“Wait.”
He turned around.
“I don’t even know you…” I knew nothing about him other than his name. I had no idea what he did for a living, what his favorite color was, what he believed in. We’d shared a bottle of wine and had a conversation, but I knew him even less than I did before.
After another cold look, he turned back to the door. “Does it matter?”
6
Maverick
Martin opened the door himself because he couldn’t afford his servants anymore. Dressed in pajamas and a t-shirt, he seemed almost too tired to get out of bed anymore. His illness was obvious to anyone who looked hard enough. It was a mystery that Arwen didn’t notice with her fierce intelligence.
Or maybe she just didn’t want to see it.
I didn’t wait for an invitation before I stepped into his entryway. “I talked her into it.”
Martin straightened his back, forcing his weak muscles to work to give him proper stature. He stilled once he heard what I said, and his right eyebrow arched so high in puzzlement. “Are we talking about the same woman?”
I was impressed he could crack a joke in his condition. Mortality didn’t faze him like it did most people. With melancholy in their eyes and defeat in their limbs, they gave up before the fight was even over. “Yes.”
“Then hats off to you.” He mimicked a bow. “You really should marry her…since you’re the only one that can talk some sense into her. You must be persuasive.”
Just bossy.
“Thank you for doing that. And of course, I’ll uphold my end of the bargain.”
I wouldn’t marry her unless he did. “You better. Because if you don’t, I won’t be kind to your daughter.”
His smile dropped with the threat. He could make a joke about anything, even in his condition, but a threat to his little girl, he couldn’t brush off as easily. “I’m a man of my word. I assume you’re a man of yours?”
“Always.”
“Then be good to her. I know she has a bit of an attitude, but the best mares always do. They know what they are worth and don’t settle for less. They’re beautiful, but they aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. My daughter’s qualities are also her flaws. When you get to know her, you’ll see just how magnificent she really is. This might be a means to an end for now…but maybe you’ll come to love her in time.”
Love wasn’t in my vocabulary. “I won’t hurt her. You have my word.”
He released the breath from his lungs, coughing with the effort.
I watched this sick man and actually pitied Arwen. She’d already lost her family inheritance, but soon she would be an orphan as well…and she had no idea. “You need to tell her the truth.”
He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. “I know.”
“You need to do it soon. It’s cruel to keep her in the dark when she could be spending time with you.”
“That’s the very reason I haven’t told her. After what I did, she has every right to be angry with me. Betraying her the way I have and then dropping the truth on her shoulders…would be so conflicting. It would take away her right to be angry. She deserves to be angry.”
“You can’t change the past, Martin. But you can savor every minute of the present.”
“I know…” His eyes dipped down as he continued to breathe through the ache in his chest.
“How much time do you have?” Every time I saw him, he seemed to look worse and worse. His skin was becoming pastier, his breathing was even louder, and the bloodshot look to his eyes deepened.
“It’s not a science,” he said. “But a couple weeks. Truth be told, I hope I die before the shit hits the fan. Would much rather die in my sleep than be butchered with a knife. And if I’m really lucky, I’ll even be buried next to my wife before any of that happens.”
It was hard to believe he was capable of such stupidity when he seemed to truly love his family. “Why did you do it?” Men gambled with their fortunes and their lives when they were stupid or greedy—usually both. But this man seemed a little wiser than the rest.
He shrugged. “Just like you said, we shouldn’t live in the past…”
Fair enough. “Then we should have the wedding next week. I’m assuming you’d like to give her away.”
“Yes…” His eyes glossed over as he imagined it. “I know this isn’t the wedding she wants. You aren’t the man she wants. But it’s still the best protection I can give her. Maybe one day, she’ll thank me for it…”
Maybe.
“Even if things change in time, you must stay married to her. Even when the dust settles, you can’t go back on your commitment. Do we understand each other?”
That meant she would be my wife until the day I died. I’d see her face every day, see her resentment as the years turned into decades. Maybe we would have children, and perhaps that familial bond would bring us closer together. Or maybe we would hate each other until our dying breath. “Give my family our revenge, and consider it done.”