To Deceive A Duke

Chapter 15

The walk to Cutler's hall is around half an hour. It would be quicker by horse or by carriage but by going on foot Clarissa has time to think about what she is going to say to the enigmatic Duke of Richmond. To an outsider, the offer he made her is unreasonably generous, it's outrageous in fact. It could comfortably support generations of her family, but it is his nerve to offer the money in the first place that has riled her so. To assume that her integrity is so low that her legacy and inheritance can be bought by a fat check is unforgivable to her pride. 

She stomps along the streets, not really watching where she is going. She is no fool, she knows that Cavendish will never let her or her territory go, but she has to try polite negation before an all-out war is declared. It is the job of the leader to make the important moves despite how assured the outcome is. Her mind wanders from her current predicament to the letter, tucked between some books in her room; the one that Victor gave her from Lord Wellesley. She has kept it but still hasn't opened it. 

"Miss!" A boy around her age runs up to her. She stares at him shrewdly. His clothes tell her that he isn't well off but he looks well kept and fed. He has a black and green badge proudly strapped to his chest, the badge of The S Guard. She vaguely recognises his dark hair and wonky jaw and a name comes to mind.  

"It's Simon right?" She says. He looks a little shocked that she knows his name, a blush spreads over his cheeks as he nods. 

"I take it you have been sent to guard me?" She says, knowing full well that this is Chuck and Peter's overprotectiveness in play. The boy nods. 

"I am to keep close and not to engage unless necessary." He repeats his orders to her and she smiles ruefully. 

"Fine, keep at least 10 meters away and pretend that you don't know me. When I go inside, you will wait outside. If I am not out in 40 minutes then you must come and find me." She instructs, she looks into his eyes and he looks like a stunned rabbit. It's obvious he is new to The S Guard. 

"Do you understand?" 

"Yes miss," He says, trying to appear confident, "I won't let you down." 

"Great." She says and continues walking. It does provide her with some comfort that one of her people is nearby. She takes the town route rather than choosing to walk by the river and by 2:15 she is walking down Swan Street, Cutler's Hall insight. Simon has stuck to her orders and hangs behind her. 

Cutler's Hall is a large red brick building that towers over the rest of the street, it has many windows made of dark glass and above the ground floor windows is a thin strip of brick that has been carved into many figures. Black railings run across the front of the house and flowerboxes of white roses hang from the steel. 

The main door is set under an arch of a darker brick, the words Pour parvenir à bonne foy, are written above the door under a red coat of arms. The door is made out of sandalwood and plated with gold metal, there is no knocker or doorbell in sight, only a heavy doorknob. Clarissa looks over her shoulder, her eyes find Simon lurking by the butchers, he meets her gaze and smiles encouragingly. She can't find the confidence to smile back. She places a hand on the knob and turns it. 

The door swings open. She walks into the porch and shuts out the busyness of the outside world. There is a set of double glass doors that lead into the main house, she opens them and steps into the hall. Her boots make a clacking sound on the checkered tiles. The corridor extends far down and there are many doors that lead to other rooms on the right side. On the left is a cream carpeted gold staircase that goes straight up to a landing and then to another set of stairs. 

 She takes a few steps forward expecting someone to jump on her at any moment but no one seems to be around. She continues down the corridor gazing at all the portraits that hang on the walls. She is fascinated by the amount of history that decorates the hall; maps, landscapes and people. The recent Cutler family portraits are hung side by side going up the stairs, their family tree clearly laid out for everyone to see. She had heard a rumour a few years ago that they had been forcibly removed from their London home by Alderbridge, and moved to their country estate. She wonders how much of that is true.