Chapter 78 - Disposable pawn

Isabela

I couldn't believe the suggestion that woman was making. If the duke brought fewer wolves than the nobleman who accompanied her, should I give up on my marriage and throw it all away? A mixture of mockery and indignation overtook me, heating me from the inside out. The sensation that coursed through every vein in my body was like magma, abruptly eating away at me.

I got up from my chair and approached Ana, who still had that insolent smile on her face.

"But you really have no idea, isn't it?"

"It's you who have no idea, Joana."

"Is that a threat?"

Her debauched smile widened. What a stupid girl.

"Don't take it that way, Miss Bourbon."

"If it's any consolation to you to hear the truth, I'm the Duchess of Barcelona. Lady Casanova." I retorted, without letting her escape my direct gaze.

"Congratulations, my dear Duchess Casanova! However, I must mention that your manners are still so... so grotesque for your position. Forgive me, but I feel embarrassed to think that the duke might be ashamed if you insist on acting so rudely at an event of the utmost importance. Believe me, my noble lady, I could offer you some lessons in etiquette; after all, every lady of respect should know how to behave properly."

"Seriously, I still have to put up with a bitch like you! Watch your ego, Ana. All this jealousy won't get you anywhere, isn't it?"

"I'm not here to start an argument; please show your more elegant manners and keep your disrespectful side to yourself. You belong to the nobility, so please don't make yourself look like a trespasser."

"You know, there's something that's bothering me so much that it feels like it's stuck in my throat, and I urgently need to get rid of it." I leaned my head towards her face and whispered in her ear, "When I got here with my husband, I didn't even realize it, and I ended up stepping on this horse shit. What a disgusting thing to do, isn't it?"

"The duke is still your groom; don't rush into anything. And another thing: is that the language a lady uses?"

"Oh, what the hell! But honestly, this unpleasant situation doesn't affect me much, after all, there are a lot of similarities between you and a piece of shit. So you can shove your etiquette lessons up your ass, and instead of wasting time on private lessons, it would be more profitable for you to clean my sandals impeccably."

"What an outrage! I think you'd better rethink your words, Joana. I'm not as naive as you think." She turned away, her face bathed in an intriguing serenity. "You should know that the Duchess is nothing more than a disposable pawn."

"What do you mean?" Ana spun on her heels, and before I could add another sentence, she was gone, leaving me alone again. "What a cretinous whore!"

~

I woke up the next morning with a mixture of monotony and excitement that left me breathless, or was it anxious? What would come after the wolf hunt would be the turning point in our future.

Now let's leave my story aside and focus on a man who is capable of giving me unforgettable orgasms anywhere. In the early hours of the morning, the duke pretended to be ill, and I confess that he almost gave me a heart attack with his perverted antics. Fortunately, it was just a trap to lead us to pleasure.

In a matter of seconds, he seduced me and undressed me, and soon we were living our dream in an incredibly exciting, sweet, romantic, and extremely hot way, in the warmth of the bedroom fireplace. I don't know if the other guests could hear my moans of pleasure as the duke penetrated me, but I simply loved this voracious and intense relationship.

I glanced quickly at the duke, sprawled on the bed next to me, looking completely content in his sleep. Just seeing him and remembering that we could live our lives in peace made my heart beat faster, but I resisted the temptation to wake him.

"How long will you remain silent?"

"What? Is Your Grace awake?" He remained inert, his eyes closed.

"I can hear all the emotions that make your heart beat."

"You're a funny guy." I turned and looked at the wooden ceiling, glimpsing at what awaited us in a few months' time. "Everything we experienced the night before still mixes inside me, and I'm very happy, Fernando."

"It seems that your happiness is contagious, the same bubbling that shakes your chest I feel too." That cavernous voice was an invitation to do what we do best.

"If all goes well, we'll live our contagion in peace." I said it as if it were a reflection.

I deeply regretted having remembered that woman. It was essential that the duke knew the truth about her. Although I was happy, my happiness wasn't complete, not when a cunning viper was trying to poison everything around me. Slowly, Fernando got up from the bed, but before he could move away, I muttered between my teeth, making a gesture with my lips.

"Ana de Hanover has emerged from the shadows again." He stopped immediately and turned to me. "Why on earth did you invite that disgusting woman?"

"You'd think she'd come." The duke replied, still sleepy.

"What the hell? How long am I going to have to put up with that bitch?"

"I'm sorry she came. Did she bother you?"

"This time, I put her in her place; I won't accept that woman's insults ever again. She was furious, she even called me a disposable pawn."

"Very well, don't believe anything she tells you, and leave the rest to me. I need to intervene and make Ana accept that my passion is you."

"Be straight with her, please."

"What she said to you that made you look so unfriendly, something happened between you two yesterday, didn't it?"

Fernando started to get dressed, and from where I was standing, I could see the orange fire that was consuming the rest of the wood in the fireplace.

"She made me a bet. Now you have to win this damn wolf hunt."

"A bet on what?"

"If you bring in fewer wolves than the nobleman she's with, I must give up on you and our marriage. That woman must have the screws out of her head and needs a reality check."

"Don't worry about it, she wants to provoke you, Isabela. There's no chance of me bringing fewer wolves, not me and Raul together; we won't give anyone a chance."

"Okay." I nodded, getting out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Forget about this meeting between the two of you, focus on what we talked about last night, please. Our focus here is to get out of Barcelona without making a fuss."

"I'll try to forget about that idiot, but it's just that stupid smile she gives me every time we meet that stresses me out."

"Go take a shower; she doesn't even deserve your stress." Fernando coughed. "Enjoy your shower, because winter is coming, and you should never underestimate how cold it's going to be."

I shook my head and hugged myself, walking slowly to the bathroom, where a nice hot bath in the tub awaited me.

~

The day of the hunt finally arrived, forcing me to be in the central courtyard, sitting in a sort of makeshift wooden stand next to the other ladies.

"That concludes the opening ceremony." Shouted the local marquis, drawing the attention of all the guests to himself. "I wish good luck to all the brave nobles who are here, after all, it will be a long three days in the forest."

At the end of the last word, there was a warm round of applause, and then the nobles began to dissipate from the crowd around Carlos. The ladies in the stands got up and went to their nobles to say goodbye, leaving just me and the mangy girl.

"I wish you good luck." Said she, who was sitting on the edge to my left. "I don't think it matters to them whether the Duke of Barcelona has a fiancée or not."

"I don't need luck, least of all the kind that's wished by your mouth, there's a good chance it's a curse rather than luck."

"Lady?" She retorted, looking astonished.

"I hear these days are going to be very cold. Where is your nobleman, so I can give him this coat? He'll need to wear a comfortable, thick coat to brave the cold during those three long days in the forest."

I held out my coat to her, and she smiled back bitterly.

"Ah, my beautiful duchess, look at that! He's a private person who doesn't need charity, let alone something from you." Ana de Hanover stood up elegantly, raising her right hand and pointing with her index finger at the surrounding nobles. "The nobleman accompanying me is the one who is venturing over there."

I turned in the direction she was pointing, and for a brief moment, I could see a slender figure wrapped in the typical cold coats of 17th-century Europe, with a high collar that provided insulation and protection from the freezing weather, as well as an imposing black hat on his head.

"Damn!"

"What did you say?"

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to him?"

"We already did that last night; worry about the duke, who's on his way here." Ana loosened the blue fabric of her skirt and approached me. "Have you thought about my proposal?"

"Of course I have." I whispered in her ear. "I'll accept your bet."

"Very well... I hope you stick to it."

She turned away from me and continued on her way, but before she left, I grabbed her by the wrist.

"Is this story only good for one side? And what do I get when the duke wins the hunt?"

I heard her laugh, and with little effort, she let go of my hands.

"If he wins, I promise to forget about you. Now go say some nice words to your man, do your duty as a woman."

What an asshole! A woman's duty?