The Forbidden Fruit

I was still shocked at what Demelza had said. She had once been a mistress to Darius' granfather, but the debt she was paying for was fake, so was Darius lying to me? He could have easily faked the documents, couldn't he have? I had to find a way to see the records once again. My mind was filled with so many questions I bumped into the guests frequently. I could not think straight. How could I, after what I had just found out? What purpose did Darius have for lying? There were many beautiful women he could be with, so why me?
As I was walking I accidently stepped on a young lady who growled at me.
"My apologies," I said as I continued walking, but her high-pitched shriek was enough to stop me from walking away.
She looked older than me, by at least two years and by the large diamond on her finger that was the size of a fist, I could tell that she was married. She had long blond hair and large green eyes. Looking at them was nostalgic in a way. Her dress was long and white and she had a beautiful gold necklace to match her bracelet.
"My apologies?" she shrilled, "my apologies? You stepped on me and all you say is 'my apologies'? Are you aware of who I am? State your name this instant!"
"Elise Crofton," I replied, frightened and petrified.
"Crofton," she said as she fanned her face, her pink lips pouted, "I do not know any noble family by the name Crofton. Might you be a rat who managed to sneak in. If that is the case I will see to it that you are exterminated."
She glared at me, her eyes piercing right through me, "Ah. You are a peasant. You may try to fool people by wearing the pearl necklace and the beautiful purple gown, but you can not fool me. Look around you. The invitation stated that all should wear white or black. You are wearing neither. Not even that. You have a foul aura around you."
"Enough," I heard Darius say from behind as he walked towards me with a smile on his face, "she is wearing purple because she is....special."
"Might this be the mistress Count D'Aubigne spoke of to mother," the girl said as she looked at me once again, "she is far from appealing. Even my pooch Grace looks attractive when compared to her."
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Darius growled, barring his teeth.
"That was not an opinion dear brother," she growled back, "I was merely stating a fact. She is ugly."
"Be gone," Darius ordered, hate in his eyes.
"I shall not take orders from the likes of you," she spat, "do not forget I am older than you."
Older? She was older than Darius? That did not matter much though. I had never seen anyone stand as Darius' equal before. The Count had tried, but it was evident from the start that he was bound to lose. However, this was not the case. Darius was unable to come with a comeback for his sister's last comment. He had just told her to go away.
"Elise, there are people I would like you to meet," Darius said as he walked past her and held my hand. His sister held my other one and smiled at Darius.
"She is contaminating the air," Darius's sister smiled, "she needs to leave."
"Portia Hurley," Darius exclaimed as I noticed that all eyes were now on me, "if you do not let her go this instant, I assure you, I will make you-"
"What?" Portia said as she let out an amused chuckle. They were certainly cut from the same cloth, "make me regret crossing paths with you. Trust me, your threats do not scare me. Not the slightest. If anything, I surely know how to deal with you. This peasant will not be spending the night IN THE SAME ROOM AS NOBLE'S. It is an unwritten rule that every noble must know."
The Count stood before the three of us with a smirk on his face.
"Indeed Darius," he sipped some of the wine, before swirling it around in the glass, "she needs to leave."
"I do not recall inviting you here," Darius seethed. He was now angry, I could feel it in his grasp.
"I wanted to see how Amy was doing," he said, "but it turns out she is currently at a boarding school under the name Gwendolyn Rutherford. Also her brother Albert Rutherford is in school and the person paying for their education is none other than you". People in the room gasped and began to whisper among themselves. Most of them, however, were asking "what is going on?" and all I could do was close my eyes, "As a matter of fact, I have just come back from sending a letter to your mother informing her of the crimes against nobility you have commited. Your social status shall be stripped away from you when I am done with you Darius. And when you think you have had enough, I shall begin my attack on your mistress".
"Is that so?" Darius said as he smiled, letting go of my hand and walking towards the Count, "and I shall make sure they will never find your body you bastard."
I heard Portia scream "Darius no" as she let go of my hand and ran towards him, but she was too late. The Count was on the floor with Darius punching him continuously. Everyone stood watch, shocked at what was going on, but no one dared to stop him. Portia stood a few inches from him as she pleaded with him, keeping her distance like all the others.
I heard the people talking among themselves and all of them were saying: "he should have seen it coming", "he must be a mad man to challenge Mr Rutherford in public" and "the Count needs to be replaced". Did they all fear Darius? Just how powerful was he? What was his social standing? He didn't have any special titles such as Earl or Count and he was not a Duke either, so what made him stand out? I watched as the Count began to bleed. Maids were waiting on him to finish hitting the Count so that they could clean up after him. It was a horrendous sight.
"Stop!" I cried out as I looked away, "please stop this madness."
"Did the peasant just ask him to stop?", "she must have a death wish", "I think she is the mistress the keep talking about".
Words entered my ears from different directions. They did not have the decency to gossip quietly. I slightly lifted my dress up and ran out the room. I watched as Darius stretched out his hand covered in blood and called out my name, but I did not stop. This way, I could pretend to be hurt, but instead, go to his study and look for the document with the debt. I had looked through it quickly the first time, but this time, I was going to sit down and carefully scrutinize it. I was hoping that it was all a lie. It had to be.