#declan rice x reader
Little Poppy | Chapter 13
Author’s note: As you can see on this chapter’s header, we have a special guest: Lord Mason Mount, the Lord in Blue himself. If you have read that story, there is a little update about his life. And if you haven’t and want to know more, check it out! It is linked on my masterlist Also, as always, thank you for reading!
We spend the whole night on the road. I try to sleep, but I’m cold and too nervous, constantly thinking about what I am going to tell Declan. And about how he will react. Will he forgive me? What if he has already moved on?
Once the sun is out, we stop to stretch our legs, eat something and take care of the horses. My mother and the Rices had thought of everything.
“We are getting closer, my lady” James says after we stop for lunch.
“That noise is the sea, isn’t it?” I ask him. I visited the beach a couple of times as a kid, and I still remember the sound.
“It is. And that over there” he says pointing at something behind me, “it’s a very nasty storm. We should hurry.”
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It’s so dark outside, that I can barely see my hands inside the carriage. The wind is making it shake, water is already leaking inside.
“We are almost there, my lady. I can see the lights of the house” James shouts before a very loud thunder silences everything.
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When I make it to the Mounts’ house, I’m completely drenched and out of breath, but I still find some strength to knock on the big door. Nothing, no answer. What if they aren’t home? The holidays are around the corner and they may have gone somewhere…
I knock again, this time for longer. Nothing. But when I am about to start kicking it, a butler opens it.
“How may I help you?” he says as he looks at me from head to toe.
“I’m looking for Lord Rice” I say.
“I’m afraid he isn’t in the house today, miss…”
“What about Lord Mount” I cut him. “I need help, please.”
"We don’t give money to beggars or offer them a roof. You should go to the church in town for that” he says with a disgusted look.
“I’m not a beggar, I’m Lord Rice’s friend” I say, starting to get angry. “Please ask for Lord Mount, he’ll know who I am. It’s urgent.”
"I’m sorry miss, but I can’t do anything for you” the butler says. As he is about to close the door, a woman shows up behind him.
“Walter, what is going on? Who is this?” she asks.
“Just a beggar, my lady.”
"I’m not a beggar, you idiot!” I yell at him. “I’m friends with Lord Rice, and I need his help. The life of my carriage rider’s may be in danger, and if you let me stay here in the rain for longer, so will be mine!”
“Let her in, Walter” the lady says.
“What are you two doing at the door?” a male voice says behind them. “I can feel the cold everywhere, and I don’t like it.”
"This woman says she’s friends with Declan and that she needs his help” the lady tells him while he gives me a scrutinizing look.
“Please excuse me if I’m wrong and I’m being impertinent, but you are Lord Mount, aren’t you? Count Mason Mount, though you don’t like it because of the rhyme. And your friends call you Mase” I say.
“That’s me, yes. How do you know all that?” he asks.
“Because I’m Declan’s friend, from his hometown. You are probably tired of hearing him talk about me, especially during the last few weeks.” Or that’s what I hope, that he hasn’t forgotten about me that easily.
"You are the famous little poppy?” he says with a smile.
“I am, yes” I say, letting out a sigh of relief.
“She may be lying, my lord” the butler says. “Anyone could know that.”
"Oh, please, shut up” I spat, too tired of his impertinence, Lord Mount and the woman I suppose is his future wife, trying not to laugh.
“The woman Dec has told me about would have said something like that. But just to be sure, tell me something about him only you and I could know” he says.
“I…” My mind goes completely blank. I’m starting to get cold, everything in my body hurts, and my clothes are soaking wet. My wet clothes. That day at the cottage. “He has kind of a big mole on the left side of his chest, under his nipple more or less” I say, the butler letting out a gasp of outrage. “And he also has a few more on his right thigh. And… ”
“Alright, alright, that’s enough” Lord Mount says, still smiling but definitely feeling a bit uncomfortable. “I believe you, my lady. Please come sit next to the fire and tell us what happened. Walter, bring her a blanket and something warm to drink.”
The man just stays there, his face completely red.
“Walter, didn’t you hear what Lord Mount said?” the lady says to him.
“Yes, my lady” he says as he leaves, murmuring in disapproval.
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“The horses were already scared and nervous because of the thunder and lightning, and when they had to cross the stream that the rain had made on the road, they went completely crazy” I explain to Lord Mount and his fiancée. “James tried to keep them still, but it was impossible. One of them broke free, and the other manage to knock down the carriage, making James fall and trapping him under it. I was able to get out, but I couldn’t help him. From where we were we could see the lights of the house, so he asked me to run here and ask for help.”
“Do you know if he was badly injured?” Lord Mount asks.
“Only his legs were under the carriage, so he may have some broken bones” I say.
“I’ll call for some of the men and go look for him” he says. “My love, stay here with the lady. Make sure she eats something, and find her some new clothes.”
“I’ll take care of everything while you go and help that man, don’t worry. But promise be you will be careful” she says.
“I will” he says, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
Little Poppy | Chapter 14
Previous chapter | Next chapter(coming out on Monday)
I fall sleep the moment I make it to the bed. When I wake up, the sun is completely out, illuminating the whole room. Once my eyes have adjusted to the light, I see a little note on the bedside table on my left.
James is alright. A doctor already checked him and he has a broken leg, but he will recover. Rest as much as you need.
MM
I let out a sigh of relief and try to go back to sleep, but my stomach says otherwise. I am sohungry.
Someone has left some new clothes for me and also everything I may need to refresh myself, so I decide to start getting ready. Once I’m done, I leave my room, but I don’t know where to go. Last night it was so dark, and I was so tired, that I didn’t pay attention.
“My lady, may I help you?” a young maid asks me.
“Would you mind taking me to the dinning room? I would like to have some breakfast” I say.
“Oh, my lady, it’s past lunch time. You spent most part of the day sleeping” she says apologetically “But don’t worry, Lord Mount told us to save some food for you for when you woke up. If you follow me…” I just nod and go with her.
After eating, I ask another maid to take me to James’ room. I want to make sure he is alright.
“You didn’t need to come, my lady” he says as I sit next to his bed. “There are more important matters you should be taking care of right now, like talking to the little Lord.”
“I haven’t seen him yet” I say. “He doesn’t seem to be in the house.”
James, probably noticing the sadness in my voice, holds my hand, giving it a little sqeeze. “He’ll come back, my lady. If he’s left, I’m sure Lord Mount will ask him to come back.”
I give him a shy smile, hoping he is right.
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“I’m sorry we’ve left you alone all day, my lady” Lord Mount says as we sit to have dinner. “But last night’s storm did some damage in town, and we’ve been busy helping people and making sure everyone was alright.”
“That’s very kind of you, my lord” I say.
“If I were you, my lady, I wouldn’t start flattering him. He becomes insufferable” his fiancée says with a smile before sipping her wine.
“Don’t listen to her” he replies with another smile, a dimple showing on his cheek.
I can’t help but blush and look down at my hands. I feel like an intruder, like I’m being part of something private.
“Dinner is ready” Walter says, bringing us all back to reality.
Once we are done eating, we sat next to the fire, the sounds of the waves in the background.
“You probably w<are ondering where Dec is” Lord Mount says.
“If he isn’t here, I guess he’s gone to visit his brothers and spend the holidays with them” I say with a shrug.
“He’s decided to spend the holidays with us, my lady. But he isn’t here because he has joined my father on a business trip to court” he says. “They’ll be back in a couple of days. He just needed to keep his mind busy and stop thinking about you for a little while.”
I only manage to nod, tears coming to my eyes as I think about him, heartbroken and looking for comfort with his best friend.
“He’ll forgive you, my lady” Lord Mount says. “He is an idiot, you probably know it better than anyone. But he isn’t that level of an idiot.”
I can’t help but laugh at that, which for some reason also makes me cry.
“He’s my idiot” I say between sobs.
“Just like this one is mine. Lucky us, uh?” the future Lady Mount says as she hugs me. Again, I find myself laughing and crying at the same time.
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It’s been three days since I arrived at the Mount’s house. And Declan hasn’t arrived yet.
While waiting, they’ve been showing me the area, taking me to visit the town nearby and on walks to the beach. Despite the cold, I love our little walks.
“I still remember the first time I came here” Lord Mount’s fiancée tells me one day. “Mason asked me to come because I had never seen the sea before, and he tried to convince me by saying that he was the best tour guide. He probably thought he was being super romantic and cheeky, when in fact he was just being ridiculous. But he made me laugh, and that was one of the reasons I said yes.”
“Declan also says stupid things like that. Stupid to the point of being annoying and wanting to punch him on that stupidly gorgeous face he has. So I guess that’s why they are so close. Two stupid boys. Our idiots” I say with a shrug.
“Our idiots” she replies as we both start laughing.
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It’s been a week. Still no sign of Declan.
Luckily, Lord Mount’s sisters and their children are back in the house, and they’ve kept me busy. One of their favorite things is playing blind man’s bluff in the big ball room, going completely crazy as I chase after them while making weird voices. This time, I’m a cat.
“Where are you, little kitties? Meow” I say.
“Not here, meow meow” one of them says next to me.
“I think I’m going to have to call my older brother the lion to catch you. Rawr!!” I yell. I can hear them running and laughing, though I can feel someone behind me. “I can smell someone… Right here!” I say as I turn and jump, trying to catch the kid who was behind me. But I find myself clashing against someone tall. Someone too tall for a kid. As I pull down the scarf in my eyes, I find myself looking into those eyes I’ve been dreaming with for months. The eyes that have followed me everywhere since the day a huge dog tried to attack me by the river. Declan’s eyes.
“Hello, little poppy.”
