The Duke's new obsession

Chapter 4:The Green Velvet

I wasn't in a cell. I was in a room larger than my father’s entire parlor.

To my left, a massive fireplace crackled, casting a warm, golden glow over furniture that looked like it belonged in a palace. The vanity was made of silver-inlaid ebony, and the windows—massive floor-to-ceiling arches—showed a view of jagged mountains under a blanket of stars.

A sharp, rhythmic knocking at the heavy oak door broke the silence of the room. I sat up straight, smoothing my hair as I called out, "Come in."

The door opened, and I felt a rush of pure relief. It was Bella. She wasn't the trembling mess I had feared; she looked composed, her uniform pressed and her expression determined. She was accompanied by two of the Duke's guards, who carried several of my trunks with surprising care.

"My Lady!" Bella hurried toward me as the guards placed the trunks down and exited with a respectful bow.

"Bella, thank heaven," I breathed, reaching out to squeeze her hands. "How did you get here? I thought they had left you behind."

"Not at all, My Lady," Bella replied, already moving toward the trunks. "One of the Duke’s men came for me specifically before we even left the road. He said the Duke had given strict orders that I was to be brought to the estate immediately with your belongings. He even ensured I had a warm meal before I was sent up to you."

I watched her, a strange feeling settling in my chest. He had thought of everything. He hadn't just bought me; he had moved my entire world here to ensure I wasn't alone.

"He sent word that you were to change into something comfortable," Bella continued, lifting a gown of deep, forest-green velvet from the trunk. "He said the mountain air is unforgiving, and your wedding silk wouldn't suffice."

Changing out of the wedding dress felt like shedding a heavy skin. As Bella laced me into the green velvet, the weight of the fabric felt like armor. The high collar and structured sleeves gave me back the poise my father had tried to strip away. I wasn't a girl in a torn dress anymore; I was a woman standing in a fortress of iron.

"Let’s walk, Bella," I said, catching my reflection. "I want to see the place the Duke calls home."

The palace was a masterpiece of cold elegance. As we moved through the corridors, I noticed the details I had missed while asleep—the walls were lined with portraits of the Valdemar ancestors, men and women with the same flinty eyes and stoic expressions as the current Duke.

We were crossing a wide gallery overlooking the courtyard when a woman stepped out from the shadows of a stone archway. She didn't walk; she glided. Her gown was a shimmering silver-blue, stiff with embroidery, and her hair was pinned back with diamonds that caught the pale light.

She didn't wait for an introduction. She stopped a few paces away, her eyes—a piercing, icy grey—scanning me from head to toe.

"So," she said, her voice smooth but sharp. "The Southron bride has finally woken up." I stood my ground, refusing to let her height intimidate me. "I am Elena. And you are?"

"Countess Diana," she replied, her gaze lingering on my green velvet with a faint, mocking curve of her lips. "A cousin to the Duke. I have lived in this castle since we were children, ensuring everything runs with the precision the North demands."

She stepped closer, her scent—something sharp and floral—filling the space between us.

"You look exactly as I expected," Diana murmured. "Soft. A bit too colorful for these walls. I wonder why Valdemar went to such lengths to bring you here. He isn't a man who acts on a whim, yet he ignored three treaties just to outbid your original suitor."

"Perhaps he prefers the 'softness' of the South to the cold of the North," I countered quietly.

Diana’s eyes flashed."Do not mistake his silence for kindness, Elena," Diana murmured, her eyes narrowing. "My cousin doesn't do anything without a reason. He’s been focused on the South for a long time. Longer than you probably realize."

She gave me one last, lingering look before sweeping past us, her silver-blue train hissing against the stone like a snake in the grass. I stood there, my hand tightening on the fabric of my skirt.

"What a strange woman," Bella whispered, looking over her shoulder.

"She’s territorial," I replied, though a cold knot was forming in my stomach. I looked out at the jagged mountains through the window. Why had he gone to such lengths? If it wasn't for a title, and it wasn't for land, then what was I to him? Just a trophy to prove he could outspend the rest of the world? I didn't have the answer. All I knew was that I was miles from home, in a house filled with secrets, and the man who held the key to all of them was currently avoiding me.