Christopher abruptly stood up, slamming his fist on the tabletop and sending the food jumping in all directions. “Refuse me and I will send you to London and the king,” he said. Gone was the gentle father, replaced by a snarling and terrifying warlord. “Let Henry do what he wishes with you, for I do not care. But I can tell you that you will never see Wales again, lady. If this is what you wish, then by all means, refuse me. I dare you.”
Elle was so shocked, so terrified, that she couldn’t even speak. She took another step back and ended up falling onto the cot behind her. She was shaking so badly that she couldn’t maintain her balance. She was starving, full of wine, and de Lohr had played his game to his advantage. She was no longer in a position of respect, but in one of surrender. And that was exactly what he was demanding.
Her surrender.
It had come to that.
She struggled to push herself up from the cot.
“You cannot ask this of me,” she said hoarsely, her voice quivering. “I shall not—”
He cut her off. “Shall notwhat?”
She swallowed hard, frightened by the man. “You cannot—”
He cut her off again. “I can do anything I wish,” he said. “I am the victor. Bear in mind that I do not need your permission for this. I can simply do it.”
She ended up on her feet, but it was shaky. “How would you feel if someone was treating your wife the way you are treating me?”
“What makes you think I did not treat her like this when I first met her?”
“And she still married you?”
“She had no choice. Nor do you.”
He was right. God help her, he was right. She knew it and he knew it. Distraught and unable to conceal it, Elle turned her back to him. The tears began streaming down her face, but she didn’t lift her hand to wipe them because she didn’t want him to know how badly he’d upset her.
Everything was at an end.
Nothing he said was untrue. Brython was falling to the English no matter how hard she tried to keep up the defenses. God, she’d tried so hard. The truth was that she only had aboutfour hundred men to de Lohr’s thousands. They were able to hold as long as the English didn’t get over the wall, but they had. The portcullis was probably already lifted and the English were probably already in possession of the castle. Gruffydd had probably already been released. Everything she’d fought for…
It was gone.
“I put my brother in the vault because he said the same thing,” she said, unable to hide the fact that she was weeping. “He wanted me to marry an English warlord and create an alliance. He is allied with the English king, much like my father was, and he expected me to be complicit in their betrayal of my country. But I cannot do it. I cannot do it for him or for you.”
Christopher could hear the defeat in her voice. She was no longer the stubborn, hysterical woman who had first entered this tent. Too much drink and no food was breaking her down, as he’d intended, though he had to admit he felt some pity for her. He wasn’t cruel to women by nature, but she was an exception. She would probably ram a dagger into his chest given the chance. He had a fighter of a woman he’d married, as he told her, so he knew how to deal with them.
At least, he hoped so.
He’d had some practice.
“Then what is your choice for the rest of your life, my lady?” he asked, not unkindly. “To be a prisoner? Because that is what you will be if you do not agree to my terms. You will be kept by the king and, more than likely, married off against your will. You’ll find yourself in France or Aragon or somewhere east. You will never see Wales again, but if this is a life that suits you better than my offer, then I will ensure you receive it. The choice is yours.”
Again, he was making it seem as if she had options in this. Whatever decision she made, it would be on her head even though there was no real choice in front of her. It was hell oreven greater hell. Those were her selections. The tears began to come again, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
“You are asking me to betray my country,” she whispered tightly. “You are asking me to surrender everything I am.”
He shook his head. “I am asking no such thing,” he said. “My lady, you seem intelligent. If you have held off my army for a month, then you are not only bright, you are clever. I want you to think about this situation from a different perspective. Can you do that?”
“Why should I?”
“Because it is important. Will you try?”
“Speak, then.”
Christopher wasn’t sure he had her cooperation, but he was going to try. “As the wife of a prestigious warlord, you will be in a unique position,” he said. “Your men, your vassals, will see that you are willing to work toward a peaceful coexistence with England, a country that is not going away. We are not going to disappear tomorrow. We, and you, and even the Scots, live on a land surrounded by oceans, and it is ours to protect. There are so many enemies who have tried to do us harm, but we are the keepers of this glorious and unique land. Wales is glorious and unique, as is England. Separately, we are weaker than we would be if we were all united. United under one king to protect everything we have. Does that make sense?”
Elle was still tearing up, quickly wiping at her eyes because she was embarrassed that she couldn’t seem to control her emotions. “I suppose it does,” she said. “But Wales is smaller than England. Why should the English covet it so much?”
