Chapter 33

"Marchioness," William greeted once Astrid alighted from the carriage that was now parked in front of Hofferson Hall. The older man gave a respectful bow as her Head butler before seeping to the side to let the lady enter. Atali was getting the two suitcases from the coachman and followed along.

It was a cold night and Astrid breathed a sigh of relief once she walked into the warmth of her home. She took off her beige traveling cloak which Atali took and along with their luggage brought to her rooms. "I received your missive on my journey back," Astrid spoke while turning to William. "Was it truly an accident?" She asked while keeping her composure but the old butler noted a tremble in her hand as she fisted her skirt.

"It was," William stated. "Young Miss Rose and Master Edwin were having a quarrel on the staircase. It seemed to have happened in the heat of the moment. The Lady has since confined herself to her rooms and refuses to speak to anyone," The pair continued walking to the second floor as the butler filled Astrid in on the happenings of the mansion while she was away. "Sir Samuel and Lady Esmeralda have also returned from their retreat yesterday, Miss," He informed her. "They were beside themselves by what had happened and got into a row in front of Master Edwin's chambers."

"Just great," Astrid sighed. She held little love for her father and stepmother and their quarreling would just give her a migraine.

"Also...." Here William hesitated. "They brought with them a guest. She is currently residing in the West Wing of the manor,"

"She?" Astrid frowned. Weren't her parents simply going to their summer villa to relax? Or was this another elaborate ploy?

"The Lady of the Lavalout Viscounty and her entourage, Miss," Astrid stopped in her tracks when she heard that.

"Didn't I already void that engagement?!" Astrid hissed.

"You did, but Master Samuel wished his son to make acquaintance with the young Lady. In fact he was very insistent," William uttered. "May I speak plainly miss?"

"You may," Astrid said. William had been around these people much longer than her. His judgement was fairly sound on people's characters.

"It seems your father is dead set on creating a relationship between young Master Edwin and the Lady from Lavalout. I urge you to intervene Miss. Lady Gretchen and Master Edwin's personalities would clash like water and oil," he uttered.

"Don't worry. I was already planning to," Astrid stated as they continued walking down the brightly lit hallway to her rooms. She had after all made a promise to Edwin. "What is your assessment of this Lady's character?"

"The Lady seems brash but opportunistic." William confessed. "The servants she brought with her rush to fulfill her every need though it didn't seem to be out of love or admiration for their master. More like fear,"

"Then it's best we cut her visit short," Astrid announced. "Tell her that I will meet with her after breakfast,"

"Will you be wanting that delivered to your office again, Miss?" William asked.

"You don't approve?" Astrid raised a brow. "I would rather eat in my office in peace than have to deal with my stepmother's hateful stares and my father's indifferent attitude at the table. It does wonders for my appetite," She smirked.

Afterwards William bid his mistress goodnight. Astrid paid a visit to Edwin's bedchamber to check up on him. He was sleeping soundly while his head was still bandaged. Next she checked on Rosalinda though her door stayed locked. When Astrid finally did make it to her rooms Atali had arranged for a hot bath to be waiting for her.

Come the following morning, Astrid woke up bright and early. The sun had just risen when she stepped out of bed to wash her face in the basin. As she dried it with a cloth she looked at the gowns Atali had laid out the night before. Always so diligent that one. The gowns ranged from simple to ornate. There were separate outfits for Breakfast, Lunch, High tea and Dinner, getting more elaborate as the hours of the day flew past. Normally Astrid, in the comfort of her own house would not change dresses so much even if etiquette demanded it, but seeing as they had a guest she needed to entertain as the Lady of the House she would just have to suck it up for a while. She proceeded to tug the rope, that led to a bell, to alert Atali or another maid nearby that she would need assistance.

As Astrid had chosen to have breakfast in her study she happily dug into the tray containing sausages, preserves, ham and eggs, and bread rolls. The maid that had brought in the tray had served her a cup of jasmine tea to accompany her breakfast. She was nearly finished when Minden knocked before walking into the office space.

"Good morning Lady Hofferson," Minden greeted respectfully.

"Good morning to you too," Astrid replied. "Would you like some tea?" She then offered while dabbing a napkin to her lips.

"I would love some," Minden said as she placed the files she was carrying onto the coffee table while Astrid placed a teacup and a pot of sugar cubes in front of her.

"What are those?" Astrid asked as she noticed the files.

"Transaction and accounting records that have discrepancies in them going back ten years," Minden replied. "I did an audit of all expenditure reports while you were on inspection,"

"You have something for me?" Astrid perked up though Minden looked hesitant.

"Yes, though I don't know how well you'll take it." She said.

"Let me see," Astrid accepted the files and perused them while Minden sipped her tea. She raised her brows at certain parts and growled at other sections. "Why that no-good-mulch-bucket-of-a-father!" She muttered through gritted teeth before slamming the file down on the table. "Sorry," She then said sheepishly as she tried to compose herself.

"Should I relay this information to the Magistrate?" Minden asked.

"No, I will pen the letter myself," Astrid sighed. She had really hoped that her father wasn't involved but that seemed to be wishful thinking.

There was a knock on the door. When Astrid gave permission to enter she could see Atali along with another woman and a muscled man trailing behind them follow her into the study. The man was well dressed in a suit and tie though he had not once looked Astrid in the eyes. Instead his gaze was downcast. In contrast, the Lady he accompanied held her head high. Her fiery red hair was in a neat bun sporting several jeweled accessories. She wore a berry red dress accompanied by white satin gloves. "Marchioness Hofferson," She greeted with a curtsy as was expected when meeting someone above her station.

"Lady O'fair," Astrid greeted in return as she took a seat at her desk before dismissing both Atali and Minden. She had thought that the Lady would dismiss her servant as well though she gave no such order. "I had hoped that we could speak privately," She uttered hoping to get her point across.

"Lady Hofferson, please feel free to speak in his presence." Lady O'fair stated. "And please call me Gretchen. We may soon be better acquainted and such formality might not be needed for long,"

Astrid raised her brow at that presumption. "Your man will not make this much of a private conversation,"

"He's not my man," Lady Gretchen said before snapping her fingers and barking out the order of "SIT!" Astrid's brows shot up in surprise and realization as the muscled man fell to his knees while not daring to look up at the two women. "In fact, I would say he was your man," This caused Astrid to actually sputter and lose her composure. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Consider this a peace offering," The Lady continued as if it were a normal-every-day-occurrence. Meanwhile, Astrid was beside herself. She knew that the Lavalout Viscounty was the only one authorized to still uphold slavery thanks to their massive contributions in the last war, but to flaunt it so openly.

"Excuse me?!" Astrid asked through gritted teeth. Now that she got a closer look at the man kneeling she noticed the tattoo on his face denoting his status. She honestly felt sick right now. This was all the more reason to not let Edwin even near this woman.

"You're a woman such as I. Surely there must be plenty of lonely nights. Sometimes we just have an itch we need to scratch," The Lady commented offhandedly as if she was doing Astrid a favour. "He's one of my best. I trained him myself," Astrid noted the kneeling man flinching at that statement. Her eyes turned back to Lady O'fair and she frowned. Soon the lady's objective was stated though. "He's my gift to you if you permit me to spend time with Sir Edwin. His looks are quite to my taste," the woman went on to mention while Astrid tried to keep her anger in check at this presumptuous Wagtail. She took a deep breath as her brain remind her not to use such foul language though in this instance it was quite deserved.

"What is your name?" Astrid asked the man though it was Lady Gretchen who answered. "He's called Eret, Son of Eret. Quite the background too," She added. "His father fought in the last war which made any descendants raise in value,"

'How more vile could this woman get? Talking about people as if they were livestock,' Astrid grit her teeth. She knew what she should do next.

"Sir Eret," Astrid said as she stood up. She watched the man shiver before the trepidation was hidden. "Did you know that you were a free man the moment you stepped out of the Lavalout Viscounty," Astrid uttered and took great glee in watching Lady Grethen's face turn from smug to confused and then to outrage. "Did you know that no other fief employs slaves anymore?" Astrid asked at the same time as Lady Gretchen shouted "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" with all ladylike decorum lost.

"As long as you do not return to Lavalout you remain free." She then said as her guest let out a shout of frustration. "In fact you could walk right out of this room and never have to deal with Lady O'fair again. You can even punch her if you want without repercussions. I won't tell," She smirked and saw Lady Gretchen take a step back. And Astrid was right. No one would fault a former slave for attacking their 'master'. The Nobles all disliked the Lavalout Viscounty behind their backs due to their asskissery to the Crown that got them special exemptions. No Magistrate would ever choose to prosecute.

Astrid knew she had Eret's attention when he finally looked at her, completely wide-eyed. "I'm not joking," Astrid stated as she watched her guest look like they had sucked and swallowed a lemon. "You can walk out of here right now."

Slowly but surely Eret stood up. "What are you doing?! Get back on your knees!" Gretchen shouted which caused Astrid to move between the two, effectively blocking Eret's view of the lady.

"You aren't joking?" Eret asked cautiously as if he didn't trust Astrid wholly. Which of course he wouldn't.

"No joke," Astrid said once more before turning to Lady Gretchen and shouting "Do shut up you lecherous cow!"

Eret watched wide-eyed as his master... former master gaped at this imposing woman. No one ever talked to her like that and she always got her way one way or the other. It was then and there he made the decision. Taking a deep breath he straightened his back and turned towards the door. Lady Gretchen was screaming but Eret, surprisingly enough tuned her out. It was far easier than he expected after being under her thumb for years. Once his hand was on the doorknob however he hesitated. When he finally did open the door and step through, causing the two people, the maid and accountant, that had been secretly eavesdropping to step back, he collapsed from the anxiety of it all. Luckily the two ladies had been awe of what had transpired and were helping him up and away from the office. It was then that the realization hit him. He was free..... Just like that... he was free....