Beneath The Veil of Deception 9
Episode 9: A Night Beneath the Thunder.
𝘐′𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦-𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢.
𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘧, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺.
Zander Von Edrington
For you!
Jacinth couldn't shake the feeling that there was something almost illicit about that smile. It wasn’t just its effect on her; it felt like a secret reserved for no one else. No one else should have the privilege of basking in that warmth.
Zander was standing in front of her. His dark hair is tousled by, no wonder, the rain shower. His white shirt was soaked for the same reason. He looked more like the boy next door than the Duke of Elodour.
Yet, that wasn’t the only thing causing Jacinth's heart to flutter. Zander stood there, a vibrant bouquet of lilies in his hands, glistening with fresh water droplets that caught the light. It only took a fleeting glance to realize he’d put this bouquet together himself, the adorable messy wrap showcasing his endearing touch.
After finishing dinner and discussing politics, the beautiful summer evening suddenly turned into a stormy night. They were getting ready to leave, but since they were in the hillside area, everyone thought it would be best to wait. There was a chance of landslides.
Since Lord De Valory insisted, Zander couldn't really say no. But that doesn’t mean Jacinth isn't facing her own issues. They’re at Lord De Valory's estate, which means she’s stuck with Zander for the night, and there’s a chance they won’t be able to keep their distance like usual.
Jacinth always does her own thing, and this time is no different—She won’t do anything that might mess with Zander's reputation.
But Zander standing in front of her with a flower bouquet wasn't what she had in mind.
Jacinth Ashbourne
Your Gra—
Zander Von Edrington
Henceforth, as decreed by none other than myself, Jacinth 𝙑𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣, the title 'Your Grace' is officially revoked when addressing your husband. From now on, it’s either 'Zander' or whatever affectionate name you see fit, 𝘔𝘺 𝘋𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴.
He interrupted—His tone light but firm with a playful edge.
Jacinth Ashbourne
Your Grace!
Jacinth felt her cheeks heat up with an unfamiliar emotion, a mix of confusion and excitement. Meanwhile, a lazy, playful grin groomed across his face as he drawled.
Zander Von Edrington
Uh-uh, it’s Zander. And might I add, Duchess, it’s rather improper of you to leave me standing here, holding these lilies, while you hesitate to accept them.
Jacinth Ashbourne
You did not have to do this.
Jacinth whispered as she took the flowers. Lilies have always had a soft spot in her heart. But she was pretty sure Zander just grabbed them on a whim—Which, he did.
Zander Von Edrington
I know.
"𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘡𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳," 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰'𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵—𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴...," 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. "𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭?"
Zander Von Edrington
But I wanted to.
𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘡𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦—𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.
Zander Von Edrington
Jacinth...
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘦—𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥; 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
Zander Von Edrington
Well, sleep early, Duchess.
𝘕𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯— 𝘐 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵.
Zander Von Edrington
I will take the floor.
After a brief silence, he finally spoke. The room lacked a traditional divan, and a large, imposing bed dominated the space, its neatly arranged linens contrasting with the rustic charm of the wooden floor. Surrounding the bed, the furniture arrangements were minimal yet functional, incorporating a small coffee table that stood at the center, instead of a divan.
Jacinth Ashbourne
The bed won’t bite, Your Grace. Nor will I.
Her words slipping out before she could think better of them. The room fell silent as Jacinth's own words echoed in her ears. Heat rushed to her cheeks, her gaze darting away in embarrassment.
Zander's reaction was immediate—his lips curved into a slow, teasing grin, the kind that made her pulse quicken. He said, his voice low and amused—
Zander Von Edrington
I did not think you would, Duchess.
She opened her mouth to retort but found herself utterly at a loss, too mortified to respond. Instead, she turned away, ruffling the blanket. Zander’s teasing grin deepened.
Zander Von Edrington
However, I would not mind if you—achoo!
The sudden sneeze caught them off guard, cutting his sentence short. He turned away quickly, rubbing the back of his neck as if embarrassed.
Jacinth blinked, her momentary fluster replaced with concern.
Jacinth Ashbourne
You are still in that damp shirt.
She said softly, her brows furrowing. She goes to fetch a towel.
Jacinth Ashbourne
You will catch a cold. Here.
Zander Von Edrington
I suppose I deserve it for standing in the rain to fetch lilies.
Jacinth Ashbourne
Bathroom—The water is still warm.
Zander Von Edrington
Such commanding words from someone blushing. You’re full of surprises, Duchess.
Zander said, trying to stifle another sneeze. Jacinth exhaled sharply, stepping aside.
Jacinth Ashbourne
You’re full of water. Bathroom. Now.
Jacinth let out a shaky breath as the bathroom door closed behind Zander. The soft patter of rain against the window filled the room, a soothing yet melancholic rhythm. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨? She muttered, glancing at the grey sky outside, heavy with unrelenting rain.
Every time she tried to maintain her distance, Zander’s presence chipped away at her resolve, leaving her feeling exposed and unsure. She turned her gaze to the fireplace, where the flames danced softly, refusing to let the thought finish.
Comments
Cara De Clare — Reverie! 🌈
Like Newton's law, I forgot which one — It was like this, if you push something back, it'd come back to you with the same force you used to push it away. Science is wonderful.
2025-03-19
1
ɖɛ۷ıι
....I'm in love with him...
where is my zander? I can't find him anywhere
2024-11-26
1
Cara De Clare — Reverie! 🌈
Me almost every single morning, constantly — “Achoo!”
2025-03-19
1