Lady Thief - By Rizzo Rosko Page 0,38
Clovis and Archer were the only ones in their party to come, and they came alone.
He prayed they did not have beautiful wives. Ferdinand loved beautiful women, regardless of their marital status, but would he lay with women who were beneath him?
Holton had the nerve to glare at him, a bitter thing that held little power in the way of intimidation. “Ferdinand could not just leave it at my land, house, and servants. He had to ruin my good name as well. Within the fortnight everyone knew that I had naught to my name, to ignore letters from me and hide their daughters. If Marianne had just cooperated, I would still have everything, and she would be happily married to a rich man destined to die within a few short years. ‘Twas a good match and she would have been better off with it.”
William stood. A chilling horror staggering up his spine with the casual way Holton defended the selling of his daughter to a man known for sexual tortures.
An image of Bertha invaded his mind, and he could not put her away. She was healthy and glowing with life, an impish smile on her face that hid the secrets of the sinful things she did behind closed doors, as she had done the last time he had seen her before she disappeared forever.
She screamed and wailed to no avail before she screamed no more. He did not need to be there, to see it with his own eyes in order for his imagination to create something foul for him to see and hear, to haunt him with the guilt of her death.
And William felt guilt, but he was not so far gone in his ruthless thoughts that he failed to hear the gasp behind the door, nor the sound of footsteps fading as they ran off.
He shook himself. Damn, they raised their voices.
William made for the door.
Holton took two steps after him, his hands outstretched like a helpless child, but he went no farther. “Where are you going?”
William did not look back at him. “After my wife.”
“And what about me? What am I to do?”
William slammed the door with one word behind him. “Rot!”
Chapter Eight
Marianne ran to the stables. Clovis and Archer still tended to the horses and mules with the other grooms. When her eyes fixed on them she stopped and burst into heavy tears. She barely felt their arms around her as they tried to sooth away her sobs. Like they had done in her childhood after the deaths of her brothers.
Regardless of what her father might think, she was not fooled into anything. She conjured up the entire scheme while imagining wicked and vengeful fantasies against Blaise for insulting and damning her into a marriage with an elderly wretch like Ferdinand. Now, not only would Archer pay for it, but Clovis as well. They would never see their families again. Every servant she grew up with would be in the care of that horrible creature.
She clutched them with a knight’s strength and sobbed her apologies. They desperately tried to comfort their lady while the other grooms looked on as the curious behavior.
Both men must have already shed their tears for their lost families, because neither did so with her now. They pat her on the back as she cried her guilty heart out to them.
She pushed herself away from when she could stand no more contact and paced aimlessly.
“‘Twas no’ yer fault, milady.” Said Clovis for the second time. His words did not reach her. A ringing in her skull refused to leave her. She needed to get away, she needed a place to gather her thoughts.
Marianne ran to the stall that already had her riding horse ready, threw open the gate and climbed onto the young mare.
Archer’s face twisted in terror, and he approached with his hands up as if to grab for the reigns. “Milady, where are ye off to?”
She shrugged away from his grasp and went around him. Clovis could only stare as she went at an even trot towards the open doors of the stable.
“I shall return shortly, do not worry for me.” She would return, but she knew she would be out for longer than she implied.
“But milady, wait!” Archer tried to grab for her reigns again so she kicked the mare into speed and fled the stables, moving towards the castle walls and the gate that William usually left open due to a lack of threats.
She would have to speak