Page 40 of Under the Earl's Wicked Spell

Lady Selkirk sighed.

“Look, it’s been a painful and difficult day for all of us. This is not something I want to argue about right now.”

“You were content to argue about it before. Why not now? Why can’t I have my opinion?”

“The older you get, the less choice you have. And with our current position….”

“It’s not happening, Mother!” Victoria cried. “Not with him! There will be no wedding with him.”

Her mother looked too tired to fight. She turned away.

“I’m going to find your father. I’ll let you calm down and think this over.”

“I don’t need to think this over! The answer is no!”

But Lady Selkirk wasn’t listening. She just left the room, closing the door behind her. And Victoria was left feeling more hopeless than before. She paced around the room, wishing she could pick something up and throw it. Anything to get her frustration out. This couldn’t be happening. She had to be upstairs in her bedchamber still, sleeping in an uncomfortable position and experiencing a nightmare. This had to be a very bad dream.

And yet it wasn’t. This was what her parents were doing. Victoria wondered if they were becoming ill themselves; they were delusional.

She had been prepared to accept her fate as the Countess of Blackmore, but she wouldn’t if she was to be married to Rafe Mowbray. Now her decision was final. There would be no wedding.

Victoria would make sure of it.

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