Page 88 of Her Dark Seduction
“We cannot withstand a siege,” I said. “We’re not prepared. The foodstores…”
“…have enough to keep my men and I alive for a month. We will hold out.”
“But the servants, the villagers. What of them?”
“They are expendable.”
“No—” I cried but was silenced as he drew his hand back from my throat and backhanded me so forcefully across the face that I fell across the bed. Pain exploded in my head, and I reached up to find my nose sticky with blood.
“Do not question me.”
“In the name of God, Wulfric, give up,” I pleaded. “Henry is the rightful king. Surrender to him and he may show leniency. Continue with this folly and every soul at Shoreton will die.”
“I said, do not question me!”
My scalp felt as if it had burst into flame as he grasped my hair with his fist and dragged me off the bed.
“You continue to be in need of instruction with regards to your behavior.” His voice was so calm I did not anticipate the next blow. His boot connected with my arm, and I heard a crack as the bone fractured. A fire burned in my belly; my body ripped apart from the inside, and I heard a woman screaming while he chided me for disobedience. I tried to crawl away but my limbs would not respond, as if stone blocks weighted me to the ground. I pushed against the floor, sending a bolt of fire down my arm until a final blow to my head silenced the screaming, ended the pain, and brought forth peace.
I was drowning in the dark. My other senses were invaded, overloaded. Fire was all over my body. Pain, always the pain, then warmth and the aroma of lavender, which grew stronger as I pulled my mind from oblivion.
“Lady!” A woman’s voice. I opened my eyes but saw only blurred images, ominous gray swirls. Memories of Maman and Percy floated above me—they had visited me again while I burned in the fire. Something touched my arm, and I moaned in pain. The gray faded to black.
****
The next time I opened my eyes I saw color—soft brown shapes. They moved in front of my eyes until they sharpened into the form of a woman.
“Elspeth?”
“Lady! Thank the Lord!”
I sat up, slowly, ignoring my aching body. I waved away her protests and motioned to her to help me into a chair by the fireplace. I hated the bed—the bed I shared with de Tourrard.
“What happened, Elspeth?”
“My lord said you suffered a fall. We thought you’d never wake up. I have been tending you for four days. You took a fever after you lost—after you fell. He was so angry with us for using the water to bathe you…”
She hesitated, her voice trailing away.
“Has something else happened?” I asked. She gave a low cry and knelt at my feet.
“You lost the babe.”
“The babe?”
“Forgive me lady. You were already bleeding when we found you.”
Lord save me, I had been carrying de Tourrard’s child.
“Does he know?”
“Aye,” she whispered. “He is to join you when you have woken. You’re to be confined here until then.”
I felt numb. Numb with shock at the prospect of having de Tourrard’s seed take root in my body and numb with the pain of losing another child. I would have to summon all my courage to face him again.
I took her hand and kissed it.
“Thank you for taking care of me, Elspeth.”
