She jabbed a finger at Rowenna. ‘I know what she is, and you have offended Fraser Beattie most grievously.’
‘I sincerely hope so. That man is a craven toad, not fit to lick my boots, and I’ll not join my bloodline with his.’
‘And you’ll not bring a whore into my hall,’ shouted Joan Glendenning.
‘I am not his whore, nor will I ever be,’ said Rowenna. ‘I have been dragged from my home and brought here against my wishes over a debt. I do not want to be here. I want to go home.’
She tried to twist her hand from his grasp, but Jasper would not let her.
His mother marched up to Rowenna. ‘The debt is not why you are here, you ignorant chit. He brought you here because you look just like…’
‘Enough,’ bellowed Jasper. ‘We will talk of this alone.’
‘Very well,’ said Joan, with a look of triumph.
‘I will take Rowenna to a chamber and return.’
‘I suppose that might take some time,’ sneered Glenna.
Jasper turned on his heel and marched out.
Rowenna tried to get free, but Jasper’s grip was vice-like. Everything about him screamed anger, and it had come on like a sudden storm, with terrifying intensity.
‘You are hurting me,’ she cried.
‘You deserve it. Why could you not hold your tongue?’
‘Why should I?’
‘Did I not tell you to please me if you know what’s good for you?’
Please him? As they marched deeper into Kransmuir and up a winding staircase, higher and higher, Rowenna’s fate crashed in on her. Would he take her virginity now, in a fit of anger, in a chamber far away from the rest of the castle, where no one would hear her scream for mercy?
They reached a doorway, and Jasper flung it open, making it crash against the wall. He thrust Rowenna inside, slammed thedoor shut, and leant against it. She scuttled to the other side of the chamber, never taking her eyes off him.
‘I want to go home, Laird Glendenning.’
‘Tis no home. ‘Tis a rat’s nest. And my name is Jasper, and you will use it.’
‘Please let me go, Jasper.’ She spat his name at him.
‘I cannot.’ He looked her in the eye. ‘We are to be handfasted.’
‘What?’
‘I agreed with your father that you would remain here for a year, and if you get with child, the union will be permanent, and you will be my wife before God.’
Rowenna backed away, her heart thumping. ‘You are lying. My father would not do that.’
He strode up to her, trapping her in a corner. ‘Of course, he would. I told him to name his price, and he agreed all too readily, seeing as I scared away your other suitor. You will find I am a much better prospect than some cold-fingered old man who is an inch away from the grave. I have a great deal more vigour, and so I anticipate a fruitful union between us, Rowenna.’
She shook her head. ‘Why would you do that?’
‘Because I want you, though I think we must burn this rag you are wearing,’ he said, taking hold of her skirt between his thumb and finger.
She tore it from his grasp. ‘You can have any number of wealthy lasses who would be happy to have you, like that one in the hall in her fine silk dress.’
He snorted. ‘I doubt Emeline could ever raise my ardour no matter what she was wearing, but you could set a fire in my belly wearing a sack. Here it is, lass. I don’t want anyone but you.’
