Another Chance with the Duke

Ch 4 Part 1

A loud series of thumps broke the silence of the library, fueling embers of annoyance that had been smoldering since Kirin had suddenly put a wall between them. Evalynn grunted as she stretched off of her chair to pick up the books that had fallen and glared at the maid standing at the doorway who seemed amused by Evalynn's misfortune. She didn't know the maid's name and it wasn't worth learning. Almost every servant in the house aside from Kirin reported directly to her parents and those that didn't did their best to keep their distance from Evalynn. Thankfully, only her parents' lackeys, like the maid attending her now, were openly hostile towards her, while the unaligned staff did as they were told by whoever addressed them whether it was Evalynn or her parents.

When it came to her studies, Evalynn was quite proud of herself. She was the first to acknowledge that she was no genius or prodigy, but she had found learning from books directly was much more agreeable than listening to lecturers drone on. Books covering the economics of the kingdom were difficult for her to decipher due to her weakness in math, but memorizing the maps and names of the noble houses controlling them came easily. She had even been able to learn more about the Taladins, Edgar's family.

The book covering the lineage of nobility was too old to cover Edgar himself, but it had given Evalynn insight into what the Taladins had been like before the blonde bastard had inherited the earldom. From her research, Evalynn had learned that the earldom of Delbas had been managed by the Taladin family since the creation of the kingdom of Atalia and that the territory's wealth derived from luxury goods like scented oil. What was curious was that the earldom's wealth and the noble status of the Taladins did not align; most nobles who controlled such a profitable territory would have been given at least the rank of a marquess if not a duke.

"Do you think that's why Edgar's such an insufferable ass?" Evalynn asked Kirin over her shoulder.

The silence bore down on Evalynn's shoulders like she was supporting a mountain. She had barely seen Kirin in the past few weeks. After the meeting with Samuel, Kirin had started to make excuses about tasks that she needed to attend to until one day she stopped coming altogether. Evalynn had even gone as far as to ask the head maid about Kirin's whereabouts, only to receive the half-baked answer that Kirin had taken leave to visit family, an answer Evalynn knew to be a lie. Kirin's only relative had been her aunt, the previous head maid who had passed a little more than half a decade ago.

I can't believe you would disappear like this. You couldn't have at least explained what was wrong before you abandoned me? Where the hells could you have even gone? You don't have anyone else but me! Ugh. That's awful of me, but I'm in the same position… The only person I've ever had next to me is you, Kirin.

"Was it Kenni?" Evalynn mumbled the question to herself, wracking her mind to justify the thought. Kirin had never been the jealous type and hadn't seemed to care about her relationship with Kenni before.

Whispers at the doorway pulled Evalynn from her thoughts and she saw the maid attending her huddled close to another, gossiping. She couldn't make out what they were saying but from the grins on their faces, Evalynn surmised that it probably had something to do with her parents returning.

"Would you ladies mind sharing what you've found so humorous?" Evalynn asked tersely, snapping the maids to attention.

"I apologize, M'lady," Evalynn's attendant stuttered, avoiding Evalynn's gaze and staring at the floor timidly. "Jenny was just informing me that your parents have returned… along with another guest."

Evalynn's brow furrowed. "Another guest?"

"Yes, M'lady. None of the servants are sure who he is, only that he came with your parents on their trip back from the fort on the Uldian border."

From the border? Evalynn ran through the list of people her parents would deem important enough to entertain and which of those would bother to travel to a random border fort. Edgar was a possibility, but an unlikely one, and her parents weren't particularly liked in upper society due to their sour personalities.

"Kenni?"

Evalynn jumped up from her chair and pushed past the maids, leaving them to frantically scramble after her. She tripped several times over the thick, long skirt of her bulky peach dress, but she quickly recovered each time, refusing to let something so trivial stop her from confirming her suspicions. When she rounded the corner, she stopped short, hiding behind the corner of the hallway and peeking down the stairs through the balusters. She couldn't see her parents or Kenni, but some of the mansion servants had surrounded half a dozen dust-covered attendants, some of whom Evalynn recognized from her encounter with Kenni by the stream.

"I insist you stay, Duke Kennington!" Allipous said, his booming, nasally voice echoing in the foyer. "You've been traveling with us for days and I refuse to let you stay at some shabby commoner inn full of vagabonds and murderers."

"It's quite fine, Lord Factacious," Evalynn heard Kenni's deep, warm voice respond." I don't want to impose on you. Besides, I'm sure you're just as exhausted as I am and no one wants to entertain house guests after a long trip."

"At least," Evalynn's father protested, nearly begging, "stay for dinner."

The sound of her father's desperation encouraged Evalynn to take a few steps down the staircase for a better view, a decision she quickly cursed herself for when Kenni locked eyes with her. At the sight of her, the annoyed frown on his face vanished, replaced with a wide-eyed, eager smile.

"Who is that gorgeous woman eavesdropping on us, Lord Factacious?"

Evalynn's shoulders shrank inward and her hands trembled. On the one hand, hearing Kenni call her gorgeous had warmed her heart; on the other hand, her father had found out she was spying, which meant her mother was soon to find out if she wasn't in the foyer already.

After taking a deep breath and holding it, Evalynn placed her hand daintily on the banister and slowly made her way down the staircase, exhaling slowly with each step. Her hands were still trembling, but she forced herself to maintain her composure. Making any mistake with so many eyes on her would put her in her mother's bad grace.

"Good day, sir," Evalynn said with a curtsy as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "My name is Evalynn Factacious."

The eager smile on Kenni's face widened as Evalynn approached him while, at the same time, Allipous looked on in shocked confusion. The gears of his mind seemed to grind together as Kenni kissed Evalynn's hand until the reality of the situation dawned on the pudgy old man and a greedy smile spread on his lips. The smile disgusted Evalynn and she already knew the shameful thoughts that were running through Allipous's head. Marrying her to a duke, especially one as influential as Kenni, would be leagues more beneficial to the Factacious family's finances than an earl like Edgar.

"It's good to meet you, Lady Factacious," Kenni said, releasing Evalynn's hand and knocking dust into the air as he ran his fingers back through his dirty hair. "I am Samuel Kennington, though you can call me Samuel."

"Good to meet you, Samuel. Please feel free to call me Evalynn."

Evalynn's stormy gray eyes locked with Samuel's vibrant amethyst ones and neither seemed willing to break the stare. She had always found Kenni's unique violet eyes enchanting, but being able to do so again after what seemed like a lifetime stole any sense of propriety from her.

"Ahem," Evalynn's father interjected, snapping the pair out of their entranced states while rubbing his belly with his fat hand. "Then will you be staying for dinner, Duke Kennington?"

Kenni's lips pursed for a moment before he turned to Allipous with a polite smile. "That sounds fantastic. And, if your offer still stands, I would love to stay for a while and let my men rest."

Allipous's eyes gleamed and, for the first time since she'd come downstairs, Evalynn relaxed a little. Her father had clearly noticed that Kenni had taken a liking to her, which meant that her parents were unlikely to snap at her during his stay. She'd be under more scrutiny, but the reprieve from having to face any immediate consequences was welcome.

"All of you," Allipous snapped at the servants standing at the sides of the foyer. "Stop standing about and show our guests to their rooms. And make sure," Allipous's eyes narrowed dangerously at the staff around him, "that a bath is prepared for the duke, immediately."

Allipous barely finished barking his orders before the servants scattered about, some leading Kenni's entourage toward the guest rooms, while others started carrying luggage or rushed to collect and boil water. The butler, Skimps, beelined for Samuel, only to freeze as Samuel raised his hands up.

"If it's alright, would you allow Evalynn to escort me to my room?" The young man's long-lashed almond-shaped eyes glistened as he looked hungrily at Evalynn, stealing her breath and creating an unfamiliar but pleasant warm sensation in her stomach. There was nothing subtle about his request and when she glanced over at her father, who looked like he was ready to faint from joy.

"Of course," Allipous replied, pulling himself together. "Evalynn, hurry up and take him to the guest bedroom upstairs in the east wing."

Evalynn blinked several times at the order. She had assumed that Kenni would be staying in the master guest room, which was located in the west wing near her parents' room. Putting Kenni in a room in the east wing would put him near adjacent to her own.

"Is that really wise, Allipous?"

All eyes turned to Edith as she strolled into the foyer wearing a wide-skirted yellow dress adorned with puff embroidered white flowers and made with a fabric too thick for the warm weather of summer.

"Edith! I was wondering where you'd gone. The duke has taken us up on the offer to stay with us for a time!"

"So I heard," Edith mused. "But is it appropriate to board him so close to our ENGAGED daughter?"

A heated frown formed under Allipous's gray mustache and for the first time since Evalynn could remember, her father looked ready to speak against her. "While I understand your concern, my love, our darling Evalynn is not officially engaged yet. So if a more qualified suitor," Allipous eyed Samuel, "were to appear, who are we to stop love?"

Edith's lips tightened as she unfolded a hand fan that matched her yellow dress and cooled herself. "You're right," she sighed coldly. "Then we'll leave it to you, Evalynn."

"Yes, mother. If you'll just follow me, Samuel."