Forced To Be The Duke's Maid

Forced To Be The Duke's Maid - Part 8

“It was Geraldine.” A small skinny girl with curly red hair and freckles stepped out from the group. “She is the one who bolted her inside the cellar.”

The tall woman with the pointed nose, gasped and lunged towards the red-haired girl. “You little wretch, how could you?” The others grabbed her before she could lay a hand on her though.

The duke walked over to the girl. “Thank you for confessing, I know how hard it must have been. If you suffer any consequences from speaking up, you must inform Mrs Dawson at once. Understood?”

The red-haired girl just nodded and thanked him.

He turned towards the guilty party now. “As for you, I have no idea what possessed you to do something so careless. You could have suffocated Celeste. Now go and collect your belongings and leave without delay. I do not want to see your face around here again.” He looked at the other staff now. “This girl…”

“Penny.” The small red head added.

“Penny.” The duke nodded his thanks to her. “Has saved all your jobs because of her honesty. If I find out anyone is victimising her because of it, then they too will be sent packing. I hope I have made myself clear.”

No one said a word. Mrs Dawson cleared her throat. “You heard his lordship, now get back to work.”

The staff all immediately returned to whatever task they had been doing before I had been inconveniently locked in a cellar.

The duke walked over to me and kneeled next to me on the floor. “Can you stand, Celeste?”

“Yes sir, I believe so.” I moved to hold onto the wall to pull myself up, but the duke lifted me off the floor instead. He carried me towards the door, shouting for someone to open it for him. Emma ran to hold the doors open to allow the duke to carry me through.

The duke just nodded at her.

“Thank you, Emma.” I said, giving her a smile. She returned the smile and went back inside the kitchen.

As we walked towards the staircase, I could not help but feel extremely awkward being carried by the duke. Neither of us were talking, nor looking at each other, at least not openly. I was sneaking side glances at his handsome profile at various opportunities. My hand was resting on the back of his neck, it was so warm and smooth to the touch. I imagined that’s how every part of him would feel. I blushed when I realised I had been unconsciously rubbing his neck with my thumb whilst contemplating that. Good grief!

As he carried me up the stairs, I could not help but feel completely protected. I felt safe in his arms, his large, beautiful hands cradled me like I weighed nothing heavier than a bag of sugar. His strong arms held me snugly against his broad chest. I was going to be disappointed by the time I got to my room. I never wanted to leave Sebastian’s arms…at least not yet.

When we reached my bedroom, he asked me to twist the doorhandle and push it open. He carried me over and gently sat me on the bed. “Do you need anything? I will have the staff bring you some tea.” he said as he walked over to pull my drapes closed.

“Thank you, sir, but there’s no need. I am fine.”

He stopped at the end of the bed and gave me an apologetic look. “I really am sorry that happened to you. It must have been very frightening.”

“It was a bit, yes. How did you know to come and help me?” It was only just donning on me, that he had come all the way to the kitchen to rescue me.

“I heard your cries for help. The kitchen windows were open, and I was sitting by an open door. The sound carried. You were lucky I was not up in my chambers, or I would not have heard a thing.” He looked down at the floor now before looking back up at me. “Anyway, just glad you are safe Celeste. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning. Do you remember your orders, or do I have to repeat them?”

“No sir, I have not forgotten them. I will see you tomorrow morning as instructed.”

“Very well. I will send someone up now to attend to you. Until tomorrow.” He gave a slight bow of his head at the door. “I bid you good day Celeste.”

The door closed and the room suddenly felt very empty. Weirdly, that’s kind of how I felt inside too whenever the duke wasn’t around. Had he just shown me another side to him? I’d seen him be charming, stern, authoritative, annoyed, even slightly amused. Had he just been caring and compassionate? Would he have reacted like that to anyone or just me?

I stared up at the ceiling, trying my best to make sense of all of this. So far, all I knew was the duke had ‘unique’ tastes and that’s why he always had his own separate maid to fulfil those needs. My role was no ordinary one, I could tell that much already. However, I was so curious to know what duties were expected of me. For the first time since leaving Exeter House, I was excited about working for the duke. So much so, tomorrow morning seemed so far away now.

Deep down I had a sense of what was going to eventually happen with the duke. He would want to have s****l intercourse with me. Or maybe he had already decided to recruit a new maid that obeyed him? I couldn’t blame him for that, since arriving I had done nothing but insult him and cause him problems. Still, the thought of him replacing me with someone else caused a tightening in my chest.

Why doesn’t the thought of the duke wanting to use my body frighten me? Instead, all I feel is adrenalin and excitement pulse through me. Without thinking, I ran my hands over the bodice of my dress, reaching for the skirt of my dress, I began to roll it up bit by bit, until my undergarments could be seen. I spread my legs apart and pulled my underskirt up around my waist too.

Using my right hand, I reached between my thighs and ran my finger over my sensitive area. I shuddered at the contact. As I did it again, this time stroking it a few times then rubbing it in a circular motion, a moan escaped my lips. This is what I needed. As I kept up the pace with my fingers, my entire body became tingly, a pleasurable sensation building from within. Just as I was about to bite my lip to stop from crying out in ecstasy, someone knocked on the door.

I quickly sat up and pulled my skirts down over my legs. “Come in.”

The door opened and a tea trolley appeared through it first, followed closely by Emma. “Hi Celeste, how are you love?”

“I am fine Emma, thank you.” I looked at the tea trolley piled high with scones, biscuits and sandwiches. “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble for me.”

“His lordship insisted. It is obvious how concerned he is about your wellbeing. He came directly to me, not even Mrs Dawson, and told me to look after you for the rest of the day.” Emma sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at me. “Now, come on. Let’s have some tea and a scone. I am famished.”

I grinned back. It was nice to have someone to talk to who genuinely seemed to like me. Another thought came into my head, it was the reason I had kind of ended up locked in the cellar in the first place. “Emma, who is the blond lady that was here to visit the duke earlier?”

Emma scowled. “That hoighty toighty b***h is Clara Hemsworth, her father owns the steelworks. She’s been sniffing around the duke for the last few months. No one likes her, she’s the fakest person with a heart of stone. Why do you ask? Was she rude to you?”

“Not exactly. She was more condescending about my background. Do you think the duke will marry her?” I took a sip of tea and a bite of scone as I waited rather impatiently for the answer I probably did not want to hear.

Emma shrugged. “It’s possible. She’s an heiress, he’s a duke. I guess they are kind of courting and heading in that direction. I just don’t see it myself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Emma was chewing a mouthful of jam and scone. She waited till she had swallowed it before replying. “They just don’t mesh well, like they’re chalk and cheese. I sometimes think the duke just courts her as a cover up. He needs to be courting someone publicly to stop all the gossip.” She looked at me with a wink now. “Meanwhile, he gets to enjoy the company of women who meets his needs behind closed doors. It all makes perfect sense to me.”

What Emma said did make sense. If the duke wanted to ward of gossip, spending time with someone like Clara would do that. It also meant people wouldn’t pry into his personal life too much either.

“Have you ever slept with the duke?” I asked Emma, making her choke on her tea.

“Heavens no, I am far too common love.” She chuckled at the thought. “There was talk once though, about him sleeping with one of the kitchen staff. Her name is Rosie. She claimed that he had come down to the kitchen one night in a drunken state looking for food. According to her, he wasn’t just hungry for food though, and they had s*x in the linen cupboard.”

“Do you believe her?”

“Who knows, she was gone the next day. As soon as she started running her mouth, she was thrown out the door. It kind of makes me believe it was true for that reason. Her mam was livid and tried to get her daughter her job back, but he refused. Now she’s without a job now too.”

“Her mother lost her job too?”

“Yes, she’s the one that locked you in the cellar.”

I felt my eyebrows shoot up. “There is quite a lot of drama around here isn’t there?” I asked.

Emma gave me a cheeky grin. “Only since you showed up love.” She climbed off the bed. “I need to get back to the kitchen for a bit. But I’ll be back later. Get some rest Celeste.”

“Thank you, Emma, for your kindness I mean. I appreciate having some one I can talk to. “

Emma walked round the bed and leaned down to give me a hug. “Anytime love, if you need me come and find me. Try and avoid dark cupboards and cellars for a while, okay?” She winked and walked towards the door.

I was on my own again, left to think about everything I was trying my best not to. Thankfully Emma had knocked the door before entering earlier, how embarrassing would it have been had she caught me pleasuring myself like that? I blushed at the thought.

There was no way I would sleep now, not in the middle of the day. I got off the bed and walked over to open the drapes again, the afternoon sun poured in, warming my face and neck. Why was I staying cooped up in my bedroom all day when the sun was shining? The duke told me to take the day off to rest, that didn’t necessarily mean sleep, did it?

I walked over to the closet and found a black jacket that matched my dark green dress pretty well. I re-pinned my hair and headed out of my bedroom back along the hall to the staircase. For some reason, I felt very excited about having a walk out in the grounds. As we drove in yesterday, I noticed beautiful tree lined walking paths, immaculate gardens, duck ponds and a stable full of horses. My intention was to visit them all.

I made my way down the stone steps that led from the main entrance. Luckily, no one had been there for me to explain myself to. They must only stand near the door when they know a visitor is due to arrive, which suited me perfectly.

I walked over the well-maintained lawn towards a duck pond surrounded by Crab Apple Trees, their stunning pink flowers making the entire scene look like it was straight out of a painting.

When I reached the pond, I just stood there with my eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees, the ripples on the pond from the gentle breeze, the rustling of leaves in the trees. I felt like I was being transported to my happy place, all I needed was a good book and I’m there.

There was a noise that broke me out of my wonderful daydream. What was that?

Pssst

There it was again? “Hello? Who’s there?” I started to walk slowly towards the direction of the noise. It was then I saw the figure of a man in between the trees. The sun was shining right in my eyes, making it hard to see who it was. I put my hands over my eyes, trying to shield them from the sun. When I looked up at the figure again, they had stepped out from between the trees.

“Celeste, thank god you’re okay.”

I knew that voice. “Freddie?”