The Queen Of His Heart (completed)

Chapter 11

Dedicated to elsetterby. Thank you for writing a story on such a sensitive topic. Do go and read "Set Me Free". Please be kind to survivors of domestic violence. For those of you who don't know, they are always psychologically damaged. Some think they deserved what they received, while others can't leave their violent partner's because their self-confidence is completely shattered. If you think a DV survivor is weak if she defends her violator then think again. She was stripped of everything and still she managed to escape. All she needs is a little reassurance that she did the right thing and her violator deserved what he got. FYI some men are also victims of domestic violence.

Michael's POV:

After all this time Michael finally understood what Brady meant when he said that the ton was beautifully ugly. At the time he had thought that his friend was making fun of him, was treating him like his father, like he wasn't good enough for the polished company. Michael had refused to talk to Brandon after that for quite sometime but now he understood.

The people of ton were such a contradiction. The women were beautiful and elegant, their beauty was due to rogue and powder they were wearing, their elegance due to years of refining themselves. They had their best assets on display, hair, physique, eyes or color. They kept on looking at eligible men with come hither eyes.

The men on other hand were either complete dandies, dressed like peacocks with their fake padded coats or were complete rogues with devil may care attitude. They were mean and domineering in general.

Michael thought their world was beautiful but fake, like an intriguing painting. If you looked at it too long or too close, you would see all the cracks and realise that it's nothing special.

"You should stop scowling, half the people in the ballroom are scared of you. The other half is just curious to know who the good looking man is." Lady Margaret appeared out of thin air at Michael's side. He wanted to ask her how she did that couldn't bring himself to acknowledge the fact that she was good. Must be helpful when she was spying on the rich and famous that she gossips about.

Lady Margaret looked like a vision in her rose pink gown that covered most of her skin. She was not a small woman or curvy. She just looked like a tightly coiled spring that was ready to jump. It made her look thin but like someone who had all lean muscle that they could use as a lethal weapon. Her hair were lose around her back, not tight up in an updo like most woman in the ballroom. Her freckles were on full display, they were all over her nose and high cheek bones.

"I do want to kill someone, my friends. They have completely abandoned me to go dance with ladies." Michael growled as he saw Will dance with his new wife, Max with Ella, Arthur with Bella and Brady with Emma. Seeing his friends so happy with woman go love them by their side, he almost wished he had someone to give his black heart to.

"Then dance with me." It was a simple solution, but Michael saw the stars in Margaret's eyes. He knew that the young woman was falling for him and that he had nothing to offer but for this one night he wanted to be selfish. He wanted to dance with a woman who might fall in love with him, might accept him for who he was, might give them a chance, so he took her hand and took her between the other dancers.

"Now you know why I gossip. It makes attending such useless society functions exciting." Michael looked down at the woman in his arms and had a strange urge to kiss all her freckles. He wanted to know of she had more of them.

"They don't deserve to be a part of this day. George is a respectable Lady and William is a good Lord, they do not deserve being humiliated at their own wedding." Michael's anger surfaced at the unfairness of it all. He didn't realize that his hold on Lady Margaret's waist was too tight until she softly tried to lessen his grip with her hands.

"I'm so sorry, have I hurt you?" Michael separated from the other dancers and took Lady Margaret to the nearest balcony to inspect her closely.

"Are you hurt? Tell me." He wanted to run his hands over her waist to see if she was tender but he knew that she was a Lady and would not appreciate such a gesture.

"I am fine, I don't feel pain like a normal person. George planned a big wedding, she knew that ton was going to rip her reputation to shreds. She wanted to go out with a smile on her face, she wanted to see their faces be green with envy as the ton saw her and Will happy." Margaret gave Michael a wicked smile. He knew that she would have done the same if she was in George's position.

"What do you mean? About pain?" Michael wanted to fill his mouth with his fist before he asked more personal questions but the woman had him under her spell. He wanted to know all about her.

"It happened when I was 19. Their was so much pain and blood. I couldn't take it anymore so I stopped feeling, I became numb. Now I can detach myself from feelings so I don't feel pain like a normal person." Her eyes were so tormented, like she had burned in the darkest and deepest corner of hell. Michael wanted to ask what had happened but refrained, he didn't want to see a strong woman like her break. He would ask Arthur about it.

"Do you trust me?" Lady Margaret's eyes suddenly became hard, as if they were made of steel. Her question caught Michael off guard but he answered with "Yes."

"Then listen to me carefully. Brady is being followed. There's a well dressed man that follows him whenever he goes out. Sometimes he changes duties with two or three other man but he stays in the background. He never leaves. If you have questions, ask him. I know that you are more than you want us to know, Brady asked you for help and my brother values your opinion. You can tell me the specifics later but for now, do your job. I want this to be over." With that she left. Michael stood there, baffled that a woman had seen more then he had and knew more than he did.