Free Pascale Duguay by Twice Ruined

moment’s peace during her entire stay. When he was not busy rescuing her after she got stuck climbing the highest trees on the estate, he was fishing her out of the pond, half-drowned, because the chit had decided she wanted to learn how to swim. She had littered the house with any ailing creature that crossed her path, going so far as to sneak a garden snake into her room on the pretence that it was feeling poorly. How anyone could tell how a snake was feeling was beyond his imagination. Of course the animal had escaped and scared all the maids into hysterics when it had been discovered below stairs. When Patience had finally left, it had taken a week to air out her room from all the smelly plants and weeds she had gathered there to experiment on — nearly setting the house on fire in the process.
    He could not conceive what her parents had been thinking when they had named her. Never had he met someone so inappropriately named. The thought of her parents brought on another worry. It was common knowledge that Lord Bingham was addicted to gambling, and more often than not, under the hatches. Julius would not be surprised to find that the whole thing had been orchestrated by her father. Suddenly feeling the need for a drink, he reached for the decanter of brandy and topped his glass. Emptying its contents in one shot, he refilled it before walking slowly to stand in front of the empty fireplace.
    No, Patience would definitely not be anything like the ideal wife he had drawn on paper. Reaching for the list he always kept in his breast pocket, he took it out and briefly glanced at it. Lifting it to the nearest candle, he set it on fire and thrust it into the empty grate watching as the flames consumed his dreams until nothing but ashes remained.

Chapter Six
    Patience spent a restless night punctuated by dreams that were filled with a wrathful Julius berating her for her duplicity and promising all sorts of dire retributions. Waking up after a particularly horrid nightmare, she was glad to find that it was finally morning. Just as she was about to get out of bed, a gentle knock sounded, followed by a maid bringing in a jug of hot water and her dress, which from the looks of it had been cleaned and pressed overnight.
    “Morning, miss,” the maid said, scurrying to place the jug down next to the washbasin while nervously glancing about her.
    “My name’s Trudy, Miss. I was assigned to be your personal maid,” continued the woman, her eyes still darting around the room while she placed the dress neatly over the back of a chair.
    “Is anything amiss, Trudy?” Patience could not help herself from asking. “You seem a bit anxious.”
    “Oh! Beg your pardon, miss! But I’m mortally afraid of snakes!” she blurted blushing at the revelation.
    “Snakes?” Patience asked puzzled.
    “Well, seeing as you kept a snake in your room last time you visited, I was wondering, well, more like hoping…” trailed off the visibly shaken Trudy edging closer toward the door.
    Patience burst out with laughter before setting to reassure the maid. “You may rest easy. I did not bring a snake with me this time nor do I mean to do so ever again! If I remember correctly, the ungrateful animal escaped out of the nice, comfortable home I had made for it. Were you the pour soul who discovered it in the kitchens?”
    “Aye, miss, and what’s more, I was the one who had to help my lord chase it back into the garden seeing as Simmons refused to go near the thing, and all the other maids were busy screeching loud enough to lift the roof! And not a footman in sight of course. They’re never around when needed.”
    This reminiscence did much to restore Patience to her customary good humour. After dismissing the maid, she got out of bed and walked to the washstand. The first thing she saw when she looked in the mirror was the red marks that the Earl’s kisses had left on her neck. She pressed a wet cloth onto the telltale signs of last night’s