Chapter 12

Willow's mind was set after dinner the next day. She would sneak out tonight. There was no chance that Philip would have friends over two nights in a row, so everybody in the house should be sound asleep by 11:30 o'clock.

She was planning this trip to be different from all of her previous trips though. Maybe it would be a little more risky, but the decision had been made. Willow would head to town tonight instead of staying away from people like she usually did.

The very most times Willow would just spend a few hours in her very special personal clearing and head back afterwards, but ever since she talked to that stranger a few nights ago, she had that urge to talk to more people. Preferably that exact stranger if she was honest, but any person would be great to talk to. That was one of the things that Willow had missed the most these past few years. Just having normal conversations with other people. The only people she got to talk to was her brother or the servants. And neither of those conversations were all too interesting. The conversations with her brother were either really short or ended up in a fight and talking to the servants could be quite nice but Willow knew that they would always say what she wanted to hear and she always felt bad for keeping them from work.

So there really wasn't anyone there for Willow to talk to and she really missed that. Even if it would just be small talk about the weather or something like that. She would just enjoy being in the company of someone else and exchanging some thoughts. That had been the best part of meeting that stranger the other night. Just talking to someone. It didn't matter in the slightest who that person had been. It had been awesome to just have a conversation. And Willow did feel like they had some sort of connection. Maybe that had only been because they had both been running from something and both desired freedom, but she did wish that she happened to meet him. Even if it wasn't very likely at all. One could still hope, right? And maybe destiny was on her side.

The next few hours were spent in her room, reading, waiting and glancing at the clock. Time was once again ever so slow to pass and Willow thought it would never turn 11:30.

But after what felt like eternity the clock on her bedside table finally showed that it was time to get ready.

Meanwhile Marcus had met up with a few of his friends at a local bar to catch up with them. They hadn't seen each other in 3 years and it was quite interesting to find out what they were all up to. None of them had been travelling as long as he had been. Two of them had been travelling together for a year and then went to study. One medicine and the other law.

Just the thought of going to a university made Marcus cringe. That surely wasn't something he would desire to do. It's not that he wasn't interested in learning new things but he'd rather do so while travelling. He liked to be hands on and not spend years reading books that had been written centuries ago. No, he prefered to learn from experience, to have people tell him their stories themselves. And over those past 3 years Marcus had seen and learned a lot of things.

As the hours passed by someone had conjured a deck of cards and they played a few rounds. No money involved of course. None of them was interested in that. They just like playing for the sake of entertainment.

It was nearly midnight, when Marcus decided to call it a night. Two of his friends had already left and the ones that were still there had gotten a little too drunk. Marcus had never been one to enjoy drinking all too much, let alone spending time with people that giggled at every single word and couldn't even stand up straight anymore. So he said his goodbyes and headed out into the night.

The past two nights he had wondered if he should ride back to the Cornwall grounds. To that spot where he met the stable boy a few nights back. He had always decided against it though, not wanting to seem weird. But at the same time he couldn't deny that the thought still came to his mind and he wondered if the stable boy happened to be on his nightly trips again tonight. Would he ever come to town? Or was he one to rather stay by himself in the woods?

Surely it was also possible that the boy was only sneaking off that one time. And that he had been too scared of getting caught after their brief encounter. But he didn't seem like someone that would be kept from his little freedom by a small conversation like that. Quite the opposite seemed to be the case. Marcus had felt like the boy - just like himself - had quite enjoyed their conversation. Even if it had been a little awkward at times.

He was just about to turn the corner to Oxford Street when something, or rather someone bumped into him.

Willow had been strolling through the empty streets of town, wondering what it would have been like to walk down those streets at daytime. There would be so many people here, living their everyday life. Going shopping or just for a stroll. Old gentlemen and young girls, mother's with their kids and all kinds of other people.

When the young duchess closed her eyes she could see them. Walking down the street with her, as coaches passed by them - the buzz of life all around them. Oh wouldn't it just be the most delightful thing?

Willow stopped when she came past a tavern to glance through the window for a second. There were quite a few men in there, laughing, drinking, having fun and enjoying life. Most of them by now had more than just a bit too much to drink. Which reminded Willow, that it could get quite dangerous to be out here by herself at night. But she shook that thought off of her quickly and made her way further down the street. There was no way she would let herself worry about something like that now. She would be absolutely fine.

Hearing a door slam close behind her, she snapped her head around. Was there someone there? There seemed to be a few men coming out from the bar, but the few streetlights that aligned the street didn't provide enough light for her to be able to tell for certain. The slightest feeling of fright sneaked into Willow's head. What if something did happen? There would be no one there to help her and she had no real way of defending herself. Maybe this had been a stupid idea. Maybe she should head back.

Another glance over her shoulder. The men behind her seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Not sure if she could believe her eyes, Willow turned around and walked a few steps backwards, just to make sure that those men really were gone and that there was no one there. She squinted her eyes in an effort to make out every last movement that there could have been, but there was really no one there.

Relieved she was just turning around again as her body collided with another one. Losing her balance she landed on her behind not very gracefully and needed a second to realize what had just happened.

"I am awfully sorry, my Lord. I wasn't looking where I was going..." she started apologizing, picking herself up from the floor and dusting off her trousers, before even lifting her gaze. She had just assumed that it had to be a man that she bumped into as no woman would be out by herself at that hour and she hadn't been mistaken. But when her gaze met her counterpart's, the world seemed to stop for a second.

None of them moved or said anything. They just stared into each other's eyes in the dim light of the streetlamp beneath them. No, it couldn't be... Or could it?

Marcus was the first to snap himself out of the trance that they had seemed to be captured in for a moment.

"On another secret nightly trip?" He questioned a grin forming on his lips, showing the clear amusement of them actually meeting again. He couldn't pinpoint how they recognised each other, but it was more than clear that they both had.

"I errhhh..." Willow was caught off guard, searching her head for something to say. Never would she have expected to literally bump into someone like that. Let alone that exact same stranger from the other night.

"Yes - in fact - I am." She borrowed her hands deep in the pockets of her trousers, hoping that this would make her seem somewhat manly. The street light that happened to be on the corner and right next to them provided enough light for them to actually have a closer look on their counterpart. And so for a moment they just stood there studying each other.

Willow noticed right away that he had to be high born. The golden cord that garnished the end of the sleeves of his jacket was shimmering in the street light and there was not a single imperfection found on any of his clothing. It also fitted him like a glove. It must have been quite expensive. He had to at the very least been an Earl, more likely a Duke though, if not even a Grand Duke.

She instantly felt bad for her previous behavior around him. Not only had she addressed him wrongly, her whole behavior towards him had been absolutely unacceptable. Then again he had never corrected her way of addressing him and he hadn't seemed to mind the way she had behaved around him. Maybe he just hadn't expected a stable boy to know any better though.

"Please forgive my clumsiness, your Grace." Willow finally spoke up again, breaking the silence between them. Hoping that this wouldn't get her in any trouble.

"Oh please, there are no such formalities needed and you mustn't worry I won't rip your head off for running into me. In fact I find it quite amusing that we meet again so soon." The stranger brushed it off, a little laugh escaping his lips. "And while we're at it, I think it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves. My name is Marcus, youngest son of the Grand Duke of Yorkshire. And what do they call you?"

A Grand Duke indeed, Willow thought to herself. It was nice to have a name to put to the stranger that somehow managed to sneak into her thoughts a lot these past few days. But what should she tell him? She could hardly introduce herself as Willow. This was in no way a boy's name.

"Your Grace, it is highly inappropriate for someone like me to even be talking to you like this on the streets. Surely you wouldn't want to be seen with me. People would be talking." Willow changed the topic from names and introductions in an effort to distract him from the question at hand and buy herself some time.

"Don't you worry about this nonsense! I can talk to whoever I want and if people want to talk, let them talk. Besides there is no one out here at this time anyways - so who even was to know?"

Oh dear, Willow thought. He surely wasn't easy to get rid off and even though she admired the way he didn't care about their obvious difference in status, she knew that he would insist on her giving him a name. And she hadn't figured out how to answer that question yet.

"So tell me. What do they call you?" Marcus repeated the questions that Willow dreaded so much. Without any other argument on her hand why she couldn't tell him her name, the only option left was to answer his question.

"Will." she replied shortly, practically throwing the word out there, before she could hesitate any further. It was a bit of a stretch, but not a complete lie. Her brother used to call her that when they were kids. In those long ago times, when they would get along and play together without a concern in the world.

That had been long before their father had passed away. Long before there had been a difference made between boys and girls. Back in the days, when the Cornwall grounds had been a huge playground. When there had been adventures waiting behind every corner. But those times had long passed.

"Will." The Grand Duke repeated with a nod of acknowledgement. "It really is a great pleasure to meet you again. If it hadn't been for you, that night in the forest, I would have probably mindlessly ran away from that problem without really thinking about it at all. It was quite an unexpected but pleasant encounter."

"That it was." Willow agreed to his last sentence, wondering what that problem, that he mentioned, was. But she didn't dare to ask. After all he was the son of a Grand Duke and as far as he knew, she was just a stable boy.

"Did you manage to find a solution to that problem yet?" The young duchess couldn't keep herself from asking.

"Not really to be honest." Marcus replied, not too sure how much he wanted Will to know. He gestured towards the sidewalk next to them, inviting the stable boy on a little stroll through the night. "It is... a rather grand problem. But nothing I want to bother you with. I am sure you have your very own problems to take care of."

"Please, bother me. Maybe I can be of assistance." Willow offered, meaning every single word. Who knows, maybe she could really offer some advice and she was dying to find out more about that ominous problem that the Grand Duke's son was facing.

Marcus let out a laugh. "Do not take this the wrong way please, but I doubt that you would understand that kind of problem." What would a stable boy know about arranged marriages? Surely he would be able to choose a girl to marry one day that he really loved. His father definitely just wouldn't arrange a marriage for him. There was no reason for that amongst the working class.

"Try me." Willow challenged, throwing a daring glance towards the Grand Duke. He might just get surprised at what kind of problems Willow was familiar with and was able to understand.

"Alright, if you insist." Marcus sighed, not too comfortable with the topic but also knowing that it probably wouldn't be the worst idea to talk about with someone who was not involved in it in the slightest.

"I have been away on travels for nearly 3 years and just the day after my return home my father apprises me of the marriage that he arranged between me and a girl I have never met before. He made a deal with some other Duke and didn't think it necessary to ask my opinion about the matter at all obviously." Marcus tried very hard to keep his cool, but the topic was making him mad. He just couldn't understand how his father could do that to him.

"Oh." was all that Willow managed to get out. That was in fact a big problem and not exactly what she would have expected. She had never thought that men could get forced into arranged marriages too, but obviously that seemed the case here.

"Well, that surely is something." Willow had in fact no idea what to say to that. She was quite glad that her brother hadn't married her off to some Duke as she had been of age for over a year now.

"I had figured that that would not be something that you would be familiar with." Marcus replied. "But maybe you could try to put yourself in my shoes. What would you do?"

Willow's first instinct would be to just run off. She'd rather spend the rest of her life working hard to earn her own money than to get married to some stranger.

"I'm guessing my first thought would be running away as well." She admitted, but didn't want to leave it at that. "But, I mean... You are the son of a Grand Duke, your Grace. Can't you just refuse to get married?"

Marcus thought about the stables boys words for a second. "I suppose." Theoretically yes, he could just refuse and decline his father's wish, but that would mean risking to lose his family and he didn't know if that was really worth it.

"It is your decision. I just know that I would never agree to an arranged marriage. Especially if I had never met the one I'm betrothed to before." Willow stated. And she meant it. There was no way in hell that she would marry a stranger and she hoped that her brother knew that and wasn't planning anything like that for her.

Marcus nodded, still deep in thought. "It's not that easy in this case. There are multiple things to take into consideration." Marcus wished it would have been as easy as Will put it but it really wasn't. "But let's switch the topic to something more pleasant, shan't we?"

"Well... If you don't mind, your Grace." Willow spoke up, already a topic that she would be very excited to hear more about at hand. "You mentioned being away for travels the past few years. Where ever might those journeys have taken you? I bet it must be so very exciting to explore the world." You could practically see her spirits rise at the pure thought of travelling the world herself and her eyes started to sparkle with excitement, which didn't go unnoticed.

A smile spread upon Marcus' face at the stable boys' clear fascination for the topic. It was quite obvious that Will had been dreaming to go off and travel the world for himself. But Marcus knew quite well that that was not something stable boys could just do so easily. One needed money to see the world. And he figured that that wasn't something that Will had too much of.

"I have been to all kinds of places. Closer countries around Europe like Hungary, France and Spain, but also far away places like South Africa and India. It surely had been the most wonderful time in my life."

Willow couldn't help the sigh that escaped her mouth. "Oh how I wished I was able to travel the world too." Standing on the deck of a boat, the wind blowing through her hair as they sailed away to far off places. There was absolutely nothing that she would have desired more in this world.

"I wish I could have stayed away longer." Marcus replied, an amused smile still tucking at his lips, as he was looking down at the stable boy in front of him, whose biggest dream it seemed to be to see the world. "But," he paused for a moment, "unfortunately my father insisted on my return. He thought that I was just going to be gone for a year or two at the very most, but I pushed the date of my returnal back as far as he'd allow."

"I'm sure your family must have missed you greatly as you were gone for so long." Willow mentioned a somewhat sad undertone in her voice as she thought of her own family. She doubted that her brother would miss her much at all, if she were to be gone for three years. He'd probably be glad.

"They did and I missed them as well, of course, but that freedom of going wherever you want... Seeing something new every day. " Marcus sighed, thinking back to the days he was traveling by ship, waking up at a new place every day. "The world is so breathtaking and there is so much to see."

For a moment there they were both caught up in their day - or rather night - dreams about far away places that just waited to be discovered.

It was the hollow sound of the church bell that rang through the silence of the night, that snapped them back into reality. Willow took that as a hint. It was time to head back. She didn't want to stay out too late and test her luck.

"As much as I would like to continue to chat and hear some stories of your travels, your Grace, I should be heading back now." she spoke up as they both came to a halt, really quite disappointed that their conversation had to come to an end.

"Maybe we could meet up again tomorrow night." Marcus suggested, also wanting to continue their conversation. "If that is convenient for you."

"Of course!" Willow replied a little too excited, too caught up in her happiness to make sure that her voice sounded somewhat like a guys. "I mean, yes, that would be convenient." She corrected herself in a lower toned voice. Hoping he didn't notice her slipup. They parted ways and Willow couldn't wait for the next night to come.

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