"But I heard that you release him from prison recently."
Lisa's father snorted. "Rogie won't marry my daughter unless I release that bastard. Ask your good godson, Lady Geneva."
The woman whose name was Geneva turned to Rogie. "Is that true?"
Rogie nodded and did not say anything. Lady Geneva squinted her eyes on me. "Girl, you are very brave. I applaud you for standing in front of us. But Rogie had married Lisa. And they will live under one roof from now on."
"No." Rogie shook his head. "I won't live with Lisa and that's final."
Rogie's father squinted his eyes. "She stood in front of officials. It's a disrespect, son. Do you want Sydnee to be punished or you'll live with Lisa?"
I felt Rogie tensed at his father's words. I gulped hard.
Before one of us could protest, someone entered the partisan and stood beside me.
"Sydnee is just a kid who knows nothing. Please excuse her disrespect to the rulers of this land."
I looked sideways at Anthony. There was no smile nor a sign of amusement in his eyes. Nothing but a blank expression that I never knew he could muster.
The people around smiled at Anthony.
"The duke regent. My pleasure to see you here," Lady Geneva said.
I noticed the other women were silent. It was only Lady Geneva who kept on talking around. The man beside her did not say a single word. He just kept on mustering his blank expression. And sometimes, he shot a smile at me.
Just like that, Rogie dragged me out of that place while Anthony was left behind to deal with my foolishness. I closed my eyes tight as cold wind passed by my body. Rogie brought me out of the building, onto the back portion where only one light was shining in the dark.
He pinned me on the wall. I gasped in shock and looked at him. He stood before me and both of his hands were either in the sides of my head. I could not escape from him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice was soft, as his gaze travelled from my head down to my feet and back to my eyes. "You know what you did back there? Stupidity."
The heat from his gaze vanished at his last word. I squinted my eyes on him. "I'm not stupid," I spat.
I noticed his amused smile lingering on his lips and I fought myself hard not to wobbled my knees. I tried to smack his chest but his hand caught mine and pinned it overhead. I tried to thrashed around but he pinned my torso using his body, legs were wide apart to caged my body between him and the wall behind me.
I hissed. "Let go," I warned.
His brow raised and he lowered his face to meet my eyes. "I saw how desperate were you while looking for me," he whispered. His eyes moved down on my lips and he smirked. "Did you miss my kiss?"
"Bastard," I muttered. "I heard you talk and I did look for you to confirm my suspicion."
"Really?" He breathed. "I thought you missed me that much to mess with the dukes and lords."
I snickered at his words. "I don't really care who's who. I wanted to see if you were really there."
"And if I was not there?" His brows knotted in annoyance and he looked at me straight in the eye. "Who would protect you from unreasonable things they will do to you?"
I looked away. "At least I was right," I whispered.
"Sydnee," he called. "Don't be impulsive. Don't mess with those people next time, okay?"
My lips pursed into a thin line as I fought the urge to spat at those people. Now that I was free from their gazes, all I remembered of them was their ridiculous stares at me. They looked at me like some kind of insect. And thinking about it, I just wanted to smack those smug smiles of them, specially that Lisa. I huffed.
"And you're angry?" Rogie asked. "Do you know what punishment you'll receive for disrespecting an official? You'll be called to court and later, you'll clean a whole manor without help."
My brows knotted when I remembered the words of Lisa's father. "Why do they want you to marry Lisa?" I asked.
Rogie let go of me and I shuddered in the cold wind. He looked away and sighed. "Lisa is the only heiress of a Duke. She should be wed to a man with strong political and economical background in order for her to inherit the place of her father. Women can't replace a duke's position unless they marry strong men."
"It's means you'll be a duke someday and she'll be your duchess?"
A few seconds passed before he nodded. I inhaled sharply at his confirmation. "But if women can't replace a duke's position, then why do Lady Geneva is quite bold in dealing with other lords and dukes? With all the women, she's the only woman I heard who talk without limit."
"Because Duke Theodore, her husband, is dumb."
I blinked. "He's what?"
"Duke Theodore is dumb so it was Lady Geneva who do the work."
"Dumb since birth?"
He shook his head. "An accident happened eighteen years ago and since then, he did not want to speak. It pushed Lady Geneva to speak up her mind in order to fill her husband's work."
That made me still. I remembered how Duke Theodore smiled at me. I wonder if he remember Dad or he knew me. But it was not possible. A duke could not possibly remember that pathetic kid who cried in front him to ask for help after I and my mother was roaming the lonely street of Consolacion without water and without food. It was him who provided us some money to spend in order to buy a house.
But mother was so ashame that she build a house near the landfill where no one from her circle of friends could possibly knew who we are. And until now, she was living in that little nipa hut with my father who turned into a madman. And thinking about it, I could not help but to shudder.
I felt a hand in my cheek moving my face to meet Rogie's face. Our eyes met and before he could say something, someone cleared his throat.
My head snapped in the direction and I saw Anthony. He was staring straight into my eyes. I blinked.
"Come here," he said without blinking, but I noticed how his body tensed while watching me under Rogie's hold.
I looked at Rogie who grimaced at the sight of Anthony. I knew that these two know each other and I wonder if they acknowledge each other's position in the society. And certainly, I could not reach either of them.
My hand found Rogie's palm resting on my cheek. I let his hand fell on his side as I stepped away from his hold. My feet walked towards Anthony whom eyes searched around my body for any possible danger. When I reached his side, he circled his arms around my waist.