Taming the Rakes

19

            Lily had been living in the Royal City for almost two months now, and she was getting quite used to working for the High Crowned Princess in the last weeks of her pregnancy; Lily enjoyed meeting the other ladies of the court, making friends with them and gossiping about their husbands (or lovers) together. Amadeus mostly left Lily alone, except the two times they had attempted to conceive a child before and after her bleeding; this was fine with Lily, as he had never again attempted to truly make love to her, their bedroom relations were more of a contract than that of a married couple. Thatcher, however, was her excitement; Amadeus assumed that she was sleeping with the man she had assigned her, and honestly did not question her when he heard her screaming in delight with her lover. Oftentimes, he would be having his own fun with Daniel at the same time, and they would almost compete who could be louder with their lover, which was an unspoken game between them. When Lily would turn up to work with the other ladies of the High Crowned Princess with new bruises, they would giggle and tease her about her near-nightly escapades.

            Lily awoke one morning in the early winter to a note from Thatcher that he would be home visiting his mother and father for the next week, and the young duchess sighed in frustration; however, she knew when he returned that their first meeting would be even more passionate than usual. Lily smiled thinking about this, and rang her bell for Sage to come dress her for the day. To her surprise, Marigold answered her bell, carrying a pale yellow dress, as the High Crowned Princess was depressed with the cold weather, and wanted the ladies dressed in spring-time colors to help lift her mood. “Where is Sage?” Lily asked as Marigold did her hair after dressing her.

            Lily awoke one morning in the early winter to a note from Thatcher that he would be home visiting his mother and father for the next week, and the young duchess sighed in frustration; however, she knew when he returned that their first meeting would be even more passionate than usual. Lily smiled thinking about this, and rang her bell for Sage to come dress her for the day. To her surprise, Marigold answered her bell, carrying a pale yellow dress, as the High Crowned Princess was depressed with the cold weather, and wanted the ladies dressed in spring-time colors to help lift her mood. “Where is Sage?” Lily asked as Marigold did her hair after dressing her.

            “With a…friend…m’lady,” Marigold giggled, looking at Lily through the mirror. “She’s been spending an awful lot of time with him lately,” The maid teased coyly, winking. Lily chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully. “I think she’s a bit jealous of you and Lord Thatcher, to be honest. She’s tired of being alone all the time.”

            Lily nodded in understanding, sighing. “Without Lord Thatcher, I would be lonely as well,” The young duchess sighed again, looking in the mirror. “At least Sage taught you how I like to be taken care of before she leaves me for the married life!” Lily laughed, her face lighting up as she did. Suddenly, Lily felt a wave of sickness wash over her; she grabbed the porcelain pot that she used to wash her face at night, and vomited into it several times.

            “M’lady! Are you all right?” Marigold shrieked in concern. “What do you need? Why am I asking, you need ginger tea and butter biscuits, I will be right back m’lady!” Marigold ran out of the room and was, indeed, back within a few minutes. Marigold handed off the tea, which Lily drank gratefully, and chewed one of the biscuits slowly. “Should I go and get Lord Iscor, m’lady?”

            Lily shook her head quickly, her face slightly panicked. “He thinks I am with that man he chose, the one who cannot have children…Lord Thatcher is not that man…” Marigold put her hand over her mouth in sudden, shocked realization.

            “What are you going to do, m’lady?” Marigold asked quietly, obviously nervous.

            Lily sighed shakily, sipping her tea thoughtfully. “I am going to have to wait, Marigold. Lord Iscor is pale, Lord Thatcher has such beautiful dark skin…this child will show us who their father is when they are ready to make their appearance in this world…”

            Marigold took a breath, her voice shaky with her next statement. “If this child isn’t Lord Iscor’s…you…you know what is going to happen to you, don’t you, m’lady?”

            “Yes,” Lily said flatly. “Yes, I do. I will be shunned, Lord Thatcher could lose his place here in the Royal City, possibly even his title, I will be divorced and disgraced, and I will also be forced to marry Lord Thatcher out of shame."  Lily looked down at her stomach nervously. "Maybe...maybe I will be lucky, and this child will look like me, and no one will be able to tell." The young duchess whispered, more to herself than anything.    

    Marigold stroked her shoulder gently, trying to comfort her lady, but this only caused Lady Liliana to sob, leaning into her young maid as her body trembled with uncontrollable sobs. "Run away," Marigold stated flatly. "I will go with you, we can find somewhere no one knows who you are, and we can live off of your private bank accounts. Lord Iscor can divorce you quietly, saying you left of your own accord, and we can find you a new husband quickly, someone who looks like Lord Thatcher," Marigold hugged Lady Liliana tightly, trying to be brave for her lady.

    Lily took a shakey breath and nodded. "Get ready for it. My bleeding is supposed to start next week, so Lord Iscor will expect an update by then. We must leave before that." 

    With that, Lady Liliana Montgomery made a decision she never thought she would; she would become the downfall of her family, the one who ran from her own life.