Page 65 of The Saxon Lord's Unwanted Bride
He snatched the lock of hair from her hand and threw it into the fireplace, pushing her back when she tried to prevent him.
“Do you still care for him?”
“No!” she cried, as the precious tress of hair burned and disintegrated. “I never cared for him! I hated him with all my heart—almost as much as I hate you!”
His brow furrowed with pain. Then, he curled his hands into fists, and nodded.
“Very well,” he said. “Then I must decide what to do with you.”
“What to do with me?”
“I have no wish for you to remain here,” he said. “Perhaps a convent might have you. However highly the king thinks of you, I’m within my rights to punish your adultery.”
“Harald,” she said, “you cannot think…”
“Speak no more!” he said. “I have much to do concerning Jeffrey’s treachery today, to waste my time on a faithless wife.”
He turned and exited the chamber, slamming the door.
She leaned forward and retched again, the spasms echoing in her head which throbbed with pain. With his last words, he destroyed all hope. In her foolishness, she’d begun to imagine a future with him, safe and secure—a treasured image of him smiling over her, eyes warm with love as she placed his newborn son in his arms. But the vision had been destroyed.
The words he’d uttered still rang in her ears—how bastard children had no right to live. He would never believe she’d been faithful. She must therefore keep yet another secret from him—a secret she’d harbored with joy for almost three months now—but which she now harbored with fear.
She had another life to protect—a life which had not yet begun.
She was with child.
* * *
“My Lady—it’sgood to see you again.”
Sister Agatha opened her arms and Eloise ran into her embrace. Agatha had always been a source of comfort—the one constant during the dark days of her life.
“How fares she today?” Eloise asked.
“She is well.”
“And you’ve had no visitors—nobody enquiring after her?”
“No.”
Thank the lord!
“You think she’s in danger?” Agatha asked.
“Aye,” Eloise whispered as the nun took her hand. “I worry she’ll be discovered. I fear for her. My husband—he…”
Her voice cracked and she restrained a cry. Agatha squeezed her hand.
“Your husband is a good man, I’m sure of it. Didn’t your father think so? And he’s not easily deceived.”
Eloise shook her head. “He’s not a trusting man,” she said. “You must watch Violette carefully, and send word if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary.”
“She’ll be safe here,” Agatha said, “but what about you?”
“I am with child.”
“An occasion to rejoice, surely?”
