“I’ll be fine.”
“I see.” He gets up and runs a hand through his hair. “I was wrong. Kon and Dar were right.” And he turns and opens the door of the stall.
I grab my dress from the hay and clutch it to my chest. “Where are you going?”
“That shouldn’t concern the lady of the manor,” he tosses over a broad shoulder and strides out of the stables, leaving me alone.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
ROSAMUND
A darkness clings to me as I rush through the yard and then the manor, heading for my room. My feet run, but my mind is a web, still and numb, and my thoughts helplessly fluttering, caught in it like moths.
Just like I’m caught inside this manor, this agreement.
Only one thought is crystal clear, and yet, it’s the darkest of them all:
You’re going to lose Valen. How can you live without him?
It’s absurd of course. I’ve lived all my life without him. Why shouldn’t I be able to keep doing so?
Someone steps into my path as I hurry toward the staircase, and I almost crash into him. A tall man. Familiar. Forbidding.
“Lady Rosamund.” Lord Eorl scowls down at me. “A lady doesn’t run.”
“I beg your pardon.” I glance at the staircase behind him. “I need to get to my room.”
“What you need…” He gives me a once-over, his scowl darkening. “By the Gods, were you rolling in the meadows? Your hair is loose and full of… of grass and twigs and…”
Startled, I lift my hands to my hair. I know I look a fright, but I didn’t think about the details that could betray me—like the bits of hay I now remove from my dark locks.
“You went out of the manor on your own?” he’s now saying. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I needed to clear my head.”
Fury flashes through his eyes. “You were not raised in a stable with the animals, by any chance? That’s unacceptable behavior.”
“What do you care?” I blurt out. “You only want my estates, nothing else.”
His face twists with fury. It’s so scary, I take an instinctive step back. “You don’t speak to me in this tone ever again, Rosamund, or so may the Gods help me, I’ll teach you a lesson.”
I gape at him. “How about the way you speak to me? And threatening me?”
“You are a woman. Know your place.”
“My mother ran our manor,” I snap, “and so did my grandmother before her. Why does this feel like we’re regressing? In our long history, women have fought for their rights, and I won’t give mine up!”
His laughter is decidedly ugly. At first, I’d thought Valen monstrous, but now he seems the most handsome man in the world, while this one… this one has been ugly from the start and getting uglier in my eyes with every passing day.
“I’m getting bored with your tantrums,” he says. “Your tantrums, your hysterics, and your lack of modesty and decorum. You’re going to your room and staying there.”
“I won’t!”
“It isn’t safe out there anyway.” He turns to go, dismissing me already. “Tomorrow I’m leading a hunting expedition. We’ve seen and heard wolves. They could even be dark fae. I’ll hunt them down and kill them.”
“No!” I glare at him and rush to get in his way. “You can’t.”
“I can’t?” Another ugly laugh. “Ican’t?”
