The Chosen Bride

A Lady Remains Composed

Drake leaned against the window sill, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

He couldn't stop thinking. He kept replaying the words Katherine had said last night in her drunken rage.

How she was this French street rat instead of this distant cousin of Lady Eleanor.

How she pretends to be this elegant woman when in reality she didn't know many of the roles behind being a lady.

He shouldn't have pretended to be with other women last night. If he hadn't, she wouldn't have gotten this drunk.

He remembered her staring at him from across the room, her eyes narrowing with jealousy. She had grabbed a champagne glass and downed the whole thing in seconds.

She had danced around the room with Lady Eleanor like a mad woman.

And later he found her almost ruined on the floor. He had carried her up the stairs and had the maids disassemble her dress and put her to bed.

He hadn't left her room since.

He glanced back up at her when he heard a groan.

An unladylike groan.

"Good morning, your highness." He said.

She pushed herself upright and squinted against the light, "What happened last night?"

"You had one too many drinks." He stated his eyes narrowing even further.

He could hear her swallow from across the room and suddenly he felt bad.

He knew what a pain hangovers were, so why was he being so rude to her?

"Can-Can I have some water, please? I cannot think clearly nor speak for that matter." She croaked, pointing at the pitcher of water.

He marched to the stand and poured her the glass of water, making sure there was plenty of it.

Once finished, she blinked a couple more times while pressing her hand to her forehead.

And then she gasped.

"Oh no! Oh no no no no no! You cannot be in here." She paused for a moment and then gasped again, "What did you do to me last night? Where are my clothes? Lady Eleanor? Oh, what will she think of me? You monster! How dare you take advantage of me at such a vulnerable time!"

Drake snatched the glass away from her and glared, "Excuse me, my lady, but I hate it when women draw conclusions. I understand that you are still having trouble understanding the laws of ladies but I certainly know my rules as a gentleman! I certainly do not take advantage of women when they have not learned how to control their drinking habits. I only brought you to a room and had my maids put you down for sleep. I then decided to check on you, because it is the gentlemanly thing to do!"

"Well, the gentleman thing to do would be to escort me to my carriage, not to carry me to a bedroom!" She fired back.

"Well, the ladylike thing to would to not drink so much that she was practically falling over." He snapped.

She lowered her eyes, "I am sorry. I didn't know."

"I'm sure you are. Oh and don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He stated, setting the glass down harshly on the nightstand.