The Duke's Scars

The Duke's Scars - Chapter 2

The Duke’s Scars – Chapter 2

By now, Little Judith was already ten years old. She was different from other girls with the lack of a mother’s child. She behaved like a boy with her father, Tristan, as her role model. Ah yes . . . she really adored his father, despite of his scars. She never looked at him differently.

Tristan once asked her, “Aren’t you scared of me?”

Little Judith just looked at him weirdly, “Why should I scared of you?”

“Look at me, Judith. Lots of people are scared of this.” He pointed at his face.

“No, Father. It’s the sign of your bravery. I don’t care about what people said. You show me love and kindness. If they couldn’t see it, then they must be blind!” she said vehemently. Tristan couldn’t more proud of her.

Tristan loved the girl to death, but currently not so much. Standing in front of him meekly was Judith’s private teacher, Miss Madeline. She was hired to teach her how to behave like a lady, and yet three months had passed but there was no improvement at all.

Each day ever since the lessons started, there were always a lot of complains from the teacher. Judith was like this and Judith was like that. It gave him real headache. The most irritating thing was the way the teacher kept squirming when he was near her. He knew that she was no different than any other women.

He brushed that sad fact away from his mind and back to the real business. “What did she do now?” He asked while massaging his raging headache. There was nothing she could do to surprise him anymore.

“She . . . she was everywhere. I’ve never seen anybody moves so fast like her. It seems like she has twins or triplets. She climbed the tree. She rode the horse. She kicked my leg and now I can’t find her anywhere!” Miss Madeline explained. She was frustrated and at the same time shaking with fear to the man in front of her.

Tristan groaned. He knew it would be something like this. He swore to God, his little girl was too active, even to his opinion she was already bordering hyperactive. He couldn’t count how many times he saved her from herself.

“I want to stop working here, my lord. I can’t take this anymore.” She pleaded to him. Tristan wanted to groan once again, but he held back himself. This was the fourth teacher he hired. She stayed longer than the others and he thought maybe she could bear with her daughter. There was no such luck.

“Can’t you stay for another month?” he tried to persuade her.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. She’s like the devil incarnation.” Miss Madison said that softly.

Tristan heard her last sentence and it made his blood boil. No one was allowed to say that to his daughter. She might be naughty, but she wasn’t a devil. He knew people call him that behind his back and she wouldn’t let his daughter had the same fate.

“Even if you didn’t resign just now, I would fire you. No one gets to talk to my family like that. I admit that she is a bit naughty, but it’s your job to teach her how to behave and yet you couldn’t do it. She’s the daughter of a duke and yet you have the gut to call her name. I suggest you quickly get out off my property before I do something that I’ll regret.”

Tristan never laid a hand on women, but he really wanted to throttle the woman in front of him. She might be soft-spoken, but words could become a powerful weapon too. It might hurt his daughter’s feeling.

The way he said his threat and glared was enough to make Miss Madison scurry away. She was out of his property less than ten minutes. He sighed in relief, but he knew he had to face his daughter sooner or later. For a little girl, she really knew how to throw a tantrum. Maybe he had spoiled her too much.