The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

”Everything I built is ruined,” Wilfred muttered, slumping heavily into a chair the moment they returned to their house. ”Do not look to me to fix this disaster. And when, pray tell, did you demand a ransom for raising Eilika?” He fixed a scathing look on his wife.

Susan shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, her expression troubled. ”That is an old matter. I had no inkling she would run to the Duke with such petty grievances.”

”Why wouldn’t she?” Rosaline interjected, her voice laced with bitterness. ”She made sure to complain about every single word I said to her as well.”

”Hold your tongue!” Wilfred snapped, turning his fury toward his daughter. ”Not another word from you!”

”Dear, please, do not raise your voice against her,” Susan pleaded, stepping between them in an attempt to shield her daughter and defuse the rising tension.

”It was the final warning from the Duke, yet Rosaline saw fit to destroy everything we possess!” Wilfred shouted, his frustration mounting with every word. ”Why did you never discipline her? This time, the fault does not lie with Eilika. The blame rests entirely upon the two of you. Had the Young Master Roman suffered a fatal turn from those chocolates, we would be facing the guillotine this very night!”

”Honey, please calm your heart,” Susan murmured, stepping closer to him in an attempt to soothe his wrath, while Rosaline turned on her heel and stormed off toward her bedroom in a fit of rage. ”It is true that our daughter possessed no knowledge of the boy’s affliction. Besides more than that, the Duke punished us for entirely different reason.”

”Now, no one can save us from going bankrupt. Who will marry Rosaline now? The Count has shown no interest either. With so much difficultly I won the Duke’s trust, but Rosaline ended it,” Wilfred complained while he felt like crying.

~~~~~

Rosaline hurled a porcelain vase against the wall, watching it shatter into pieces as the weight of her sentence bore down on her.

The image of Eilika standing at the top of the stairs burned in her mind, she was certain her sister’s impassive face had been a silent mockery of her downfall.

”How is it that she is the only one who receives every blessing, while I am left with nothing?” Rosaline muttered, the Duke’s cutting remarks about her appearance echoing in her ears to deepen her humiliation. Bitter tears brimmed in her eyes, and she sank heavily onto the edge of her mattress.

”I refuse to be reduced to a commoner, stripped of everything,” she whispered into the empty room.

Yet, even as the anger surged through her, a cold dread settled in her chest; she knew she possessed no power to challenge the Duke’s decree.

”Rosaline,” her mother’s voice sounded from the doorway as she stepped into the room. ”Why did you break the vase? Did you injure yourself?” Susan walked over to the bed, reaching out to gently wipe the tears from her daughter’s eyes.

”Mother, did you see how she looked at me? I merely wanted—”

”Rosaline, do not say a single word to defend your actions this time,” Susan interrupted, her voice heavy with weariness. ”I did not wish for you to go to the Duke’s estate in the first place, but you assured me nothing would go amiss. You were well aware of our fragile standing. Under these ruined conditions, what noble house will marry you now? Tomorrow marks the first day of your punishment. You have truly brought this ruin upon us.”

Rosaline’s tears vanished instantly upon hearing her mother’s harsh judgment, her sorrow turning to cold defense.

”I spoke those words in anger, Mother. Eilika was acting so high and mighty, looking down on me,” Rosaline insisted, straightening her posture. ”And as for Roman... I had no inkling he would fall ill. I harbored no hidden malice toward the boy.”

”Nothing can be done now. You must ensure you perform your duties diligently at the administration center,” Susan asserted. ”I shall find a way to reach Eilika this time. I will beg her to grant you forgiveness. I know her heart has hardened against us, but I must try.”

”Mother, do not even entertain the thought of going there,” Rosaline hissed, her eyes flashing. ”Eilika is no longer the same girl who cared for this family. If the two of you had not compelled her to marry the Duke, she would not be wielding all that power to crush us now.”

”I am well aware, but what is done is done,” Susan replied, a heavy sadness settling over her features. ”I have never seen your father weep until this night. Therefore, I must somehow secure an audience with her, if only once. Even I bear the guilt of wrongdoing for demanding that money.”

She lowered her eyes in guilt before sitting next to Rosaline on the mattress.

”You cannot expect to match Eilika’s fortune. Not every fate is written the same,” Susan advised her, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ”Therefore, you must put your efforts into winning the favor of the Count’s son while you perform your duties at the administration center. He is stationed there as well.”

”But I have no desire to marry him,” Rosaline countered, her jaw tightening. ”I—I want greater standing than Eilika. I want more power than she could ever dream of holding.”

”Will you listen to my counsel just once?” Susan scolded, her brow furrowing with deep concern. ”The royal family is entirely beyond our reach, Rosaline. Do not even permit your thoughts to wander toward the palace gates. Do precisely as I am instructing you. If you had minded my warnings before, we would not be facing this ruin tonight.”

Susan softened her expression slightly, placing her hand over Rosaline’s cold fingers. ”I only desire the best for your future, my dear. So, please, simply follow the path we have laid out for you.”

Rosaline nodded her head. ”I understood, Mother.”