The Thief's Punishment - Restarted - Open to male doms

[ChaseMePleez]

THREAD IS CLOSED BY ORIGINATOR

Place: Estate of Duke Marcus Tremont
Date: March 23, 1823
Time: 12:28 a.m.

Alexis St. James eased in a booted foot through the stained glass window. She was dress in britches, a black tunic and a corseted bodice with her boots and gloves. Her long brown hair was in a braid that hung to her waist. Her vibrant golden eyes lit up as she made her way towards Tremont's rooms. For the past few years, Lex had been relieving some of England's rich and snobbish of their valuables. It was quite a strange choice for a young lady of worth like herself but she was a thrill seeker, a hellion in her own right.

There wasn't a man in the country that could tame her. Her father thought he could control her, tell her how to run her own life. Lex wasn't ungrateful for everything he had done for her but she had to be herself. Being caged would kill her spirit completely. Mostly she dispersed her ill-gotten gains to some of the poorer people in her employ. Mrs. Potts was able to send her granddaughter to a fine school thanks to Lex's backing. Of course no one knew that it was her that had stolen the money for the child.

You will marry Tremont and settle down. There will come a day when your headstrong ways will get you into a situation from which you cannot escape. Believe me when I say this is for your own good.

Her anger flared anew as she remembered her father's words. The contract for their marriage had been made in secret and against her wishes. Lex was determined to get away with one of Tremont's most valuable possessions; a ruby necklace that had been in his family for years. It was typically worn by the new duchess the night of her wedding. It was some kind of old tradition that his family held up. The locks on the rooms were well made but Lex had been doing this for years. She stood from her crouched position and walked very slowly to the case where the necklace lay.

The gold setting and large stones would fetch a handsome price when she took it to be sold in London. The proceeds could in fact pay for the repairs to the home of Mary Kitcher. The fire had left her and her three homeless. It was a devastating blow since the poor woman had lost her husband the summer before to a bad fever. The local doctor had refused to help him because the family was too poor to pay his fees. Lex had learned of the situation when it was too late but she would not let them suffer in the cold.

Carefully she unhooked the small satchel she had hanging from her belt and opened it. She lifted the necklace carefully, trying not to make any noise and slipped it into the small bag. Lex smiled to herself. That cocky Marcus Tremont would be steaming through his ears once he knew that his precious family heirloom was gone. Her glee was interrupted when she felt a strong hand wrap around her braid and tug her head back. The satchel fell to the floor and Lex came face to face with the man in question.

What do we have here?

She was in big trouble.

 

[saedo]

Marcus Tremont paused on the landing. The hour was late, so he'd ascended the stairs towards his quarters on the third floor. But something on the second gave him pause.

He sniffed the air. While many of his station only dabbled at hunting, the Duke had been an avid stalker of wild game since he was a boy. After decades tracking prey through the wilderness, his senses intuitively took note of his surroundings. Something was off here.

He sniffed the air again. Yes, there was a hint of something that wasn't here earlier. A freshness - a whiff of the outdoors. His eyes narrowed. This section of the manse was little used these days. Most rooms were cloaked in white sheets to shield the furniture from dust while a few served as storage. There should be no hint of fresh air here.

One of the servants must have opened a window. Perhaps that new maid; the veteran ones would know better than to court the Duke's displeasure. He grinned maliciously; she'd rue this mistake when he finished with her.

He stepped lightly down the corridor, looking for the room with the open window. Midway down he froze. The noise had been all but inaudible, but he knew that even the rustle of a leaf could be important. Something had moved behind the door to his left.

He placed his hand on the door. What should have been locked swung inward silently. (The Duke's servants knew well his dislike for squeaky hinges.) The room contained various shelves and cabinets holding an array of vases, trinkets, and other bits of decoration acquired over the family's centuries at the estate.

Marcus' eyes, already used to the gloom of the hallway, were quick to spot the hunched figure in the corner. This cabinet was dense oak and fitted with a heavy lock, for its velvet lined interior held some of the jewelry favored by his female ancestors. The thief straightened up and the Duke caught a glimpse of something shiny and sparkly before it disappeared into a bag.

Enraged, the Duke covered the gap instantly. The thief had a long ponytail, so Marcus siezed it to tug the intruder off balance. His other hand reached for the brigand's throat.

The decidedly non-masculine squeal this elicited raised the Duke's eyebrows. What he expected was a slender, short man was actually a woman? He spun the her around and looked her full in the face. Not just a woman, but a woman heknew.

"What do we have here?" he inquired, his rage softening but still no less malicious. "Miss St. James, I had not expected to see you again till our wedding day."

His fiancée's beautiful face gazed up at him, her golden eyes wide. He felt a familiar stirring in his loins, much like their first - and only - meeting at the Queen's Birthday Ball. Like most marriages amongst the upper classes, politics and property had been the chief interests in the selection of candidates. Alexis' family scored well on both, but her looks had given her the edge.

Her hair had been piled atop her head in a tower of curls - a stark difference to the simple braid he now held. Her dress favored the French style currently in vogue, but opted for a comparatively conservative neckline instead of the aggressive corsets worn by her competition. Given how much delectable flesh still bulged forth despite her modest bodice, he could only imagine how impressively ample she truly was. Coupled with her lithe frame and attractive face, the Duke found a pleasing warmth coiling around his groin. If he must get married and conceive an heir, then she would at least be entertaining. As head of the Tremont family since his father's passing, Marcus' opinion had to be considered, so he was able to veto the blonde Welsh girl with the broad hips - better for child-bearing, in his aunts' opinion.

He'd had no further contact with Alexis since that one dance. The details and negotiations were handled by other relatives, as was traditional. The bride and groom - also by tradition - were little more than pawns at this stage. Their limited responsibilities were to show up on time in the right attire and say "I do" on command.

"Are you so eager to be my bride that you break into your future home?" he slyly inquired. "Or did you have.... other intentions?"

 

[ChaseMePleez]

Her back ached at the odd angle she stood with his hand in her braid. Lex wanted to roll her eyes at the arrogant tone to her fiancee's voice. Since the moment she had laid eyes on him, Lex knew he was trouble but she wouldn't let him trample her free will. His smugness completely disgusted her and she never held back her opinion of him. After all this time as a single woman, she was put up on the auction block to become a bride. She could still remember the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she was told that an agreement for her hand had been reached.

Lex did admit he was a handsome man but she was not about to give up her freedom. Her own body had started to betray her after holding onto her virginity for all this time. She could not name the feeling that bloomed inside her when she was around him. It was a slow heat that started in her stomach and worked its way to her breasts, making them hard.

Many men had sought her out, vying for the hand of the supposed 'Ice Princess'. It had become rumored that there wasn't a man in England that could thaw her out long enough to get between her thighs. At the moment she would have been happy to give Tremont a severe case of frost bite. She smiled sweetly while positioning her foot. "I'm just full of surprises." He thought her anxious to become his wife? The man had to be daft!

"It is rather impressive. I must say whatever you paid to keep this place up is well worth the gold." Her foot came up in a well place blow to his stomach. Alexis had befriended a man from the orient when she was child and he taught he how to defend herself well into her late teens. "You could say I have other intentions." Laughter laced her voice, a smugness that she worried might come back to bite her on the arse.

Lex picked up the small bag and attached to her belt quickly. The dagger she wore was always an option, an option she had never taken before. She didn't believe in killing over money and would not do so tonight. If he caught her, she would give him a fight he would not soon forget.

 

[saedo]

Marcus sensed the impending blow and arched his back to avoid it. Even so, her swiftly rising knee came uncomfortably close to his royal jewels. Alexis, however, recovered with surprising speed and launched a second attack at his midsection. Marcus couldn't quite turn aside in time and caught a solid blow to his lower abdomen.

Marcus instictively retreated as the air whooshed out of him. He fell to the floor in a defensive crouch lest a third attack follow. His opponent seized this opportunity to turn and flee - though not before retrieving the small sack into which her ill-gotten gains had been deposited.

Marcus clambered back to his feet. He had to favor his side the first half dozen steps, but he was at a full walk by the time he entered the corridor and at a jog by the time he reached the landing.

A squeal of surprise from downstairs signaled the direction he should head. He rounded the corner towards the east wing and came upon a startled maid. "Your Grace! An intruder!" she said, pointing a finger in the direction.

Marcus nodded and swept past in pursuit. In his mind's eye he pictured the layout of the property. She would have wanted stealth, so she would have crept on by foot. If she chose the east, then that would mean navigating the river and then the forest along that side of the property. That was terrain with which the Duke was quite familiar from his hunting; even with her head start, he ought to be able to close the gap and intercept her. He grinned - the hunt was on.

 

[ChaseMePleez]

Alexis blew a kiss to her encumbered fiancee and made her way through the corridors of the estate. A female servant spotted her but she evaded the woman. Lex laughed to herself as she heard the woman calling for her master. A male servant about the size of a wall and just as thick was standing near the doorway as she approached. "Ladies first." She executed a flawless roundhouse kick, taking down the wall of human flesh.

Her hair blew wildly in the wind as she mounted her horse, a black stallion called Nightmare. "Let's go, boy" Too early on in the chase Alexis realized that she would have to continue on foot. Slapping the rear end of the horse, Alexis watched her best friend run off back home. In a deathly silence she maneuvered through the grounds. The forest was dense and a little hard to navigate.

Alexis had taken a different route when first entering the estate grounds. She could hear mean in the distance going towards the other end of the grounds. It was time she took advantage of their mistake. Nightmare's retreat had bore her a few minutes. They were following his tracks, believing she was atop her steed.

For a moment she rested against a tree and that was when she heard the snap of a limb. Someone was watching her. Alexis took off at a dead run, the sounds of a heavy male figure just behind her. She tried to fake a left but when she did that male figure was suddenly in front of her and had her in his arms, tightly hugging her body against him. Alexis gulped. She was in a hell of alot of trouble this time.

 

[saedo]

Marcus grabbed up his bow, sword, and hunter's pack before he exited the manor house. Though it cost him time, he knew well the value of being properly equipped while hunting. Besides, he had a good idea which route the fleeing Alexis might have used, which would speed his pursuit.

Moments later, he was surprised to hear the sound of hoofbeats. Though the moon provided a pale light, these woods had few paths that would permit a rider to traverse at more than a walk. If Alexis attempted to gallop amongst the trees, she'd likely break her foolish neck. But fleeing towards the more open ground surrounding the main estate would bring her within the grasp of the guards.

The sight of a riderless steed soon brought understanding. Alexis was bold for a thief, but not so foolish as to risk fleeing on horseback through the forest. Instead she'd set her horse free where it perhaps might serve as a distraction to conceal her escape. Unfortunately, having seen through her ruse, Marcus could use the horse's path to backtrack to where it had been abandoned.

Minutes later found him fast on Alexis' trail. Her progress spoke well of her athleticism, but Marcus' longer legs and familiarity with the terrain soon closed the distance. She bolted into a full run as soon as she detected his presence, but by then it was too late. Marcus had too much experience pursuing creatures far wilier for him to be eluded by a young girl.

Alexis made a desperate bid to outmaneuver him. Anticipating it, Marcus countered, putting himself directly in her path. Unable to escape, he wrapped his arms about her and crushed her to him.

Having caught her off guard, he used his advantage and threw her to the ground. He dropped atop her, pinning her to the ground. From his hunter's pack, he withdrew several strips of leather he used for trussing up game. These proved equally effective at binding the young maiden's wrists. Her muscular thrashing made corralling her legs trickier, but soon her ankles were likewise immobilized.

Marcus leaned back from his prey and brushed the dirt and leaves from his clothes. "You shall not escape that, my pretty," he grinned. "Now let us return to the manor house. I shall enjoy a glass of port while I decide what to do with you." He hefted Alexis over his left shoulder like a sack of grain and headed back towards the estate.

 

[ChaseMePleez]

Alexis wanted to kick the teeth out of his smug face when the ass tied her wrists together. She tried to do as much when he went after her legs. Her famous temper was burning red hot and she was fantasizing of having his head mounted on her bedroom wall. Her fiancee's men soon arrived and she was being carted off to the manor. Alexis was carried into the manor and up the stairs to someone's bedroom.

The room was made of warm colors, dark reds, browns, golds and black. The bed they laid her on was made of dark cherrywood with four posters and a dark red curtain being held in place by golden tassel ropes. The men that exited the room had these smug grins on their faces that angered her. The duke may have her at the moment but she would escape nonetheless.

As the doors were closed she watched the bastard go to pore himself a glass of port. His audacity made her growl in the back of her throat. This man had maddened to the point beyond reason tonight. There was no way he would have caught her if she had kept a level head. He had unnerved from the first moment they met but she refused to think anything of it. No man would ever have control over her. Alexis refused to let down her guard to anyone, least of all a man.

Since she was already in the situation she was in, Alexis decided to take a risk. If she could anger him to a point that he'd come at her, maybe she could catch him off guard. "Really, Tremont. Your manners are astoundingly bad. You don't even offer me a glass? I don't see why I am so surprised. Your behavior is so befitting the stereotypical British male pig." She smiled in a cocky demeanor.

Lex faked a gasp. "Oh dear me. Was that a little harsh?" She silently prayed for him to take the bait. Alexis was the queen of arguing and given enough time, she would get the better of this man. She pretended to study her surroundings. "Whose bedroom is this? The colors are dreadful. It's like sleeping in a circus tent."

 

[saedo]

Marcus dismissed his guards and closed the door behind him. He'd made sure to shield Alexis' face so that no one would recognize who he carried. He'd told them only that he planned to deal with this female thief personally.

That earned him some grins from his guards. The Duke's appetites were well known amongst his servants.

He now paid the angry woman no mind as he sipped at his port. The vintage was a familiar one and he would not let the ravings of a impertinent girl detract from its pleasures.

With his free hand, he inspected her belongings. Aside from her snug clothing and the binding in her hair, she carried only a belt and a small sack attached thereto. The sack contained a some metal tools which he adjudged might be useful for picking locks or forcing windows latches. Judging from the wear, his fiancée was no novice in thievery. A small dagger - barely more than a knife - was her only armament.

Then there was the bridal necklace - undoubtedly the shiny object he'd seen her pocketing earlier this night. "Curious," he proclaimed, admiring the twinkle of the red gems. "This very item would have been draped around your slender neck within the fortnight. Did you know that when you broke in this evening? Or did you just grab the gaudiest item you could find?"

Alexis merely glared back at him, apparently determined to deny him the satisfaction of an answer.

Marcus smiled and drank deeply of the wine. The ones who resisted could be even more entertaining. He set down his goblet and picked up her dagger.

Returning to the bed, he held up the blade so she could see it. Smiling at her tense reaction, he lowered the blade to her midsection. He let the point of the dagger dig in slightly as he drew it along - just enough for her to feel it through the cloth.

After toying with her for a bit, he sunk the blade in. The sharp edge parted the fabric with little effort. He took care not to do the same to her smooth skin.

Marcus removed the strip of fabric from the bottom of her tunic. Smiling down on her, he draped the strip across her eyes. "I don't think you'll want to see what happens next," he advised as he tied the blindfold in place.

 

[ChaseMePleez]

It irked Alexis's sense of control that he was examining her possessions so thoroughly. Her attempts to anger him seemed to have failed. She would have to alter her strategy. Marcus was no idiot which meant she would have to wait to see what he had in mind before deciding on a plan of escape. He sparked a reaction from jer when the blindfold was lowered over her eyes.

"Did you honestly think this was just for monetary gain? I am no penniless waif. You know that well enough. That necklace would fetch a handsome price and go to better people than you. Your humiliation at not being to hold onto it would guarantee approval of my petition to dissolve the betrothal." She growled at him as she felt the knife cut through the ties of the corset.

Her heart thudded against her ribs as she felt each inch of the material give way. Marcus was rumored to have an appetite for women and Alexis was getting nervous. He was an experienced man that knew what he was doing. She feared for the virginity she had held for the man of her choosing. "I know not what you've got planned, Tremont but I would warn you that I do not intend to lay back and play nice."

Alexis didn't like that she couldn't see. In slow deliberate movements she tested the bonds on her wrists. Her movements needed to be subtle if she wanted to get out of here. "Are you having them fetch the magistrate?" She wasn't betting on him turning her over but there was always that chance.

The excitement had inspired a strange reaction in her body. Alexis could feel the raised nipples on her breasts scraping against the material of her tunic and there was an unfamiliar ache in her body. She didn't like any of this. Marcus made her feel vulnerable which made her angry. No one would have that kind of power over her.

Her breasts were heaving in anger and fear. "Marcus, what are you planning?"

 

[saedo]

Marcus chuckled at her inquiry. "Magistrate? Magistrate?" He sipped of his port, amusement writ large across his face. "No, my dear, I don't think we'll be doing that. I much prefer dealing with such transgressions personally."

Under his hand, the point of her dagger slipped beneath the hemmed edge of her leggings. Her feet - already bare from when he checked her boots for additional weapons - flexed uncertainly as the sharp edge caressed her skin as he cut a slit well past her knee. He repeated the process several times till her left legging now terminated mid-thigh and his hand held the strips of fabric.

"Do you know what I like about this room?" he inquired as he looped a pair of strips around her left ankle. "Certainly not the color scheme. As you remarked in your own callow way, it is rather garish." Marcus repeated the process with her right ankle. "No, it has certain other . . . positive attributes."

The leather cords that bound her ankles did not part so easily as her clothing, but a few tugs of the dagger eventually severed them. Marcus took a firm grasp of her left ankle and pulled it towards the corner of the bed.

Recognizing her legs' freedom, Alexis bucked against him. Marcus' hand caught her high on the left cheek and with sufficient force to make her see stars beneath her blindfold. "Do not resist me, girl!" Marcus snarled. He switched directions, catching her this time on the right side of her face down near the jaw.

Alexis' struggling momentarily halted, he hauled her ankle closer to the bed's corner once more. Using the fabric from her leggings, he bound her leg to the bedpost. He repeated the process with her right leg. Now Alexis lay on her back on the bed, her thighs splayed wide due to the bedpost bindings.

Marcus took up his goblet again and drank of his port once more. The blindfolded and bound girl was a delicious sight. He could feel her earlier bravado giving way to fear. Her breathing had grown more rapid, her impressive bosom heaving against the confines of her bodice. Her nipples had also made themselves known; surprisingly thick, they made a pair of massive dents in the already strained fabric across her chest.

No doubt the young maiden had never been treated this way before. A girl of her standing would have been pampered since birth. That made her apparent fondness for nighttime skulduggery highly unusual, but he doubted that even that had left her trussed and helpless at the hands of a man before.

In all likelihood, she'd had very little contact with men aside from her father. While traditions like virgin brides had long ago fallen out of favor amongst the lower classes, such things still mattered heavily amongst the nobility. Certainly the Tremonts had been promised as such during the marital negotiations. Of course, the St. Johns had also not mentioned that Alexis was also an amateur burglar, so perhaps other such nighttime activities had escaped her family's notice.

Marcus set down his goblet and took a seat on the bed. He leaned down to inspect Alexis' face. The blow he'd struck her on the left side was beginning to puff up; she'd definitely have a bruise there in the morning. He reached out with a hand and brushed an errant stray lock of hair off her brow. She flinched instinctively at his unseen touch.

"No, what I like about this room is the privacy," he continued, his voice low and soothing. "Did you notice as you entered? This room has no windows. I can assure you that the walls are also quite thick. The door is made from an oak as broad as my hand. That is why I do not bother to gag you - there is no one to hear your words." He paused, then added. "Or your screams."

 

[ChaseMePleez]

Alexis eyed him. "I am not in the mood for your games." Her mood was definitely in the range of infuriated. The fact that he found this amusing was quickly making her control slip. If she did not keep control of her temper, he could very well get the better of her. The tone he had taken had made her wary. He obviously wasn't going to kill her so what could he want?

She growled low in her throat when she felt a sharp dagger shedding her leggings. His hands worked to free her of the material. Alexis sensed an opportunity to escape and made try for it but a hard hand smacked her back down. She yelled when he hit her again. "Resist you? Why would I resist when you've been so utterly charming? " Her sarcasm was painfully obvious. "Really, Marcus. If this is how you treat women, it is a wonder you're not still holding onto your virginity."

Alexis tested the bindings on her extremities, grunting when she found them tightly attached. The memory of his scent haunted her and her traitorous body was creaming for him. She tried to calm herself. Between lust, anger and fear, her mind was not as clear as it normally was. She took a deep breath and her tone calmed. "What is on your mind?"

Her fear was starting to show again. Marcus made her feel sexually vulnerable and it intimidated her that he could elicit such a reaction from her body. She hated him for having that kind of control of her. Alexis had deemed most men controlling fools and that none would rule her world. That all changed when they met and it was the main reason she decided to humiliate him by stealing from him.

She could feel her body tremble as that smooth voice taunted her ears. Alexis couldn't contain the gasp of shock. "Marcus this is insane. If you do not wish to involve the magistrate then I am sure my family could compensate you for your trouble." She gulped down the panic he was inspiring in her. "Just let me go and we both will forget it happened. We both walk away from the betrothal and get on with our lives. I do not want it any more than you do, I'm sure."

Among the court, Alexis was considered the daughter Satan left on this Earth. Her temper scared most men from her when socializing, which suited her well. She rathered her own company than that of the frilly dandies that called themselves men. All she could do is play up the hardship she could be. That he could find someone far more suitable for his need as well as his family.

 

[saedo]

Marcus bridled slightly at her verbal barbs. A person of her social standing had no place addressing him with such familiarity, let alone such rudeness. Had she been a man, he'd have responded with his fist in an instant.

But that was just what Alexis needed. Trapped as she was, she instinctively scrabbled for any measure of control over her situation - even it was only the power to annoy. If he permitted her even that tiny foothold, she would resist that much longer. So he merely smiled and let her comments slide off him like water off a duck's back. Let her flail all she liked - she would find nothing to break her fall.

Her apparent courage persisted minutes more as he tended to her bonds, but at last he heard it begin to waver. "Just let me go and we both will forget it happened. We both walk away from the betrothal and get on with our lives. I do not want it any more than you do, I'm sure."

The Duke's grin crept across his face as he listened to his captive. Her earlier arrogance was fading. He could see it all in the way she licked her lips, the set of her jaw, the tension in her shoulders. Her brave facade had cracked as the pressure of uncertainty mounted. Soon the tendrils of fear would seek purchase in her heart. From thence, it was only a matter of time.

He let a calm chuckle precede his words. "My dear little girl, you can at least be certain that our betrothal will certainly be called off." He chuckled again. "Just not in the way you think."

Her dagger in hand, he slipped the blade beneath her breeches near her right hip. In a smooth continuum, he slit the fabric from hip to ankle. He repeated the process on the left side. He could feel her body tense up as the cloth parted; with her pants effectively cut in two, he would merely have to tug gently to expose her body below the waist.

"You are a virgin," he said pragmatically. "Oh, given your clear rebellious streak, you may not be wholly pure. Perhaps you did more than cuddle for warmth beneath the covers with some female cousin. Perhaps you had some handsome young stable show you what lurked between his thighs - maybe even had a taste of it yourself."

"But for all your apparent disdain for propriety, you are not willing to abandon it entirely, else you would have done so by now. You could readily have escaped the trappings of nobility years ago. You could have bedded the first field hand who struck your fancy and forever tainted yourself in the eyes of the society you claim to disregard. But you have not. Perhaps you love your father too much to disgrace him. Perhaps you're unwilling to give up the privileges of wealth and power."

He shrugged. "No matter. You would not subject you and your family to the humiliation of having your wantonness proclaimed publicly on your wedding day when the midwives part your milky thighs before you don the white. You would not have submitted to this betrothal if you knew your fraud would eventually be revealed. Therefore, you know your maidenhead is intact."

He placed his hand over her groin and cupped her nether regions through the remnants of her pants. Her hips bucked at his touch, but her bound ankles prevented her from escaping his grasp.

His voice continued as calmly as before. "But not for long. Tonight I shall have my way with you. I shall plow a deep furrow in your virgin fields into which I shall sow so much of my seed in your belly that it will look as if you swallowed a melon whole. And when I am finished with you, I shall toss you by the roadside like the discarded husk you are. Your family will quietly call off the wedding and you will be married off to some merchant's son or the like - forever forgotten among proper society."

"What would you do otherwise? Publicly proclaim me as your defiler?" He barked derisively. "Ha! You?! A maiden of a minor house with well-noted tendencies towards flouting convention? Versus I, the Duke Tremont? Ha! My duchy stretches to the horizon and there isn't a man on it - least of all the magistrate - who would take your word over mine. Moreover, I have a dozen servants and twice again as many men at arms who will all swear on their lives that their lord and master had no company tonight. You will be seen not only as a wanton slut but a lying whore. No one will believe you and your life will be forfeit for attempting to slander a man of my station."

His hand clamped down more firmly on her sex. "No, my dear, you will do nothing of the sort. Tonight you belong to me. I shall do with you as I please."

 

[ChaseMePleez]

Alexis decided to throw him for a loop and burst out laughing. The hilarity of the situation was enough to make her break. “Brava, Tremont.” She clapped. “Quite the performance.” A low giggle escaped her. “But we both know that you can’t have me.”

An eyebrow arched regally. “The way I hear it, your grandmother practically dragged you to court to pick a bride. Your servants have loose lips. I managed to hear about the daughter of a knight that you had sent for years ago. They say she ran away screaming. Your reputation is not as pristine as you think. “
She felt the dagger in her breeches and had to fight with herself not to take a chunk out of him with her teeth. “You know nothing about me or the people that live not more than two miles away from you. A fire took out the head of a family that were employed by my family. That ugly bauble was to set them up for life. “

Alexis sat up in a rage when he questioned her purity. “There is not a man in this house or town that I would let between my thighs. Despite what you think of me, I have respect for myself. I have never let a man touch me as you have tonight.” Never in all her years had she been touched or kissed.

Men wanted the gentile feminine lady that served a man’s every whim. That wasn’t who she was. “I can be perfectly proper when I need to be. I just don’t a need with you considering the circumstances. The only wanton creature here is you.” She growled in rage and tried to take a swing at him with her restrained hands. “If you try to put another hand on me, I will see to it that you wake with your blood staining the sheets.”

Alexis laughed outrageously. “You are quite amusing, I must say. You honestly think I would want anyone to know you touched me?! You’re obviously some kind of a degenerate. You have lost your sanity in your arrogance. Next you’ll be proclaiming yourself the king of England.”

Her voice became quite serious. It wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. “I belong to myself. Honestly, Marcus. Do you think I am really so stupid that I wouldn’t have back up in case something like this might happen?” She laughed as they heard a male by the door screaming about a fire in another part of the house.

“Did you think I sent my horse on just to throw you off my trail? I knew you’d see through that. Once my horse arrived home without a rider, my partner has only to wait one hour. If I have not returned they know something has gone wrong.” She determined to win this.

 

[saedo]

Marcus ignored her prattling. He'd remained a bachelor for lo these many years in no small part because of this wretched tendency in the fairer sex. Having cuckolded many a husband, he knew well of their wives' penchant for inane chatter. At least with the whores and servant girls he could order them to be quiet.

But the cry of "Fire!" from elsewhere in the house was not something wisely ignored. Perhaps her fanciful tales of rescue were not wholly unfounded. Marcus failed to see how setting the building alight could presage a rescue, but clearly anyone reckless enough to work with Alexis might indeed be so foolhardy.

Marcus let his surging rage fuel his arm. His backhand silenced her and left a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth. "Foolish bitch!" he spat. "If your partner has damaged my estate or injured my men, I'll put you both to the sword!"

He leapt from the bed and flung open the door. The guards he stationed outside looked at him with concern, both nervously gripping their sheathed swords. "Your Grace, there is smoke coming from the stables!" cried one.

"You two guard this door with your lives!" the Duke bellowed. "You will remain at your posts till the flames lick at your boots if need be. If I return and find my captive missing, then make sure it is because you two were killed during her escape because I shall feed you to my hounds otherwise."

His guards suitably inspired, Marcus raced down the hall and down the stairs. His long stride carried him swiftly to the stables. Expecting to see the fierce light of a raging fire, he instead found the yard slowly clearing of a dense, acrid smoke. As he resisted the urge to cough, his stablemaster Jenkins approached.

"Your Grace!" the heavily bearded man announced. "Appears some right bastard decided to have a bit of fun at our expense. Set fire to some sort of root. Not much on flames, but a Godawful amount of smoke, begging the Almighty's pardon. Spooked the horses a bit and me as well if I'm giving proper account, but aside from the horrible smell, there seems to be no lasting damage."

"Did you see the culprit?" inquired the Duke.

"Aye, Your Grace, I did at that. Didn't get much of a good look at the filthy little bastard, but looked to have long blonde hair. Wee little chap, too. Not much more than a boy, I reckon."

Or perhaps another female thief, thought the Duke. Perhaps Alexis had enlisted one of her handmaidens in her burglary.

"At any rate, I sent Tom and Dan off straight away in pursuit of the little bugger. Them two is fine lads, Your Grace. They'll run that little bastard to ground if it takes them a week and haul his craven ass back here to face justice."

"Indeed," murmured the Duke. Perhaps Alexis might have a compatriot to share in her punishment. "Very well, I see you have the situation in hand. Carry on. And when Tom and Dan return, see to it I am notified at once.

With that, the Duke turned on his heel. Time to attend to Alexis. She would pay dearly this night for her transgressions.