Page 9 of The Devil's Torment

A laugh bursts out of me, short, sharp, and filled with disbelief. “Dad, you realize she hates me. I can’t stand her, either. I chose Elizabeth for a reason. I wanted a compliant wife, one who won’t make it their life’s work to test my patience every fucking minute of the day.”

“Your brother said something similar about Imogen, and look at the love match they’ve turned into.”

“I’m not Xan, and Victoria isn’t Imogen.”

He falls silent, as do I. Jesus Christ Almighty. This is a joke. I know we’re all bound by duty, but this is beyond the pale. I’ll have to sleep with one eye open. Victoria Montague will stab me as soon as look at me, given half a chance.

Yet I can’t refuse. It simply isn’t done. The price to pay is astronomical. To show such disrespect to a founding member of The Consortium would put my father in an impossible position. He’d have to resign from an organization his ancestors founded, and lose all the power and privilege that it offered.

Put my father through that because I refuse to marry Victoria Montague? Not a chance. I may not relish the idea (understatement of the century), but I’ll do it. I’ll do it for Dad, for this family. Unless…

“What if Christian marries her instead? Or Tobias? You and Phillip still get what you want without tossing me onto the bonfire.”

Dad shakes his head. “You’ve never been one for embellishment, Nicholas. Don’t start now. Besides, Christian and Tobias are younger than you. Don’t you think they deserve a little longer to kick up their heels before committing themselves to one woman?”

I hate it when my father brings logic to the conversation. After Xan, I’m next in line. It makes sense for me to marry before my younger brothers.

One woman. And that woman, for me, will be Victoria Montague. Some higher power is having a gigantic laugh at my expense.

Lord help me.

I snort, because what else can I do? “She’ll murder me the first chance she gets.”

Dad chuckles. “You’ve never been one for dramatics, either. Victoria will be good for you. The more I think about it, the more I believe you chose wrongly the first time around. I’m desperately sad for what happened to Elizabeth, and of course, I’d rather she was still here, but if she were, and you’d married her, I’m not sure it would have worked out.”

“Wouldn’t have mattered either way. De Vils don’t get divorced.”

Dad gives me one of his sympathetic looks. “Nicholas, just because it’s traditional for us to choose arranged marriages over a chance meeting doesn’t mean we can’t be happy. That we can’t find love with the person we marry. I was wrong to allow you to choose a wife. I should have selected Victoria as your bride, and if I had, Elizabeth might still be here. That error in judgement is my fault.”

“Maybe tell Victoria that,” I mutter. “Take the heat off me.”

He leans forward and pats my knee in a fatherly manner I still find as endearing as I did as a child. We may have lost Mum far too young, but we hit the jackpot with my dad. He’s the fucking best, and while we disagree on many things, not one of us would change a single thing about him.

“You realize she’ll refuse, right?”

“Her father will explain it to her. She won’t have a choice.”

I close my eyes and draw in a deep breath. I don’t have a choice, either, and I’m far from thrilled.

Far from thrilled is like calling a hurricane a mild breeze.

Ah, fuck. She’s gonna be a pain in my arse from morning ‘til night. That incessant itch flares up again, and this time when I scratch my arm, I draw blood.

The stray musing I had the night of Elizabeth’s death drifts into my thoughts. I’d been watching Xan and Imogen play chess, and their competitive banter had brought Victoria to my mind, and my reasons for not choosing her as my wife when, as the eldest child, it made the most sense. I’d thought about how Icouldtame her, but I didn’t want to.

Now I’ll have no choice in the matter. She’ll be a challenge, one I wasn’t previously inclined to undertake, but the more I muse on it, the more the idea of bringing her to heel piques my interest.

To subdue a deer is one thing, but to conquer a lioness is quite another.

You know, I could have a lot of fun with this. I’ll need a strategy. Somehow, I don’t think responding to fire with fire is the right way to go. Providing fuel for her anger is what she wants.

On the other hand,notgiving her what she wants will confuse her, knock her off balance, and see me as the eventual victor. If I play my cards right, I could turn the willful Victoria Montague into the compliant wife I always wanted.

A small smile tugs at my lips. “When is Phillip planning to give her the good news?”

“Sometime today. He said he’ll call me when it’s done. Then tomorrow, I want you to go to see her and reassure her she’ll be fine.”

“Ah, so you want me to lie.”

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