Page 59 of Brutal Serpent

“Do you think. . .?” I asked in a tremulous voice, surprised by the wild leap of my own heart.

“I do,” St. Erth said with satisfaction, showing me the time that had passed since my last monthly flow. “You don’t have to drink this bilge now. I’ll go and get you some cakes.”

With a speaking glance, full of triumph, he got up and headed for the refreshments.

I was sitting, happy and bewildered, when to my surprise, Papa appeared in front of me.

“I did not know you were here!” I cried. He must have rushed over to Bath as soon as he got the letter that we were going there.

“Are you with child?” Papa demanded. “It is the second month since you were married.”

I hesitated.

It would make Papa very angry, to be sure, but perhaps this was a way of making sure that he stopped these nonsensical attempts on St. Erth’s life that could only end in failure.

“Yes, I am,” I said, feeling a sudden spark of pride and excitement.

“Get rid of it,” Papa said, moving in front of me.

His handsome face looked distorted with fury now.

“No!” I said.

“I didn’t raise you to open your legs like a slut for some common whore’s son,” Papa said, flecks of spittle flying from his lips.

I had never seen my father so filled with rage before, and I felt an answering fury snake over me. “She was a better parent than you ever were!” I snapped. “You should leave. If St. Erth finds you here, he’ll kill you. Just go back to Mama and don’t bother us again.”

“You will be sorry,” he spat at me, then he turned on his heel and left.

I was still trembling when St. Erth came back, but I forced myself to stay calm so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

The next morning my mind was still in a whirl, and I woke up early, feeling sick to my stomach.

I decided to go sea bathing to see if I could distract myself, so I left my sleeping husband and headed for the ladies’ beach.

I was the first one at the beach, and the attendant led me smilingly into the best and most luxurious bathing machine where I could change in privacy into the weighted skirts thatwould help me stay properly covered while I waded in the sea water.

As Viscountess St. Erth, I was greeted everywhere with the kind of deferential respect that I was most unused to ever encountering before, and I didn’t know how much of that was due to my new title or that fact that my husband was most impatient of anyone who did not accord me the proper treatment he felt I deserved.

When I was done changing, I opened the door, the fresh sea air filling my nose with the delicious scents of salt and waves. I didn’t see the attendant, though, and I looked nervously around, stepping tentatively out into the sea water. It was cold but bracingly so, and I felt my cheeks flush pleasurably. But just as I had put my other foot into the water, my skirts heavy with the weights to keep them from floating up, I felt a hand go over my mouth and my head was knocked into the side of the bathing machine.

And my father came around the side.

His eyes were glinting with malice. He held his hand over my nose and mouth, cutting off my breathing and making panic spiral through my body.

“There’s one way to ensure that St. Erth never succeeds in his revenge,” Papa spat at me. “And that’s to simply killyouand prevent him from having an heir. It’s so simple. I should have thought of this before. You aremucheasier to kill than he would be.”

I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I tried to struggle but my skirts weighed me down.

“I didn’t think you would amount to much, with your plain face,” he said. “But I’d rather have no daughter at all and keep my lands intact.”

And he dunked my head under the water again.

I knew I was going to die. My father had sent the attendants away and it was so early that the rest of the beach was still deserted.

I kicked and flailed under the water, but Papa held me under.

My body felt strangely weightless and my head swam, and just as my vision began to blacken, his hold on me was loosened and I was lifted from under the water as St. Erth drove Papa’s head into the side of the bathing machine with his other hand.

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