The Lord and his Lady (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Two

"Excuse me, miss."

Miss? Someone was calling her miss?

"Ruth, I had a terrible dream," she mumbled.

A manly voice cleared their throat. Belinha cracked her eyes open. She was met with the driver's face.

"We have arrived." She looked around to see the people were now few and less crammed than they were though nothing could compare to the horrific conditions of the ship.

She stepped out hesitantly and raised her head. She noticed the sun had set, painting the sky into a mirage of soft orange and purple. She wished she could stand there and stare at the beauty of nature--nature she had no duty to admire when she was a slave.

A slave no more, a voice added in her head.

A clear of the throat made her turn. The driver pursed his lips. "The payment you mentioned?" he asked.

"The...The eldest of the house will take care of it soon. He is out, now. " She didn't want to tie herself into a web of lies but she had already begun the moment she left the dock. The poor driver bowed and left. 

What brought her back to reality was the peripheral vision of something that only existed in her dreams. A red brick mansion that seemed to extend three houses wide and towered over the sky. More than 20 vertical windows with white frames seemed to decorate the building, with five different entrances.

The lush gardens with bushes shaped in various shapes made her jaw drop. A marble fountain spilled over, the water rushing to hide any noise of anxiety that ripped through her throat.

One entrance was hard to ignore, with its carved white arch entrance leading to the large double doors. Belinha could not breathe. She had unabashedly claimed she was to work here. She could only hope he would not tell anyone else.

The clopping hooves retreating made her turn. The man disappeared down the long, wide pebbled path and out the black gates that extended further than she could see.

Belinha swallowed thickly. She was far away from Sir Pablo but had she walked into another nightmare? Hesitant steps made her creep forward, but the utter silence of the land made her stop. Were there people inside? Was the Duke really a person or had she misheard the men from before?

The doors seemed to be locked from the inside, and she hesitated in touching the handle. She did not want to be seen as a thief and be thrown out, only to land in the arms of Sir Pablo. No, she had to be careful.

Craning her neck, she found a stable around the side of the mansion, large enough to be comfortable. Perhaps I could stay there for the night to rest, she thought. No one would find her there and she would have time to think of a plan.

As she lifted her dress and ducked her head down in an attempt to hide from the view of the windows from above, she heard the rumbling of wheels from the gate. A gasp left her lips. She could run but that would take a while and they would see her shadow.

Her large, brown eyes darted about and stopped at the rows of hedges that seemed to run around the front of the mansion. Behind it, large trees shaped into pines stood.

Hide between them! a voice yelled. Without a second thought, she dived into the nook of the shaped tree and the hedges, cloaking her figure in the darkness. She was used to hiding away from the bad men that tried to hurt her and being still and silent was something she prided herself on. That did not keep her trembling lips at bay and her breathing sounded as clattered as it felt.

The carriage finally stopped a few hedges away, near the fountain. Belinha concealed her gasp with a trembling hand over her mouth. Even in the setting dark, she could see that the carriage was nothing like the one she had travelled in. The four large wheels carried a small, white coach body with two small windows. As the driver hurried down and opened the door, a woman in a periwinkle gown, blond curls framing a heart-shaped, porcelain face appeared.