Chapter 70

✧You Mean Nothing to Me✧

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Well, I’m pleasantly surprised you decided to stay Miss Lewellin.” the headmistress told her after she explained she wouldn’t be going away after all, “There really is no better school around than the one in your hometown.” she laughed heartily in delight.

Leyla only faintly smiled in reply, doing her best to be cordial as she sat from across the headmistress. Her eyes lowered to the ground, looking quite embarrassed at her changing her decision.

“I’m truly sorry for giving you trouble over my transfer.” Leyla apologized, bowing her head in remorse. The headmistress only brushed off her apology.

“Nonsense,” the headmistress said, “As long as you’re staying in our school there’s no trouble to be had.” she pointed out before clearing her throat, and looking a bit sheepish this time. “By the way Miss Lewellin, may I inquire if you changed your mind about Theo?”

“Hm?” Leyla looked up, “Theo?” she softly wondered to herself, before memories of the grocery store owner’s son popped up in her mind, “Oh! Theo?” she looked back at the headmistress who nodded eagerly.

Fortunately, the headmistress’ spouse neared them, carrying a tray with tea, effectively cutting off their conversation.

“Come now dear, let’s not force her.” interjected her husband, “Look at how embarrassed Miss Lewellin is. Let the young people be.”

“I’m just saying that Theo is a perfectly good young man.” the headmistress haughtily shot back at him before looking pointedly at Leyla, who only smiled awkwardly at the two of them.

She really wanted them to get together, and couldn’t help but wonder if Leyla thought Theo was not up to her standards. She knew Leyla had been engaged to Dr. Etman’s son, but broke it off.

The headmistress couldn’t help but think Leyla should know by now that looking for better prospects won’t look too good for her. It could even backfire on her, making her look greedy when she knew Leyla was anything but.

Deeming a change of subject was in order, the headmistress cleared her throat before straightening up, shaking further thoughts off her mind. She then gave a cheerful smile to the young teacher.

“Well then, now that you’re staying with us, how about we place you as the star of our play next year?” she suggested jovially, “I think we’ll be able to garner huge amounts of donations once more if we do that.”

Leyla only smiled at the sudden change of subject. She knew it was a poor joke on the headmistress’ part, but this felt much easier to laugh about now after the harrowing events she had experienced lately.

Soon enough they wrapped up their conversation about the school, their students, and the plans for the next semester. Leyla bid the couple goodbye, before exiting the headmistress’ house.

The temperature outside was freezing, the cold chilling her through the bone, making her walk at a sluggish pace. However, Leyla found herself wanting to prolong the time it took her to reach Arvis.

She found herself stopping right by the central station’s square, looking around aimlessly. She began to move once more, drawing closer to the display windows by the mall, gazing at the items with no particular thought, vaguely looking at her translucent reflection…

‘What would happen if I just suddenly disappeared from here?’ she couldn’t help but wonder.

Huh, even wishful thinking proved to be depressing. Leyla knew deep down there was no way she could ever go through with escaping the Duke. She couldn’t leave her uncle behind, not when it’s his life on the line.

‘Even if I managed to convince my uncle to move and leave Arvis with me, the duke would stop at nothing to find him.’

It would also be counterproductive of her if she were to summon the duke’s ire in her defiance. It could make things worse than it already is.

With a deep sigh, Leyla closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cold glass, the helplessness overwhelming her once again.

It was rather obvious to her the duke was keeping her on a leash by giving her uncle sweet opportunities to stay in Arvis. She couldn’t believe he would go to such lengths just to satisfy his carnal desires. She was sure now that once he was through with her, and thoroughly sated, he would dispose of her just as quickly.

That cursed night said it so plainly and loudly just how little the duke thought of her.

She began to walk once more, finding no relief in prolonging her stay in the biting cold. She turned down a familiar platanus road, feet moving through the snow. She never prayed for a miracle as hard as she did now, when Kyle’s letter echoed in the back of her mind, halting her steps once more…

[My beloved Leyla]

He started every one of his letters that way. She knew this because she spent that morning reading the dozen letters he’d sent her way. As much as she wanted to be crossed with her uncle for such deceit, she could understand why he withheld them from her.

When they returned to the police station later that day, and he saw the letters spread all over the dining table, Uncle Bill began to stammer and beg for her forgiveness. Leyla could only smile mournfully towards him.

“I’m so ashamed to have done such a horrible thing to you.” he’d told her that day, his hair looking an unusual gray in the light of the winter’s pale sun. “But I want you to know that I’m with you every step of the way, Leyla, even if it means you want to go back to Kyle.”

He sounded so sure, Leyla recalled, his eyes shining determinedly. He kept apologizing again, explaining how foolish it was of him to do such a thing and wanted to come clean the day of the explosion. Leyla couldn’t find it in herself to mind…

“I’m fine uncle.” she replied then, before swiftly inviting him to some breakfast she had prepared before leaving their cabin to fetch him. Uncle Bill could only nod in reply, both of them barely managing to finish half their plates.

It didn’t take long for Leyla to spot the gates of Arvis. She arrived quicker than she’d like. Her fists instinctively clench at the sight of them, inciting a deep rage at the memory of its master…

‘Just as I am nothing to you, you are nothing to me.’ Leyla thought rebelliously as she crossed the threshold. Memories of that night still plagued her dreams, giving her restless sleep. ‘I won’t let the likes of you have the power to hurt me.’

Her entire body was freezing, but her hands were clammy. She quickened up her pace, boldly marching through the pavement when she finally arrived in their cabin. She quickly locked up the door before releasing a sigh of relief.

The cabin was empty for now, with her uncle largely occupied with the repairs of the greenhouse since early morning. She suspected it won’t be until later tonight that she’ll be seeing him. He really was so eager to pay back the duke for his kindness.

Leyla plopped herself on top of her bed haphazardly, looking at the ceiling in thought.

[My beloved Leyla]

She closed her eyes shut, bringing up an arm to cover her eyes, wiping the memories of his letters off her mind. But whenever she would, horrid memories of her night with the duke would resurface. She wanted to do nothing more than cry that instant, but the light tapping on her window distracted her.

There was a sudden lurch in her heart when hearing the sound. Slowly, she turned her head to her window. Once upon a time she had been eager to hear the sound of her precious Phoebe arriving to visit her.

Now she could only fear dread, for when she drew her windows open, and Phoebe flew in, she had a note tied to her ankle.

A note written by the Duke.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You don’t plan to keep the gardener in Arvis forever, do you?”

Claudine immediately asked, cutting straight to the point. She had a polite smile on her face as she looked at her fiance inquiringly. Upon her question, multiple pairs of eyes snapped in her direction, darting back and forth between her and the Duke.

“Claudine!” the Countess Brandt hissed, scolding her softly as she sat nearest to her. But Claudine cared not for everyday theatrics at the moment. She wanted clear-cut answers, and she would get them from the Duke himself.

“Truly your decision to drop the charges against the gardener baffled so many of us, and while commendable, it doesn’t explain why he’s still here in Arvis, working and living for you.” Claudine pointed out. “Are you confident that he won’t make the same mistake again? What if it causes another mayhem for you with worse consequences?”

“That is quite true my Lady,” Matthias replied, looking charmingly at her with a smile on his lips, “However I also believe that he could better handle the restoration of the greenhouse you so dearly loved. After all, he was the one mostly in charge of its design and arrangement since its conception.” He explained calmly to her in front of their audience.

Claudine knew by then that whatever argument she would make, there was no changing his decision.

“Well, I won’t argue that I did love the greenhouse as it was, and would like to see it restored to its former glory,” she began, “But I also fear that having someone, who’d once been careless in his work, handling such a delicate project, no matter his expertise.” she calmly finished, sending a demure smile to everyone present.

When she made no further argument, indicating she would retreat from such a discussion any longer, the Countess Brandt looked more relieved sitting beside her.

There had been an uproar in the community when word had spread of Madam Norma being involved with an accident caused by one of their seasoned employees. An even greater praise the Herhardt House garnered when the duke dropped all charges against him. Her line of questioning could have been interpreted as worry and fear about their upcoming wedding, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

For beneath each word she masked in concern for their health and safety, was her concern of one Leyla Lewellin.

She wasn’t worried about Leyla’s state of mind, or her uncle’s. No, she was concerned about whether or not the duke used this opportunity to get Leyla to cave in to his advances.

Her eyes darted towards her fiance, and narrowed at his posture. He did seem a little laid back. She was assured he did manage to have her already. It was just in his nature. She knew he would have milked every opportunity he was presented with to the very last drop.

There was no way Leyla was disappearing from him any time soon.

Initially she had been worried at the news of the explosion in Arvis. Images darting to the worst case scenarios when she heard Madam Norma had been within the vicinity of the explosion by the greenhouse. She also rejoiced along with the others when she heard she only retained minor injuries, but was saddened at the loss of the greenhouse.

She took it with grace, and allowed herself to act accordingly, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but silently cheer at the fact this would be a great opportunity for Leyla and her uncle to move away in Arvis. She was absolutely positive Leyla would have taken the chance.

But then she heard about the Duke pardoning Bill Remmer, and she grew suspicious and critical. Worry surged through her at the thought of Matthias taking Leyla for himself, and she grew anxious at the possibility of a relationship forming between the two of them.

How scandalous it would be for both his wife and mistress to be living under the same roof! She knew that whether or not Leyla left Arvis, there would be no changing her status with Matthias. In fact, if word of their affair were to get out, it would be their reputations on the line, not hers.

It was just a personal preference of hers that Leyla was out of the image by the time she ascended to the title as Duchess Herhardt.

She seemed to recall as well of Riette warning her to not provoke Matthias, just recently even. He advised her to leave them alone, and not butt in on their relationship. He looked absolutely serious in telling her, hoping she would see the sense in his words.

But Claudine was a little stubborn, and she couldn’t see or understand Riette’s warnings. Despite that, she would heed his advice as she saw fit. After all, she knew that the only reason the gardener was able to retain his place in Arvis was because of Leyla.

Still for the life of her, she couldn’t understand how Leyla managed to wrap her finger around the Duke so securely. Perhaps she did know how to work her charms against men after all. They do say it’s always the quiet ones, the ones who seemed innocent.

But the thought of their affair would only further sour her mood further, and the day was just getting started. She needed a different subject, and thus resolved to act more cordially in front of everyone, appearing more pleasant than how she actually felt.

By the end of dinner, Claudine found herself absolutely parched. Her endless engagement in polite conversation taxing her greatly. Fortunately, it was easy for both her and the Countess Brandt to excuse themselves earlier, enabling them to retire back to their beds.

On their way out, the Countess immediately broke the silence between them.

“I might have scolded you earlier for questioning the duke, but I do agree with your sentiments.” she began, “I don’t understand how he could just drop all the charges against the gardener. I can’t help but think the Herhardt House has turned soft.” the Countess scoffed irritably.

Claudine was escorted by her mother to the guest bedroom, and continued to air out her grievances. Claudine glanced by the room’s window, where she had a perfect view of the wrecked greenhouse. She only hummed agreeably with her mother’s words, when a smirk found its way on her lips the more she stared at the greenhouse.

“Fret not, dear mother,” Claudine replied once her mother quieted, “I can assure you, come next summer, the gardener won’t be a problem anymore.” At her words, the Countess was startled and came up to stand beside her.

“What are you saying Claudine? That you’d fire him?” her mother asked incredulously, “You’d go against Matthias’ and Madam Norma’s wishes?”

Claudine only hummed for a moment, before turning to face the countess and smiling brightly back at her mother.

“I’m just saying that the new Duchess of Herhardt would be in need of a new gardener.” she calmly replied.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“I’ve finished preparing it just as you ordered, master.” Hessen dutifully informed him with a bow. Matthias, who had been staying in the reception room of the annex, glanced at him briefly before looking down at the large silver domed dish on his desk.

“Well done.” he briefly said, before taking the slew of mail Hessen handed out to him. He dismissed his butler, who left him alone to his devices.

Matthias leaned back on the sofa, flipping through his mail. Most of them were invitations for various upcoming year-end parties and social events. He even saw some of them containing news of the Crown Prince visiting with his wife. They were scheduled to tour the northern part of the empire early next year after all.

Once he was done skimming through them, he grabbed his fountain pen by the inner pocket of his jacket to begin writing his replies. The sight of the pen brought a forlorn smile on his lips, it had been with him since last fall.

He clicked the pen closed, and on its lid was engraved a name in golden letters.

Leyla Lewellin.

Her name glistened in the firelight. He couldn’t help but feel some sense of amusement in using something of hers for the most menial tasks he does everyday.

“Why do you keep stealing my stuff?”

She had complained about it once, the frustration clear on her face when she realized he was the one who took it. He couldn’t help but let out a fond chuckle when she likened him to a crow. He could say the same for her.

He turned the pen between his slender fingers, before he glanced down in his wristwatch. He counted down the seconds, until finally the clock’s hands struck at a certain time, when a familiar knock echoed inside his office.

He put the pen back in his breast pocket, and languidly rose to his feet. His footsteps clicked through his polished office floor, and swung the door open as he neared it.

On the other side of the door was just the very person he expected to see.

His dearest mistress, Leyla.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*