LoisNClark4Ever: So many questions! But I love it! Hopefully, this chapter will answer some, but maybe it raises a few more! Thanks for reading! :)

Eleid: I'm sorry if it took me this long to update :( Thanks for reading though :)

Guest #1: Oh thank you so much!

SanSon23: Thank you! Glad you find it interesting :)

clarkfan325: Thanks! Hope you like this update as well.

cathy03: Thank you so much! Don't worry about Clark, he's smart and he's definitely thinking about something and feeling about someone! ;)

Lumarnet: Hi! Don't worry, I have no intention of abandoning my stories yet.. lol.. just kidding.. glad you like this story :)

OK.. I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY SORRY it has taken me this long to update. With everything that has been happening in my life right now (GOOD THINGS!) I find it hard to make time to write my two stories (Atonement is the other). For that, I hope you forgive me.

I hope this new chapter makes up for all my transgressions… I hope you like it!

Chapter 8

"How dare you pull that stunt in front of Chloe?!" Lois railed, eyes blazing as she looked at Clark, who was not paying her any attention. She gave out a shout of exasperation and punched the roof of the carriage.

That action finally brought Clark's eyes to hers. "You have the audacity to be furious when it is in fact you who have done a great deal of disgrace when we were together."

Lois' eyebrows shot up to her forehead and blanched. "Together?" The only time they were together was Chloe's ball, and the only matter of disgrace he might be talking about was that glorious kiss in the gardens. But surely it would not warrant this type of absurd action. "Forgive me, Your Grace, but it was you who initiated it. It is not I who should feel disgrace but you who go about stealing kisses from an unmarried woman."

The look of incredulity marred Clark's face. "There was nothing disgraceful with that. If there was one thing that felt real the whole time we were together, it was that kiss!"

Lois' leaned back rather forcefully. "The whole time we were together? What the bloody hell are you talking about? You speak in riddles!"

Anger was once again etched in the Duke's face. "Drop the act of innocence, Lois. It is not becoming of a whore like you."

Lois could not contain her anger any longer and struck Clark's cheek. "I have never been so insulted in my whole life and I will not let you do it any further."

Surprised at her daring to hit him, Clark grabbed both her wrists and pulled her to him, now their noses mere inches from each other. "Tell me, my dear Lois, how you have easily forgotten our month together."

"Our month?" she parroted. "But the last time I saw you, it was at Chloe's ball!"

Clark's eyes narrowed, and moved closer, if possible. "Do not lie to me, Lois." He said rather menacingly. "How is it possible that I buried you just yesterday and now you are here with me inside this carriage?"

"Buried!" Lois said, and struggled to release herself from his grasp.

"Yes, my dear darling wife. Buried."

If there was one thing, no, two things, which would put Lois Lane speechless, it was telling her that she was a wife and that she was buried yesterday.

Ceasing her struggles, Clark finally let go of Lois' wrists, and she straightened out slowly, her eyes rounded out in shock.

"Cat got your tongue?" Clark said, smirking.

Lois finally found her voice. "How can I be married to you when I attended no wedding, much less mine!"

Clark's eyes narrowed, his rage making its presence known once again. "Enough with your lies. I was there Lois, and since I know I am telling truth as I was there, you are the liar."

"I would have smacked you again by calling me a liar, but as it is, I am still in shock." Lois breathed in deeply. "How can I be married to you, stay married to you, when the month you said I was home all the time!?"

Clark could not believe what he was hearing. That she was sounding impassioned to Clark, under different circumstances, would be proof of her innocence. But he was there, he was involved. He was not the liar in this situation. "You have your story, I have mine. But I think we both know who is telling the truth."

"I am not a liar! Ask Chloe, she will tell you the truth." Lois argued.

"Chloe will only tell me what she knows. That you have returned to your home, when in fact, you returned without her knowledge to see me at my stables."

"But I have never been in your stables! That morning I returned to Fort Ryan, with my father, ask him. Ask everyone there."

"No, Lois. The time I will do anything of your bidding has passed. My eyes are now wide open. No longer will I be enamored of your face and body."

Lois' eyes widened as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Your Grace, if you say that we were husband and wife, surely we have shared the marriage bed."

Clark did not move an inch, still staring at her intently, or rather, angrily.

"Then how can you explain that I am still a virgin."

Clark just raised an eyebrow. "You reckon you want me to prove that?"

Lois, if possible, reddened even more. "You have to take my word for it."

"And land me in this kind of predicament once more? I think not, Lois Lane."

"What plans do you have for me? Surely you do not intend to keep me as you clearly loathe me. And how about my family? My friends?" Lois asked, incredulous.

"Now you think of them after you have duped me? How noble." Clark said with amusement in his voice. "But know this, Lois, you started this, I will finish it, at my own pace."

"If you want it that way, be warned that you will have hell in your hands. I am innocent in what you accuse me of, and I intend to prove it."

"All the luck in the world for you then, you will definitely need it."

"Wake up my dear wife. We have arrived at our destination."

Lois awoke from her hideous dream, only to find out that it was reality: that she was in a carriage carrying her to parts unknown, with the most spiteful, but sinfully handsome, Duke of Metropolis.

"Where are we?" Lois asked, stepping down from the carriage, stretching to get the kinks out of her body.

"We are in Granville. I intend to show you that I am not lying."

Not a minute passed that the Duke uttered those words, Lois heard a gasp coming from the house, and as she turned she saw an old woman at the doorway looking shocked, her hand covering her mouth.

"Mrs. Hubbard." Clark called out, and the old woman composed herself as she started walking towards them. Clark might not have noticed it, but Lois could see the fear in the older woman's eyes when it passed her.

"Your Grace." Mrs. Hubbard addressed Clark, waiting for her orders.

"Prepare the Duchess' room. She will be staying with us for a while."

"As you wish, your Grace." Mrs. Hubbard cast one more scared glance at Lois and went back inside the house.

Lois looked at Clark and saw the triumphant gleam in his eyes. "I will not stay here. Surely you must know that."

"You do not have a choice dear wife." Clark said with finality. "Get inside and make yourself comfortable, we still have much to do today."

"I will not get inside that house!" Lois shouted.

Clark grew red in the face, and clamped a hand on her arm. He was not hurting her, but the grip was firm all the same. "Get inside before I do something both you and I will regret."

Lois thought of running. She really did, but the look in Clark's eyes said it all. He meant business. Furthermore, what transpired in addition to the long trip really did drain the energy out of her, and sleeping on a soft bed would be most welcome. Perhaps she can think of a way to get out of this dilemma after getting her well-deserved rest.

Clark could feel her acquiescence and he led her inside. He planned on showing her a few things to prove that he was not a liar, but it can wait until tomorrow. He was not a beast, and he knew Lois needed a breather. Leading her to her room, he deposited her and without another look turned on his heel and went to his study to plan his next course of action.

"I could not believe it even if I saw her with my own two eyes. She was alive! And she's staying with the Duke at the house."

Linda fumed. It had not taken them too long to find each other again.

She was making last minute purchases at the market for her trip to Metropolis, when she heard the servants gossiping about the duke and the duchess.

Linda heard a lot, and most of the things she had heard she did not like one bit. How the duke have been madly in love with the duchess only for her to end an adulteress. How the duchess almost succeeded in freeing herself from the duke only to be caught once again. How the duke will finally put the duchess in her rightful place after everything that she did.

Linda wanted to rant at them, rave that Maxima was not those things, that she was a good woman caught in a bad circumstance, but she knew that no one would believe her. They were the only ones who believed in each other.

Resolute in her stance, Linda went back to her cottage and started plotting. The duke took her sister away from her, she will take that woman away from him.

His agony will be her final victory.

Fear. Absolute fear. Her lungs were tight, her throat constricted. She wanted to scream, but as she opened her mouth, she choked on the water enveloping her.

Enveloping her where? God, Lois did not know, and it scared her. She tried to open her eyes, but everything was a blur.

Was this a bad dream? If so, then why did everything felt so real? Why are her clothes wet, clinging to her body? Why are her arms tired from trying to break the surface so she can breathe the much needed air if this was all a nightmare?

She thought death would bring peace. Now she thought otherwise.

Clark had just received news that Wes has not left his father's cottage, where he took up residence after his sleeping quarters burned down with his wife in it. He planned on visiting him tomorrow with his wife to further prove her infidelity.

His wife, who was apparently alive and sleeping in her old room. Clark stood up and left his study, fully intending to retire to his own bedroom, when suddenly, he had a compulsion to see her, no, check on her. Yes, check on her, check if she has not decided to escape.

But each step grew heavy, every stride short. Something told him to head straight to his room, but he knew he had to see her.

Clark broke into a run, and it was as if he had broken through glass that he felt that the something holding him back was no more. Reaching her room, he opened the door, only to find Lois on all fours on her bed, coughing furiously in her chemise, completely wet from head to toe.

"Lois!" Clark exclaimed, running over to her bed pulling her off it. It shocked him that the bed was completely dry.

Lois could barely stand, and as Clark supported her weight he removed his coat and slung it over her shoulders. Sensing her shivering, Clark slipped his arm under her knees and her back and carried her. Clutching her to his chest, a sense of protectiveness washed over him as he left her room and went to his own, a first ever since they have been husband and wife.

Clark deposited Lois to a chair near the fireplace, and Clark lit it for her. Lois, wanting to get to the warmth, dropped to the floor crawling nearer to the hearth, still shaking.

His heart constricted. This was Lois, the woman who made him a fool, but still a woman who needed comfort. Yes, that was the reason he felt pity for her.

For half an hour, Clark just paced the room, casting glances at Lois lying on floor. At last, Lois stirred and Clark ceased immediately.

Standing up on shaky legs, Lois turned her back to the fireplace, facing him. Clark surmised that Lois could see the question in his eyes. "I have no idea what happened, the only concrete event I remember was coughing on that wretched bed."

At this Clark only nodded, not knowing how to go about their conversation.

"Thank you." Lois continued. "The least I know is that you would not have saved me if you wanted me dead in the first place."

Clark looked straight in her eyes, the rage, bubbling up at her initial thought that he had wanted this to happen to her, was now completely crushed, when he saw her divesting herself of his coat, leaving her in her chemise that left nothing to the imagination, especially with her standing in front of the fire, her sumptuous body silhouetted against the flames.

He took two steps and he was right in front of her. He took his coat and wrapped it around her once more. Damn it, Lois was a beautiful woman, and he was still a man. She was still a temptation.

His hands still clutching the lapels of his coat near her heart, he could feel that it was pounding, and then realized that his was pounding to the rhythm as well.

He was falling into another spell, to her spell, he knew it, and he took a step back to gather his thoughts. Not a day has passed and already an attempt on her life has been made. He should be thinking about that, not at how desirable she always seemed to be.

"Are you up for another ride?"

"Your Grace?"

"You are not safe here, and I intend to get to the bottom of this." He finally turned his attention away from her and went to the bell pull. "We could not stay any longer. Do you wish to return to Chloe? Or perhaps your own home?"

At this Lois looked alarmed. "No!" was her immediate answer. "I do not want them involved in this. I would like to find out who did this to me as well. Everything is obscure, my mind is completely fogged, yet I feel the danger surrounding me."

Clark just nodded and pulled the cord. "I will gather your clothes from your room, and have a servant pack our valises for us. Do not leave, and I will fetch you once the carriage is ready."

"But I do not want them to worry as well." Lois added. "My father knew I am staying with my cousin. I only need write a message for her."

"There is stationery on that table." He said, pointing at its direction.

"Thank you."

Clark finally left and headed to her chambers, and grabbed the gown she wore during their ride here. It did not escape his notice again that the bed was dry. How was that possible? He walked over to the wash basin, and found that it was half full with water, not enough to drench Lois completely from head to toe.

It was a complete mystery, and Clark vowed to unravel it. But not today, today he needed to keep Lois safe.

It did not take long for the servants to get everything ready. He walked back to his room and found Lois sitting on the chair where he first put her down, an envelope in her hand.

Lois looked up and Clark could not help but be amazed at her demeanor. He could still sense the fear, albeit very little, but mostly she radiated anger and the tenacity to find whoever did this to her. "My dress."

Clark looked at the dress in his hand and he extended it to her. Lois took it, but also handed him the envelope she was holding. "I do not want to do anything that might cast your doubt on me. That is my letter to Chloe. I want you to read it before we leave for wherever you wish. And if you do not mind, I would like to get dressed."

Clark nodded and turned around to leave. "I will have a maid assist you."

"No need." Lois replied. "I can dress myself, thank you."

As Clark pulled the door behind him, he could not believe his ears. A self-reliant Lois? Lois, who was always asking for Linda to do her bidding, can dress herself?

And then he remembered, Linda. Should he have summoned her? Then Clark shook his head, better to keep it to a limited number of people. He made a mental note to talk with his housekeeper before they leave.

Opening the envelope, he unfolded the paper and started to read.

My dear Chloe,

Forgive me for my hasty departure the other day, and I wrote to say that I am safe and I am still with your friend, the Duke of Metropolis. Some misunderstanding has cropped up, and I am compelled to clear this. Until it has been resolved, I am afraid you might not hear from me.

But please do not fill yourself with worry. He gave me the choice to return to you or to my family, but I decided that I need to do this and that I need not burden the people I love most. So promise me that I have your strictest confidences in this.

Love,

Lois

P.S. Of course you may tell Oliver. I know you share everything with him.

P.P.S I know you think the Duke is angry, but know that I feel safe with him. I AM safe with him.

Clark folded the letter again and put it inside the envelope. Unexplainable warmth seeped through him. Not wanting to decipher such feeling, when just a day ago he was furious with her, he turned around to remind Lois that they need to leave, only for the door to open to reveal that she was ready.

"Our time should not be wasted. We leave for Smallville."

You know the drill guys. Love you lots! :)