Page 56 of The Time Of Queens

“Let me go.”

My whispered words caused his eyes to flash purple for a split second. A reaction that I would have questioned had I been who I was pretending to be. But in the heat of the moment, we both let it pass us by without explanation. Yet something in my gaze must have been enough to get him to comply. As I felt his fingers relax before lifting enough to signal that he was allowing me to move. So, I shifted off him and instead of lunging for the door again, I took the seat opposite him at the same time he rose back up to sitting.

After this, he started to rid himself of his long black jacket that was still soaking wet through. I knew this because my clothes were now damp from being plastered against him.

He tossed it to the space next to him without a word. The sound of it slapping against the seat made me flinch. An action he must have taken as my being cold. Something that had him realising the window was still open, so with a grit of his teeth, he reached over and slammed it shut.

“What are you doing?” I asked when he reached for my bag and started to rummage through it. He didn’t answer me, instead pulling a woollen shawl from it that Pip must have packed. Then he dropped to one knee and before I had time to react, he reached out and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“I am keeping my maid warm, that is what,” he stated firmly, making me swallow hard with the way he declared me as being his.

“I… I am not your maid,” I declared, trying to keep my voice steady when I said this. But with his hands still held either side of the shawl, he used it to purposely tug me closer to him. And he was so much taller than me, that even on one knee he was looking down at me.

“It’s cute that you think you have a choice,” he told me, making my mouth drop slightly. Something he didn’t miss, as his eyes soon lowered to the sight, enticing an arrogant smirk to grace his lips, making my pulse quicken.

Finally, he took pity on me, letting go of the shawl and retaking his seat across from me. The space gave me the strength needed to argue.

“So, what, you’re just going to force me into servitude?” I asked and again, his smirk only grew with my question.

“Did you have permission to use my carriage?” he asked, making me frown at the turn the conversation had quickly taken.

“Your sister gave…”

“Ah, but it was not hers to give.”

I shook my head a little before asking outright,

“What is it you’re saying?”

“That you didn’t have permission to use this carriage and did so under false assumptions.”

I blinked a few times, unsure whether I had heard him right as my head jerked back.

“False assumptions?” I repeated incredulously.

“They are, after all, the mother…”

I rolled my eyes at this.

“…From where all mistakes are born, yes, yes I know,” I snapped, interrupting him as I had heard this come from my husband’s lips many times before. However, my mistake wasthat I was not facing my husband, and the second his eyes widened in surprise, I knew my error with this little slip up of mine.

“How did you…?” he started to ask with a narrowed gaze, one I purposely ignored so I wouldn’t have to explain myself.

“I did not use this carriage under false assumptions, as your sister gave me permission,” I stated quickly to steer the conversation back to this madness of his and, thankfully, it worked as he replied,

“Then it was her mistake, as well as your own in believing she had any say in the matter.”

“Fine, we made a mistake, but I don’t see how this affects me or forces me to become your maid,” I questioned with a frown.

“It is quite costly to use a stagecoach, you know, and despite not knowing where you are headed, I would at a guess say it to be quite a substantial distance,” he replied in a knowing tone.

“To the nearest town is not substantial,” I said, the lie out before I could think that he would call my bluff.

“And if that is true then I will discover as much, for I merely have to ask my coachman when we stop for the destination he was given.”

“But… but…” Okay, so it wasn’t my best comeback and his smirk told me he knew it too.

“But it matters not, for I would say that you are in my debt regardless.”

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