Bittersweet Endeavors (31 page)

He then wondered
i
f he could
also
convince himself of that, too.

*                    *                    *

“Why
didn
’t you s
peak
to me about this first?” 
Her anger came so great that she
wanted to
spit on the expensive tapestry below h
is
feet.  She nearly
did
, too.  “
I shan’t
be attending this affair!”

“
Tis
expected of you,
Myra
, and our
guest
s
are
arriving in a few short hours.  You
shall
be in attendance,
”
he ordered. 
When she didn’t
move
, Zachary approached her and took her by the arm in a firm grasp. 
He glared at her through
his stormy gray
eyes,
and
h
e roughly shook her
.  His hand twisted at her arm and he
dragged h
er to the
armoire. 
His free hand
ripped a
gold colo
r gown from the depths of
her
bureau
, and he
angrily said through clenched teeth
, “
Put this on or I
shall
do it for you
, I swear
.” 

Myra
’s breath caught in her throat.  She shrugged
him off and
hesitantly
reached for
the gown.  “I
’ll be returning
to my room at eleven o’clock
claiming
a headache
. 
I refuse to stay
longer
than deemed necessary for this charade
.”  Her chin rose in defiance, and although she should
’ve
expected the slap he gave
her across the
fac
e
,
she didn’t.  The force of the blow
hurled
her onto the floor with a thud. 

“You shall
learn
discipline and respect
as my wife,
Myra
,” he bit out
.
“
Do you understand?”

She
stayed
still on the floor, and when he approached her, she scooted
back and prepared for
another assault.

“N
ow that
you are my wife
, you shall see there
shall be
changes to our previous
pact
.”
  He swept a sensuous glance and thoroughly examined her.

“
We
have
an
agreement
.  If you don’t uphold your
end of the bargain, be assured
that
my cousin
shan’t
find forgiveness
.  He’ll also
make you
pay for any harm
you might
impose
up
on
me.”
 
Myra feared Zachary would abandon their original deal, and although his statement
worried her
, it wasn’t a surprise. 

His bitter, arrogant laughter rang out.  She began to det
est his
laughter
as much as the
malevolent smile that
consistently
covered
his face. 
She wondered
how
she
once
consider
ed him handsome.

“What man could fault another man for taking what is rightfully his
by law and God
?  Even
T
he King
cann
ot argue that.”

Myra
rose from the floor and dusted herself off.  Although she felt her confidence returning and planned a retort, she
suspected he’d assault her again
.  Even if she
was able to tolerate hi
s
abuse
, she feared
that
her unborn child’s safety
might be jeopardized
. 

“I’ll
go
along with this
sham
publically, but when we are alone, I intend for you to keep your distance from me.”  She
drew
in a deep breath
and slowly
released it
to relax herself.  “However, if you t
ry to force yourself
up
on me, I’ll take my leave from this house
.  And
have
no doubt
,
I’
ll make sure you rue the day if
attempt to
stop me.”

Zachary walked toward her and she held her place. 
She refused to release control of the situation.
No matter how mu
ch she wanted to step back, she didn’t
give in to the urge.

His hand rose threateningly, but he brought it down
and glided it
across her face in a
rough
caress.
She nearly flinched but didn’t
,
and she
was
proud of herself for
the small victory. 

“Then so be it
.  I’ll concede
, f
or now.”

His
hand slid
down her cheek until it rested
at
the base of her neck.  His lecherous
gray
eyes searched hers
in a deep, thorough stare. 
She wondered if he was searching to see
her
fear.
  No matter, she though
t,
she’
d
give him
naught
.
 
She returned his stare with a blank expression
.  Hi
s hand
slithered
further down un
til it met between her breasts that were
exposed from the
green
day gown she w
as wearing
.  Lowering her chin, she glanced at his hand and returned her eyes to his.  She shivered with repulsion and hoped he did
n’t
misinterpret it as
pleasure
by
his vile action
.
 

“Remove
your
hand from my person,” she quietly, but firmly demanded.

His hand remained for a few more moments
more
, as did the venomous smile on h
is lips.  But before he
removed his hand,
he took the liberty
of grasping
her
breast
, painfully hard.  She jerked
away
from him
and desperately
wanted to slap that smug, sinister smile from his face!

“It’s getting late,
Myra
, and I haven’t the time or inclination t
o waste words with you
.  I’ll return in an hour and escort you downstairs to
our
guest
s
.  Some shall be joining us early.  I expect you to look your very best.”  He walked to the door and turned around.  “And with
Seth Preston in attendance, I’ll
expect you
shalt
w
ant
the same.”  He
mocked surprise.  “Oh,” he laughed
.
“T
he lady can show emotion after all, eh?”  He stepped back inside the room and raised his finger at her.  “Don’t forget my warning.  I’ll not tolerate you embarrassing me.  You are
my
wife now,
Myra
,
and it
shall
serve you well to remember that tonight
.”

She was so disgusted with him she turn
ed
away. 
Distant footsteps sounded in the hall
and offered
proof
that
he
had
left
.  When she turned around to be
certain
, she breathed out in relief to
see he was
no longer in her room
. 

But what would she do about Seth?  She expected
Mister Preston and his wife
,
Anna
,
to
be at the affair,
but
not
in her
worst night terror did she
believe that
Seth
would
be in
attend
ance.
Her heart ached
and she yearned
for
his endearing words one more time. 
Yet
Seth’s
hateful
words echoed inside her mind
. 
It felt as if she
’d
break in two e
ach
time she remembered
. 

She stiffened and held her chin up
and vowed that
she’
d
not let his forsaking her
cause disruption within her mind
.  The bab
e in her belly
was
her priority.  Even though Seth want
ed
nothing to do with
their child,
the babe within her womb
meant the world to her. 
And
being
so, she needed
to secure the baby’s safety from
Zachary
doing any harm. 
F
irst
, she wanted assurance from Seth that he’d not reveal to Zachary of the baby’s existence
. 
Myra assumed that would be easy enough to obtain.  Certainly he’d not
want
it
announced
that a married woman
carried
his child. 
His reputation would be in as much jeopardy as
hers.
 
She wondered who told Seth.
  If Zachary
had already known
, he’d
sure
have said something. 
Anvil
.  Aye,
she thought,
Anvil mor
e than likely heard
the news
somehow.
  Sh
e
needed to find a way t
o hide the
imminent e
vent from h
er new husband.  At five
months, she
was
yet
to show
observable
signs
of
her impending condition, but her secret
wouldn’t stay hidden
for long
.

However,
Myra had more
immediate problems to address.  In less than an hour
hence
, sh
e
was going to be forced into
confronting
Seth
.
 
Going to her bureau, she fetched her face powder and began to dab the
marks
Zachary left
behind.
It
was
soon
to
turn into a darkened bruise
.
Through her looking-glass, sh
e
viewed
the yellow hue
that surrounded
the outer edge of the welt
,
and
she
winced.

“
Gadzooks
!  What would the good townspeople think if they saw me in such a state of disarr
ay?  They’d certainly be
dismayed
to see
such a fright
,
”
she said to herself through the looking glass. 
A devious smile reflected
back at her
, and she picked up the handkerchief t
hat sat
on the t
able.  Slowly, she
s
wiped all
traces of
powder from her face.  T
he bruise
came back in
to view
in
a
ll its dreadful hues of gray, blue
,
and yellow.  She rose from her chair and left the room.