“Just go with him,” Blossom whispers. “Nothing good will come from making him wait.”
Ignoring her, I glare at the guard. “Tell Father I’m busy.”
“You are to come with me willingly,” he commands, “or I have been ordered to drag you.”
My sisters gasp. A few of them glance at Blossom worriedly. She just shakes her head, mouthing to me, ‘Go with him.’ But I don’t miss the trembling in her lower lip.
“I’ll see you at our dance circle tonight,” I tell Eden, squeezing her shoulder before dusting off my skirt and following the guard out.
I don’t say goodbye to anyone else.
The door to Father’s parlour creaks open and the guard shoves me inside. I open my mouth to protest, but it takes one look from Father for any complaints to die in my mouth.
Calling him furious would be an understatement.
“Never in all my years have I felt as disappointed as I do looking at you now.” Father scowls from his armchair. The guard behind me closes the door and takes his place beside the other guards by the large fireplace. The fire crackles and spits, casting shadows across the carpeted floor.
“Good afternoon, Father.” I force a smile. “I was just taking my ballet lesson. We’re learning a new combination today. It’s the?—”
“Silence,” he seethes.
My lips clamp shut.
“Have you any idea why I’ve summoned you here?” A servant pours whiskey into his glass before he takes a sip. “Any idea at all?” His golden crown sits above the grey waves of his hair, catching the light from the fire.
“Is this about Blossom’s party?” I laugh nervously. “You can’t blame me for wearing a different dress. The gowns Blossom designed were awful. I mean, did you see the fabric? And those sleeves!” I chuckle, but Father doesn’t laugh with me.
“Are you aware of what happens when a prince fucks a naive girl?”
My eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “Father!”
“Are you aware?” His voice is deathly calm.
Wincing, I turn to watch the fire. “No…” He gave us ‘the talk’ years ago – or at least he gave it to Amaryllis and Blossom, and I’d listened in through a keyhole. He’d explained that their virginity was sacred and belonged only to their future husbands on their wedding nights.
I never really liked the sound of that.
If my future husband is not going to give me something equally as ‘sacred’, then I’ll be keeping my virtue to myself, thank you very much.
Father shakes his head. “If you let a man fuck you, you will have a child, Dahlia.”
“A child?” I panic. “But how is that… What does a baby have to do with?—”
“I will not waste my time explaining how babies are made to a girl who’s already thrown away her virtue like a common street whore.”
“But, Father, I didn’t?—”
“Silence!” His cheeks turn as burgundy as the wallpaper. “Even if you didn’t fuck him, you still let him expose you outside the ballroom, and there have been rumours, Dahlia, awful rumours that you seemed to be enjoying these unspeakable acts of degradation…”
A guard snorts quietly against the wall. I shoot him a look, but the cruel smirk he returns it with makes me feel as small as a mouse.
I feel even smaller as Father continues, “And if you did fuck him… Well, then we’ve even less time to fix the mess you’ve created.”
“He didn’t take my virtue.” My voice quivers. Tears threaten in the corners of my eyes, but I swipe them away. “I just got carried away. It was a stupid mistake.”
“A mistake that brought shame to our family!” he roars, bolting out from his seat. “Do you have any idea how many princes and lords were present at the ball, the sheer distance these rumours of your…mistakehave travelled? There were princes from as far as the deserts of Ilzabard!” His whiskey glass flies across the room, smashing against the door. “So you cannot blame me for taking action swiftly.”
“I’m sorry, Father.” I keep my head down, hugging my chest. “It won’t happen again.”
