The Duke's Scars

The Duke's Scars - Chapter 2

Tristan went out of his house and bellowed, “Judith Elizabeth Cornwall! To the hall! Now!”

Looking for her was useless. She could hide and blended in easily. It was better to bellow her name, besides she already knew that she was in trouble.

Judith was hiding behind the bush, when her daddy was bellowing, calling her. When she saw her former teacher running away, she knew that she’d met her father and it made her laugh. The old hag deserved it for she talked bad things about her daddy, just like what happened to her previous teachers.

She sighed, knowing that her daddy would scold her. But she would never tell the reason to her daddy; she knew that he would just brush it off with sadness in his eyes. Aye, she knew about her daddy’s tender feeling. She would never told anyone though, for daddy said warrior wouldn’t show his weakness and his tenderness.

“I know you are there, Miss!” James teased her.

“How can you always find me?” Judith scowled at James. “And how many times should I tell you that you have to call me Judith?”

It made James laugh out loud. “You are still my employer’s daughter, dear Judith.”

“No, James! You are family.” Judith kept insisting.

James looked at the little girl adoringly. She grew up as a beauty just like her mother. She was born a bit pale, but due to her active behavior, her skin was tanned and looked healthier. Her big doe green eyes were her best features, but they weren’t cruel like her mother’s, instead they were full of warmth.

However, those were the only things he could see at the moment, because she was covered with dirt. He sighed, knowing that his master would be angry when she showed up like this.

“You love to rile up your daddy, huh?”

She grinned widely at what he said. “You know me. I know he loves me and won’t do any bad thing to me. I can see behind his blu . . . uhm . . . what’s the word, James? I forget.”

“Bluster?” he supplied the word.

“Ah, true! That’s the word.” She smiled at him. “What would I do without you, James?” Then, she hugged him.

The girl never realized that what she did really touched James’ heart. She thought of him as her own grandfather, for he played the role nicely.

James hugged her back, holding back his tears. Before his tears fell down, he told the girl to go. “Go, now! Your father is waiting for you.”

Little Judith let him go and pouted. “Okay,” she obeyed him. She waved at him, saying her goodbye and running away, leaving James who was wiping his tears.

Dum . . . dum . . . dum . . . Her heart was beating fast. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but her daddy was pretty scary when he wanted to be. She was successfully dodging the punishment from the previous two teachers by faking tears, but now? She wasn’t too sure.

Knock . . . knock . . . knock . . . She knocked the front door that led to the hall softly. While opening the door, she chanted in her mind, ‘please don’t let him get angry too much, God. Thank you.’ When the door opened and she looked at her father’s dark look, she knew that she was in trouble.

Little Judith didn’t know that actually his anger was directed to her former teacher. He still remembered what she said and well . . . it just brought up his not-really-good past.

“Are you looking for me, daddy?” Judith tried to appear as innocent as possible, maybe it would make his father let her naughtiness slide away.

Tristan looked at little Judith and he knew that she was trying to look as innocent as possible. He knew, but he could also see the helplessness in her expression. Three times, huh? Maybe there was something in common in her former teachers – just like the last one, but only he couldn’t see it. He knew she was like a boy, but she was never naughty like this before.

He sighed and decided to ask her, “Why? Why are you behaving like that?”

Judith knew that she made her daddy disappointed, but she also didn’t want to tell him why, so she did the only thing she could do – apologize. “I’m sorry, Daddy.” She looked down, feeling ashamed.

“What did I tell you about apologizing?” Tristan asked little Judith.

“When you apologize, you have to be sincere. And when you do it, you should look at the eyes of the person whom you apologize to.” She recited what her father taught her.

“So?”

Judith raised her head and looked at her daddy right in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Daddy.” She repeated her apology.

Tristan nodded, accepting her apology. “You aren’t going to tell me your reasons, are you?”

Judith still looked at him and shook her head. Tristan knew her stubbornness. When she said no, then it meant no. It was the same personality that he had. There was no use to persuade her.

“This is the third time and I’m not going to let it slide.” When Tristan said that, little Judith immediately pouted. Inside his head, Tristan smiled. He knew that she thought he was going to let it go, but that was a big no-no.

“You aren’t allowed to go out for a week.” Tristan said.

“But, Dad . . .” Judith whined. She hated to be caged inside the house. She loved the freedom out there. She could play around with the villagers, ride her favorite horse – Majesty, and so on. She was an outdoor girl. Period.

“Unless . . . you want to tell me your reasons?” Tristan tried to bargain with her.

Judith was confused. She hated her punishment, but if she told his daddy, all would be fine. But, she knew. He would be sad. She wasn’t stupid. When she went around the castle, even the staffs were afraid of her daddy. James was the only exception. The same thing happened in the village.

She told them that he was kind, but no one believed her. They just judged him based on his scar! It was better, if she didn’t tell him. It was only one week, better than she made her father sad. Then, she decided. She would accept her punishment.

“No, Daddy. I will accept your punishment.” She accepted just like that and left the hall after asking her daddy’s permission.

Tristan looked at his daughter’s back and wondering what inside her little head. Now, he had to look for a new teacher for her. He thought teacher was enough for her to have a woman’s influence in her behavior. But maybe, he was wrong. What did she need?

At the same time, Judith was thinking of her daddy’s happiness. What could she do to make him happy?

***

What do you think of this chapter? I love their father-daughter relationship so muchhh :D

Please votes/comments, if you enjoy reading this. It will mean a lot to me ^^ Thankssss~