The Duke I

Aurelia woke up with a throbbing headache after passing out yesterday due to the pain at her back. The golden shades of the sun rays passed through the windows of the room, giving it a lively sensation.

It was then Aurelia noticed that she wasn't in the dark waiting room anymore. Raising herself from the bed, she suddenly saw a white feline at the foot of the bed.

A small scream left her lips and quickly, she moved away from the bed, falling on her backside. The feline didn't stop there, it walked towards her and landed on Aurelia's body in all fours.

When Aurelia felt the cat wasn't aggressive, she relaxed a little and touched the cat's fluffy body and breathed out.

"Whoa... I thought you were going to bite me." She said and stood up from the floor beside the bed. The cat purred and stretched herself on Aurelia's arms and curled itself.

"Diana isn't friendly. You are eligible to be her pet."

Aurelia jolted when she heard that familiar voice. Raising her head, she saw the man who bought her yesterday.

Louis saw the girl was nervous at his presence and left the room with Aurelia quietly following him.

"I'm Louis Elathan, the Duke of Devontae." He said and walked out from the corridor.

Although Aurelia had lived and grown in a palace, she was suddenly enthralled by the magnificence of this place the Duke calls home.

Still holding the feline in her hand, she kept following him until they reached the staircase.

"Your job is to take care of the mansion along with Maria in my absence." Said Louis and veered around to take a look at the girl.

"Diana..." He called lazily and the cat instantly left Aurelia's hands and climbed on to her master. It's black and red eyes staring at Aurelia.

"Maria will get you nice clothing." He added and walked down the flight of stairs.

Aurelia kept staring at the man even though he had gone far. She kept wondering if this was what slaves do. He asked her to be his cat pet but the cat went out with him.

"You must be the new girl?" A woman's voice echoed inside the large hallway. Aurelia spun and saw a woman who looked rather young.

"I'm Aurelia." She said and lowered her head when the woman came closer to her. Her expensive perfume wafted into Aurelia's nose making the former believe the lady was affluent.

The lady was putting on a Lacy purple gown with a frock coat. Her hair was neatly packed into a bun with some loose fringes and her heavy make up made her look stunning.

Just looking at her, Aurelia felt uneasy.

"I thought Louis said he won't buy a slave." She asked no one in particular. Aurelia was about to say something when another female voice said, "a slave for Diana since I'm not fond of cats."

"Oh...." The lady exclaimed and walked past Aurelia. Her heels clicking on the tiled floor loudly.

"Hello, I'm Aurelia. Nice to meet you." She greeted when the woman came into view.

"No need for formalities, I'm Maria, the housekeeper. I changed your clothes last night. The Master brought you home. How's the injury on your back still hurting?" She asked.

"Ahh.... I've completely forgotten I had an injury. Thank you for treating it." Aurelia replied politely.

The housekeeper waved her hands, "don't thank me. Master did it." She clarified and grinned.

Aurelia choked on her saliva when she heard what Maria said. In fact, she was immensely taken aback by what she just heard.

"Don't panic... Let's introduce you to the others." The woman said and pulled Aurelia with her.

When they got downstairs, Aurelia noticed the maids whispering between themselves. Maria frowned upon the attitude the maids put on before a guest.

"Louis, don't forget to invite me to your tea party," she said with a girlish grin on her face.

The Duke was standing before the ladies carriage with Diana in his arms. "I would keep that in mind." He said.

When the lady moved her eyes, she saw the slave she met earlier in the mansion. A girl that wasn't treated like a slave, she was..

Just her mere presence was a disturbance to the lady. Anyways...Her carriage finally left the Duke's mansion.

The moment the guest left, Louis dropped Diana on the threshold and walked into the drawing room. Aurelia was scared to take a look at the Duke's face as what Maria said was still bothering her.

"Diana needs a thorough bath." He said and walked past her.

Aurelia rushed towards the feline that was stretching itself. The cat immediately climbed on her hand and purred. All the maidservants present were surprised at the scene because the cat was a bone in everyone' neck.

Only the master could take care of the troublesome cat.

"The rest of you, three silver coins would-be deducted from your salaries." He said and walked away from there.

Maria was unhappy with the maid's attitude. They were gossiping in the presence of a guest which was inappropriate.

"Madam Maria, please, help us. We won't act like that again." One of the maids spoke out.

"Another word from any of you and two more coins would be deducted." She stated as a matter of fact.

All the maids gasped and shut up. If two more coins were removed, they would end up with no salaries by the end of the month.

"Maria, don't introduce my slave to the maids, they're different as day and night." Louis said from upstairs and Maria bowed politely.

Aurelia then took a look at the man upstairs. Dark red eyes, inky black hair, high cheekbones and perfect jawlines. She quickly shifted her eyes when he caught her staring at him.

Her heart palpitated heavily as those eyes could dig into one's soul. For some unknown Aurelia, it felt as if they had met before.

She shook away the thoughts and inhaled, maybe because she is nervous.

She went upstairs with Diana accompanied by Maria who showed her how to bath the feline and other things.

It wasn't easy for a girl like her who learnt nothing. She was used to the life of extravagance and glories.

After bathing the cat, Aurelia's pale brown dress was drenched with water.

"The Duke requests your presence in his chamber." Maria said and left.

Aurelia picked up Diana who was licking her paws and went to the direction Maria pointed out for her as the Duke's quarter.

After walking for a few minutes, Aurelia felt she was heading in the wrong direction. The corridors were vast and bright as the sun beams passed through the large floor to ceiling windows.

"You should ask Maria for directions." His voice rang out from behind her.

Aurelia spun on her heels and rushed towards him. "I would, next time. Here. I bathed her thoroughly." She said and raised Diana.

Louis took the cat that seemed as if it was dipped into water and brought it out. "Also learn to towel the cat."

"Yes... Yes..." Aurelia didn't know how to address him.

"Yes will do." He replied and ran his fingers into the cat's fur. "Also, damp clothes are bad for your health. I don't tolerate illness." He added.

"Get her some clothes." He said.

"Yes sir." A man suddenly walked out from behind Aurelia, making her shocked to the root of her hairs.

After the man left, Aurelia summoned up the courage to ask a question. "May I ask..." She calmed down when she saw him gazing at her.

"Ha...Have we met before? I didn't mean to ask but you seem familiar." She stammered anxiously.

"I'm a Duke, I travel to many places. I'm certain I've never met anyone like you." Louis said and noticed her down spirited expression.

"That would be all for now." He said and went into his room before shutting the door.

***

Few hours later, Louis came out of his room, expensively dressed in his Duke uniform. Black pants and a jacket having a golden epaulet.

Diana also walked out of the room and went ahead of Louis who was still fixing the cuff on his jacket into the cuff hole.

'Meow'

Louis frowned when he saw Aurelia sitting beside the staircase. Her eyes were groggy as if she just woke up from sleep.

"Master." Aurelia said when she saw him standing a few steps away from her.

Without saying a word, he went downstairs while Aurelia sat back in her position with Diana beside her.

Few minutes later, the mysterious man who left to get her clothes returned with a small box of clothes and handed it to Aurelia.

"These are your clothes. Follow me." He's Louis' personal servant. When he returned with the clothes he was asked to get for the slave girl, he saw his master yelling at the housekeeper.

It was because the slave girl was sleeping at the staircase. No one bothered showing her to her room and Maria precisely forgot.