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“I wish I had more time. I could work wonders with your hair.” She glances over her shoulder at one of the dark-haired thugs who’s watching us. He shakes his head and she sighs. “Oh, well, it will have to do.”
Like a good little dress up doll, I follow her instructions as she applies some make up.Close your eyes. Open your eyes. Rub your lips together.When she’s finished, she nods approvingly and packs up her things.
“Come on,” the thug on the right says to me. He has an interesting face. His skin is weathered. His eyes are wide and expressive, and his nose is flattened, making him look like he’s gone ten rounds with Anthony Joshua. “You don’t want to keep the groom waiting.”
My stomach drops. I mean, I’m not stupid. I had a feeling that’s what the white gown, hair and make-up were about, but hearing it makes me want to vomit. Does he really expect me to marry him? I can’t imagine why he’d want me. Or does he perhaps intend to marry me off to some hideous old man, to make my life a misery? I have no idea what lengths a man like Alexander might go to in order to exact revenge against my family.
When I don’t get up from the bed, the two men step toward me. Unwilling to let them put their hands on me, I get up and now my head. Seemingly satisfied I’ll cooperate, they step back. I follow them along a featureless corridor and down a narrow flight of stairs. We come to a landing and walk a few yards along a corridor with wood-paneling and portraits of stern-faced men looking down at us. We reach the top of a grand staircase leading down onto a magnificent entrance hall. It occurs to me that the room I was in was probably in the servants’ quarters, which says a lot about how Alexander views me.
The man himself is standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me. He’s wearing full Highland dress, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what he’s hiding under that kilt. Shaking off those distracting thoughts, I pad down the stairs. The stone steps are cold beneath my bare feet. Nobody gave me shoes and I wonder if that was deliberate, to make me feel small next to the towering figure of Alexander Shaw. They don’t need to employ little tricks to give me a sense of inadequacy in his presence. It’s already there, but I’ll be damned if I let it show.
“What the hell is doing on?” I demand, as Alexander extends a hand to me. I don’t take it.
“I think that’s obvious. We’re getting married.”
It almost comes as a relief that he intends to marry me himself and not pass me off to someone worse. “But why? You barely know me. You certainly don’t love me.”
Alexander slashes a dismissive hand through the air. “Love isn’t required. This is merely an arrangement. You owe me a family and I don’t intend for my children to be born out of wedlock.”
“What?” I splutter.
“Your family took mine, so you will provide me with a new one. My heirs must be legitimate to inherit my estates, so we will marry before I put my child in your belly.”
My jaw drops. There is no way I’m going to agree to this. Though I’ve always imagined what I might do to atone for my father’s sins, this is going too far. “If you think I’m going to agree to that, you’re insane.”
“Possibly,” he agrees in a reasonable tone. “Clawing his way back from death’s door to be reminded he’s the only survivor of an ambush might drive a man to insanity.”
Flooded with guilt, I reach out and lay my hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Alexander. I really am, but I can’t do what you’re asking.”
Grabbing my wrist, he leans down and snarls at me. “I’m not asking, sweetheart. Now, be a good girl, or suffer the consequences.”
“What, worse consequences than being shackled to a man who hates me?”
“I don’t hate you, Cara. If I did, I’d have left you in London for Jason Henry to snatch up.”
I can’t suppress a shudder at the mention of Jason’s name. “He wouldn’t take me without my father’s permission.”
“Your father’s been sick, Cara. He knows the end is coming. He’s handed everything over to Jason, including you.”
Nausea rises inside of me. The thought of Jason Henry touching me is horrifying. “So you’re my knight in shining armor, are you?”
Alexander scoffs. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I will promise you this, Cara, once you’re my wife, no other man will ever touch you.”
No other man.“But you will?”
“Of course. Like I said, Cara, I want a family. In return for my protection, I expect you to deliver.”
Though I fear what might happen if Jason gets hold of me, I can’t give in to Alexander. What he wants is absurd. As he tugs me toward a long corridor leading away from the front door, I wrench my arm free of his grasp.
Turning on my heel, I run. I barely make it six steps before I’m swept off my feet and thrown over Alexander’s broad shoulder.
“What the hell? Put me down!”
“Not a chance, sweetheart.”
I kick and scream, but my efforts are futile. My struggles make no impact on Alexander. He carries me into a dimly lit room with a large wooden desk and two Chesterfield sofas in it. He drops onto one of the sofas and rearranges me over his lap. It’s insulting how easily he manipulates my body.
“Stop that!” I demand, as he whips my skirts up to expose my bare bottom.
