The Seduction (Unexpected Circumstances #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Branford!” I cried.  “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
    Branford’s fist slammed into the wall right next to my head, and I screamed again.  There was no point in trying to explain—it would have been the same as when the carriage driver had begged for mercy, and there was no one here to stay Branford’s hand.  I had no doubt that he was going to kill me.
    “Tell me how!” he screamed right next to my head, and I jumped.  “And to think I was buying that innocent little servant girl act of yours!”
    “No…Branford…I didn’t…I swear…”
    “No more lies!”  Again, his fist hit the wall next to me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.  Tears flowed freely down my cheeks, but I made no move to stop them.  I tried to cover my head with my arms, but Branford grabbed my wrists and held them to my sides.  “How did you do it?  How did you get past all my senses?”
    Before I could even consider trying to either answer his questions or beg for his mercy, a shout from behind him startled me nearly as much as Branford’s own yelling had.
    “Branford Sterling!”   I heard the Queen of Silverhelm’s voice but couldn’t see her from my position up against the wall.  “Get away from her this instant!”
    “I don’t think so!” Branford shouted without turning toward the queen.
    “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that was a request, Sir Branford .”
    Immediately, the grip on my wrists relaxed.  I pulled my arms back up and covered my face with my hands as I tried to turn away from my husband, seeking comfort from the cold, stone wall.  I could not turn though, for Branford’s body was still pressed up close to mine, and his rapid breaths blew over the bare skin of my shoulder.
    “You hadn’t even shown me this much of you.” Branford’s low whisper burned my ear as his hot, rapid breaths coated my skin and caused me to shiver.  My skin went cold as he stepped back, and I dropped to the ground, curling my legs up underneath me and holding my arms protectively over my head.  I tried to remember if he was already wearing his sword or if I would have to wait for him to retrieve it before he cut me down.  Sunniva’s voice registered in the back of my head, but the meaning of her words didn’t penetrate as I waited for the final blow.
    “Have you lost all your reasoning?”
    “I’m just seeing the light, Mother.”
    “Seriously, Branford?  You think inappropriate dinner clothing is a plot against you?”
    “It’s not that simple!”  Branford yelled.  “There was the carriage driver, her behavior when we arrived, and our wedding night…”
    “Don’t be ridiculous!”
    “I’m not being—”
    “You most certainly are!  I don’t know if I have ever been more angry and disappointed in you than at this moment.  You keep pushing your wife onto everyone around you and then fly off the handle at her when things don’t go the way you expected!”
    “Mother, I—”
    “Did I give you permission to speak, Sir Branford?”
    “No…my queen.”
    “Then don’t do so again unless I ask it of you.  Understood?”
    “Yes, my queen.”
    “Down!  Now!”
    Daring to peek from between my fingers, I watched from the corner of my eye as Branford first held the queen’s stare and then slowly dropped to his knees in front of her.  He placed his hands, stilled balled into fists, on his thighs and bent his head down.  I quickly hid my face again as my heart continued to pound.
    “You listen to my words, Branford Sterling, Lord of Sterling, and listen well.”  The queen’s voice was low, and I could hardly hear her words.  “This has been a complete and total disaster, and there is one person and one person only who is responsible for it.”
    “I think I’ve figured that—”
    “SILENCE!”
    “Yes, my queen.”  His words to her were soft, but the queen spoke loud and clear.
    “You, Branford,” Sunniva said.  “You are responsible for this.  You brought a young, lost,