She sighed loudly as she started around the edges of the garden, knowing too well that the boys were likely to be found somewhere inside. When the garden was properly checked, as well as the sides of the manor, she trudged inside.
The next twenty minutes were spent exploring the large mansion. She went from room to room, calling out to the boys, knowing they would never respond, just as she knew how unlikely she was to find them.
They will hide for the rest of their lives, if that is what it takes. I really should have been more careful.
Another twenty minutes passed by, and still she came up empty.
Finally, with all the rooms checked, a realization dawned upon Octavia, and it was one that sent a spike of worry through her very being. She felt comfortable in this home, but it was not her rightful place, and there were still rules attached to where she could and could not go.
With this in mind, Octavia found herself standing by the eastern wing of the manor. The hallway leading down its length was long and dark, an ominous energy called to her; a warning that she would do well to not traverse such a mysterious place.
While the rules that the Duke had set were somewhat bendable – she had already broken one of them – her being banned from the eastern wing was one rule that she sensed she would do well to stick to.
It was undoubtedly his most random rule, which tells me how important it is. Whatever is in the eastern wing, he does not want me going there. And should I do so…
A cold shudder ran up her spine at the thought.
Octavia did not fear the Duke. She did not think of him as violent or vengeful. She did, however, respect him, and she had made a promise to obey his rules… she was his employee, after all.
But as she stood on the precipice of the eastern wing, her curiosity grew. The Duke was a mystery to her, and he had made himself so on purpose. There was so much about him that she did not know, and so much that she wanted to.
Don’t do it, Octavia. Respect his rules. Turn around! Behave!
She almost laughed at the notion that she was hired to teach Aaron to behave and follow instruction, but that she could not do so herself.
The longer that she stood by the entrance to the eastern wing, the more her curiosity piqued. This wasn’t about the Duke… it wasn’t about some rules… it was about finding the two boys… that was why she wanted to go down there.
That was a lie, but it was a lie that she needed to believe. For that reason, Octavia threw caution to the wind and started into the eastern wing of the mansion. In and out, she would duck, so quickly that nobody would know that she had been.
Should the Duke learn of this, she supposed that she would find out why he had banned her from entering in the first place. That thought, as terrifying as it was, was just as exciting, and she held onto that feeling as she waded into the depths of the eastern wing… another rule resoundingly broken.
Consequences be damned.
Chapter Fifteen
Octavia stalked carefully down the hallway.
Each door that she passed by, she gently tested the handle, finding every single one of them locked. She was partly relieved by this, as it meant that she would not be here long. Just as she was a little disappointed, as it meant that this journey might be for nothing.
It was when she reached the end of the hallway that Octavia came to an abrupt halt.
There stood a set of double doors. Intricately carved, grand in design, they were closed tight. She bit into her lower lip and looked back down the hallway, knowing the smart thing to do was to turn and head back now before any damage was done.
But this was Octavia; she rarely did the smart thing, and that niggling feeling that she needed to see what was beyond these doors pressed into her mind so that she could not ignore its call.For that reason, she slowly stalked forward and tested the doors’ handles.
The door clicked open, she gasped, and she pushed the doors apart.
Beyond the doorway stood a vast chamber. The curtains were drawn, dousing the room in darkness, and the musty smell that drifted from within told her that this was one room that was rarely entered, if at all. She adjusted her eyes to the light, and she knew right away where she was.
It was a bedchamber that she had found herself in. It was opulent, richly decorated, the type that belonged to royalty and beyond anything that she might deem herself worthy to set foot inside. But the furniture was covered in blankets, the bed’s mattress was bare, and dust sat thick everywhere she looked.
This can only be the bed chamber of the Duke’s deceased wife…
Octavia knew little about Aaron’s mother. She had died when Aaron was still a baby. There were no portraits of her anywhere in the house. Aaron never spoke of her, and the idea of the Duke mentioning her was laughable.
What Octavia did know only added credence to the awful rumors that swirled around the Duke; those that he seemed to covet as if he enjoyed the idea of people fearing him.
Some said that she had killed herself. Others said that the Duke had killed her. Whatever the cause, all agreed that it was the Duke’s fault… a chill ran up her spine at the thought.