Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 3

Duchess Regina Damaris paraded down the corridor of the Damaris house. She glided past the faded walls and crooked family portraits. She was unbothered by the obvious swell of her breasts peeking through her sheer silk robe as she made her way towards the kitchen.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed at the sight of broad shoulders resting against the back of a wooden chair. The figure turned at her outcry, his hard jaw and stony eyes all too familiar. Her mind comprehending the situation before her body received the message that there was no threat. Her body shook as her chaotic heart-beat slowly resumed its usual pace.

“Solaire, darling, I had no idea you were here.” She moved closer towards him. Solaire averted his eyes the moment he regarded his mother. He in turn fixated his gaze upon the state of his family kitchen. As a young boy, he’d often spent countless days creating trouble for the cooks and maids that usually bustled about. The sight, however, had lost its ability to awash him with feelings of nostalgia and pride. Pots and pans were skewed about in the most random fashion. The central wooden table that, he often sat at while Ember Bard fed him bread as a child, was bare and lacking bowls of bread, fruit, and dessert.

“You dress to belittle your class, Madame. What would the help have to say seeing you running about in such a vulgar manner? I shudder to think of the gossip.” Solaire drawled. His mind busy reimagining the semi-circle room with the aid from his memories as an eight-year-old.

Regina squinted her mind in contemplation for half a second. “It’s Tuesday, dear. The staff is only allowed to haunt these halls on a Thursday.” She snickered as if this was stale news. “When are you ever concerned with gossip anyway?” she shot him an amused glance.

“I do not understand, mother.” He couldn’t fixate upon anything subsequent to her absurd revelation regarding the staff. Solaire had never heard of such a thing being done. The staff quarters were in the East Wing of the house and if his memory served him right, the house had always been alive with their presence. The majority of his blissful childhood memories were imprinted with their essence.

“I have relocated the staff quarters to the northern side of the property, near the stables. They no longer reside in-house and are only allowed in once a week.” She indulged as she rummaged through the kitchen until two cups filled each one of her trembling petite hands.

Solaire twisted around to view the state of the kitchen again, no wonder the house was in such a state of disrepair and untidiness. “Why in the devil’s name would you authorize such a thing? You are utterly unprotected from rogues and thieves.” Solaire could feel his temper climbing. There have been many times when he was a child that an uninvited visitor would scale the walls or attempt to enter the house. After a rushed inhale he hurried on, “Does father approve of this?” The notion sickened him. While his relationship with his parents was a convoluted mess, he certainly did not wish to be awakened with news of their death by foul play all because they chose to be careless.

“Your father?” Regina questioned incredulously. Once Solaire remained silent, she continued, “He is not here. Hasn’t been here for years.” she tugged a chair out from under the table and folded herself onto it. She placed the porcelain cups on the table, her fingers trailing the outline of one as if she were working on some great masterpiece.

Solaire’s fists were balling on the table. “What do you mean? Where is he?”

“At his Country estate.” She replied with a slight wave of her hand. “He only visits once every month to ensure the estate is in order and off he goes again.” Her eyes locked with his and she blinked a few times and shrugged her shoulders. Her attention turning back toward her invisible masterpiece.

“Then it’s worse than I thought. Here you are parading around in barely any clothing, in a huge house with no one else in sight. No butlers, maids, or cooks. You are completely exposed and alone with no one to protect you or solicit help.”

“Even if your father were here, Solaire, I assure you the only person he would be interested in protecting is himself.” She countered, her hands trembling and her jaw clenching. The cup tipping over from her grasp. She quickly straightened it. “However,” she inhaled and a smile graced her lips, “I wouldn’t exactly say I am alone.” There was a familiar glint in her auburn eyes, eyes that were a shade lighter than his but not many people noted the slight difference. Solaire instinctively pushed back on his chair to exit. He’d had enough past experiences to understand the musings of women, especially this one.

All the missing pieces began appearing and the final one he wished to have never seen entered the kitchen as Solaire grabbed hold of his jacket and waistcoat.

Solaire’s frenzied eyes paired with two chocolate-inspired orbs. Solaire clenched his jaw and swore under his breath as his sight lowered over the man’s bare chest and undone breeches. He heard the screeching of wood against stone as his mother rose from her seat.

“My Lord, I am deeply ashamed to be making your acquaintance in such a manner.” The man, not much older than Solaire himself, although a good inch and a half shorter, gazed at Regina in concealed panic. Brandon Solick, nephew of an Earl or something. Solaire couldn’t quite recall his family connections, he only knew he was next in line to receive his uncle’s title since he hadn’t been blessed with any sons of his own. He’d seen the man one to many times at the gentlemen’s club.

Regina made her way to stand at his side. She handed him one of the cups, it was now filled. The liquid of choice? Solaire had no clue. He was reeling with the fact that her motive had always been, from the time she entered the kitchen, to offer her lover a drink, not her estranged son. The revelation causing knots to form in his stomach and throat.

“No wonder the Duke is always in a hurry to scamper off into isolation. His very own wife has chosen to live in sin with a man young enough to be her son.” His tone turned deadly. The bile rising in his throat as his mother’s hand rested on this man’s bare chest for support.

“Solaire, please…” her voice trailed off as her lover’s hands encircled her wrists, giving them a tiny squeeze.

“I know this is an unpleasant sight, My Lord, but please understand that I have the greatest respect for your mother. Confidence is my utmost goal in our relationship. I love her and will not participate in bringing any scandal upon your family name.”

Solaire resisted the urge to heave in disgust. Instead, he laughed. His voice echoed throughout the walls of the shabby kitchen. The sound new and unexpected to even his ears.

“It is precious that you believe this to be love.” He spat through gritted teeth as he took a step forward.

“My mother has a habit of allowing men like you to fuck her in her marital bed while her husband is away.”

“Solaire!” Regina’s breast heaved. She brought her right hand up and down against her son’s face with a resounding smack as skin soldered against skin. Solaire’s face barely shifted at the impact. He bared his teeth at his mother, his lips stretching into a half-grin.

“Enjoy her while she allows you to occupy her bed.” Solaire moved past them. He’d had enough of this family reunion. All the years he spent away under the guise of traveling wasn’t enough.

“You do not know when to stop.” Regina countered, barely screaming words to her son’s back.

Solaire glanced over his shoulder. “I supposed I inherited some of your qualities after all. You continue to humiliate our family name. From the time I was fourteen, my colleagues were making fun of you for opening your legs to every man who would fancy a play. So, do not dare lecture me about boundaries. I, as well as your husband, have been made a laughing stock in all of England.” Crystal beads rolled down her cheeks but he couldn’t care. He was livid. His childhood home, his father’s home, desecrated time and time again.

“I don’t think it right of you to speak to your mother in this manner.” Her lover piped in. His scrawny arms and delicate features deterring Solaire from any real notion of violence. The last thing he needed was to defend himself in a murder case.

“How about I visit your family home and fuck your mother into oblivion? I reckon she would quite enjoy that.” Solaire countered. Her lover’s eyes darkened.

“You have no right to mention my mother.” He crooned.

“Then stay the fuck out of my family matters.” Solaire took one last look at his mother and stormed out of the premises. He promised himself to never return.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter