Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 5

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

"So, does the lady object? I do not plan on taking any other wives or consorts but you."

Annabeth's grey eyes looked a deer caught between hunters and a pack of hunting dogs. Then they changed into expressions of seriousness, and her demeanor became business-like.

"Once a month." She returned a different offer.

To visit the wife's chamber once a month or even less was a common occurrence among the nobility, especially for those married for financial or political reasons. It was just enough to ensure a child would be produced but the husband and wife would be left to their own devices. For some reason, Annabeth's offer irked Percy though he didn't know why. Had it been another woman before him, he would have agreed immediately.

"Once a week."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "Twice a month."

Percy shook his head. He wasn't successful in trading for nothing.

"Once a week," he repeated. "My only condition is to have a heir compared to your many terms. Twice a month might not be enough for a child within the time given."

"You agreed to those though."

"Verbal agreements are nothing if held up under a court of law, but written agreements do." Percy pointed to the draft where they were writing down their terms. "No signatures yet so this document doesn't hold up either."

"You are more shrewd than I thought," Annabeth said. There was a note of disappointment in her voice.

"As I have said, perhaps Lady Annabeth does not know me as well as she thinks."

Did she hope him to be naive? The contract Lady Annabeth did propose had far more benefits than cons. In fact, he could not detect a single negative benefit. Well, except for the fact that she apparently did not want to spend many nights with him. It was quite the opposite from the proposals he'd gotten from other women.

"Pity," she gave him an ironic smile. Her eyes drifted to the ballroom as if gauging her time. 

"You drive a hard bargain. Fine, then. I'll trust your words on the contract. I don't think our nights will be unpleasant, judging by how Your Grace seems." 

Her eyes laughingly scanned his body up and down once. Suddenly, Percy felt conscious of his physique hidden under his black military uniform, which was rather ridiculous since he worked out daily in practices with the Black Knights Order. Every Black Knight was in top form in order to help guard the royal family and the royal city.

"Well, some say it's a matter of skill." Percy returned lightly. "But I don't think it'll be an unpleasant marriage for me either," he heavily hinted.

Although her dress wasn't as low cut in the bosom as some of the other ladies were sporting, Percy could tell from their dancing earlier that her body felt quite nice against his. Not only was Lady Annabeth quite pretty, she was witty and had a great business acumen to boot. Plus, she wasn't opposed to him either.

Beginning to be habituated to his teasing flirtations, Annabeth didn't blush this time. Shame, he rather liked seeing the pink color dust her cheeks.

"Then I'm glad we are both in agreement." Her business-like tone returned. "I accept your terms as well. But you have to write down that you'll be pleasant during these nights on the contract as well."

Percy laughed out loud. She really was surprising, wasn't she?

"Then the contract is complete. I will have two fresh copies made, and we can place our signatures and seals another time." Percy handed the contract draft to his butler.