“You and your wife were sensible at least; only three children.”
A muscle twitched in her father’s jaw.
Halverton’s smile sharpened. He had found the bruise and pressed it.
“Ah. No. Not three. There were more, were there not? And now they are gone. Which rather proves my point: Morrans produce more children than they can keep alive.”
Her father’s breath left him in a shudder. His voice, when it came, was a low, controlled growl.
“Do not speak of my children.”
Halverton’s smile remained. “I speak of simple arithmetic. Your older children might be alive today if you had not continued to reproduce past your capability to provide.”
“You pompous, heartless bastard!” her father erupted, voice cracking loud enough to startle Maire.
Halverton turned his head slightly, regarding him the way one might regard an aggressive dog.
“You will lower your voice.”
Her father stepped closer. “Do not speak of things you do not understand.”
Halverton’s smile sharpened. “I will speak on whatever topic I please.”
Her father trembled with rage, Halverton growing colder. She knew what would come next. She moved quickly, stepping between them before her father could say another word.
“Stop,” she said.
Halverton’s eyes snapped to her.
The entrance hall contracted, shrinking to just Halverton and her.
For a full heartbeat, he said nothing, only stared at her. Every lesson he’d pressed upon her these past weeks reflected back at him in this single act of defiance.
He had boasted of how well he had trained her.
Of how well he had shaped her to be a lady.
And here she was, publicly contradicting him, taking the side of a man who dared challenge him.
His voice, when it came, was quiet. “Aoife.”
Her name landed like a warning.
“You will step aside.”
“No.” Her voice trembled, but held. “He’s done nothing wrong.”
Halverton’s eyes darkened in a way she’d never seen before, the danger of disobedience more real than ever.
He moved before her father could speak again.
He struck her.
There was no hesitation in the motion, no stumble, no accident. His hand cut across her cheek with the solid, deliberate force of a man delivering correction, not losing control.
Pain exploded white-hot. The ground lurched. She hit the floor, Maire’s scream piercing the ringing in her ears.
Her father fell to his knees beside her, horror flooding his face.
