AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eight
Rosalie
If there was one thing I learned from the few days being at Farrow’s Gate, it was that anyone who ended up marrying Lord Demious would be bored for the rest of their life. He sat at the head of the table, cutting his buttery biscuit into tiny pieces, and dipping each of those tiny, so tiny, pieces into the bowl of soup.
“I have something special today, my ladies,” he said, dotting the napkin to his mouth. “We are leaving the estate.”
Murmurs spread around the breakfast table, and I dropped my roll into the soup bowl with a plop.
“Before there are any ideas of escape, know that while the spell to leave the barrier around my home will be temporarily disabled, the collars will continue to negate your magic. Our guards will make sure no one gets any ideas of leaving.”
I’d expect nothing less. Not like I would run away, at least not yet. My problems would still be there when I got home, and I would be right back where I was before I sold myself off. After last night, I had a terrible sinking feeling that if I got caught escaping those black claws of his would crawl into my mouth and choke me from the inside. Unlike the rest of the girls here, I didn’t have anyone back home who would be searching for me if I suddenly disappeared. I didn’t even know if Calvin was still alive.
Glancing around at the chattering girls, each seemed excited about today’s walk about the town, if that’s where we were even going. How could they be excited? Did these girls actually want to marry him? How could they? Okay, so he wasn’t terrible to look at, handsome even, but between his droning on about himself and the creepy shadow magic, how could any sensible person want to marry him?
“Have you ever been to town?” Janetta whispered.
“Only when I came here, but I think I slept through that part.” I recoiled in disgust at the memory of those two weeks spent in that urine drenched wagon.
“I’ve always wanted to see it. My mother said the entire town is a shimmering color of blues and oranges.”
I realized I knew nothing about Janetta. Not where she came from, or why she was here. “Where’s your home?”
She smiled, gazing out at the open window, almost like she was visualizing the place. “Imagine a cozy village with wide arching trees covered in the greenest moss and stone cobbled roads that wind around thatched cottages each decorated with flowers and plants. Wildflowers, birds that sing day and night, and babbling brooks connecting all of it together.”
“Sounds beautiful.”
“It is.” She turned to me and grabbed my hand. “Promise me, that one day you will come to Aoife and meet my family.”
I squeezed her hand, accepting the offer even though I knew Janetta and I would probably never see each other again after this “competition.”
“Of course,” I promised.
Satisfied, she let go of me and picked up her spoon to finish her soup. “What about you? Where’s your home?”
A servant stepped in between us. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” I waited until the servant had poured the drink before answering.
A sweet, rich scent wafted off the hot liquid. I picked up one of the smaller spoons, which I assumed was for tea, and stirred the liquid around, carefully blowing on it. “I don’t come from anywhere special. Just a wild girl from the North. We’ve got woods, wildcats, and too many briar bushes.”
Janetta laughed, causing Lord Demious to arch a brow in our direction. She covered her mouth, and we spent the next few minutes finishing our meals in silence.
At the end of the meal, Ms. Begalia clapped her hands. “Attention girls, attention! We will be leaving the dining hall, exiting the main entrance, and heading outside where the carriages await.”
Inwardly groaning, I gazed around at all the other prospects.
Out of the ten girls present, I was a hag compared to some. If I was old enough to handle a bunch of firehawks on my own, I didn’t need some old mistress bossing me around. I was too old for this nonsense.
While Ms. Begalia herded us outside like a bunch of cattle, I thought back to my conversation with Baine. For a brief moment, I imagined what being married to Lord Demious would be like . . . the thought of his face close to mine made my stomach curl and I instantly dismissed the idea.
No, not an option.
Even if Baine did mention Lord Demious was a kind man, I couldn’t trust him. Not after he chided me with his magic in the gardens.
“Girls,” Ms. Begalia’s high-pitched voice grated on my ears. “Into the carriage. You two go in that one.”
Janetta stepped into the black carriage waiting outside the mansion. One more carriage parked behind it with guards mounted on horses flanking both.
