The Lord’s Desire

Melrose had not yet calmed down even when she was on the way home. She was still furious of the way Lord Knight talked to her. She would have accepted it if he was being rude only to her, but his words must have hurt Stephanie. How could he be so insensitive toward a child? She could not believe him!

”My lady, I think the lord is just concerned about you, ” Felicity spoke beside her.

”Concerned? ” Melroses brows furrowed at the word. ”Why would he? We barely know each other. Don spare a man for his foolish actions, Felicity. ”

”But I must say, the lord indeed had a point. Should something happen to you, everything will turn dire for the entire orphanage. Even the coachmans family will not be spared. The King might be lenient but we have yet to see his worst. And Lord Lewis, you know how your father reacts when it comes to you, my lady, ” Felicity spoke calmly and with caution. She was the only one who dared to enlighten her at times apart from Arianne. She was years older, almost thirty, maybe the reason why she viewed things more maturely.

However, despite knowing what the consequences might befall her, Melrose believed that if she would be put in the same position, she still wouldn be able to stop herself from running after the child and try to save her.

”You should have thanked Lord Knight despite his rudeness, though. The coachman didn notice the girl running until the last second, a drunkard, I suppose. It was Lord Knight who came suddenly at the coachmans side and reined the horse himself before it could hit you. ”

Melrose was surprised. She thought a miracle happened and the coachman who was obviously spacing out saw what was going to happen at the last moment and reined the horse.

”Are you sure of that? If it was a carriage hired by Lord Knight he must have been sitting inside at the last seconds before it stopped. How was he beside the coachman all of a sudden to rein the horse? ”

”That is something beyond my knowledge, my lady. Everything happened too fast all at once. I didn have a chance to witness every detail. ”

”I remember that boy with him. He mentioned that her sister saw Stephanie running. She must have told Lord Knight. But their carriage was fast approaching, and it would not be easy to quickly get out of the carriage and sit where the coachman was. ”

Melrose saw Lord Knight as a man of grace. She saw it herself how he moved fluidly and with precise moves. Although he didn look fragile and soft anywhere, she still couldn believe how he attended to the crisis in that way and in just a matter of seconds. She wondered if he was more than a powerful man of noble birth. Perhaps, he trained himself to be self-reliant at all times?

It was almost dark when they arrived home. As Jefferson gave her a hand as she went off the carriage, she saw three men coming out of their manor who were all unfamiliar. But considering how they dressed, they must not be servants.

”Is father around? ” Melrose asked one of the guards.

”Yes, my lady. ”

”And who are those men? ” As far as she knew, her father didn usually accept guests, even those members of the royal council like him. It was only on very rare occasions when he hosted a dinner with friends.

”I don know, my lady. His lordship allowed them to his study room. I presume those are his subordinates in the court and they discussed an important matter. ”

Melrose didn dwell on the subject further and headed to her room. After all, she wasn familiar with all the people who worked with and worked for her father. There were many occasions she was introduced to his friends and acquaintances and she could barely remember most names and faces. Maybe there was a problem with her memory. Or it could be that her brain was smart enough to eradicate unimportant things itself.

The morning after, Arianne came to talk to her over tea. As her number one confidant, Arianne told her worries about her older brother, Benedict. She believed that Benedict and one of his friends will have a serious duel this afternoon and that Benedict will be in danger.

Melrose had seen Benedict a few times, of which were related to the presence of his sister of course. He was a tall and fair man with a pleasant face, but compared to men his age he had a smaller build. She was also aware of his lack of skills in swordsmanship and he looked too frail to engage in a hand-on-hand duel. There was no doubt he would be at a disadvantage against Mr. Harris, his friend Arianne mentioned.

Melrose understood Ariannes worries and agreed on helping her. But the problem was she didn know how.

”Even if I insist on helping you, I believe I can do nothing when it comes to mens brawl. ”

”Of course you can do something, Mellie. ” Arianne smiled at her.

”That smile… ” Melrose narrowed her eyes. ”What are you getting me into, Arianne? ”

”I am not planning something wicked if that is what you are thinking. I truly want to keep Benedict from killing himself, and I already have a plan for that. ”

Melrose put down the cup of tea. ”Sorry but I can help but doubt when it comes to your plans, Arianne. The last time, you almost screwed us up. ”

”Which won happen this time, I am sure. Well, if we are unlucky… ” Arianne trailed off and grinned. ”Lets not talk about negative things and talk about the plan, shall we? ”

Melrose sighed. She had a bad feeling about this. Still she said, ”I am all ears. ”

”I believe the best thing to do is stop Mr. Harris from going to the duel place. I know where we can find him. ”

”For what reason will they have a duel, anyway? ”

”For what reason two men usually fight? ” Arianne clicked her tongue. ”A woman. ”

Right. Like they said, in every two men there was that one woman in between. But it was a shame for Benedict as should the duel happen, he would only face embarrassment and, for sure, physical injuries.

”So where shall we find Mr. Harris? ”

”In Spade House. ”

Melroses eyes widened, her reaction showed how scandalized she was.

”What, Arianne? Spade House is a gentlemens club! ”