A/N: Welcome back! I am here with another update which I hope you'll like.

I want to thank: armutt, nuckythompson, guest, flow3rchild21, MissMisc3, Makrciana, Jay D. Moore, xoangelwingxo, ForeverACharmedOne, whatcatydidnext, dionne dance, Leyshla Gisel, TinkerbellxO, AqoCJeyBee, 88dragon06, XantheXV and LadyAmazon.

Thank you all for your support!

Song suggestion for this chapter: Snuff by Slipknot.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Libertine…Obviously…

Chapter 10

Bury all your secrets in my skin

Come away with innocence and

Leave me with my sin

The air around me still feels like a cage

And love is just a camouflage

Of what resembles rage again…

The fire cackled in the silence and Alexandra placed her hands in front of the flames to warm them. Her eyes stared at the chestnuts she had just put in the fire and smiled. The image reminded her of her mother. The smile fell from her lips as soon as it came. What would her mother think of her odd relationship with her master? Stifling a sigh she rubbed her tired eyes and shook her head. She shouldn't think about that. It only happened once and she'd be damned if she let it happen again.

She sat back on her haunches and turned her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him leaning back in his lush armchair. His feet were propped up in a low stool and he had long discarded his waistcoat. His cravat was untied and hanging loosely around his neck and the top buttons of his crisp white shirt were open. She swallowed hard as she eyed the glass of wine that was clasped between his long fingers and a faint blush crept up her neck. Her blush deepened and reached her cheeks when her gaze fell on his slightly pursed mouth. He always had that expression when he was reading something that interested him. The purse of the mouth and the furrowed brow were signals that you shouldn't disturb him, that he was too engrossed in his task.

Alexandra frowned to herself and looked away. The fact that she knew those small characteristics of his bothered her. When had she stared noticing all that? Noticing him. When she had arrived she had been certain that she disliked him. His crude nature, bold words and cruel honesty were abhorrent to her. But not anymore. Because she understood him…a little better. His words that were a shield to his feelings, his blatant and sometimes extreme respect for truth that bothered everyone and the way he could express anything with his eyes were familiar to her. In a way one could say that they were similar. She understood him alright, but she didn't have to like his actions.

"Staring is rather rude." His voice broke through her haze and she jumped, "And you're going to burn those nuts." He informed her as he raised his dark eyes from the book and looked at her.

She flushed even more and quickly reached towards the fire to take out the chestnuts.

She heard him click his tongue but when she heard his chuckle she paused and looked at him.

He had abandoned the book and was staring at her with a smirk, "Is there a reason for your absence of mind today?" he asked her as he tilted his head to the side and took a sip from his wine.

She looked away as he lowered the goblet and she felt her heart beating erratically against her chest at the sight of his moistened lips.

Oh God, no.

"I am just cold today, sir. My ribs hurt too." She murmured as she placed the chestnuts in a plate and the put them aside.

"Leave that and come here." He told her abruptly and she froze.

"My Lord?" she whispered and he tilted his head to the side.

"Come here." He repeated in a low voice and she did.

As she started to get up he cocked an eyebrow, "Did I tell you to stand? Get me that bottle too." He pointed at the wine bottle next to his chair on the floor.

Alexandra shuffled towards him and he pushed the stool away as she crawled closer.

When she was near his legs he outstretched his glass towards her and she refilled it.

"Perhaps, you should eat something before you continue-…" she suggested.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" he cut her off and she narrowed her eyes in anger.

It only amused him it seemed for he smiled and when she remained silent he smirked.

"No witty comebacks? A shame. I rather enjoy them." He patted his lap in invitation as she put the bottle away but she hesitated.

"I know you do." She replied and his smirk turned even slyer.

"Of course you do." He murmured in deep thought as he reached out and threaded his fingers through her loose curls. He briefly massaged her scalp with his fingers and against her will she relished in the attention. His eyes perused her face and then fell on her parted lips. His tongue slipped out to lick his lower lip just as his fingers tightened their grip on her hair firmly enough to bring her closer. He dragged her up to his level before he leaned forward and pressed his warm lips against her cool forehead in a firm, openmouthed kiss.

Alexandra staggered at the gesture and her eyes closed reflexively as he untangled his fingers from her hair to coil his arm around her waist. In a swift move he had her on his lap and facing away from him.

He finished his drink in one go and threw the glass away before he settled her more firmly against him. When she was sitting sideways on his lap, he reached out and grabbed his forgotten book.

Without looking at her, he opened it to the page he had been reading earlier and carried on as if she was not there, curled against his chest like a lover.

Alexandra blinked rapidly in confusion but did not dare wiggle in his hold. Stealing a glance towards his concentrated face she felt her anxiety and blush subsiding. It felt…nice to be there. His company was very inviting when he was not spewing offences to people.

"You may read if you wish. Although, I do not think you'll understand." He murmured softly but the words were like a slap.

"No, thank you. I'd very much like to go to sleep." She snapped and he looked up, his expression surprised.

"Do you not enjoy my company?" he cocked an eyebrow and she pursed her lips without replying.

Suddenly, he chuckled, "I know you're not stupid, little one. I only meant that I am halfway through it. It won't make any sense." He explained and she flushed.

"Oh."

His mouth twitched in amusement, "You are welcome to read it when I'm done." He told her and she eyed the book with curious eyes.

"Who wrote it?" she asked timidly.

"Hobbes." He replied shortly.

Alexandra turned the book a bit to see the cover and he let her, "Leviathan." She murmured and he nodded.

"Hmm." He reached up and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

She shivered but tried not to show it by shifting in his lap a bit, "It's…political, my Lord?" she asked and Rochester nodded his head.

"Hmm. Bellum omnium contra omnes." He murmured in Latin and Alexandra blinked.

"What is that?" she asked softly and he took a deep breath.

"It's Latin. It means war against all. Great work on political theory…Even if he underestimates the human nature and its desires." The Earl said as he eyed the book.

"I don't think I'll understand it then. I know nothing about politics." She said softly and he looked at her.

"Time to learn then, yes? Ignorance is worse than being poor, Alexandra. Remember that." He shut the book and rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

Alexandra gazed at him and her hand absentmindedly went to his loosened cravat.

"How…how is the writing going, my Lord? For the play." she asked hesitantly and his head shot up at that.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "That's not any of your business." He muttered and she flushed with anger, "Do not forget your place." He placed his hands on her hips and pushed her up and off his lap.

"Go and warm water. I need a bath. Tidy here afterwards" He ordered as he too stood and walked out of the room without further acknowledgement.

Alexandra stared after him before she frowned, "That is the problem, John. I do not know my place anymore." She whispered into the empty room. As soon as she spoke his name her eyes widened for it felt odd, his name on her lips felt odd. Foreign but at the same time familiar.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The cold water was scorching as if it was hot on her scalp but she finished rinsing her hair in silence. Blindly, she reached for the tattered towel that was on the chair next to the bucket of water and after she had wrung water out of her locks she started drying it up with the towel. She owned that towel since she could remember herself. Her mother had given it to her when they had parted ways and she hadn't left it behind when she had arrived in London.

She rubbed the towel viciously over her head and then discarded it so she could put on her robe. She shivered as the thin cloth covered her and paused. She needed thicker clothes but she had no time to buy them…or money. She snorted at that. What little she got was not enough for some heavy materials. She did not dare ask for more money though. The Earl was not as rich as everyone believed.

Without facing the door she picked up her comb and started brushing her hair, trying and failing to pull the knots out.

Suddenly warm hands settled on her hips and she froze.

"I take it you did not hear me coming in." The Earl's voice was low and husky in her ear and she shivered as he pressed his warm body up against hers, "You ought to be more alert." He murmured as he pulled one hand away from her hips and reached around to take the comb from her shaky fingers. He pried them open and took it from her before he used his free hand to hold her head steady. He divided her hair into three sections and started combing her locks in long languid movements. The knots gave way to his always imperious hand and she wanted to scowl at her own hair for showing compliance to him.

"December is very cold here…You ought to wear thicker clothes even in the house." He murmured as he moved on to the second section of her strands.

Alexandra paused, wondering if she should speak her mind or remain quiet.

"Speak your mind, Alexandra." He chuckled as he stepped closer so that his hip was brushing against hers.

"I cannot afford more clothes." She whispered and he inhaled sharply.

"I figured as much. The mighty Earl of Rochester does not pay his servants well enough. Scandal. He is the friend of the King." He said in a mocking voice as he finished with her traitorous hair and stepped in front of her, his eyes stormy.

She gulped but when he scoffed and stared into her eyes she realized that he was angry at himself. His eyes perused her shaking form and they lingered on her exposed collarbone before they settled onto her face.

Taking one last look at her, he passed by her to get to the door, "Follow me." He called but when she didn't do so immediately he paused, "Now, Alexandra. Unless you wish to freeze while standing there like a statue, however a pretty one you'd be." He snapped and she blinked. How could he patronize and compliment her at the same time was beyond her.

Abandoning her comb carelessly in a chair by the door, he walked out of the servants' washroom and his long strides took him to the stairs that led to the upper floor.

Alexandra trailed after him with the heavy weight of dread twisting her stomach into tight knots.

They arrived at the room next to his own and he made his way through the door in silence.

Alexandra lingered at the threshold.

"Get in here, girl. For God's sake!" he snapped as he pulled the closet door open and started rummaging through it.

Alexandra stumbled her way in barefoot. She came to stand behind him as he looked through various clothes in the closet. She took her time studying the room. She had cleaned it a few times and as she turned her eyes on the clothes in the closet they widened.

The room belonged to his wife. She took a reflexive step back.

"There." He turned and outstretched a long linen nightgown towards her, "Put that on." He murmured and when she hesitated he rolled his eyes.

"What is it now?" he asked her rather impatiently.

She unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth, "I am not wearing that." She shook her head.

The Earl's eyebrows disappeared under his hairline at her words, "I beg your pardon? Is it not to your liking?" he asked with sarcasm.

Alexandra's posture turned defensive, "That's Lady Elizabeth's nightdress. I could not possibly wear it." She replied vehemently.

Rochester paused, "But I am giving you permission too."

"It is not yours to give." Alexandra replied heatedly and his nostrils flared as he approached her rapidly.

"I am sad to see that you do not understand. Perhaps the liberty I have given you has clouded your senses. Let us be clear then. Everything I own is mine to use as I see fit. When I tell you to do something I expect you to do it." He hissed down at her and she swallowed thickly.

"Lady Elizabeth is your property too then?"

"Of course. Like you are. Are we understanding each other?" he cocked an elegant eyebrow and she tried hard to control her anger and irritation.

"I am perhaps yours since I am a mere servant. But I cannot wear my Lady's clothes. It is uncalled for." She choked out and a sarcastic smirk appeared on his handsome but pale face.

"Ah, I see. You're one of those who believe in the superiority of birth." He murmured and then his eyes roamed her form, "How very…dull." He enunciated the word like poison.

He studied her for a moment and then his eyes went to her bobbing throat. He released a breathy chuckle before he reached out and untied the robe she had clumsily put on. She sucked in a quick breath but did not dare move. She could see his stormy eyes and despite her always present urge to provoke him further she held her tongue and forced herself to be compliant.

"My wife had the luck to be born in a wealthy family, my little saint. The same luck was granted to me as well. Beyond that fact," he whispered as he pushed the robe open and stepped closer, "There is only one sign of royalty in her." He continued and trailed his hand over her heaving chest and down her trembling stomach, "Her incessant need to prove her sacrificial nature to me. That she is willing to endure like any good noblewoman." He used his other hand in which he held the nightdress to push the thin material of her thin robe from her shoulder, "Now when it comes to me, the only characteristic that does distinguish me from an animal is my basic intelligence. Verses are the art of noblemen, wouldn't you agree?" he breathed as he pushed the robe completely off of her shoulders.

Alexandra shivered as he carried on but his close proximity clouded her senses and made it hard to think of any appropriate comeback.

"You see, all that men of my stature have is our luck to be born with noble blood. Nothing more. We commit the same sins. Like a good Christian would say: We drink, we curse, we stray…We hurt those who love us. Am I not right?" he asked her as his eyes did not stray from her face. He trailed a hand briefly down her bare spine before he pulled the nightgown in front of him and bunched the material up.

"Our society does not see it that way." She finally forced out and he groaned.

"Society." He jerkily pushed the nightgown over her head and as he pulled it down it felt like it weighed a ton, "It tends to scramble your head." He hissed, "Put your arms through." He ordered and she did as she was told with a scowl of contempt.

"You may force me to do your biding but I do not have to like it." She spat and he frowned before a look of understanding passed over his features.

"Oh, I see." he whispered slyly as she nervously tugged the nightgown down her thighs,

He grasped her hands, halting her movements. Alexandra's eyes widened when he grasped both of her wrists in one hand and slipped his free one down her legs. He trailed his fingers on the inside of her left thigh and she gulped.

"I see what really bothers you." He nodded his head as his fingers went higher, "You feel low wearing the clothes of a woman whose husband had his hand between your legs. Am I right? You don't care about her station. No, we are talking about a different moral issue here." He murmured as his fingers found the tense apex of her thighs but did not venture any further, "Too bad I don't have any morals, my dove. Too bad." He breathed as he slipped his fingers higher but before she could react he pulled his hand from between her thighs and released her with a snarl.

"You analyze this too much, little one. For your sake, don't." he said in a low voice before he stepped away and headed for the door, "You may return to your room tonight." He called tersely and Alexandra released a breath she didn't now she had been holding.

As always, he was right.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A few days later…

"Shall I get you anything to warm you up, my Lady?" Alexandra asked quietly as she held Master Charles in her arms.

Lady Elizabeth nodded her head as she took off her gloves, "Yes, please. Could you then perhaps call for the physician?" the woman asked and Alexandra frowned.

"Are you not feeling well, madam?"

"No…I am fine…Just please do as I say. Give something to Charles too. Warm milk perhaps." Lady Elizabeth smiled at her son who was idly playing with a lock of Alexandra's hair.

"Yes. Then you can also give him chestnuts. They didn't work with the father; they might work with the son." The Earl spoke up from the hallway before he approached them and leaned towards Alexandra to kiss his son's forehead, "Eh, girl?" he smirked and she looked away.

"Chestnuts!" Charles exclaimed and the Earl ruffled his hair before he turned to his wife.

"In what do we owe the pleasure?" he asked her as he took her hand and stroked it.

Alexandra abruptly turned and headed for the kitchen as their voices trailed off behind her.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"This is so you, John." Lady Elizabeth's voice made Alexandra freeze just outside the chamber door with the tray in her hands, "Always blaming others for your faults!"

"And this is so you, Elizabeth. Pretending to be happy when you're not. Pretending you want this when you don't." The Earl's voice made the walls of the house shake, "Do you remember what happened the last time you were with child? You almost died."

"What do you want me to do? Go to some supposed doctor and have him take the child? Tear it away from me?"

"You see? You're doing it again! Stop putting words in my mouth! You should have been an actress. You love playing the victim!" his voice and the cruelty in it made Alexandra shudder.

"Do I?"

"Yes!"

"And you have no responsibility whatsoever?" Elizabeth exploded.

"I do not even remember that night!" The Earl barked.

"What are you insinuating? That I am lying? That I was not faithful? I am not you, John!" Elizabeth's voice was bordering on hysterical and Alexandra bit her tongue hard in order not burst into the room to defend her.

"Of course, you're not me." The Earl's voice was mocking.

"That night, I was shocked that you came to me. That changed once I smelled your breath. Only inebriated you come to me." Elizabeth whispered.

"You always come back to that! My faults versus your virtues. Tell me. Do you want this child?" The Earl asked her fiercely and there was a dead silence.

Alexandra put the tray down on the floor and took a few steps back.

"I want everything that's yours and you know it." Elizabeth's reply came out broken and resigned.

There was a short pause until his voice broke the silence, "Then you're a fool."

Alexandra gasped and she did not have time to react when the door was pulled open by Elizabeth. In her haste to get out the woman did not see Alexandra in the hallway and she headed for the stairs in silence until she disappeared. The slam of the front door signaled her exit and Alexandra was rooted to the spot by the abrupt turn of events.

Without thinking her actions much she stormed into the chamber. She found him near the window. He was staring out of it but when he heard her coming in he sneered at her through the frosty glass.

"What do you want?" he asked lowly.

"How can you do that, my Lord?" she whispered with flushed cheeks.

"Alexandra, get out. I have no time for your pestering." He snapped at her from over his shoulder.

"No, I won't. How can you speak to her like that?" she continued and she saw his shoulders tensing up with fury.

"I won't tell you again." He enunciated every word with precision.

"Perhaps you're right. The freedom you have granted me is indeed clouding my senses. So, I will ask you again, my Lord, and you can release me from my duties after that. How can you speak to her in such a manner? How can you have more respect for a street wench than your own wife?" she staggered over her words but kept talking.

"You know nothing of it. Get out."

"No."

At her insistence he whirled around to face her, "You will stop talking now."

"Moments of weakness and foggy senses are not enough to cover our own faults, my Lord. Do not lower your intelligence by thinking otherwise." She told him and he froze.

"You dare to speak to me like that? How dare you meddle with my personal affairs? You think you can lecture me because of some wrongly perceived notion that you can control me? I don't take orders from maids!" he spat as he eyed her with disdain and slight confusion.

Alexandra inhaled sharply at his words, "Yet you lower yourself enough to touch one." She told him with cheek and she did not see his next action coming.

His hand collided with her cheek in a sharp slap that had her seeing black dots from the force of it.

She cradled her cheek and turned to look at him as he stood there, breathing heavily. She could feel her top lip stinging and she realized that he must have caught it with his ring when he hit her.

Her eyes collided with his dark gaze and she swallowed hard as she tried to keep calm, forcing a neutral expression on her face.

"Don't be insolent again, Alexandra. Do you understand me?" he told her in a low voice as he lowered his hand and balled it in a fist by his side, "I hate it." He said fiercely through gritted teeth but she could not decipher the look in his eyes.

Before she had the chance to study his odd gaze more he passed by her and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

It couldn't have been contrition in his gaze, could it?

End of chapter 10

Author's note: Still here? Are you all angry at our dear Earl? Hmm, I think you are. But just see deeper into his opinions before you judge him about Elizabeth…I left a hint in there somewhere…

Thank you for reading! If you liked it please let me know by leaving me some feedback. Feed the muse, people! Also, make me happy because my birthday's on the 10th! :D

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Xxx Lina :o)