My father cleared his throat, immediately drawing everyone’s attention, and Thomas shot me one last wink before he, too, turned to look at my father.
“Distinguished guests,” my father began. As he stood, he took my mother’s hand and pulled her up to stand beside him. She looked like she wanted to be there about as much as she wanted to be struck by lightning. “Please allow me to introduce our guest of honor, the noble king of Tara and my future son-in-law, King Cathal. Soon, he will wed my eldest daughter, Allete. Their marriage will not only be a happy and blessed union for the young couple, but for both kingdoms. Our subjects will soon benefit from increased trade and security, as we now have such a strong and trusted ally close by. Thank you both.” He looked at me and my gut clenched. “Marrying a stranger is no small sacrifice. We recognize the cost, and we honor you.”
I swallowed the urge to vomit what little I had eaten all over the table—or better yet, in Cathal’s lap. This was my father’s way of apologizing to me. I wasn’t sure he fully understood how detestable the king of Tara was, but he saw enough to know that my marriage would not be a joyous one.
Cathal gave my father a slight nod and then stood as well. I could feel everyone staring at me as I fixed my gaze on the uneaten chicken on my plate. Perhaps I was hoping that if I avoided their inquisitive looks long enough, everyone would lose interest in me, but among all the glances and stares, I felt one that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up—his. Cathal cleared his throat, and when that failed to illicit a response from me, he placed his cool hand on my shoulder. I could no longer ignore him without causing a scene, so I gathered myself and swallowed down the bile.
I stood slowly, plastering on my best smile. Judging by the looks on the diners’ faces, I had not succeeded in appearing courtly, but may have looked a bit demented. I saw Clay take a step away from the wall where he’d been standing guard and discreetly motioned with my hand for him to stay put. Dayna stared up at me as she bit her lip, and I knew she was trying desperately not to laugh. My eyes moved over the table, taking in the faces of the courtiers, most of whom I barely knew. Some were faithful friends of our family, lords and dukes concerned about our kingdom and hopeful this new alliance would yield prosperity for our people. Others were simply there to engage in gossip and partake of the king’s free wine.
I was so distracted by my thoughts, I did not hear Cathal speaking next to me. In fact, I did not even acknowledge him until I felt his cool hand move to my neck. I whipped my head around so fast that I nearly lost my balance due to the weight of the braids Lidia had piled on top of my head. Cathal steadied me with that damn hand on my neck and stared down at me with what must have seemed like adoration. What they did not see was the hint of violence dancing just beyond his ever-present, royal facade. He was angry—no, infuriated but I smiled sweetly at him and watched the rage in him grow. His firm grip was a reminder that he was a man, much larger than me, and he saw me as nothing more than an object to own and use whenever he pleased.
“As I was saying,” Cathal continued smoothly, “my bride is even more beautiful than I could have imagined. I assure you all, it is no hardship to be yoked to a lovely vision such as Allete.”
Did he nearly choke on the word, beautiful? I wondered.
“Thank you for offering me and my people a warm welcome. I look forward to getting to know your kingdom, its people, and my bride-to-be.”
The guests responded with gentle clapping and beaming smiles. I even heard sighs coming from some of the ladies, young and old. I nearly rolled my eyes but stopped myself when I caught Cathal’s brooding stare. He leaned near me as we sat down, as if he was stealing a quick moment to whisper something loving in my ear. Oh, how surprised our onlookers would be to know his words conveyed quite the opposite sentiment.
“I have no idea why you showed up looking like trussed-up harlot, but mark my words, you will never again embarrass me in this. From now on, you will wear only the wardrobe I brought for you.”
I pulled back to look up at him. Nothing in his expression revealed the disgust carried in his tone of voice. I was so close to spitting in his eyes that I had to force myself to swallow down the saliva pooling in my mouth, as if my body had anticipated my desire. Taking a deep breath, I slightly bowed my head. “As you wish.”
The dinner was agonizingly slow. So slow, that I found myself staring at the staff, willing them to move faster. But no matter how hard I glared at them, their pace did not increase. For a moment, I wished I could trade my gift of healing so I could silently influence the minds of others. How wonderful it would be to make them skip the remaining courses and bring us our desserts
When the final course was served an hour later, I could not bring myself to eat it, even though it was my favorite. Cook must have felt pity for me and prepared peach pie.
“Do you not like the pie, my sweet?” Cathal asked me loud enough for the entire table to take notice.
“It is her favorite.” Dayna offered. I shot her a glare but she just smiled.
“I foolishly overindulged and now have no room for Cook’s delicious treat.” I did not understand why I felt the need to explain myself to him.
“But you did not eat very much tonight,” Cathal said as he took another bite of his own pie. “It would not do for you to get too thin. I prefer my wife to have a bit of girth to her.”
That was the final straw—I was not about to sit at the table with my family and two courts from two kingdoms and allow him discuss my girth. I stood abruptly. “Please forgive me, my Lord,” I looked at Cathal, and then I turned to my father. “Father, I must retire. I suddenly feel unwell.”
My mother, bless her soul, stood and walked to me. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and began to lead me from the room. “I will take care of our daughter, my love,” she called over her shoulder to my father. Clay followed at a discreet distance. For once, I was thankful for his presence. He would know I didn’t want Cathal following me.
I heard Dayna and Lizzy making excuses to take their leave and then their hurried footsteps behind us. When we were a good distance from the dining hall, I let out the breath I had been holding.
“He is positively dreadful,” Mother said with unveiled disgust thick in her voice.
I held my finger to my lips, reminding her there were always ears listening. She nodded, and we continued the rest of the way in silence.
We reached my bedchamber in record time. As the door closed behind my sisters, I could not help but feel that escaping to my room had become a bit of a habit in the brief time Cathal had been in our kingdom.