Free The Duke's Revenge by Alexia Praks Page A

She
opened it and stared wide eyes at the beautiful arrays of colorful
petticoats and gowns. Then her surprise turned into anger.
    Did he think to woo her with beautiful
gowns? She did not care for the likes of gowns, hates, and gloves.
God, all she wanted was her freedom to live her life. She did not
want to feel trap like a caged animal.
    Instantly, she hated herself for being so
weak, for letting her mother bullied her into this.
    She felt lost and alone. Her emotion was so
overwhelming that she threw herself on the bed and sobbed her heart
out. She didn’t know how long she stayed there crying quietly
inside, hating her life and hating herself.
    “ M’ lady, get up.” Lisa
nudged her arm. “M’ lady, you must change afore you sleep. I know
you are tired after the journey but you must change afore you
retire.”
    Ivy opened her protesting eyes. She sat up
and gave a loud yawn. Lisa grabbed her hand and helped her up.
    “ I’m so tired,” she said,
turning her back for Lisa to undo the length of buttons. “Is my
bath ready?”
    “ Not yet,” Lisa said,
sliding the sleeve down Ivy’s arm. Then she proceeded to remove the
whole dress down Ivy’s waist. “Oh my, you’re wearing a new
corset.”
    “ Aye, I do not like it
though. I’ve never worn a corset before but Mama insisted
and...”
    “ It’s the fashion,” Lisa
said, untying the strings. “Do you know I would never have thought
I would ever see you again?”
    “ Neither do I,” Ivy
commented, freeing herself from the corset. “If papa had not
brought you home and made you my companion that day when I turned
six, I don’t ever think that I would have a friend in the
world.”
    “ Aye, the earl was a very
generous man. If not for him I would still be in the workhouse
today or perhaps...”
    Ivy looked down at herself and saw that the
material of her chemise was sticking onto her skin inappropriately.
She straightened it out by pulling them down.
    “ I will see to your bath
now,” Lisa said and left.
    Ivy went to sit in the middle of the bed.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Disgusted at her self-pity,
she brought her hands up and wiped them away.
    The door opened. It must
be Lisa coming to tell her that her bath was ready, she thought,
and looked up. She saw him — her
master —the duke of Lynwood, striding
toward her. Her heart kicked in her chest. The aura of his strength
was so magnificent that she felt her bone weaken at the very sight
of him.
    “ What are you doing
here?”
    “ Why should you asked,
mistress?” Max said mockingly. “I am your master.” He reached out
to grab for her arm.
    “ Nay, your grace,” she
said and shifted away.
    He missed.
    “ Nay?” he asked and sat
near her feet.
    Ivy stared at him as he leaned forward. She
put her hands on the bed for support and started to shift
backward--slowly away from him.
    He smiled when he saw her do that. “You’re
afraid of me?”
    Ivy panicked as he advanced closer. She
moved further back as she stared at him.
    “ You shouldn’t be here,
you should be at—”
    “ Where else would I’d
rather be at?” His face turned into a hard mask. “Where would I be,
Ivy?”
    “ With your other
mistresses or my mother, that’s where you should be.”
    “ Why would I want to be
there?” he said in a low heated voice.
    She jumped. She hastily turned and saw that
she had reached the top of the bed. She had nowhere to run to now.
She frowned at the damn bed, cursing it because it wasn’t long
enough for her to get away from this brute.
    “ I said why would I be
there instead?” He caught her slender angle and gave it a
tug.
    Her bottom slid down. She panicked and
shifted her gazed to him in confusion. He tugged her leg again. Her
bottom slide down a bit more. She blinked.
    Leisurely, his hand moved up the length of
her leg. It was as if he was stroking her skin but at the same time
she felt threaten. The slowness did nothing to ease her raging
heart. She felt the