The Original Villainess

CHAPTER 4

I slammed my book shut and stared out the window on my bedroom. It overlooked the gardens. It was very beautiful, but I didn’t care. It’s been almost a week since Doctor Richards left. He said he’d be back with the medicine, but never told me when. If he waits too much longer, it might not work.

A knock on the door sounded, and I shot to my feet. Could it be? I wrenched the door open and my shoulders slumped. Wait. Am I disappointed? Why should I be disappointed?

Dorothy extended a silver tray towards me. “My lady, a letter.”

I eyed the fancy scrawl on the front and a sneer crawled onto my lips. “Burn it.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as I turned to go back into the room. She followed me. “My lady?”

I plopped back down on the window sill. That’s the seventh letter he’s sent since he dumped Brynne. What is going through that tiny brain of his? “I said burn it,” I sighed, leaning my head back against the window pane, eyes zoning out before my vision could take in the flowers outside.

“But…my lady, it’s from the palace…” Dorothy peeked at me as he c****d her head to one side, still holding the tray as the door shut behind her.

“I know exactly who it’s from. I still want you to burn it.”

She said nothing for a long minute. “Yes, my lady.” She lowered the tray, taking the letter, and throwing it into the dying embers of the fireplace.

Another, more urgent knock came, and I bolted to my feet. “I’ll get it!” I exclaimed hurriedly as I made a mad dash to the door, throwing it open. I took a step back in surprise as I saw Zane and Regina gathered. “Um. What’s going on?”

“Brynne!” my mother bawled. Zane narrowed his eyes at me, arms folded across his chest, then looked away in a huff.

What’d I do? I paled and I stumbled backwards a step, one hand coming up to my middle before stopping halfway, and I had to force it back to my side. Did they find out about the baby? No, did Carson say anything? He’s been sending me letters. Did they notice? Maybe he sent one to Mother and Father, telling them ridiculous nonsense. “First, Mother, please calm down. What’s going on?”

Only then did I notice a piece of paper was being crumpled in my mother’s trembling fist, as she held it out to me. I gently unfolded her fingers and smoothed the paper so I could read it.

“‘House Langly would like to offer a…marriage proposal? To House Sumner?’ What? What is this?” I scoffed. I shook my head as I met my brother’s eyes. This has got to be a joke. Who does House Langly want to marry from our family? Zane? But House Langly doesn’t even have daughters. Maybe it’s a distant cousin trying to pass themselves off as the real deal. “What’s this nonsense? You and who? A ten year old twelfth cousin related by marriage on Duke Langly’s maternal uncle’s side?

“Keep reading,” Zane suggested, voice terse, glowering eyes narrowing at me.

My eyes found where I left off. “‘Between Duke Levi Langly and Lady Brynne Sumner!’ What is this?” I screeched, dropping the letter as if it were on fire. I clapped a hand over my mouth. Oh, my god. I did this to myself. I did it! I jinxed myself! I spoke the words aloud to someone. Even if it was a lie, I said them. This is a novel. How could I forget? This world relies on the laws of the universe! The laws of the universe state that if someone vocalizes bad luck, then that bad luck will happen! I made a glib remark about being in love with the duke, just to get Doctor Richards off my back, and now!

I felt the blood in my face run down, and I stumbled, clutching at my mother’s dress. “What…what is this? What happened? Why…why would he do this?”

“You don’t know?” Zane asked, surprise lining his tone as his eyes widened, and his arms relaxed slightly.

“I’ve never met the man! I mean, I think I saw him once! At the debutante ball, maybe? I don’t remember! I’ve never talked to him, never met him, I barely even remember his name!”

“My baby!” my mother blubbered. “My baby is getting married!”

Says who? I snarled in my head.

“Mother, you can’t let her marry him! We have no idea what that recluse is like!”

“What’s all this commotion?”

I opened the door a little farther and poked my head out to see my father coming down the hall, limping carefully with his cane at his side, relief swelling in my chest. Yes. He will put a stop to this nonsense. “Hello, Father. How are you feeling?”

“I’d be feeling better, if there wasn’t such a commotion right outside my bedroom. What is going on here?”

Zane cleared his throat, arms still folded across his chest. “Perhaps this would be better talked about in the sitting room.” He gestured to me with a quick nod of his head as he pulled Regina away. Father hobbled behind them.

I stooped to pick up the letter I had dropped, and followed my family down the stairs to the sitting room. Once my father ordered tea to be served, he looked at me expectantly, and I handed him the letter. “This arrived today, Father. Mother and Zane were merely discussing the contents.”

He opened the paper and read it. Afterwards, he calmly folded it back up and set it on the coffee table in front of him. “So. Duke Langly has offered a marriage proposal to Brynne. What do you think, my dear?” he asked, looking at Regina.

Tears fell freely down her cheeks. “There will never be a better match!” she insisted, pumping a fist in the air. “Someone with such breeding and skill and ancestry and–”

“Mother, sister said so herself that she’s never met him,” Zane interrupted. “How can I send her off to someone she doesn’t know? No! If he wants to marry her, he has to meet with us first, and then prove to us that he’s worthy of her!”

I rubbed my temples. While I appreciate the thought, dear brother, it’s not that simple. In this world, if a man wants to marry a woman, all he needs is her father’s permission. Brynne is lucky her father loves her before he loves the family name, but with the power our house holds, I wouldn't be surprised if he, too, thought there was no one better than the duke to match his daughter with. According to the novel, both Duke Langly and Prince Carson were the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom. Of course, the prince is a bastard and womanizer, and in the end, ends up marrying Lily. But I don’t think it mentioned if the duke got married at all. Levi Langly and Carson were never on good terms, but they didn’t hate each other enough to become enemies. House Langly was supposed to support the throne, no matter who was on it. But Carson is impossible to support as an ally, so House Langly decided at the end of the story to become independent from the royal family.

Technically, they committed treason, but since Carson was able to soak up the power from House Sumner after Brynne’s death, he didn’t fear Langly trying to take the throne, and granted them independence. In the end, Duke Langly was basically their king. They intervened only in political decisions that also covered the duchy. Any other policies were decided on by the crown prince and the other nobles. Levi was barely mentioned by name once the duchy gained independence, so he was a pretty minor character, overall.

“I see.”

I glanced at my father. His features showed neither disgust nor joy at the news.

“Brynne?”

“Yes, Father?”

“What do you think about marrying Duke Langly? He is considered the most eligible bachelor, second only to the crown prince. He would make quite the catch for a daughter of any house. What are your thoughts on him?”

I tapped my chin. “Hmm.” While mother is not wrong, I would much rather prefer being sent to the countryside to give birth in secret. But if I absolutely had to get married to someone I do not love, then there would be no better match than Duke Langly. He’s just as powerful, if not more so, than Carson. So even if, for some reason, Carson changed his mind about Brynne—though I highly doubt that will ever happen—Levi Langly will be powerful enough to not have to hand me over. That is, if he’s even interested in not handing me over.

But my biggest question is, what happened? Did Doctor Richards somehow talk him into this? Does he know I’m pregnant? Is he aware of what he’s getting himself into? Doctor Richards also mentioned finding someone who needs an heir, but doesn’t care about having his own. Why wouldn’t the duke want one of his own? Is he impotent? Gay? Are people gay in this world? They seem to have their own lives outside of what the novel described, so it’s possible some are secretly gay. Maybe he just needs a wife and kid to make it look like he’s got a happy marriage. In that case, he probably won’t expect much of me. I’d still be able to leave the manor and even visit my family.

I c****d my head, closing my eyes hard in thought. Mother is right. His breeding makes him the best candidate, and if Doctor Richards did actually speak to him, then he’s aware of my condition, and is agreeing to it. But Zane is also right. It doesn’t matter what Doctor Richards thinks of him; I still don’t know anything about him. If the duke is really willing to marry me, despite being pregnant with another man’s baby, then he can’t be a terrible man, but if he tries to lock me up like most men in this world, then there’s no point in marrying him.

I sighed. “It’s difficult to say,” I admitted, vocalizing my thoughts, so my family would not continue to stare at me in awkward silence. “Mother is right—there is no better man in the kingdom. Not even a proposal from the crown prince could change that.” I glanced at them in turn, and saw them exchanging nervous looks with each other. “Not that I want a proposal from the crown prince,” I added hurriedly, waving my hands frantically. “But Zane is also right, Father. I know nothing about him. I’m not even sure what he looks like, past the sketches in the papers, or even what age he is, what kind of personality he has. What if I agree to marry him, and then he never allows me to see you again?” I chose my words carefully, trying not to touch on the idiotic law that basically stated women were nothing more than possessions of the men in their lives. “It would break my heart. You’re my family, and I love you very much, and if I couldn’t visit you occasionally–especially with your health beginning to decline–then I’d rather be an old maid than marry him.” I tucked my arm around his elbow and laid a cheek on his shoulder.

“I love you very much, Father, and I know you probably want to see me married to a decent man with decent breeding. But is breeding everything? What if he turns out to be a monster? You wouldn’t want to send your precious daughter off to a man who might actually kill her one day, would you? Shouldn’t we at least meet him first, before making up our minds?”

“I’m sorry,” Mother said, getting up and coming over to sit by me. She patted my back softly. “I understand where you’re coming from. I was just so excited about the proposal, that I didn’t think that he might make you very miserable. I was very lucky with your father, but I know not every noble has that chance to be happy. You are our precious daughter,” she added, giving me a hug, and a warmth I hadn’t felt in a very long time, seeped into my heart. “I want what’s best for you, but I sometimes forget that your happiness is not always caused by the same things that make me happy.”

“Very true,” Zane agreed from where he sat, nodding along. “And you are my precious little sister. If any man wants to marry you, he has to meet my expectations first.”

I rolled my eyes. “Zane, please do not challenge him to a duel. I’ve heard rumors that he’s actually quite on par with you, when it comes to handling a sword, and, well, I’d rather not lose my favorite brother before I get married.”

“I’m your only brother,” he pouted.

“All the more reason for you to be my favorite,” I teased, blowing him a kiss. “You can investigate him, if it makes you feel better, but do know I’m still probably going to say yes, depending on what he looks like.”

Zane glowered at me, and I laughed.

“I’m messing with you, my dear brother,” I said, getting up from my spot next to my father, and going over to the other sofa to hug him. I kissed the top of his head. “Thank you, for looking after me my whole life, Zane. But have you ever stopped to think that treating me like this would actually make it difficult on me as an adult?”

“Difficult, how?”

I looked at my parents and sighed. “I know very little about the world. How it works, and such. That’s why I was so obsessed with the crown prince for two and a half years. I mean, he’s nice to me once, and I fall in love with him? It’s because I have no experience with the world. It’s because you’ve sheltered me and spoiled me for so long, I-I didn’t stop to think that my relationship with Prince Carson was…I don’t know. Wrong. Because you guys have always given me the love I wanted, I thought everyone would want to treat me like I was special. But no one ever told me that the world doesn’t work like that.”

I sniffed, trying to wipe away a tear without them noticing. “I love you guys so much,” I promised, squeezing my brother tightly, and I knew I wasn’t lying. Whatever pain Carson caused Brynne, it did not compare to the love swelling in my heart for the people sitting on the couch with me in that moment. “I do. But your way of protecting me has actually damaged my prospective future opportunities. I will probably end up marrying Duke Langly. Not because I want to, but because he’s the best option, as you said, Mother. If I were to turn down a proposal from the Duke Langly, I can’t imagine ever receiving another proposal in my life. And while I do not actually care about getting married, I do know how important it is to our family that I at least marry someone with good standing, so if no one else in this kingdom can marry me after I say no to Duke Langly, you’ll have to ship me off to another kingdom.”

I kissed Zane’s cheek. “And I don’t want that,” I admitted, voice cracking. “I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t see you, my family.”

But also, I’ll be giving birth to a baby of unknown origins, and people in this world don’t take kindly to single mothers.

“I understand,” my father said, using his cane to push himself to his feet. He clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled kindly at me. “I will send a message to his estate in the capital today, requesting a meeting. You two will have a chance to talk it through. But Brynne…even if you don’t want to marry him, just let me know. If you think it’ll be too hard to live with him, I will do everything in my power, as your father, to make sure it does not ruin your reputation. So just so what makes you happy.”

You hear that, Brynne? Your family loves you. I only hope you got to realize it before I took over your body.

Actually, now that I think about it, why did I take over? I don’t recall dying in my world, but Brynne also didn’t die, so I’m not sure what happened to her, either. Did she switch bodies with me somehow? Is she in my world, with my siblings? Does she know now what love actually is? If she with those brats, they for sure would show her real love, unlike Carson.

Ah. I miss them so much.

I brushed away another tear as I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. “Thank you, Father,” I murmured as my arms flew around his neck, pressing a kiss to his withering cheek. “I love you.”

One hand pressed against the small of my back, holding me to him firmly. But even then, I could feel his fingers trembling as they touched me. His voice was low and thick as he embraced me. “I love you, too, my dear.”

~ ~ ~

I woke up to my bedroom door slamming open, and Dorothy yanking my covers off of me, squealing. “My lady!”

I groaned, curling into myself to keep warm. “Five more minutes.”

“No more minutes! Up, up, up! I’m drawing your bath now! You have no time!”

No time for what? I wanted to ask, but the next thing I knew, Dorothy was pulling me into a sitting position and yanking my nightgown over my head. “I thought you were drawing the bath,” I grumbled.

“I already did, my lady! You fell right back asleep!” She tugged at my arm. “Time to wake up!”

“Why?” I whined as she guided me into the bathroom, my feet stumbling over various invisible things. I shook my shoulders, letting my arms dangle back and forth as sleep begged to return. “It’s still dark outside!”

“Because Duke Langly is visiting today!”

My eyes snapped open, and I spun on my heel, no longer tired. “What? Since when?”

“The viscount got a letter from the duke’s estate last night, after you went to bed. He only told me this morning that the duke would be visiting for lunch today, so I had to make sure you were all proper and ready to receive him! Now get in the tub!”

“But it’s still dark outside!” I protested, even as her small hands shoved me down the steps into the tub. “Can’t we start primping me after breakfast?”

“Breakfast?” Dorothy yelped. “You have no time for that! Girls!”

The bathroom door opened again, and several more maids that I was only vaguely familiar with, entered.

“You’re going to starve me?” I gaped, only half-joking.

“It’s one meal, my lady. You won’t starve. Attack!” Dorothy commanded, and all the maids verged on me, cornering me in the large tub. “Leave no hair untreated! Every pore must be perfect!”

He’s already proposed! I wanted to scream, but too many people were tugging at various parts of my body, making sure I shone. Surely that has to count for something!

Dorothy smiled smugly down at me as I glared in her direction, even as the last of the maids retreated to the bathroom. She held out a fluffy towel and a robe, and I crawled out of the tub, every muscle aching.

“Can I take a nap, at least?” I begged, my withered soul seeping from my pores. “I had no idea getting pampered could be exhausting.”

“Maybe just close your eyes while we do your hair and makeup,” she said, wrapping me up in the robe. “Come, my lady. We still have much work to do!”

What else? I wanted to cry out in frustration. How many hours does it take to get dressed for a simple lunch? How do people live like this?