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“You have said those words before, and you did not mean them then. And you do not mean them now.” He reached out to grasp my chin in his fingers, smiling when I jerked my face away. “Such a sweet little viper. The day you give yourself to me willingly will truly be a magical day.”

“You will be roasting in hell before that happens.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “No, beloved, it willbe much sooner than that.” He turned on his heel, striding for the door. “You will love me yet.”

“I shall hate you always!”

The door closed behind him, and the walls around me closed in ever so slowly, sucking the air out of the room and reminding me I was well and truly done for.

My fate was about to be sealed.

14

SOLD OUT AND DECEIVED

“Madam, shall I help you dress for dinner?” Mary frowned as I giggled, her eyes dropping to the half empty carafe and the glass dangling from my fingers. “Are you quite alright?”

I lifted the glass to my lips, giggling again. “Oh, I am perfectly alright, Mary. I have been deceived and sold out by every person who was supposed to care for me in my life, and now look at me.” I smiled at her widely, and laughed when she lifted her hands, seeming to want to comfort me but not sure if touching this surly, intoxicated woman would be a wise decision. “Do not look so, my dear, I assure you, the brandy has done me good.”

“What do you mean, you have been deceived?” She folded her hands against her pinafore, her brows still drawn together. “What has happened?”

I considered the glass in my hand carefully, swirling the golden brown liquid around and around. “You see, Mary, when I was married, the now-departed Mr Caine made my father a promise. A promise for a bequeathment to be set aside for me. Now, this was quite separate from the arrangementmy father made to ensure that my family home would be maintained.” I grunted out a harsh laugh. “Oh yes, what reason is there for a man to take care with his assets when he has a pretty daughter he can bargain off instead?”

Mary said nothing, still observing my drunken stupor with a decorum I had to admire. Not an ounce of judgment crossed her face.

“You see, Mary, the Brimworths were landed gentry. None of us had lifted a finger in years, because work, that was for the common man. It was considered a much more fitting pursuit to watch the estate fall into ruin.” I sipped the brandy, not even feeling its sting in my throat anymore. “My father was inconsolable after my mother died.”

“Of course he was,” Mary said softly, eyes widening as I turned on her.

“No, not of course.” I spat out. “Being inconsolable, being useless in the face of grief, that is weakness. He had no right to be inconsolable. He had responsibilities. He had a tiny daughter to raise,myfuture to consider, and what did he do? He went out riding in a storm, half drunk and mad with grief, and fell from his fucking horse.”

Mary flinched at the word as it fell from my mouth, and perhaps Azriel was having an effect on me, for the word did not taste at all sour and bitter. It tasted like triumph, like a small shard of my mask had cracked away to reveal the burning light of my anger. Despite Mary’s discomfort, I leaned forward in my chair, clutching the brandy glass in my hand as I went on with my rantings.

“From that day on, he was a ghost of a man, haunting that house right along with my mother. He cared not a fraction for me, for my life, or for my wellbeing. I was foisted upon my aunt, and there I was left to rot as he drank and gambled away his family fortune. He did not even leave me a dowry. He left menothing.”

Mary jumped at my exclamation. “I am so sorry, madam, I had no idea.”

“And when I came of age, suddenly I was of interest to him. Oh, how he doted on me, telling me I was his sweetest gift.” I hacked out another brandy-fuelled laugh of rage. “I was naive then, I thought he meant I was loved, that he regretted all the time we had lost to his grief. But oh no, I was simply the means to an end. His way of securing his life, and his house, and his precious family name.” I smiled up at Mary, my eyes beginning to burn at the memory of it all. “I was called into his study one day, and he told me an offer had been made for my hand, by the Caines. I knew the family, peripherally, I suppose. When an old man marries so many young women and fails to keep any of them alive, people do tend to talk.”

“It did not make you happy then?”

I stared at the fire, remembering that day. That fateful Spring day. When I had eagerly donned my pretty blue dress, and had my hair done with the little white silk flowers that Aunt Adelaide said looked like snow upon my dark tresses.

“I had been more than happy, Mary. Because I had thought I was marrying Azriel. I had thought I was being given to a young, handsome, wealthy man.” I swallowed hard, not even the brandy able to extinguish the sense of dread that now sat like a pool of ice in the pit of my stomach. I’d not known then what kind of man Azriel was. I couldn’t have. But even with all that had occurred, I could not help but remember that young, hopeful girl who had eagerly anticipated the arrival of her handsome young suitor. “So you might imagine my surprise when Acton walked in the door. I was confused at first, but then… Then my father made it clear to me that this old man, who could barely stand, who was old enough to be my grandfather, was to be my husband.”

Mary shifted on her feet, wringing her hands in such a way that I could see she was trying to hide it. “But it was in exchange for your family’s security.”

“Oh yes, that was my point, wasn’t it?” I laughed as I poured myself more brandy, and Mary inhaled as though to speak, perhaps to ask me if it was a good idea for me to drink more when I was already so clearly drunk. But, bless her, she said nothing as the liquid flowed into my glass, then swiftly through my lips. “The promise my dead husband made to me when I was sold off to him. Quite right.”

“Sold?” Mary asked weakly, but I ignored her and forged ahead.

“I was assured of my bequest, a fortune really. Ten thousand pounds.” My lips twitched into a smile as Mary gasped. “That was my entitlement. And to please my father even more, Acton took on the costs of my father’s estate, paid off all his debtors, and helped him re-establish his good name. That is how easily a daughter may be sold, you see? That is what having a pretty face cost me, Mary.”

Mary bit her lip, her eyes dropping to the floor. “I do not know what to say, madam.”

“There is nothing to be said, for today I discovered it was all a lie.”

Her eyes flashed back up to mine, wide as her eyebrows drew up. “A lie?”