The Duke's Daughter -Wattys2014 Collector's Dream Award Winner-

Chapter Thirty Four

Complete and utter chaos met Carmelita as she stepped into her ladyship's bedroom. Everything but the massive four poster had been overturned, and broken glass hidden in clothing and clutter, littered the floor.

Her ladyship stood out on the balcony, her hands gripping the railing, her body shaking with her emotion, and her hair strewn wildly about her. She looked like a witch, or a woman possessed.

"My lady." Carmelita ventured.

Her ladyship turned, her fierce green eyes bore into Carmelita's.

"You!" She accused, her eyes squinting into a glare. "You run the house, you know all that happens. What is he planning? What is happening?" She crossed the room, with no mind to the broken glass that cut her feet, leaving bloody foot steps behind her.

"I know not, my lady." Carmelita answered, keeping her composure as best as she was able.

"Well, something is stirring, would you not agree? I can feel it in the air, smell it on the breeze. I can hear it in every bloody lie he tells!"

"Yes, my lady." Her ladyship's attention focused once more on Carmelita.

"You will inform me personally of everything that transpires in this house. Is that understood? I will not let him succeed a second time."

Carmelita stood puzzled, what could her ladyship do? She was just as much a prisoner as any one of the slaves. Mayhap even more so, for though she was kept in lavish rooms, she was not allowed to leave them. What harm could it do to keep her informed about the activity in the house?

"If I keep you informed, will you allow me to tend to your feet and have your rooms cleaned? It will not go well for any of us should his lordship find you in such a state."

Her ladyship looked down and saw the blood puddling round her feet and a frown crossed her brow. The fire left her eyes and they were a tired shade of green now. She covered a yawn and made her way to the large bed, Carmelita moved to the door and pulled it open. Eliza stood waiting with the toddy. Carmelita reached for it and smiled at the girl. "You may clean the chambers now."

"Yes, ma'am."

Carmelita called for one of the slaves and a young boy appeared quickly. She sent him for salve and strips of linen with which to treat her ladyship's feet. Then she moved back into the room and handed the toddy to her ladyship.

"Thank you." She mumbled after she drained the glass. She was reclined against the plush pillows, her eyes half closed already.

"Yes, my lady." Carmelita began to remove the pieces of glass from one foot and then the other. She then cleaned away the blood and determined that the wounds would not require stitching. A knock sounded at the door and Carmelita looked to Eliza. The girl nodded and retrieved the medical supplies from the slave boy.

Carmelita applied the salve, her ladyship winced at first, but then relaxed once more. As Carmelita tied the last bandage in place, her ladyship sat up, and grabbed her wrist.

"You promised."

"Yes, my lady." Carmelita assured her in a soothing voice.

The woman released her hold and fell back on the bed. She was asleep in seconds. Carmelita, once more, looked to Eliza. The two women nodded to each other and Carmelita left the chambers to return to her usual duties.

*****

Four days had passed in relative quiet for Arianna. There had been no further attempts upon the cabin door and she had seen neither hide nor hair of the Admiral. Perhaps he had forgotten about her. She laughed at the thought. She was the entire reason this ship was set on it's current destination in the first place.

Arianna sat in the window seat, the sun warm on her back. She tossed the knife in her hands, catching it by the handle every time. Her skill with the blade, the familiarity of it's weight in her hands, was becoming more comfortable with each toss in the air and each throw at the opposite wall. The wall across from her bore scars from where the blade had stuck. Most were in the vicinity of the knots in the grain of the wood, some were far off, but none were centered directly inside the knots. Her arm had been extremely sore the first night she had practiced with the blade, she had to force herself to begin again the following morning. The next night and morning had only been slightly easier. But yesterday and today had felt wonderful. Granted, it was not much physical activity, but it was more than she had done since the shopping adventure in New York. A memory from that day flitted through her mind and Arianna found herself laughing aloud.

Mentally she saw Alejandro, after the ladies had led the men into a milliner's shop, as he had searched out the most gaudy bonnet he had been able to find and tried it on. The hat had been truly horrible; with large fake flowers, tiny fake bees on wire, and a variety of colored feathers all placed in a misshapen way. Alejandro had many ladies laughing, as he praised the hat and batted his long eye lashes at every woman he encountered, on his round about the store. The milliner herself had not looked pleased, until he had purchased the hat at double it's asking price, to keep peace between the local women, he had claimed, for, in his opinion, the girl who would have owned it, would have been the envy of the town. Money in hand, the milliner had finally joined in on the humor.

Arianna was saddened that those moments might never happen in her presence again. She had grown quite fond of the Spaniard and his captain. His captain.. Derek. Her favorite part of the memory had been Derek's embarrassment over his first mate's actions. He had stood near the door of the shop, his arms folded over his chest and a scowl prominent upon his features, until Arianna had draped a lace shawl over his shoulders. He had whipped the shawl off, as if it contained a disease, and had attempted to toss his scowl Arianna's way. A smile had broken over his face, and he had watched, as her mirth had her holding her sides and wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

The memory faded and Arianna felt more alone than she ever had before. She did have Thomas, but as much as a savior as he was, the easy friendship she shared with the captain and first mate of the Green Eyed Lady, just was not there. Arianna sighed and retrieved the blade once more.

She tossed it in the air, catching it by the handle, and then tossed it towards a mark on the wall. It struck the mark, with the handle, and fell to the floor. She rolled her eyes and retrieved the blade. It seemed as if she had just had a lucky bout this morn, for now none of her throws had gone as she had planned them.

Three knocks sounded at the cabin door and Arianna moved to pull it open.

"Thomas, I have been thinking..." She stopped, for 'twas not Thomas that stood before her, but the Admiral.

"Good evening, Lady Kent. I too have been thinking and.."

Arianna slammed the door shut and attempted to slide the latch, but a hard shove from the other side pushed her back. She launched herself at it once more, but the Admiral's boot was just inside the door jam.

"I was going to be lenient with you, you little whore, but not now. Open this door!"

Arianna slid down the door, placing her back to it, and braced her feet against the washstand, praying it was too heavy to slide across the floor.

"I said, open this door!"

Arianna looked down and remembered the knife in her hand. Her eyes darted to the toe of the Admiral's boot. The washstand gave an inch and an evil laugh met her ears through the open door.

"Save yourself from further punishment and... Ahh!"

Arianna stared wide eyed at the knife that stuck straight up from the Admiral's foot. Hadn't it just been in her hand?

The Admiral's boot removed itself from the doors path, and Arianna's weight settled the door into it's resting place. She reached above her, not yet willing to remove her weight from it, and slid the latch.

Arianna drew in a deep breath and stood from the floor, as the Admiral cursed her from the other side. She stepped to the nightstand and retrieved the pistol. She trained it at the door and waited.

"You will pay for this, you bloody bitch! Twice now you have drawn blood!"

"Aye, and the third will be this bullet in your chest should you assault me again, knave!"

"I will go, but this is not over, Lady Kent. Before you are delivered to his lordship I will have you."

"Nay, Admiral, before you lay a hand on my body, I will watch your blood pool at my feet. You have been warned twice, the next time I will take your life."

Uproarious hateful laughter met her ears and she wondered what she had just done. "You should not make threats you can not see through, bitch. I will not be gentle when I plow that white belly of yours."

"Be gentle with this, Admiral." Arianna pulled the trigger and shot through the door.

Laughter met her ears once more. "Your aim is off, wench. Perhaps you should practice before you attempt to shoot me again."

Boots could be heard running towards the cabin. The Admiral was carried away by crewmen to have his foot tended. Thomas knocked upon the door.

"The hallway is clear now, will you open the door?"

His eye was pressed to the bullet hole, peering in at her. Arianna undid the latch and let him in.

As Thomas stepped into the cabin, his gaze travelled the length of her body. "Are you whole, my lady?"

"Aye," Arianna replied as she finally set down the pistol, "Twas not I that was injured."

"Aye, I noticed. His foot?"

"Aye, he stuck it in the door."

Thomas shook his head. "Why did you open the door, my lady?"

Arianna's brow knit. "He knocked thrice upon it, as you said you would. From now on, I will require verbal confirmation."

Thomas smiled, "Aye, I don't even believe I have knocked since I told you that. Alright, verbal confirmation it will be."

"I'm sorry I lost your blade, Thomas. I highly doubt you will simply be able to ask for it back."

He laughed, "I will take the utmost pleasure in asking for it back, in the meantime, here is another should you need it." He pulled up his pant leg, and unsheathed a blade identical to the one she had stuck in the Admiral's foot, and handed it to her.

Arianna took it, and tossed it once, catching it again by the handle. "Thomas?"

"Aye, my lady?"

"Will you help me to practice throwing it?"

"Aye, my lady. Give it your best shot."
Arianna took aim and threw the knife. It felt to the floor after the handle hit the wall.

"Here," Thomas said as he retrieved the blade. "Use your index finger to aim it like this." He took the knife in his hand and extended his index finger down along the blade. He took aim and threw the knife. It stuck in the wall in the exact center of a ringed knot on the wall.
Arianna retrieved the knife and did as he instructed. "Relax your shoulders, flick your wrist at the end of your throw and step into it. Watch your target, not your hand."

She threw the knife across the room and it landed six inches to the left of Thomas' knick, but the blade stuck in the wall.

"There you go, now aim is a matter that only practice alone will bring you. As you improve your form, the aim should come easily."

Arianna retrieved and tossed the knife again. This time it stuck only four inches off her target.

"Keep this up, lady, and you might be able to make good on that threat you leveled at the Admiral."

Her third throw was extremely wide, the knife fell to the floor as she spun on Thomas. "You heard that?"

"Aye, lady, you should not push him too far."

"I should not push him? He should not push me, Thomas. Should he not realize by now that I will not surrender my virtue to him without a fight?"

Thomas' expression was serious. "He should, but he won't. He is not a good man to have as an enemy, my lady."

"I have heard all this talk about how evil the Admiral is, yet I see no evidence of it."

Thomas scoffed at her angry reply, "Do you forget the hundred lashes I was to flay across your back?"

"Nay!" She snapped, "But any fool can order another to do a task."

Thomas' shook his head, "Are you truly willing to gamble with your life, lady?"

Arianna's anger dissipated. "Nay, and I will not go searching him out. But should he present himself before me again, I can not promise what I might do."

"Keep caution on your side, lady. Avoid a confrontation at all costs, but defend yourself should you find it necessary."

"My thoughts exactly, Thomas."

"Now, back to that blade.."

****

Three days later, his lordship was returning from the orchards, when his watchman met him in the drive.

"We have sighted a ship, your lordship." The watch slave informed him, as he dismounted his horse.

His lordship handed the reigns over to the stable master. "Good, inform me of her name as soon as it is distinguishable."

"Aye, your lordship."

It will not be long, Lady Kent, before you are Lady Bailey, and my plans will be fulfilled.

A smile graced his face as he entered his home. A smile that he doubted even his incompetent slaves' mistakes could remove.