Destined For A Duke (Completed)

Chapter 28

Max and Ella left for his country seat in the next few days. It was common knowledge that the Duchy of Lancaster was vast and glorious. Ella was afraid that the people who came under Max would not accept her. They would have wanted their Lord to marry a grand Lady and it was common knowledge that she was no Lady.

They travelled for two days before they entered Max's lands. They were far from London and were almost completely covered with crops of different variety. It was more populated then any other country estate Ella had ever seen.

The fields after fields of crops were surrounded by tall mountains that looked as if they were strategically placed to protect the area. Ella could see the Grand structure of a castle on one of the mountains. She could not stop the gasp that escaped her lips at such a wonderful view.

"Did you build this yourself?" She looked at Max with awe. So this was the reason that he was never banned from Almack's despite all his scandalizing habits.

"The land, my work. That gigantic useless structure, is the work of the Lords that came before me. I don't believe in extravagance." Families that were working on the fields realized that the carriage belonged to Max. She could see them coming closer to welcome them with loud cheers. Ella saw a small smile form on Max's lips.

"But you have a large house in London that is brand new. I am sure that you bought it." Ella jumped in her seat when a boy slapped the carriage before she saw his dirty face appear in the window. She expected Max to be angry with him but saw Max grin before winking at him.

"It serves a purpose. It shows everyone that I'm a busy and successful man. I lease it out for the duration of season sometimes." Ella smiled at the juvenile reason Max gave but stayed silent on the matter.

They had almost reached the castle when Ella noticed that the children were still following them. She looked at Max to see how he would react but he was staring at the castle, lost in thoughts. Ella turned back to look at the slowly growing crowd of children that was lead by the dirty faced ruffian who slapped their carriage.

Carriage stopped at the doors of the castle, an impressive army of servants was waiting to welcome them. Max got out first and was helping Ella out when something small slammed into him.

After the last few weeks of searching for the mysterious murderer, Ella assumed that he had followed them here. She jumped out to protect Max in anyway possible. She was greeted with the sight of laughing Max tackled by the young ruffian. The rest of his mates had finally caught up with him and were fighting for Max's attention.

Max greeted every child with their name. Ella was shocked into silence. She stared as Max introduced her and was further silenced when the children started gushing about her beauty and grace. She finally broke out of the trance when the ruffian sat on one knee in front of her and kissed her hand.

"Me Grace, Ben, your umble servant." It was the same boy who slapped their carriage. The little trouble maker seemed proud of himself. Ella decided to shake some of the confidence.

"It's Your Grace and humble. Shouldn't you be in school young man?" Ella continued to frown as she saw Ben stumble to answer. He looked at Max multiple times as if to ask for his help. After Ella was sure that she had tortured the boy enough, she smiled.

"Not so brave now, are we?" She laughed at the shocked look on Ben's face. Max laughed alongside her as the other children started making fun of Ben. When the excited had died down, she looked at Max in concern.

"Why are the children out of school? I am serious about this matter, they need education." Ella voiced her concerns. She wanted these children to go farther in life. She knew how hard a worker's life was and how they were cheated by their own Lords. She wanted Max to give a reason that would show he was not cheating with his tenants.

"It's harvesting season, their school leaves early. They do have a proper school here." Max smiled at Ella. She could feel herself blush. She was preparing herself for battle and Max had been calm when answering.

"You are perfect." The kids kept on looking at her with awe and she felt her blush deepen. They thought she was perfect, when she was not. She had doubted the only man who behaved like a gentleman.

"That's enough! Now go back to fields, all of you. Your family needs your help." Max shook hands with children as they left. He had to push some of them towards the fields but it was all in good fun. He took Ella's arm when the last one had left before directing her towards the castle.

Ella was introduced to so many servants that she felt overwhelmed. It would be impossible to remember their names. The only names she could remember were of the homily looking butler and housekeeper, Mr and Mrs Bates. Ella almost lost her footing when the butler smiled at her. Weren't butler's supposed to stay expressionless?

Everything here was different from usual. Everyone behaved as though Max was their friend but they had utmost respect for him. The social norms were ignored but Max's servants were more respectful then the normal stiff ones.

The grand halls of the castle felt out of place with such a friendly attitude of everyone. Ella kept on imagining herself in a small cottage surrounded by family and friends. For the first time she felt like she belonged in a place. She wanted Bella to spend her pregnancy here, where she would be accepted and loved, not judged and hated.

As they made their way towards their chambers to freshen up, Ella looked at Max with a smile.

"This place is beautiful, let's stay here forever." She laughed at her own suggestion. Max will have to return to London soon to take his place at the House of Lords.

"You will be the perfect Duchess of my estate. I chose well." Max kissed her hand lightly before tucking it in his own. Ella wanted to laugh at the ridiculous suggestion but felt her laughter die down at the expression on his face.

This book is almost coming to an end. I will start writing part 3 of the series then. It will be darker as it is Brandon's story and all the mystery revolves around him. Are you excited?