Free Web NovelChapter 26: This Heart Of Mine
JACE
"Jace?"
The voice belonged to Penelope. Irritation flared. I had been happy not to see her. If she hadn’t been at the Hunter’s Ball, Sophia wouldn’t have ditched me for Duke Stonehart.
Even though I hadn’t granted her permission, she entered the study.
I had realized lately that she was very forward in her actions. Arrogant. Her expectations of her place in my life had grown too much. She was greedy for things she could not have.
Yes, she saved me.
And yes, she had been an interesting companion for the last few years.
But she would never have a permanent place in my life.
The six years she spent at my side at the military camp was simply about repayment of her sacrifice for me. And the next year here at the manor was much of the same. I hadn’t cared what Sophia thought about the girl. After all, hadn’t I fulfilled my family’s marriage contract?
But now, Penelope had become an hindrance. What I once found enchanting was now crude. Penelope was pretty, but she didn’t have the refinement of a well-brought-up lady. Not like Sophia.
It irked me that she had somehow usurped Sophia. People actually thought Penelope was the woman I wed? No doubt Penelope, who’d been allowed to do as she pleased, encouraged those misconceptions. Hadn’t Fabian said as much?
Of course, no one in outer society knew Penelope had been a maid. Most of my inner circle knew that she had saved my life.
I thought about Fabian’s words. How seven years of my time and money was enough payment for the arrow Penelope took in my stead.
He was right.
"Jace?" She drifted around the corner of my desk. Her hair wasn’t as long as Sophia’s. In fact, it only went a little past her shoulders. It looked dull in the moonlight shining through the double doors that led outside.
She didn’t stop until her leg had brushed against mine. Her fingers traced patterns down my arm. I pushed her away. "Stop that."
Penny frowned. "What’s wrong?"
She was crowding me, and I felt claustrophobic. I rose from the chair and went to stare out the window panes of the doors. The garden stretched from here to the hundred feet or so to the stone fence. A mild breeze rattled tree limbs and flower stalks, making shadows dance in the garden. I saw a few flower petals and tree leaves take to the air.
"Jace?"
Penny came to stand beside me. Her hands clutched at my forearm, locking on to me with an iron grip.
"You should rest," I told her.
"Come to my room," she said softly.
I looked down at her. She was pretty in the same way a wildflower might be pretty. A wildflower was sturdy. Stubborn. It grew even a field of weeds.
Not like Sophia.
Sophia had been carefully breed. Cultivated. Made beautiful with the care of her parents. Useful, too, because she raised by scholars. She had knowledge. Talent. Grace. She knew how to be obedient.
Or she had.
Everything that occurred at the Hunter’s Ball still disturbed me. She hadn’t acted like herself at all. I wasn’t entirely upset at her change in personality. She was more vibrant. As long as she didn’t carry on too far with her stubbornness, things would be fine.
I would forgive her.
But Penelope...
"Jace," she said, her voice low and sweet. "Come to my room. Stay with me."
I know what she was asking, and maybe I had thought about taking her as a lover. A wildflower would certainly be more interesting in bed than a cultivated rose.
But my rose, my Sophia, could be taught, couldn’t she?
Her fingers traced my Adam’s apple and dipped into my shirt. "We don’t need to pretend anymore."
I plucked her finger out of my shirt and put space between us. "I think you should move out of the manor," I said. "I’ll find you a place in the Capital. And I’ll arrange a marriage for you. One of my lieutenants. They can give you a comfortable life."
Anger made her features ugly. Her lips curled. "You’re going to pawn me off on one of your idiot underlings? You think that’s a blessing for me?"
"Yes." I looked at her, and scoffed. "You didn’t think you would climb into the branches of my family tree, did you?"
"Why not?" She put her hands on her hips. "I’ve been by your side for seven years. You prefer me over your wife. Everyone in your circle knows my name, not hers. Most already think you’re my husband."
"No doubt because you fanned those flames." freewebnσvel.cøm
"And what if I did? You owe me as much. You should’ve never married her. You should’ve married me."
"You were a maid, Penelope. I wouldn’t have given you a second glance had you not stepped in front of that arrow and saved me."
"I almost died! I have a heart condition because of that!"
"I’ve compensated you well," I said, gritting my teeth. "But if you feel slighted, I’ll will give you a nice sum of money. If you wish me to find you a husband, I will. If you don’t, that’s fine, too. Either way, you won’t be living at Amaranth Manor anymore."
Penelope’s chest heaved as she struggled to control her rage. "You can’t dump me. You can’t pick her."
"I married her, Penelope. She’s my wife. You’re not even a mistress. You’re nothing."
Her hand flew toward my face, but I grabbed her wrist and held tight. "Calm down." freēwēbnovel.com
Tears pearled in her eyes. Before, seeing her cry would make me feel guilty. My heart would ache for her pain.
But not anymore.
I didn’t want her.
"You really think you can abandon me? I won’t allow it."
"Have I been too good to you lately?" I asked. I let go of her wrist and pushed her away.
"It’s her fault. If she wasn’t around, you would see me. You would want only me!"
God, this drama was tiresome. Penelope screeching and squawking like a trapped bird. I hated it.
"Go to bed now, or I will put you out of this house tonight."
She shut up. Aside from crying pitably. I’d had enough.
I left her alone in the study.
Tomorrow, I would make her leave.
And then everything with Sophia would return to its rightful place.
