Page 13 of The Time Of Queens (An Afterlife Story #2)

13

brOKEN TRUST

I stormed past him, my whole body shaking from anger, and I flinched when I heard Draven roar,

“SILENCE!” I then looked over my shoulder and realised he must have shouted this at the cook, who was most likely trying to talk her way out of this. Then I ran up the stairs, getting to the main level and pushing past Vincent, who now looked both shocked and concerned.

“Miss Williams! Are you well?!” he asked in response to my hasty retreat.

“No! I am not!” I shouted back, racing up the main staircase in hopes of getting to my room just so I could be alone when I fell to pieces. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I reached for the handle of my door. That was when I heard a snap of words coming from below.

“Not now, Vincent!” This of course came from Draven, as he obviously started to chase me through the house. So, I hurried into my room, slammed the door shut, and quickly locked it to shut him out.

I felt the handle rattling only seconds later.

“Miss Williams, open the door,” he demanded sternly, making me flinch again. But I straightened my back and let my anger reply.

“No!” I shouted back, no longer giving a damn about the decorum of this time. I was fucking sick of pretending! Instead, I used my shaky hands to pour the water from the jug at my dresser into a bowl that I used for cleaning myself in the morning. Then I hissed in pain as I dipped my right hand in it, the blood that soaked my skin seeping into the water.

“Open the door right this instant, that is an order!” he shouted, making me grit my teeth and shake my head.

“I SAID NO!” I bellowed back.

However, this only ended with me screaming as suddenly he hammered a fist straight through the wooden panel. His hand reached for the key so he could open the door, which was when I realised he had no choice… Or I would have only questioned how he had opened the door after witnessing him using his powers to do so. Which meant taking things into his own hands… quite literally.

Something that also included me.

I cried out when I found myself being turned around before solid muscle was put to my belly, and I was easily hoisted up over his shoulder.

“PUT ME DOWN!” I screamed and kicked my legs wildly, as, well, this wasn’t exactly a new experience for me, even in the past. No, Draven had discovered early on that this was an efficient way in getting me to where he wanted me to be. He simply responded to my efforts in escaping by banding an arm across my legs, then pinning them to his chest as he stormed back towards his own room.

It was only after he kicked his door closed that he bent forward and deposited me on the bed. Doing so carefully enough that he didn’t just toss me on it like he might have done back in my own time. As for me, I remained frozen in place, as the quiet, calm way in which he did this was unnerving. As if he had forced himself to do this with as little anger as possible so as not to scare me.

“Now that we are alone, will you calmly explain to me what the hell happened?” he asked after taking a deep breath.

“And we had to do this in your room, why exactly?” I asked in return, each of my words coated in a good deal of anger and frustration.

“Because no one will dare approach my bedchamber, and here we will be unheard.”

I frowned so hard I felt like my eyebrows would snap off like I was some Mrs Potato Head toy!

“And punching your way into my room and throwing me over your shoulder was the best way to do that, was it?!” I snapped, making his lips twitch as if he was fighting a grin, something that only angered me further. But then he noticed my red face, one I could now feel the sting of.

He stepped closer and raised my face up, before running the back of his fingers down my heated cheek.

“She struck you?”

“Yes, and it is the very last time she will ever strike another,” I said firmly.

“Yes, as after the beating she received, I believe you are right, for she will undoubtably be in two minds to do such again,” he said, making me question what he truly felt.

“You think I was wrong to inflict such?!” I asked, unable to help my accusing tone.

“On the contrary, her reprimand is far from complete,” he replied softly and because of it, all my anger left me on a sigh.

“Good, as she deserves far worse for what she put those poor girls through,” I told him, and he was quick to agree.

“Yes, and I swear to you that I will get to the bottom of it, for her crimes will not go unpunished. On this, you have my word.”

“Then why am I here, if I am not in trouble?” I asked in a far calmer tone, now that I knew he was going to do the right thing and the evil cow hadn’t managed to talk her way out of further punishment. At this he smirked before telling me,

“Trouble? My dear, I fear it is I who finds themselves scolded, and for good cause too, for I had no knowledge of what was happening within my own household,” he said, and I cringed when I thought back on what I had said to him. As I knew that had Draven known, there was no way he would have allowed her behaviour to continue. Which was why I was quick to make my excuses for him.

“And tell me, my Lord, do you spend much of your time down in the lower levels?” His face said it all.

“And who manages your estate when you are in town for the season or away from home?”

Once more, he didn’t reply but then again, he didn’t need to. He knew as well as I did that he wasn’t to have known what was happening with his staff.

“I do not wish to get anyone in trouble, but I feel as if I should point out that the fault does not land solely at your feet… feet which rarely see the inside of the wine cellar,” I said, knowing that it wasn’t his fault, so he shouldn’t shoulder all of the blame. He released a heavy sigh and guilt gnawed at me once again.

“I was angry, forgive me, it wasn’t right for me to take it out on you,” I said in a far softer tone now all the anger had left me.

“No!” he shouted, and I jerked a little at his outburst as he walked away from me. Then, just as quickly, he turned back to face me while dragging a frustrated hand through his hair.

“This happened under my roof, by the hands of someone under my employ… you were hurt, and I dare not to think how much worse it could have been!”

I got up and went to him, unable to stop myself from taking his hand in mine, ignoring his sound of surprise at my doing so.

“Please don’t say that. You are not to blame for this and if I am honest, then I am thankful it happened if it meant that her vile actions were discovered. I only wished she had been foolish enough to make me her victim sooner.”

His gaze softened before he teased,

“Yes, your right hook was most impressive, I must say.”

I laughed as he raised my hand up to his, seeing the cut skin over the bone.

“Although I fear you pay for it now.”

“Still worth it,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders, but he walked me towards a small table and chairs that was situated in front of a window.

“Here, sit… if you please,” he added when my expression questioned the order. So, I did as he asked, something he looked thankful for.

“I won’t be gone but a moment, can you please wait here for me?”

I nodded, telling him that I would, watching as he strode from the room with purpose. Of course, I wasn’t questioning for long where he went as it was but thirty seconds later that he walked back inside. This time, carrying a small glass jar of something. He placed it down on the table before fetching a bowl of water from what I assumed was his bathroom. Something I was happy to find had greatly improved in the last sixty odd years I had skipped forward into. Of course, I didn’t have my own private bathroom because, being classed as a servant, we shared a communal wash space that had a portal bath in it. Although most seemed to wash with nothing but the basin and jug that we each had in our rooms. At the very least, we had a flushable toilet which I knew was classed as a luxury.

But back to Draven, he had with him a cloth and what looked like a roll of bandages, making me wonder how he got them so fast? Had his brother been at the ready to give them to him? Or perhaps Sophia?

“Will you allow me to attend to your injuries?” he asked, taking a seat opposite me, pulling his own chair in close.

“That’s alright, I can do… erm sure, why not,” I added when he gave me a stern look. Because he might have asked if he could, but with that one look I knew he had only been giving me lip service. Meaning he wasn’t taking no for an answer. But then he started to pull up my sleeve and I tensed, snatching my hand back just like I had done when spilling tea on myself.

“Easy now, I merely wish to care for your injury without getting your sleeve wet,” he told me, surprised by my sudden actions.

He held his hand out and his gentle gaze told me how much he wanted me to trust him. So, I took a deep breath and nodded before placing my hand back in his. He seemed grateful for this and bowed his head slightly before positioning my hand over the bowl. Then he used a cloth that he first soaked in the water before cleaning my cuts. Something that made me hiss in pain. The sound prompted him to lean over and blow on the torn skin, which managed to take away the pain instantly. Now whether this was down to using a slither of his powers or just down the sensual fact he was caressing my skin with his breath, I didn’t know, and nor did I care. It was magic either way.

“Y-y-you… you seem very skilled at that,” I said, after first having to clear my throat as the words felt thick and shroud in lust.

“Have you met my brother? Trust me, we have seen our fair share of bruised knuckles over the years.”

I laughed.

“Speaking of which, when did you learn how to fight?” he asked, making me release a sigh.

“After I was sick of playing the damsel in distress… besides, someone once told me that the fist is the only weapon that will never fail you… nor does it need sharpening,” I added, making him laugh and unbeknown to him, with words he himself had once told me. Of course, the irony wasn’t lost on me that I had replied very much in the same way as he did now.

“Wise words indeed… Although bones can break, and skin can tear,” he said, handling me with care and looking down at my abused hand. “Just like we see now, for I fear these cuts will cause you some pain for a few days, at least… however, this should help,” he told me, pulling the top off the jar before dipping his fingers into it. “This will help with healing it,” he said as he started to rub the substance over my knuckles in such a gentle way, it was as if he feared I would shatter.

“W-w-what is it?” I asked, after first having to clear my throat as his touch was making it hard to concentrate beyond wanting to throw myself at him.

“It is a salve mixed with honey,” he told me, lifting his eyes to mine for long enough that, once again, the connection became almost tangible. Which was why I felt the need to escape the intensity of it, deciding to ask,

“What will happen to her?”

“The bitch? As you so rightly called her,” he replied, making me mutter,

“Yeah.”

“I have had her thrown from the house, never to set foot back in it again. I will also have my steward take the matter up with the police and discover the true depths of her abuse that she inflicted on others.”

I shuddered at the thought of how many there could have been. Something Draven didn’t miss.

“Don’t fret, for I can promise you that she won’t ever be back again, nor will she find herself in any other position that gives her the chance to hurt anyone else, for she will pay for her crimes, I will make sure of it,” he stated firmly, and I nodded at this before asking another question I thought relevant.

“And what of those she did hurt? She confessed to being the cause of people being fired?”

“Fired? Good lord, please don’t tell me that she used…” I gasped at this before stopping him, realising what I had said.

“No, sorry, it’s just a slang word. I meant, she got them canned.”

His expression was priceless as this obviously was yet another slang word that hadn’t come into play yet.

“Canned?”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at this, something he seemed to enjoy.

“Upon my word, you do have a colourful language, Miss Williams,” he said, making me giggle again. “But if you speak of those she unfairly cast from my employ, then I already have my steward complying a list of names, so as they can be compensated for how they were treated within my home.”

I smiled, telling him,

“You’re a good man.”

He seemed touched by this, enough that once he had finished wrapping my hand up in bandages, he raised his own hand to cup my cheek.

“Not good enough,” he said, making me frown.

There was no time for him to explain more, as his hand dropped seconds before his sister entered.

And unsurprisingly, she wasn’t alone.

Pip was right behind her. Although, what was surprising was who entered after her. It wasn’t someone I ever expected to see. Not in this time period.

Which was why I stupidly made the mistake of saying his name the second I saw him.

Someone I shouldn’t have known…

“Lucius!”