“The ring… ’Tis my father’s.” There, she’d said it. Lightning had not struck her. She hadn’t vomited. But beside her, an angry warmth raged from Wraith like fire. His hands were fisted at his sides and she couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Aye, my lady,” Loftford crooned. “Had ye any knowledge of his part in the crimes he committed against the Earl of Drohgard?”
“Nay.” She shook her head vehemently. “I only knew when I saw the ring.”
Loftford nodded, satisfied, but Wraith still stood beside her, deadly silent.
“There ye have it, lad, and I do believe ye. Baron Claneford will be arrested, his titles and lands forfeited. I shall have my men investigate the matter to see ye are cleared of the crimes.”
Faryn’s head nearly burst. So quick it was, and just like that, the Lord Chancellor had said he would arrest her father, he would look into clearing Wraith’s name.
Her heart burst with pleasure and pride for Wraith. He must be so relieved! All of his hard work, all his suffering was nearly to an end. And though she hated her father, she felt a sudden rush of fear for him. What would happen? Would they put him to death?
She caught Wraith’s gaze and faltered. What she saw in front of her was the true Captain Wraith Noir. The one who did battle, the one who kidnapped innocents and murdered for riches. The dangerous pirate. His eyes were filled with rage when they met hers, and if looks could kill, she would be a pile of bones, muscle and flesh on the floor.
She’d known he would be upset with her, that he would see her as having lied to him, kept things from him, but she had not thought he would show her this level of outrage, this level of hatred.
“Ye lied to me. Ye deliberately kept the truth from me. Why do such a thing unless ye were a part of it? Unless ye sought from the very beginning to reel me into your family’s web of treachery? Tell me, had your father heard that I’d be anchoring that night ye walked on the beach? Did he tell ye to spread your legs for me?”
Faryn blanched. Her stomach plummeted and her mouth went dry. Before Wraith could say another word to mortify her further, she fled from the room.
Chapter Twelve
Faryn thought for sure her heart would burst within her chest. The pain seared through her with rising agony. She’d thought she’d prepared herself for his belief in her betrayal, even though it was furthest from the truth, but even that had not truly prepared her for how it felt to see the anger in his eyes.
Where once affection, desire and respect had filled his gaze, now it was replaced with something more sinister, a feeling she’d hoped to never experience but in the end had some inkling was coming. It felt as though he’d taken one of his blades and thrust it through her heart.
She ran blindly as tears filled her eyes and managed with awkward shaking hands to lift her skirts enough so that she didn’t trip on their length.
“Oof!” With a thud, her flight halted against a body and strong arms held her from falling onto the ground.
Through hazy eyes, she made out a figure—an all too familiar figure.
“Daughter!” Her father’s growl cut through the racing thoughts in her mind.
She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She didn’t know whether to scream or act as though she knew nothing, and her head swam and threatened to make her faint dead away.
“What are ye doing in Galway? Where have ye been? We have been looking for ye! Lord Bréagadóir has taken to the sea fearing ye were stolen by pirates.”
He shook her like a rag doll, her head flopping back and forth, her teeth clicking together, when she did not speak to answer him.
“Do ye defy me? Have ye run away from your duty?” Spittle flew onto her face as he bellowed at her.
A crowd gathered around them, none too discreetly.
“How could ye?” The words slipped from her mouth before she could rein them in.
He narrowed his eyes at her, his grip on her arms tightening.
“Ye defy me and then dare to question me?”
She shook her head and bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything else.
“Answer me!” he bellowed again.
“Nay,” she whispered. She tried not to look around as she sensed more people coming to watch their spectacle. Good God, she prayed Wraith did not see this!
Shouting from whence Lady Faryn had fled drew Wraith’s and Loftford’s attention.
“What is this?” the Lord Chancellor asked, irritation marring his features.
Wraith didn’t wait to find out. For as much as he believed Faryn had betrayed him, he couldn’t see her come to harm—at least by anyone other than himself.
He led the way from the viscount’s receiving chamber through a series of doors until they came to a large crowd. In the center, a man held a woman by her arms as he bellowed in her face.
“Answer me!”
“Father, ye’re a murderer! How could ye be so cruel, so evil?”
The baron’s face blanched white, and even from this distance, Wraith watched Faryn’s shoulders shake on her lithe frame.
Her father growled something under his breath and then yanked her with him, clearly intending to leave the area.
“Halt!” shouted the Lord Chancellor.
The baron continued to try to drag his daughter away but several of the nosy members of the court blocked his escape.
“The Lord Chancellor has ordered ye to stay where ye are,” Wraith said, his voice deadly calm.
Slowly, Baron Claneford turned, recognition plain in his eyes as he viewed Wraith.
“Nay,” he whispered, shaking his head as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Let the lady go,” Wraith demanded. He avoided Faryn’s gaze even though he could feel her eyes penetrating his soul.
“She is not just a lady but my daughter. She ran away from home and her marriage, and I must see that she is guarded. This is no concern of yours.” Baron Claneford’s meager attempt at playing nonchalant was not lost on Wraith.
“But it is my concern. She didna run but was taken. By me. She is mine.”
If possible, Claneford’s face paled even further.
“By ye? How?”
“Let her go. Ye and I have business of our own to attend to.”
“Nay!” Claneford shouted. “Ye’re dead! Your whole family is dead! I saw to it myself!”
“I assure ye, I am here in the flesh.”
With Baron Claneford’s last comment, Wraith saw from the corner of his eye Loftford wave to his men. Several guards surrounded the baron, who was forced to release his daughter.
He shoved her away and the force of the move sent Faryn sprawling forward and knocked a couple of his guards off their steady feet. Wraith lunged to catch Faryn before she hit the floor but at the same time, the baron pulled a dagger from some part of his person. He waved his arm in an arc, the blade aimed at his daughter. Wraith changed his angle and nearly missed the downward plunge of Claneford’s dagger. Faryn fell to the floor in a pile of skirts and wriggled away from the fray. Wraith clicked his ring, flicking his hand in time to leave a gash along the baron’s arm.
The older man screeched in pain and dropped his dagger, reaching instead for his bleeding limb. The Lord Chancellor’s men took the opportunity to grab Claneford and drag him away.
Wraith stood and held out his hand to Faryn. She stared up at him, confusion in her eyes.