“No…” Violet’s blood ran cold. She had to sit down on the sofa, for her legs were shaking so badly. “No, Father, not again…”
Just earlier this year, he had tried to marry her off to Lord Redfield, a horrible old man known far and wide for his cruelty. Now he was trying to do it again. Just when she thought she was safe from him, he had come back into her life and revived her darkest nightmare.
“Well, if you don’t want it to be you, then it could always be Rosalie,” he suggested, shrugging. “It doesn’t matter to me which of my ungrateful daughters he marries. Nor does it matter to him. But he did specifically request you.”
“Me?” Violet’s stomach churned. “Why would he request me?”
“Because he was eager to marry you before. It is Lord Redfield.”
If Violet had felt nauseous before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now.Lord Redfield.The man she had narrowly avoided marrying all those months ago. And now it was happening all over again, except this time it was even worse.
Back then, she hadn’t tasted the joy of being married to a man she longed for. But ever since her kiss with James, she realized what her life could be like.
And now, to know that she would have to live without him forever…
It was unbearable.
“The irony hasn’t escaped me either,” her father was saying. “Since the last time you were engaged to the man, he has fallen from grace and most people believe that he has left the country. But the truth is, Lord Redfield is engaged in a very profitable business of helping persons of interest leave the country quickly, as I said before. He faked his escape in order to stay here, but he hopes to marry before cleaning up his illegal enterprises and staging his return to the country. Marry and produce an heir, that is, so that whatever happens to him, his estate will remain within the family.”
“So he wants to use me as a broodmare?” Violet asked, enraged.
“What else is a woman, really?” her father sneered.
Violet could have slapped him if she had any strength left. But she didn’t. All she could do was stare up at him, her face flushed with hatred.
“And if I refuse to marry him?” she whispered.
“Then Rosalie will be obliged to take your place. Don’t forget, Cain is upstairs right now, waiting for my signal. If I tell him to, he will grab your sister and drag her down the stairs to my waiting carriage. It would be easier, in fact, than waiting for your annulment to go through. But because Redfield requested you, I must honor that.”
Violet couldn’t speak. The horror that her father was describing had robbed her of her words. But he had misread her silence.
“Are you actually considering letting your sister marry him in your stead?” He sounded amused. “Well, well, Violet, I admit that it surprises and pleases me to see you behave so selfishly. I said we are alike, didn’t I?”
“We are nothing alike!” Violet spat, finding her words in her fury. “I would never threaten or harm others like you do! I would never treat my own family with such cruelty and contempt! And unlike you, I know how to love. That is something you will never, ever experience!”
His lips twitched, and she could tell that he didn’t like what she was saying one bit. But she didn’t care. She needed him to know the truth. She stood up, a surge of energy rushing through her.
“And for your information, women aremuchmore than just broodmares. Which you would have realized if you had ever tried to get to know your daughters or shown any interest in our lives, or even put us before your interests. Perhaps it might have even saved you from becoming the despicable creature you are today.”
“Do not speak to me like that!” Jebediah snarled, a vein throbbing in his temple. “You are my daughter, and you will show me respect!”
“I will never show you any respect as long as I live! But instead, I will show you what it means to love and to put others first.” She drew herself up, still glaring at him. “I will go with you in lieu of my sister. You will tell Cain that I am complying and that he is not to touch a hair on her head.”
“Very good.”
“I’m not done!”
Jebediah stilled, his eyes cold as they stared at her.
“I will go with you on one condition. The moment you hand me over to Redfield, you will collect your documents and leave the country. And if you ever return, if you ever try to contact or harm me, Rosalie, Iris, or Mother, or if you allow Cain or any of your associates to come near them, I will go straight to the Bow Street Runners and tell them everything you’ve told me. Even if it means you’ll send men to kill me, I will do it.”
Her father stood very still, saying nothing, and she couldn’t read the look in his eyes.
“Because I refuse to live in fear after this,” Violet added. “Even if it means my death.”
Which I may welcome when I marry Redfield.
She closed her eyes briefly as her tears threatened to fall. When she opened them again, her father nodded.
