One

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         A man hurriedly rushed into a dark house. He had received news from his longtime friend and he was frightened and by all means eager to talk to him. He had reached the town in the dead of the night, and had hurriedly gone to see his friend. As he walked to the door, he found the head of the house already waiting for him at the door.                "Where is he?" He asked her.               She opened the doors for him, picked up a candle and said "Welcome your grace. Do follow me."             The man followed her down the quiet house and up the stairs, past the massive paintings of the ancestors of the family. They reached a door and then she opened it quietly. Inside was his friend seated on a chair looking at the moonlight through the open windows.           "Martin?" The man asked.           His friend turned and smiled. "My dear friend Henry It is such a delight to see you. I knew you would come. Please come."          Henry walked up to him and held his friend's hand. "I received your letter and I had to come. Is all well?"           Martin turned to the woman who had brought Henry. "You may leave now."         The woman bowed and left.          Martin walked up to his wine cellar and picked out a wine and two cups. He held one out to Henry whilst he opened it and poured it for each one of them.          "My friend, I called you here to let you know that my time has come. I am dying." Martin said.         Henry dropped the glass and gripped his friend. "You do not know what you speak of."         "You are always so careless. You spilled your wine." Martin chuckled, went to get a fresh glass, replenished it with wine and handed it to Henry. "I know what I speak of. I can feel it in my bones. I shall soon go. At least I shall go and meet Marie. Do you think she would see me as too old?"           Still in shock, he smiled. Martin always had away of brightening the mood.           Then Martin bit his lip and said. "But I failed her. I let my soon to be wife to-be send her away. It was a good thing i never married her. Marie was the only one I ever truly loved."           Henry scoffed. "Julia was an aristocratic prostitute only in love with society and herself. Riding off to meet her lover whilst she fell off her horse and broke her neck. It was a punishment from God himself."           "And now Marie is dead." Martin said bitterly. And then he smiled weakly. "But she left me with a gift. A gift I did not deserve. A gift that I did not cherish. I only wish Sebastian could understand that I turned away from him because every single time I saw him, I remembered Marie and the pain I had caused her. I remember my failed promises. And now he hates me."          "The boy does not understand your grief. I am sure he does not hate you." Henry tried to make his best friend feel better although they were both aware Sebastian's feelings towards his father was nothing positive.            Martin laughed hard. "Of course he does. He has not replied a single letter I sent to him. He is aware I am trying to make amends, but I am sure he believes I am too late. He is right after all."          Then Martin became serious. "I have a request for you. A request from a dying friend. Your best friend."          "What is it?" Henry asked in fear and curiosity. You never could tell with Martin.           Martin gulped his wine and said. "You are aware that King Regent has changed the laws. You cannot be given your Royal title unless you are married or the title shall be passed to the closest family member. In my case, it would be passed on to George."          Henry's eyes widened. "But you are aware Sebastian has no interest of going down the aisle!"          Martin sat on his chair and coughed. "Yes I am. I am also aware that he cares less of the title of Duke. But he hates George. Perhaps even more than he hates me. And Sebastian would rather die than watch George take over the title of Duke."           Henry thought about it for a while and realized Martin was right. "But who would he wed?"           Martin rose up from the chair and held Henry's hand. "This is where you come in. This is where I make my request."            Henry waited in still silence. Then Martin dropped the bombshell. "It is my dying wish that your daughter Abigail marries Sebastian."           Henry gasped. This was too much! "Do you know what you are saying? You are sending a lamb to the Lion's den. Sebastian is wild. Abigail is the exact opposite!"            Martin smiled "Yes, but she can handle him. I have watched Abigail and she is capable of taming him."           "What you ask for is too much." Henry said worried.          Martin begged. "This is all I am asking. You are my best friend and this is my final wish. I beg of you please."           He thought of it for a while. An arranged marriage for his innocent daughter? Could she handle it. He wanted to decline when he saw the tears in his friend's eyes. "Alright."          Martin embraced him and hurriedly brought out a paper "This is the contract. He will have to marry only her to claim his title. I have signed already. I just need you to sign."         Martin held out a pen and Henry picked it shakingly. He bent down to the paper. He was about to seal his daughter's fate. He hoped she forgave him. He hoped God forgave him. And he signed the paper.                                                                                    *          "i***t!." Sebastian flung his stop watch at his butler          "B..B.B.B.Bu..But my Lord, you told us to allow your mistress into your house a week ago. Even if you were not in." Bernard the Butler answered from his hiding spot behind the grand piano.           "I?! I told you to allow my Mistress into the house even if I was not available?!!!!"           Bernard peeped from behind the piano "Yes sire. I assure you. You gave me an order and my lord I would never disobey an order from you. Surely you must know."           Sebastian threw a teacup at Bernard who dived behind the piano at once. The teacup didn't hit Bernard but went straight to the door and landed on a maid passing by. She threw her tray of biscuits, screamed and ran away.            Sebastian's eyes spat green flames. "Mr Bernard. I told you to do no such thing!"            "But master, you were under the influence of wine." Bernard said from behind without peeping this time. Oh he was much more smarter this time.           "Aha!" Sebastian held the pillow he had just picked from the cushion. "You said it yourself! I was under the influence of Wine. And what man, if not my own butler would heed to the sayings of a drunken man. Who I must say," Sebastian threw pillow after pillow at Bernard.             "Lets in a half-mad woman obsessed with me into this house!"             Sebastian was angry. He could not believe that his Butler along with the other members of his staff had let in his past mistress into his house. Oh well, he had dismissed Veronica two days back, but what gave his staff the audacity to let someone into his house as if they owned it. Veronica had been a mistake from the beginning. He should have seen it from the moment she had put his hands under her dress at an evening ball two months ago.               He had bought her a new house with servants, payed for new wardrobes every week and bought her two different carriages to suit her taste. Along the line, he had gotten bored. Veronica was indeed lucky to have lasted up to two months with him. He often got tired after a week. He had dismissed her and received wild insults. The next day, he slept at his country house with his maid called Penny who was always eager to have him around.               He had finally returned to his house in London only to discover that Veronica had come into his house and destroyed the house in a fit of rage. He was sincerely in no mood to deal with her rash and insolent behavior. He had turned his anger on his forty-three year old Butler.              "Forgive me sir!" Bernard begged crawling around the table.             At that moment, Phillip, his best friend, perhaps the only friend he had, walked in. "What the devil is going on?"             "My Butler let Veronica in and she destroyed my house!"             Philips gave a heavy laugh "I'm sorry but this is funny." Sebastian was not smiling so Philip straightened himself up             "It was an honest mistake Sir!" Bernard quickly turned to Philip for mercy after contemplating and deciding he was more likely to make an escape with his help.              "An honest one my foot!" Sebastian roared.              "London society women can be very demanding." Philip said watching the miserable Butler. "Alright get up. I'll calm him down."             Bernard looked at Philip uncertainly. Sebastian shot Philip a look. "I'm not done!"             "Go on. I'll take it from here." Philip nodded at the door. Bernard didn't need to be told twice, he flew out of the room.              "Why did you let him go? Look at the mess in this place! Who is going to clean it up?" Sebastian roared.             "Come on Seb. There are almost a dozen people here. They would figure it out. Just don't get yourself involved with another high society woman." Philip teased as he sat on a chair that had not yet been shredded.              "She's lucky I'm in a good mood, I would have rang for the police."             "That's not going to be good. You're going to be all over the paper with another scandal." Philips adviced. "I can see it already making headlines. High society bachelor in a very messy scandal with Mistress."             "You know I do not care about society." Sebastian frowned.              "Yes, I am aware." Philip looked at his friend. "Have you seen your Father? You know he is terribly ill."              Sebastian fell quiet and said a minute later. "I am aware. I will see him when I can."              Philip knew better than to pursue the subject. "A letter for you." He handed over a letter to his friend.              Sebastian collected the letter slowly and mumbled "I will read it when I can."              Philip shook his head and decided it was not right to discuss with Sebastian. He rose up from the chair " I need to leave. Mother and everyone at home sends their regards. Harriet has been demanding for your presence as usual."             Sebastian smiled "Tell them I shall come soon. I am quite busy. I miss dinner with the family."             "I will relay the message. I have to run an errand Seb." Phillip waved and walked out.              Sebastian slumped and fell into a chair. He looked at the letter in his hands and tossed it aside.                                                                                                    *             Sebastian was born to a Spanish mother he had never known. She had died immediately after his birth and his grandmother Celeste, had taken him as her own until he turned twelve. She called him to her bedside one morning and said in a strained voice. "There is a bag underneath my bed, take it out, you will find an address within. Take the bag to the address. All your questions will be answered. May God be with you." She gripped his hand firmly and breathed her last.              With swollen eyes and a puffy face, Sebastian got into a carriage filled with goats and animal dung and was off to London. He arrived London at the dead of the night. Dirty, hungry and tired with a bleeding lip he had gotten from a fight after some street boys attempted to rob him of his belongs. He banged at the gate of the Duke of Kent's Estate, but received no reply. He had already set out his bag as a pillow when the Duke arrived from a late dinner.              The Duke was confronted by the very familiar looking street tramp who after he had discovered he was in fact talking to the Duke, trusted his bag at him. The Duke opened the contents of the bags, and a few minutes later began to shake visibly. The Duke invited Sebastian in and Sebastian was known as the bastard son of the Duke of Kent.              Now, Sebastian still could not connect with his Father. Not after his Father had brought him into his home, accepted him as his son but turned away from him in disdain. Depriving him of the love and affection Sebastian had always envied from his peers. He was not a child pleading for attention anymore. But his father's constant request to see him in the past weeks baffled him.             Sebastian dozed off in his thoughts but was woken up by a knock at the door. He frowned. What was it?            "My Lord. A very urgent message." It was Bernard.             Sebastian rubbed his eyes. "Come in."            Bernard came in looking a bit distressed. "I fear I carry bad news."            Sebastian walked up to his desk and poured out a bottle of brandy into a glass. "What is the time?"            "It is five noon." Bernard said after checking his stop watch.            "Relay your message."            "Your Father my Lord. He passed away but an hour ago."                                                                            *             Abigail adjusted her skirt as she retained her composure on the burial ground. The rain still poured, but less dramatically now than it had at the beginning of the ceremony. She wondered why it rained on almost all burials. Perhaps it was heaven itself weeping for the lost soul or maybe it was sheer coincidence.              Abigail gripped her Father's hand firmly to show her support. The late Duke of Kent, Martin of Kent had been best of friends with her father who was a viscount. Martin and her Father, Henry had been inseparable as children and even after Henry had moved to the country to claim his title as viscount, they still kept in touch exchanging letters back and forth. The Duke's death wasn't supposed to be a shock due to the fact that his illness seemed to only get worse, it still came as one.              She looked across where other people were and caught sight of a man she assumed was the Duke's son standing along side with a man within his age range. She had never met him but had heard rumours all the way from London to the country of his various and very brief affairs with both single and married women. There was even a rumour of a mistress who had turned his house upside down after he had ended the relationship. Now that, surely, was over exaggerated.              She could not see him quite clearly from beneath his umbrella in the distance. She had heard he was of Spanish origin but wasn't quite sure. She was told they had met when she was child, but she could not recall. She had never asked her father questions about him because she was very shy. She had tried once but when she had almost opened her mouth to speak, her face became a flush of red and she had flown out of her Father's study.              The priest went on and on with his sermon. Abigail was beginning to get tired. She meant no disrespect to the Dead, but she had spent a whole day on the road on their way to London and had been disappointed to discover that the burial was the very next day. She moved from one feet to the other and tried not to seem impatient. It was most unladylike to be impatient, especially at a Funeral.              She turned back to stare at Sebastian and they locked sight. It felt like sparks had come through her body. In more shame than shock, she quickly looked away.               "Are you alright?" Her Father whispered.               "What? Oh yes Father. I'm quite alright." Abigail said recomposing herself. Her Father nodded and turned back to the ceremony.               "And may his soul rest in peace. Amen." The priest closed the funeral. Starting from Sebastian, the people poured away the sand one by one. When it came to Viscount Henry's turn, he declined and walked away. Abigail understood her Father's grief.               "Excuse me. I am the family attorney." A balding man with grey hair had walked up to them unnoticed. "I would like to see you in the Duke's estate to discuss the Duke's will."               "Oh, Of course." Henry turned to Abigail. "Abigail this is the Duke's attorney. Mr Walter." Abigail curtsied and the man gave a response.               "I will get my carriage ready." Henry announced to Walter. As they walked away, Abigail searched around but could acknowledge no sign of Sebastian.                                                                                  
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