Page 49 of Her Dark Seduction
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes!” I cried. “Go! I pray that I never see you again.”
When he returned I had fallen asleep again. My sleep had been punctuated by dreams of flames surrounding my mother’s face. Twice I had woken up screaming for her. When he shook me awake, I cried out again, and he covered my mouth with his hand. He smelled of smoke and I pulled away, the flames still vivid in my mind.
“Mortlock,” I croaked.
“Aye, I have been there,” he said grimly. “The building is destroyed and all are dead. You are a widow.”
“All dead?”
“Some of the women and children survived, but the men either perished in the flames or were killed trying to escape. Those captured by the king’s men were executed. Your husband has been declared a traitor and everything he owned is now property of the king, to dispose of as he sees fit. That includes you.”
His next words sent a chill down my spine.
“That is why you will marry me tonight.”
“No,” I gasped, “I’m finally free. Why would I consent to marry a traitor who served my husband then betrayed him in turn?”
“I am no traitor. I’m loyal to Henry and will be richly rewarded.” I heard the pride in his voice and boiled with anger.
“You betrayed and caused the death of many. What could a murdering bastard know of loyalty?”
He gripped my throat. “Do not use that word in my presence! I serve my overlord with honor. He was prepared to employ me despite my birth. Most of the nobility has little time for those of us born on the wrong side of the blanket. You give us nothing but your scorn. But I have the upper hand now. As Mortlock’s widow you are a traitor by association.”
“I’ve done nothing!” I protested.
“Nevertheless you would be given to the king for his pleasure. With luck you might warm his bed until he tires of you, but he has discerning tastes. In your present state I suspect he would hand you to his men before giving you a traitor’s death.”
“I am with child. The heir to—”
“The heir to nothing. The child of a traitor.”
“Then I shall tell them my husband is not the sire. You know that to be true.”
“You will simply be acknowledging your own adultery and branding yourself a whore. I think you know the penalty for adultery. Did not your mother reap the fruits of her sins?”
“How dare you!” I cried, striking him across the face with all the force I could summon. “Do not speak of her so!”
He rubbed his cheek. “Strike me all you like, but you know your sin would not go unpunished. The world is well aware of the weakness of women. Your own maid betrayed you.”
“She was brave and honorable,” I said.
“Brave!” he scoffed. “At the first sign of danger to herself she squealed, spilling all the sordid little details about your love letters and your wish to leave your husband. She begged for her sorry skin without a thought for you.”
“Harwyn did not deserve to die.”
“She was a coward. Like all women. Eager to betray at the slightest test of her resolve.”
“I would never betray one I loved,” I said vehemently. “I’d do anything I could to protect them.”
He reached out to me, and I shied away, cradling my belly. His voice grew softer.
“If you wish to protect your child then prove what you say. Do as you are bid and marry me. After all, I am the child’s father.”
At that moment I hated him. He staked his claim on me and my child, yet in the same breath he told me of my own sins, even though he had taken me at my husband’s bidding.
“My child cannot help having you as his sire. I intend for him never to find out.”
