the lord and the alleycat [COMPLETED]

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

I cringed away from him as he stood up, his anger emanating off him in waves. He began to pace the floor in front of me, blocking the door. My eyes darted between him and the door, judging how quickly I could run out. I had to catch the carriage and get Hailey back, Bennet knew where she was. I wouldn’t let him return her to the Duke. He suddenly turned towards me, and watched my eyes dart to the door, his own widening in realization.

“Oh, Amara,” he started to walk towards me and I backed up against the wall, my heartbeat increasing with each step he took towards me. “I don’t want to send you back to my uncle. I’m mad at him, not you.”

“Really?” My voice shook, and he nodded. I stepped toward him tentatively and he reached a hand out to me that I took lightly. He pulled me into his body, wrapping his arms around me. I gasped in surprise, before lightly returning his hug.

“I won’t let him get you or Hailey,” he whispered in my ear and I relaxed, believing him. I pulled away, smiling up at him.

“Okay,” I answered and Bennet grasped my hand and pulled me from the room.

“I want to show you something,” he said over his shoulder as walked down the stairs, Bennet never letting go of my hand. He brought me to the kitchen and I looked at him unsurprised. “It’s not this, silly.” He flicked my nose and I giggled. He turned to the pantry, and pulled me in with him, closing the door behind us. We were squished up against each other, and the feel in the air was different from the hug. I felt his hot breath on my face, and my hands were on his chest, feeling his increase in heartbeat, matching my own. His hand reached up, and my breath caught, thinking he was going to touch my face. He ended up reaching past me, to the wall, pressing on it. That’s when surprise registered on my face. The back wall of the pantry turned slightly, allowing Bennet to pull it open with his fingers. He let me in first, since the opening was only enough for one person. I stopped right inside the door, my jaw nearly dropping. Bennet placed his hands on my back to scoot me into the room, so he too could come it.

“What do you think?” he smirked at me and I turned to him, my eyes dancing. There were a small set of stairs in front of me that led downward and sitting below that was what looked like a bedroom. It contained two twin beds, a bathroom, and a small kitchen area. “I keep this here in case something happens where I need to hide out.” Bennet pushed me lightly so I would start descending the stairs, and he followed me, bouncing over to the kitchen. “I have enough food in here for a couple days. Granted, it is all packaged food, but good nonetheless.” He pulled open the fridge and cabinets to show me. He turned to me, a big smile on his face, “And now I’m sharing it with you. When the Guardians return, you can hide out here. I will tap on the panel twice, pause, and then three times, to let you know when it is safe to come back out.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, taking in the room. “I don’t know what else to say.”

He stepped over to me, “A thank you is plenty. I care about you, Amara,” he said, brushing a hair from my face, “I don’t want you going back to him.” I blushed under his attention and stepped away to jump on to the bed.

“This is comfortable,” I said, lying on my stomach. I turned over to see Bennet looking at me intensely, and I realized my skirt had ridden up slightly, showing most of my thigh. I quickly pulled it back to a respectable length, but was surprised that I hadn’t felt uncomfortable under his gaze. I stood up, as I saw the tips of Bennet’s ears turn red, seeming embarrassed by his actions. We then took our leave, Bennet pulling the secret door closed before we exited the pantry. At this time, Charlotte was in the kitchen, making lunch. Her eyes widened when we exited the pantry together and she winked at me, causing me to blush. Bennet squeezed my shoulder before leaving me alone with Charlotte.

“So you and him, huh?” she bumped my hip with her own, my face heating up again for the umpteenth time that day.

“No-o,” I stuttered, stirring the pot as Charlotte added some spices. She gave me a knowing look, and I answered more confidently, “Bennet doesn’t like me like that. He just wants what’s best for Hailey and I.”

Charlotte hummed in return, before changing the topic, “I wonder where Iris is, she was supposed to bring me some vegetables from the garden.” I volunteered to go look for her, exiting the house to the backyard. I walked toward the garden, not finding Iris, so I started toward the stable to ask if Arnold or Monroe had seen her.

I stepped into the stable which smelled heavily of dust and horses. I took a moment to pet a horse with the name Betsy who snorted at me before continuing further in. I heard unusual noises from the tack room so I approached it slowly. It had a little window and I peeked in to see Iris and Arnold wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing passionately. I backed away quickly, feeling awful when I tripped over a bucket, landing with a thud on the flood. The tack room door flew open, Arnold looking around before his eyes settling on me. His face flushed and I stood up, brushing hay off myself.

“I won’t tell anyone, I am sorry to disturb you,” I said quickly as Iris stepped out behind him. They both were embarrassed, as was I. “Charlotte was just looking for the vegetables, if you tell me what ones, I can get them for you.”

Iris shook her head, smiling, “It’s alright, we can do it together.” She kissed Arnold on the cheek, and I turned to give them some privacy. I didn’t know either of them that well, but it seemed unusual that they were hiding their relationship. Iris then looped her arm in mine, pulling me out of the stables and to the garden. She retrieved a basket and began pointing out the vegetables Charlotte had asked for.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” I started, pulling a potato from the ground, “why are you hiding your relationship?”

Iris shrugged, “Its more because we don’t want people to make a big deal out of it. Charlotte gets a little excited sometimes.” She laughed and I joined in.

“I understand completely,” I replied, shaking my head.

“She’s been picking on you about Lord Bennet, huh?” she asked and I nodded. She rolled her eyes, “It’s pretty obvious he likes you, I don’t know why she bothers you about it.”

“You think he likes me?” My eyebrows raised.

She straightened and turned to me with a disbelieving look on her face, “You can’t tell?”

“I just thought he was nice,” I said, handing her the few vegetables I picked for her basket.

She laughed again, “He is nice, but especially to you and your sister. He adores the two of you.” I blushed following Iris back into the kitchen, where she deposited the vegetables.

“Finally!” Charlotte said exasperatedly. “What took you so long?” Iris floundered for a second, so I stepped in.

“She was have difficultly pulled up a few of the potatoes,” I said, and Iris looked at me gratefully and Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“Fine, fine. You two chop these up,” she pushed us a couple of the vegetables. Iris and I worked in silence, and I was glad to have another friend in the household. We handed over the cut-up food to Charlotte who finished lunch of soup and sandwiches, to which she distributed throughout the home. Iris went out with a tray for Monroe and Arnold, and I took a plate up to Bennet.

“Hey, I have lunch,” I pushed open his office door to find it empty. My brow furrowed as I saw a note sitting on his desk, addressed to me. I put his plate down and opened the letter, glad my time as a servant-s***h-nanny to the Duke required me to learn to read.

Amara,

I have gone out to run some errands with Marie. I will be back after lunch. Do not worry.

~ Bennet

I was surprised he left me a note personally to tell me he was out. I smiled at how sweet that was, and once I placed the note in my room, returned to the kitchen to eat with Charlotte and Iris. I explained to them that Bennet had left, so I ate the plate we had prepared for him. I joked and laughed with the two girls, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about Hailey. I hoped the Princess took care of her and that she was okay, not missing me as much as I missed her. We were cleaning up the dishes when I heard the front door open and close. Expecting it to me Bennet, I went to the front to greet him, but Marie was the only one there.

“Where’s Bennet?” I asked her, helping her carry in the groceries she had gotten.

She smiled big, “He’ll be back soon, he just wanted me to get the milk in the fridge.”

“Oh,” I answered, slightly disappointed. I chastised myself for becoming so attached to him after only a couple days. I helped Marie put everything away. Once finished, I began to wander the house to find something to do. I passed the playroom at the end of the hall, a twinge of sadness after not seeing Hailey playing in it. There was another door across from the playroom that always was closed. Bennet hadn’t told me to not go in so I pushed open the door. It creaked loudly and I coughed as dust flew into my face. I blinked my eyes quite a bit, before settling on the room in front of me. The room was circular, with many paintings of people on the walls. I focused on one closest to the door and recognized it as one of the past Kings of the country, King Stefan. I perused the rest of the images, walking around the room until my eyes landed on one of the paintings. It stood in the center in the back, and I squinted my eyes at it. It was slightly smaller than the others, and had a plaque underneath it, unlike the rest of the paintings. The man seemed slightly familiar and when I read the plaque I gasped, realizing why it was so familiar.

Prince Bennet James Stefan Nirenberg

Third Son of King Dietrich and Queen Catherine