You want my inheritance under your control, and you’ve decided the best way to do that is to marry me to your son, because then you can pretend it’s ‘family responsibility’ instead of what it actually is, which is you protecting your own interests.
That is what she would have said if she had more courage, but Charity could not bring herself to make such a bold statement in front of her uncle. As much as she disliked the whole arrangement, she was still without a legal guardian and did not have the same privileges that a man in her position might have.
“I... It’s fine,” Charity said, dropping her gaze to the floor.
“If you refuse this arrangement,” her uncle went on, “then I will assume you are not capable of making responsible decisions for your household, and I will take a more active role in directing Augusta’s prospects and Matilda’s education.”
“You would punish them because I said no?” Charity said, her voice wavering for the first time that evening. It was enough of a confirmation to Edward that her sisters were her weakness, and he seemed to grin delightfully at the realization.
“Punish? That paints me as a rather cruel person, don’t you think?” he repeated mildly. “In earnest, I will manage them properly because you have proven yourself irresponsible.”
Irresponsible because I won’t marry my cousin. What a world it was that Charity lived in.
“Irresponsible because you think your feelings matter more than the security of your household,” Edward went on to explain himself further.
She thought of Augusta and Matilda in the next room, and knew that she had to keep their interests ahead of her own.
“I’m not accepting anything today,” she said finally.
“The decision has already been made, and now we’re simply giving you time to stop fighting it.”
“How much time?” Her voice was devoid of all emotion now, as there was little that she could do to fight him.
“A week, perhaps, for you to adjust. Then we announce the engagement.”
Charity looked to Robert, the man she was set tomarry,and was astonished to find that he did not look too happy himself. It appeared that her uncle had forced the decision upon him, just as he was trying to do with her.
All so that he can accrue some financial benefit from this,Charity shuddered at the thought. It was truly vile what some people were capable of when it came to money.
“Well, then?” her Uncle kept looking at her. “Do you have any more questions?”
Does it matter?
“I don’t believe so.”
Edward flashed the first genuine smile that she had seen from him ever, looking pleased that he had gotten his victory so easily.
“Tremendous, then. We do not have any problems then,” he said.
Charity nodded, feeling her knees grow weak. They did not waste more time on small talk, and her uncle left with the promise to return again in a few days to prepare for the wedding.
Cold.
That was the first, and the most obvious sensation that Charity felt when she awoke next. Her eyes opened, and for a few seconds she did not understand what she was seeing. Her hands patted around on the space around her, and it was not the usual soft mattress that she slept in each night.
On the contrary, it was rather a thick assembly of leaves and branches. Immediately, a sudden panic began to course through her veins.Where am I?She pushed a palm against the earth and tried to sit up.
“What…” Her voice came out hoarse, and her heart began to beat too fast. Her mind reached for the last clear memory; it was in York in her bed. “Where am I?”
As much as she tried, her mind was only drawing up blanks, which frustrated her to no end. She pressed her fingers to her temples, as if she could physically push sense back into her skull.
She tried again to get up, slower this time, using the tree to brace herself and then…
Thwack.
She turned her head and saw an arrow embedded in the trunk of the tree, narrowly missing her. A scream ripped out through her, now suddenly feeling as though she had no control over what was happening anymore.
“Who is there? Stop….Stop it!”
