Josefine_4852

She was kneeling on the cold stone floor of the main hall with her hands tied behind her back. Not daring to face the intruders she kept her head low and her gaze fixed on the ground. 
She was only wearing a nightgown and her messily tied hair had started to come undone, causing lose strands of auburn colored hair to cover her face. She was thin; way to thin as most would probably say. Her beautiful features were concealed by sunken cheeks, dark circles and a dull complexion. 
Beside her was the rest of the family, all of them kneeling in a row with their hands tied back. She hadn’t gotten a good look but from the corner of her eye her father had appeared to be badly beaten...

*** 

The man who had killed her family that night had been truly terrifying. His face was entirely unfeeling as he beheaded them and he did not flinch when their bodies hit the floor.
So why had that man defied the king's orders just to spare her life? 

Amelia thought that her miserable life would continue being filled with nothing but abuse. 
She had not expected that she would be treated kindly, both by him and by his servants. And she had certainly not expected that she would slowly begin to let her guard down aroud him.

***

(Cover art from pinterest)

A thorny path

According to some maid's the young miss was having tea in the garden. Gordon quickly managed to locate her sitting under the gazeboo where she had spent many afternoons since she arrived to the estate.


Accompanying her by the small table was the curly- haired maid that she had been assigned and judging by their body languages it seemed like they were having a pleasant chat.


The young miss was dressed in a light pink get up with a white fur shawl as protection from the increasingly dropping temperature. Her movements looked like they had been taken directly out of an etiquette textbook, with her back straight and her motions fluid and gentle. If not for the fact that she was sharing the table with her own servant she would have been nearly inextinguishable from an highly regarded socialite.


When Gordon cleared his throat to make his presence known they both turned their heads towards him in surprise. The maid, who was namned Olivia if he remembered correctly, immeadiatly rose from her seat with a frantic look on her face and she hurridely curtsied. It was good that she was at least aware of the impropriety of her conduct.


To Gordons surprise the young miss began to rise from her seat as well, something that was highly unnecessary coming from the person that he was supposed to serve.


"There's no need for you to stand up for the sake of this old butler, miss Ainsworth." He smiled reassuringly towards Amelia who sat back down with a nod. Even though her composure remained unchanged she had noticeably stiffened compared to how she looked before his disruption.


Gordon felt guilty for cutting their chat short as it was his first time seeing the young miss being so relaxed. But since he had to do his job there was no space for sympathising. He turned his head towards the blonde maid.


"If you don't mind I would like to speak privately with miss Ainsworth."


The maid shot a worried glance towards the young miss and only excused herself after recieving a confirming smile from Amelia. It was obvious that she had taken a liking to the miss.


"It is good to see you again. Have you been faring well?" Amelia was the first to speak and she was as polite to Gordon as ever.


"I have been doing fairly well, thank you for the concern." He smiled to ease the tension. "Is it alright if I have a short talk with you?"


"Of course. The tea is still warm in case you would like some?"


"I'm alright, if I sit down there is no telling when I will manage to get back up again."


Gordon found it odd how the young miss always acted like she had to please everyone while at the same time possessing the elegant movements of a highly educated noble. The only conclusion he could draw was that someone had purposely taught her to act subservient. 


This was strange despite her status as an illegitimate child. If she were to accompany the duke to the banquet it was a habit that needed to be corrected as Gordon could only imagine what kind of rumors would spread if the duke's mistress and the daughter from an influential house was to act like nothing more than a servant. 


"I will keep this short as it is pretty cold outside. Duke Beaumont is having a banquet in about two weeks in celebration of his twentyfifth birthday and he would like to bring you as his partner."


Noble etiquette (1)