“So you have come to plead with me to consent to an annulment?” he jumped straight to the point; no meaningless conversation, no pleasantries.
A muscle on Gaston’s cheek twitched dangerously. Behind him, de Vere eyed him warily. “I have.”
Oh, Guy was pleased to hear it.God, how he loved to be in control!He sat slowly in a chair, eyeing Gaston carefully. He was a big man, as big as Guy had ever seen, but the Dark One did not intimidate him; on the contrary.
“Then do.”
Gaston almost flinched, but he steadied himself. “I would ask your agreement in gaining an annulment to your marriage to Lady Remington.”
Guy sat and waited a moment, expecting more. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Is that all? No begging, no pleading? De Tormo said you were in love; you do not act like it.”
Gaston cursed de Tormo under his breath. How dare the man give Stoneley ammunition like that? Suddenly angered for another reason, he was also instantly irritated at Guy’s smug attitude.
“How would you have me act? I have stated my business. What is it that you would have me say that would elaborate on what you already know?”
Guy crossed his legs in a decidedly feminine gesture and Gaston was enraged to see a smile playing on his lips.Please, God, give me strength not to kill him!
“You have bedded her, have you not?”
Gaston did not hesitate. “Aye.”
Guy snorted. “You have broken two commandments of the church. Not only did you covet my wife, but you committed adultery, too. The church will not be happy to hear that.”
Gaston did not reply; he continued to watch Stoneley like a hawk, his huge body tensed. Guy’s gaze was smirking, taunting.
“What about her sisters? I trust they told you everything.”
Gaston released a soft sigh. “Aye, they told me all about your cruelty and debauchery but, fortunately, I am not as deviant as you. Let us come to the point, Stoneley. I will obtain this annulment any way I can, including and most likely murdering you. But barring any severe action, what do you want for your cooperation?”
Guy’s smile faded somewhat. By God, if the man wasn’t like ice, Gaston thought. He could see why the man had unnerved de Tormo so. “Want? Nothing, really, except my wife to stay here with me in the Tower. I merely want my wife.”
He drew out the word wife, purposely rubbing salt into Gaston’s wound, reminding him that what he so desperately sought belonged to another.
Gaston couldn’t take much more; he leaned forward on the table that separated them and allowed his fists to pound heavily against the table. The thump reverberated against the stone walls.
“There is not a chance in hell that Remington will be brought to you to stay, my lord, and the sooner you understand that, thebetter for us all. You will now name your price to me and I will do everything in my power to grant it.”
“I have no price,” Guy’s smile was gone, his eyes like glittering ice, cold and harsh and potentially deadly.
“Aye, you do,” Gaston said, his voice a thundering rumble. “Name it.”
“There is nothing to name.”
“There is. What will gain your cooperation?”
Stoneley gazed at him a moment longer. “I do not want to relinquish my wife, de Russe. Can you not understand?”
“The choice is not yours to make. Your only decision in all of this is what you will gain for your collaboration. You can come away with a great deal, or you can lose your life.That, my lord, is your only option.”
Guy lowered his gaze, pondering the statement confidently. He was very good at playing these games. “The church will not like it that you have threatened me, de Russe. And they shall hear of this, have no doubt. You shall never gain my wife that way.”
Gaston straightened, his temples throbbing threateningly. De Vere moved a bit closer to him, just in case.
“Think on this conversation, Stoneley,” he said after a moment. “I shall return to seek your answer. And you will have an answer for me.”
Gaston was moving for the door; he’d had about all he could take and was surprised he had managed to keep himself in check so well. He was almost free when Stoneley called out to him.
“If Remington herself were to ask me for an annulment, I might possibly reconsider my position,” he said quietly. Like the quietness of the wolf before it strikes. “I understand she is in London. Will you bring her to me so that she may ask me herself, so that I may hear from her own lips that this is what she desires and that she is not being used as a pawn in Henry’s game?”
