Page 55 of When the Laird Claims
At that moment, her gaze flitted to the doorway… and Arran saw upon her suddenly bloodless, wide-eyed, horrified face that the devil had, indeed, arrived.
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“Apologies for the intrusion,” Charles said with a smirk. “But I believe you have something that belongs to me. Bring her out, and you can continue with your… little festival at your leisure.”
Victoria felt nothing but terror, as she practically clung to Arran’s arm. He was no longer the soft and reassuring Laird that she had begun to care for very much but had transformed into the snarling brute who had seen more battlefields than she had had hot suppers: exactly what she wanted him to be in that moment, with the Earl standing right there in the main entrance of the Great Hall, calling for her. She wanted the violent beast that might rip Charles limb from limb, not the tender lover who might risk his own life just to keep her safe.
They were all right. There is no other outcome.It was a sobering realization, though she was not sorry that she had at least tried to propose an alternative, even if that had been born of foolish naivety.
Charles did not move, his hand on the pommel of a sword she doubted he had ever swung, as if he truly meant to draw. He had often regaled her with tales of his love for hunting with a rifle, and how it thrilled him to watch something die.
That wasaftershe had learned his true nature, his passion for bloodsport making her wonder during her time shackled and alone if she was just the fox or pheasant of the next hunt.
“Do not keep me waiting, Victoria,” the Earl declared, searching the room but not yet finding her. “I am not as patient as I once was.”
“He may have a pistol,” she warned Arran tremulously. “He… favors such things.”
Arran did not indicate that he had heard her; his head twisted back to glare at the Earl.
Meanwhile, Charles continued to scan the room with his glinting eyes, as if hewantedVictoria to feel every second until he found her. As he turned his attention in her direction at last, it felt as if the Great Hall itself were closing in on her as his eyes found hers, freezing her in place. Her stomach lurched, her heart threatening to beat so hard that it might escape her entirely.
Charles’ eyes narrowed the moment he saw her half hidden behind Arran, and then he looked positively venomous the moment that he realized that her hands were wrapped around Arran’s forearm. The larger man was just about the only thing keeping her upright, if she was being wholly honest. Her fingerswere likely digging holes into Arran’s skin, but she could not breathe long enough to compose herself. What if this did not work? What if she had to go back to that room in his manor, to be shackled and hurt… and probably worse? If he touched her… her skin was crawling already.
“I’ve got ye lass; daenae fash,” Arran muttered, and the air returned to her lungs in one bigwhoosh.
If only the relief were longer-lived.
From the entrance, Charles smirked and snapped his fingers. The shuffling of feet in the hallway came closer, and the next thing she knew, she was clamping her jaw shut so that she did not vomit right there on the floor by her feet.
He had brought her father and, by the looks of him, he had already endured some of Charles’ brand of hospitality.
The older man was in the custody of two other men whom Victoria did not recognize, and was spitting nettles about it. “Unhand me!” the man groused loudly, scanning the party until he found his daughter as well. “Victoria! What is the meaning of this? Get over here!”
What has he told you, Father? What has he threatened you with?She would have asked that aloud if she could get her frozen jaw to move.
Charles’ smirk grew. “Yes, Victoria. If you know what is good for you, you will obey.”
The Earl glanced at the spot between his feet and clicked his fingers again, ordering her to come closer like she was no better than a dog. She supposed that in his eyes, she had never been much better than a dog.
“Your rebellion ends now, Victoria,” the Earl continued in a snarl when she did not immediately jump at his command. “You cannot possibly be so selfish as to put the lives of everybody in the room in danger because you want to pretend like you do not belong to me. Come. Here. Now.”
Victoria’s fingernails must have been drawing blood by now; she had forgotten how to breathe entirely, and Arran was the only thing keeping her standing.
Of course, the man expected instant obedience, but she could not seem to get her legs to work. She did not wish to be back in that… prison of his again. She could not have the chains weighing down her wrists; she could not be anywhere near him again. She felt her vision starting to tunnel, the air starting to feel thinner in the room, like she could not fill her lungs deeply enough.
“Victoria…” Frustration thrummed in Charles’ voice, matching the twist of his mouth and the deep creases of annoyed confusion on his brow. He was used to getting what he wanted; he wasnotused to being ignored.
To her dismay, her father piped up. “Dear girl, come away from that brute. Come to your betrothed. Yourtruebetrothed. It is not too late to undo this, my daughter, so do not disappoint me.”
Confusion rippled around the room, the guests looking to their laird for an explanation. Or, perhaps, a command.
“All of this happened because I was tryingnotto disappoint you,” Victoria whispered, too quietly for her father to hear. Not that it would have mattered; he had clearly chosen his side, and it was not hers. It was never hers.
Charles cleared his throat and drew an inch or two of his sword from its sheath in a performative gesture. “Victoria, I insist that you do not misbehave any longer. I will forgive you if you come and apologize right now. Or else, I do not think that you will like what will happen next.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
If she did not go over there, he might harm her father. For as much as she resented him for selling her off to Charles in the first place, he was still her father. She did not wish for harm to come to him, nor for anyone else to be caught up in this awful mess.
