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Forgotten Desires (The Duchess & Mr. M)

She was sleeping, her head on the table, as he returned, and the soup was overcooked, even he could tell that. She was warmer than usual, and her breathing just a bit labored. So he did not wake her; he instead gently lifted the whole bulk of her and her blanket and carried her back to her bedchamber. She stirred a bit as they passed through the hall, but did not fully wake until he had laid her in the bed. He left, and came back a few moments later with a large, thick, extremely dusty quilt. He brushed most of the dust off, shook the rest out, and draped the whole thing over her shivering form.

"The soup cooked too long," he said softly. "I will procure some provisions for you, but first..." and he drew the book she had been reading from within his cloak. "You left this."

He handed it too her, and spent a moment gazing at her, his expression solemn and unreadable, before he turned and left, locking the door behind him.

Tonight, she was clearly ill. Any entertainment of his could wait. Besides, the evening had been stimulating enough already; it had been a while since he'd had to hunt actively for anything, really; even his food, when he needed to hunt for some, was pathetically simple to locate in this crowded city, which is why his main concern was to keep from revealing his presence through too many disappearances. But tonight, ah, the hunt had been intriguing.

Perhaps, when he returned with a pot of hot soup for her, he would share what he had learned.
 
She made a soft noise and opened her eyes to see him leaving her room then coming back with a warmer blanket, oh it felt nice and heavy against her body and she cuddled up closer to it before watching him draw her book out of his coat, she watched him and stared back at him when he watched her, when he turned to leave she would utter a soft " thank you" turning her head and watched him walk before she closed her eyes again and just about disappered under the blanket to try and keep herself warm, in a way she was greatful that he was doing this, but she knew it was only because he wanted to keep her around for his own gain, but why would he give her back the book she had finished reading, she also thought she was looking to much into somthing that she souldn't be thinking about, she layed there like a little lump in the middle of the bed and fell back asleep.
 
When he returned with her meal, he sat awkwardly on the bedside, and waited until she roused a little. Then he spoke her name. "Charis. Charis, you ought to have something to eat. Wake up." Tentatively, he reached out and shook her shoulder.

Once he'd roused her enough to let her eat some warm food, he sat quietly. "Your master was an ambitious man in his youth. Very ruthless when it came to his political and property acquisitions. While he was a personable man, he was not always conscientious about those whom he dealt with. Thus it as with the family of La Mort. La Mort as born Henry Saxon, scion of a small family of gentry who laid claim to a small but crucial tract of land that your master desired. Before you were even born, he leveraged a purchase that was not entirely to the Saxon family's benefit. Between the usual debts and excesses, Henry Saxon's father had as good as burned the money."

"Somewhere around the time you first felt the stirrings of your sexuality, young Henry had disappeared into the wilds of Europe, to return to England years later under an assumed name, one that hinted at his intent and purpose. La Mort is hardly accidental; Lord Kessner should have been more suspicious."
 
She forced down her food and looked at him, " Lord Kessner filled me in on alot of things, but this is the first i am hearing about it, perhaps he was ashamed, but maybe he was told a different name, the truth is i found out his true name later when i was sent away by the head maid at the time he liked to visit the harem house alot, i was confined there untill now, but lord kessner was a good man and i have had my time to deal with his departing" she spoke softly and took another spoon full of her soup, she didn't question his kindness, she didn't want it to end with it being akward for him, she turned her head to him and moved closer a bit and leaned over slowly and kissed his cheek slightly before pulling back and stiring her soup slowly " Thank you" she said again and turned her eyes up at him " and i apoligize for being Ill" pulling her legs up close to her feeling her cold feet and tucking them under her slightly.
 
He blinked at her, a little confused, but it was hard to tell, given the immobility of his expression. "No need to apologize."

"I am not done with my investigation. There is more for me to discover, and I like this quarry. It flees and dodges like a rabbit in the night. But I shall get it." He rose, and crossed to the door before turning and leveling his gaze at her again.

"I should like you to accompany me when I am close to running my prey to ground. So recover quickly; I do not know how much longer I can drag the hunt out."

With that, he closed the door, locked it, and left to digest what all he'd found that evening.
 
She listened to him and nodded before she paused in mid bite, did he just say accompany him, out of here, outside, she brightened up a bit and let a giant smile come to her face before she forced herself to eat the soup, she sighed softly finishing the soup and wrapping her blanket around herself and cuddled close to it before sneezing because of the dust, she will have to remember to wash this when she gets better, she smiled and rubbed her nose gently.
 
The next "day" was similar for her. He brought her and her blanket to the kitchen area, where she could wash and cook for herself as she needed to. One addition, however: he'd brought in one of the overstuffed armchairs and matching ottoman from the library and put them in front of the hearth. He'd also brought a small selection of books and stacked them nearby. Apparently, she was to recover from her illness in comfort.

His activities that night were not as fruitful as the night before, but then again, he was no longer tracking down historical data, he was seeking information about the present. He made only a little headway, not enough to really comment on. During the course of the investigation, he had an opportunity to defend himself, lethally, and so slaked his unholy thirst for yet another few days, though it was of disagreeable quality.

Why was he going to such lengths to allow this woman her healing time? Why was he spending his own time investigating? Admittedly, it was the most fun he'd had in decades, but still... it boggled him, and made him disagreeable. Yet, all the same, rather than take it out on her when he got home, as would have been his usual tendency, he instead picked fights in waterfront bars and reveled in the destruction. It made no sense to him as he came back to let her back into her chamber.
 
She was rather comfy and she liked the treatment she was getting, but she was starting to feel better at least, she held the blanket close to her as she read one of the books he had provided for her, but she let her mind wander to thoughts that he might be mad about, she thought of what it would be like to not be a slave or play thing, but just a normal woman with normal problems, she would be chased after the fine men in the city and live in a lap of luxury, she smiled at the thought but a sneeze brought her attention back to the real life and now he was in the kitchen, she looked at him and blinked slightly before she marked her place and stood up gathering her blanket and walking towards him with the book in her hand, she watched him for a moment before walking into her room and laying her things on her bed, she didn't expect him to stay long or even at all, she she kept her back to him and spread the blanket out nicly on her bed setting her book down on it gently and moving to get into it.
 
He stood in the doorway and watched her get into bed. His aggressions were spent for the day, as was his hunger sated, but he had to say something.

"Are you... feeling better?" he finally managed. He'd hoped his efforts to make her more comfortable would have helped her heal faster, but he couldn't easily tell how well that was working.
 
She sat in the bed and looked up at him " yes i am feeling much better , the blanket is really helping, but my nose is still stuffy, i should be better by tomorrow" she said quietly indeed she did sound better but she was still Ill, she wasn't going to say that the temprature in her room was the reason she had gotten sick in the first place, she kept that bit to herself, she was going to try and keep the thick blanket even after she got better.
 
The Duke nodded. "Very well. Please recuperate quickly. I am eager to finish my hunt. And it would only be right for you to attend when the prey is run to ground."

He left again, locking the door. He flitted through his rooms like a ghost, restless. He had no idea what was disturbing him, and that, in itself, was disturbing. He had spent centuries in perfect knowledge of his impulses and motivations, certain that he was a perfect monster, a perfect predator, untroubled by conscience or empathy. And now, this woman who... who...

His mind shied away from why he reacted to the slave as he did. Instead, he moved around and set things up for the next evening.
 
She nodded and watched him leave and the loud click of the lock, why did he always lock her in, wasn't like she could get up and move around or even leave for that matter, she then realized somthing, she was going out into the world and she didn't have the proper attire to do so, there was no way she was going to go in just a silk night gown, she finished eatting and decided to ask him later when she saw him, but now she needed to sleep, and with that she curled up under the thick blanket with a smile on her face, she was excited...maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
 
The next couple of days passed similarly, and his interaction with her was minimal. He found himself getting hungry, but he didn't want to slake his thirst with his slave, not when a more satisfying prey was so near to hand. But even when she felt better, he still kept the chair in the kitchen, kept the blanket in her room, and kept changing out the books.

Finally, however, he came to her in the kitchen much earlier than usual, just shortly after she'd fed and cleansed herself for the "morning."

"It is time; the game is afoot." He deposited an armful of clothing on the clean table and gestured to it. "Get ready."
 
She didn't ask where he got them, cause he couldn't of had extra womens clothes lying around, she shook her head and held up one of the dress's and smilied slightly and removed her night gown putting on the under garments and suprisingly they fit almost perfectly, it was a little small in the chest, she ignored it and pulled on the dress and let a grin fall over her face thankful to be in decent clothes again, she adjusted everything to make it all fit better and slipped on her shoes and moving to the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror, she looked a little better more pale than before but better, she found a box among the clothes and opened it to find a few hair trinkets, she smiled and started to pull her hair up and to the side into a loose bun letting a few curls hang down against her shoulder and neck line, she walked out and looked at him moving her arms infront of her letting the sleeves on her elbow fan out a bit, linking her hands together and standing like the lady she was " alright lets go" she still had that smile on her face there was no taking it off at this moment as she walked towards him.
 
He stayed motionless, blocking the door, as she came close. "I want your assurance you will not attempt to escape. If you tried, it would go badly for you. I just tracked a man down from a six-month old trail under an assumed name. He had resources and assistance. You, I already have your scent. So I can rest assured you will not flee?"
 
She watched him for a moment before answering calmly " have i tried to escape or cause harm to you since i have been here? And i know that you could find me easily, and where would i go if i left, there are far worst things that you out there, but i give you my word that i will not escape." she said calmly and stood there looking at him.
 
He regarded her a long moment, then nodded and turned, entering the library and the large, barred double doors that led directly out into the access tunnel -- the way she had come in. But what a difference the time had made, in her, if not in the surroundings.

He paused again, and grabbed a dark cloth, handing it do her. "I believe it may be cold tonight; use this wrap, if you need it." With that he lifted the titanic bar on the doors, and swung them wide. He ushered her into the stone passage, shut the doors behind them, and led the way toward the surface.
 
She moved out with him wrapping the cloth around her shoulders and arms letting it hang down beside her, she watched him close the door and lead up to the surface, she still held that smile on her face as she looked around the tunnel, she had been tired and faint when ever he brought her through the first time she adjusted her eyes to the surroundings wondering what had changed since she last was on the surface.
 
He led her on a winding route through tunnels, gratings, disused sewer passages, back stairs, cellars, and so forth, traveling what seemed to be halfway across the city before finally heaving open a cellar door, letting in a light dusting of snow. It was good that she was well-dressed against the chill, for it was one of those London snowfalls where the air isn't actually too terribly cold, but the snow falls thick and blanketing, nonetheless.

He led her down the alley and toward a street. Before he hailed a passing carriage for hire, he turned to her and said in a low voice, "Charis, please do not speak to anyone until we have found who we are looking for. I am forced to be around others to travel now, as I cannot simply carry you on my back without attracting attention, but I don't wish to risk my existence unnecessarily. Therefore, be silent, and everyone will be safe. Understood?"
 
She wouldn't of said anything about his exsitance or what he was, the only thing she knew is he found his prey and wanted her to come along, she had no idea why but she did nod to him slightly tell him she understood, she stepped up on the small step and climbed into the carriage smoothly and sat down looking out at the falling snow, she loved it when it snowed, the light fall of it to the city streets and how beautiful and white it makes everything look, she wanted to go outside and walk in it, but she knew time was limited so she stayed quiet and closed her eyes easily listening to the beat of the hove falls of the horse as they took off down the street, she opened her eyes to watch the moving scenery her smile never fading.
 
He told the driver what street to find, and then sat back and watched her. Her joy at being outside, at seeing the snowfall and the other passerby... it was simultaneously touching and confusing. He wouldn't have given the snow a second thought; not only did temperature not affect him, really, anymore, but he'd seen hundreds of thousands of snowfalls all over the world. But seeing her joy at it, he gazed out the window with refreshed eyes. The city was beautiful in the snow, he realized, and he'd never really noticed for all the decades he'd resided there.

"When we get there," he murmured, "try not to be seen as much as you can. And think about what you'll want to say."
 
She wasn't sure if she should answer but she stayed silent anyway, even tho the carriage was most likely sealed off from any prying ears she didn't speak she just turned her eyes to look at him her smiled fading slightly as she nodded in understanding, she didn't know who they were going to see, so how was she supposed to know what to say to an unknown person, she wasn't sure but she sat back and looked out the window her smile coming back to her again as she watched the snow pass by.
 
When the carriage stopped, he paid the driver and helped Charis down. They walked several more blocks. It was a disreputable part of town, the kind of quarter where reputable women clutched their valuables tighter, and feared for their lives and their virtue. The Count strode along like he owned the place, however, and expected Charis to keep up with him.

They finally turned into a crumbling courtyard, and he pointed to a stack of firewood. "Stand behind there. Do not be seen. I will call you when you can come out."
 
She kept up with him rather easily, but she did stay close to him, this wasn't the part of town she wanted to be in, even she knew that, she gazed upon everything she saw just taking it in before stopping and listening to him quietly before nodding and moving past him to behind the pile of wood and bent down wrapping the shawl around her shoulders and looking around listening quietly.
 
He knocked on the door of the hovel, and waited while a young painted trollop with ageless eyes, already, came to the door. He presented her with two full guineas, and muttered instructions, just barely loud enough for Charis to hear from her hiding spot: "Leave now. Do not tell him you're going. Do not come back for at least two hours. Forget you ever saw either of us."

The woman looked at him, at the coins, and back at him, and then grabbed her heavy coat and slipped into her boots and stalked out of the courtyard. Once she was gone, he waved Charis over, but entered the dingy rooms before she came to him. He stole silently through the rooms, scenting for the other man's presence. He found him in the chamber to the back, the warmest of the rooms. He felt his slave behind him as he reached out and touched the door, the ancient hinges creaking as it opened.

"Who was at the door, love?" called the man inside, in the voice that had haunted his mind since he absorbed Charis's memories. The voice of the man she had known as La Mort.
 
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