Chapter 21 - Karma's a Bitch

"Oh... it's you," Eloise turned back calmly, but inside her heart was pounding so loudly. 'Is he going to order me to be executed, I heard duke is pretty much like a king of a duchy, fuck. What the hell had I done,' she thought, eating a spoon full of cheery cake.

"Ahem... it's hot," he whispered, fanning himself.

"Oh," she glanced back skeptically. 'What is he getting at? The night wind is freezing,'

Raymond gulped loudly and agitatedly walked around the little balcony.

"Are you okay duke Raymond?"

"I—I am well and good." He mumbled, pulling at his collar. "And you.. how are you? I mean, what are you doing here? Weren't you here for the ball?"

Eloise frowned and ate the final piece of the cake. "Why are you acting weird now? Are you seriously okay?"

"I am fine!" he exclaimed with a slightly red face. "Besides, now that you are here, I need you to take responsibility. It's all your fault!!"

"Huh, what? I don't think I understand you duke; I have done you no fault. Except that childish letter maybe. That was a small payback for calling me shameless, that's all. I have nothing to be responsible for," she calmly said to him. Her keen eyes could make out his nervous look, as well as his trembling fingers. 'Wait, a minute... is he,' her eyes directly went over to his pants.

He immediately cupped himself there hiding it from her sight. "Lady where are you looking!!!"

'He is hard!!!! Fuck he is a pervert,' she slightly stepped back, "sorry I thought there was something there."

"There is nothing here," he shouted with his face flaming red. He had never been so flustered, nor even so humiliated in his life. Every place he went men were the one to look at a woman improperly but now this girl boisterously looked at his pants.

"Oh I see. This small balcony can't hold the two of us. Since the mister is here to cool himself, I shall take my leave." she rushed past him but he gripped her hand and pulled her back. "What are you doing sire, this is completely improper?,"

His dark eyes peered directly into her cool blue eyes. "I asked you to take responsibility."

Eloise shuddered slightly. "Fuck you, pervert. Don't touch me!"

Raymond recoiled back a little from her flaying hands. "Why am it the pervert? You were the one who exposed bosom to me and yet you call me the pervert. How is it fair?"

"You are making no sense sire. I did I have any intentions to seduce you or attract your attention. It's all in your head," she shouted and pushed his hand away. "And perhaps you should control your impulses before calling anyone perverted," she said, gesturing to his nether regions.

Raymond moved back with a slight frown. "That is a natural reaction of a man."

Eloise just blinked at him. "What are you getting at? You expect me to satisfy your lust. Sire, even if you are the duke, much less than the king, I would rather kill you than take part in those acts," she sternly said. 'If he attacks me after that I will make sure that he will never have a child after this,' she subtly expanded her stance, ready to attack.

Raymond listened to her words carefully and only then did he find out that he was thoroughly misunderstood. He massaged his head and whispered, "Look, I didn't ask for you to do anything for me, rather I wanted to ask you as my dance partner,"

"Why?" she doubtfully whispered, 'is this his new tactics?'

"Because of your mistake I was exposed to at least a dozen woman's bosom just today!!" he shouted all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Eloise's mouth dropped wide.

"You made an impression that I was into bosoms when you played that prank on me. Now every eligible lady in there is pulling down their dressed to show off their assets! I really don't want to see that," he mumbled, frustratingly.

'Oh.... is that why he was hard? Everything makes sense now. Here I thought he got hard for me.' she shook that thought of. "How am I responsible for this? It was clearly your taunting that lead to that conversation."

"Taunting? I was just... playing with you."

"Yeah, right, then you deserve this punishment. Besides, you stepped on my skirt and dirtied it." she pulled her long skirt in front and showed him the dark footprint on it. "This dress can't even be dry cleaned, darn it. Do you know that my mother and Odette put in so much effort to iron this? Odette even burned her hand slightly."

"Who's Odette?"

"That's not the point! The thing is that you ruined my skirt this was a part pay back don't you think. Well, karma is a bitch," Eloise mumbled, flipping her hair behind. She silently peered at him, expecting a comeback, but he just stood there with a deep frown.

"Who is karma? Why are you cussing her?"

Eloise mentally wanted to slam herself into the wall. 'I can't deal with this man!!!'