Queen of my Hart - Emily Royal Page 0,5

“You should thank me for finding someone willing to take you on.”

“You expect me to marry?”

“I do,” he said. “He’s a respectable man—given his origins. And he’s wealthy. You’ll want for nothing, as long as you behave as a wife should.”

Dread rippled through her. Despite his words, it was clear that Alderley didn’t like the man he’d promised her to.

“I don’t want to marry,” she said.

“It’s not your place to question my judgment.”

She rose to her feet. “I won’t marry him!” she cried. “I can see you don’t like him.”

He jumped out of his chair and gripped her arm.

“You’ll do as you’re told,” he snarled, “and Hart will take you, even if I have to drag you down the aisle in chains! I’ve wasted enough money on you, and it’s time I reaped the reward!”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Did you never question the identity of the landlord for that pathetic little school you value so highly?” He gestured around the room. “Or who owns the freehold of this tavern?”

He pushed her back, and she stumbled against the door. “I’m sure Mrs. Preston will be most aggrieved if Mr. Adams raises the rent to a prohibitive level—or turns her out altogether—and Mr. Clayton will have much to say if his landlord, Mr. Attlee, evicts him on grounds of running a house of ill repute.”

“You mean…”

A slow smile crossed his lips, and he nodded. “Yes, my dear child,” he said. “I’ve owned you—and those on whom you depend—from the day your mother dumped you.”

She drew in a sharp breath as the enormity of his words settled upon her. She thought she’d been enjoying a free and independent life. But in reality, it had never been her own. And now, she had two choices—to submit to the demands of the man who’d resented her all her life or to defy him and watch as he destroyed the lives of the few people she cared for.

He strode toward the door, and she moved aside, unwilling to feel his hands on her once more. A smile of victory glittered in his eyes.

He knew he’d cowed her.

“We leave immediately,” he said.

“What about my things?” she asked. “My friends?”

“I’ve wasted enough time on you, girl, and wish to return home before nightfall. The marriage takes place next week.”

Next week! Good lord!

“At least permit me to say goodbye,” she pleaded.

“Don’t be a fool,” he snapped.

He opened the door to reveal two liveried footmen. They stood a head taller than Meggie and had brutish thick-set frames. As Alderley pushed her through the door, they flanked her on either side and, like gaolers, they escorted her down the stairs and through the main parlor. Her cheeks warmed with shame as the patrons ceased their chatter and stared.

“Meggie?”

She heard Mr. Clayton’s voice and turned to catch a glimpse of his shocked white face. He moved toward her, but the footman blocked his path.

“Best make no fuss, sir,” she said, “if you want to avoid trouble with your landlord, Mr. Attlee.”

The footman grasped Meggie’s arm and hauled her toward the waiting carriage, then he pushed her inside and squashed himself beside her.

Alderley climbed in after them and sat opposite.

Meggie leaned out of the window. “Mr. Clayton!” she cried.

“That’s enough, miss,” the footman said. “We don’t want to upset his lordship, do we? Not when he’s been kind enough to take care of you.”

“Lord Alderley,” she pleaded. He ignored her.

“Father!”

“Control your charge, Wilkes,” he said to the footman. “Teach her the consequences of disobedience.”

“With pleasure, your Lordship.”

Wilkes tightened his hold on her. Scars and bruises adorned his hands—the trophies of a man who used his fists. His thickset body pressed against hers. Brute strength radiated from him. He could control her body with one hand, and Alderley held the fate of those she held dear in his hands.

What could she do but yield? Even if she escaped, the few friends she had in the world would suffer.

The carriage set off, and she lurched forward with the motion. Thick fleshy fingers grasped her arm and yanked her back to the seat.

She tried to free herself, but his grip was too firm. “Do you intend to have me incarcerated?” she asked.

Alderley snorted. “Wilkes will tend to you until you’re no longer my responsibility. Once you belong to Hart, there will be no necessity for correction on my part.”

The footman licked his lips as if he relished the prospect of correcting her.

A week under Wilkes’s command was almost too much to bear.

But what would come