Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Lady Esme,” one said, setting her needle aside slowly and standing respectfully. She had dark hair, kohl-smudged eyes, and a voice that had likely coaxed endless favors from battle-weary men. “To what do we owe the honor?”
“I don’t mean to disturb anyone. I won’t stay long,” Esme said, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. “I… I have a few questions.”
The three women exchanged apprehensive glances.
With her heart pounding, Esme asked, “I won’t ask you to betray any confidences, and I will speak of my visit to no one. I was wondering if you could tell me… after the last battle, did anything seem… unusual about Lord Torrance?”
“Unusual? How?” asked the second woman, fair-haired and younger, still running the brush through her curls.
“Was he overly quiet? Did he… speak of anything strange?”
“Overly quiet? Strange?” the third one said with a dry laugh. “He never said a word. He’d be rough with us before spilling his seed and be on his way when done. I doubt he knows any of our names or which one of us he poked.”
Esme could not keep her cheeks from flushing deep red.
The dark-haired woman scrunched her brow. “Come to think of it. He was rough and sometimes cruel, when he took what he wanted. You knew when he was in the mood, and you made certain to please him. After the battle, though…” She trailed off, eyes narrowing as she remembered. “He didn’t want anyone of us. He just sat at our fire one night, watching. Listening.”
“And when I spoke to him,” the younger woman added, “he snapped at me, telling me he was there just to hear our voices, and we were to continue to talk. It made no sense. He had never done that before that night.”
“That’s true,” the dark-haired woman said. “It was odd, like he was trying to learn something from us. After a while he got up and without saying a word walked away.”
“Something’s changed in him,” the young woman murmured. “We all could see it.”
Esme’s fingers curled into the wool of her cloak. “You’re all certain about this?”
They all nodded, as if fearful of saying anymore, the firelight casting their faces in shifting shadows.
The door slammed open, cracking against the wall.
Torrance stood in the threshold, eyes blazing, snow clinging to his shoulders. His gaze locked on Esme.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?”
The air turned to ice.
The women scattered back, falling silent. Esme’s breath caught, but she forced herself to stand tall, lifting her chin.
“I asked a question,” he said, his voice low, dangerously controlled.
“I wanted to speak with them,” Esme replied, heart hammering.
“I forbade you to speak with them,” he snapped, stepping inside. “You defy me by coming here and speaking with them.”
“Forgive me, my lord,” she said with a tremble in her voice.
His jaw clenched. “What reason would you have for coming here?”
His question caught her off guard, though she should have been prepared for it. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she rushed to think of a reasonable excuse. It struck her then.
“This is better left in private, my lord,” she said, lowering her glance.
Annoyance sparked in his eyes. He stepped away from the door. “Outside. Now!”
As Esme stepped outside, she heard her husband issue orders to the women.
“If you discuss a word of what was said with my wife, I will see you suffer endlessly for it. Do you understand?”
Esme heard several strong ‘ayes,’ more than three.
“My solar,” he said and took hold of her arm.
She could not help but keep pace with him, he practically dragged her alongside him. The snow fell lightly over them as she thought of what she would say to him. She worried that her explanation might cause her more harm than good, but then it was how she would explain it to him that would matter.
They reached the keep in silence, the heavy door groaning as Torrance shoved it open. Snow dusted their cloaks, melting in cold rivulets as they stepped inside. Esme had barely crossed the threshold when Torrance hurried her through the keep past startled servants straight to his solar. He rushed her into the room, slamming the door behind them with a force that made her jump.
“What reason could there possibly be for you talking to those women?” he demanded.
She responded quickly. “It was what you said to me that made me seek out the women.”
“You blame your disobedience on me?” he snapped.
“Nay. Nay, my lord,” she apologized, quickly. “You pointed out that I don’t understand why I fail you, so how can I rectify my failings. The women are experienced. I assumed they could help me understand what I was doing wrong.”
His eyes heated with anger. “You spoke to them of intimate details?”
She shook her head rapidly. “Nay, my lord. I simply asked what I could do to please my husband as was my duty.”