The Darkland (31 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Nine days
.

It had been nine long
and horrific days since Lionel had told Mara of her marital fate. Nine days of
tears, of frustration and despair, and nine long days of plotting how to escape
the man.  She had to break free or die trying.

Lionel knew of her
desperation.  For the past several days, he had locked her in her room to
prevent her from doing anything foolish but Lily had always released her.
Still, Lily wasn’t entirely oblivious as to why her father had locked Mara in;
she kept Mara with her at all times for much the same reason her father kept
her locked in her chamber. Neither one of them wanted to see any harm befall
Mara her because the woman was so distraught that they were afraid she very
well might do something to hurt herself. She was in agony.

The only person Lionel
could speak with about the situation was Lily because Spencer had kept a
distance from him, but even Lily was somewhat unsympathetic.  She made it very
clear that she didn’t agree with what her father was doing.  Her lack of
support disturbed him but he wouldn’t let it dissuade him. It all came to a
head one afternoon when Lionel came to visit Mara and, as usual, found Lily
sitting with her. 

The day had been
unusually cold, a heavy breeze blowing in from the sea ten miles to the west.
In Mara’s chamber, the same chamber she had shared with Kirk, a fire blazed and
the ladies were warmly wrapped.  Lionel entered politely, he gazed on Mara as
she sat near the fire with Lily.  He knew Mara had heard him enter but she
would not look at him. She hadn’t looked at him in nine days.

“Greetings, ladies,” he
said pleasantly. “I have come to tell you that supper will be early tonight. A
group of traveling musicians have taken shelter with us and have promised to
perform tonight. I thought you both might enjoy the entertainment.”

Mara didn’t move. Her
gaze was on the fire. Lily’s gaze lingered on Mara a moment before turning to
her father.

“I do not believe we
will be joining you for supper, Father,” she said. “Mara and I will take our
meal in her room.”

Lionel struggled not to
lose his patience. It seemed to him that both women were being unreasonable and
that both of them were taking a stand against him. It hurt him that Lily would
side with a new friend over her own father.  Moreover, after nine days of
tension, he was ready to crack. He was tired of it.

“Nonsense,” he said.
“You have supped every night in your rooms for over a week. You will both come
down to sup in the hall tonight, do you hear? We will have a grand celebration
this night with music and wine and food.”

“Nay, Father,” Lily said
firmly. “Mara will not go to the hall and I will not leave her. We will eat
here.”

So much for keeping his
temper. Lionel grunted with frustration, turning away from the pair as he
struggled to think of something to say that wouldn’t set them off. He ended up
stomping across the floor towards the chamber door but stopped short of
exiting.  He turned to them.

“I am at an end with
this foolishness,” he said flatly. “I realize that Lady Mara is upset by all of
this and I realize you are attempting to comfort her. I am grateful for your
compassion, Lily. But the time has come for Lady Mara to accept her destiny. 
All of the weeping and moping is not going to change things. We shall be married
very soon and that will be the end of it.”

Mara, having been fairly
numb and distant for the past several days, suddenly came to life.

“It is
not
the
end of it,” she snapped. “It is only the beginning, my lord, for if you force
me into this sham of a marriage, you will have wed a bitter woman who hates the
very sight of you.  You have condemned yourself to a life of misery by forcing
yourself on a woman who wants nothing to do with you.”

Lionel’s jaw ticked as
he jabbed a finger at her. “If misery is what you want, then that is your
choice,” he said. “I do not care what you think of me so long as you provide me
with a son.”

Mara shot to her feet.
“There is already a child in my belly that is not of your loins,” she fired
back. “It is Kirk’s son and he will kill you in order to claim what is
rightfully his. Is that clear enough for you?”

Both Lionel and Lily
stared at her, shocked.  The room was taut with silence, a painful sensation as
Mara’s words hung heavy in the air.  Lionel’s stunned expression transformed
into something peculiar.

“So he has bedded you,”
he muttered.

It was a statement more
than a question.  Mara, seething with fury, clenched and unclenched her fists.

“Of course he has,” she
snarled. “I love him and he will be my husband.”

Lionel stared at her a
moment longer before emitting a heavy sigh. Furious moments before, he lost all
of his fire rather quickly. Confrontation wasn’t in his nature.

“It is of no matter,” he
said quietly. “I will claim the child as my own. Hopefully it is a son to carry
on the le Vay name.”

“Is that all you care
about?” Mara threw up her hands. “A son? Look at me, Lionel; I am a woman of
flesh and blood and feeling. I am not a brood mare whose only purpose in life
is to provide you with an all-precious son to carry on the le Vay name.”

“You serve no other
purpose,” Lionel bellowed. “You are a bereft woman from an insignificant family
and you should consider yourself extremely fortunate.”

“Father, you are beastly!”
Lily shushed him, turning to Mara with pain in her expression. “Please, Mara,
do not listen to him.
Please
, darling.”

Mara was beyond rational
thought. She turned away from Lily and Lionel, wandering aimlessly to the other
end of the room, as far away as she could get from either of them. She
struggled to calm herself; oddly, she was reflecting back to the times when she
and Kirk had argued. The angrier she became, the cooler he grew. She had never
truly known anyone outside of her family or home until he came around, and his
very presence caused her to grow up and mature with astonishing speed. 

Kirk had helped her
understand how to behave with people and how to react. No one had ever done
that before. She was coming to see that all of the fighting in the world would
not gain her wants with Lionel. The man was determined to marry her no matter
what she said which, indeed, left her with little choice. Perhaps she couldn’t
fight him, but maybe she could delay him just enough for Kirk to return and
save her.

Kirk told her that he
had no idea how long he would be in Ireland. A week, a month, a year… or
perhaps never. Perhaps he would be killed over there and never return. The
thought made her stomach churn and brought tears to her eyes. Face to the wall,
she just stood there and cried.

Lily came up behind her
and put her arms around her, hugging her. Lionel, watching the two women
comfort each other, was feeling particularly frustrated.  He had always been a
benevolent lord, concerned for his family and his subjects, but at the moment,
he felt like a beast.

“Lily,” he barked. “Come
with me now.”

Lily was hugging Mara
fiercely. “Nay,” she said angrily. “I will not.”

Lionel would not be
refuted. “Come with me now or you shall not like my reaction.”

Lily had always shared a
wonderful relationship with her father, but the past nine days had seen that
deteriorate tremendously.  Lily was amiable and sweet, but at the moment, she
could only feel anguish.  She let go of Mara and went to her father.

“Why are you being so
awful?” she hissed. “This is not like you, Father, not at all.  What is the
matter with you?”

Lionel frowned.  In
truth, he wasn’t feeling very well; he’d awoken that morning with numbness in
his legs and a great sharp pain in his belly.  He knew the time was drawing to
an end for him and that in part fed his bad mood.  He wanted to get the marriage
over with, and consummate it, but with Mara claiming she was already pregnant
with Kirk’s child, the situation was markedly changed.

If he married her, any
child she bore regardless of the father would be claimed as a le Vay.  Perhaps
that was all he really needed to do; simply marry her.  It was the first step
and after that, he would figure out the rest.  But gazing at his daughter’s
angry face, he realized that his first and very necessary step would be to have
Lily on his side. If his daughter supported him, then perhaps Mara would calm
down and see reason.  He could only hope.

“I am sorry,” he said,
forcing himself to calm. “I… I am not feeling very well. I am sorry if my
manner has been harsh.”

It was much more like
the father she knew. Lily went from angry to concern in a flash. “What is the
matter?” she asked.

Ah, sympathy
.  Lionel was wise
enough to play it. “My belly pains me greatly this morning,” he said, watching
Lily’s concern deepen. “And… and I feel very weak and exhausted. I am not
trying to be difficult, but it would help me tremendously if Lady Mara would think
rationally and understand what I am offering her. All of this turmoil is
upsetting me greatly.  It is taxing my health. Lily, please help me, my love. Please
help Mara to understand.

Lily was greatly torn.
“But… Father, she loves Kirk. She does not want to marry you.”

He patted his belly, a
sour look on his face. “My health, daughter,” he repeated softly. “I understand
that she loves Kirk. But that will pass. Her duty is to marry me and provide me
with a son. You must make her understand this. Don’t
you
understand it?”

Lily looked at her
father with some uncertainty.  He knew she understood the mechanics of
marriage. She had spent many years in a rather courtly household and Lionel was
well aware that she understood the purpose of an advantageous marriage. Still,
he could see the reluctance in her eyes.

“I understand,” she
said. “But what you are doing is not right. You are hurting two people who
never did anything to you, Father. Don’t you see that? Kirk has always been a
strong supporter and Mara… well, her only crime is loving Kirk.  You are
punishing her for being young and in love.”

Lionel could see he
wasn’t going to have Lily’s full support. It didn’t matter that they were flesh
and blood relatives, closer than most fathers and daughters were. Lily was
taking a stand for what she believed in and it happened to be a stand against
him. Lionel didn’t like it.  If he couldn’t coerce her into supporting him,
then he could force her.  Time was growing short and he had to marry Mara no
matter what.

“I am not punishing
her,” he said, his voice low. “I am not entirely sure why young ladies these
days believe that marriage is based on love, but that is a fool’s notion.  I
have summoned a priest who will be here by dinner. You will have Mara properly
dressed for the occasion because whether or not she is ready, I am marrying her
tonight at dusk. There will be no more delays.”

Lily was horrified.
“Dusk?” she repeated. “Father, surely you….”

He cut her off,
unwilling to discuss it further. “I have waited long enough,” he snapped.
“Whether we wait nine days, nine weeks or nine months, the result will be the
same. Make sure she is ready by dusk.”

With that, he swept from
the room without a glance to Mara.  She was still standing near the wall,
weeping softly.  When the door slammed in his wake, she jumped, turning to see who
was still left in the room. Only Lily remained, looking drawn and anxious. She
approached Mara, haltingly, a sickened expression on her face.

“Oh… Mara,” she
breathed. “He is being most unreasonable. He says he has sent for a priest and
you will be married at dusk tonight.”

Mara, surprisingly,
didn’t fall into hysterics. She simply stared at Lily.  The hysteria has been
replaced by a steely coldness now that a timeline had been put to her fate.  It
was shock more than anything, perhaps numbness and a sense of harsh realization.
 Nine days of fighting hadn’t solved or changed anything.  Her future was still
set. She turned away from Lily.

“I will not go
willingly,” she said.

Lily sighed heavily. “He
will call the guards if he has to,” she said. “They will carry you down to the hall. 
They will hold you through the ceremony and force you to wed my father.  Is
this truly how you wish to behave?”

Mara looked over her
shoulder, her bright blue eyes piercing. “How would
you
behave?”

Lily looked pained. She
shrugged helplessly. “I do not know,” she whispered. “But I would realize there
is no use in fighting. Would I wish for everyone to see me screaming and
kicking and being held down by soldiers? I would not. I would not embarrass
myself so.”

“Then help me escape.”

“Escape to
where
?”

“Back to Haslingden
until Kirk can come for me.”

Lily shook her head,
exasperated. “My father would find you there just as easily,” she said. “Mara,
don’t you see? You cannot refuse this, darling. I know you love Kirk. I know he
will return for you. But he is not here now, and he cannot save you from this
marriage. You have no choice.”