“And he is quite young,” he added, “which is lucky for you. Meaning you won’t soon be made a widow.”
She didn’t allow her bewilderment to show, but the truth was that she’d believed her reputation suffered too great a blow for any man to look her way after what happened two years ago. Then again, her substantial dowry might persuade suitors to overlook her past indiscretions.
She swallowed down the tears at the memory of her father’s young guard, Jacob, who’d been foolish enough to fall in love with her. They’d been caught in the act by the captain himself, and to her horror, her father had thrust his dagger into the very heart that had once belonged to her. She was to remain pure until the captain found a match for his daughter that suited his needs, but thanks to Jacob, any purity vanished.
And yet now, none of that seemed to matter.
Pulling herself together, forcing her chin to lift, Margrete addressed the man who relished in misery with an icy calm. “I see,” she began, sitting up straighter in her chair. “And this has already been decided? The count has agreed to this as well?”
“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate.
“And you didn’t consult me.” The words were out before she had a chance to rein them in.
Storm clouds brewed in his eyes. “Consult you?” He let out a mirthless laugh, his eyes drifting to the corner of the study where his sick contraption hid behind a silk screen. The unspoken threat was obvious. “You should consider yourself lucky I’ve given you this opportunity.” He seethed. “I was never awarded such a thing.”
The captain didn’t speak of his past, of his parents, except for once, five years ago. Margrete woke in the middle of the night and crept down the stairs, only to overhear him arguing with a man. She hadn’t recognized the voice, but before he kicked the stranger out of the keep, her father had told him, ‘You can slither back into your hovel and tell our dearest parents I’m merely showing them the same kindness they did me.’
The captain caught Margrete that night, and without a word, dragged her to the box and shoved her inside. Only when dawn came did he open the door.
They never spoke of the man again.
“Don’t make this hard on yourself, daughter,” her father said, shaking the memory from her thoughts. “I’d hate for you to receive another lesson so soon after the last.”
Margrete shut her eyes, and just like that, she was back inside the confines of the box. Its metal spikes poked at her skin, the smell of her blood fresh in the air. Her breaths quickened as shadows closed in on all sides. Sometimes he’d leave her in there for hours. After Jacob, she’d been trapped for a full day.
What would he do if she refused him now?
Margrete cleared her throat and opened her eyes, willing away the images that haunted her every waking moment. So many thoughts rushed into her mind that she couldn’t think clearly, but one stood out amongst the rest.
Perhaps she didn’t need to refuse her father. Marriage to the Count of Cartus would change her life, change everything. For better or worse, she couldn’t say, but it was a way out of this keep and a way to flee her father’s control.
There was just one problem.
“If I’m to marry Casbian, who will watch over Birdie? You’re frequently gone, and the keep is no place for a young lady to live alone.”
Birdie’s mother, Margrete’s stepmother, had died four years past, and the poor girl still suffered the loss. She needed her older sister now more than ever. Birdie’s sweet disposition would never endure under their father’s merciless thumb.
“Bridget will remain here,” he said. “Under her governess’s supervision.”
Where she would be his latest victim.
Margrete’s stomach clenched, a nauseating ache forming. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to be brave now, had to find a way to shift this situation to one of advantage.
And she knew precisely how.
“I never ask much of you, Father,” she said, nearly choking on the word, “but I will ask this of you now. One final gift you can give me as a farewell.”
He cocked his head, eyes narrowing as he awaited her proposition.
“I would like Birdie, and her governess, to come to Cartus when the count and I set sail for his home. I cannot bear for her to be isolated and far from family.” She paused for a single heartbeat. “And surely it would benefit you to have her stationed in Cartus.”
Many influential men and their families settled there, and while Birdie was only seven, her early presence might be advantageous for a power-hungry sea captain—though Margrete had no plans to ever allow her little sister to be used in such a way. Her father highly underestimated her if he believed otherwise.
The captain considered, stroking his trimmed beard as he let time stretch thin. She waited, unmoving in her chair. This was a fear tactic he enjoyed using on his adversaries—silence—but she wasn’t in the mood to play his games.
“You actually make quite a good point,” he said, relenting, though his jaw ticked. “I will strike a bargain with you then. Marry the count without delay and without any of your theatrics, and Bridget will be allowed to leave with you to Cartus.”
Margrete nodded, though she hardly felt herself move. The fact that her father conceded to her request so easily had her wondering what else was up his sleeve, what other little secret he kept close to his charred heart.
“Thank you,” she said, hating the words. “If that is all, then I will leave you to your work.” Margrete knew better than to leave the study without his permission, and she waited for him to wave his hand in dismissal, that malicious smile still twisting his mouth.
“Oh, and daughter,” he interrupted before she was halfway to the door. She stopped, glancing over her shoulder. “You’d do well to remember the teachings of last week, because if you disappoint me…” He paused as her heart thundered madly.
Teachings. It was what he called his punishments.
“Oh, I never forget, Father,” she said, gathering her long skirts and abandoning the captain to his plans.
I will never forget. And one day, I hope to make you pay.
Don’t stop now. Keep reading with your copy of THE GIRL WHO BELONGED TO THE SEA, by City Owl Author, Katherine Quinn.
* * *
And don’t miss book two of the the Witch Walker series, CITY OF RUIN, coming soon, and find more from Charissa Weaks at www.charissaweaks.com
Don’t miss book two of the the Witch Walker series, CITY OF RUIN, coming soon, and find more from Charissa Weaks at www.charissaweaks.com
* * *
Until then, discover THE GIRL WHO BELONGED TO THE SEA, by City Owl Author, Katherine Quinn!
One woman chosen by the God of the Sea. A king hellbent on saving his mysterious island home. And a forbidden romance that could destroy them all.