The Duke's Daughter -Wattys2014 Collector's Dream Award Winner-

Chapter Eighty One

Derek led the procession of shackled men into the holding cell. One soldier accompanied them inside, releasing them from the cuffs. Once they were all unfettered, the soldier gathered the shackles and exited the cell. The iron door swung shut. The officer who had addressed them on the ship turned the key in the lock, barring them from the outside world with a subtle click.

"The King will see you in the morning." The soldier stated, lifting uncertain eyes to Derek momentarily. "You may plead your case then."

Without so much as another glance, the soldiers left, the closing of a door in the distance left the Lady's Captain and crew alone.

Derek turned from the door to face his crew, a heavy sigh leaving his lungs. As he lifted his eyes to his men before him, he saw accusation in every set. Including the dark, angry eyes of his first mate.

"I told you something was coming, Captain." Alejandro held Derek's eyes with midnight fire in his own.

*****

Arianna stood at the rail of the Lady, her spine straight, her eyes closed, with cold, cleansing air entering and exiting her lungs without the interruption of sobs. As her calm returned, so did her rational mind. She would not get ahead of this situation if she continued to react to it. It was time for her to act against it. She was a Countess, after all, and she was a Duke's daughter to boot. Perhaps it was time to determine exactly what her title meant.

She had already decided that it meant firstly, no flab faced, fork stabbed, limping bag of vermin would get the best of her. She knew the charges were ridiculous and totally unfounded. She would have her husband released in a trice.

She was thrilled when Mickey came running down the dock waving his arms in the air and whistling sharply to gain her attention. He sprinted up the gangplank.

"Your Lady," he gasped. "My Lady," he gasped again, this time with a sheepish smirk and a small shrug. The efforts were obviously the last bit of his expendable energy as he leaned down to hold his knees, trying to breathe in as much air as possible.

Arianna grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye as his chest heaved from his exertions.

"It is alright, Mickey, breathe." Arianna took a deep breath herself and he did the same.

"Did you see Captain Daniels?" She asked him. He shook his head in the negative.

Arianna refused to be upset. "Did you get help?" She asked next.

He seemed relieved to be able to nod in the affirmative.

"Good, who is coming to help?" She asked.

He blew out a breath and answered, "First mate." He continued breathing hard and nodding.

"That should suffice. When can I expect him?"

"Now, my lady." The first mate of the Merry Kathleen answered her. He was a dark haired man with a leveling stare, his eyes reassured Arianna even as he labored for breath.

Mickey grinned, still breathing hard, and pointing at the man who had tried to keep up with him on his flight down the docks.

"I brought a few men with me," the sailor continued, "As the Kathleen is secure, we will secure the Lady as well. I gather you've had some trouble according to this young man." He nodded to Mickey, who nodded enthusiastically in reply.

"Yes, a bit of trouble, but we shall be out of it in no time, thanks to you." Arianna nodded to her father's men who were filing onto the ship behind their first mate. "I must go, but I will leave Mickey to tell you what has happened. Time is of the essence at the moment, good sir."
He bowed to her and turned to his men, shouting orders as he prepared to secure the ship.

Arianna ran down to the cabin Alejandro called his own and found Carmelita.

"We will be going to my family together. I also need a few things from my cabin, come and find me when you are ready to go." She said kindly, as Carmelita was gathering things into a bag, tears running down her cheeks. Roman just sat on the bed, he didn't know what else to do.

"Do you have your lute, Roman?" Arianna asked.

He put his head down, "Don't need it." He said quietly.

"Of course you do, young man. Do you not think that after I tell the Duchess how good you are, she will not want to hear you play?" She asked him, as she rubbed his hair and winked at Carmelita, who in return gave her a small, trembling smile.

"I don't want to play it." Roman said angrily.

Arianna strode across the room and picked up the larger lute from where it leaned against the wall. "But I will be taking your father's lute also, so you may play together when we get him and the Captain back." She said.

The boy looked up at her and asked, "Do you really think we can get them back?" The soldier's laughing face drifted through his mind.

"Look at me Roman." Arianna stepped close to the boy and took his face gently between her hands. "Do you really think I will not?" She quirked her eyebrow at him, determination written all over her face as she gave him an evil little smile. "You have not seen anything yet, sweetheart, let us get our things and go in order to get your father back just as soon as we can."

This broke Roman from the despair his heart had fallen to, he trusted Arianna, and he knew she would not rest until his Papà and the Captain were free.

*****

Derek met his first mate's stare with a stern look of his own. "I know you told me, Alejandro." Looking around to the rest of the crew, Derek spoke to the group as a whole, "The question is; do we sit in here and discuss a mutiny or do we plan our way out of this?"

Alejandro's eyes flashed, however, he did not press further. His anger was not truly pointed at his Captain. The sight of his son's fear while being handled by the soldier had replayed through Alejandro's mind since the moment they had lead him away from the Lady.

"How do you propose we go about this, Captain?"

Alejandro finally asked, the anger in his eyes cooling to a frightening opal.

*****

The Duke dispatched the footpad, telling him his business would have to wait. He encouraged his wife and son into the parlor, where they could reunite in privacy rather than on the front walk. He lead them to the settee, watching them hold each other tightly once there, as though neither wanted to ever have to let go of the other again.

William walked to the mantle while emotional tears at seeing the two together began once more to slide slowly down his cheeks. Walking to the sideboard he poured himself a brandy, damning Marcus Bailey to hell for the thousandth time, as he rued not being able to send the man there himself. He realized, in that moment, that he did not even know who had killed Bailey, for the subject had been brushed aside while on the ship. A wry smile lifted the corner of the duke's lips as he stared down into the amber liquid he swirled in his glass. After that he had been much too occupied reuniting with his wife, and marrying off his daughter to find the matter of much consequence.

His thoughts swiftly returned to his wife and son, as did his gaze, his heart warmed to see them holding one another as if to never let go, resolving to let the matter of Marcus Bailey wait until a later time, William decided to allow the present to be fully about them.

"I brought you an excellent present this time, did I not, Will?" He thought to himself.

****

Kathleen leaned back and took Will's face in her hands.

"Just let me look at you a moment." She begged of him.

Will held his mother's wrists in his hands, not wanting to release his grasp on her any more than she seemed willing to release her hold on him. He was amazed that it was truly his mother he was holding onto. She was still so incredibly beautiful and the love he remembered receiving as a young boy still shone brightly in her eyes.
His mother.

Damn, Will thought, just looking at her aroused the most incredible feeling Will could have imagined. It seemed unreal for a start, as if some sort of dream had swept him into her presence, and down deep in his heart, Will realized that he feared awakening to find her a wishful figment of his imagination. Having spent so many years living with the hope that she would come back to them, praying diligently for this very thing, now that it had come about, Will found himself at a loss as to how to express himself. He had always thought of her return in relation to a remedy for the things that ailed his father. Or he had thought of how Arianna so desperately needed her mother, how she had been deprived so unfairly of their mother's loving care, thinking of the many ways in which his sister would benefit if she had their mother's advice to guide her as she had grown. Having never really thought of what it would mean to him, of the ways in which it would affect him, Will realized, in that moment, that he had not allowed himself to in all this time, desiring to protect himself in case she never did return to them.

Will found himself staring into his mother's emerald eyes in complete and utter awe. He felt as if he floundered, searching his mother's familiar face for affirmation that it was truly her, as she reverently stroked his cheekbones with her thumbs, while he breathed in deeply her unique, gardenia infused scent. Swept back momentarily to his childhood, Will closed his eyes against the pain of his loss, as long forgotten memories began to flood his mind. Will remembered acutely how it had felt to have a mother's care, the ministrations of this woman before him, who had been so affectionate and attentive to him when he was small. He remembered how it had felt to be held on her lap, as if any and all wrongs could be righted just as long as he was held securely in her arms. Will opened his eyes to find her waiting patiently as he sifted through his emotions. He attempted a wavering smile while his thumbs began stroking her wrists. His efforts seemed to be all the assurance she needed to attempt a hopeful smile of her own. A vivid memory suddenly came rushing to Will's mind, one that had oftentimes occurred in this very room, causing him to chuckle wryly at the recollection. He remembered her tenacity, that even when she had been saucy with his father, she had oft times sent Will a covert wink, assuring him there was no cause for concern, that she enjoyed arguing with the man while broadening his view of certain situations. 

His father, to his credit, had never let any of them blame her after she went away, seeming to know somehow that she would never have left them of her own accord. Will had tried to believe the same, and yet, here she sat, looking radiantly happy and healthy. "Where have you been all this time? Why did you not come back sooner?" He all but whined, a trace of accusation evident in his tone. Even to his own ears he sounded as a ten year old child. Will covered his mother's hands upon his cheeks with his own, closing his eyes tightly for a second, he hung his head, he then opened his eyes to look up through his lashes at her repentantly.

Kathleen's breath left her body in a rush, she never thought he would believe... "Oh, my dearest, darling boy, I did not leave you of my own accord, my love." Kathleen shook her head profusely before lifting his face to speak frankly, realizing he did not yet understand. "I was taken from you, darling," Kathleen looked deeply into his eyes as she began stroking his hair back from one side of his face. She willed him to hear the awful truth in her words, so the past could firmly be put to rest. "My demented cousin thought to gain from taking me, hoping to inherit lands that did not belong to him, he kept me prisoner on an island he held title to, locking me away in a lavish cell, keeping me under his control all these many years." Still cupping his cheek in her other hand she rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone, thinking he possessed such a strong and beautiful face, wondering how he could have grown even more beautiful than he had been as a small boy. Her tears began welling and Kathleen found herself having to speak through the sobs that threatened, "I tried many, many times to escape him, Will, so I could come home to all of you." Kathleen trailed off for a second, her eyes glazed over as if she had left him and went to a different place altogether. "However, he always caught me when I did."

Will took hold of his mother's hands, lowering them onto the settee between them, feeling quite a wretch for making her recall unpleasant memories, he squeezed her hands gently and looked at her inquisitively, hoping his actions would bring her back to him.

Kathleen sighed heavily, her eyes of jade returning to peruse him, "That was never pleasant." She shivered, noticeably shaken by a memory she most likely would rather not have. "I must admit that I would be discouraged for some time, yet I always found the strength to try again." She went on to explain entreatingly, "I could not know what any of you thought, I had no news, no word from the world away from where I was. I could find no one to trust who would help to get me away from him, that is, until Arianna's husband came and helped to save us."

"Us?" Will asked.

"I think that is a conversation better left for another time, son. I am sure your mother could use a cup of tea, and I wager that you could use a brandy." Looking pointedly at Will, the duke walked to the door to inform Bentley that the duchess was ready for tea.

"I believe I would rather join you in that brandy, if you do not mind, darling." The duchess replied dryly, causing the duke to look at her a bit perplexed. He then looked to the window, noting the early hour before looking down to frown at the glass in his own hand.

Will's eyebrows shot up, he barely held in his laughter, a short, choking sound the only clue to his amusement at seeing his father's expression. Oh yes, she had returned, Will thought. Will felt as though he had not in in a very long time, it was as though, in a matter of a few moments, all had becoming right in their world again. Will grinned at Kathleen, as she looked pointedly at her husband, then, as soon as his scowling father turned to acquire additional glasses of the libation, Kathleen's lips curled up in a smile and she winked at her eldest child.

*****

Arianna rushed into the parlor, where she ignored her Kathleen and Will, making a beeline straight for the duke. Grabbing onto his sleeve with both of her hands Arianna began to plead desperately, "Father, I need your help, the King's men have arrested Derek and his crew for piracy. As soon as we made land, all of the men were detained, put in irons, and taken away to the Tower."

"You married a pirate?!" Will jumped up from his place next to Kathleen, three long strides had him in front of his sister, who stood looking at him with her face aghast.

Arianna snapped her mouth shut, her hands jammed into her hips as she answered him. "Of course I did not marry a pirate, William Kent!" Sparks of green fire shot through her eyes as her hand lifted to swat at him, right before her brother stepped forward taking her firmly into his arms.

"Of course you did not, you ninny, I was only teasing." Will rubbed her back consolingly, Arianna clung to him for a mere second, as he looked past her to ask of their father. "What shall we do?"
Arianna pulled back, a scornful tilt to her brow, "I already have a plan, I only need father's help to carry it out." Arianna stated, pushing back from her brother, staring daggers at him, Arianna hit Will in the arm with no small amount of force behind the blow.

"Good to see you too, brat." Will rubbed his arm for a mere second before pulling her in close to him again, because he missed her, and because then she could not hit him again.

Kathleen came over to take Arianna from Will, she looked into her daughter's eyes and saw the anger and frustration in them. "My dear, do you really think we will not have him released at once?" Kathleen attempted to smooth Arianna's ruffled feathers. Arianna straightened her spine and attempted to remember all that she needed to do.

"It's not that, mother." Arianna interjected. "There are..."

"Ari, love." Will interrupted lazily, gaining her indignant attention.

"William, what is it?" Arianna pleaded, swiping a stray strand of hair from her face, annoyed with him already, she interpreted any interruption of his as further unnecessary teasing, therefore, for the moment, anything he had to say, she saw as a frustrating waste of her time. "Please, I am not in the mood for your games, I need to focus right now."

"If we are going to see the King, you may want to put on something that does not look like a fish maid's cast off gunny, that's all I was gonna say, geez, bite my head off, brat."

Glancing down at her wrinkled gown that smelled of the sea, Arianna smirked and had to agree, whether she liked it or not.

"Come, I will help you, Ari." Kathleen offered.

"I will be fine, mama, I think I will take a few extra moments to bathe and get my thoughts together, you stay down here with father and Will." Arianna hugged Kathleen, then she hit Will on his other arm before rubbing the spot affectionately and patting him thrice. Turning to her father, Arianna hugged him tightly then drew back to speak, "Carmelita and Roman have been given a room upstairs. I did not want to leave them aboard ship alone." Iron infused her voice as she finished, "Alejandro would not want me to leave them there alone."

The duke held fast to his daughter, "Of course he would not, Arianna, they are most welcome, as is Alejandro once we secure his release." William kissed her brow before giving her an encouraging smile, "I shall have tea brought in whilst you make yourself presentable."

Arianna smiled her gratitude and kissed his cheek before she began walking to the door, turning back, she addressed her father once more before she quit the room. "Derek asked that we notify his father, asking him to come. He requests Moonhurst's assistance, can you do that for him, father?" Arianna asked, as a slight tremor shook her voice. Arianna had looked forward to being presented to Derek's parents as his bride, only not so much now, when his 'kidnapping' of her had landed him in prison. Meeting one's new in-laws was intimidating enough without all the added drama, she lamented.

"I assure you it will be handled posthaste, Ari, I shall dispatch a message immediately." Her father's assuring words gave her comfort, as he gave Kathleen and Will their glasses. Picking up his own libation, he then moved to the secretary to do her bidding. Arianna quit the room bolstered by the fact that she was not alone in her efforts any longer.

By the time Arianna stepped through the doorway to her familiar room, her composure was back about her, she had her family behind her and she had every confidence that they would prevail. And if not, then Arianna pitied the poor King, for he would never hear the end of it. Either way, come hell or highwater, she was determined to do all she could to get her husband absolved of any and all charges.

Seeing her husband had things well in hand, Kathleen took Will by the arm and led him back to the settee. Setting her glass on the low table in front of the sofa, she sat and pulled Will down to sit beside her once more. "Now, Will, tell me about you, I would know what kind of man your father has raised in my absence."

The duke choked on his drink and sputtered as the duchess raised an inquiring brow at her son.

*****

Damien Drake, Marquess of Moonhurst, sat behind the desk in his study at his London townhouse and prepared to admit failure. His plan, for the present moment, was to write a letter to his solicitor informing him to start the paperwork required that would break the betrothal contract. It was far past time to set the girl free to choose another suitor.

Retrieving his quill from the desktop, Damien noted that it's tip was worn and dull. He retrieved another from his drawer only to find his ink jar dry. Once he finally had both a decent quill and new ink, the wind blew in through the window, scattering the papers from his desk all about the room. Damien cursed, throwing down the quill, he looked first to the window, to the drapes that fluttered to lie in all stillness, he then surveyed his windswept desk before lowering his head into his hands. He did not want to write this letter. More than anything else, Damien wanted his son to walk in the door, wanting Derek to appear, ready to assume his place in the family.

The Marquess was extremely disappointed that Derek had not shown himself after receiving the missive sent to him. Damien knew the betrothal contract and letter had been delivered, having acquired a runner who had found Derek in St. Thomas and delivered it into his hand, there was no doubt Derek had ignored the threat of losing his title. Damien had hoped to force his stubborn son into at least showing his face after all these years, even if it were only to refuse to grant his father's wishes. The runner had assured Damien that Derek was well. The Lady's crew had been unloading and loading cargo, and Derek had planned to head to his next destination as soon as that had been completed, so Damien had been told.

Knowing Derek's responsibilities would be great someday, for their holdings were extensive, Damien knew Derek would need to acquire the knowledge necessary to manage them successfully. Damien had always wanted Derek, even from his son's youngest age, to take an interest in his inheritance, to learn proper management by taking over stewardship of a few of the family estates.

Damien had hoped a marriage to Lady Arianna Kent would be the boon his son needed to come home. Why he had thought that, Damien did not know, as most men he knew would not want to be forced into wedlock with a woman they had never met. Mayhap, he should have included a description of the beauty he had chosen for his son. Mayhap, also, he could have been a little more forthcoming in his letter as to what it was that he truly desired.

Damien turned in his chair, bending to retrieve a sheet of paper from the floor, he sighed, figuring he might as well get the unpleasant deed done. Sitting here with his regrets was unproductive, not to mention, unfair to the lady in question, the duke's daughter deserved better. That was, if she could be found.

Having been informed by Marlborough, when that man had gotten a lead and gone to find his wayward daughter some months ago, from the short explanation Marlborough had given, it seemed the girl had disappeared in the same fashion that her mother had years before.

Before her disappearance, the two men had hoped their offspring would have a solid marriage, both of them agreeing it seemed the two would suit, hoping that they would find a fondness for one another along the way. Now, Damien surmissed, if the Lady were fortunate enough to be found, she would at least be free to choose her own husband, as Derek, apparently, was not interested.
Damien applied himself to the task at hand, taking a deep, cleansing breath, he lifted his head, resolving to do the right thing, he dipped his quill.

*****

Arianna walked down the stairs that led to the foyer less than an hour later, feeling like a trussed up holiday bird fresh out of the oven. Since when had her gowns become so heavy and confining? Even her favorite gown, the one she had ordered just before her departure, and had not yet worn, felt like a serpent constricting around her. She did not remember the bodice being so very tight, nor so revealing. The dove gray lace framed her full bosom in an arresting view, it's square neckline exposed the tops of her breasts and her collarbone while covering her shoulder blades. The silk of the bodice ran smooth underneath to the small of her waist where the lace came to a clean 'v' accentuating her curves. The silk in and of itself was dazzling, even to Arianna's eyes, being the color of healthy spring grass shot through with strands of silver and gray that sparkled and contrasted like dew as she moved. Her hair was pinned high on her head with a few curls falling from the mass to lay over her shoulders and down her back.

She wore a smart little matching green hat, with a dove gray lace veil that fell to just below her eyes. It sat atop her thick tresses and was irritating her scalp to no end. Sighing with resignation, Arianna resisted the urge to tear the hat from her head and stepped into the parlor where she had left her family.

The room was empty.

Where could they have gone? Arianna wondered as she searched about her. Hadn't they been ready to call upon the King?

*****
The Duke had not cared for the worrisome note he had first written to his peer, retiring to his study to consider it a bit more, he paced, preparing to pen a note to his friend Moonhurst. The duke did not know how much information to put in the letter, feeling that he would rather give the marquess the bad news about Derek's imprisonment in person. However, William knew, assuring Damien arrived with all haste was a definite necessity.

The duke sat at his desk, taking a moment longer, considering the best way to go about it.

The children have married, come at once.

Marlborough

That should do it, he thought with a wry smile. He sealed the note and called for Bentley.

Having instructed the butler to have the note dispatched with all haste, the duke wondered when the ladies would be ready to go and address the King. William sat back and placed his interlaced hands behind his head. He knew the charges were false, and once they spoke to the monarch, he had no worry that they would have Derek and his crew released immediately. William found himself grinning, thinking of the moment his friend would read the news, wishing he could be there when Moonhurst received the missive.

Damien was William's one true friend. He was the only one, when Kathleen had been abducted, to believe his duchess had not left him willingly, but that she had been taken against her will. Damien had helped William search for a trail, having been there many evenings when yet another lead did not pan out into anything useful. Damien was the one who had consoled him countless times, as they had drank brandy and smoked their cigars, while William had spoken of how desperately his children needed their mother.

Without Damien, he would have had no one to understand the torment he was going through on a daily basis. Every morning, just waking in his bed alone, had started the day on a torturous note.

It was this friendship they had built over the years, that had convinced them their children would suit. William had not lied to Moonhurst, Damien knew Arianna was young and willful, stubborn and beautiful. He had seemed to think her an excellent match for his own son, who had reached a marriageable age and needed to settle down and produce his own heir.

And they shall my friend, they shall, William thought, and we will have beautiful grandchildren to spoil and love and make our lives rich and whole again.

Grandchildren. Yes, he liked that idea, very much.

"Father?"

The Duke looked up to find his daughter standing in the doorway of his study. She looked as she always had, before he had found her barefoot in boy's breeches and a man's shirt.

"Are you ready, darling?"

"Aye, father, are you?"

"Yes, dearest, let us go and hurry your mother along."

*****

Moonhurst finished his letter to begin nulling the betrothal, and set down his quill with a sense of finality.

Not only had inanimate objects and the wind been conspiring against him, but his wife was hosting a tea today. Her weekly gathering for the neighboring biddies to needlepoint while finger pointing at all the ills in their lives.

Which meant he needed to escape.

He left the letter to be posted on the morrow by his secretary. As he headed upstairs to change his clothes, he thought a ride to the docks might keep him occupied long enough to avoid the tea.

He could hear the ladies' carriages arriving and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Riding, sir?" His valet, Jenkins asked.

"Yes, Jenkins, thank you." Damien loosed his cravat and started to unbutton his shirt. A knock upon the door halted his actions. He was not usually required at these teas and he hoped Amelia didn't have designs on him staying for any reason. Jenkins opened the door to reveal the footman on the other side with a missive.

"For the Marquess." The footman stated.

Jenkins took the note, thanking the footman, he turned to Damien, holding the missive out to him.

Damien took the note and took note of the seal. It was Marlborough. Damien's first thought was, had William found his daughter? A sudden fear clenched his heart, was she demanding her betrothed? Alas, Damien knew he could not produce that for her, as much as he wished he could, it seemed as though it was just not to be. Sighing heavily, Damien broke the seal and regrettably opened the note.

The children have married. Come at once.

Marlborough

The children have married. THE CHILDREN HAVE MARRIED! But how? When? Damien realized he did not care how, or when, he only registered that his fondest wish had come true.

"Jenkins! The children have married!" He dropped the note and grabbed Jenkins by the arms. "They've married!"