A/N: So I'm not sure how many of you are going to jump ship on this after this chapter, but I'm gonna pull a Stephanie Savage (what is the world coming to?) and tell you to hang in there. Seriously. Gotta get worse before it gets better, right? ... Right. If you don't leave, I'll give you a cookie :) I adore you guys! Keep reading and let me know what you think!

Chapter 6

"Nathaniel!" He had looked glorious standing there in his riding boots, brushing down the palomino. On the other side, her side saddle was set upon her own steed.

He looked up at her rushing towards him and smiled brilliantly, his blue eyes compacting the wide expanse of the sky within them. "Blair, I'm glad you made it." She smiled shyly and wondered - how could anyone be that handsome? "I already got Lady Jennifer's permission to borrow her horses. Are you ready to go?" She nodded again and headed towards her own horse. From years of practice, she could certainly climb on by herself, but who was she to refuse a gentleman's help. As she hoisted herself up, he'd placed one hand beneath a dainty foot and one around her waist and she felt his strength and he lifted her until she was comfortably seated. "Good?"

"Thank you, Nathaniel."

He walked around and got on the palomino while she arranged her skirts to cascade smoothly around her feet. With his feet planted firmly in the stirrups, he grabbed the reins of her horse with one hand, placed it behind his back and led the two of them out of the stable and onto the road.

Blair began to panic when on the roads, people paused and greeted her, bowing as they were accustomed to do. She learned that Nathaniel had a surprisingly trusting nature as he never questioned her after she lied in saying that the greeting was due to the immense respect the people had for the Waldorf lordship. His only response being that he regretted never having the chance to meet Lord Waldorf, who seemed to be such a wonderful, kind leader.

She felt comfortable, she decided, with Nathaniel. They had walked through the streets, sat at a tavern when she complained of being tired, he had plucked a blossom from a tree that she had been admiring. Everything just felt... right. He had the perfect responses to everything. She had asked him what he liked best about coming here and, without skipping a beat, he replied with a simple "meeting you."

Really, she couldn't imagine anyone more perfect - and she had been imagining this for quite some time. And because he was so perfect, she went out with him a second time the day after.

***

"You should retire early tonight, Lady Jennifer." Jenny started, her knife and fork stilled. He had hardly spoken more than a few words to her since he had arrived and now he was giving her... orders? "You ought to be well rested for your mother's arrival."

"Right, yes, of course. I-"

The front door to the manor swung open and was banged shut, followed by a twinkling of laughter. The pair stumbled into the dining hall, drenched with rain and cheeks red with mirth. "Chuck! I apologize for my tardiness. Please do not lay any blame on Blair, we merely was caught in the torrential downpour-"

"Of course not, brother. Please join us when you are ready. I will have Dorota put out another place setting." The blonde walked off, the grin still wide across his face as he stared into the eyes of the lovely girl with whom he had spent the most wonderful two days. She stared after him until he was out of sight, until she felt his eyes on her. "And Blair, please go clean yourself up as well. I am sure Lady Jennifer would be distraught to have a sick, bed-ridden maid in her arsenal."

She bit down, all the light-heartedness sucked out of the room at Nathaniel's departure. "Yes, milord."

"And while I appreciate the... consideration you have granted my friend, as head of the household, I would appreciate it if you would present yourself in a more ladylike manner when you are out in public. I could hardly be respected if my own servants are prancing around town dressed like trollops." She gasped indignantly, her face and neck now an angry red while the 'lady' at the table paled, her light blue eyes wide and shifting. He knew his words were unkind, but he could hardly help himself.

How could he be blamed when he had to suffer through the two of them waltzing through the foyer yesterday, eyes all alight and sparkling as they beheld each other, the secret glances and smiles right under his nose throughout supper last night and breakfast this morning. That teasing little smile of hers, directed always at Nathaniel mocked him, tempted him to bite and suck on those lips until all she could think of, all she could imagine thinking of, was him.

Her soaked bodice clung to her frame and called out to him, but then he remembered how, or rather, in whose presence it became that way and he glared, ignoring the clenched fists at her sides, ignoring her tightening jaw and her brimstone eyes. "Now do remove yourself and make yourself presentable as we have not yet finished with our supper and would like to keep our appetites."

"Gladly." She turned swiftly, beads of water catapulted in his direction, and disappeared through the servants' entrance.

He turned his attention back to the quivering girl at the table. "Yes, Lady Jennifer. I do suggest that you retire early tonight." He carried on as before, as though the image of her curves were not burned into his retinas, nor were the sound of her laughter beating in his eardrums.

Moments later, Nathaniel returned, now dry and properly attired, he beamed with a triumphant glow from which Chuck found himself cowering. He sat at Chuck's right hand, as he always did, and before tucking in, asked "where's Blair?"

"I sent her to clean herself up. I would appreciate it if you didn't get my entire household sick, Nathaniel."

"The weather is difficult to predict. Yet, even in the rain, Blair looks-"

Listening to Nathaniel ramble on, Chuck glowered. No, his temper was most definitely not his fault.

***

The moment Blair had entered the kitchen, cold, wet and shaking, Daniel and Dorota knew what to do. Daniel immediately drew a bath while Dorota set out a plate, even if supper in the dining room had not yet finished. She devoured her food in silence, her eyes following Daniel as he crossed the room with the pails, fidgeting under her gaze and wary of her temper as he had always been, even if he was older.

It was not until later, sitting in the bath with her knees drawn up to her chest that she suddenly exclaimed, "that Chuck Basstard!"

"Lady Blair! Language!" Dorota sat by her, washing her charge's clothes in a wooden basin. Daniel would attend to the meal adequately.

"What do I care, Dorota? Mother will be back tomorrow anyway and I will reveal to him what an absolute fool he has been! Then we shall see if he still dares to call me trollop, especially when he is the pig."

"But Master Chuck now owns the estate, Lady Blair. Even Lady Eleanor would have to answer to him."

Blair scoffed and splashed the maid in punishment. "Bite your tongue, Dorota! Mother submits to no one. And if it is required by law, well, I will march to the capital myself and insist upon His Majesty that I require a less... slovenly, disgusting, immoral, cruel, unkind pirate as a lord."

She seemed satisfied with herself and so Dorota stayed silent for a while, knowing not to interrupt her mistress' self admiration. As she finished with the dress and moved on to the next garment, however, she muttered, "Master Chuck is not so bad."

Now she was nearly drenched as Blair turned swiftly to pin her with her glare. "Is that treachery I detect on your tongue, Dorota? This is the man who is taking over everything my father worked for! The one who is out to destroy me!"

"Of course I stay loyal to Lord Waldorf. But Lady Blair, yesterday, when you patched his pants and purposefully tore it to shreds, he did not yell. And with the terrible tasting tea, he did not reprimand. And now he has filled your room with your favorite books. I only believe that there are those out there who would make much worse lords."

Blair let out a frustrated grunt. "He's already won you over! That is nothing, Dorota! I am certain he has got something nasty up his ruffled sleeve. In fact, I should have done worse. Perhaps I shall let him bath in my dirty bathwater tonight. You should have seen the way he looked at me in the dining room. I honestly do not understand how Nathaniel can be friends with him. And you made that terrible tea, Dorota, don't blame it on me!"

"Of course, Lady Blair."

***

She placed the candle on the little table beside the door and went to check the locks before turning in for the night. The flame illuminated her curls and her white cotton gown glowed beautiful, the curve of the back of her neck exposed slightly through her mahogany hair. That stretch of skin looked so warm, inviting, and his feet shuffled him closer to her, his hand-

"Oh, milord, you startled me!" She had turned and somehow he missed it and somehow he was still a few feet away when he thought she was within reach. He held onto the railing of the staircase for support and looked again at her, face swimming in candlelight. Her hand rested below her left collarbone and he watched her chest rise and fall beneath her fingers.

"Did I now? Wouldn't want to frighten the fragile little maid," he slurred and leaned against the railing now, head falling back. Her petite little nose scrunched up, perhaps she could smell the stench of alcohol seeping out of him. "Oh, don't be such a prude. Haven't had a decent drink since we've landed."

She grew wary of him and he could tell by the way her whole body shrank back against the door. He stumbled closer to the white blur that she became in his eyes and fell forward, his hand right beside her head was balancing him as he rested his weight on it. From this distance, a faint floral scent invaded his senses and he buried his nose into her hair, completely unaware of her trembling. "Haven't had a woman since either." His lips fell to the junction of her neck and shoulder and her chest rose to meet his in her sudden intake of air.

His tongue darted out to taste her for one second and he found himself stumbling backwards, the girl staring at him with wide eyes and a hand covering the spot where his mouth had been. Finally, a tinge of fear. The girl had taken her liberties too far lately, but at the same time it aggravated him that she was so shaken by his advances. Undoubtedly when Nathaniel made the same moves, she-

He felt his face twist into an angry snarl at the thought of Nathaniel getting his hands all over her, at the dip of her waist to the curve of her neck, peeking beneath her prim skirts and tasting her tongue on his. It's not that he minded sharing and he'd offered up his girls in the past, especially with someone he considered his brother, but something about this woman just sent his blood boiling, his stomach flapping like the wings of a seagull. No, he wouldn't - couldn't share this disease of a female with anyone else.

So he reached out and grabbed a dainty wrist that had been nestled in her bosom as she curled away from him and pulled her body forward, an arm wrapped around that tiny, tiny waist and pulled her back against his chest to shield himself from her struggling arms. His legs parted to cradle her body against his and he bent his head to place his mouth by her ear. "Stop moving." his words prompted a renewed vigor in her and she fought to pull away the arm holding her hostage. "I said stop!"

He placed his palm flat on her abdomen and pressed her completely against him and when she froze he was certain that she could feel him beneath his trousers. "You're despicable," she bit out. Her elbow dug into his gut and he doubled over momentarily while she fled to the wall across the hall and caught her breath. His eyes followed her, looking up angrily from his lashes.

Never had she seemed so small to him than when he charged at her and pinned her wrists beside her head. "And who do you think you are? I own you." He leaned in close to her until their noses met, his lips hovering above hers. "'Tis laughable. A maid? Refuse me?" He crushed her then, his teeth smashed against the inside of his lips and against her sealed lips, he poured out his frustrations. "What's the matter, Lady Blair? Am I not as good as Nathaniel?" Her eyes snapped open and he barked a cruel laugh at the idea that she had honestly believe she could fool him. "I'll let you in on a little secret: I've known ever since we met, but I let you continue your childish little game. But from your little exploration trips with my good friend, I see you are not a child and therefore, I insist that we play a... different sort of game."

She turned her face when he leaned down again, and his lips met a soft cheek. "If you know of my title, then I suggest you get your paws off of me, you scoundrel. Lest I have your head for assaulting a lady."

"Let me make a few things clear, my lady. You are my property, as so bestowed upon me by His Majesty. Therefore, I may do with you what I wish. Secondly, do you really believe after you've been traipsing around with Nathaniel that anyone would believe you to be as virtuous and pure as you say?"

"Nathaniel would never do anything like this."

"Oh? Then you do not know of his scandal involving Lady van der Woodsen, who believed herself to be so in love with Nathaniel only to have him leave her for another seafaring adventure with me. She herself wasted no time in marrying someone beneath her station to save her reputation. Everyone in court knew that my dear friend had stolen her maidenhead-"

"You are shameless for speaking of such things. Undoubtedly you have been involved in countless scandals yourself, Chuck."

"Yes, my dear sweet lady." He let go of her right hand and traced a finger down her cheek, his left hand intertwining his fingers in hers. "But I admit to them. I doubt Nathaniel had said anything of the blond beauty he had once admired."

"And you, you are the one who pulled him away from her. You are the one who cannot stand to see your friend happy and lured him away. You are even more vile than I first believed you to be."

"Think what you will, Blair, but I assure you Nathaniel was relieved to board that ship with me."

"I don't believe you," she bit out. Her free hand came down hard across his cheek. "And I never will." Before Chuck could recover from the stinging pain that she had left in combination with the dizzying effects of alcohol, Lady Blair picked up her skirts, and fled.