Hey guys! So, I am here with a new fanfic and I really hope y'all will like it! I would like to thank Diana for the lovely cover that she made for this fanfic :) Enjpy!
A Scoundrel's Bargain
Lady Caroline hasn't had it easy ever since her father's death and her brother's gambling problem came to light and it only gets worse when their childhood acquaintance returns hellbent on revenge.
The orchestra played their music smoothly as the beau monde conversed with one another. Caroline Forbes stood away from prying eyes and near a large green plant. As her eyes wandered over the people that were attending, she spotted a flash of yellow-golden hair.
"Matt," she said under her breath as she watched her older brother make his way into the card room.
Frowning, the blonde followed her brother into the card room, only to realize that he was already seated at a table and had a deck of cards in his hands. With her hands cocked on her hips, she marched right over to her idiot brother and as she was about to snatch the deck of cards from him, she heard a laugh that brought back memories from her childhood.
Swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, Caroline slowly turned around and her breath hitched in her throat as she looked upon a man that resembled the youth that she had a crush on as a child, but the gangly youth was no more. In his place stood a man that was taller than most with lean muscles and sun-kissed bronze skin. His unruly dirty blonde curls were now cut shorter and the peppering of light hair on his jaw made him even more appealing.
"Hello, Carey." He drawled as he stopped right in front of her and his eyes roamed over her front appreciatively.
"Sir," she responded in kind, her voice devoid of all emotion as she eyed him with fire in her bright blue eyes.
"Oh, come on now... Do not tell me that you have forgotten that infatuation you have had with me."
"I was a child back then, my lord." She told him as she crossed her arms over her chest, unconsciously pushing her breasts upward. "Now, I am a woman." Caroline told him matter-of-factly.
"I can tell," he winked, a smirk on his lips as he licked his full lips and looked directly at her middle.
"Remove your gaze from my person right this instant, my lord. Unless of course you would like to have your eyes gouged out."
"Touché," he smirked. "Looky here, Matty Boy... Your sister seems to have become a hoyden ever since my departure."
"I was a hoyden before your departure, my lord. You just never noticed, so that is none of my concern." She shrugged before she looked away from him and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder.
"We are going home, brother." Caroline told Matt as she shook his shoulder when he didn't budge.
"Carey, go on home yourself. The carriage is outside, after all and the night is still far too young to retire." He told her, his voice slurring and the blonde felt her spirits drop, but kept on a brave facade.
"I am not leaving without you, Matthew Forbes. Now, get up off your behind before I make you." She said even though she knew that there were a bunch of men surrounding her as well as her childhood infatuation.
"Well, well..." Klaus said. "It seems like you finally have a mama, Matty Boy."
Gritting her teeth, Caroline turned on Klaus with her hands clenched into fists as the tick in her jaw began to move.
"Nobody asked for your opinion, you cad!" The blonde burst out as she stomped right over to him and raised her hand in an attempt to slap him.
Before she could strike him, however, he grabbed her gloved hand and his mouth curled backwards as he showed her his straight teeth.
"It seems like Miss Forbes does have a feisty nature, indeed." One of the men said from behind Klaus as his dark eyes roamed over the blonde in a not-so-subtle way.
"Yes, it does." Klaus agreed. "But the show is over, gentlemen. Also, a private word if you will, Miss Forbes." Klaus told her and as the blonde was going to respond with a witty remark, she saw his eyes darken and swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat.
As the gentlemen parted for the two, Klaus led Caroline over to the double doors that led to the terrace, but before they stepped outside, he looked at the men with a serious expression on his face.
"Miss Forbes and I will keep the terrace doors open and we will remain within seeing distance, so if either of you decide to create a scandal out of nothing, mark my words that your days will be numbered." He threatened them, but those present knew that he meant it. "Also, if you do see something that is deemed inappropriate amongst the ton, the same applies. As long as the lot of you keep your mouths shut, all will be well."
With those parting words, he pulled Caroline onto the terrace.
"Let me go, bloody scoundrel!" She cried out as he tightened his hold on her arm and stared deep into her eyes.
"Silence, Carey. That is all I ask." He said.
"I do not care for what you ask, sir. Now, before I hit you someplace it will hurt, I advise you to release me at once."
"As the lady deems necessary, I will do just that." He told her as he released his hold on her arm. "But do not think of bolting, sweetheart."
"It is Miss Forbes to you, sir." She corrected him as she narrowed her bright blue eyes at him.
"Miss Forbes, then." He repeated with a roll of his eyes.
"Good," she said, giving him a hard nod.
"Very well, so now that we have that settled, what in the bloody hell are you thinking speaking out loud in front of those men?"
"I can care less about those men, sir." She said. "And as a matter of fact, I can care less about you." The blonde added as an afterthought.
"You seem a tad bit angry, Caroline." He told her as he nodded in her direction. "Perhaps before you speak you should think what it is you wish to say."
"I do not need any lessons in propriety from you of all people, sir. After all, aren't you the one who holds a gaming hell within a place that is unsuitable?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but I must admit that I am surprised that you know such information considering you are known to be a sensible and innocent young lady."
Snorting, Caroline looked away from him and looked out onto the garden.
"How I act is only of my concern and not yours. Now, as we speak about such empty matters, my brother is in there making a fool of himself as he bets money that we do not have."
"Did your father not leave you a sufficient amount of money before his passing?" Klaus questioned as his lips curled in disgust at the thought of the blonde's father who was the man that caused such misery to his family.
"No, actually. He did, however, leave us in debt to a number of different people hence the reason I am trying to remove my brother from the presence of you lot."
"Oh, I don't think that he will be going home with you, sweetheart. After all, I do intend to invite him to my gaming hell, personally."
"No," she said as she narrowed her eyes at him and the crease appeared between her eyebrows, making her appear like a scolding matron.
"No? Is that your way of warning me off?" He questioned as he chuckled and began shaking his head.
"Yes," she said. "Leave my brother out of your debauchery, Niklaus Mikaelson! I will not have you poisoning his mind with thoughts of attending that place you call a business."
"Actually, it is a rather good business considering that I am swimming in money. Who would have thought that so many of the London elite would find solace in a gaming hell filled with drinking, gambling, and far too much whoring?"
"I do not care about how successful your business is, Niklaus." The blonde snapped. "The point is that I want you to keep Matt out of your affairs."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, love. After all, when we were kids, Matt and I were like brothers and I intend to salvage our kinship now that I have returned."
Scowling, Caroline narrowed her eyes at him before she turned on her heel and marched away from him with her head held high.
"I do not think we finished our conversation, Carey." He drawled, chuckling as he approached her once again.
Clenching her hands into fists, she turned on him with a fierce expression on her lovely face and her nose twitched adorably.
"Go to the devil!" She cried out as she jabbed a finger into his chest.
"Will do," he responded. "But only if you come with me." He added as his eyes twinkled suggestively.
With a harumph, Caroline walked away from him and he didn't stop her. He simply stared after her as he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.
It seemed like the little fire cracker from him youth was just about ready to detonate.
Later that evening, the footman helped Caroline into the carriage and as she sat down, Matt entered with his eyes glassed over because of too much drink.
"You are coming home?" The blonde questioned as her eyes lit up and she sat forward in her seat.
"Yes," he responded, not daring to meet her eyes. He simply looked out the window and tapped the ceiling of the carriage.
With a lurch, the carriage took off and headed in the direction of their town house. The siblings sat in silence for a couple of minutes, but then Caroline spoke up.
"Matty, are you alright?" She asked as she took a shaky breath and moved to sit beside him.
"Of course," he nodded. "I am simply tired after the day that I had."
"Did you lose again?" She asked, holding her breath because she knew that they were already in a dire financial situation. After all, before their father's death, William Forbes invested money into a number of unsuccessful businesses.
"I do not wish to speak with you on that topic, Caroline. Leave it be." He commanded as the carriage came to a stop and the footman knocked before he opened the door.
Jumping out of the carriage, Matt pushed past the footman and stormed into their townhouse, not waiting for his younger sister.
"Miss Forbes," the footman said as he held out his hand. Placing her hand in the footman's, she stepped down and then looked up at the kind man.
"Thank you, Jamie." Caroline mumbled before she moved towards the entrance of the townhouse.
As Caroline entered the townhouse, she looked over at the elderly butler and smiled at him before she moved further into her home. Moving towards the staircase, the blonde put one foot in front of the other until she arrived at her bedroom door.
Turning the knob, she entered the baby blue colored bedroom and moved to her white four poster bed that stood in the center. Taking a seat on the edge, she moved her hands down her dress and straightened the wrinkles before she felt the moisture building up in her eyes.
Swallowing the sudden lump that was forming in her throat, she shook her head and thought of the better days. Unfortunately, there were not many memories that she could recall of her mother who passed away when Caroline was only of two years. Then again, there were times when her usually neglectful father showed her that he cared, but the only good memories that could truly come to the surface were those that involved the whole of the Mikaelson family.
After all, Klaus' family was one that had both a mother and father that knew how to love their children and doted on them with large smiles on their faces. Mikael Mikaelson and Esther Mikaelson were one of the lucky couples in London considering that they had a love match and six children to show for it.
Shaking her head, Caroline lay back on the chaise and shut her eyes as she thought about how much Klaus changed. When Caroline was a child of barely ten years old, she would bother Klaus with her incessant ways to get his attention because she was enamored with him.
"My how things have changed." She said out loud as she stood up and moved towards the bedroom door because she was in need of a glass of water.
As she opened the door, she heard Matt's footsteps getting farther away and immediately hiked her skirts up in order to follow him. As she moved down the stairs, the butler just shut the door and Caroline narrowed her eyes.
"Where has Matthew gone, Higgins?" Caroline asked the elderly butler with a curious expression on her face.
"I know not for sure, but I heard him mumbling about Jermyn Street." Higgins responded because he himself was worried about the young lord that seemed to be headed towards a downward spiral ever since the death of his father, the Earl.
"Bloody hell," Caroline said as she pulled open the door and moved to the carriage that Jamie stood by with a confused look on his face.
"Where is Matthew?" Caroline questioned as her eyes widened and she waited for Jamie to respond.
"Lord Forbes entered a carriage with a crest and a lion on the front." Jamie told her as he shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably.
"Very well," she nodded. "Follow the carriage, Jamie." She ordered as she opened the carriage door and sat down on the cushioned seat.
"My lady?" Jamie said. "Are you certain?"
"Of course I am," she nodded. "Now hurry before we lose him."
"Yes, my lady." he responded as he shut the door.
When the carriage began moving, Caroline thought about Jermyn Street and all of the clubs that were littered around that area. Biting down on her bottom lip, she realized that Klaus' gaming hell was located there as well. Uttering a curse under her breath, she tapped her foot on the floor impatiently as her hands clenched into fists.
She was going to give Niklaus Mikaelson a lashing down of the century and she was going to make sure that he understood that making an enemy out of her was not going to be a good idea.
There you have it! Shall I continue?
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~Hana :p