

“Lisha, you are awake!” She gasped, startled by the husky manly voice that was definitely not her son's and took a step back.

“Duke, what are you doing here?”  she said covering up. The man stood up and began walking towards the light switch.

“Let me put on the lights and then we can talk.” Malisha started to agree, but then remembered what she had been doing. She imagined how unflattering she must have looked. Especially with all the crying that she had done and she raised her voice to stop him before he could take another step forward.

“No!No stop.” she said in a rush and his steps faltered.

“Surely Lisha. You do not wish for us to converse in darkness?” Malisha blushed even as she realised how weird her request had sounded.

“Look, I am a mess and I really don’t want you to see me this way.” she finally told him and looked away awkwardly.

“Okay...What do you propose we do then?” he asked her and she could hear the laughter in his voice.

“I’ll freshen up right now, then we can talk.” With that, she felt up her bed for the spent tissues that had been strewn all over and dashed into the bathroom to flush them away. Malisha washed up her face and dried it with a face towel, thanking God that it was dark. Otherwise, the puffiness under her eyes would have been very visible.

Assured that she now looked presentable, Malisha walked out of the bathroom to find that the lights had been turned on. Duke was sitting on her settee’s armrest and was grinning cheekily.

“What?” she asked even as she took in his appearance appreciatively. Unlike the previous day, he was dressed more casually in dark blue fitting jeans and a crisp white shirt that hugged his chest and biceps. The shirt was let out at the bottom and the sleeves were folded up and secured at the elbows.

“I thought you were in the office today?” she finally said, alluding to his outfit with a show of her hand. Her plan was to take his mind off their earlier incidence.

“Really?” His chest rumbled with suppressed laughter.

“What?” she punched him on his arm.

“Don’t you think that I saw that ‘mess’ when I came in?” he told her, putting quotation marks on the word mess. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned, even as she reached out to hit him again. This time however, he quickly reached out and caught her hand before she could really do it. “Are planning on turning me into your personal punching bag?”

“If you plan to keep on making fun of me, yes.” She answered, struggling hard to loosen his grip upon her hand. However, the more struggled the more he continued to hold on all the while at her and the effort she was making.

Malisha raised her other hand to smack him, but he captured it as well. Eventually she gave up and his grip on her hands relaxed. Slowly, he drew her closer, the cheeky grin remaining on his face. His hands released her wrists and slid down her arms to grip her lower back. Even as he held her, his neck leaning down to her, his face morphed as the grin turned into something more intense.

Malisha had seen enough movies to know how this would end. On one end  she heard her mind not her inner voice, screaming for her to end it. On the other end her heart wanted her to give in. To give in to those strange emotions that turned her insides into mush and see where those feelings would lead.

Eventually, her mind won out and Malisha pulled back.

“We can’t do this.” she stated insipidly.

“Why not, it’s just a harmless kiss and we are engaged.” He smiled even as she stared back at him apprehensively.

“Uhm, about that.”  this time she pulled out completely out of his hold.

“What about it?” All colour had drained away from his face and Malisha chewed her lip nervously.

“I think you made a mistake!”

“How so? Please enlighten me.” The more she persisted the more agitated he looked with every passing minute.

“I’m really no Phaedra wife material and --”

“Lisha--” Duke cut her off.

“No Duke. Look at me. I have an illegitimate child, the Society women shun me and I am an emotional wreck. I have been engaged less than twenty four hours and look how miserable I am!”

Understanding finally dawned on Duke's face and he scratched his beard at loss for what to say.

“Lisha, my love,” he finally called out her with every trace of indignation gone from his voice. He reached out a hand to hold her and when she allowed him, he  pulled her onto the seat beside him.

“First, there are no illegitimate children, just illegitimate parents. That said, if you allow me I will do my very best to be the best father for Thomas.” He paused to let his words sink in,

before continuing.

“Secondly, you should know that I care very little about what those gossip mongers we call Society do or say. Nor am I going to let them have any say in my choice of wife. On the same note, if they still bother you that much, I can always do something about it, just to make sure that they leave us alone.”

At that Malisha panicked knowing fully well that with the kind of power that the man wielded, there was no telling what he was capable of.

“No Duke. Please, just let them be.”  she pleaded softly.

“Not as long as they continue to bother you.” he countered her request with a hard look.

“Please... I beg you. My life is already complicated enough.” His features softened abi and he even managed to smile.

“Fine...but do not expect me to like it.”

“I know you won’t just please, let them be.”

He looked into her eyes for another moment and nodded his head before adding.

“Fine. And I’m really sorry you feel miserable. I did not mean to cause you any discomfort through my actions.”

“Still...”

“I know.  In future I’ll always make it a point to consult you especially on all matters that concern you. Just don’t call off the engagement. Please... I cannot lose you again.” he pleaded.

“But Duke, I do not know if I am cut out to do any of this.” she wailed.

“No, I did not make a mistake Lisha. You are by far the strongest person I know. You always know what you want and you stand for it to the end. You fight for what you believe in, even when the tide is against you.”

A little smile formed on her lips.

“By saying tide, by any chance do you mean Society?”

“Yes and that’s what I want in my life. God knows that is what I need in my life!” That little speech melted whatever reservations that were remaining in her mind and before she knew it, she had pulled him into a tight hug and snuggled on his chest. “See what I mean? I need more of this. Lots of it.” Duke laughed and Malisha pulled away from his arms just to swatt his hand again.

“By the way when did you get all spiritual?” she asked as she leaned back on the settee.

“Why?Because the last time you checked I was a Godless heathen?"

“Yea...that and the fact that you were actually kicked out of sunday school. That is also not forgetting your shameless womanizing.”

“What does that have to do with me being spiritual?” he asked quite dramatically and Malisha raised an accusing eyebrow.

“I don’t know. You tell me!” she said back.

“Okay, okay! I relent. ” 

“So...”

“Well my life has never been easy. Contrary to what most people think, it was quite complicated especially with a father like mine. We never really connected and he never wanted us in his waymore so when we were younger. I didn’t know it then, but it was probably the reason why I acted the way did and bullied you.”

“Yea it really hurt when you pulled the hair.”  his fiancèe replied dolefully.

“I know but I am glad it grew back .” Duke joked, tacking a stray strand that had fallen from her pony tail behind her left ear and she swatted him for it yet again.

“You keep hitting me and its the end of the story for you.”

“I’m sorry. Do go on please...” she replied sweetly.

“Now where was I?”

“You bullied us...”

“Ah yes. Then you and I became friends and I was truly happy for about two years, until he took me away. I was kept soo busy and isolated and all I had was that little Bible you got me for my fourteenth birthday.”

Malisha reached out and entwined her hand with his. She squeezed it reassuringly and prompted him to go on.

“When I got lonely and missed you, I would take it out and read it.

Slowly and overtime, I began developing this relationship with the saviour and for some reason even when times were tough I always knew that he got me.” he paused before looking at her straight in the eyes.

“I know that I am not perfect and that I have abandoned the faith on several occasions. Sometimes, allowing anger and bitterness to get the better of me, but he is still working on me and I will be fine because I know that he’s still got me. I know I am not where I would want to be, but he will get me there. I just have to trust him with all my heart and he will make me into the man that you deserve.”

Malisha wiped away a stray tear at that and smiled back at him. Even then she remembered a certain scripture that God had been speaking to her through. It said, For we know that in all things God works together for good to them that love him, those who are called according to his glorious purpose.