#anonymous(2011)

"How did thou find me? Silly girl, thou shouldst not have ventured thus far. 'Tis mine hour of writing and…" "He threatened me! Oh, Earl, I need thee."

Edward's brow furrowed, and he glanced suspiciously behind you before tugging you inside his room, closing the door and blocking it with his own back. His hand went to your cheek, and he grazed its softness with his thumb as he studied your features attentively. He saw it. That fear brewing behind your pupils. It caused his chest to ache. Edward wanted nothing more in that moment than to calm you down and hear the reason for your distress.

"Who hath threatened thee, dearest Y/N? What doth cause thy hasty visit?" "The man of whom I spoke… the tutor who comes to instruct thee in Greek. He did approach me this day and with harsh words did warn me that before the week's end, I must yield unto him. O! And how grave he was, good Earl. He shall not depart without me; I do fear he shall do more than hurt my honour."

Edward's body tensed, and he pulled you into his body, his hand cradling the back of your head as he had you nestle it safely against him. With his palm resting at the back of your head, he stroked your hair, hushing your distress. But as kind as he was to you, he wanted nothing more than to challenge that scoundrel to a duel and have his head.

He should have known when he first spotted it.

There was no mistake; the way his eyes gawked shamelessly at you was beyond a reasonable doubt worth all punishment. But how foolish he had been to distract himself with fencing, chess and writing, and dismiss from his mind the concerns for you. He thought in his young heart that virtue was a core trait of men. He believed that a fiend wouldn't dare seek a woman, one who so clearly was in the care of the Earl. Even as a maid, she was under his protection.

With you tucked safely against his body, Edward leaned down so his lips were by your ear. He was doing all he could to comfort you while he felt his own blood boil in his veins with a desire for revenge. Even if nothing had happened yet, the very fact that he dared to speak so to you was all that Edward needed to know.

"I shall behold his head upon a stake for it," Edward proposed, and you, fearfully clung to him. "Thou must not, good Earl. He is a man of repute, and such an untested accusation wouldst hurt thy good name." "I care but little for such things; a swine as he should have his head brought forth upon a plate."

You clung harder to him, shaking your head no, and seeing your distress, that concern for him, caused Edward to rethink his anger. He allowed himself to care for you for now, to comfort and assure you of your safety there with him, since the man, that scoundrel, would not return until the following day.

"So long as mine name be Edward, that man shall not lay a finger upon thee," He assured you, cradling your cheek into his soft palm.

Your state being as it was, he guided you down and sat you down on his bed. He placed himself by your side, with his eyes on you, so attentive that his care for you once could nearly be mistaken for love. But what Earl should love a mere maiden? Edward let his forehead rest upon yours, promising you quietly that he would have you safe and in his chambers. Whenever that brute would dare make his face seen, he would keep you there, in his sight, so if he did as little as try, he'd have his heart on the spot.

"I shall insist upon a change of instructors, but dearest Y/N, for such an offence, even with word alone, I wouldst fight to have him chastised." "Oh, Earl, thou must not…"

Each time it was the same. Edward, as he was fierce, young and vengeful, would comply, but he wished so dearly that he could display the lengths to which he would go for you. Poetry he wrote for you, but out of fear of consequence, would read it and pretend it was a request for another.

When he recited those words to you, he did it with such fierce determination that, despite the lies he told, you would know he made them for you. You were the only one on this domain who knew of his secret dwelling in the arts, who understood and treasured his talents.

And it was so that he grew as fond of you as he had. That was why he insisted upon keeping you as his staff for far longer than necessary, turning you into more of a confidant than a mere maid.

How furious he was when anyone would dare to speak ill of you in his presence, or worse, make such vile threats and advances as this foolish pig.

"I must not… but know that, should thou command me, I would have him utter the apology, kneeling and beseeching that his head remain upon his shoulders." "So fierce, oh Earl." "Y/N, sweetest, I have asked thee to cease addressing me thus. I pray thee, call me by the name bestowed upon me at birth."

You tried to speak, but when he heard, "But Earl," Edward pressed his thumb upon your lips to stop them from saying more. "No, no. No longer shall I accept this title! Call me Edward, Edward, I beg thee. For when thou call'st me Earl, I think thou dost regard me as master to a thrall." "I am thy servant…"

Edward squeezed you furiously in his embrace, shaking his head vigorously at your words. "No, not a servant. That my dearest is an offence! For thou art mine friend. And I, upon mine honour, do vow to keep thee safe from peril."

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