Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
Why is he so shocked? I’m a holder’s daughter. I’ve grown up with the realization that sex and marriage would be transactional for me regardless. That I wouldn’t be able to marry whom I chose, and it certainly wouldn’t be for love. That’s why Barnabus’s betrayal was so devastating. I thought I’d truly lucked out and fallen in love.
The esteemed Barnabus Chatworth would be appalled that I’d gone and married a Taurian, which truly makes the idea all the sweeter. That I’ve married a common guild employee and not some titled holder or even wealthy man.
But this Taurian doesn’t know that I’m a holder’s daughter. He probably thinks I’ve been dreaming of love all this time. “If having sex with you gets me into the guild apprenticing halls, I am all for it, sir.”
That strange shaggy eyebrow of his goes up again, and then he looms over me once more. Perhaps it’s a Taurian thing to try to use height to intimidate, but I refuse to back down. We stare at each other, practically nose to nose, and I keep my gaze steady despite the flutter of my heart.
“What if I told you to get into my bed right now?” he asks in a low, deadly voice.
“I’d tell you to get me a marriage certificate first,” I retort.
He rears back and barks a laugh, shaking his head at me. “I don’t understand you. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Afraid of what?”
“Marrying a stranger. Marrying a Taurian. Tying yourself to someone you just met.”
“I am thirty,” I point out. “I am also, as you guessed, poor. I am not a particular beauty. What options do you think I have in this world?” I don’t mention the whole holder’s-daughter thing because I suspect he would simply try to ransom me back to my father—or send me back to the hold immediately—and neither suits my purposes. I shake my head at him, doing my best to seem like the embittered spinster I’m trying to be. “This is my one chance to make something of myself. I’m not going to let anything stand in my way. If it means a sham marriage, then that’s what it means. People have gotten married for less practical reasons.” I give him a bright smile. “And if we don’t find ourselves compatible, we can always divorce.”
“Not until after the Conquest Moon we can’t.”
“Not until after that, no.”
“Divorce is also a stain on a woman’s reputation.”
“So is being penniless, old, and ugly. I’ll take my chances.”
He huffs again. “You’re not ugly. You are insane. And no, this isn’t going to work.”
I fight the urge to preen at the haphazard compliment. “You said yourself you don’t have a wife. You said the class is going to fall apart without you. I need a chaperone and to enter the guild as an apprentice. Why can’t we help each other? I’m not going to be emotional about my virtue, and you shouldn’t be. You have something I need. I have something you need.” I try not to blush and fail. “Let us be sensible about this.”
“You’re telling me to be sensible?”
“I am. Do you find me repugnant? Is that the problem? I realize I’m no great beauty.” Am I fishing for another compliment from a half-naked Taurian in the middle of the night when I should be focusing on my plan? Absolutely.
The Taurian gives me a narrow-eyed stare. “What’s your name again?”
“Sparrow. What’s yours?”
“Hawk. A name I’ve earned. You haven’t earned yours yet. What’s your real name?”
Hawk. Of course it’s Hawk. It’s a strong, respectable, dangerous guild name. I should have guessed. I keep my chin lifted despite his dismissive tone. “Why do you need my real name?”
A hint of a smile graces his strange mouth. “If we’re marrying, I need to know what to call you.”
My heart flutters in my chest. Oh. I mentally race, trying to think of a good fake name and come up blank. “Aspeth,” I blurt out, and then because it’s not common and he might have heard of me, I add, “Like the holder’s daughter. No relation, though! And everyone shortens the name. You can, too.”
Oh, by the goddess, now I’m babbling to cover up my lie.
He gives me a strange look. “What am I supposed to shorten Aspeth to? Ass?”
“Rude. You can call me…Peth.” Gods, even that sounds ridiculous. I tense, waiting for him to call me out. Waiting for him to point out that I also happen to be thirty and unmarried, just like the holder’s daughter.
But all he says is “You’re sure?” When I nod, he leans in. “If you leave me high and dry on the Conquest Moon after all of this maneuvering, I’m going to hunt you down, Aspeth.”
“No one is going to be dry at all on the Conquest Moon,” I say merrily. “No dryness. Just conquesting! Or whatever it is you’d like to do.”