Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
She spoke no further as Mars strode around the desk, across the room, past his mother-in-law, out the door and down the hall.
The first maid he saw, which happened to be in the corridor outside the drawing room, he stopped.
“Pack your things,” he commanded, ignoring her eyes growing huge and her face turning ashen. “You’re relieved of your duties. As are the other two. Tell them immediately and I want all of you gone from this manor in an hour.”
Her eyes flitted beyond Mars, where he knew Vanka, who had followed him, stood, then back to Mars.
And thus, he read on her face she knew that he was now aware that she was running to the lord of Bower Manor and sharing intimacies she had no business sharing.
“But, sir—” she began.
She was the one he’d very recently finished giving a lecture, though she was not referring to him how he’d told her to do so.
Which was irritating, but it was a moot point at this juncture.
“An hour,” he declared.
“We were only doing what we were told,” she whispered.
Mars had his temper in check.
But at this pronouncement, that was slipping.
“Mars, what on earth—?” Silence asked from the doorway.
She’d joined them, which he thought was good, even if, for his wife, it was bad.
He glanced at his queen briefly, saw her juggling her monkey, surprise stamped on her beautiful face.
He’d explain to her later.
He had to deal with this now.
He turned toward Vanka and again lifted his brows.
“They were doing what they were told?” he asked.
Vanka’s cheeks flamed.
“Mother, what are you—?”
Mars turned and interrupted his wife again to say to the maid, “Leave us, gather the others, go to your quarters and await my decision on this matter.” When she hesitated, he finished on a lean, “Now.”
The girl nodded, bobbed a curtsy and rushed away.
“Mars—” Silence murmured.
Mars did not respond to his wife.
He turned to her mother.
“Johan hired servants that would spy and report on his daughter and her husband?” he asked.
“Oh, my goodness,” Silence whispered in horror.
“It is—” Vanka began.
“You do know, this being discovered, it could be construed as a conspiracy of Wodell against the Firenz king and his queen,” Mars remarked.
“Dear gods,” Vanka breathed, her hand coming up to her throat.
“Mars,” Silence said soothingly, and he felt her come close and wrap her fingers around his upper arm.
“It was meant nothing like that,” Vanka stated quickly.
“No, I find it no surprise it was not,” Mars retorted. “Tell me, Vanka, has a maid or valet ever entered your bedchamber when you were abed with your husband?”
Vanka’s face remained flushed.
“Mars,” Silence whispered, her fingers tightening on his arm.
Now understanding this situation to its fullness, especially the fact Silence’s own parents were behind it, his control snapped when Vanka made no reply.
“Tell me!” he barked.
Silence pressed close to his side.
Piccola, her monkey, took that opportunity to transfer herself from her mama to her papa but Mars completely ignored the monkey crawling up his chest and positioning on his shoulder with its little hands clutching Mars’s neck.
“There has been occasion—” Vanka started.
“Of course there has,” he clipped. “You are wed, and you are gentry and your servants have the running of the household, but they do not dictate what happens within its walls. Your husband installed spies in his daughter’s home to report on what happens here so he could have any information he could acquire to utilize in order to undermine her marriage. And when Silence made it clear she would not fall prey to his personal attempts to do this, he sent you here to do the same. That is, after realizing his efforts had come to naught to get them to whore themselves in hopes of gaining my attention and causing a rift in my marriage I would not have been able to repair should I have been of the character to do such a revolting thing to my wife.”
Silence pressed closer.
“A revolting thing?” Vanka asked, appearing stunned he would find it revolting to cheat on his gods-damned wife.
The bloody, fucking Dellish.
“You clearly have utterly no understanding of a Firenz husband, just wed or wed for forty years,” he shared with strained patience. “That is a prejudice of ignorance that does not matter at this juncture. What matters at this juncture is that I do not have to say my marriage is not your concern. What I will make very clear is that your daughter’s marriage is not your concern.”
“I…it would seem there’s been a misunderstanding,” Vanka tried.
“There’s been no misunderstanding,” Mars retorted. “Another prejudice is that you think my people are savage. Uneducated. Dimwitted. We eat, sleep, fuck and war. This is not true. You and your husband have underestimated your daughter her entire life. You underestimating me comes as no surprise. Though, to bring matters in hand, it’s important you know that you have. And last, before you leave, you must know that Silence and I will be having a long conversation about what part you play in her future. Once we come to an understanding, you and your husband will be informed of our decision. Until then, neither of us will see you, and if Silence does not convince me to allow her to keep you a part of her life, you will never see her again, is that understood?”