Secrets of the Night

Chapter 13

Deep in thought Marcus started his walk back home. And there was a lot to think about indeed. On top of the list of course running into the stable boy Will again. He would have never expected that to happen, but he had hoped that they would meet again. It was hard to wrap his head around how fate was playing sometimes. And it was quite impressive how they got along so well.

Surely there had been some formalities that they had to overcome. Especially this night as they introduced themselves. Marcus had noticed very easily that Will hadn't been too comfortable at first when he found out Marcus' status. But that had to be expected. After all he was just a stable boy. And talking to the son of a Grand Duke this informally had to be somewhat scary and unusual. Marcus was glad that he managed to make him feel more comfortable after a little while. Although he sidestepped the topic of giving him his name for quite a bit.

Marcus couldn't help but wonder why. Was it just because of their difference in status? But what harm would it do if he knew his name? Maybe he had been worried that he just played nice to find out his name so he could then talk bad about him to his master? But Will didn't strike Marcus as someone who would have been afraid of their master. He seemed quite confident and ready to defend himself if necessary. Surely his sassy ways had gotten him in trouble before.

But that explanation didn't quite satisfy Marcus. He felt like there was something else to that stable boy. Will didn't seem too comfortable telling Marcus his name at all, even when he finally gave in and did, he practically spat the word out, trying to get it over with as fast as possible it seemed.

Will surely was one special character. He striked Marcus as an honest, bubbly person, who loved nothing more than his freedom. His challenging and somewhat cheeky statements that every once in a while slip out were not only amusing but also amazing Marcus. He wondered if he was talking to his master like that too. Was the Duke of Cornwall someone to accept his servants talking to him like that?

Talking about the Duke. Marcus had talked to his father about the arranged marriage once again, mainly to find out more about the deal and the girl that he was betrothed to. And the most interesting coincidence had occurred. The girl that was promised to him was actually the Duke of Cornwall's sister, Antonia. So if Marcus were to accept that marriage he would actually be Will's new master as he would take over the Cornwall Estate.

But should he really allow his father to make a decision that big for him? Will surely had had a clear opinion on the matter. He would rather run off than be pushed into an arranged marriage.

For Marcus that decision wasn't so easy though. This wasn't just about him. There were other people that his decision would affect. Because there was more to the deal than just the arranged marriage as Marcus had previously thought.

His father had helped Philip, the Duke of Cornwall, with the financial problems that they had been facing after their father passed away and in return he wanted their estate. And he wanted his son to be in charge of that estate. And in order to achieve that, the marriage with the Duke's sister would be necessary.

Marcus couldn't understand why his father hadn't just paid for their debts without asking anything in return if he really only made the deal to help them as he claimed. And he couldn't understand how any brother could accept that deal. But then again his father could be quite convincing and Philip wasn't much older than Marcus was himself if he remembered correctly. He wouldn't have been able to take over a whole estate 2 years ago. Back then he had anything on his mind, but not paying debts and taking care of a whole estate.

So his father was probably more to blame than Philip was. That would be just like him to use a situation like that to his advantage. And of course he couldn't care less about the people who's future he was playing with, which left Marcus in this mess. How was he supposed to make a decision?