Chapter 24 Cross paths in the past?

The Duke looked at the woman before saying," As I said, you will come to my house for compensation." He then glanced at Lucas and without another word, he left the place.

As he made way towards the carriage, he caught sight of the brown haired girl standing outside, as she held a distant look on her face.

When he reached where she was, he said," A penny for your thoughts."

She glanced at him and remembering what had earlier happened, she bowed her head and said," Thank you so much for helping me your grace." "Lately, you have been running into a lot of trouble. Why do you attract trouble so much?" "It is the same thing I was asking myself," she muttered under her breath which he clearly heard.

"Get in," he said and she looked back at him.

"We came in a carriage and Charlotte is waiting for me," she informed.

"You would have thought about it before causing trouble," he said gesturing for her to enter the carriage.

"But your grace- " "I usually don't like to repeat myself," he remarked and on hearing the words, she opened the carriage door hurriedly before climbing in and sat at the extreme end.

She saw him climb in and he took a seat that was facing hers, then he sat stretching his legs. The carriage started to move and she looked outside the window.

"What's in there?" she heard him ask and she looked at him, whose eyes were fixed on her bag. Not knowing what to say, she replied," It will be inappropriate if I mention it your grace." He turned to look outside and muttered," I see. Undergarments."

On hearing the words, her face turned a deep shade of red and she immediately looked outside the window such that he couldn't see her flustered expression. How embarrassing, she thought. She wondered how he could talk casually about such things.

On seeing them taking a different path, she looked at him and asked," Your grace? Where are we going?" "You are coming with me to run some errands because I find it unfit to leave you behind. Who knows, you might run into trouble again," he said and she returned her eyes outside the window. It's not like he will be taking her with him every time, she thought.

She didn't know where they were going but it didn't alarm her any minute because she absolutely trusted him. Deep down, she knew that there's no way he could hurt her.

Raven took his time to observe the girl whose eyes were fixated outside but he understood that she was only trying to avoid his gaze and she knew that he was looking at her.

He noticed a lock of her hair that kept dancing in front of her face whenever the wind blew onto it and he felt the sudden urge to tuck it behind her ear but he held himself in place. He didn't know why but lately, he had been running into her more often and he had to admit to himself that he liked her being around him.

"Don't you miss your family?" he suddenly asked. She looked at him before pursing her lips and she shook her head. "Honestly no. I only miss my mother," she replied before looking back outside. "And your father?" he asked again. "I don't remember him," she replied and he nodded. She wanted to ask about him, how he managed with both his parents gone but she restrained herself, not wanting to cross the line. He must have been so devastated because from what she could remember, his parents were nice and loved him a lot. Losing them at almost the same time must have left him horrified.

The rest of the drive was silent as she watched the scenery outside the window.

After some time, the carriage came to a halt and the Duke looked at her before saying," You shall wait here." When she nodded, he picked his grey fur coat that rested on the seat and the coachman was ready to open for him.

He climbed down the carriage before he left and she watched him walk towards a building.

"Sir?" she called, getting the Coachman's attention. "Yes miss?" he replied. "Where's this place?" she asked. "We are in Arrowhead, still in Hollowvale," she heard him say. "Alright," she replied and leaned her back against the seat. She has never heard of the place before.

Several hours later...

A yawn escaped Hazel's lips as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. She hadn't expected the Duke to take this long. Had she known, she would have utilised the time to start with the sewing. She felt her back hurting and she wondered if he will get pissed if she went to stand outside. In the end, she decided to leave the carriage and before she could climb down, she glanced towards the building and caught sight of him coming out with a man as they took slow steps seeming to be discussing something important.

She sat back and a while later, she heard his voice speaking to the coachman before the door opened and he came in.

"Did I take long?" he asked. "No your grace," she replied. He nodded and the carriage started moving.

"Ms Winston," she heard the Duke ask and she turned to look at him. They had travelled a long way and the journey had been a silent one. "Did we ever cross paths in the past?" he asked. She felt her heart racing at the question. Should she tell him who she was? But she doubted it meant anything. "W-what makes you think that way your grace?" she asked back. "Hmmm what can I say. It is a feeling," he replied. She gave it a thought before deciding to tell him the truth. "I am..."

Before she could get any further, they heard a yelp, more like a male grunt and next, the carriage started wavering and swaying unsteadily from side to side.