If You Dare

The others raised their eyebrows when Court dragged Vitale to the parlor, then tossed him into a chair.

"I said you are a pig, an ingrate. My mistress saved your life—"

"You said something about a marriage."

He refused to answer so Court jostled him until he said, "That's where she's gone!" He gestured heatedly. "To save her brother. The general was holding him to force her."

"She's gone to marry him?"

When Vitale nodded, Niall said, "Aye, Court, a real spoiled, calculating woman. Marrying Pascal to save her brother's life. She's chilling."

"This ca

Vitale hesitated. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because if you do, I might just decide to go get her back."

His eyes widened and he blurted, "She and her brother are the last direct descendants of the ancient House of Castile. They hold the last titles."

"That's impossible. Her father was no' Castilian."

"The titles passed through the mother."

When Court still looked unconvinced, Niall added, "Some houses can pass down matrilineally."

"This is insane. That would make her…. That would mean she's…" Court could barely believe what he was hearing, even while thinking that this would handily explain her arrogance. "Why did she no' plead for her family's help?"

"She did. As I told you before, she and her brother are estranged from the family and shun that life, but she swallowed her pride and attempted to contact them. We think the message never made it out of Andorra."

Niall whistled and said, "Pascal's a clever bastard. He's going after Isabella's crown."

"But that would mean A

"No, he won't be," Vitale declared emphatically. "Pascal will try to use Master Llorente as a figurehead."

"Wrong." Court shook his head, giving Vitale the same expression he knew his five men were giving him as well. "Your master's going to be killed if he is no' already."

"And you just ensured she'd go," Niall muttered from behind him. "Good on you, Court."

He shoved a hand through his hair. "Damn it! Why did she no' ask again or explain everything?"

Vitale cast him a black look. "She told me just before she rode for Pascal that she would rather be a murderer's wife and possibly have access to free Llorente than be a mercenary's whore and have to trust a fiend like you with her brother's life. She said six or half a dozen—either way was unbearable."

When Court pictured her alone and afraid in Pascal's always darkened home, he had an off feeling in his chest, like a painful shifting. "Oh, bloody hell, Vitale. You might've mentioned this earlier."

"Six or half a dozen?" Niall swore under his breath. "Court, you really are cursed."

Chapter Nine

Last night for the di

She was endeavoring to work it higher over her breasts with hopping and yanking when Olivia entered without knocking. The witch strolled straight to the wardrobe to survey A

"What do you want?"

"Tell me," Olivia said casually as she took out, appraised, and returned a gown, "why he is unmarried."

In an instant, A

Olivia shoved her arms loose. "Why isn't he married?" she stubbornly asked again.

Did her curiosity mean she was attracted to Aleix? All the women in the village thought he was handsome with his tall build and his somber, golden-colored eyes. Mare de Déu, could this spawn of Pascal have feelings for him? And how could she use that to their advantage?

"He's a widower," she admitted, though she felt as if she dangled a bare foot to a viper. "His wife died in childbirth."

Olivia's face was a blank slate. A

"No, his daughter died as well."

Olivia shrugged. So that A

"Why are you interested?"

She ran her finger across the coverlet on her way to the window. "I was merely curious about my father's prisoner."

"Let me tell you more," A

"Aleix is a good man, a strong man. He lives in a beautiful manor overlooking pastures filled with his champion horses. Each day he watches them run, and though he says nothing, I know how pleased he is with them."

Had her shoulders relaxed somewhat? "He's very intelligent and well read. He went to school overseas at Cambridge. He's somber now, but he wasn't always." A

Olivia shrugged again. "I can't abide this prattle any longer." She crossed the room to the door.

"He's here, isn't he?" A

Olivia turned, with her gaze flickering over her, and A

She hadn't denied that Aleix was here! Though she hadn't said anything to confirm it either, A

"Hold your tongue. How would you know that?"

"In cruelty and killings, I'll gladly defer to you, but I know marriages. Pascal's in a tenuous position and he just happens to convene a meeting with his supporters? How convenient that each one is socially and politically well co

Coach-and-six. A father would pay a surprise visit to his daughter at school, and when she walked into the drawing room, he'd introduce her to her new, rich, politically co

A

Olivia glared at her. "You won't manipulate me into dissension. I'll simply ask Pascal." She turned for the door.

"And I'm confident he'll tell you the truth," she called after Olivia before hurriedly tussling with the bodice one last time. Finding no success there, she made sure her choker—or her "collar" as the hateful Scot had called it—was in perfect place. With luck, her formal jewelry, which Pascal had insisted she wear, would be glittery enough to draw his gaze away from her breasts.

Though she dreaded being seen like this, she would never be late and anger the general. Her brother's treatment was to be commensurate with her behavior.

A