Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“You need to think on it?” Flora asked when his response was not forthcoming. “Your hesitation is answer enough.”
Torin wondered over his hesitation. Had he no answer? Had he needed to ponder it? Was he more like his da than he wanted to believe?
Flora continued, concerned he had yet to respond. “I know only of marriage of what I have seen of it between my mum and da. They were a loving couple and though I had no thought to wed, if I decided to do so one day, then I wished to have a marriage based on love, a loving and faithful marriage, not one based on lust. I believe until we determine what our marriage shall be, we should wait to consummate our vows, leaving either of us to walk away from our hasty marriage if necessary.”
Strange that she should feel an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach almost as if she was disturbed by the thought of their marriage ending. After all, it had barely begun. Why should it bother her? She scarcely knew her husband, though the little she did know she believed him a good man and a strong one, someone who already demonstrated that he would not hesitate to protect her.
Torin’s hand snapped out to take hold of the back of his wife’s neck, not roughly but firmly. “Listen well, wife. We are wed and we will remain wed. I have no desire to begin another search for a wife. As far as being faithful? Give me no reason to be so.”
Flora yanked her neck free of his grasp, though she was not fool enough to believe she had had the strength to do so. He had released her when she pulled away.
“And will you do the same… give me no reason to be unfaithful to you?” she challenged.
“I will not tolerate an unfaithful wife,” he warned, his face tight with annoyance.
Flora gave a defiant lift of her chin. “And I will not tolerate an unfaithful husband.”
“You will tolerate whatever I demand of you,” he ordered, growing more annoyed that she dared to make demands.
“Not likely,” she said, “now kindly take your leave, I have duties to see to.”
“Your duty is to me first and foremost. I come before all others and you do not command me,” he warned, anger in his powerful voice.
“I do not take well to command either,” she argued, an unfamiliar anger churning in her as she fully realized the freedom that had been lost to her with this marriage.
“You will learn,” he said as if declaring it so.
Flora could not hold her tongue. “I doubt it.”
“I do not, and you will start by curbing your tongue,” he ordered.
“An unlikely possibility since so much can be learned and matters settled through civilized discussion.”
“Are you suggesting I am not civilized?” Torin snapped again, finding it difficult to temper his annoyance.
As was her way, Flora spoke her mind. “When you make foolish demands as you seem to so often do, it would appear so.”
Torin’s arm shot out to snag his wife around her waist and yank her against him. “Be careful, wife, for I may show you just how uncivilized I can be.”
Voices were heard as the door creaked open.
Before Torin stepped away from his wife, he whispered, “We will discuss the consummation of our vows later.”
The servants who entered stopped when they caught sight of the heavy scowl on Lord Torin’s face.
“You will follow my wife’s orders in the keep, but if you have any issues with anything Lady Flora demands of you, you will seek me out immediately and I will see it settled,” he commanded and strode out of the room.
Her husband made sure to leave her with a reminder that his word was final and that her word mattered little in any and all decisions. She lost all desire to see the keep brought back to life and the ghost dispatched. Why bother when she would need to seek approval for everything she did or know that if a servant disagreed with her that it could be immediately disputed?
She was about to dismiss the small group, using the long journey here as an excuse to her sudden fatigue and that the chores could wait for another day, but held her tongue. Her parents would be disappointed in her if she simply surrendered to her fate instead of seizing upon it, learning from it, and gaining the knowledge she needed to make a good life for herself regardless of the circumstances that fate had forced upon her.
Flora smiled and was about to issue orders when an agonizing roar echoed through the Great Hall followed by a rush of frigid wind that shivered everyone there.
Every servant paled, ran, dropping brooms and buckets as they tripped over each other while fleeing the room as fast as they could.