The Duke's Muse

Chapter One: The Letter

A/N

Hello Guys

This is my third standalone novel. Honestly, when I started writing, I had no idea I would continue to create stories that are close to my heart. Being an avid reader, myself, I believe it is my responsibility to give my readers something they can relate with. It is a simple story of a simple girl who got entangled in a twisted world of greed, deceit and jealousy.

I hope you like this story and give it the same amount of love you bestowed upon my other novels:

• Hidden Agenda of the Devil

• Submitting to my Ruthless Boss

I am again really thankful to you guys for giving my book a chance and for making me realize my dream to be a writer.

Your love encourages me to continue writing and I need your support to finish this book successfully.

Love!!!

Casy OP

Chapter One: THE LETTER

Living in a loving family, Sybil enjoyed a carefree life. At twenty, she considers herself lucky to have great parents, who adore her more than their life, and wonderful friends she can count on. Being the only child of Bill and Maria, all Sybil’s desires are fulfilled, even though her parents have a moderate lifestyle. She learned how to play piano, ride a horse, dance and study.

After completing her graduation, she started working as a librarian. She enjoys her work as a librarian at a local library which is just around the corner from her house. It has been three months since Sybil has been working there, and till date she experienced not even a single complaint and enjoyed reading hundreds of books.

One evening, after finishing the work at the library, Sybil returns home and finds it empty. Her parents usually go out at this hour to the neighbors. She checks the refrigerator for a message and finds her mother’s handwritten note:

“Dear

We are going to Collin’s house. As, you know their daughter Kiara is expecting her first child, so we thought to give them a visit.

If you are hungry, there is some smoked meat and tourtière in the fridge.

Be back in an hour, so do not worry about us.

Love

Mother and Father”

Sybil knows her parents are very responsible people. They do not like it when Sybil worries about them, so they always leave a note before going out. With a sigh, she goes to the kitchen and finds some freshly picked tomatoes in a basket lying on the kitchen table. She picks one tomato and smells the delicious aroma of the fruit. Tonight, instead of eating the frozen food, Sybil decides to cook for her parents. She washes the red tomatoes and finely chops them. Once finished dicing the tomatoes, she starts the burner. As, the juicy tomatoes enter the pan, they start to make a crackling sound. Even the delicious smell of the browned tomatoes fills her nostrils. She adds a few herbs and spices and lets it cook on low medium heat. She is still lost cooking the dish, when a knock on the door grabs her attention. Sybil lowers the flame and runs to the door to open it. From the inside she confirms who is outside and opens the door for the postman. She passes a gentle smile to the old man she calls Tim and asks teasingly, “Whose letter are you delivering at this hour, Tim?”

The man knows the pretty lady from the time she was little. He smiles sincerely and hands out a sealed envelope to her, “I don’t have any idea, sweetheart. It seems the letter was written ages ago. It was set to be delivered today, but due to some urgent work, I could not deliver it in the morning. You can open it, as there is no name mentioned, just the address. But, before opening the letter, please sign here, so I can finish my duty and go to my house.”

Sybil feels sorry to keep the old man waiting, so she hurriedly grabs a pen from the kitchen and signs the paper. After Tim leaves, Sybil gets astonished to find the letter to be anonymous. It just has the address of the house, no sender or recipient name. Weird.

Sybil wonders who might have sent the letter. As it bears no name, she decides to open it. Tearing the top of the envelope, she carefully removes the paper from its casing and unfolds the neatly folded letter. The paper’s texture feels velvety and rich in her hands. It must have come from someone renowned.

She opens the letter and starts to read it quietly with a smile. After crossing the second sentence, her face expressions start changing from bewilderment to surprise, shock and fear. With a gasp, she falls on the floor but continues to hold the paper in her hand, staring at it. Tears start streaming down her cheeks and she keeps on crying for God knows how long.

~~~----~~~~

Mr. and Mrs. Clare return to their house with smiles plastered on their faces. However, the smell of something burning inside the house makes them fidgety. They hurry towards the house and push the door open. When they enter the color drains from their faces. Their daughter Sybil is crying hysterically on the ground while the house is filled with the burning smell. Maria runs hurriedly and falls on the ground next to Sybil. She holds her daughter tightly in her arms and asks in her concerned voice, “What is wrong, my child?”

Bill keeps on staring at his daughter’s slumped shoulders, when Maria gestures for him to run to the kitchen. Maria again returns her attention towards Sybil and repeats her previous words “Tell me Sybil, what happened?” Maria is worried something terrible happened to her daughter that she is crying continuously. From her childhood, both Maria and Bill provided for all her desires. They wanted their daughter to have the best in life, now seeing her so helpless and miserable was squeezing Maria’s heart.

Sybil, too, cannot believe how her life changed so much by just reading a letter. She lifts her watery eyes and places the horrible letter in her mother’s hand. When Maria reads the letter, a gasp escapes her mouth. It says something that Maria and Bill always dreaded.

Dear Clares,

You don’t know me but I know you. Twenty years ago, I left a basket with a child at your doorstep with a hope that you’ll raise my child, as your own. And, I know I made the right decision by endowing the onus of my child on two responsible souls. I am grateful to you for looking after my child and giving her all the love and support. For twenty long years, I kept my identity hidden and even in the future I would like to stay anonymous. I want you to tell my daughter, or more appropriately your daughter that I loved her and love her with all my heart. However, the circumstances and my mistakes did not let me keep her and raise her and that is why I left her at your doorstep. I wanted a normal family and normal life for her away from all the misery and all the pain.

When I learned a family is searching for a child for adoption, I got you people thoroughly researched. Sorry for that. After knowing about you guys, I had no qualms leaving my child with you. I knew she would imbibe the best qualities and become a wonderful person that I could never be.

I hope this letter reaches you and leave the decision on you whether to explain about me to your daughter or not. Again I want to thank you for all the sacrifices you made in raising my baby girl. Thanks.

Tell her not to look for me because these are my last words.

I love her and will always keep her in my heart!