Page 105 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
Little troll– the words echoed through my mind, trying to force me to remember what I’d seen in those ruins. I shut my eyes and pulled in the deepest breath my corset would allow. Yet, when I opened them, my silverware was plain, undescriptive and I was certain I’d used it in Emrys’s kitchen.
I glanced up to see him watching me, an intensity to his gaze. As if silently trying to convey something with the darkness of its anger. As if he hated this as much as I did.
‘It’s wonderful to have such a dear friend of my Robert back in our company.’ Lord Fairfax’s words pierced the moment, turning us both to see the old man smiling, his eyes teary with his words. ‘You’ve been away too long, dear boy.’
I felt that sadness like a physical thing, clogging the air. The poor man couldn’t let go and I wondered if the truth of it might make his grief better.
I killed him.Emrys’s admission cut through me. The coldness of how he’d said it. The lack of choice in those words.
‘You’re just in time to give us some gossip about the Southwest Territory conflict,’ Canthorp boomed, nudging the pale thin man next to him, who spilled his wine as a result.
‘My time on territorial disputes has long passed,’ Emrys replied formally. The brutality of his scars seemed starker under the candlelight, the sadness in his profile. To exist different to the rest of this world.
‘What a marvel Miss Woodrow must be to have gained such a partnership,’ Lord Percy joined in, turning the table’s attention in my direction. ‘I heard you turned down the Marquess d’Alene’s heir for her, Blackthorn.’
‘The Marquess d’Alene?’ one of the women gasped. ‘Saints above, perhaps you are mad after all, Lord Blackthorn.’
‘There is more to a partnership than a title, Lord Percy,’ Emrys replied, his smile tight, which sent the ladies into disarray.
‘Well, Miss Woodrow, don’t you have some wonderful gossip for us all?’ Lord Canthorp pressed, turning everyone’s eyes to me, and silencing the surrounding conversations.
‘Unfortunately, the lord is almost as secretive in his own home as he is here.’ I smiled politely, trying to make myself seem as small as possible.
‘How well trained she is.’ Lady Lovell chuckled, making me bristle. My magic coiling deep in my gut, willing me to strike.
Thean let out a devious laugh, arms folded with an amused smirk on those lips, waiting for me to break. Emrys had gone very still, that dark gaze focused on my own.
‘Where did you receive your start in education, Miss Woodrow?’ Lord Fairfax asked, with genuine interest. The madness of his grief making him blind to the tension rippling about the table. ‘It must have been tremendous to have gotten you so far?’
‘I was taught by my mother in the northlands.’ I kept my tone polite, not allowing my grief to slip into the words. It belonged to me, not them.
‘Unusual,’ Lord Percy commented. ‘Kysillians aren’t renowned for their literacy, are they? More their … brutality.’
The candlelight flickered harshly. That cold bite of Emrys’s magic seeming to brush across my exposed collarbone as if it could shield me from the slight.
‘My mother was mortal,’ I corrected, not missing the shocked glances that were now focused solely on my face, trying to see it. The disgust and pursed lips at how one of their own had debased themselves.
‘Abandoned after the rutting, I assume,’ Lord Percy continued without pause.
A shocked gasp came from my right, along with a clatter of cutlery. The table creaked slightly and the cold, tumultuous nature of Emrys’s power made the man next to me shiver.
Only I didn’t need Emrys to defend me from this weasel.
‘My parents were sworn to each other. My father was with us until the wars.’ I kept my voice bored, expression disinterested. ‘I don’t believe Lord Blackthorn mentioned serving withyou, Lord Percy?’
The lord jolted at that, cheeks flushing to match his ruddy nose at the silence that claimed the table at my response.
‘Unfortunately, my nephew didn’t pass the …requirements,’ Lord Fairfax added, an edge of distaste touching his words, but I heard everything they didn’t say.
‘Unfortunate indeed,’ I mused coldly, taking a deep drink of my wine.
‘From Miss Woodrow’s records, she studied at Daunton until she was selected for the Institute, Uncle,’ Lord Percy added through his teeth, his grip on his spoon white knuckled.
‘Daunton?’ Canthorp asked.
My heart began to beat erratically within my chest. Breaths became more difficult to draw between my lips that had nothing to do with Alma’s ruthless corset lacing.
‘How terrible what happened there.’ Lady Lovell sighed, reaching for her glass of watered-down wine to soften her distress.
