“Then see this.”
He advanced another step. She edged backward and felt her knees weaken.
Arthur was right about one thing. There was no one else around. No one was coming to her rescue. She must find a way to escape this situation on her own.
“Daenae come closer,” she warned. “If ye do, I will scream. Someone will hear me.”
She didn’t believe it, of course, but she had to do something. She had to find a way to stop Arthur from killing her.
“Nay one will come,” he drawled. “The funny thing about a wedding is that it makes everyone deaf, even if the wife is missing.”
“Why me?” she asked, stalling. “Why nae go to Jack and speak about what bothers ye? Why nae ask for time with the bairn? Why nae ask for a say in her life? I could give ye that. I would go with ye this very hour and ask it of him.”
“A say,” he repeated softly. “Is that really all ye think I deserve? A say in me granddaughter’s life? After her faither sent me nothing but a letter?”
“I am begging ye, Arthur,” she pressed. “I am standin’ here, asking ye to let this pass.”
“Unfortunately, lass…” His voice turned almost gentle, and that gentleness made her blood run cold. “Ye cannae leave these woods alive.”
He lifted his sword until the tip stood level with her face.
CHAPTER 34
The Great Hallbelow was quiet. There was nothing else to be done when a wedding had been ruined, and everyone seemed to know that.
In his study, Jack sat with a half-bottle by his elbow. The fire snapped and flickered as he wondered what the guests were thinking. They were probably blaming him. It was easy to do so.
He hadkilledhis first wife anyway. Who was to say that he hadn’t done something that had scared Emma as well?
The thought made his stomach churn.
He grabbed the bottle and drank until the burn in his throat dulled the tightness behind his eyes, then set the bottle aside and stared at the uneven glow on the wall.
He couldn’t believe that part of him had thought this time would be different. That what had happened then would not happen again.
A knock sounded at the door, soft enough to miss if a man wished to miss it. And he so badly wanted to miss it.
He did not answer.
The door opened anyway, slowly, and a young maid slipped inside with her shoulders drawn up and her chin tucked. She kept to the edge of the carpet, her eyes lowered and her hands clasped together.
“Me Laird,” she said, her voice thin. “Yer maither asked me to come take Stella. She says the bairn should rest with her.”
“Why?” he snapped. “Why now?”
“I daenae ken, me Laird. She only said that ye should have time to yerself.”
“Everyone seems to ken what I need to do, do they nae?”
The maid flinched when his eyes rose, and color drained from her face. The sight broke through the haze, and Jack rubbed his hand over his mouth.
“I am sorry,” he offered, softening his voice. “As ye can clearly see, I am nae meself today.”
“Aye, me Laird.”
The maid moved quickly to where the baby lay on the soft carpet, playing with her toys. Stella stirred at the shift in the air, then sighed and rested her cheek on the maid’s shoulder. Soon, they had both gone, and the door clicked shut behind them.
The silence grew even heavier now. Heavy on the chair, heavy on his chest.
