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Chapter 43
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The ballroom was bustling with activity. Elegant women in dazzling gowns milled around the ballroom, their jewels and hair pins sparkling in the evening light. The wooden card tables filled a corner of the ballroom and were full of Oliver's friends laughing, joking and sipping claret.
Milo stood watching the gambling action, leaning against an ornate statue, almost as if he knew of nothing else to do with himself. His dark brown eyes followed the highs and lows excitedly despite the low stakes. Milo was under his own pressures, by lining up Oliver to furnish the Gilded Falcon’s pockets he was now due to produce the goods. If Oliver did something foolish such as kill himself the club would be the losers. It was a balancing act of pressure, threat, and reassurance that he enjoyed walking. The thought that Oliver was on a knife edge towards ruin made his eyes gleam in a similarly cruel light.<
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Athena wandered back into the party in a daze. Rather than trying to put on her social face and join in with the laughter and jokes she wandered to the sash windows at the edge of the ballroom. The huge windows reminded her of the library, where she had placed her hands on the glass whilst Felix embraced her. Tears stung and she rebuked herself for being so emotional. This was not the time. Escape seemed impossible. Would sacrificing three years of her life for a secure future truly be that terrible? Deep down she knew it was impossible. She may have given away her virtue to Felix willingly, but her pride remained intact. Hugging one arm around her waist she looked out into the open countryside in balmy, late summer dusk, and idly wondered how much effort it would be to just saddle Tempest and vanish. The weasel faced man who had
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Halfway through the ballers, in-between trays of drinks, Mrs Clarke had finally cornered Sophie. Her prim little black bonnet bouncing as she spoke would have been comical had the news not been so devastating. “My dear, you know you cannot stay here much longer.” “What is the matter?” “Do not make me spell it out, your bump is starting to protrude and your apron will no longer hide it in a few weeks. You need to leave. Soon.” Unable to find Lily to ask her advice Sophie had instead hidden herself away on the fourth floor, the servants' sleeping quarters for a few hours. The period of nausea and lack of appetite had now finished but now she craved food and milk to feed her growing child. When she could forget
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Barely having time to turn around on the slim wooden steps to see him. As he rushed up the stairs to meet her his dark eyes glinted dangerously and his face was flushed with emotion. His huge body seemed to take up all the space and light within the servant's passage. Without a word he took the brandy bottle from her with one hand, deftly placing it on a small ledge whilst the other hand wrapped around her delicate waist. Drawing her to him hungrily he wordlessly pressed his lips to hers. The oil lamp dropped to the floor as Athena flung her arms around his broad shoulders, his lips glued to hers, his tongue gently seeking hers. She ran her hands through his hair pulling him to her. All sense had flown from her mind. As the oil lamp started to flicker she quickly
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The entire room, including Sophie were easily able to decipher the unsubtle reference. A Baron with Live and Fair in the name, there was no doubt it was Oliver Fairfax. The veiled reference to Gilded Falcon. Henry paled in shock at Octavia who merely played the meek fool. Both Felix and Oliver flushed red in anger, for once united in outrage at such an indelicate public shaming. Lord’s Dacre and McDonald looked at their wives with concern on their greying, tired faces. The only person who did not appear shocked was Milo, who cheerfully waved a half-eaten bit of toast back towards Oliver in mockery. Octavia gracefully stood up from her armchair and walked towards a livid Oliver, delicately she produced a small white envelope. "Apologies, this is
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After Oliver swiftly left the room, crushing the letter in his hand Felix gave a knowing look to Lord’s Dacre and McDonald. Whilst Oliver had headed outside followed by his guests like hens to the window, the gentlemen followed Felix and quietly left the large dining room by a side door, heading down a corridor until they came to the grand foyer's staircase. Milo joined them, ignoring the haughty looks given to him by the Lords. “Where to?” he asked, ignoring introductions and polite conventions. “My study, third floor,” Felix replied briskly and in silence, they trudged upstairs. He opened the door and offered the Lords the leather sofa near his desk. Milo declined a chair, preferring to lean against the bright sash window pane with his arms folded. As Felix took his place at the head of the desk, his heart raced with worry abou
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Athena ventured downstairs after breakfast had finished, seeking to avoid the chattering guests. Dressed in a light blue gown she rarely wore, it gave her a paler, less healthy appearance than normal. She soon spotted Lady Louisa talking urgently with Lord McDonald in a quiet corner. His hard face visibly softened as he listened to her speaking, at one point giving her hand a gentle press of reassurance. They appeared completely unaware of the rest of the world and she felt a pang of both happiness and envy for the situation. Letting out a quiet sigh Athena, Athena diverted her walk away from the couple and headed to the gardens, looking out onto the lake. Everywhere Athena turned people seemed to be in furtive discussion. Pockets of intrigue were dotted about the grounds, Lady Octavia seemed to be holding a full audience,
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"What is going on here?" Craig boomed as he charged into the room, quickly surveying the scene. Before him stood a red-faced Oliver. His dark eyes glowered with desperation, frozen in place as he stood with one arm raised over the cowering servant girl. A shock of blonde curls and tearful blue eyes stared up at Craig in relief. "Mr Thornfield!" she squeaked and pushed herself along the floor nearer to him. One cheek looked painfully red where he had struck her. "Turn around right now or I will have you thrown out," Oliver muttered darkly. "You can certainly try," he growled, ignoring his threat as he bent down to assist Sophie to her feet. The bed was unmade, and a vase of flowers spilt across the floor. Sophie instinctively hid behind the huge frame of Cra
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The next three weeks saw very little activity at Fairfax Manor. The fallout from the dramatic party was inevitably the talk of the town. Milo Westerby had kept his honour and kept the gambling talk out of the papers, but it was impossible to prevent the other aspects of Oliver’s life from becoming common knowledge. “Not so Barren Baron,” the headlines teased. It mockingly reported how he had successfully sired two children, and a typo on nuptials to “Luptials” was enough of a hint for anyone in their well-bred circles to understand. Octavia’s engagement had come to an unceremonious end, and she was now bunkered at Haddon Hall waiting for the gossip to blow over. Servants were approached by visiting writers asking for their experiences of Octavia’s virtue and behaviour. Had she been a pleasant employer they might perhaps hav
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“You don’t think there is enough there to make with work with Octavia then?” “There isn’t, but to turn back now would condemn us both.” “What changed?” “You did. I saw how happy you were in the hotel the other week and I realised I am never going to experience love like that. My life is a sham. Octavia is a sham.” “Is there a chance that in time love will grow or are you fundamentally different people? For my part I thought you two would prove a good match in time,” Felix offered in consolation, trying not to provoke Oliver into anger but eager to learn the truth.” Oliver sighed and continued to stare at the ceiling, his dark eyes glittering with the threat of tears. “I treat her poorly on our engagement meeting. Bit too rough with her if I am to confess and it has ruined any…possibility of future relations.” “Have you apologised?” “No.” “That might be all it takes. When there is no apology, the heart hardens. But it ca
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The wedding day finally arrived. A riot of colouring flowers greeted guests as they arrived at Hadden Hall, once again admiring Athena and Craig’s garden redesign. Re-treading the same driveway she had left less than a year earlier Athena was stunned at the transformation of her life. Prickly, quiet, and somewhat lonely, now metamorphized into a kaleidoscope of joy from which she saw no end in sight. With her husband, still a foreign word upon her tongue to describe the man she gazed at so adoringly across the room, she had found herself. His touch, gentle and rough caresses had unlocked parts of her soul that she hadn’t even realised were hidden. Every night they came together in an exploration of varying power, teases, and softness. She was surprised to find how much she enjoyed overseeing Felix’s pleasure, how readily he submitted to being tantalised by her. Her body, no longer a practical skeleton design to move earth and plant flowers could be a device for both
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The evenings darkness had enclosed London's streets as Oliver travelled towards his destiny with ever increasing anger. Bouncing along the cobbles his mind tortured him with all his errors. The loss of Lady Daphne as a potential love, his upcoming marriage to a woman be did not love. Overarching all of these was a wild jealousy of Felix and Athena. Their easy way with each other and the transformation in Felix was unbelievable. Finally carriage pulled up around the corner. Oliver threw some gold coins at the carriageman, requesting he wait outside. As he walked towards the casino his resolve melted away. Stood outside the nondescript building he was baffled as to why the place had held such a hold over him. Why had this standard columned building haunted his dreams and pulled at his sanity. He knew inside was a bar, a ledger with his fat credit line ready to play and a bar stocked with enough alcohol to drown out the misery. This time winning money wouldn't s
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Oliver had regained his old swagger as he zipped around London with Octavia in the final week before the wedding. There were balls to attend, gentlemens clubs to smoke cigars in, too many functions to name. He was surprised just how well Octavias scheme had worked. As soon as the announcement hit the formal papers, not just the gossip rags all the invitations came flooding in. Hidden Hall was going to be overrun with the nations best, brights and richest young lights with him at the centre. He had left Octavia back at the hotel with her sour faced mother after an early dinner. She had seen through the match but prudently kept her mouth shut. Annoyingly Octvaia remained reverted to some kind of virgin state since their encounter at the bridge. Late at night, after several claret glasses he did occasionally replay that moment
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At Fairfax Manor life had continued steadily, it had been almost three months since they got married, two months since Athena and Felix’s shock marriage and the summer was now at an end. Craig was busy ensuring the manor was fully prepared for winter winds and storms, checking supplies for the skeleton staff that manned the manor in Felix’s absence. He was also responsible for ensuring standards did not slip alongside Mrs Clarke. Thankfully the small teams of people on site were all dedicated to preserving the great hall and all rejoiced in seeing the owner happy again.Athena wrote frequent letters to both Lily and Craig separately, each one dealing with matters of business, finance and matters of the heart to the other. With Craig’s tuition Lily had become adept at reading and writing, improving from a basic knowledge to literate in just a few short months. Sophie was no
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He spent a few more minutes wandering back up to where the horses were, his mind racing with a strange mix of fear and excitement. Weaving his way back through the glade path he heard the noise of the waterfall once more.“Felix…” came a sultry, low call that made him almost trip over the overhanging tree roots. The temperature dropped noticeably once out of the midday sun, the cool shady air was delicious. He realised he was sweating and damp from his searching after her. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks. In the small lagoon, the water at waist height, wearing nothing but a small smile stood Athena, her curling, chocolate-brown hair completely free and hanging down past her rib cage. Her eyes sparkled with victorious happiness as she registered the surprise on his face.“Athena…what are you…&r
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The following weeks in Naples seemed to pass by in a dizzying blur of tours, palaces, churches, and sightseeing. Athena drew almost every day, delighting in the colours and shape of the architecture whilst Felix happily studied the engineering behind the buildings. They could spend entire afternoons quietly in each other’s presence, each happily absorbed in their own pursuits with the occasional glance and smile towards the other. Every so often whilst Athena was at her easel, he would softly approach, tuck away a stray hair and kiss her bare neck causing a shudder of pleasure to rush through her. She did not know that it was taking all his self-possession not to grab her and pull her to him greedily as he did as soon as they were alone. The way her green eyes sparkled and surveyed the world around her captivated him, she was a G
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Deep in one of the groves of the Haddon Hall estate, Oliver paced in an agitated state. The days since Octavia’s letter had dragged and he was eager to know her grand plan. He was also keen to be intimate with her, certain she would want to be, given that she had no qualms at his party. He had a weakness for pale blue eyes as Claudette and Sophie could attest but Octavia’s were unique. The iciness to them never seemed to fade, even in the throes of passion she appeared to be calculating her next move like a boa constrictor whereas he was a man of pure instinct. The fact those instincts had almost left him bankrupt and homeless he did not consider flaws in his character. Finally a gentle pattering of feet amongst the fall leaves alerted him to her presence. She was wearing a fine, lace covered day dress of cornflower blue, her cle
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The hotel was the grandest money could buy. A royal suite had been arranged and every other room on the floor too to ensure absolute privacy. Felix wanted to avoid snooping guests or waiting staff and paid handsomely to avoid being troubled. They arrived via a back entrance, the day had only just passed midday and Athena realised she was faint with hunger. Felix recognised her pale look and immediately requested one of the other suites he booked be prepared for dining. Feeling like a boat caught up the crest of a wave she watched all of these events as a bemused onlooker. In only five minutes she had been exposed to the true grandeur of Felixs wealth. Just in the suites he had spent more money than Athena had ever earned with her contract. The yacht he had charted was eye-wateringly expensive and now she was part of tha
