Page 31 of Sweet Mead for Lady Martine

“More than you know.”

“I see.” She crossed her arms and paced the room, seeming to be in thought. “I am a noble and you are a commoner. I suppose that makes a big barrier between us.”

“Yes. A huge barrier, my lady. We are from two different worlds and always will be. So you do understand what I mean then.” He felt relieved. That is, until he heard what she had to say next.

“So, you can’t pay the four months late rent?”

Suddenly, they were back to business again. Just as he had started thinking she wanted to talk about them, she pushed any emotion aside. This woman was confusing him to no end.

“You know I can’t pay. I already told you that. Please. Just give me more time. I’m sure I can somehow raise the money.”

“Time?” She stopped pacing and looked directly at him. “Nay, I’m sorry but I can’t do that. Uncle Corbett would be furious with that decision. You didn’t hold up your end of the agreement. It wouldn’t be fair to just let it go, would it?”

“Mayhap not, but surely there must be something you can do to help me.”

“Why should I? Because of our situation, you think you deserve special favors?” That cut him to the bone. Is that really why she thought he’d kissed her?

“Nay. Of course not. Asking for more time has nothing to do with our feelings for each other.”

“I’m sorry, David, but if you can’t pay what you owe then I will have to take the inn from you as was agreed upon when you signed the contract. It is the deal you made with my uncle. He owns this land and you agreed to pay rent to have your business here. You’ve broken that promise.”

“Not really. You see, my father made that deal with Lord Corbett, not me.”

“Your father is dead is he not?”

“Yes.” David released a deep breath and looked to the floor, missing the man immensely. “His heart gave out about a year ago.”

“Now you hold the position of proprietor and are responsible for making the payments.”

“Aye. Yes, of course. You know that.”

She held out her hand. “Then the deed, please.”

David blinked in shock, not expecting this when she said she wanted to speak in private. My, how cold she’d turned so quickly. This was a side of Martine that he’d never seen and didn’t like at all.

“Martine, nay.” Panic rushed through him. How could she turn him away after he asked for her help? Mayhap he really didn’t know the woman because he thought she’d be kind. Not mean like her cousin. “You’re not really going to take away my family’s business, are you? This is our home. We’ll have nowhere to live. Nowhere to go.” He wanted to shout out in anger and tell her not to do it. Not after his family had bent over backwards to help them. His family didn’t deserve to be homeless. He didn’t want to lose everything to a noble just because he wasn’t rich enough to pay the enormous rent demanded of him. “It’s not fair.”

There was a moment of silence between them. He’d given it a try and it hadn’t worked. Why had he even hoped that it would?

“I have a job to do, David, and I’m here to do it.”

“You’re right,” he finally said with a sigh, walking over and opening the lid of a wooden box. “Here is the deed.” He picked it up reverently since this was everything his family had worked so hard for all of their lives. “I’ll sign it over to Lord Blake as agreed upon.” He picked up a quill.

“Nay, wait,” she said, surprising him once again.

“My lady?” he asked in question, turning around while holding his breath, hoping she’d had a change of heart.

“Sign it over to me instead, not my uncle.”

“To… ?” He stared at her in confusion. The mean streak he’d seen in Lady Raven was now rearing its ugly head in her once again. He supposed it was in their blood and they couldn’t help it. After all, why would they even care about poor commoners like David and his family? They were nobles and thought differently than the townsfolk. They didn’t know what it was to go hungry or to worry they’d have nowhere at night to lay their heads.

“Your tavern and your inn will be mine now,” she announced proudly with her chin held high in the air.”

“Yes, my lady.” He solemnly turned to basically sign his life over to her.

“However, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

He quickly signed the paper and looked back over his shoulder at her. “What does that mean?”