Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20 Elowen, Come Here

Elowen shivered, Goosebumps prickled down her arms at the way he said it.

She rubbed at her sleeves and gestured toward him. “Come with me.”

Frished

The boy turned back to the stablehand and shot him a smug, taunting grin. The man muttered under his breath. “Bloody pretty–face.”

Elowen turned to leave. The boy followed close behind. Mira started to step forward as well, but Elowen held out a hand to stop her.

“Wait here,” she said softly.

Mira didn’t understand the reason, but she had grown up under Elowen’s care and never questioned her decisions. She simply nodded and stayed put.

Elowen led the boy toward the western side gate. A lantern hung near the archway, its dim light casting a warm, flickering glow.

A small flight of stone steps led down from the gate. Elowen was just about to descend.

Suddenly, the boy stepped up behind her, a little too close. His voice dropped low, soft and honeyed.

“These past nights, I’ve waited for Your Grace in the stables,” he murmured. “And tonight… you came. Just for me. You won’t leave now, will you?”

He was far too near. Elowen instantly recoiled, a frown creasing her brow as she took a step away.

But the boy kept whispering, “I don’t need a title. I don’t want status. All I want is to stay by your side. I can do so much…”

“Oh, you mean like killing a horse?” Elowen cut in sharply.

The boy froze. “W–what?”

“You were working off a debt for a single writing quill,” she said coldly. “Feeding the horses for a few days would’ve paid that off. But now, you’ve gone and killed one of the finest warhorses in the manor. That horse was bred from the Northern Plains, one of the best we’ve ever brought in. Worth more than you, frankly

She folded her arms across her chest, anger simmering beneath her calm tone. “If I hadn’t been doing a full count of the horses today, no one would’ve even known it had died,”

Elowen had grown up in the Hale military estate. She understood exactly how precious a trained warhorse

Was

And more importantly–if not for this mess, she would’ve been in bed already. Not out here, still chasing down problems.

The boy looked stunned. “I… I didn’t…”

210 pm

māber 20 Eleven, Come Here

Finiging

I should never have put you in the stables, she said bluntly. “I thought, well, you’re grown, and feeding horses doesn’t take much brainpower. But who knew you’d manage to kill one. And you have the nerve to say you’re good at many things?

Her disdain was obvious in her tone.

The boy’s face flushed red with shame. “I… I wasn’t talking about feeding horses…”

“Oh, I know what you meant,” Elowen snapped. “You meant sex. The things that happen in bed between a man and a woman.”

She didn’t understand it at first, no. But she had questions. And she wasn’t afraid to ask.

She had consulted Gerda over the past few days. She wasn’t the same innocent, clueless girl she had been.

The boy bit his lower lip.

Then, slowly, he walked down the stone steps, stopping in front of her. He stepped into the path of her light and knelt, eyes tilted upward as he looked at her.

“You only say that,” he said softly, “because you haven’t experienced it yet. But you came for me tonight. You brought me out here, just the two of us. Was it really only to scold me?”

He didn’t look away. The lantern cast soft shadows along the line of his jaw and down the length of his throat, his posture relaxed, almost graceful.

He tried to move closer. His voice dropped lower, “You came out here for a reason, didn’t you?”

“Your Grace,” he breathed, “just for tonight… let me serve you.”

His hands reached for her ankles. And just as Elowen drew back her foot, ready to kick him away… A voice cracked through the dark.

You filthy harlot! Meeting a stable boy in the dead of night?!”

Elowen’s head snapped up.

Marwen had arrived, flanked by a dozen maids and guards, striding down the path like a battle charge.

Elowen’s voice rang out, calm as ever. “Aunt Marwen. What brings you here?”

As if you don’t know!” Marwen practically spat the words. “You’re here, late at night, sneaking off to meet your lowborn lover? After barely a few days of marriage? While your husband lies unconscious?“

Her finger jabbed toward the boy. “And what? Still pretending you’re innocent?!”

The boy immediately played along, shrinking back behind Elowen, voice trembling. “Your Grace…”

The sight only fueled Marwen’s fury. “Caught red–handed! There’s no denying it now!”

She turned to the servants. “What are you all standing around for?! Bind this whore and drag her out of the manor! In a few days, she’s to be cast out in shame!”

JI

2:10 pm.

ppp.

Tyn Jual

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