The Duke's Revenge (29 page)

“
You want to talk to me?”
she said.

“
I’m leaving for London,
as you well know,” Grace began. “I ask you one final time, Ivy, as
a mother to her daughter, won’t you help me?”

“
I told you that I
cannot,” Ivy said firmly. “I have no money of my own, and I will
not ask the duke for it.”

“
So you would let the
creditors take my home from me?” Grace narrowed her eyes and cocked
her head to one side. “You would allow them to strip me of all my
belongings? I cannot allow that to happen, Ivy, I won’t allow it to
happen.”

“
What else could you do?”
Ivy asked seriously, too tired and sick of her mother’s insistent
groaning for money.

“
No, Ivy, I cannot do
anything now,” she said slowly, her eyes gleaming, “but you, Ivy,
you can. There is a way.” She slowly made her way around Ivy as
though examining her and searching for her weak point with her
sharp green eyes.

“
What do you mean? You
know I won’t ask the duke for money.” Ivy’s body became tense when
her mother stopped in front of her and slowly studied her from head
to toe.

“
I can’t help you. Not any
more. You’ve already sold me to him, what more do you want?” she
asked as she stared into the other woman’s eyes, and her inside
burnt with emotional pain.

“
There is a solution to
this problem,” Grace said.

Ivy saw the cold evil glared in her mother’s
eyes, and she felt the hair at the back of her neck rise.

“
Don’t pretend, dear
daughter, you will help me, no matter what.” Grace moved her head,
slowly as a snake would, toward Ivy.

Ivy stared at her mother and took a step
back.

Grace smiled and moved forward.

Ivy took another step back and turned. She
took two strides when Grace caught her by the arm and hauled her
back.

“
No, what are you doing?”
Ivy gasped out in pain.

“
Getting rid of you, my
dear. You are my hindrance. He will marry me when you’re gone.”
Grace laughed, her voice high pitched in the room.

“
No, he won’t, no!” Ivy
screamed and wrestled with her mother to get herself
free.

“
Be quiet!” Grace hissed,
grabbed a bunch of Ivy’s hair, and stuffed the girl’s mouth with a
handkerchief.

Ivy shook her head. She tried to scream but
the handkerchief gagged her silent. She hit Grace on the stomach
with her elbow and broke free.

Grace stumbled backward. “How dare you?” she
hissed, lugged forward, and slapped Ivy’s face, throwing the girl
to the floor. “I told you to be quiet!” she snapped.

She came to kneel beside Ivy, grabbed a
bunch of the girl’s hair, and tilted her face up. “And now you must
pay for your insolence. Oh, how I hate you the moment you came into
this world. I hated you even more these past weeks. Just because
you are a duchess doesn’t mean you can be so high and mighty in
front of me. You have not listen to me these past three days, Ivy?
I shall have to teach you a lesson after all.”

Ivy shook her head. “No, you will not. You
have done enough. You have never loved me. You’ve hurt me enough,
and I won’t stand it anymore. You will leave my house.” Ivy stared
at her mother.

“
Your house now, is it?”
Grace said and let Ivy’s hair go.

“
Yes, my house, and it
will always be mine,” Ivy said and sat up.

“
I don’t think so. This is
my house, Ivy, and I
will
be the duchess of Lynwood,” the older woman said
with her eyes narrowed. “Gale!”

Ivy stared wide-eyed as the shadowy, thin
form appeared from the darkness. In her skeletal hand, she held a
long, thin strap.

Fear suffocated her, and her body started to
shake uncontrollably. “No...” Ivy whispered, shaking her head.
“No!”

“
Oh yes, my sweet
daughter, for you have disobeyed my orders and now you will get the
punishment.”

“
You cannot, ‘tis not
right. I won’t stand for it,” Ivy said, tears rolling down her
cheeks. “I won’t allow you to hurt me,” she screamed, fighting the
other woman to free her.

“
Gale! Quick, seizes
her!”

The skinny maid rushed to grab Ivy by the
arm and forced her to lie down.

“
No! Max, help!” Ivy cried
as she fought against the maid.

“
Shut up!” Gale hissed
near her ear. “The duke is not here to help you.”

“
No!” Ivy bit Gale’s
hand.

The maid yapped and released her
captive.

Ivy got up and ran toward the door.

“
Ivy, you can’t get away,”
Grace screamed and caught her by the hair. She pulled the younger
woman back and slapped her hard on the cheek.

Ivy stood stunned for a moment because of
the intense pain.

Grace shoved her onto the floor and grabbed
the strap from Gale’s hand. “I told you you won’t get away.” She
heaved. She raised the strap high in the air, and then, she slashed
it down. The thin whip sliced on Ivy’s arm.

She winced. More tears flowed down her eyes.
She saw another one coming and quickly rolled on her side to avoid
the strap. It hit the floor with a thud.

“
Don’t be too clever, Ivy,
you won’t get away,” Grace said and swung the strap again. It
touched the side of Ivy’s leg. She cringed at the pain.

“
Stop it, mother, stop
punishing me. Why are you doing this to me?” Ivy
shouted.

“
You want to know why?
Because I hate you, that’s why. It’s your father’s fault, Ivy. It’s
because of him. He hurt me, and I have to hurt you because you are
his daughter.” Her eyes were wide and wild. “Gale, get her, keep
her still!”

Gale nodded and rushed to hold Ivy where she
was lying on the floor.

“
No!” Ivy kicked the woman
away from her.

“
Hold still,” the maid
said, forcing her to lie with her back facing up.

“
Good!” Grace said and
raised the strap.

“
No, stop,” Ivy
cried.

Grace didn’t listened, however, and she let
the whip fly on Ivy’s back. Whish--whish--whish!

The world started to spin around her. Ivy
felt so tired. It was as though she had no energy left to fight
anymore. By that time Grace had stopped, she was half
unconscious.

Grace walked around and kneeled beside her,
lifting her pale face up. “What did I tell you, Ivy? You won’t get
away from me. By the way, do you remember that room?”

Ivy closed her eyes and
knew exactly what her mother was talking about. Her heart sank, and
she felt as though she would rather die than go into that room.
The
punishment
room, her mother called it.

“
Aye, I know you remember
that room. That is where I’m taking you, Ivy,” Grace
said.

“
No...” Ivy
whispered.

“
Oh, yes,” Grace said,
nodding her head and smiling. “Gale, help me take her to that
room.”

“
Indeed, my lady.” The
maid nodded her head with enthusiasm.

“
No, please,” Ivy pleaded
as they dragged her toward the door. “No, don’t, how could
you?”

“
Shut up!” Grace snapped,
pulling Ivy’s hands and dragging her out of the room.

“
Why are you doing this?
What did I do to you? Papa, help me. Max, please help me,” she
whispered.

“
No one can help you now.
You will die in that room and no one will know. They would think
you had locked yourself in there,” Grace said and
laughed.

“
Papa, Max, where are you,
please help,” Ivy sobbed. She blinked and saw that they were
dragging her up the stairs toward the fourth floor. No, not the
fourth floor—
not that room!

They came toward the dark hallway. The
coldness seeped into her thin clothing, and Ivy’s body
shivered.

“
Max...” she sobbed as
darkness started to creep into her thought. “Papa...”

They thrust the rusty door opened.

“
No,” she sobbed again,
shaking her head. “Please, not there.”

“
Yes, my dear, in there is
where you will take your last breath,” Grace said, and they dragged
her into the room.

“
No!” Ivy gave one final
cry, battling to stay awake and to stay alive.

They left her there and walked back to the
door.

Ivy lifted herself up and crawled toward the
door, only a few footsteps behind their feet. She neared the door
when Grace kneeled down, caught the hair on her head, and tilted
her face up. “Good bye, my sweet daughter.” She smiled, released
Ivy’s hair, and stood up.

As she stared down at the girl crying and
begging her with her eyes, Grace coldly shut the door.

Darkness gushed in. Ivy felt like she was in
hell, cold and alone. There was no light, and her world was
spinning about her.

“
No, please, let me out. I
hate this place. Please...” she sobbed, her fists weakly banging on
the sealed door. She felt suffocated. There was no air to breathe.
God help her, she was going to die.

“
Max...” she sobbed. “Help
me,” she whimpered. “Papa...” Her breathing became short and slow.
“Max,” she sobbed one last time, and she knew no more.

***

Meg knew that she was in trouble as she
raced up the stairs, through the long corridor, and toward the
master bedroom. At the door she hesitated, took a deep breath, and
finally found the courage to knock.

“
Enter!”

She swallowed hard. Her body started to
shake as she ever so slowly turned the door knob. She slipped in
and closed the door quietly behind her. With her head bowed, she
curtsied.

“
What is it?”

“
Your grace,” she began,
her voice quivering, “’tis her grace.”

Max watched the maid, and when she didn’t
answer, he commanded, “Well?”

“
Err,” Meg began, “it’s
her grace, your grace.”

“
What is it, maid, hurry
up with it,” Charles said from the other side of the room. “The
duke is tired and he has no patience for this.”

“
Your grace, it’s her
grace. I haven’t seen her since...since early this morning,” Meg
confessed, tears brewing in her eyes.

“
What?”

“
Your grace, it was about
ten o’clock this morning, after I’ve informed her grace that Lady
Westwood wanted to talk to her in her bedroom and no one had seen
her since.”

“
Are you saying that Lady
Grace Westwood was here?” Max snapped, his eyes flared a fiery
blue.

“
Aye, your grace.” The
maid nodded. “She was here for three days and—”

“
Where is her grace?” he
demanded.

Meg looked up, her face paled and there were
tears in her eyes. “I, I don’t’ know, your grace. She...she
disappeared.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me
earlier?” he scolded as he stalked pass her out the
room.

“
I’m sorry, your grace,”
Meg said, running after him along the corridor.

“
Stop crying, for God’s
sake,” Charles snapped in irritation and rushed pass
her.

“
Donald, where the hell
are you!” Max shouted, his loud voice echoing in the corridor.
“Donald!” he shouted as he came into the drawing room. No one was
there. He twisted, stalked across the hallway, and down to the
below-stairs.

“
Donald!” he shouted as he
passed through dimmed corridors that he had never seen before.
“Mrs. Price!”

“
Your grace!” Donald
rushed out from a room into the hallway. Mrs. Price and Lisa was
behind him, they still had their bonnets and gloves on. “You’re
back, I beg your--”

“
Her grace is missing,
gather everyone for the search,” he ordered.

Donald paled and nodded.

“
Her grace is missing?”
Lisa said her eyes wide. “I knew I shouldn’t go. It was her
ladyship, your grace, who told us to go.”

Max turned and rushed up the stairs as the
servants followed him.

“
I want every room in the
castle searched,” he commanded. “Donald, you inform the male
servants. I want the grooms, stables men, gardeners, and gamekeeper
to search outside, everywhere. Mrs. Price, you inform the female
servants. I want every room in the castle searched.”

“
Aye, sir” Mrs. Price
said.

“
There are too many places
to search,” Lisa said. “It will take a long time and her grace
might be...”

“
Lisa, don’t you suggest
such a thing. Her grace will be all right,” Mrs. Price
snapped.

Max stopped at the top of the stairs. He
turned to look at Lisa as though it was the very first he had seen
her.

“
You’re right, there are
too many places to search and Ivy might...” He gritted his teeth
and said curtly, “Do you think her ladyship might have anything to
do with this?

The three servants looked at one another and
nodded in unison.

Max narrowed his eyes.

“
Oh, no!” Lisa’s gasped,
her eyes wide in horror. “The punishment room. Lady Westwood used
to whip her grace and then locked her up in the punishment
room.”

“
The punishment room?” Max
frowned.