Eternal Eden

The orchestra had played its last nocturne, the last bottles of champagne and pinot noir had been emptied, and my net of feigned excitement for my Betrothal had been cast, by the time the grandfather clock in the foyer chimed twelve times.

  As if some secret code, the remaining guests filtered through the foyer and out the front doors. Grabbing their silk shawls and overcoats as they exited, they showered their thanks and endless congratulations to John and me as we escorted them to their luxury European vehicles awaiting them in the driveway.

  I’d played my part to the tee, and should have been exhausted beyond repair after murmuring tireless responses to John and dancing the endless waltzes he implored his soon-to-be wife to accompany him in; but neither my determination nor my strength felt depleted. If the only worthy charge I could carry out in my Immortal life was to build a convincing wall of deception for John that would protect William, I would do it without complaint.

  Draco and Yasmin were the last of the guests to leave. Draco bid us goodnight and expectations for a forthcoming Unity ceremony in the coming month. Yasmin troubled herself with an enticing smile for John and a rueful one for me. I mirrored hers with my own, and knew I’d hit the mark and overtaken her own surly farewell when she huffed, turned her back to me, and exited without the accompaniment of Draco’s arm.

  Two can play at this game, Miss Cheekbones. We’ve got forever to hate each other if that’s the way you prefer it.

  I was nearly glowing from the new found courage and confidence I’d summoned from deep within, but I knew the moment I entered the solitude of my bedroom and walked onto the balcony that was full of memories, I would break down. The façade of bravery would crumble with no one present.

  Looking up the long stairway leading to my bedroom, I felt the cement of hesitancy pouring over my feet. I tried to pry one foot from the marble floor to take a step forward and meet the inevitable sadness that awaited me in my room, but I couldn’t. It was stuck in place.

   “You can stay with me tonight if you like,” John whispered beside my ear, misinterpreting my hesitancy. His teeth bit down softly on the end of my earlobe before he leaned back.

  My face was overcome with fear before I could draw the curtain of resolve back over it.

   “We could go away for awhile. Tell the Council we were United overseas,” he said, again misreading the meaning behind my expression. He drew me unimaginably close to him, bowing my body against his. “They would all understand our haste.” His lips positioned themselves over the side of my neck just above my shoulder, where the symbol of the promise made to me earlier this evening rested. A promise that could now, never be fulfilled.

  “They all know the agony of waiting for what you know is yours to rightfully partake in one day soon,” his voice was muffled from the continued movement of his lips on my neck, but each word rung with deafening clarity.

  “I want you Bryn—tonight. I want what is mine to have.” His hands released their hold on my back and slid into position over my hips, gripping each prominent bone with urgency. His lips journeyed up to mold around the form of my jaw-line. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning before anyone has a chance to notice the sapphire-blue affixed permanently in your eyes, and when we return, we’ll tell everyone we couldn’t wait any longer and were United while we were away—consummating the Unity immediately after.”

  One hand left the curve of my hips and slid up my bodice, cupping under my breast. I willed myself to remove my soul from my body and to take an objective perspective to the man whom I was doomed to spend eternity with—knowing that whether tonight or some night in the near future we were fully United—it would make no difference to the betrayal my body would know when being experienced by anyone but William. I tried objectivity (even rationality) for a moment, but when his hands continued their northward journey, my body convulsed and I lurched out from his suffocating hold.

  His eyes met mine with earnest disappointment and a flash of anger reddened the tips of his ears.

  “As difficult as it is for me to say this, John . . . I can’t be with you tonight,” I lied through clasped teeth with the aftershocks of my spasm still running through my body. “I want to try my hardest to adhere to the ways of Immortality, and I’m afraid I’d forever be upset with myself if I gave in so easily tonight.”

  He didn’t look like he was buying my act, so I improvised and . . . embellished.

  I shot him a coy smile and flickered my eyelashes as I grabbed one of his hands. “Would you mind waiting for me, darling? Just until we can arrange for a quick Union ceremony, of course.” The words spilled from my lips, feeling like hemlock to my insides.

  A slow smile formed over his lips, and he leaned his head back and released a deep throated chuckle. “I suppose I should have known you’d turn into a pious one given the education from Mr. Winters and the unanimous approval of the Council.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “I can wait for you. I will wait for you.” He raised one of my hands to his lips and kissed each finger. “Let’s not keep me waiting too long though, shall we? I’d say a Unity ceremony is in order for the very near future.”

  He raised his eyebrows in expectation, and I kept the coy smile plastered on my face until he bid me good night and turned on his heels to have a cigar and brandy on the back patio.

  The solitude of my room was less horrifying than I’d imagined. I tore out of the ill-fated dress and left it lying in a crumpled mess on the floor. I wiped the rouge color from my lips with my arm and somehow managed to slip into a long, white nightgown before the start of my hysterics came.

  They floored me, knocking every last bit of muscle stamina and internal strength I’d borrowed against to get through this night. Thankfully, I was next to my bed when my knees buckled and I collapsed into it. I gasped fiercely, forcing my screams to be muffled by the plushy down of my pillows. My eyes welled over in endless tears, each one reminiscent of some memory I had of William.

  Some memory I would have forever, but no more would accumulate. Despite what Patrick and he had promised tonight, I would not allow them to endanger themselves by stealing me away. Things much too significant had been set in motion, and John had staked his claim on me as officially as an Immortal could.

  I knew he would never stop hunting me if I disappeared, and it wouldn’t take him long to go down the list of possible accomplices, especially given William and my emotion-filled waltz tonight. I wouldn’t put his life in danger, and while my bleak future as Mrs. John Townsend was close to the inner circle of hell . . . at least I would have the knowledge that somewhere, William lived on,

  Ever so slowly, my hysterics calmed, and my body allowed me the protection of shutting itself down before I had a complete and irreversible break in my spirit.

  I dreamed unfathomably sweet dreams that night, coming in and out of consciousness so each dream felt real, and reality felt like a dream. It was an unexpected heaven and hope flickered—somewhere between the roller coaster of dreams—that if every night forward could be like this, I could get through the rest of my eternity with a bit more enthusiasm. My days spent with John out of obligation, and every night with William because I wanted him and called him back to my dreamlike reality.

  I could feel the pleasant warmth of daylight coming through my balcony doors when yet another dream came—this one the most euphoric and real feeling than any of the others. His hand stroking over the length of my cheek was warm and soft, and his presence emitted a dynamic electricity that intertwined with mine in the most intimate of ways, and his voice—that beautiful voice that could have raised me from the dead— whispered my name over and over again, until my heart felt like it was going to burst from the let down of opening my eyes and finding myself alone . . .  forever alone.

  “Bryn, can you hear me?” his sweet voice continued on, astoundingly clear. “We must hurry my love.”

  The voice sounded almost pleading now . . . and why was he saying we needed to hurry? A
s long as I kept my eyes closed and my mind carefully focused on holding him there, there was no need to hurry.

  “I love you, my little temptress.” The stroking of my cheek stopped, much to my dismay; but was replaced by the fullness of his lips and the startling realness of the electricity that pulsed through me. It shocked open my dreamy eyes.

  “Oohhhhh!” I gasped when I saw the face I’d spent the entire night (okay . . . the entire past month) staring back at mine. His hand flashed over my mouth, gently silencing my outburst.

  “Shhhh . . .”—he chuckled softly, his eyes triumphant—“you’re going to wake the entire Manor before I can get you over the balcony wall.”

  “William?” It was the stupidest response I probably could have said given everything I’d imagined and wished I could say to him if I was ever allowed a second again with him. I didn’t even manage to get the two syllables out without my voice cracking.

  He chuckled again. “In the flesh and blood. I’m sorry I couldn’t come back for you last night, but Patrick advised against it.” His voice took on a serious tone, and his pupils read an emotion so deep I felt sure I was staring into two black holes. “He said there would be too many watchful eyes on the look out, and it would be more prudent to wait until this morning as we’d originally planned. Although, it’s me instead of Joseph leaving with you.” He smiled largely, as if he preferred this outcome over the other. I know I certainly did.

  I’m sure the face he looked into appeared stunned, bewildered, doubtful . . . and a bouquet of other emotions as well. I still wasn’t convinced he was really here in front of me.

  “William?” I murmured stupidly again, and instead of waiting for another verbal reassurance from him, I took a course of action I knew would confirm if the man sitting on the edge of my bed was real, or a conjuring of my imagination.

  I lifted my head from my pillow and threw both arms around his neck at the same moment I placed my lips over his to find my answer. He responded immediately, wrapping both of his arms around me and pulling me against him, where our lips attracted each other like magnets.

  When I pulled back from him, breathless and reeling from the sparks that surged through my body, I had all the answer I needed. He was here in true form with me now, promising to remove me from the confines of my bar-less jail. His eyes closed for a moment and a pleasant smile spread over his face.

  As my lips cooled and my mind cleared, I was reminded of something infinitely important. “He’ll know it was you.”

  He reached his hand to my face, molding it over my cheek. “That’s why I’m leaving with you now, instead of staying behind.”

  “He’ll still figure it out. You know that, and once he does he will make it his sole mission to find us.” I tried to keep the high notes of hysteria from my voice, but I heard a few slip through. “You know this better than anyone, William.”

  Wasn’t he the one who wanted to be so careful about my escape plan, the one who told me John was not the kind of man one should cross, and the kind of man that always got what he wanted?

  A dark fury flowed through his eyes. “Let him come. I will be ready—we will all be ready. Our Alliance is strong and will defend you.” The darkness hardened in his eyes and resolve pounded through, melding into the shattered cracks. “I will not leave you here for another hour to be at the mercy of John and his corrupt Council—”

  “But . . .” I interrupted, ready to make my valid counter argument, but was struck speechless when I saw the desperation that knotted his face. His eyes dropped, and if I hadn’t seen his lips move I might not have heard the muted words he spoke.

  “Please don’t make this difficult. I will not be separated from you. Even if you do what you think is noble and in my best interest, and stay behind . . .  so will I. Even if you go forward with the Unity to John, I will stay here just so I can be with you. If only to be with you in the occasional passing in a hallway, or the courteous exchange of a good morning. . .”

  I blinked several times, fighting tears. 

  “My life has not been my own since you entered it decades ago. It belongs to you fully and you cannot expect I could go on living while separated from you when everything of any substance in my life remains here with you.”

  Finished with his confessional, his eyes remained lowered and his face wrinkled from the painful images the future might hold for us. As dead set as I’d been on staying here and doing my duty of protecting him from whatever punishment John would hastily dish out if the truth was discovered, his words reminded me of what I’d known all along—William and I could no more survive being apart from one another than a Mortal could without clean air. He was right. From the moment we entered each other’s lives we became one—incapable of sustaining life on our own. Even if we were capable of sustaining life apart, it wouldn’t be much of a life to live.

  Despite the consequences and unknown future that would be ours for the remainder of our eternities with what we were about to do, it was worth it. Whether we had to be in hiding, or on the run and fearing for our very existences every day forward, we would take it all happily in exchange for being together.

  Finally shutting my mind off and allowing my heart to govern my future going forward, I responded without thinking. “What are we still doing here?” There was a lightness and joy in my voice I resurrected from the grave I’d buried them in last night. “I’ve had more than enough of Townsend Manor and its owner for one eternity.”

  The mix of relief and joy that burst over William’s face was heart-wrenching.

  “Now . . . we’re leaving right now.” He laughed eagerly.

  “But first”—his hand reached up and his thumb polished over the shape of my lips, making thinking difficult to attain—“there’s something I need to do.” His eyes danced with the mischief that would always be his trademark, while his arms grabbed tightly around my waist, pulling me down over him as he laid back in bed.

  His movements were so swift I wasn’t quite sure how I’d ended up on top of him, my face inches from his, but our uneven breathing and the electric charge coursing through my body assured me of our precarious position.

  “What do you need to do?” I asked, not really caring as long as he didn’t let me go.

  “This,” he answered, running one hand up my back and behind my head, pulling it to him. Our lips touched with the shyness of strangers at first, but it didn’t take them long to be reminded of who they were united with. Mine moved always a bit more urgently than his, and by the time he caught up, I’d already moved on to the next level.

  This pattern continued until I could feel his lips quivering beneath mine, and the heaviness of his breathing was interlaced with sighs of pleasure. If he would have been a Mortal, I was sure I would have been suffocating him—but excusing my actions given his Immortality and that he wasn’t objecting—I continued on.

  With as much speed and grace as before, I was suddenly on my back. William’s face hovered over mine, and to my great satisfaction, the rest of him did as well. The movements from the quick rise and fall of his chest threatened to undo my slightly refocused mind now that our lips were separated. With that reminder, my head lifted off the mattress and towards his mouth floating above mine. I let my lips rest on his without moving, parting his mouth softly, so I could breathe his breath in and hold him inside me forever. 

  William’s gaze suddenly flashed up with alert in them, but his eyes moved a one-hundredth of a second faster than his lips and the rest of his body could move from me. I heard the thunder of my door being thrown open so hard it smashed into the wall behind it.

  William froze, only removing his lips from our embrace. His arms tightened around me protectively as raucous footsteps pounded through the door. I didn’t look at the intruders, I didn’t need to. I knew who would be there and only waited for his voice to do a final confirmation.

  “My, my—look at what we have here,” John’s voice exploded, cutting through my ear
drums and pounding my insides. “This wouldn’t be the woman I was Betrothed to not even twelve hours ago lying beneath one of my men and her professor would it be?”

  I refused to look at John and whoever else was with him. I held my focus on the man above me, melding my body against his. His eyes were glowing with hatred.

  William looked ready to take on John and his crew at any minute, and I couldn’t find a trace of doubt on his face that he wouldn’t succeed. It was his confidence that gave me mine. I wanted to shout obscenities at John, along with : Don’t you see you idiot? I’ll never love you. Or perhaps, There’s nothing you could have done, or can do now to keep William and me apart. Even with our deaths you cannot separate us. I wanted to spit the pent up shrapnel at the man nearing his boiling point behind us. I’d never seen John lose his cool, but the frantic pacing I could hear behind me and the words spoken through tightly clenched teeth confirmed—without having to look at him—he was close to loosing his claim on sanity.

  “What is a man to do about this,” John feigned musing—his words not inflected as a question and I was certain this was because he already knew what he was going to do about this.

  “Thomas, Dante—would you please retrieve my Betrothed from underneath Mr. Hayward and bring her to me?”

  At John’s request, I heard two figures stepping towards us, but with the tap of the first footfall, William grabbed me up from the bed and had me across the room with blinding speed; with him positioned between me and the approaching men. He held his arms out and was kneeling defensively, ready to attack.

  I got my first glimpse of the party in my room; John, a couple of his approaching goons, and Stella. Her arms crossed contemptuously, and a smug smile decorated her bee-stung lips. Her presence seemed out of place in this muscled line-up John had assembled, but I was certain he’d brought her along for a reason. John never did anything without intention.

  I gasped when my mind caught up with the impending situation and I recalled what name John had used of William’s—his true last name. Hayward. My stomach churned and my throat constricted as if a boa constrictor wound around it, suffocating it of life. He found out who William really was . . . but how?

  I was sure William hadn’t missed John’s mention of his true name, but he continued his silent sentinel in front of me. He was teetering from side to side, depending on which side either man approached. At the same time, he was inching back, forcing me to do the same. He was making our way towards the open balcony doors.

  “Why don’t you stop right there, Mr. Hayward. I don’t think you’ll find that exit any more desirable than the door behind me.” John glanced purposefully behind us.

  I turned my head, following John’s gaze. There were two more men I’d never seen before, pressing towards us from the balcony, equally as large and imposing as the two still advancing before us. My head shot feverously from William, to John, to the two men in front of us and now the two men behind us—closing in the gap between us with each step.

  John’s face was filled with a look of conquest, William’s filled with resolve, and the faces of the four men who would be able to wrap their open arms around us in six more steps, were filled with a sense of duty.

  William’s eyes scanned over each man, as if analyzing every strength and weakness, formulating a plan as to how best attack so as to provide enough of a window for an escape. I knew though, there would be no escape if he factored me into it. I was still too weak to do any good against these monster sized men. A thought flickered through my mind—if I could tie up a couple of the men with a distraction, William could make an almost easy escape . . .

  “Go, William . . . please,” I begged, my voice shaking. I took a step back, and then another; separating from my protector and surrendering to the unknown men behind us. Their attention distracted by my surrender would give him enough time to make his escape via the balcony.

  His head spun around, and his eyes became wild when he saw me moving towards the men behind us. In another blinding flash, I was in his arms as they formed like vices locking around me.

  He whispered softly into my ear, “I thought we already discussed this—we won’t ever let ourselves be apart again. No matter what price we must pay . . . no matter what befalls us.”

  I nodded, choking back the ball suffocating my throat, “Whatever end may come,” I vowed, as our eyes locked in what might be the final exchange of intimacy.

  John’s voice crushed the sliver of peace we’d summoned, and stilled the two men in front of us. “Come now, William. There’s no need to be so overly-protective.” His voice sounded placating. “Do you really think I would allow any harm to come to my lovely Betrothed?”

  William’s eyes narrowed, his face full of hate. I could see John’s words had not convinced him any more than they had me.

  “Of course, I can’t promise the same thing for you, Mr. Hayward, but I will allow justice to be served. We shall put this before the Council, and they will sentence you for what they see appropriate.” John approached us, Stella sneering her way in unison.

  “Although I don’t think the outcome will be what the little infatuated pet in your arms would approve of. Espionage and, shall we say, inappropriate behavior with another man’s Betrothed?” John thrummed his fingers together. “And to think I’d always been under the impression the Hayward name came with such a high degree of respect and moral esteem.”

  William’s clutch tightened yet again on me, and I buried my head under his chin, savoring our last embrace.

  Tired with the formalities and seeing that his lecture was getting him no where, John sighed. “There’s two ways this can go, William.” His tone scalded like acid. “One—you can maintain your hold on her, and I command my men forward, but of course, I cannot guarantee she will not be injured in the process.”

  William’s face contorted, despite the fact that whatever injury may be inflicted, I would be healed from it in hours.

  “Or two—you can release her and surrender yourself, to await your sentence from the Council. My Council. ” John tilted his head and smiled crookedly, knowing William enough to know what option he’d choose.

  “You swear to me no harm will come to her.” William growled through his teeth. My fingers gripped deeper into his flesh, wishing I could adhere to him. I didn’t want to go anywhere without him.

  A half smile pulled at the corner of John’s mouth. “I swear.”

  I felt his hold on me loosen, but it wasn’t the natural kind of loosening one might expect when being set down from someone’s arms. It felt like ever muscle and fiber in his body was fighting a battle to contract around me again, to permanently cement me to his body—the only thing able to force the continued loosening was the strength of his will.

  “It’s your choice, William, but you’ve got five seconds to make it.”

  Ignoring John, William lowered his mouth to my ear again. His quiet voice flowed with urgency, “You stay silent, no matter what is said or happens. Let me do the talking . . . and then,” his voice nearly faltered, but when he continued, his voice was flat and emotionless, “when I’m gone, you wait and stay obedient here until my brothers come for you. They will come. I swear to you.”

  My body chilled with the understanding of his words, and a darkness covered me that could only be cast by pure evil’s soul.

  “I love you. I always have Bryn, and I always will. My love will always be with you—to protect you whenever you need it most.” He kissed me softly just below my ear, and then his determined arms lost the battle to his formidable will, and he set me down on the floor.

  I twisted immediately around to face him, to reach back out for him, but he was already backing up from me, with his hands raised in surrender towards the men behind him.

  “No, William!” I cried out. I wanted him to run more than I had before, even after his reminder that we swore we’d never allow separation to tear us apart again. I hadn’t allowed myself to think of
the severity of punishment he would be sentenced to, until he’d whispered it into my ear.

  He smiled at me with peace filled eyes, and the two men grabbed him from behind.

  John sounded exultant, “Stella, if you would be so kind.”

  Stella sauntered from John’s side to the trio of men. She smiled wickedly at me in passing, before resting one hand over William’s shoulder and raising her eyebrows to John.

  “We wouldn’t want you doing anything too rash, now would we? You see, now that I know who you are, I’m very well aware of the powers you possess. Your remarkable strength could quite easily best my men. That’s why I’ve brought Stella along, of course. Her talent comes in handy in these kinds of situations.”

  Stella’s gift obviously had something to do with why her hand was on William, but what was she doing?

  John answered my question, guessing my thoughts. “Stella is able to render another Immortal’s gift useless.” He looked pointedly at the hand resting on William’s shoulder. “Although she must be touching her victim—”

  I shot him a baleful look.

  “For lack of a better word.” He retorted, his eyes burning with arousal at my sudden fierceness.

  “I would have gone without a fight, you know that John,” William sneered. “This”—his head motioned towards Stella—“is not necessary.”

  John’s face lit up, as if some hidden punch line were coming. “I’m not so sure about that . . . especially with what’s going to happen next.”

  John shrugged his head in my direction, and Thomas and Dante advanced towards me. Before I could take a step back, they had hold of me, each one holding an arm behind my back. I heard the ear-shattering roar behind me.

  “You gave me your word you would do her no harm!” William’s voice tore through the room, fiercer than any voice I’d ever heard.

  John’s laugh could only be compared to that of the devil’s when he’s been notified of another soul taken. “I suppose I did, Mr. Hayward, but I simply cannot let the reciprocal actions of my Betrothed go unpunished. Did you really think I would forgive her so easily and let all this pass.” He motioned with his finger between William and me with agitation, his voice raising an octave with every word. “Did you really think I would settle for used goods and being second best?” His tone was equally deafening to William’s former upheaval. His body shook with convulsions as his anger continued to spill over every plane of his body.

  It was then I noticed William’s face affixed in deep concentration, his body shaking in opposition, and I realized why he was trying to fight now—to fight for what doom he knew we would both meet—and Stella’s gift held his superior strength and skill in her calculating hold.

  I fought against the bear-like hands clutching over my arms, willing my strength to increase at that moment so I could be free of my captors and pummel that twit who was the reason for William being rendered so weak and helpless.

  My attempts were feeble, to put it mildly. I didn’t gain an inch, fighting with all my might against the two gorillas restraining me. I felt their amusement and chuckles reverberating from them.

  “No need to get yourself so worked-up, William. I won’t allow the same punishment that will be yours to cause such waste by putting an end to the pretty little thing before you now.” John approached me, and ran his fingers down my cheek, progressing down my neck.

  “I will still claim her—another addition to my collection—although she’ll be like my dog now. When I call her, she’ll obey and come, and when I’m through with her, I’ll throw her back into the caged prison she will know as home until I require her company again.” John’s hand left my neck, and slapped across my face; leaving a burning sensation behind that felt more like ice than fire.

  William erupted again, a stream of curses and threats that flowed with such speed and intensity, I couldn’t keep up. John recomposed himself; his arrogant demeanor  reaffixed to his face. He looked to be thoroughly enjoying the agony crippling William.

  I remained silent. I wasn’t so shocked by John’s words or actions.  In truth, I’d already expected it would be like this being United with John Townsend . . . even before he’d marched through the doors to my room this morning. What could one expect of a man who was capable of having his wife annihilated from the world because she’d uncovered one of his many vices?

  John nodded at one of the men holding William, and the guard’s arm pressed back, his hand balling into a sizable fist, and launched it into William’s stomach. The punch could have caused enough internal bleeding to have been the death of a Mortal—or at the very least caused someone to cough up a sizable quantity of blood— but William barely showed the smallest flicker of pain when the fist came in contact with the stomach I’d memorized with my fingers (was it only several nights ago?). His face recovered, and the hatred aimed at John returned.

   “Stop it! Don’t touch him!” I yelled at William’s captors.

  “It’s pathetic, you know,” John continued, without mercy. “That you’ve been alone for two hundred plus years, and like some smitten school boy, fall for a putrid Mortal who you save from her own death so as to keep her with you forever, and now . . . ”—John was amused again, laughing darkly—“you’re going to die, and I’m going to take her for my own.” His evil chuckles were then accompanied by five others. “Better luck next time, Mr. Hayward.” 

  John turned on his heels, and marched to the door he’d come through less than ten minutes ago—how could everything change so drastically in a handful of minutes? Story of my life . . .

   He paused and turned his head, raising his eyebrows in expectation, ordering my jailers to surge forward. My head shot back anxiously, making sure the remaining four followed behind us.

  William’s eyes met mine and there was a desperation there that would have floored me had there not been two strong men holding me upright. I forced my head forward again, unable to look into those expressive eyes any longer.

  Furious beyond words, for a more important reason than the sentence I was going to serve in the near future, I turned to John as I was being pulled through the doorway and shouted, “Where are you taking us?”

  “To the Council chambers—you should remember them, my dear.” He smiled wickedly as I replayed the scene in that hideous room in my head. I held back the shudder that sprung up from deep within.

  The new found confidence I’d discovered as of late, emerged, and as I was drug through the door past him, I spat, “The Councilmen all went home last night. It will take you hours to get them reassembled again.” I spoke with fury and justified authority—I’d spent a good portion of last night conversing with the Councilmen’s wives, and they all expressed their eagerness for getting back home after their week long stint at Townsend Manor.

  He smiled ruefully. “That’s quite true. They all did go home last night, but there was a fascinating piece of information I became privy to late last night that got my attention.” I wanted to inquire further into this information, but he continued without pause. “I summoned them all back early this morning, before I found you and Mr. Hayward so inappropriately intertwined.” He cleared his throat, trying to make the words sound vulgar. “They’re already awaiting us below.”

  He shot a devilishly-angelic smile at me as I was pushed through the door, and without a thought I screamed back at him, “I will never be yours! I will never belong to you, no matter what you do.”

  The trio holding firmly to William passed by John and through the doorway next.

  “No, I don’t suppose you’ll ever look at it that way, but nonetheless, you can’t deny the truth, Bryn.” He slammed the door shut behind us and continued to answer me from behind, taking up the rear of our parade. “Although I don’t suppose I’ll ever call you my Betrothed again, nor my wife . . . perhaps whore is more fitting.” He chuckled, and Stella chimed in as well, but both were drowned out by the livid roar that erupted from deep within William.
r />   This time, I felt both my captors shiver in unison with me.