Page 31 of Midnight Conquest

This is all your fault, Davina, they seemed to say.

“I’ll fix this,” she told Rosselyn, gripping the girl’s shoulders with fierce resolve. Her gaze swept across the room, meeting the others. “I promise.”

Before anyone could respond, Davina turned and pushedthrough the door into the servants’ corridor. She strode down the narrow hall, past the chapel with its flickering votive candles, and into the foyer. Her footsteps slowed as she neared the study.

“And you listened to her?” Uncle Tammus thundered from within, each word a hammer blow. “Why, boy?”

Davina reached for the latch but froze at the sound of Liam’s voice.

“I told her it was madness, sir. I told her it was illegal.”

Her heart clenched.

She shoved open the door.

Tammus towered over Liam, face crimson, veins pulsing at his temples. A crumpled document trembled in his fist. Liam stood rigid, jaw locked tight, though his eyes flared with something more biting—betrayal—as they darted to her.

Davina crossed the room in three strides and stepped between them.

The blow came so fast, she barely saw it.

Tammus’s hand cracked across her cheek. Her head snapped to the side, stars bursting behind her eyes. She would’ve hit the floor if not for Liam catching her.

The sting flared hot, and blood slicked her tongue. MacLeod’s earlier strike screamed through her nerves like it had never left. She wasn’t sure it would ever heal.

“What the hell were you thinking, girl?” Tammus waved the parchment like a weapon. “Youforgeda marriage? And used this stable hand’s whelp to make me believe he was your husband?”

Davina’s gaze darted to the corner.

Her mother sat stiff in a wooden chair. Lilias’s gnarled hands were white knuckled in her lap, her cheeks slick with tears. Eyes closed, face pale. Crushed beneath the weight of shame.

Davina swallowed hard. Of course she’d shattered. Of course. Tammus’s presence had always reduced her to glass.

But, in truth, this wasn’t her mother’s fault.

This was Davina’s choice. Her recklessness.

Her consequences.

“You’ve endangered this household—this family!” Tammus thundered, stomping across the room, each step like a drumbeat of wrath. “What did youthinkwould come of this? A woman cannot own land or sign contracts. You cannot run a business! If anyone finds out, do you ken what it means forme? I’m the only man left in this family! Did you think I’d let you smear my name with your folly? Endanger your household—me—with your deceit?” He rounded on her, eyes burning with menace. “I am well within my rights to have you and this stable boy hauled to the gallows and hung for your crimes. Do you ken that?”

Davina’s lips parted, but no sound emerged. Her gaze flicked to Liam. The look he gave her cut deeper than a knife—anger, betrayal, and bitter truth all wrapped in silence.

“You put him in an impossible position,” Tammus snarled. “You dangled his livelihood over his head. What choice did he have?”

“That’s not true,” Davina shot back. “I…” She faltered. Shehadtold Liam he didn’t have to do it. Said she’d understand if he refused. But the truth sat bitter on her tongue—she was mistress of the household, and he was just the help.

“Aye,” Tammus spat. “And you think he didn’t fear being cast out into the cold, him and his da both?”

Her throat closed around a thousand unsaid things.

“And Fergus MacLeod!” His voice rose again, venom thick in every word. “I never thought you’d stoop to violence, but clearly, I gave you too much credit.”

Davina’s hands balled into fists at her sides. “What did MacLeod say?”

“He claims you threw him from the castle—violating the very contract your da signed with him. And when he objected, youbrutalizedhim.” Tammus gestured wildly with the crumpled paper still clutched in his hand. “I didn’t know why then. But now? Aye. You were covering your sins.”

“That bast—” She bit off the curse, curling her lips around her teeth and biting down. Her temper warred with reason. “Maybe MacLeod was right,” she said, laughing without humor. “Maybe it doesn’t matter what I say. You’ll never believe the word of a woman.” Her eyes glittered with fury. “What about several women? What about the house guards? What about yourdamnedeyes?”

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