Page 32 of Lord of the Hollow Court
Before it became clear to her, recognition went through her like a bolt. There was something in his carriage, the shape of his broad shoulders and proud posture that she already knew. She had not seen him around Hollow Hall at all—and no wonder. Judging by the way he carried himself, he was no servant. Unlike her.
She could only know him from one other place, then: the night she’d stumbled into Hollow Hall.
His hair was not as long as Muis, and he was not as wiry, so she dismissed that possibility right away. The man neared, waving the fog away. Only when he was within a few feet of her did the air seem to clear. All at once, the scents of decay abated, replaced by something spicier, almost alluring.
How handsome he is,was Katty’s next, incredibly absurd thought. Either she was getting very used to the fae or not used to them at all, and shock had made her thoughts silly. But there was a distinguishing structure to his features, so that they were sculpture-like without appearing hard. If he was the fae lord who’d brought her back inside, he was not half as severe as she’d thought.
Katty concealed the interest wound into her observations, and the soft blush that accompanied it, by directing her eyes downward. She curtsied, mop in hand.He looks like a fairy tale prince.
The fae man attempted a smile that sent his mouth into a quiver instead. He bowed shallowly in return, then said, “My name is Braam, and I am lord here.”
Katty let out a squeak of surprise. So itwashim—the one who’d caught her and had her dragged inside. What did the lord of the manor want with her? She was not presentable in the slightest, covered in magical sludge and splotches of cleaning solution. Her glossy hair was her best feature, and just now it was hidden beneath a kerchief, and oily from sweat under that. Oh, her mother would be mortified if she knew Katty stood before a noble looking thus! She’d berate Katty if she’d stood before thebakerlike that. Katty wished she could melt into the floor like this horrid sticky ooze.
And why wasn’t Lord Braam saying anything? His chest swelled, as if about to commence a long speech, but no words came out. Katty fumbled for something to say.
“Thank you for your help the other night,” she said with another awkward curtsy.
He waved a hand in the air dismissively. “There’s no need to thank me. You’re already working off your debt to my court.”
Oh.Katty tucked her chin between her collarbones, face changing color to a vivid crimson. Rineke had warned her about how to say thank you—and this was the very reason. The geas she was caught up in was tied to this man, to his court. And how was it that he smelled so enchanting when Hollow Hall smelled like a damp cellar?
The Lord of the Hollow Court flared his nostrils, then opened his mouth. There was a slight delay before the words came out. Was he nervous, too? Perhaps speaking to a human was as strange for him as speaking to a fae lord was for her.
“It is a rather large debt you’ve incurred,” he observed, as if commenting on whether it would rain. “I believe there may be complications for you, that you are away from home this long? Children to return to? A husband, perhaps?”
Katty shrank. “I have no husband.”
“And no children?” Lord Braam raised his brows. Why did he look so hopeful?
“I cannot very well have one without the other, my lord.” Or was it “your lordship?” Katty began to sweat as she felt the depths of how little she knew.
“No? One does not necessitate the other.”
Stomach tightening, Katty raised her chin. What was this handsome lord getting at? “I have never known that to be the case,” Katty replied.
“Can humans not”—a furrow darkened his brow for a moment, thoughts warring visibly behind his high forehead. What was so difficult to understand? Surely no woman ever had a baby without a husband.
Or was that the fuss about a woman’s reputation? There were certainly rumors enough around Sleepy Hollow—everyone made quite the fuss about the butcher’s daughter’s hasty marriage, but since marriage was the goal, it had not made much sense to Katty. She could never catch the meaning of such gossip, as if there was a certain code used to avoid impropriety. Even Katrina had not known, and her tutors practically tripped over themselves when she’d asked. All they’d gotten from anyone was that it had to do with being away overnight.
Werethere children born out of marriage? Was that what all this reputation nonsense—the very bed of nettles Katty found herself in now—was getting at? Now Katty was the confused one.
“Humans and fae are very different, indeed,” Lord Braam said, effectively ending her turmoil. “I rightly defer to your authority on the subject, Miss van der Vos.”
She could see the effort it cost him to appear this pleasant. But why bother with her at all? Was he feeling guilty for forcing her to stay? A thousand more questions entered her mind, all of them jumbling together when she caught sight of a patch of silver upon his stubbly chin. For some reason, she could not take her eyes off it once she had—and better that she didn’t, for those shapely and soft-looking lips of his were above them. What was wrong with her? She kept thinking of his mouth aswelcoming.She blushed so hard, it reddened her chest.
And then he said, “If you are presently unattached, perhaps you’d kindly consider marrying me to remove your debt to my court?”
Katty’s jaw dropped in a way that would’ve earned her a smack from her mother. “I—what?”
Lord Braam cleared his throat. “I have need for a bride, ideally a human one, for reasons I may explain to you at length. As you have a formidable debt to the Hollow Court, and, I understand, it is the human custom for women to marry before a certain age, then—what I mean to say is—”
“Yes,” Katty said, and clicked her mouth shut.
Lord Braam looked up, as startled as she was. No, this was perfectly logical—those words had not flown from her mouth on their own at all. He was clearly a bit older than her, but that wasn’t an unusual situation. He wasn’t without property or wealth—although the permanent mist and webs that refused cleaning were a tad worrisome. But he was an available man, somewhat dashing—well,verydashing—and he had asked. She’d had no other offers yet. And if Katty eloped with him she could return to Sleepy Hollow, if with her head held not quite as high as before.
That he was a fae lord would be a bit of a challenge, especially where her parents were concerned, but Katty liked the sound of Lady Katrina Braam for a name. She said it again, both so she could be sure he heard her and to convince herself.
“Yes, I will marry you forthwith,” she said with a decisive nod. “Since I am already under your roof, the sooner the better. Is the day after tomorrow too soon? Do you have a minister at your disposal?”
