Biting One's Patience

Nicholas almost dropped Astrid due to his surprise. She bit him. Why would the Princess bite him? Even if she was pissed, she could not just bite someone out of spite.

His thoughts ran rampant.

For someone with royal blood running down their veins and a proper snob, she acted like a violent banshee from somewhere in the West. People from that part of Clevon like to keep their servants in place and would scream bloody murder if cornered.

The moment this thought invaded his mind, he quickly vanished it from his head.It was disrespectful of him to think about her personality this way.

Turning his attention back at present, he struggled to keep her right where she was on his shoulder. She was squirming vigorously. He tried to reach for his back, the part where the daft woman bit him, unfortunately, Astrid also tried to bite his hand off.

"Behave or I'll drop you, my lady," He spoke, teeth gritting in anger. She's quite a handful.

"Then put me down, you parentless scum!" She snapped at him.

Her words almost made him drop her right away. She has a foul mouth, and her words sting. A good caning would make her shut her blabbering mouth.

But, he was not brought up that way. He was taught to respect women even if they were not worth it. Instead of dropping her, he tightened his hold on the back of her thighs and lifted her up, placing her sideways on his horse. He chose to ignore her words for the sake of his sanity.

He was undoing the reins from being tied up to the lamp post when the Baroness kicked Raven's hide urging him forward, now sitting astride. He couldn't help smirking to himself at her effort. Raven is a loyal animal. The Baroness might try her best to ride away but he won't get anywhere with Raven as the horse.

The horse neighed in protest, scampering on his feet to dislodge the unwanted rider.

"Why won't this daft animal move on command!?" Astrid gritted her teeth in anger, but the horse just neighed at her again quite sassily.

Done with undoing the reins, he decided not to get attacked more tonight and urged the horse forward.

"Keep your hands off of my horse, you vagrant!" Astrid shouted, churning.

He could not help rolling his eyes, something her deceased mother would slap his wrist for back in the days when he was nothing but a mere babe. This woman spoke of being a sheltered snob through and through.

"Raven is my horse. It is the reason why he would not follow a stranger's command and you better be on your best behaviour, Princess, or you'll be sharing the straws with my horse," he warned the woman and proceeded to walk away from the inn with him leading the reins.

Surprisingly, silence followed. Great. It was not comfortable at all but he chose to keep his mouth shut. He doesn't want to be on the receiving end of her silly insults again.

They were making progress with their journey back to the manor. Raven's gait was smooth as he paced forward. He was ready to thank the constellations for the silence when she turned her head in his direction.

"For someone who claims to love me, you are doing it crudely," Her voice was now mellow but the sarcasm was there.

'Oh my days,' he thought.

"Keep quiet. I'll only house you tonight and you will be gone by morning," He responded, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

It was dark, this area of the barony wasn't installed with lights just yet, but he knew the way like the back of his palm, nevertheless, he had to make sure to guide Raven well. He loves the animal and would not want to see Raven injured at all cost because of recklessness.

Besides, the moon was giving them enough light shining on the dusty path. He could see the path pretty well.

He kept his steps long and quick. The sooner they reach the manor, the better for his sanity and patience.

"My father would hear about this," She said with gritted teeth and thanked the stars that the night was upon them, the Princess won't see the silent scoff upon his face. She might act high and mighty but she had fallen, and he bloody knows it. He had enough of this woman.

Again, he chose to remain mummed and labored the steps leading home.

~

Of course, the whole thing did not end with housing the lady for the night. Astrid demanded the best things for her chamber, throwing the smooth running of the manor into a chaotic mess. Mrs. Moore, being understanding and full of patience, quickly followed the noble woman.

The bed was not soft, the pillows not plump enough. The draperies were mundane, the room was not the right temperature, the mantle was ugly, the blankets not her desired color, and it goes on and on.

Nicholas understood that the manor needed a mistress and it was why the whole staff were scrambling on their tip toes just to follow the unreasonable demands when it's almost in the middle of the night. He knew that Mrs. Moore, Bertha, wanted to see him happy and supported by the mistress of the manor. He knew damn well.

Of course, he had considered those things, years ago. When he was nothing but a blind fool. Now, he can run the whole barony just fine without its mistress. He doesn't need an errant mistress. That was why he chose to put a stop to it. It was getting out of hand so he stole the lady's attention from her commanding the servants.

"Stable straws or the bed, my lady. Choose what you think is best," he was fuming. He was starving and exhausted from the field work earlier, and Astrid was making it all worse with her nonsense.

His staff were frozen as the words tumbled out of his mouth. Their eyes were silently questioning him if it was right to treat a noble woman that way, a daughter of an Archduke at that. Bertha was appalled.

Finally, the whole thing ended quite forcibly with the Princess glaring daggers at his direction. He did not mind it one bit. When the appalled Bertha left along with the temporary maid of the Baroness, he turned to her once more.

"Try hurting the people in this household and I'll toss you out of that window without a thought, my lady. Don't test my patience, it's paper thin," he warned, waiting for her answer while pointing at the window with its draperies shut.

It was a threat, indeed. She's small and he could easily toss her out the window. The chamber she was currently in was on the second storey of the house. It might not be fatal but it is still going to be a painful fall with the thorny rose bushes as the cushion.

"You have no right to order me around. You are nothing but a mere Baron. You dare threaten me?" She fumed. "I'll let your trespasses just this once," she hissed like she did him a favour, her voice brimming with untold vengeance,

He chose to ignore her response and walked out of the room, gently closing the door on his way out. It was already midnight, although exhausted and starved at the same time, he could not find himself doing the necessary actions to quell his needs.

Sighing while rubbing the back of his head, he made a stop in his room and found the food he asked Bertha to prepare for him earlier. It was a simple dinner dish of beef stew and hard bread. He grabbed the tray containing the dinner and made his way to his study. He'd rather work and think about what measures he was going to take upon housing the nasty Baroness than sulk in the corner because of his unfortunate situation.

A while later, he was silently enjoying his late supper while reading the missives he received today. The arrival of the Princess was instantaneous, and it interrupted his plans. One evidence of it was the unread missives.

Going through the pile of different cards and correspondence on his table, one particular seal attracted his eyes. It was the crest of the house of Clermont, neatly stamped on a golden wax.

"The Archduke?" He mumbled to himself and quickly took the letter opener. In no time, he was reading the contents of the letter.

Silence.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration after reading all of it. Why would the Archduke ask him something he clearly disliked? The letter on his desk looks like a venomous snake at the moment. The Archduke asked him a favour knowing that he won't be able to deny him. They have already talked about it months ago. His conditions were plainly given and presented to the Royal. What is this now?

The words "house" and "indefinite" jumped at him.

In his frustration and the endless thoughts running in his head, Nicholas fell asleep on his chair without him noticing it. However, it was not a long sleep since he was abruptly awakened by a loud noise. It was the sound of something breaking.

He shot up from his chair, groggy and disoriented, neck and back aching. The noise was so loud and unusual that he could not think of anything that would cause such ruckus in the morning. Also, the sound seems to be emanating from the dining room downstairs.

It was great timing that he was sleeping in his study last night since it was closer to the dining area than his room. Slowly stumbling out of the study and climbing the stairs carefully, the scene in front of him was enough to vanish his disoriented mind as he entered the dining chamber.

Flor, one of the maids assigned to the dining room, the same maid who was assigned as the Baroness' temporary maid, was sprawled on the floor with pieces of glass and ceramic scattered beside her shivering form. Some unknown bits of what seems like breakfast were clinging to her person.

"Dimwitted. Incompetent," The Princess said in a cold voice. The maid looked down with apologies tumbling out of her trembling lips.

The door to the dining room slammed in earnest as the rest of the kitchen maids shuffled in urgency.

"Flor!" It was Susan, another kitchen maid. Susan quickly helped Flor up from the smooth wooden floor, not minding the shattered ceramic and apologized for the latter's mistake. Susan was years older and cherished the maids younger than her.

Everyone seemed to freeze, even him. He was only able to collect his wits when Astrid turned in his direction. There was a tinge of anxiety in her eyes but the proud look on her face was adamant.

"I took the lead on educating your servants about proper etiquette, and serving," And she gave him a dazzling smile, like there was nothing amiss. "After much pondering last night, I decided to educate the household--"

Out of his mind, he grabbed the woman's arm breaking her train of words, and dragged her out of the dining room. The woman shrieked in surprise as he pulled her into the threshold and outside of the manor.

He finally decided that he would not show this woman mercy.