"You shouldn't be here," the handmaiden said, her hands on her hips. "It's not proper to visit a young lady in her private chambers. Leave now, or I'll call the house guards to remove you."
Denrick simply chuckled, making no move to go in either direction.
"Will you, now?" he said. "And do you think they'll respond to you, a servant, when the man they actually answer to is of a far different mind? I've already been told that I was welcome to come up here and visit my fiancee, and that is exactly what I've done. No house guard is going to throw me out, I can assure you."
"Don't you talk to her that way," Emriana said, rising from the bed to stand beside her handmaiden. "You might treat your own servants like dirt, but you will not do so here."
Denrick laughed again.
"You're still convinced I did something to Jithelle, aren't you? Well, my dear, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I did no such thing." He took a step into the room, interlacing his fingers and thrusting them out, palms downward, to crack his knuckles. "She was a comely one, and I'll admit only to having a weakness for falling into her wonderful eyes and a need to nestle against her other womanly charms from time to time. But that was the extent of it."
"You sorry bastard," Emriana sneered. "The sorrow by the cistern was just an act, wasn't it? You didn't feel anything about her loss, or the fact that she carried your baby."
Denrick smirked.
"She was a diversion, that was all," he admitted. "A man of my tastes has a variety of needs, and she fit some of them nicely, but that was all it was, and all it would ever be. If she believed there would be more to it, that was her mistake, not mine."
Emriana glowered at the pompous man, but he ignored her and continued, "As for the child, I truly did not know about it." A brief grimace passed over his face, but it faded again just as quickly. "But no matter, I'm sure you'll provide me with plenty of children to dandle from my knees," he finished, taking another step into the room.
"I will never lie with you," Emriana snarled. "You can lust for me all you want, but it will never happen."
At nearly the same time, Jaleene stalked forward, with the obvious intention of physically pushing Denrick back out through the door.
"I told you," she said, planting her hands against his chest and shoving, "that it is not proper for you to be here. Now leave, or I-"
Denrick swung a fist up, smacking the servant hard with the back of his hand. The blow snapped Jaleene's head around, and with a grunt, she stumbled backward and tumbled to the floor, sprawling full out. She moaned once softly and lay still.
"Don't ever lay a hand on me again," Denrick said coldly, walking to loom over her. "You need to learn to remember your place."
Emriana gave an animal cry and lunged forward to punch at the callous, hateful man, but Denrick was ready for her, bringing his arm up to ward off the blow, then reaching out and grasping her by her wrists. He jerked her around, twisting both of her arms up behind her back, and walked her forward, toward the bed.
In a flash of realization, Emriana came to understand that he was leading her toward a bed, and the images of what he would do to her there began to cascade through her mind's eye. She panicked, fighting for all she was worth, digging her heels in and trying to jerk her arms free. In her desperation, Emriana managed to slam the heel of one of her boots against the man's shin. He yelped in surprise and released her.
The girl darted away, thinking to charge out the door, but Denrick was too fast, and he cut her off, forcing her to turn away from him or be caught again. She angled away, looking to double back around, but Denrick simply sidestepped several times, slowly working her into a corner.
"There's no place to run," the man said, settling into a position facing Emriana, keeping her pinned in the corner of the room. "And this time, you don't have a cistern or your fool brother here to protect you."
Emriana glanced furtively around, looking for a means of escape, or a weapon with which to defend herself, but there was nothing. She glared at the man, hoping her fiery gaze made it clear that she would not go down easily, and he would be better served to find some other woman with whom to dally. In her heart, though, she feared that it was only a matter of time. She stole a quick look toward Jaleene, but her only ally at the moment was out cold.
"If you touch me, I'll tear your eyes out," Emriana warned the predator in front of her. "You think you had problems before, trying to figure out what to do with Jithelle, but you don't know the half of it, if you get any closer to me."
Denrick smiled that wolfish grin.
"I have no doubt at all that you mean what you say, and that you could probably back it up, too. But why all the fuss? I wasn't kidding before, when I told you by the cistern that I could delight you. No woman yet has shied away from me, once she's felt my touch. I doubt you'll be any different, if you'll just let down your guard and see what you're missing.''
"You unbelievable, smug bastard!" Emriana said, shaking her head in scorn. "You think you can turn me to your side just by your touch? How arrogant can one man be?"
Anger flashed in Denrick's eyes, then.
"Watch your tongue, Em. I won't tolerate that kind of attitude from my wife."
Emriana's jaw dropped.
"Your wife! Do you honestly think this marriage is going to happen? You're delusional. My grandmother is going to put a stop to this as soon as she-"
"Your grandmother is on the verge of falling into her grave," Denrick interrupted. "She's in no condition to do anything about any of this. Now quit stalling, Emriana, and accept the fact that you are going to be my wife, and you are going to serve me dutifully, in any capacity I wish. The sooner you get used to that idea, the better off you'll be."
Emriana snarled, lunging left and darting back to the right, running as fast as she could for the door.
She almost made it, too, but Denrick was just a half-step faster. He dived for her and got a hand in her dress-the damned dress! — and tripped her up enough that she went sprawling. She scrambled desperately forward, opening her mouth to scream for help, but then someone was standing in the doorway. As Denrick grabbed at her and sat on her to keep her still, Emriana craned her neck, hoping it was Vambran. Instead, it was a Matrell house guard, and he was leering down at what was taking place.
"Help me," Emriana pleaded at the man, expecting him to come to her rescue.
Surely, no matter what Uncle Dregaul might be planning, it didn't include her being ravaged against her will.
"So?" the guard asked, smiling unpleasantly. "You finally figured out a way to keep her from sneaking off, huh?"
Denrick chuckled as he began to wrap something tightly around Emriana's wrists, tying them together behind her back.
Bartimus sat quietly in the corner to one side of Grozier Talricci's chair. His employer and the other heads of the three Houses were gathered together in an inner room, a study with a beautiful atrium along one side, discussing some of the business details of the impending merger. The wizard wasn't really listening closely, for the details were not important to him. Nor, for that matter, was any of that his responsibility. He had been brought there solely to keep an eye on everyone else, while Grozier concentrated on the financial aspects.
Bartimus studied each of the other three people in turn, observing their mannerisms, their speech, and the looks in their eyes, for he knew that it would be through those things that he could determine if any of them were nervous or unsure about what was taking place. Those telltale signs were the clues he was responsible for spotting, so that he could warn his employer if there were any potential surprises ahead.
Thus far, Anista Pharaboldi seemed perfectly at ease, but Dregaul Matrell was agitated over the attack on his mother. Bartimus would have thought that the man would have been pleased to see the matriarch of the household, a potential thorn in their sides, eliminated, but instead, the man seemed to be concerned about it all.