Page 22 of The Iron Earl

“I won’t leave my dress behind.”

He exhaled a long sigh. “Evalyn, I don’t think you understand. If it doesn’t have value, we don’t bring it with us on these roads. There is no margin for extra weight.” He lifted the bundle of clothing to her again.

Her hands waved in front of her. “Thank you, but no. I am perfectly content in my dress.” Her bottom lip slipped under her teeth. “Might I take the cloak, though?”

Lachlan took a step toward her, thrusting the bundle toward her. “You’ll take them both and change into the wool dress.”

“No.” She hopped another step backward, the heels of her boots teetering on the edge of the wide, flat rock she’d been washing bowls from.

“No?” His head cocked to the side and a lock of his brown hair fell across his brow as his eyes narrowed. Almost as though he’d never heard the word no before and was trying to place its meaning.

Her brow furrowed and she clamped her arms across her ribcage. “No.”

“No? Stubborn wench.” He shoved the bundle of the clothing into her body, leaning over her, his teeth bared. “You’ll put this dress on or I’ll do it for you.”

Her head snapped back. “You wouldn’t.”

“I’ll do whatever I damn well please, Evalyn.” His words were slow, darkened with threat.

Fear snaked down her spine and her limbs started to tingle. She darted to her right.

Lachlan took a wide step to his left, cutting off her path.

She withdrew a step, lurching to her left. He jumped in front of her, his body a dark shadow smothering her.

“There’s nowhere to escape, Evalyn. You’ll put the damn dress on.”

She backed up a step. Then another. And another.

Her heel dropped off the edge of the rock, slipping to shallow pebbles under the water that lined the edge of the river. She glanced over her shoulder. Several large boulders that were too far away. Water running fast. Cold.

He stalked a step toward her. “There’s no escape, Evalyn. You’ll change into the dress or I will tear that gown off of you with no regard to propriety.”

Her head shaking, she looked at him as all feeling left her limbs and her throat started to constrict her air. “No. You can’t.”

“I can and I will.” Another step to her and he shoved the bundle of clothes into her chest. “There’s no escaping this.”

No escape.

Hell. No escape.

Her mind went blank to all thoughts except for the terror slithering from her spine to her belly, to her neck, across her chest—all of it strangling her.

No escape.

She glanced over her shoulder again. The nearest boulder wasn’t that far away. Maybe…

Lachlan was too close, his breath seething, his body raging.

The icy panic choking her cinched across her throat.

Her boot in the water slipped backward and she spun, running.

She made it three steps.

Three steps, and the shallow rocks in the water dropped out, plunging her into the current.

Freezing water blasted onto her face, swallowing her whole.

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