Lady Thief (4 page)

The castle may have looked chilly from the
outside but on the inside the decorative tapestries that hung over
the stone walls, in the solar especially, made it seem more like a
home than a fortress.
Marianne had never seen anything like it, and
she fought the lump in her throat with the thought that she would
have to get used to it quickly.
This was her home now.

Archer stood off in the corner with his hands
clasped in front of him and his head bent while her father spoke on
his behalf.

“Fiendish and absolutely corrupt he is, and I
am sincerely apologetic that he is from my own home and humiliated
that I had not noticed the horrendous nature of his character,
though I give you my word, my honorable word, that he has been
severely punished.”

Archer shifted uncomfortably, and Holton
continued with his hands clasped together and his face pleading for
any understanding that William’s predicament was no fault of his.
“I have taken into account that you may wish to have him punished
further, which was why I was so merciful when I handled his
discipline, personally I might add, I would not have trusted such a
thing with anyone else.
As he is now your property you may wish to
handle him as you see fit.”

Marianne tensed when the offer was put on the
table and spun her head to Archer, who lifted his head and let his
mouth fall open.

“Father, you cannot
sell
him!”

“Be silent you stupid girl,” Holton raised
the back of his hand to her.

“There will be none of that,” William
interjected, raising his own hand for peace and lowering it when it
was attained, a gentle smile lifting his lips.
“Remember that
tonight I have been reunited with my bride.
I am pleased and expect
all others to be as well.”

His eyes met hers and Marianne was so caught
by the sincerity of his words that for a moment she believed he was
telling the truth.

Then his eyes grew cold and they turned back
to her father.
“Now, about our arrangement,”

“My lord, I brought what I could,” Sir Holton
waved his hand towards the sacs of coins, gold frames wrapped in
cloth, rings and every exotic spice that was available to him,
which sat in a useless heap on the floor.

The Holton manor had been stripped nearly
bare of all things fine to pay for Marianne’s dowry.
The green gown
she wore was the last of her finery, with only her plainest of
clothing packed into her luggage, and this was only because her
father did not want them to present himself as a pauper to
William.

Still, they both knew it would hardly be
enough.

Holton pointed his hand in Archer’s
direction, but did not look at him, though he sneered dramatically
when he spoke of him.
“I would offer you this servant, not sell, as
compensation for the trouble you have had to endure at his
wretched, deceiving hands.
His father made the finest arrows so he
has some skill in that trade, but his specialty lies with the
horses.
He can sleep with them as well if you like.
Or you may
dispose of him.”

Marianne shrieked.
“Father!”

He did not flinch at the high pitch produced
so closely to his ear, nor did he look at her.
Marianne was left
with the helpless notion that no matter how much she yelled or
begged, Archer’s fate was entirely out of her hands.

William turned to Archer, and Marianne’s
heart fell into her stomach while he considered it.

She silently prayed, though for what she was
unaware.
Should Lord Gray turn Archer away he would have no home to
go to as he was obviously no longer welcome to work at Holton
House.

And if he stayed here, what then?
How would
he be treated?
Lord Gray had sworn on his honor in a church that he
would pretend those men had never existed should he see them again,
but it was quite difficult to pretend in this situation, if he ever
had any intention of keeping his word, that is.

Lord Gray tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“Despite my suspicious nature, which you will find forgivable as
you wish to give me a servant who has participated in my abduction,
and whom you have called a treacherous villain, I shall accept him.
He sounds as if he can be of use.
I will not ‘dispose’ of him,
however.”

Marianne shrieked inside her head for joy and
anguish, and Archer continued to open and close his mouth, as if
the words he wanted had been sucked from his body.
Eventually he
resigned himself to the rueful fact that he could not speak against
his betters and lowered his head.

Holton grew two inches taller.
“Understandable, milord, very understandable.
You are very generous
in your kindness.
Now, just between the two of us, my lord,”
Marianne’s father freely walked around the table and approached
Gray with the air of an old friend, and without permission as
well.

Marianne was not sure of their manner towards
each other, especially when Lord Gray was so friendly earlier.
Whatever friendliness was there had evidently been a show put on
for the servants, because now he seemed appalled that Marianne’s
father could do such a thing as kneel down and put his fatherly arm
around William’s noble shoulder.

Holton hardly seemed to notice.
“I know that
Archer somehow tricked my daughter into this scheme, villain that
he is.
He confessed as much.
There must have been more people
involved, but no one in my household will speak of such things
despite my best efforts.”

Marianne wondered if her father’s best
efforts were still stinging poor Archer’s raw back.

“Tell me, my lord, how many men accosted you
in the church?
Tell me what they looked like and I swear on my
honor I shall help you track down every last one of those cowardly
worms.
Should they be a part of my household they shall be tossed
out and left to starve.” He paused, as though remembering that the
decision would not be his.
“Or, you may dispense of them
yourself.”

William looked at Marianne with a raised brow
when her father finished with his speech.

She held her breath and returned his steady
gaze, her fists shaking at her sides as she addressed her father.
“I told you there was no one else.”

Red faced, her father ran back around the
table to screech in her ear.
“Nonsense!
Who performed the marriage
then?”

William stood and commanded all of the
authority into his voice as he glared down ice at Holton.
Lord Gray
was a head taller than his shorter, thicker guest, and easily
intimidated him with these alone.
“Sir Holton, you are correct that
someone had to be present to perform the ceremony.
Since that man
would obviously have to be a man of the cloth, I will withhold his
name and assure you that there were no others.
You can rest easy
knowing that your house has not been corrupted by anymore
felons.

Her father’s face returned to a normal color
and Marianne’s face grew hot as she fought not to faint.
She could
hardly believe her ears.

He was going to keep his promise!
If she was
not so put out with him for being the wrong man she would have
thrown her arms about his neck.

Sir Holton muttered to himself grudgingly,
knowing very well that it was beyond him to argue.
“Very good, my
lord, but are you quite sure you would not wish to share the
identity of the priest?”

William glared and Holton flushed, stumbling
to the other side of the table.
“Very well, you are a good man to
protect him, even if he is a man of the cloth.”

“Indeed.” William then turned to Archer who
still had his head down, staring at the floor as though he still
couldn’t quite believe what had occurred.
“You.
I am sure the
others will tell you which way to the stables, go there and ask for
Robert.
He will give you work and show you a place where you may
sleep.”

Archer opened his mouth, and then looked at
Sir Holton, who did not look back at him.
“Aye, milord,” and he
bowed and ducked out of the room.

Marianne’s heart went out to him.
She
guiltily lifted her eyes to look at Lord Gray, wishing he would
bestow some pity on her and let her leave with Archer so that she
would not have to endure anymore of this torture.

He did no such thing, and his eyes remained
cold on her.

A knock on the door sounded and a servant
walked in without waiting for an invitation.

His audacity startled Marianne when the man
stopped cold in his tracks at the sight of both Marianne and her
father.

Sir Holton snapped at him.
“The nerve of you!
Coming in here and interrupting us?”

“Milord, I am deeply sorry, I—-” the servant
cleared his throat and spoke as if he had not heard her father.
“Your guests are arriving outside, milord.”

Marianne felt sick.
Guests meant that she
would have to stay in William’s company longer.
Much longer if this
were to be the proper celebration of a true earl.

She did not know if she could face the guests
and play the blushing bride to satisfy the crowd.

William turned his back on Sir Holton and
Marianne to look out the windows, and by his expression Marianne
knew that he could see the guests coming up the same road she had
traveled earlier.

“I see.
Adam, have their rooms prepared and
bring them some warm wine.
The days are becoming chilled.”

The servant bowed and scurried out the
door.

William walked around his writing table and
Marianne once again found his eyes on her as he approached.
He
stood close, she could feel the heat from his body as he raised his
hand to caress her cheek.
An uncertain chill ran down her spine
that had naught to do with the weather.

His eyes remained cold.
“I should like to
introduce my guests to my beautiful wife.”

***

Marianne’s face burned from her cheeks all
the way to the back of her head from all the false smiling.
Greeting and curtsying to Lady Anne, Lord Gray’s kin, a woman with
the same color hair and eyes as her cousin and nearly the same
height, had been the most horrible experience of her life, because
now Marianne felt like a liar to William’s kin.

Though Anne’s face was plain the mischievous
smile she donned when a morsel of gossip presented itself hinted at
a fun disposition.

Marianne would have certainly enjoyed Anne’s
company had her situation not been so wretched.

Anne’s husband, the Earl of Seacliffe, had
darker hair and stood barely taller than his wife, though their
similar smiles of acceptance towards Marianne made her feel only
more guilty, and that was before the hugging and greeting of
several other well-bred ladies, their husbands, and other distant
relatives and friends of William’s.

All she heard was praise in her ear.

“How lucky you are to have snatched him.”

“Such a beauty ye are, ‘tis no wonder he fell
for ye.”

“What a lovely gown ye wear.
I imagine Lord
Gray must spoil ye quite a bit already.”

Marianne’s eye twitched under her crumbling
patience, but she endured it and no one seemed to believe her
sputtering language was anything other than a weak, womanly shyness
brought on by so many people.

She looked through the crowds, wishing the
fog of laughing and dancing people would all decide that the room
was too hot for their tastes and scatter, hopefully home to their
own beds.
But they stayed and remained oblivious of the
helplessness of their hostess.

Marianne saw William studying her from a
group of men with an entertained smirk on his face.

She fought to keep from scowling at him in
front of so many noble people.
Instead, she brightened her smile,
poured every happy memory into her head and let him have it.

The shocked expression on his face made it
worth the effort, but her cheeks and skull felt as though they were
on fire.

Her face relaxed when she felt a prickle
behind her neck.
She turned and Sir Ferdinand appeared through the
haze of people.
Fear jolted inside of her and consumed her body
like wildfire.
Her eyes met his through the haze of dancing people
as he stood off the wall and openly stared.
His crooked nose
scrunched and drooping eyes sent her hideous messages of his
displeasure.

Marianne shivered, then froze, forgetting the
conversation Lady Anne was trying to have with her when Ferdinand
approached and formally bowed.