CH 98

“Sorry, but this is all we have to say on the matter,” despite his polite demeanour, the directors expression conveyed a strong sense of determination.

Walter Hardy couldn’t believe what he was hearing and stared at the director in disbelief. After all, the bank was owned by his son-in-law and he was the father of the Princess of Lechen. How could the director refuse to lend him money, not even a few pennies.

“Have you forgotten who I am?” Walter said.

“No, you are Viscount Hardy, last I checked.”

“Well then, there seems to be some kind of mistake.”

“I’m sorry, Viscount Hardy, it’s a board decision, a meeting presided over by the Prince, Grand Duke Dniester himself. There is no firm collateral, the paper work is incomplete and above all, it has been unanimously concluded that this is an unprofitable venture. There is nothing we are willing to do about it.”

“Collateral? She’s my daughter. What more collateral do I need?” Walter Hardy’s face turned bright red.

People had been doing their best to impress the father-in-law of the Grand Duchess, until recently. It seems that in just the last week, everyone had changed their minds. Walter was even more stunned that it was the Prince himself that disrupted his reputation.

He felt like the one man who could afford to give away a little coin was acting entirely selfish. He felt anger rise in him toward Erna, for making a fool out of him. Walter even considered the possibility that the Prince had lost interest in his second wife, given the well known reputation of the Grand Duchess. Given that there was no news of a child, it was no surprise that the problematic Prince had lost interest.

“Sorry,” the director said insincerely.

Walter had to restrained himself from slapping the director and left the VIP room at Freyr Bank. He got into the waiting carriage at the front of the building and his frustrations came out as spontaneous swearing.

The prince had settled all his debts that he had been swindled into, to maintain the dignity of the Hardy family. So it wasn’t like he hadn’t received anything from him.

He had provided only the barest minimum to help him get to his feet. While it helped, he was hoping that he could use his ties to Bjorn Dniester for more of a financial gain. He was not asking for money from him, he was willing to borrow it legitimately, so why was he still given such disgrace?

Nervously biting his lip, Walter anxiously waited for his carriage to take him to the mansion. He worried that Erna’s lifespan as the Grand Duchess might not last too much longer.

Once at the mansion, Walter stomped hurriedly to his wife’s bedroom.

“Brenda, what about the drug, have you told Erna about the drug?”

Brenda sighed at Walter’s intrusion, coming into her room without so much as a knock.

“Are you deaf or something, I told you before, the child is flat out refusing.”

“Just like her damn mother, so stubborn, it’s definitely a Baden family curse. She can’t even get pregnant properly.”

The words of Walter were filled with raw hatred, so much so that Brenda was taken aback by the venom in them. How could a man say such things about his own daughter. She thought about Baroness Baden, who hadn’t given birth until after ten years of being in a relationship. Annette died during child birth. Though his words were harsh, he did seem to have a point, the Baden bloodline struggled to bare children.

“Maybe she just needs time,” Brenda said.

“Why, you think he’s cheating again?” Walter said.

“Its not that, but if Erna is like the rest of the Baden’s, it wont be long before is kicked out from the position of Grand Duchess before she is able to get pregnant.”

“Well, look at Princess Gladys. So, I have to finish before then, but what am I going to do with this? We have already promised dividends tot he investors. I even told them that the Prince would make up for the shortfall.”

The sound of Walter’s footsteps, as he paced around the room, could be heard through the mansion. Brenda watched her husband silently, before moving to her cupboard and retrieved a box from its depths. She wore a determined look on her face.

“What’s this?” Walters eyes went wide as Brenda revealed the jewels in the box.

“Its my collection,” Brenda whispered conspiratorially. “Even though the Grand Duchess is a country bumpkin, despised within the social world, she is gaining popularity with the young people, who have no experience in the world. To that extent, I am impatient to try and get in with these crowds and have them accept my gifts.”

“But even with this, will it be enough?”

“It would be better if we had more,” Brenda shrugged lightly, her eyes lighting up with joy. “There is a trader I am most attracted to, would you like to meet him? He is from a lowly background, but his pocket book has just as much depth as any aristocratic family in Lechen.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Bjorn had come to recognise that Walter Hardy had ambition and drive, if that could have been honed properly, he could be a formidable business man, but Walter always directed his attention to terrible and trivial matters.

Bjorn laughed as he pulled himself out of the bathtub. Walter Hardy’s business plans were always doomed to fail from very early on and with the help of Greg, under Bjorn’s instruction, none of Walter’s terrible idea’s were allowed to see the light of day.

There was the problem that Walter was a lot more persistent that Bjorn gave him credit for, so much so that Bjorn couldn’t help but feel awe at Walters persistence. There was only one other person who was more so, Gladys Hartford, who was the single most determined person Bjorn knew.

Walter was kind of clever. He had successfully managed to materialise a plan and even brought it to the bank. He took over an insolvent commercial association and converted it into a stock company. This was much easier than registering as a stock company from inception, it was pretty clever.

Even when Bjorn looked at the falsified financial documents, he couldn’t help but express admiration. Walter had recovered from being scammed to turning into the scammer, it was truly impressive growth. Bjorn almost felt sorry that he was going to have to crush the man before his skills as a swindler properly flourished.

Bjorn turned off the night stand light and crawled into bed next to his wife. How could this amazing woman have come from such a disgraceful man? As he admired his wife, he concisely stroked her brown hair, which had become a dishevelled mess on the pillow.

The image of a young girl, bathing in the scorching rays of the sun, trying to erase her fathers influence on her. The child seemed pitiful, yet lovable, having learned the secrets of life too early. She longed for her hair to resemble the golden rays of sunlight she bathed in.

Although he had never seen the little girl before, Bjorn could vividly imagine Erna on that fateful day. It would appear the Baroness’ story had a greater impact on him than he first thought.

Does her hair resemble that of Walter Hardy’s?

In retrospect, Bjorn never really noticed. He didn’t put much mind into whether things looked the same. To him, it didn’t really matter, regardless if her hair was blonde, brunette, red head or even pink or purple. What truly mattered to him was what was on the inside, the integrity of a person and Erna was Erna. The sweetest, naive and beautiful young woman who cared too much. He couldn’t help but think the brown hair actually suited her better.

He leaned in and planted a kiss on his sleeping wife’s cheek. He could smell a sweet fragrance on her hair. The kiss on the cheek became a kiss on her forehead, which was marked by a slight sun burn.

“Bjorn?” Erna mumbled as Bjorn kissed her lips.

Her eyes fluttered, struggling to open properly, revelling water coloured eyes that were marred with sleep.

Bjorn kissed her on the lips once more, before angling himself to be on top of Erna. Though she allowed it, she did shrug her shoulders when Bjorn tried to remove her night gown.

“Bjorn, not tonight, I’m tired.”

“Rest then,” Bjorn said with a soft smile, continuing to unbutton her gown.

He started to kiss behind her ears and down the side of her neck. Erna accepted him, at first, but her expression changed when Bjorn kissed and sucked down the nape of her neck.

“Not there,” Erna suddenly demanded, slapping Bjorn away.

Bjorn respected his wife’s wishes and regretfully moved away. He found compensation in burying his face into Erna’s bosom. Erna started to breathe deeper and grumbled softly, sleepily, as Bjorn played with her nipples. There was a mixture of the sounds of pleasure and pain. She seemed to be more sensitive than usual.

“Does it hurt?”

Erna blushed as she lightly nodded. Though she looked a little unwell, a little paler than usual, Bjorn had reached the point of no return and was unable to stop himself. Or so he thought. There was a cool sense of shame that doused the heat of lust in him. When Bjorn looked up at Erna, she smiled down at him as she hugged the scruff of his neck.

Bjorn moved slowly, repeating his actions, thinking he could stoke the flames of passion once more. He knew that asking for more would be greedy, he didn’t want to ask either, he found it amusing.

Due to her slight fever, he found Erna was a lot softer and a lot warmer inside. It threatened to steal away his control, but he did his absolute best to work as slowly and gently as possible. He still found enjoyment in going softly and slowly. Every time he looked up, he saw Erna enraptured by the gentle pleasure and smiled warmly.

At the moment where Bjorn felt his desire starting to take over, Erna opened her legs a little more, making it easier for Bjorn to move.

He sat up and looked down at the woman he couldn’t find a single thing not to like. His heart beat hard in his chest, filled with more than just desire, but love and that was a much heavier burden to bare.

Erna let out a soft moan, eyes closed and lost in Bjorn’s hypnotic movements. She was so beautiful, laid out before him, her body was a study in perfection. Bjorn couldn’t help but allow his hands to follow the sweeps and curves of her form.

It felt that God had put a man like Walter Hardy into the world, just to drive this angel into his arms. It was an empty sentiment and Bjorn pushed it from his mind.

He forced himself to concentrate on Erna and as he leaned forward again, to kiss her, she looked at him with vacant eyes, lost in the pleasure he poured into her. Surprisingly, Erna pulled him in close and bit down on his clavicle. Even her biting felt good to him.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Bjorn drifted off to a comfortable sleep, feeling completely satisfied with the intimacy he had shared with his wife.

He was later awakened by a dream, which quickly dissipated as he stared out into the clear darkness typical of a summer night. Despite the dream fading away, he still felt a sense of warmth and comfort lingering within him.

Bjorn laid on his back for awhile, before turning his head to look at his wife, only to find the spot vacant. It would appear he had been awoken by his wife’s absence. He frowned and sat up, looking about the dark room. Erna was nowhere to be found.

He knew she had to be here some where, but the anxiety within him did not go away. He laid back down, but could find no rest. He rolled out of bed and that was when he saw a thin line of light coming in from under the drawing room door. Bjorn let out a sigh and walked toward the light.