Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter One

Her back was aching, but Jessie continued on. These floors had to be polished and perfect. His Grace was expecting perfection, so she had to deliver. She just hated how much floor there still was to wash. Even so, Jessie knew that there was a lot riding on this meeting between His Grace and some important guests. As a lowly maid, she wasn’t privy to such information; however, rumors were speculating wildly about who the mysterious visitor could be. Some said it was a mistress, others proclaimed it to be King Tyson the Great himself. She knew both to be rubbish. The king would never make the journey, especially if he could send someone else to do it, and His Grace would not put on this big of a show for some mere mistress, no matter her station.

His Grace was a discreet man. His mistresses would enter through the back like

the servants. Also, he would never show off in front of his wife. He couldn’t afford to do so. Duchess Katherine Laroche was a formidable woman in her own right. She had come from a very wealthy family and had brought a great deal of her family’s wealth and power to the Laroche Duchy. His Grace, Duke Francis Laroche, had not been one of the stronger duchies in the kingdom of Eteshia, so he needed Katherine’s money and status. And as the third daughter, Katherine had not been able to ignore a duke’s proposal, even though His Grace was not anything to write home about. He was shorter in stature, and was already beginning to bald, though he was only in his late forties. He had dull skin and was overweight. The duchess overshadowed the duke in every way possible. She was tall, elegant, and considered beautiful by all. Her hair was a soft chocolate brown that matched her hazel eyes. Katherine had defined cheekbones, pink, full lips, and clear and smooth skin. Everything she wore only accentuated her beauty and drew all eyes to her. They had produced one heir together: a boy named Phillip. After that, the duchess had declared that she had fulfilled her martial duties. She gave the duke permission to seek enjoyment elsewhere; however, it was clear that the mistresses were never to be seen nor heard of or else the duke would be ruined. It was a threat that everyone knew about in the manor. The duchess was not a quiet lady, and she made sure her concerns and opinions were heard by all.

Jessie sighed when she noticed that she was only halfway finished with the floor. She was taking extra care to ensure everything was spotless, but it was taking far longer than she had wanted. Her efforts were interrupted when a fellow maid called for her down the hallway.

“Jessie! Jessie!” she shouted, running into the great ballroom, where they were to have a grand ball in the guest’s honor that very night.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she looked up and gave the girl a half-smile. “Yes, Bee?” she asked.

Bee was a shy maid, but very well-trained. She had been with the duke’s family before she herself had arrived, and had been the one to train Jessie in how the duke’s household ran. Bee was a petite girl with a plain face and muddy brown hair, though she was a couple of inches taller than her. Bee had a smattering of freckles and small lips. However, she transformed into a true beauty when she smiled, which wasn’t as often as Jessie wished. No one in the duke’s house smiled often enough. It was a solemn place to live and work.

“The duke is asking for you,” Bee replied.

“Again?” Jessie frowned.

Bee only shrugged her shoulders. “Seemed urgent. He said that Mallory would take over the rest of your duties for today.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll love that,” she winced, knowing that she’d get a talking to from Mallory tonight after the ball.

It didn’t matter what Jessie did, Mallory hated her. She had heard from other maids that Mallory had been the favorite before Jessie arrived, so now that Jessie was the one called on, Mallory had it out for her. If only Mallory knew that she wasn’t the favorite for the usual reason.

But without another word, Jessie ran out of the ballroom and towards the duke’s study. He often called on Jessie for help with assorted matters. That was actually why she came to the duke’s household to begin with. When Jessie had first started as a maid, she was with a lowly noble family. However, they had soon discovered that she was good with numbers, reports, reading, and other useful skills other than cleaning. The husband of the house utilized Jessie’s skills, gaining a massive fortune. But, then word got out, and suddenly, several houses began clamoring for her.

Unfortunately, if one does not wish to move up in society, one is seen as suspicious and then is ostracized. So, though Jessie enjoyed her time with the lowly noble family and wanted to stay with them, she soon found herself in the clutches of the duke’s household. She believed it would be better to rise in society instead of throwing suspicion on herself by declining.

Now walking down the familiar hallway, the glowing, floating lanterns lighting her steps, she feared what she would have to do next. The duke was a greedy man, and he would stop at nothing to obtain more wealth and power. Knocking on the door, she heard the rustling of papers and then a groan.

“Come in,” the duke said.

Jessie slowly pushed the door open, walked in, and curtsied deep into the floor. The office was the most luxurious room in the house. The duke purposely saw all of his clients, workers, and visitors in this room so that all would believe the duchy to be extremely wealthy. It was only because of Jessie that he furnished his own rooms, the duchess’, and the guest rooms as well as his office. Now that the manor had more funds, he was willing to part with his money in order to make himself appear better.

The room had gold crown molding and an elaborate fireplace. His desk was made out of deep red, mahogany wood, and even the chair had green velvet upholstery to show off his wealth. Velvet was a fabric that only the very rich could afford. Several rugs covered the wood floors. Tapestries also draped down the paneled walls. Everything had an extra touch of pomp and flair. The duke had a lot to prove to everyone who entered and wanted to ensure that people assumed their status was great. Duke Francis worked hard to set up this elaborate ruse so that one day it wouldn’t be a ruse any longer.

“Oh get up. You know you don’t need to do that when it’s just us. It feels too weird when we both know that our wealth is attributed to you. Though, no one would believe it was you,” he said.

Jessie rose from the curtsy and looked blankly over at him. She often pondered over the strange relationship she had with the duke. She knew he respected her, but only behind closed doors. Still, it was jarring to have him give credit to her so blatantly.

“Come over here and take a look at these reports, will you?” Duke Francis asked, looking up from all his papers.

“Yes, your Grace,” Jessie answered, walking briskly over to the desk.

She shuddered under his gaze, for he always looked at her like that, though, thankfully, he had never approached her directly. She felt his hand slither onto her waist and hug her hip, but did her best to ignore the touch and take a small step away in order to put some distance between them.

Looking over the papers, she frowned. “Sir, these numbers don’t match. Who gave them to you?”

“My steward, of course,” Francis replied, annoyed.

“Well, My Grace, I think your steward is stealing money from you. I noticed a slight discrepancy last month as well; however, when you gave me the final results, it ended up matching. This though, this is blatantly a difference.”

His grip on my waist tightened. “What?” he asked, his voice stone cold. “How could this be? I’ve had him for years! He’d never! Are you really going to accuse my steward of thievery?”

Licking her lips, Jessie calmly straightened out and bowed her head. “My lord, I would never lead you astray, nor would I ever accuse someone falsely. I’m sure there is an explanation. However, I would be happy and willing to go through all your finances and see if there truly is anything untoward going on.”

“Yes, you will do that. Right now!” Francis shouted.

He then stood abruptly, grabbing ahold of all the papers on his desk and throwing them onto a table near the fireplace.

“Start going through all of those. I’ll get the other books,” Francis said as he stormed out of the room.

Jessie sighed, but started to pour over the papers. She had to be sure she was right, and prayed to whoever would listen that she hadn’t been wrong. If she falsely accused the steward, her entire life as a maid here would be jeopardized, and she couldn’t have that happen. Not after all she’d gone through already. Francis came back and placed a box of black books at her feet.

“Go through those. I have to go get ready. Be done before the ball tonight. I want an answer of either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, understood?” he said as icily as earlier.

“Understood,” Jessie replied quietly.

She watched the duke leave the room, wondering what she had just gotten herself into. Shaking her head, she then reached down to grab the book on top, and tucked into the work.

It wasn't until a knock on the door jolted Jessie out of her trance that she realized just how much time had passed. She had only gone through half the books, but it was evident that the steward had been siphoning money from the duchy. Jessie felt better knowing that she had concrete proof to back up her suspicions and that she, hopefully, wouldn’t lose her job over it.

The butler popped his head in and only saw Jessie. He cleared his throat and dipped his head ever so slightly.

“Jessie,” Abe said. “We have a guest that His lordship needs to meet. Would you mind fetching some tea for him? Please welcome His Majesty, Prince Oliver of Eteshia.”

Nodding, Jessie faltered slightly as the name reached her ears. The books she was working on fell to the floor in front of her, and her mouth ran dry. Jessie quickly fell into a clumsy curtsy.

“M’lord,” she whispered and immediately ducked her head down after briefly meeting his eyes.

She had just seen the piercing blue eyes of him.