Another Chance with the Duke

Ch 1 Part 2

Evalynn's wide-skirted dark green dress weighed her body down as she walked down the long hallway of the mansion toward the drawing room her parents were waiting for her in. Kirin and another maid that she didn't know the name of followed behind her silently. Bright sunlight shone through the windows as they walked, causing a thin layer of sweat to form on Evalynn's forehead. She hated wearing fancy clothes, especially when all she was doing was walking around the house, but choosing anything other than the gaudy dresses her mother had bought for her would be seen as an act of defiance that would get her whipped by her father.

"I'll be back," Evalynn said to Kirin. She received a silent nod in reply. She approached the dark-stained heavy oak double doors of the drawing room and knocked firmly three times as she'd been taught since she was a child, not daring to reach for the doorknob until she was invited in.

"Come in," a gruff nasally voice called from the other side of the door.

Turning the doorknob as gently as possible, Evalynn opened the door wide and stepped to the threshold of the room, waiting for permission before entering fully. Her mother, Edith, was the first to acknowledge her, waving her in with an annoyed scowl. She kept her gaze down as she walked toward the obnoxiously ornate yellow sofa sitting across from her parents.

"Well hurry up and sit. We don't have all day." Her father, Allipous, snorted.

Evalynn took her seat, making sure to pull the skirt of her dress out as she sat. It was a simple act, but forgetting to do so would only cause her mother to berate her for the next few hours.

"Now then, do you know why we've called you here, Evalynn?"

"It's about an engagement."

An engagement where you can sell me off to make up for your financial failures.

"You're exactly right. Due to circumstances beyond my control, our family's influence is waning." Allipous struggled to raise himself from the sofa, his short stubby arms flailing like a child's until Edith gave him a gentle push. "Ah, thank you, Edith. As I was saying we're here to inform you that…"

That you've arranged for me to marry…

"...Taladin. He's a good man with many connections that can help our family recover some of the financial losses we've suffered from the ineptitude of those i***t peasant farmers."

Evalynn's jaw clenched as she remembered the original conversation. Her father was blaming the commoners, but in her first life, after she'd been shipped away to Edgar, Kirin had informed her that the family's financial distress had actually been caused by her father's poor leadership and incompetence. She hadn't understood the complexity of the issue, it was one of the many things Evalynn was determined to teach herself in the coming months.

"I see. Earl Taladin. Can I ask why you chose him for my fiance?"

The coffee table in front of Evalynn shook from her mother's black-laced gloved hand slamming into it, knocking over the vase full of flowers sitting on it.

"How dare you talk back to your father," Edith growled, her eyes narrowed in a murderous glare. "Who we choose to marry you off to is none of your business. You've lived in luxury here for eighteen years and now it's time for you to pay your dues. It is your duty as a daughter."

Her duty. Evalynn had heard that constantly growing up. Her duty was to sit and look pretty until marriage. To bring the family prestige and have babies that could inherit the domain after her father's death. Her duty was to be a dressed-up breeding sow for whatever man her parents thought would offer the most money.

"I apologize, mother," Evalynn said as calmly as her trembling voice would allow her. "I did not mean to speak out of turn."

A small cloud of smoke floated in the air in front of where Evalynn's father stood holding a lit pipe with gold inlays. It was clear from his pursed lips that he was also annoyed, but he said nothing until after he'd taken several puffs.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll let it go this time. If you speak out of turn again, however, you'll be punished."

Punished? Nothing you ever did to punish me could ever compare to what Edgar has in store for me. But you'd know that since half of the games he'd used to torture me were ones you two taught him.

"When will Earl Taladin be arriving to finalize the engagement?" Evalynn asked. She would be chastised for speaking again, but confirming how much time she had before the monster dragged her to the hells was imperative.

"Not for a few months," Allipous grumbled. "He informed us of some business he had to take care of before coming to get you, but he promised that you two would be married by next spring.

Evalynn nodded, standing up and returning her gaze to the floor as she headed to the door. She would have a few months to prepare and study and she knew from experience that Edgar had no real intention of actually wedding her.

"Before you go," Evalynn froze at the frigid hiss of her mother's voice. "I want you to meet me downstairs later. Be ready when I send for you."

A shiver ran down Evalynn's spine. While nothing her parents had ever done to her had been as traumatizing as the things Edgar had done, she had no desire to experience her mother's twisted punishments again. Hopefully, her mother would keep it short.

***

"Evalynn, are you okay?" Kirin asked after she and Evalynn rounded the corner of the hallway. "You look pale."

"I'm fine. Just a little tired from this morning. Let's head to the library."

"The library?" Kirin asked, looking Evalynn up and down to confirm she was who she claimed to be. "You never go to the library."

"I know, but like I said this morning: I want to try something new."

And to do that I need to learn more about the politics of the nobility. I remember Edgar saying that Kenni's downfall would mean the end of the kingdom, but I still don't understand why or why Edgar would even want that.

"Stop." Kirin stood firmly in place examining Evalynn with her blackened brown eyes. "What is going on?"

What do you want me to say? That I've somehow traveled back in time? That I'm going to be taken away and tortured for months while you have to watch? You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.

"I can't tell you right now," Evalynn sighed. "Just follow me to the library."

Kirin nodded hesitantly but stayed silent, not saying anything until they finally arrived at the mansion's library.

The library itself was nothing particularly special. There were a couple of long wooden tables in the center of the room and a small chaise underneath one of the two large windows that faced the front of the mansion. The bookshelves lined the walls on either side of the room, reaching up to a few feet above the ceiling. The issue, however, was the books themselves. The library had been filled over with books on various topics over the past few generations, but after Evalynn's grandfather's death, the library had been more or less gutted. Over half of the books on the shelves were fake; they were book covers around simple wooden boxes to make the library seem fuller than it was. Of the real books, many were outdated since Evalynn's father detested reading and never bought new ones. Only a handful of books in the library had been purchased in the last thirty or so years and those were the books that Evalynn desperately needed to find amongst the garbage.

"Kirin, I need you to help me find any of the books Grandfather bought when he was still alive."

There was no response from Kirin and Evalynn had to turn to make sure the maid was even still in the room.

"Please don't be ma-" Evalynn stumbled backward as Kirin pushed her back onto one of the tables trapping Evalynn between her arms.

"Answer me, Evalynn. Otherwise, I'm not going to help."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Evalynn sighed. "I barely believe it myself. Besides, is this really how a maid should be acting?"

"We won't know unless you tell me," Kirin begged, ignoring Evalynn's comment. "Please…"

A twinge of guilt stabbed at Evalynn's heart from Kirin's soft plea. Kirin had been her only support for the last ten years and even with their difference in social standing Evalynn considered Kirin to be like an older sister. Lying was an option, but even thinking of betraying Kirin's trust made Evalynn feel sick.

"Fine. The truth is… The truth is, I think I died yesterday.