The Legend (40 page)

"Out of your clutches, you
vile bastard. Return to Wisseyham and rot."

Brian closed his eyes
beseechingly a moment, wondering how such a beautiful woman could possess a
razor-edged tongue. Although he would have liked to have said the very same
thing, protocol and restraint prevented him from doing so. His grip tightened
on Peyton, preparing to protect her from Colin's wrath.

But he never got the chance. Much
to his shock and Peyton's as well, Thia tore herself free from Toby and thrust
her meaty fist in Colin's face.

"You heard her, you
misbegotten whoreskin," she seethed. "Return home. You are not
welcome here."

Colin did not flinch as Thia
planted herself in front of him, her chubby face threatening. Instead, he
smiled humorlessly, a gesture which completely terrified Peyton. "I cannot
without my intended. When I return, you will go with me."

Thia did not react immediately.
Then, it was as if Colin had slapped all of the bravery from her body; she staggered
back, her eyes seeking her father in disbelief.

Brian, however, was fully focused
on Nigel. "That was never agreed upon, Nigel. I never intimated that I
would consider it."

Nigel took his son's cue and
stepped forward, a smug expression on his face. "You were given a choice,
were you not? Ivy or Thia. Since Ivy is, shall we say, all but lost, you have
apparently made your choice. Thia shall wed Colin."

"She will not!" Peyton
was feeling stronger. It was odd that she should find herself defending a woman
who had so recently tried to kill her; however, the common enemy seemed to join
them as peculiar allies. No one, not even Thia, deserved such a fate.

Colin turned to her harshly.
"This is none of your affair, Lady Summerlin. You told me to stay out of
Summerlin concerns and I will demand you refrain from interfering in Warrington
matters," he passed another distasteful glance at Thia before turning on
his heel. "Have the contracts drawn up, Father. I wish to be done with
this by the morrow."

Nigel watched his son march down
the corridor before turning his attention to Brian. He shrugged callously.
"You made your choice, Brian." With a lingering glance at Thia, he
turned after his son.

For an endless, hanging moment,
no one spoke. Peyton stared at the empty corridor, too shocked and dazed to
respond. As she gazed into the dimly lit hall, a body suddenly appeared,
walking towards her and Peyton knew even at a distance that it was Alec. He was
the only man as tall as a god and as wide as a bear, his gait nothing short of
a graceful swagger. Brian's steward scampered after him as they came into the
light.

Alec did not look at anyone but
Peyton. He reached out and snatched her from his father's grip, pulling her
into a protective embrace. Peyton, still dazed and shocked, collapsed against
him. Only when his wife was cradled in his arms did Alec dare to gaze at his
father

His voice was a growl. "I
was told that there was some trouble. I would calmly ask what kind of trouble
there was."

Thia couldn't answer; in spite of
the obvious wound on her face, she turned away from her brother as if to ignore
his question. Brian gazed at his son with a mixture of grief and concern.
"A small tussle, Alec,” he said quietly. “Nothing of concern."

Alec would not accept his simple
explanation. Instead, he looked to Toby. "What happened? And no lies, or
my wrath shall be swift."

Toby wasn't afraid of his older
brother; at least, not truly afraid. But he did harbor a healthy respect for
his strength and fighting abilities. Feeling trapped, he avoided Brian's
piercing gaze and cleared his throat.

"A tussle, Alec," he
said quietly. "I intervened before anyone was seriously injured."

Irritation growing at their
evasive replies, Alec pulled Peyton's face from the safe haven of his chest and
gazed deeply into her eyes. To his surprise, she smiled wanly and did not
afford him the opportunity to put the same query to her. "I saw.... that
is, I....I was spying on Thia," she whispered raspily. "She had every
right to become angry with me."

Thia's looked to Peyton in pure
astonishment. Peyton met her gaze from the vise of Alec's hands, hoping that
somehow the woman's bloodlust would fade when she realized Peyton was unwilling
to publicly condemn her. Aye, she could have confessed, but she simply could
not bring herself to repeat the disgusting facts. Mayhap if Thia saw that she
was disinclined to reveal her secret, the tensions between them would ease.
After all, Alec loved his sister a great deal. Peyton did not want to divide
them, no matter what the circumstances.

Furthermore, Thia was in a good
deal of trouble already with the Warrington betrothal. Before Alec could
respond to her admission, she changed the subject. "Colin is demanding to
wed your sister in Ivy's stead. You must not allow this."

As she hoped, Alec's attention
was immediately diverted and his sky-blue eyes sought out his father with
shock. "Is this true?"

Brian's lips possessed the
familiar bluish twinge as he looked away from his son's intense gaze. He sighed
heavily. "Thia should have been pledged long ago."

Alec dropped his hands from
Peyton's face. "Have you gone completely mad? Pledging my sister to that
bastard?"

Brian met his son's gaze, feeling
distinctly weary. He had been an example of a weak-willed man within the past
several days, giving his word only to refute it, making decisions only to
change his mind. And Alec had witnessed all of his failings. Their clash not an
hour before had been testimony to the fact that Alec no longer respected his
father, and Brian was beyond devastated.

Gazing into Alec's eyes, he could
read the contempt radiating from his son. But he was cornered; Nigel had made
his demands known and he must comply, even if it meant betrothing his only
daughter. He had no choice if the Summerlin name was to remain unblemished, no
matter what Alec thought of him. Someday, mayhap, he would understand Brian's
sacrifice.

"You have given me little
choice in the matter," he said softly. "You married Lady Peyton and
Ali has presumably married her sister. The Warringtons are demanded
compensation."

"Thia is not compensation
for my actions," Alec said hotly. "I shall not allow this."

Brian looked to his son, his
expression considerably less tolerant. "You are not her father. I am, and
I believe a match between Colin and Thia will be a suitable one. 'Twill bind
the House of Summerlin to the House of Warrington, establishing close
ties."

Alec listened to his father
reason as if he were trying to convince himself that the union would be a
beneficial one. But they both knew the words to be empty and desperate.

"I do not want to be
married," Thia suddenly whispered, her face ashen. When her father reached
out to touch her, she backed away violently. "I won't marry him. I.... I do
not want him!"

"Thia, calm yourself,"
Brian said softly, eyeing her wound. "Let's have Pauly tend your
cheek."

Thia staggered away from her
father, batting his comforting arms away from her. "I do not want
him!"

Alec left his wife to go to his
distraught sister, pulling her into a crushing embrace. Peyton watched as Alec
stroked his sister tenderly.

"Be calm, moppet," he
said gently. "I shall take care of you."

"I won't have him!" Thia
renounced in a shaking voice. "I refuse to be made a peace offering!"

"Relax, love," Alec
repeated soothingly.

"Thia, you will do as you
are told," Brian said weakly, gazing at his grieving children. "We
will all do as We are told."

Alec's eyes were blue flame.
"Why did not you tell me the Warrington's had demanded Thia's hand for my
actions?"

Brian met his son's gaze.
"The choice was given to me before you whisked Lady Ivy away. I opted for
the obvious selection, being your wife's younger sister, since I felt Thia
unprepared for a husband. You should have trusted me, Alec. I told you not to
question my decision."

Alec's face glazed with
disbelief. "And this is why? Because the Warrington's gave you a choice
between Ivy and Thia, and you chose Ivy? Christ, Da, why did not you tell me
from the onset?"

"Because it wasn't your
choice to make."

Thia understood everything instantly;
in spite of her peculiar nature, she was an intelligent woman. Her small blue
eyes flew accusingly to her older brother. "You did this to me!"

Alec focused on his sister.
"Unknowingly, moppet. Believe me, had I but known the circumstances, I would
never have acted so rashly."

Thia yanked away from him.
"How could you, Alec! You are supposed to love me!"

"I
do
love you,
moppet," Alec reached out for his plump sister once again, but she moved
away from him. "Please, Thia. Do not be angry with me."

Thia began to sob miserably.
"I hate you, Alec. How could you?"

Alec caught his sister to him and
she did not resist. "Do not cry, Thia. All will be well."

Peyton suddenly felt decidedly
less benevolent towards her sister-in-law. A woman who had recently tried to
kill her, whom she had lied for and protected, was cradled in her brother's
arms as if she were a complete innocent. As far as Peyton was concerned, Alec
should be comforting his wife who had suffered a complete whacking at the hands
of the woman Alec was seeking to console. Warrington betrothal or not, the
taste of jealousy was bitter on Peyton's tongue as she watched the tender
scene.
I do love you, moppet
.

Words she had never heard from
him. Words she would probably never hear where they pertained to her. She
realized how badly she wanted to hear them.

Incensed and bitter, Peyton
turned away from the compassionate sight and moved down the corridor. She
simply couldn't watch any longer, knowing that Alec loved his sister enough to
tell her. Alec called after her, but she ignored him. She heard his heavy boot
falls not a few seconds later, closing rapidly, and wasn't surprised when a
massive hand snatched her arm.

"What's wrong? Where are you
going?"

She jerked her arm from his
grasp. "To my chamber to rest from nearly being beaten to death."

He eyed her in the dim
torchlight. "What happened between you and my sister?"

Peyton was feeling stubborn and
rejected. When Alec should have been seeing to her needs, he was intent on
consoling his fat, disgusting sister and declaring his love for her. More
unreasonable envy filled her.

"We fought," she said
simply, still unwilling to divulge all of the distasteful details. "She
was preparing to kill me, I think, but I doubt you would believe me. Go back to
Thia and comfort her, Alec. I shall retire alone."

She turned again but he stopped
her with a crushing grip on her arm. She winced, gasping when his other hand
clamped down on her free arm and she was trapped before him. Sky-blue eyes
glittered at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Not a thing," she said
evenly. "Let us say that I am glad my sister is out of Blackstone, lest
you force her to wed Colin in Thia's place. I realize how precious your baby
sister is to you. How much you love her. Now, let me go. You are hurting
me."

His grip relaxed but he did not
release her. Instead, his expression seemed to soften and he did not say
anything for a moment. Peyton could almost read the fluctuation of ideas in his
sky-blue orbs. "What did you see, Peyton?"

Her sapphire eyes widened with
surprise. Her bitterness forgotten for the moment, she tried to pull free from
his grip. "I...."

"Answer me."

She blinked, swallowing hard
against his piercing gaze. "Why.... why do you ask what I saw?"

"Because you were about to
tell me what caused the altercation before you changed your story. I know you
well enough to know that you were not spying. Tell me what you saw that made my
sister attack you."

There was no point in refusing to
answer. Alec was the only person, aside from Ivy, that she felt she could
confess to. Her only fear was the possibility that he would not believe her;
after all, what she was about to say was shocking beyond reason. She would not
have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

She relaxed in his grip somewhat,
reluctant to meet his gaze. "Will you believe me if I tell you?"

"Without question."

Her resistance fled and she could
feel the repulsion of her admission. "I went to look for you because you
had been gone so long. I thought I could find a servants entrance in the west
wing so that I would not have to walk past the Warringtons or your father in
the grand hall. I was moving down the corridor when I heard moaning. I swear to
you, Alec, I thought someone was in pain. But when I opened the door, I saw...."
she swallowed hard, ashamed and revolted.

"What did you see,
love?" he encouraged gently.

She winced as if the memory
brought a tangible pain. "I saw your sister with her face between a
woman's legs," she whispered. "The moans were coming from Thia as she
pleasured the serving wench."