A/N:
I just want to give all of you a big shout out because your support of this story just keeps blowing my mind!
Title: The Duke & The Swan without Wings
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Alice's White Rabbit
Pre-reader: Brierlynn03
Genre: Historical Fiction/Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Edward Cullen, the Grand Duke and second son of the King, must find a bride. Isabella Sinclair, daughter of Countess Catherine and Duke Charles, was born out of wedlock and has neither titles nor land to her name. Could she be the bride Edward's looking for? But how is Isabella to marry a man of the royal family without a proper dowry?
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
{CHAPTER 13}
When Isabella entered the stables, the last person she expected to see there was the duke himself, and he was clearly waiting for her. She was certain she wasn't late, so his presence shocked her far more than she allowed herself to show.
"Your Grace," she greeted as normally as she could muster. "You've risen early today."
"Where have you been?" It was clearly a demand, and it was uttered aggressively.
She averted her eyes and pretended to focus on giving some love and attention to the horse, stroking its neck and muzzle. "I had trouble sleeping, so I took a turn around the estate grounds."
The duke smiled condescendingly. "Had you been a better liar, I might have believed that. But then there is the small issue that you were gone the entire night."
Isabella gave the horse one last pat before she turned toward the duke, deciding to play the fool. "I was? Gosh, I must've lost track of time. I am so sorry, Your Grace. It shan't happen again."
He narrowed his eyes, burrowing them into hers as he tried to look through her lie. "What were you up to that took so long?" he asked, his stare still colored with mistrust.
"Riding, Your Grace," she replied innocently. "It was such a clear and beautiful sky, and I was admiring the stars." She was so determined not to reveal herself to the duke that she successfully kept the tremble out of her voice, and she found it easier to stand her ground because she was, technically, not lying.
She had been riding around the estates, she had lost track of time, and she had admired the stars. He didn't need to know she hadn't been alone.
A steel hand of trepidation squeezed her heart, but for the first time in her life, she forced the feeling away and thought to herself that she didn't have to answer to this man in front of her. Her entire life, he'd been nothing but cruel, and she had gone along with it because she thought she had to be nice if she were to ever get out.
Edward had shown her how different her life could be. His family had shown her kindness and respect, and in that moment, Isabella decided she would no longer allow such a small and petty man as the duke—a man who had lost the entire family fortune yet still acted as if he were royalty—to control her.
She would let him believe he did, but in her heart, she would know the truth.
Naturally, the duke wasn't privy to her thoughts, so he took several steps closer to her in an attempt to intimidate, as he'd done countless other times. "I know you're hiding something. Ever since Lord Masen decided you weren't fit to become his wife, you've been different. I don't know what it is, but mark my words, I will find out."
Isabella kept her eyes down while he threatened her. She wanted to ask him what he thought she was hiding, but before she met Edward, she wouldn't have dared, and so she didn't try her luck. Instead, she nodded demurely. "Yes, Your Grace," she said, and then left the stables.
{TDTS}
"O salutaris Hostia," Father Jacob began as he offered a benediction in traditional Latin at the end of the mass, finishing with an "Amen," that echoed throughout the church.
"Amen," Isabella said softly under her breath and raised her head to look back at Father Jacob. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, and she was beyond relieved that not even her grandmother was petty enough to force her to sit with the rest of the family in the pews at the front. Even she was adamant about keeping the family scandal as far away as possible from the gentry who attended the same church as them.
In the past, Isabella had longed for the chance to sit up there with her sisters, just to feel that she belonged, but today, she could not be more grateful to sit in the back with Renée and Philip.
"Before we part ways today, let us all come together and sing our praise to our Lord and Savior." Father Jacob led them all to sing Te Deum Laudamus, but Isabella only mouthed the words. She was going over her prepared speech in her head, hoping Father Jacob wouldn't stop her once she was inside the confessional.
Philip had given instructions to the carriage driver to cause some damage that would take a while to repair to ensure the dowager duchess couldn't object if Isabella wanted to stay behind for a moment of confession. She was nervous, though, because she knew the duke would immediately ask what sin she'd committed as he'd see that as further proof she was hiding something.
"One of the horses has gone lame on their front leg, Your Grace," the driver explained apologetically to the exasperated family after mass as the rest of the finer folks began to leave. "If she pulls the carriage all the way home, she'll be done for. We need to replace her."
"Oh for Chris—"
"Don't you dare take the lord's name in vain on his holy grounds, Charles, or so help me," the dowager duchess reprimanded indignantly.
Philip stepped up. "Your Grace, I'll take the other horse and ride home to fetch another, but it will take a while."
Maria and Eleanor started complaining loudly about the heat and the time they would have to wait, and neither the duke nor the duchess interjected to quiet them down. Lady Henrietta Swan rarely spoke as it was, and Charles remained silent out of spite since he knew the dowager duchess hated untoward behavior.
The only one who acted appropriately was Isabella, and for once, much to Isabella's shock, the dowager duchess took notice.
"Maria. Eleanor. You act worse than peasants. You should both behave more like Isabella and show respect."
Both girls gaped in shock at their grandmother, and Charles looked at his mother as if she had grown another head. Isabella wanted to copy them but settled for staring at the ground in stunned silence.
The duke soon began fuming. "Mother, I will not have you—"
She cut him off again. "The day you actively teach these girls some manners, that's the day when I will allow you to finish that sentence." She turned toward the pathway that lead to the church gardens and spoke under her breath. "Everything is in shambles. Being a Swan used to mean something. Unacceptable."
"Lady Grandmother?" Isabella asked quietly before she had walked too many steps away from them.
"Yes?"
It was the first time Isabella could remember ever being directly spoken to by Lady Mariella Swan. It was intimidating to have her eyes looking into Isabella's, but she didn't back down.
"I was wondering, given we will remain here for some time, if I could go into the confessional?"
As Isabella had anticipated, the duke narrowed his eyes and stared at her, but he didn't say anything.
"Certainly," the dowager duchess said. "I see no issue with it. Others would do well to follow your example." She turned her back to everyone and continued toward the garden.
Maria and Eleanor grimaced and glared at Isabella before they followed their grandmother, and the duchess soon followed her daughters. The only one remaining was the duke, and he wasn't moving.
"Go on then," he said, his tone threatening and filled with challenge. "Go back inside."
The thought struck Isabella that the duke thought she wouldn't go inside and that the confessional had been an excuse. It was possible he thought she would go somewhere else.
Isabella wanted to smile, but she was afraid he would read the defiance in the expression. Therefore, all she did was give him a nod and a "Thank you, Your Grace," before she once again entered the church.
The duke made a show of following her and not averting his eyes until she stopped walking and waited for her turn. It was a short wait, but before she entered, she made a quick glance over her shoulder to make certain the duke wasn't watching still, but it appeared he'd given up when he understood she truly went to the confessional.
Her heart was pounding behind her ears, and she was clutching her hands so tightly her fingers numbed. This was Edward's and her one and only chance, and she hoped Father Jacob was in an agreeable mood.
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This will be my first confession." Not once had the Swan family stayed long enough after mass to allow anyone to go to confession, and Isabella had asked Renée and Philip several times what she was supposed to say.
"What troubles you, my child?" Father Jacob asked from the other side.
"I confess that I have lied to my family. I have harbored carnal desire for a man whom is not my betrothed, and I have not honored my father as the commandment says I should." All three of them were sins she hoped Father Jacob would want to discuss in more detail, and she was correct. He asked her to divulge more details, and she saw that as her opening.
"Father, there is a man who loves me and wants to marry me, but my father's sins have hindered us from being together. Is it fair that I shall be punished for another's sins?"
"Of course not—"
"Then tell me the truth, Father." It terrified her to interrupt a holy man, but she knew her time was running short. "Did the Earl of Lambcox marry Countess Catherine of Sunfield before my birth?"
It was quiet on the other side, and all Isabella could hear was her pounding heart.
"Miss Sinclair, is it?" Father Jacob finally spoke up.
"Yes, Your Excellence."
"His Grace is a volatile man. This conversation is dangerous."
"I know." Isabella sighed. "But I need to know the truth. Why is my mother buried in the Swan mausoleum?"
"The earl insisted upon it."
"I know, but why did you agree? Why did His Grace? Why did the dowager duchess?" It was quiet again, and Isabella started tearing up. "Please," she begged. "Please, tell me the truth. It might be my only chance at happiness."
More silence followed and her tears fell as hopelessness sank heavily in her.
"My word won't be enough," Father Jacob finally said, his voice so soft and quiet Isabella wasn't certain she heard it at first. "You need the documents, and they're in the duke's possession. I can't divulge any more." He cleared his throat. "You have been absolved of sin, my child."
Isabella rose up and left the confessional with her head filled with fog. Father Jacob hadn't said so out loud, but his words had sounded as if he'd confirmed her question.
With it came a new obstacle, though. How was she to get her hands on the mysterious documents Father Jacob had spoken of?
A/N:
It's clear that Father Jacob is scared. Charles is the Duke of the area where Father Jacob's congregation is so who knows what he's got hanging over him!
BUT, Isabella has something to go on now. A lead! Do you think Father Jacob confirmed the secret marriage or not?
Tell me all of your thought because I just love reading them!
Traditional Latin benediction:
O salutaris Hostia
Quae caeli pandis ostium:
Bella premunt hostilia,
Da robur, fer auxilium.
Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria,
Qui vitam sine termino Nobis donet in patria.
Amen.
Rendered Verse of the Latin benediction:
O saving Victim, opening wide
The gate of Heaven to man below;
Our foes press hard on every side;
Thine aid supply; thy strength bestow.
To thy great name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, One in Three.
Oh, grant us endless length of days,
In our true native land with thee.
Amen.