“So I suppose it just decided to have a lie down atop your arrow? A little catnap for a fox?” Guy chuckled, a sound like a rusted spoon on a tin milk pail.
Snarling, Marian took a step toward the fox, ready to wring its miserable neck. Guy planted himself in front of her, blocking her from her intended path. A bold move, considering how easy it would have been for Marian to crush him beneath the heel of her boot.
He craned his head back to peer up at her. “You’ve hunted on my land and by Brehon law I’m entitled to compensation.”
Instinct urged her to lash out at the little prey that was so foolish as to openly challenge her. Her hands shook and she gripped her bow tighter, beating back her temper before it could get the better of her. “Keep the animal if you’re so sure it’s dead then.”
“I don’t want that animal—I want you.” His eyes zeroed in on the gap in her cloak again. “All of you.”
She lifted her bow, the point of her arrow pressed between his pectorals. He went still, his fingers a hair’s breadth away from her hip. Every muscle in her body screamed with the desire to loose the arrow, to watch it impale the man who’d dared try and lay a hand on her. “I am leaving now.” She forced the words out through clenched teeth, every syllable breathy with restrained fury. “Do not try to stop me again.”#p#分页标题#e#
The infuriating man actually smiled. “For three generations your family and mine have been neighbors. And in all that time, my family has wanted to merge our properties, combine them into the grand estate we know they could be. But your family…”
He wrinkled his nose as if he’d tasted something sour. “Your family has always been so difficult. Never agreeing to sell, never agreeing to any sort of arrangement.” A gleam slid over his eyes. “But now, it will finally happen. This is the fifth time I’ve caught you hunting on my lands. I’m sure I’ll have no trouble convincing the judge your penalty should be…appropriately severe.”
“It’s only been three times.”
She sucked in a breath, wishing she could recapture the admission. Guy squared his shoulders, trying to look down his nose at her even though she was taller than his five-foot-four by at least eight inches.
“So you admit to hunting on my land on more than one occasion.”
He’d raised his voice, calling out as if performing for an audience. Marian frowned. “Why are you shouting? I’ve not gone deaf.” She cast a glance around the forest, studying her surroundings for some sign that they were not alone. “Have you brought someone with you?”
“I’ve spoken to the king.”
Marian snapped her attention back to Guy. “The king?” She searched his face for some hint that he was bluffing, joking, anything but serious. The trees overhead doused his face in ghoulish shadows and chills raced down her spine as his thin lips curved.
“Yes, Marian. The king. I was able to get an audience with him with the help of a family member, and when I told His Majesty about my poor female neighbor who doesn’t know a thing about working the land, and who can’t even manage to stay on her own property… Well, the king was only too pleased with my idea to offer you help and stability by agreeing to marry you.”
This is a nightmare. Marian’s arms nearly went limp as she shook her head. “This can’t be.”
“Indeed, it can. His Majesty confided in me that he wishes more women would admit to the need for a man’s touch around the estate. After all, a woman rules home and hearth, one cannot realistically expect her to manage the lands and hunting grounds as well.”
“You’re mad. I will never marry you, not even if the king himself thinks it’s a splendid idea. You are a weak, repulsive little man, and I wouldn’t sully my boot stepping on you let alone…” She trailed off, too disgusted to finish the thought.
Guy stepped closer, brazenly ignoring the arrow pressed against his belly. Marian only barely registered the warmth as he closed his grubby hands around her hips, tried to haul her against him. “Oh, my sweet Marian.” His voice was too high, thin as if he were almost too excited too breathe. “You will come to my bed, Marian. And you will be grateful for it.”
The world blurred behind a red curtain of fury, instinct claiming her body, moving it as it willed. Her foot made contact with his chest, muscles flexing as she kicked out, sending his body hurtling back. She took one, two, three steps back, breathing evenly with each one, her breath roaring in her ears. The arrow trembled in her grip, stilled, and then…