The Country Seat of the Duke of Ashbourne, Cedar Lane Court, 1793

John shuffled his feet and tried to look sufficiently bored. He had planned the perfect revenge for Fredrick, one of the guests visiting from Clayton Manor, the neighboring estate. "We don't want to go outside; we want to stay inside and . . . and stay warm." He looked over at his friend, Robert, the youngest son of the Earl of Augustine, and held his breath. John secretly hoped that Robert would not take the suggestion to go outside either. They had a plan to perfect.

Robert looked up from his seat and yawned, "I am afraid I didn't get enough sleep last night, I too need to rest and . . . stay warm."

John let go of his breath and relaxed as he realized that Robert was fully aware of what he was doing.

The Duke and Duchess of Ashbourne hosted a large house party each Yuletide and had their neighbors and close friends visit with their families. This year there were not that many children visiting Cedar Lane, just the neighboring Augustine boys, Richard and Robert. Robert was a regular visitor at Ashbourne as he and John, the Duke's only heir, were tutored together prior to starting their first term at Eton when they had turned eight. They were now in their third year. On the second day of the house party, Lord and Lady Danbury had arrived with their adorable little girl who soon had the entire female population cooing. Accompanying them was Fredrick, a school crony of Richard's who had joined the house party as a last minute guest of Lord Danbury. Richard and Fredrick were in their last year at Eton and had spent most of the time either hunting or playing billiards in the card room. John and Robert, on the other hand, had spent the last week playing pranks on each other and the other guests.

Knowing the boys well, Milton, the current understudy to the family butler, looked over his shoulder to where the boys' governess perched on the window seat. Milton cleared his throat once, and in a low tone said, "Please do try and stay away from your usual antics, my Lords. Your parents have reached their limit this past week and I fear that should you get into another scrape you may find yourself sent back to Eton to spend Yuletide alone."

John gave him his most charming grin and said, "We'll manage, thank you Milton."

Milton turned and startedwalking back towards the door, a smile forming on his lips as he thought of thetrouble the young master and his friend had gotten themselves into, this pastweek. John and Robert had sneaked a pig into his parents' suite and placed a snake into his aunt's chamber pot. They had slipped into the hidden loft in the ballroom and aimed projectiles at the guests below. The Duke had been angry over that last one and as a punishment had forced both John and Robert to clean the floors of the ballroom the next morning. What had been the last straw to erupt his temper however, was finding out that the boys had secretly ventured to the lake and walked on the frozen water. He had been furious. Milton, of course, understood the Duke's fear. After all, John was his only heir! The Duke himself had found them hiding in the kitchen awaiting their punishment the evening before.

After Milton's departure, the boys left the nursery and used the servants' stairs to go down to the kitchen. They had discovered that, for the most part, if they stayed in the servants' domain, there would be no chance for them to run into John's father and get into trouble.

John turned to Robert and grinned, "I know how to get back at Freddy."

Robert squirmed in his seat, "I don't know, John. I would rather not have any more run-ins with your father. If we don't get Freddy back, he may just leave us alone." Robert was looking around to make sure they were alone as they sat near the hearth in the housekeepers' sitting room. They were both very fond of Mrs. Perkins, since she always managed to have the cook prepare their favorite desserts while Robert visited.

Fredrick spent a lot of time with Richard, Roberts's older brother. From the very beginning, John disliked Fredrick because he had a menacing air about him. While his garments reflected a respectable young man, his demeanor gave one doubt to his true character. For nearly a week, John and Robert had tried their best to avoid running into Fredrick. Last week, unknowingly, Robert and John had interrupted Fredrick as he cornered one of the downstairs maids, trying to force her compliance against the wall. She was young and frightened. The boys could see that she was nearly in tears as she begged Fredrick to let her be. John, whose mother was always reminding him to treat the servants with respect, especially the female ones, had spoken up.

Having never liked Fredrick, John squared his shoulders, imitated one of his father's coldest demeanors, and told the maid to go find Milton, who had been looking for her. Relieved, the maid had bobbed a curtsy and almost ran up the stairs. That left John and Robert behind with Fredrick.

They were both afraid, but John managed to look Fredrick straight in the face and haughtily say, "Freddy, you shouldn't keep the help from doing their job."

It took Fredrick a moment to compose his features and hide his surprise. "Don't call me Freddy!" He sneered. He had never been told what to do by a mere ten year old, and he was not about to start now. Fredrick leaned closer to the boys, and snickered "You two better watch yourselves. I don't like interruptions. Now run along and fade into the woodwork—if I catch you again. . ."

At that very moment, Richard appeared which the boys had counted as a blessing. Richard chuckled as he came down the servants' stairs. "Lighten up chap, you know damn well you were not to mess with the help here. That's one of the courtesies to your host, you know." He reached the landing and slapped Fredrick on the shoulder. "Let's go. We can always find our fun where it is allowed."

The menacing look in Fredrick's eyes and the way he threatened the boys scared them. From then on, Fredrick went out of his way to frighten the boys.

"I think I know how to get him," John whispered. "You remember what we did to the stable master last summer? We can do that, but instead of mud, let's make him smell like the concoction of manure the Cook likes to put in the kitchen gardens."

That brought a ready smile to Roberts's lips. Last summer, they had filled a bucket full of mud, suspended it above the side door of the stables, climbed up onto the loft and waited. When the stable master entered from that door, the bucket tipped over his head and he started spouting the most colorful expletives either of the boys had ever heard.

They had gotten away with it however. Jenson Carter, one of the younger grooms took the blame. He received a small thrashing for his trouble too. John and Robert were grateful to him for that and from then on were often in Carter's company when they evaded their governess.

Robert grinned, "We can do it when he is taking his leave, then we can hide in the ballroom loft. He won't be able to find us!"

The boys spent the next few days perfecting their plan and their escape route. Finally, with their bucket prepared, they waited for Fredrick to head back to Clayton Manor. John held the bucket at a tilt, while Robert kept watch and signaled its release.

***

Fredrick walked out of the manor and looked up to see the graying clouds ahead. He would have to get the rest of his things from Clayton Manor, Richard's ancestral home, and leave as fast as he could if he wanted to make it home before the rain caught up with him. He snapped his riding crop against his leg and was about to step down from the stairs when John released the bucket full of sludge over his head. Fredrick started sputtering and was instantly in pursuit of the culprit. The slippery content of the bucket, however, had its own agenda, and Fredrick soon found himself flat on his arse.

The footman standing by the front door looked genuinely pleased and took his sweet time to open the doors for Fredrick. The boys ran as fast as they could to the hidden staircase that led to the loft above the ballroom. Once there, they fell on the floor and laughed to their hearts' content.

A thorough search of the manor commenced under Fredrick's complaints. Thanks to Milton and the other servants, who equally disliked Fredrick, the boys' presence in the loft was repeatedly overlooked.

After Fredrick departed, the Duke of Ashbourne summoned his son to the study.

***

John took a deep breath before he knocked on the study door.

"Come in."

The Duke of Ashbourne, Julian Thornton, was sitting behind his large mahogany desk, penning a letter to his solicitor when John walked in. Julian took a moment to finish his last thoughts before raising his head and staring at his son. Forming a steeple with his fingers, the Duke leaned back in his chair and continued to contemplate what to do with John.

This was John's least favorite part of an audience with his father. It unnerved him to sit quietly awaiting the punishment his father would hand out for his infractions. John was looking down at his feet and fidgeting with his hands when the Duke finally spoke.

"John, I was notified of a certain incident this afternoon. Would you care to enlighten me as to how you were involved?"

John had spent the past hour coming up with any number of plausible explanations and finally opted for telling his father the truth.    

"It wasn't my fault—sir. I can explain." John rushed to explain how he had come to Nelly's rescue and the way Fredrick had cornered her. When he finished his account, John took a deep breath and waited for his father's reaction.

Julian tried to look less stern, and sat back in his chair. A long pause followed. John fidgeted and sat still again, fidgeted again and played with the string on his cuff.

Julian finally smiled and said, "Although I don't condone what you did, or that you did not bring this to my attention sooner, I think that Fredrick got his just desserts. It also seems that we need to curtail Fredrick's future visits to Cedar Lane."

John was relieved to hear his father's response, especially since he had worried all afternoon.

"Son, in the future, notify me before you decide to take matters into your own hands. You did a good thing for Nelly, and your mother and I are proud of you." The corner of his lips then quirked up, "and frankly John, had I been in your shoes, I too would have felt that the manure was far more appropriate than the mud."

The Duke stood and walked over to John, ruffled his hair and said "Hiding in the loft where all the servants conveniently forgot to look was a nice touch. Let's go find Robert. I am sure he would appreciate knowing he is not in any trouble—this time."

Author's Note:

Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of The Duke's Bidding. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please make sure to VOTE, COMMENT, and or ADD to READING LIST so that you can receive notifications as new chapters post. Thank you again, and happy reading!