Lord Trey sighed. “What my son suggests is not so shocking as it first sounds. We are more…modern at the Capello estate. Your ward would hold a position of honor, and she would reside with us, in her own rooms, at the manor. She would have a place in the family.”
“As his mistress?” my lady demanded. “No.”
“Giselle!” Lord Jean barked, perhaps trying to take control of the conversation.
Royce shrugged. “The girl is of no birth. She cannot remain your ward forever, and this is a good offer.”
I remained frozen, but beside me, I could hear my lady’s quick breaths.
“Kara is the daughter of my brother,” she said. “She is my blood.”
All three men were taken aback, but I knew Lord Jean’s response was one of embarrassment. This truth had never been spoken outside her rooms.
For just an instant, Royce’s face flickered, and then he shook his head. “It is of no matter. She’s of no name and no house.”
My lady’s hand clenched into a fist, but Lord Jean broke in, this time speaking directly to Lord Trey. “My lord, you can see the attachment my wife has for the girl. Surely, some other arrangement can be made in exchange for the land. I would offer twenty-five hundred pieces of silver.”
Royce leaned forward in his chair, addressing Lord Jean. “There will be no further bargaining here. I’ll take fifteen hundred in silver for the land. But if you don’t agree to my terms, I won’t sell to you. And since I find myself in need of funds, I’ll sell the land to someone else.” He paused to let the effect of his threat sink in. Then he repeated slowly, “I want the girl.”
A long moment of silence followed, and then Lord Jean looked to Lady Giselle. “Get her packed.”
My lady shot to her feet. “No!” Reaching out, she took my hand and pulled me up. “We will be in my apartments until these gentlemen leave.”
Needing no urging from her, I gripped her hand and we fled from the hall.
* * * *
Once she and I were alone in her apartments, her anger began to fade and I could see fear in her eyes. The sight of this was more terrifying than anything that had transpired downstairs.
“Don’t let them take me,” I said.
But before she could answer, the door to her apartments opened, and Lord Jean stood on the other side with two of our house guards behind him. Upon seeing the guards, Giselle went pale.
As Lord Jean stepped inside the room, she shouted at him. “This is your fault! You were the one who insisted she be at the table last night to create a distraction and put them off their game.”
His expression was difficult to read. I’d never once heard her speak to him in any other tone than polite deference. He appeared both angry and uncomfortable.
“They’ve promised me she’ll be treated well,” he said.
“Promised?” she cried. “And what good is that? You know nothing of Royce Capello. For all you know, he keeps a riding crop under his bed.”
Lord Jean took a step back. “Don’t be vulgar.”
“Vulgar? Me? You stand there and say that when you are giving our girl away to be some nobleman’s whore!”
His discomfort increased, but so did his anger. “She is not our girl.”
I stood pressed against a wall, and she suddenly went slack in despair. “Please, my lord. Don’t do this. Don’t take her from me. I could not bear it.”
He appeared to waver, and hope rose inside me. In his own way, he loved her. He cared for her feelings.
But then, his expression hardened again. “I have no choice. I’ve paid the fifteen hundred, and the deed will be sent. A maid is packing Kara’s things now, and the Capellos are making ready to leave.” Striding over, he gripped my upper arm but spoke only to her. “You will remain here until they are gone. I’ll leave men to watch over you.”
With that, he dragged me forward. I struggled to pull away, but I don’t think he noticed.
When we reached the door, my lady spoke from behind us.
“I’ll never forgive you for this, Jean. Do you understand what that means? I won’t forgive you.”
Again, he wavered.
Then he dragged me out the door.
* * * *
Down in the courtyard, I saw my trunk being lifted into the back of a wagon, which was already half-filled with the Capellos’ trunks and supplies. A maid from the house came to me and wrapped a cloak around my shoulders, but I was too numb to respond or thank her.
I could not believe what was happening.
Lord Trey and Royce’s horses were saddled, and their six guards were making ready to leave. One of our own guards led a white mare from the stables…with a sidesaddle.
The sight of this made me fear I would faint.
At the look on my face, Royce frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Lord Jean’s brows knitted and then smoothed. “Oh, Kara has never been on…She’s never ridden a horse.”
“How is that possible?”
Shifting his weight between his feet, Lord Jean answered. “Because she’s never been off the manor grounds. She’s rarely been outside the house. You must understand that my lady has kept her…sheltered.”
Silence followed, and even in my frightened state, I sensed there was a good deal taking place beneath this conversation. I simply did not know what.
“You could have her ride in the wagon beside your driver?” Lord Jean suggested.
“No,” Royce answered. “I’ll lead her horse.”
Turning, he gripped my waist and lifted me as if I weighed nothing, setting me into the saddle. Then he mounted his own horse and drew up beside me, lifting the reins over my mount’s head and gripping them in his left hand.
As opposed to reassuring me, this act only made me feel more trapped.
Five of their guards sat on horses. The sixth drove the wagon. The guards wore sheathed swords, but Trey and Royce did not.
I cast a pleading look at Lord Jean, but he turned away. My horse lurched forward, and I gripped her mane. Within moments, I found myself outside the gates of our manor for the first time in my life, in the company of strangers.
I was not even allowed to tell Lady Giselle good-bye.
Chapter Two
My fear of Royce—combined with having been forced onto the back of a horse—was soon overridden by a fear of the open sky and the vineyards stretching all around us. Everything seemed to go on forever. The sights made me dizzy and sick to my stomach, and I gripped the horse’s mane tighter.
Where were we going? Could I find my way back?
Although Royce rode slightly ahead of me, gripping the reins of my horse, he did not speak and glanced back at me only occasionally. His expression was impassive, as if he felt nothing.
The six guards ignored me.
Lord Trey was the only man to appear visibly unsettled, and when he looked at me, his expression conveyed a mix of concern, alarm, and pity. Through his eyes, the reality of my situation began to sink in. Lord Jean had traded me for a piece of land. I had been taken from my home and now belonged to Royce Capello. Lady Giselle had promised to keep me safe, but she had been unable to stop this. I’d always viewed her as my protector, someone with power in a world where I possessed