Filed to story: Elowen Hale and Duke Cassian Valebourne Book PDF Free
Vivian, however, remained calm.
“Don’t worry, Mother. She’s still infatuated with His Highness. She always wanted to marry him. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t good enough. So she was forced to accept the King’s decree and marry our cousin instead. Now, if she sees someone who looks like His Highness, how could she possibly resist?”
Marwen glared. “If that’s true, then where’s the proof? No word, no messengers, nothing!”
Vivian pressed her lips together. Truth be told, she was starting to feel a little uneasy herself.
“She’s young,” she said. “And this is her first time. She’s probably being cautious. Maybe she’s even detained our spies…”
“What do we do, then?” Marwen was nearly trembling with frustration. “We’ve been waiting for this moment to catch her red-handed!”
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside. A maid rushed in, face flushed with excitement and nerves.
“My lady! That boy from the other courtyard-he finally left the house. He’s heading for the stables!”
Marwen blinked. “The stables?”
“The stables!” she repeated.
Vivian chuckled. A sly smile tugged at her lips.
“That little girl’s more cautious than I thought,” she murmured. “Hiding him in the stables and sneaking off in the evening for a secret meeting…”
The sky outside was already dark. If the two of them ducked behind some hay or snuck behind the stable wall, no one would notice for quite some time.
Marwen’s face flushed with excitement. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go catch them in the act!” But Vivian caught her by the wrist.
“Not yet.”
Marwen turned, exasperated. “How can we wait? This is the best chance we’ve had!”
“If you go now,” Vivian said smoothly, “they might not have even taken off their clothes yet. Wait just a little longer. Half an hour at most. Catch them in the middle of it, and they won’t be able to run or hide. Everyone will see them for what they are.”
Marwen’s face lit up with glee at the image.
Elowen had brought only Mira with her to the stables tonight. She was there to do a headcount of both staff and horses.
But a problem quickly emerged. The number of horses didn’t match the records.
A group of stablehands gathered, trying to figure out if a horse had been lent out or if someone had miscounted. After much discussion, the truth came out.
The horse hadn’t been lent. It hadn’t been miscounted.
It was dead. It had died just today. Fed to death-by that boy.
As Elowen approached, she could hear the shouting from a distance.
“…What exactly is that thing on your shoulders? You call that a head? What’s inside it-manure? Out of respect for the Duchess, I didn’t give you hard labor. All you had to do was feed the horses. A little hay, a little water. That’s it! But you-you lazy bastard-complain all day about being tired, and now you’ve gone and killed one of the horses!”
Elowen followed the shouting and soon saw a tall man berating the same boy she’d seen a few days ago.
The boy really did look like Alaric.
Now, dressed in coarse stable clothes, he was being cursed out with finger pointed right at his nose-and it was honestly delightful to watch.
Elowen took her time, lingering to enjoy the scene before finally stepping forward.
The boy spotted her and lit up immediately. “Your Grace,” he said.
His voice was soft and rich, drawn out like a lover whispering sweet nothings.
Elowen shivered. Goosebumps prickled down her arms at the way he said it.
She rubbed at her sleeves and gestured toward him. “Come with me.”
The boy turned back to the stablehand and shot him a smug, taunting grin. The man muttered under his breath. “Bloody pretty-face.”
Elowen turned to leave. The boy followed close behind. Mira started to step forward as well, but Elowen held out a hand to stop her.
“Wait here,” she said softly.
Mira didn’t understand the reason, but she had grown up under Elowen’s care and never questioned her decisions. She simply nodded and stayed put.
Elowen led the boy toward the western side gate. A lantern hung near the archway, its dim light casting a warm, flickering glow.
A small flight of stone steps led down from the gate. Elowen was just about to descend.
Suddenly, the boy stepped up behind her, a little too close. His voice dropped low, soft and honeyed.
“These past nights, I’ve waited for Your Grace in the stables,” he murmured. “And tonight… you came. Just for me. You won’t leave now, will you?”
He was far too near. Elowen instantly recoiled, a frown creasing her brow as she took a step away.
But the boy kept whispering, “I don’t need a title. I don’t want status. All I want is to stay by your side. I can do so much…”
“Oh, you mean like killing a horse?” Elowen cut in sharply.
The boy froze. “W-what?”
“You were working off a debt for a single writing quill,” she said coldly. “Feeding the horses for a few days would’ve paid that off. But now, you’ve gone and killed one of the finest warhorses in the manor. That horse was bred from the Northern Plains, one of the best we’ve ever brought in. Worth more than you, frankly.”
She folded her arms across her chest, anger simmering beneath her calm tone. “If I hadn’t been doing a full count of the horses today, no one would’ve even known it had died.”
Elowen had grown up in the Hale military estate. She understood exactly how precious a trained warhorse was.
And more importantly-if not for this mess, she would’ve been in bed already. Not out here, still chasing down problems.
The boy looked stunned. “I… I didn’t…”
“I should never have put you in the stables,” she said bluntly. “I thought, well, you’re grown, and feeding horses doesn’t take much brainpower. But who knew you’d manage to kill one. And you have the nerve to say you’re ‘good at many things’?”
Her disdain was obvious in her tone.
The boy’s face flushed red with shame. “I… I wasn’t talking about feeding horses…”
“Oh, I know what you meant,” Elowen snapped. “You meant sex. The things that happen in bed between a man and a woman.”
She didn’t understand it at first, no. But she had questions. And she wasn’t afraid to ask.
She had consulted Gerda over the past few days. She wasn’t the same innocent, clueless girl she had been.
The boy bit his lower lip.
Then, slowly, he walked down the stone steps, stopping in front of her. He stepped into the path of her light and knelt, eyes tilted upward as he looked at her.
“You only say that,” he said softly, “because you haven’t experienced it yet. But you came for me tonight. You brought me out here, just the two of us. Was it really only to scold me?”
He didn’t look away. The lantern cast soft shadows along the line of his jaw and down the length of his throat, his posture relaxed, almost graceful.
He tried to move closer. His voice dropped lower. “You came out here for a reason, didn’t you?”
“Your Grace,” he breathed, “just for tonight… let me serve you.”
His hands reached for her ankles. And just as Elowen drew back her foot, ready to kick him away… A voice cracked through the dark.
“You filthy harlot! Meeting a stable boy in the dead of night?!”
Elowen’s head snapped up.
Marwen had arrived, flanked by a dozen maids and guards, striding down the path like a battle charge.
Elowen’s voice rang out, calm as ever. “Aunt Marwen. What brings you here?”
“As if you don’t know!” Marwen practically spat the words. “You’re here, late at night, sneaking off to meet your lowborn lover? After barely a few days of marriage? While your husband lies unconscious?”
Her finger jabbed toward the boy. “And what? Still pretending you’re innocent?!”
The boy immediately played along, shrinking back behind Elowen, voice trembling. “Your Grace…”
The sight only fueled Marwen’s fury. “Caught red-handed! There’s no denying it now!”
She turned to the servants. “What are you all standing around for?! Bind this whore and drag her out of the manor! In a few days, she’s to be cast out in shame!”
“Wait,” came a sharp voice from behind.
It was Bran. Marwen turned, scoffing. “Bran, don’t let yourself be fooled by this woman! She’s nothing but-“
“Is she?”
Another voice spoke, quiet and raspy, but steeped in undeniable authority. Every face on the path blanched in an instant.
