Chapter 81

IAN was nodding at the footman as he stepped into the carriage. The servant closed the door before taking his place in the carriage. Ian turned toward the coachman as he told him the destination was Stone Tower and knocked on the rooftop with his cane.
The coachman snapped the reins as the horses neighed, pulling the carriage forward as the claps of hooves were hitting the cobblestones. Ian was leaning against the velvet couch as he was reminiscing about the first time he shared Emily’s bed. Right on that couch he shook his head.
Focus, Hassildor, you need to solve the riots before you can think of anything else that has to do with your wife, he mused as Ian was closing his eyes. Then, he remembered the missive that was sent by Edwin Ortiz—no, Lord Edwin Moore, he must call him by that name—as it had been kept in one of his tomes. Ian sighed. He needed to tell Emily about that or it would be a disaster if she ever found out. And Ian would rather have Emily in his bed for as long as they lived. Ian sighed.
“What am I going to do?” he mumbled to himself before the horses were neighing. The carriage stopped as Ian was smoothing his coat and focusing on his tasks at the Stone Tower. The footman stepped down from his seat as he was opening the carriage door. Ian stepped down as he was nodding at the footman, gripped his cane, and went inside the Stone Tower.
The gaslights were illuminating the hallways that led Ian toward the courtroom as he was nodding at the passerby who was from the Lesser Gentry. They were older lords that would be vacating their seats to their successors who were their heirs to the household as well. Ian was smiling at them as the older lords were smiling back at him. Knowing that all of them knew about the enhanced changes that Ian underwent when he was an adolescent, he was not afraid to show the true nature of his inner Demon.
But Ian still concealed his true identity among the Lesser Gentry because he did not want to risk any inside rebellion that could threaten the position of the young Queen Arabella Dragomir, even after centuries of controlling the House of Dragomir controlling the monarchy of Niapachad Island.
Ian went to the courtroom, opening the huge oak doors before they were never a problem for him, as he was greeted by the familiar sight of the Duke of Belikov and the Earl of Raine as they were discussing the map of the recent riots that were happening. Ian removed his coat as he was nodding at his friends before joining the discussion as well.
“I am telling you now that Fell has found out about the riots. He was trying to track the real cause of the riots that are riling up the villagers with the current payment for their hard work,” Tom stated as he was letting Ian catch up on the discussion that he had with Niklaus. The duke nodded.
“It would seem that Marsh was having the fun out of his life. I know that Ara would leave everything to him to make sure that she gets the correct information and gets to the real problem that was happening in the country,” Niklaus said as Ian was nodding, agreeing with the duke. Tom sighed.
“And apparently, we had to deal with the papers as Fell was having his little adventure to be undercover in the field that he was doing. I’m sure the queen knew what she was doing,” Tom said as he was shifting the papers that he was looking at, leaving Ian and Niklaus to look over the map. He sighed before rubbing his face with his hands as Ian arched his eyebrows at the distressed earl.
Now, this is interesting, he mused before he nudged Niklaus on the elbow. The duke turned to look at him, arching his eyebrows as Ian nodded at the earl.
“What’s up with him?” he asked, whispering to the duke as Niklaus chuckled softly.
“I’m pretty sure that Ara was making him do something that he didn’t want to do. Hence, the despair that you’re looking at,” the duke said as Ian smirked. Tom glared at both of them before he was slamming the papers on the table. Ian and Niklaus snickered before Tom was making his way to the door. They both looked at the earl as Tom was leaving the room.
“Well… I think it’s safe to say that he could hear us just now,” Ian stated before he was looking at the map again, trying to make some counterparts of the riots that were brewing in the countryside as Niklaus was marking some of the recent news that they were getting from the Baron of Fell who was on the field as the riots were taking in place.
Now, I wondered where Dan was, Ian thought as he was marking the parchment with quill and ink, as Niklaus was agreeing that they were agreeing.

EMILY was looking at the purchases that she made yesterday as she was looking at the dull yellow room that was about to have its makeover. She sipped the blood-laced tea before she put it down on the table as she was making some notes of how the furniture would be arranged in the room to be debuted as the receiving room for their guests when they came to the townhouse.
Last time, Emily did not have the time to make her visitors feel comfortable since there was no formal receiving room, but after this makeover, the marquis of Kain’s townhouse would not be condemned for not having a proper receiving room.
Emily clapped her hands as she was getting the attention of the servants. Everyone was anxious to see what the marchioness of Kain had in her mind for the yellow room. Emily smiled, asking the maids to strip the curtains before she directed them to put the yellow drapes over the curtains before drawing them like the twilight skies with twinkling stars that were greeting Emily’s eyes.
She sighed before the servants were drawing the white sheets over the furniture as she was instructing the footmen to move the furniture to the new positions that she pointed out for them. Then, the maids were starting the fireplace as the heat was slipping into the room.
Emily sighed as the gaslights were illuminating the yellow room with its warm glow. Emily dismissed the servants after she was finished before she was checking the mantel for dust. There was none as the maids were dusting it while they were rearranging the yellow room to perfection.
Emily sat down on the divan as she was staring out the window, looking at the bright twilight skies before she noticed the tomes that Ian frequently read. She smiled, moving toward the bookshelves as she was browsing the titles of the tomes.
Some of them were so ancient that Emily could not even understand the language, but most of them were contemporary and literary works of local writers.
Most of them were by men.
I wonder if women writers are available for purchase, Emily wondered, saddened by the fact that not one of the books that she learned growing up was written by a woman. Perhaps someone will change that later, but for now, she will have to comply with the polite society that respected and looked forward to the gentle people that wrote their ideologies and theories for the younger generation of Niapachad Island to thrive.
Then, Emily spotted a romance novel that she loved with its spines that were wrinkling and crooked. She pulled it from the bookshelves, flipping the pages before something flew out of it. She looked at it, blinking her eyes before kneeling and taking the missive. It was addressed to her by someone that she never thought would reach out to her.
Edwin Ortiz, Royal Molftus.
Emily unfolded the missive, the wax was already broken as she was reading its content. She gasped, moving her hand to her mouth as Emily gripped the missive.
No, it cannot be! Ian would never! She thought before she remembered last night when Ian distracted her from asking him questions about his sexual prowess. The marchioness felt something inside her heart, beating wildly before she gripped the missive as she looked at the door to the yellow room, waiting for her husband to come home.
Now, it was time for me to take action to make my destiny with my brother, she thought, as Emily called for the butler to formulate her idea into action.