Filed to story: Elowen Hale and Duke Cassian Valebourne Book PDF Free
The boy had his arms wrapped around his head, shielding himself. Not a single cry of pain escaped him.
Elowen frowned.
Gerda raised her voice, sharp and clear. “Enough!” The servant immediately stopped and bowed toward Elowen. “Your Grace.”
“What’s going on here?” Elowen asked.
“This brat,” the servant said, pointing at the boy, “dared to steal from Lord Lucien. I caught him red-handed.”
“You caught him. Why not just return the item? Why the beating?” Elowen asked.
The boy suddenly chuckled. His voice was rough, and he laughed as he pushed himself slowly upright.
Seeing the boy’s face clearly, Elowen couldn’t help but pause.
His cheeks were streaked with dirt and dried blood, making him look pitiful and wild. But his eyes-those striking, bright eyes-held a gleam so sharp it made her breath catch. The tilt of his eyelids, the slight upward curve at the corners… he looked startlingly like Alaric.
Had she glimpsed him at night, she might have mistaken him for the Crown Prince himself.
But unlike Alaric’s distant, cold arrogance, this boy had an eerie softness to him, the kind of beauty you’d find in a venomous snake hidden in shadows. Beautiful in a dangerous, glittering way.
“You’re still smiling?” the servant growled.
He kicked the boy again, then turned to Elowen. “Your Grace, he broke Lord Lucien’s writing brush and can’t pay for it. I was just-well-disciplining him. But don’t worry, I’ll get him out of your sight right away.”
He moved to grab the boy. The boy raised his head and looked at Elowen, those eyes rimmed with a soft pink flush.
“Hold on,” Elowen said.
The servant paused, confused.
“If he broke the brush and can’t pay, beating him won’t get the money back,” Elowen said calmly. “And you’ll only tire yourself out for nothing. Seems like a bad deal.”
The boy chuckled again. His lashes lowered slightly, and the corner of his mouth curled. He lifted his gaze to her again, pupils glinting like onyx under sunlight.
“In that case,” he said softly, “why doesn’t the Lady take me in?”
His voice dropped, husky and smooth. “I’m good at everything.” The words lingered, slow and deliberate, carrying a quiet promise of trouble-like a predator testing the air, already certain of its hold on her.
Gerda’s instincts flared in alarm.
She had served in the royal court long enough to smell trouble before it arrived. Everything about this scene screamed setup. The sudden beating, the strange boy, the perfect timing-this wasn’t an accident. Someone had orchestrated this so that Elowen would stumble upon it.
And then there was the boy’s face. That resemblance to the Crown Prince wasn’t something you could fake.
Gerda stole a glance at Elowen, wondering-what would the young Duchess do?
The boy tilted his head, voice like honey and smoke. “So? Take me in. I’ll make sure you’re… very well taken care of.”
Elowen frowned in confusion. “And what good would your care do me? I won’t pay for that brush you broke.”
The boy faltered.
She turned to the servant. “Let’s be honest-beating him is pointless. Instead, take him to the stables in the back. He can work off the debt by feeding horses. Pay him the standard wage for stablehands. Once he’s earned enough to cover the brush, he can leave.”
The servant blinked, caught completely off guard. The boy looked equally stunned. “Stables…?”
Elowen narrowed her eyes at him. “Didn’t you just say you could do anything? Then go take care of the horses. Make sure they’re… very comfortable.”
The boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
That… wasn’t what he meant by “serving.”
“Your Grace…” the servant tried to interject, panicking now. This wasn’t what he’d been told to do. His orders were to get this pretty, brazen boy into Elowen’s bed, not the stables.
“What is it?” Elowen asked.
Before he could fumble for words, she added helpfully, “I get it. You’re worried he might run off. No problem-I’ve got two guards with me, both former soldiers. Very reliable. I’ll assign one to go with you. He’ll make sure the boy does his job.”
The servant’s smile twitched, nearly collapsed.
She wasn’t joking. She waved over one of her guards-a hulking man who stood like a wall and had a stare sharp enough to skin a man alive.
The servant recognized him immediately. He’d once heard this man had snapped an assassin’s neck clean in one motion. Forget the boy. He himself might not come back from the stables in one piece.
As for Elowen-mission complete, she walked away lighthearted and unconcerned. Gerda watched her go, lips twitching with suppressed laughter.
Sometimes, being sweet and na飗e was its own kind of weapon.
Back at Duskmoor Manor, Bran had just finished administering the Duke’s medicine.
He lit up when he saw Elowen. “Your Grace! That bamboo strip trick you taught us-it works like a charm! I’ve never had such an easy time giving His Grace his tonic!”
Elowen smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”
She asked, “Everything went smoothly while I was out?”
“All good. Nothing unusual.”
Elowen turned to Gerda with a “see, I told you” expression.
Gerda smiled, shaking her head. The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. Elowen immersed herself in reviewing the manor accounts.
It was tiring work, but surprisingly satisfying. By the time she finally finished, the sky had turned dark. After washing up, she lay down in bed-but couldn’t fall asleep.
Beside her, Cassian stirred faintly, picking up on her restless movements.
That jasmine scent clung to her skin, light and lovely, sometimes sharp, sometimes mellow.
It tickled his nose. Elowen tossed again and finally gave up, turning to face him.
She whispered, “I can’t hold it in anymore… just a little bit.”
Cassian stilled. What was she about to do?
Then, she sighed in frustration. “My lord… I’m the kind of person who talks a lot. If I don’t say something soon, I’m going to explode.”
Cassian was speechless. Ah. She’s speaking.
So she was just talking. He had thought it was something else.
“Right,” Elowen suddenly said, brightening with an idea.
She lay sprawled on the bed, her hands propping up her chin on the pillow, lifting her upper body slightly. “My lord, I’m going to talk to you now. Since you’re unconscious and all.”
She figured he couldn’t hear a word she said. And having convinced herself of that, she went right on.
Her legs kicked up behind her, ankles crossed and swaying lazily in the air. Her whole posture was cheerful and relaxed.
“I went through all the account books today,” she began. “Sorted the finances for the past year, and even tallied up the wedding expenses from this month. Next, I’m planning to do a full inventory of the staff-every page, maid, guard… even the horses. Nothing gets overlooked.”
Cassian raised a brow. Her parents had clearly trained her well.
“I also ran into this boy earlier today,” she continued. “He has eyes like His Highness’s. Said he stole one of Lucien’s writing brushes and broke it, so some servants tried to beat him to death. But he said he wants to work for me, claimed he could serve me… ‘comfortably,’ was how he put it.”
Cassian was stunned.
“But Mira, Bran, and Cora already take care of me just fine,” Elowen said matter-of-factly. “They’re more than enough.”
Cassian fell silent. …So maybe her parents hadn’t trained her that well after all.
“I didn’t let them beat him to death,” Elowen admitted. “Had him sent to the stables instead. I guess… I did feel a little bad for him.”
Cassian’s chest tightened slightly. So that so-called ‘sympathy’ of hers was all because the boy looked like Alaric, that’s what moved her heart.
But Elowen grinned mischievously.
“Mostly, I just wanted to see what Alaric would look like feeding horses.”
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
“Elowen murmured, “He’s always so arrogant, looking down on everyone, throwing tantrums like a spoiled brat. Thinking about it now, he’s actually pretty annoying…”
As she went on, her voice grew softer and softer. And eventually, it faded altogether. She had fallen asleep.
The Duke’s Manor had been peaceful for a few days.
But over at Rose Hall, tension was building. Marwen was growing impatient.
“I thought you said everything was arranged,” she snapped. “You guaranteed it would work! It’s been two days, and not a single thing has happened!”
