The Ripple Effect - A Journey of Sin, Part Twelve

And here's part twelve, up for your scrutiny. Parts One, Three, Five, Seven, Nine and Eleven can be found at The Devil's Advocate. ~

Part Twelve

I awoke in my room with a damp towel over my head. Lucifer was sitting next me, dozing. He stirred as I attempted to get up.
"Don't move."
I immediately froze at the command. He rose and made his way to my bedside, leaning in close to me and gripping my shoulders as I tried to shy away.
"We have a problem." His voice rang out, clear and cold in the small chamber. "You are carrying my heir, and this simply will not do."
Fear gripped my throat as I suddenly remembered my mother, a lifetime ago, telling me about her experience when I was inside the womb, and my heart stopped. I realized with despair that the signs were all exactly the same, and that all my efforts to hide my shame had been in vain, for the world would soon know of my humiliation, and there was no way for me to stop it from happening.
“This problem must be solved immediately," he continued. "It cannot affect my prospects for the future, and as such, we are departing at once for my cottage in the countryside.”
I was stunned. “But... but Young Master Lucifer, your family... I am expected to serve them! How can I perform my daily duties from the countryside?”
“Your duties will be, firstly and foremostly, to me. Nobody - absolutely nobody! - can know of this transgression. I have been groomed for leadership since my birth. How am I to become head of the Rothschilds if news of you becomes common knowledge? No, no, that simply won’t do," he said, pacing the room like a caged lion. "I have dealt with my family already, and they believe that you will be my maid for the next six months while I retire for the summer to my new cottage estate in the countryside, miles away from this gossip-filled town.”
I knew I had no choice but to accompany Lucifer, if only to keep myself hidden from the world as well.
That very night, Lucifer ushered me into his carriage while Lady Rothschild waved goodbye to her son, thinking him still to be the same innocent morning star she saw in her dreams. If only she knew the truth... The truth about his monstrous nature which he hid so well from them all...
As the door of the carriage closed, I looked back one last time at the manor. This place had witnessed so much of my pain, my joy and my despair, that I didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved to be leaving it. Then, I caught sight of the stable boy, staring at me with an unreadable look in his eyes as his figure became smaller and smaller. My heart caught, and I wanted to run out of the rolling carriage to fall into his arms. Instead, I turned around, resigning myself to the journey into the unknown with the monster who had caused my misfortune.

Part Thirteen will be up tomorrow at The Devil's Advocate. ~