Page 17 of The Masked Baron
The curt dismissal only outraged Andalin all the more. She would not leave yet. “No! If I am to play your game, I demand to be heard.”
Ellis stood, and when he did, his height and appearance forced Andalin to take a step back. But she refused to cower. She lifted her chin stubbornly.
He growled. “I know a witch who collects beautiful things. Be careful, or I’ll be tempted to take you to her.”
Andalin sucked in her breath. That he would allude to her being at all beautiful stunned her, and yet his threat was far from a compliment. “What a horrible thing to say!”
“You are tired, Andalin. As am I. Go to bed.” It wasn’t a suggestion. But at least he had gotten her name right.
A pout formed on her mouth, the pout Papa had told her was extremely unbecoming. She rarely adopted it, but suddenly she felt very childish, and deservingly so. Her whole life was being directed by a stranger. She would not be paraded around like a puppet and spend the rest of her life with the first man willing to take her. She might as well go home and marry the wretched Mr. Crow.
“Very well,” she finally said, backing down. “But this conversation is not finished.”
Ellis shook his head. “This conversationisover.”
The steam that had been forming inside Andalin for the last month was ready to blow. Good riddance to Mrs. Lewis’s rule of a lady not speaking unless spoken to. Andalin wasnota lady. “Lord Kerrigan can escort Hannah or Matilda, but he will not be escorting me until it is agreed that I marry when I’m ready.”
Ellis rolled his eyes. “You are the most exasperating young lady I have ever met!” He huffed and then with force muttered, “Take it as fear or motivation, but perhaps this will convince you that I mean what I say. If a year passes and you are not married to someone else, then the ward will marry her guardian. Good night.”
Andalin’s glare changed to surprise and then disgust. Fire raged in her heart and in her cheeks, and she whirled around. That was the second insinuation of marriage between the two of them, and it repulsed her. She wanted to stomp all the way to her room and slam her door. But she knew that really was childish, and she tried to control herself until she was safely inside her bedroom.
She threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. Her bed would soon float away with all the tears that must have soaked its feathers since she had arrived. Papa had always told her emotion was better released as tears, not anger, but anger always seemed to come first with her. At least this time she could appreciate that quality. She would have hated to cry in front of Ellis. Oh, she strongly disliked that man!
She wanted to go home. She needed Papa’s comfort and wisdom. What would he say? She sighed. She knew what he would say. He would say, “Ellis is right. You need a husband.”
Andalin rolled over. Maybe she did need a husband—someone who could take her away from Braitwood Hall forever.
***
Ellis regretted his quip to Andalin about marriage. Strange thoughts and ideas had entered his head since her arrival. No, not Andalin. She would be Annie to him, and he would be Ellis to her. No one had ever called him that, and for some irrational reason he wanted to be someone different. After all this time, being the Dark Rider was becoming tiresome. He wanted something that did not remind him of the burden he carried. He was using Annie in more ways than one.
She was an attractive young lady, and her naivety refreshed him. He, on the other hand, was his usual beastly self. He had sent her running from the library, full of hatred for him. He tended to have that effect on people.
He had let her go and then, after a few minutes, walked in the direction of her room. Why Mrs. Lewis had made up this particular room for her was beyond him. Outside the door he could make out the muffled sounds of her crying; the depth of her sorrow reminded him of her first day at the manor. Deep inside his hardened heart, he felt a tug of sympathy. The last thing he wanted to do was to add to the list of people he made unhappy. It was getting too long. Would it never end?
***
Late the next morning Ellis went to check on Annie. She had cried for hours the night before. Hannah had made excuses for her at breakfast, saying she was ill. Ellis had fallen asleep outside her door, more worried than he cared to admit. When he’d awoken, he’d dragged himself to finish the night in his bed. When she hadn’t come to breakfast, he knew he had better check on her to ascertain whether a doctor was needed.
He knocked softly, ready to swallow his pride and apologize if that was the only way to put her at ease. He couldn’t remember the last time he had done something even slightly redeeming, for anyone. It was necessary for him to get on Annie’s good side. His plan was rolling forward rather nicely. If only he could keep from upsetting the girl.
When Annie didn’t answer after several repeated efforts, he turned the handle on the door and cracked it open. What he saw reassured him. He could see a form bundled in bed, sleeping deeply. She was doll-like in her sleep, peace evident in her features. She would recover. She might not forgive him, and he could not blame her. He did not forgive easily either.
***
Andalin woke with a terrible headache, but the cleansing cry had made her stronger inside. She was ready to face Ellis. Ready to let Lord Kerrigan escort her to the wolves. She could do this. She glanced out the window, but her thoughts obscured her view. Did her mother once experience the same resolve before she met Andalin’s father?
Seeing she had slept late into the morning, Andalin dragged herself from bed. She spent the rest of the afternoon writing a letter to Papa he likely would never get.
Hannah knocked on the door just as she finished. “Are you well, miss?”
“Better, thank you. I am feeling like myself again.” She blotted the ink of her letter and blew it dry.
“I’ll be bringin’ yer dinner tray up for ye tonight,” Hannah said.
“That’s not necessary. I don’t mind going downstairs.”
Hannah shook her head, causing her mobcap to come askew. “The master insists. He wants ye to keep yer strength up.”
