Disciplined by the Duke by Alyson Chase

Author:Alyson Chase [Chase, Alyson]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Swerve
Published: 2017-08-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The air was stifling, the sun’s rays beating down upon her, but Liz hardly noticed the sweat coursing down her back. She, Molly, and two other maids were on outside window duty, a task Molly had rolled her eyes at when they’d been assigned it that morning by Mr. Todd. With no shade on the west side patio, and windows that stretched as high as ten feet off the ground, it was the bimonthly chore that all the maids dreaded.

Plunging her rag back into her bucket, she barely noticed the sting of the vinegar on her scraped hands. Across the manicured lawn in front of the stable, the duke sat astride a large sorrel mare, walking the horse forward, then backwards. The horse’s steps were faltering, uncertain, but she responded to the duke’s commands.

A stable boy stood ten feet away with a mastiff sitting silently at his side. Montague urged the horse towards the pair, but before they reached them the horse skittered sideways, yanking her head at the reins.

The edges of Liz’s lips curled up. The dog was big; there was no doubt about that. But the horse probably outweighed the animal ten times over. Unreasonable as it was, the mare was scared of the dog, and all the gentle prodding by the duke didn’t seem to be changing her mind.

“You left a big streak there.” Molly stepped next to Liz, cutting off her view of the duke. She pointed to the window Liz was working on. “Todd will notice that. You need to clean it again.”

“Of course.” Liz kneaded her lower back. The window tax hadn’t induced the Duke of Montague to brick up any of his windows, a fact Liz sorely regretted at the moment. Looking at the size of the estate before her, she estimated that Montague probably paid more in taxes each year than her father had earned in income his entire life. The wealth of the duke was staggering.

Taking her wet rag, she climbed up the ladder and peeked over towards the stable again. The duke gripped the large horse between strong thighs, his trousers pulled tight against his flexing muscles. He rode the horse like he was a part of her. They moved as one. The tails of Montague’s coat fluttered after him as he drew the mare into a gallop. Liz swallowed, trying to bring moisture back into her mouth.

Man and beast were a beautiful sight.

“That streak isn’t going to disappear by wishing it away,” Molly hollered up to her.

With a sigh, Liz turned to the window. Stretching up, she passed her damp rag over the smudge. The ladder wobbled, and Liz clutched the top with a gasp.

“Careful!” Molly held the legs of the ladder. “Those dang footmen, taking the good ladders for the chandeliers and leaving us this rickety pile of wood.”

Sally, the youngest maid in the duke’s service, piped up. “I saw one of them nice sturdy ten-foot ladders stored in the stable. Maybe we could get a groom to bring it over for us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.