Destined For A Duke (Completed)

Chapter 31

Mary recovered quickly from her disappointment. It was almost as if she was used to such treatment. Ella wanted to question Max about her but refrained for the time being. She forced herself to smile at everyone that Max introduced her to. Her real smile made an appearance at midday when they entered Ben's home.

It was full of little trouble makers like Ben. They had identical dirty faces and were so close in age that it was difficult to differentiate which one was older, which one was younger. Ella silently counted eight children within the ages of two and eight.

"Me Grace, I stayed home. I wait for you to come. It's late now, I got to go. Pleasure meeting you again me Grace." Ben kissed Ella's hand again. She laughed at that like before. The ruffian would turn into a rake once he's old enough.

"Surely your father can spare you for a day. Please, I want to spend sometime with you." The room became uncomfortably quiet. Ella noticed how the cold fury took over Ben's gentle features. She realized that she had made a grave mistake by mentioning the man.

"I am the man of house. Me father was killed. That stupid drunk brought it on emself." With that, Ben left. Ella was hurt by his cold treatment. She was about to say sorry when Ben's mother spoke up.

"Sorry Me Grace. The boy feels too much. He murdered his father to save me, nothing wrong innit? Still thinks he's a lowlife." The woman smiled but her eyes showed her sadness. Ella wanted to console the family, to make sure they knew that she was a friend. She looked at the children and decided that the atmosphere should be lighter. They should be carefree, not sad.

"Ben has work to do but I came here to have some fun. Who would like to play a little game?" She saw two small hands being raised slowly. They belonged to two girls who were mirror images of each other. A pair of twin girls.

"What about the others? I don't bite you know." Ella teased lightly. Her attempt at making the mood lighter worked because soon most of the children were smiling.

Ella stayed with the family until it was dark. When Ben's mother started serving dinner, she hastily made her excuses and left dragging Max behind her.

"Why did you leave so abruptly?" Max asked as soon as they were out of ear shot.

"Because I was not sure if they had enough to eat. They looked starved and I didn't want to eat The little food they had." Max smiled but didn't say anything else. Ella was relieved. She didn't know if she had enough energy to defend herself after spending a day with such active children.

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The next day, they left the castle after breakfast like before. Ella had a large basket full of enough food for a small army. After a sleepless night, she decided that the children will relax today. She kept on dreaming of a sad boy working in the fields while the other children played games. After her nightmares, Ella wanted to include Ben in their day of leisure and ordered three footman to harvest his fields.

The children were already gathered at the village inn when the two of them arrived. Ella could see the smiling face of Ben at the front. The knots of tension that has formed in her shoulders last night relaxed. The day was turning out to be better then she thought.

The rest of the day was passed with the children playing different games in the nearby fields. Ella and Max would join them at intervals. The little ones had a great amount of energy and the two grownups had trouble keeping up with them. By midday, most of them were in the nearby stream. It was hot and the stream cooled them down a bit. Max joined them to keep an eye on all of them. Ella was looked on from a little distance.

"Me Grace, can I join you?" Ella turned around to look at the serious face of young Ben. The little kid looked older then his ten years.

"Of course dear. Don't you want to join your siblings in the stream?" Ella asked as she moved a lock of his hair behind his ears.

" I wanted to talk to you first. Can I speak freely?" Ben did not blink as he looked at her for her answer. Ella wanted nothing more than to give the poor child his innocence back. It looked as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Ella nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"Max is a good man. I always thought that he deserved someone remarkable. Unlike other land owners, he cares for us. I was in London when I killed me dad. He was beating my maa black and blue you know. I had to protect her. The bow street unners came later, to take me away. He saved me, in more than one way." Ella stared at the young man as she saw tears in his eyes. She didn't know what to do so stayed quiet to let the boy finish his story.

"He had nothing then. His father died leaving him in debt to eye balls. Of course Me Grace knew nothing about them before. He was living in the streets too. Saved me and brought me here. This place was dying. He tried to find someone who might help and found the Earl of Cambridge. That man worked in the fields with us, plowed the land, planted seeds and harvested crops. Those smooth roads, he made those by his hands. He's not a man, he's an extraordinary being." Ella had her eyes on Max who was helping a little girl of about three years catch a fish. She now saw him in a different light. Her husband was a man who earned everything he owned. Suddenly his statement about the London townhouse made sense as well. The man would want a grand house to ensure that everyone knew he was no longer on the streets.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ella's voice came out croaked. She cleared her throat to make it better.

"You will be told things about his father, I want you to know that he's different. I also know that you feel sorry for me, this is a pity party for me and my family. Don't try to deny it, I have seen enough in life. Just know that I have a friend like your husband and I will never go hungry." Ella stared at the young boy before her. She would have denied everything but he stopped her. He chuckled lightly when He saw her mouth hanging open.

"You are a good woman too. We have high hopes Me Grace. You will become the best Duchess this land has ever seen." Ben smiled at Ella as he left her staring after him.

Let's make Mad Axe No 1 in historical fiction this weekend. Share "Pretty Amy" and "Mad Axe" with as many people as you can. Happy Friday.