Chapter 16 Hunting

Early in the morning, Maik and the duke left the manor for hunting. Their horses galloped down the hill, and crossed a narrow iron gate in a side of the thick stoned wall that surrounded the palace. Swiftly both handsome men rode their stallions and crossed a shallow stream of water and reached shortly the grove next to the duke's house. Already between the pine trees and birches, Maik eyed a big white rabbit. Without hesitating, Maik aimed to the pray. The villager took a deep breath and shot! The arrow stroke directly through the rabbit's throat. The white furry little fellow laid inert on the floor staining the grass in red blood.

"Whoaaaa! That was a great shot! Congratulations, Maik. You broke the ice with that first catch." The duke approached and patted Maik's back, encouraging him. Maik glared back giving an ironical look.

The duke hurtled deeper into the forest, "Come on Maik! There are plenty of rabbits, hogs and wild ducks to shoot at!" Both men continued their hunting expedition.

Back into the manor Lady Charlotte, Maeh and Am were boarding the carriage that will take them to visit the seamstress. Lady Charlotte told the girls they needed new gowns to wear in the soirée that would take place in the mansion. Maik was going to get a new tunic and trousers. So the three ladies departed enthusiastically to the village near the palace.

In the town, they stopped by the seamstress shop. It was a terracotta big loft. The ladies were welcomed enthusiastically by the woman in a sitting area furnished with a gorgeous davenport and two upholstered armchairs.

Am admire the charcoal sketches hanging on the walls. the designs were beautiful and served as artwork. It was s cozy yet finely decorated place.

"Thank you madame Paulette for receiving us today." The duchess told the seamstress, a woman in her fifties yet sensual and elegant in her posture.

"Pleasure is all mine Lady Charlotte. You are one of my finest costumer's and friends."

The duchess and the girls entered a continuous room filled with textiles, trims, laces and other accessories used in apparel confection. Maeh and Am were admiring everything in that room. There were some gilded spinning wheels and rudimentary sewing machines. Also the girls saw in the room beautiful sandals and delicate boots displayed in shelves. In the other extreme of the work space there was a big wooden table with measuring strings, yarn and other tools for sewing.

Lady Charlotte selected some delicate fabrics with little embroidery in light colors for the girls. The duchess chose for her gown a silky burgundy textile. The duchess asked specifically to confection the dresses not too elaborated, for it was a simple reunion at her place. The designer proceeded to take the required measurements. Soon after, the seamstress helped them choose the accessories and decals to complement the gowns to be made and told the duchess gowns would be ready for next Thursday, three days before the rendezvous.

By noon, the duchess left the shop, very pleased with the selection of the textiles.  The girls were very excited. After that visit, they went to the local market to buy some other accessories and other things needed for the soirée. A few hours later, they started their journey back to the manor.

Maik and Lord Roderick were sitting by the edge of a creek which bordered the grove. On their horses the baskets held the bountiful catch: four rabbits, two boars and a few ducks. They were conversing as they washed their faces and hands in the water of the stream.

"We did quite well today. I think we make a fine duo of hunters." The duke said. Maik didn't answer immediately.

"I don't want to be rude, Lord Roderick. It is not that I don't appreciate your invitation or the attentions my sister and I have received, but why did you ask me to come? What are your true intentions? Because I still remember how you spoke to me in the tournament, and I know you consider me more like a rival than a friend."

The duke gave Maik a direct and severe glare. It was obvious that Maik was not as naïve as he thought. This twenty years old boy was not a fool child. He was handsome and fit, well raised, smart and skilled in hunting and arms. He could be strong a rival, as he said, for the love of Am. It was not a person to be underestimated. Moreover he was loved and trusted by the maiden.

"You are right, Maik. First I ask you to come because I knew it was the only way Jocelyn would accept her daughter to come to Lannishire. Then I also brought you here because I wanted to know your true sentiments for Am and the depth of the relationship between you too. It is quite clear for me that you are in love with her, long after than I..."

"So you admit to be in love with my Am!" Mike stood up furiously and stepped out of the shallow creek, never loosing eye contact with the duke.

"She is not your Am... For what I know you are just best friends. She loves you, but not in the way you love her. She cares for you, yet not in the same form you do."

"It is just a matter of time to make Am my wife. I already confess to her my feelings."

"And she haven't answered yet, since she acceded to come to my palace so eagerly. If you were betrothed, her mother would never allow such a liberal behavior."

"I told you it is a matter of time, Lord Roderick." Maik was fuming; his fists clenching.

"Maik, let's be honest. She would never look at you with other eyes than of a beloved friend; one she knows from childhood and shared secrets together. In the other hand, I told you that I love her the way you do. Don't you wish the best for her? Look around you. All these lands are mine. Marrying me she will become a duchess, all this will be hers. She will live comfortably. Can you give her all that she deserves?"

Maik grounded his stare in the ground. He knew that what the lord was stating was real. He could never give what Am deserves in terms of a big house or wealth... But he believed that his love was enough.

The duke kept talking. "Maik, she already lives with some decent comfort. She lacks of nothing in her current status for all the fine belongings and influences Anibal left both Jocelyn and Am in the moment of his death. Do you think you can provide at least with the same living status she enjoys now? Don't you believe she would be better being my wife?"

Maik looked at the duke with a mix of anger and distress. He knew that the duke spoke the truth. However he would not give up her love for Am. "You don't have to answer me now. Just think about what I've told you... Look Maik, I didn't invite you to humiliate you or make you feel less. I truly want you to be a friend. Any friend of Am could be my friend too." The duke stretched a hand to Maik as a friendly gesture. Maik hesitated at first but stretched his arm too in what they called a truce.

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Back in the palace, the three ladies were walking out to the garden, admiring the flowers that still bloomed in early autumn. The wind blew softly but cooler now that the sun was falling and the cold season was about to start in a few weeks. The sea breeze bended the trees and swept away the remaining leaves from the branches.

Maik and the duke made their entrance galloping swiftly up the hill. They greeted the girls and the duchess and presumed of their hunting abilities, showing the plentiful preys they caught. Then, the two men took the horses to the stables. The ladies got in the house to wait for the men to get ready for dinner.

That night the duke's words swirled in Maik's mind. Both men loved the same woman. He already confessed his love to Am. She hadn't answer to him after a month. He remembered that ardent kiss between them that gave him some hope. His body shivered with the memories of the moment when they kissed.... the way she kissed him back, with so much passion and how his body reacted. He remembered how Am responded pushing herself closer to him and twirling her fingers in his hair. His member grew hard as he recalled the ardent images. He craved even more for her body since that day. But it was a difficult task, for Am avoided to be alone with him with the lenience they used to share before.

His body convulsed thinking if the duke confesses his love to Am too. She didn't answer to Maik. Am just ran away after the kiss leaving him confused and tortured. What if Am loves the duke? What if she accepts to be his wife? Lord Roderick was a duke, a young and attractive duke indeed. He could give Am all that she ever wanted and beyond. He certainly could be the perfect husband for Am... And he was just a humble hunter that lived in a village... He shook his face trying to avoid thinking more and then he tried to sleep.