by Amy Boyles
His words felt like a challenge, as if I couldn't save my brother on my own. Granted, Branthe had a lot of rebels working for him as opposed to my one-man army.
Then I thought about how he’d dismissed me that night, how I knew he wanted to be together but disregarded his own feelings. I looked at him then, studying those eyes that were able to hide his feelings so well. Part of me wanted to run away and not ask, but I couldn't help it.
“Has anything changed, or do you still deny your feelings?”
His eyes widened, even behind the mask. I'd caught him off guard. Smug arrogance overtook me. At the same time I noticed Colonel Mann all alone, his female cohort having disappeared. I looked around to see her on the arm of another man. Perfect. He wouldn't be seeing any more of her tonight.
“If you'll excuse me, I have work to do.” Emboldened, I walked toward the colonel, not bothering to look back.
Twenty-One
“If you haven't tried the rum punch, it's quite delicious,” I said, lowering my voice in what I thought to be a seductive tone. Hopefully it seemed seductive enough that he didn’t recognize it.
Shifty eyes raked over my face and body. I made sure the bosom of the dress was cut low—not indecently so, but enough to get a man's attention.
Focusing on my cleavage instead of my eyes, Mann replied, “I haven't had a nip, though if a woman as lovely as you is bringing it to me, I'll happily oblige.”
I handed him my glass and watched as he took a careful sip. Then another. Then he downed the whole thing. “Mmm. Yes, it's quite tasty.” His seedy eyes rested back on my face. “Tell me, how is it a beautiful woman like yourself doesn't have a gentleman on her arm?”
Without cringing, I wrapped my hand around his bicep. “I do have one.”
He giggled, sounding like a wheezing pig. “Oh well, then, my dear, let's get to know each other better.”
“I couldn't agree more,” I said. “But first, let's get more punch.”
I spent the next two hours charming Colonel Mann like I'd charmed no other. It was working, too. His eyes soon became bleary, his focus erratic and a yawn came over him once or twice. After dowsing him with enough punch to put a horse down, I made my move.
Touching the brass buttons on his coat, I said, “It seems the party is dying down. I'll have to be leaving soon.”
“Oh?” He swiped a finger over the tops of my breasts. I wanted to vomit. “Don't do that. I have a room. You can stay and chat for a little while, can't you?”
“Of course.” I smiled.
Teetering, he led me through the halls of the mansion. Acutely aware that anyone could see us together, especially Branthe, I constantly looked over my shoulder, expecting to be followed. But every time I looked, no one was there.
“Now which door is it?” he asked no one, pulling a key ring from his waistcoat. The ring! That had to be where he kept the key to Colvin's cage. But that couldn't be assumed. As much as the thought revolted me, he would have to be searched to make sure there were no other keys on him.
Finding it after what seemed an eternity, he put the key in the lock. I heard the ever-familiar click, and he opened the door. Looking over my shoulder to make sure no one saw me, I followed him inside.
It was a basic room with a bed, desk and closet. The furnishings were covered with luxurious silks and velvets, but the colors were rather simple, tan and beige with ivory trimmings. Throwing his keys on the desk, he turned to me.
“Shall we keep the masks on or off?” he asked, reaching for my bad hand. I quickly placed it behind my back and extended the other. If anything could give me away, it would be my two crippled fingers.
A cold shiver ran up my spine. “Let’s keep the masks on.” I tried to say it soothingly, as if I was genuinely attracted to him, but it came out stilted. Doing my best to cover up my disgust, I added, “Don't you think it's much more dangerous that way? Much more interesting?”
“Yes, I suppose it is.” He giggled, sat on the bed and patted the place beside him. “Why don't you come over here?”
As soon as I sat, he pawed at me. His thick lips nuzzled my neck, leaving a trail of saliva down my skin. My lips tightened. I could withstand this. For Colvin I could withstand almost anything. But when his hand shoved down my bodice, that was it. Reaching for one of the heavy candlesticks on the nightstand beside me, I bashed Mann over the head.
With all the drink he’d been given, I expected him to go down without much fight.
“What are you doing, you bitch?”
Wrong. He grabbed my hand and threw the candlestick on the floor. Forcing me down on the bed, he ripped the mask off my face. Mann laughed.
“Anna, I should've known you'd try something stupid. Thought you'd get a little revenge for what happened, did you?” Though his breath smelled like stale alcohol, he had his wits about him, and I knew this time, he wouldn't let me get away.
Twenty-Two
I considered screaming but knew it wouldn't help me. Anyone who came to my rescue would see a kitchen maid dressed up as a lady—a wanted kitchen maid at that. My fate would be even worse than simply being locked in the room with the colonel.
He ripped at my bodice. I fought him off, struggling to keep his fat, clumsy hands off me.
“Remember that inspection I didn't get to? Third time’s the charm, eh? Well, you're going to be inspected all over, girl, for what you've done. Every hole you've got is going to be prodded. Before I'm finished, you're going to wish you'd stayed far away from me.”
I tried to push him off, but he pulled back his arm and punched me in the belly. All wind left me. I gasped for air, trying to think through the shock of it. Unable to fight, Mann lifted up my skirts, thrusting his hand between my legs.
The shock of his touch brought me back, and I kicked him in the gut. He staggered. At this point two choices occurred to me—I could run, or I could hit him again and hope that this time he was knocked out. Choice number two seemed logical.
I reached for the candlestick, but he beat me to it and swung it at me. I managed to dodge the blow, but only by slipping off the bed and scrambling for the far wall.
“The next swing will hit you square across the face. You'll lose teeth. It might even break your jaw. Either way, you won't be going anywhere after that. So why don't you decide to play nice?”
“I'd rather die.”
“You may have your wish.” He swung the candlestick, and at the same time I ducked, barreling into his middle. Mann lifted off his feet and fell on his back to the floor, me with him. I reached for his keys and felt hands around my neck.
I struggled to breath. Forgetting everything but the will to live, I tried to pry his hands from me. It was useless. His fingers gripped me like steel as panic set in. I couldn't breathe. I needed air. Lifting my hands to his neck, I tried to do the same to him, but all ability to focus vanished. Thinking became impossible. It occurred to me that I'd die here, in the same room as a man I despised.
“I highly suggest you stop strangling my fiancé.”
That voice. Branthe. He stood in the doorway. Mann stiffened and then his grip on me loosened. Branthe’s request had worked. I rolled off the colonel, sputtering and heaving to catch air.
“She's not your fiancé. She's nothing more than a kitchen wench here to get her revenge on me,” Mann spat.
“I assure you, she's my fiancé, and whatever quarrel she has with you is deserved after what I've seen.”
He just stood there. In the doorway. As if he owned the place. Branthe wasn't rattled; he wasn't worried; he simply was. Every bit of anger I felt toward him melted away, and I realized my feelings went much deeper. The moments we’d spent together that weren’t wasted on arguing or trying to keep my defenses up had been pure bliss. I longed for him. This was a man I respected and admired. Not for what I’d heard about him, but for what I knew of him. In that moment I wished that I was his fiancé, because I wanted to spend every waking and sleeping minute with him, no matter what.
Mann's face paled. It was an odd reaction, and I didn't understand until he spoke. “Andrews, you've got it all wrong.”
Andrews, as in Lord Andrews? Surely not. Surely this whole time the man I'd been throwing myself at wasn't one of the great new government's loyal lords, given such titles because of their absolute fidelity to the Patriot Party.
Branthe’s words were biting. “I don't have anything wrong, and when the council discovers the man they've put in charge of rehabilitating morally corrupt criminals is himself nothing more than a rapist, they won't look too kindly on the rest of your career, of that you can be assured.”
“But I—”
“There is one way to fix all this,” Branthe continued, cool as ever, not reacting at all to Mann's bumbling attempt to save face. “Drop the charges against her. All charges. Every one and no one will ever know what you've attempted here.” He gave Mann a hard stare. “Or in the past. Do we have a deal?”
“So I’ve been set up,” Mann grumbled. No one answered him. He gave me a quick glance, one that said he was resigned to follow his fate. “We have a deal.”
“Good. Luckily my lawyer is attending the party. I'll have him draw up the papers right now. In the morning you and your men will leave. I won't see your face again. Come, Anna.”
He didn't have to tell me twice. I took his arm and left Colonel Mann behind me, never to be seen again. Though it was the happiest moment of my life, it was shadowed by the fact that I’d failed my brother, and now he would die.
Twenty-Three
Branthe led me to another room. His room, obviously, from the dark oak of the furniture and the forest-green walls. He sat me down on the bed and crossed to a chair diagonal from me, sitting as well. He placed an ankle on his knee. The candlelight made his silk breeches look soft enough to swim in.
“I asked you not to go along with your plan,” he said, rubbing his tired face.
“And I never promised you I wouldn't.”
He gave me a weary smile. “You could've gotten killed. Or worse.”
It struck me what he'd done. Branthe had effectively changed my life. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For freeing me.”
He looked down, smiling. “I don't know if I'd say that. I may have freed you from one thing, but I've bound you to another.”
Bound me? Dear Lord, he meant the engagement. “But you only said that to save me from him.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Did I?”
“Didn't you?”
He drummed his fingers on the chair's armrest. “I'm not in the habit of saying things I don't mean.”
So he meant it? It didn't seem real. My brain was clouded. I didn't come here to be distracted by this. There was Colvin to think about. “But my brother. He's still caged outside.”
He shook his head. “Already taken care of. I told you we had a plan. When the colonel's men wake up, they'll find him mysteriously gone. Mann will have a hard enough time explaining that to his superiors. If he had that to deal with plus the scandal of what he was about to do to you, his career would be finished.”
My mouth was dry. “So you saved Colvin?”
“My men did.” He leaned forward. “Let me explain something to you, Anna. Now that you know who I am, I can finally tell you. Before, when you didn't know, I couldn't risk putting you or myself in any danger. Of course, you still haven't accepted my proposal, so I'm not sure if I should be telling you any of this.”
“Branthe…” It was the first time I dared to say his name out loud. It scared me to do so, but it slipped from my tongue before I could stop it.
He frowned. “Branthe was my brother. He was hanged several years ago.”
So the rumors of the hanging had been true. I thought it nothing more than lies to make Branthe seem superhuman. The man who saved me all those years ago was gone and had been for some time.
He didn’t look at me. “I was a loyal patriot before that happened. But when I discovered they'd burned and desecrated my brother’s body, it was a betrayal beyond words. So I took his place as a rebel, using my patriotic stance as cover.” He paused. “I'm Edward. I should’ve told you weeks ago.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, anger brewing inside.
He sighed. “I don’t know. Part of me wanted to keep the spirit of my brother alive for you since he saved you so long ago. I suppose I also didn’t want to disappoint you. I'm sorry I didn’t reveal myself.”
He looked crushed. I'd loved the myth of Branthe for most of my life. He was a man I didn't know, only one held close by my memories. This man, Edward, the one sitting before me—I knew. I'd spoken to him, laughed with him and was saved by him. He'd done more for me than his phantom brother ever had.
I loved him. I did.
“You couldn't ask for my hand before because I was wanted. As a patriot, you couldn't be tied to someone who was thought to be a rebel supporter.”
He nodded. Before I even realized what he was doing, he crossed to me and took my hands in his. “You don't know how hard it was that night. I wanted you more than I've ever wanted anything my entire life. I would've asked you then, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything until your name was cleared. Anna, I've never met anyone with more strength or defiance than you. I think I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you in the forest. Your name is now cleared. Will you marry me?”
There was only one answer. “Yes.”
Epilogue
Three months later, I found myself standing on the balcony outside Edward's room. Looking out over Old Town, I knew my world wasn't perfect, but it was mine. There were many injustices, among them the virginity test for young women. It was something Edward promised to fight alongside me. Covertly, of course, but fight it nonetheless.
All these thoughts ran through my head as a hand squeezed my shoulder.
“Penny for the thoughts of my new bride.”
I turned to see the smiling face of my husband. Still wearing his black waistcoat and breeches, I wrapped my arms around his middle. “I was thinking that even with how happy I am, I'm sorry Colvin couldn't be here.”
He kissed my forehead. “He's safe. In fact,” he said, leading me back to the bedroom, “he's working on our little project.”
My eyebrows lifted. “He is? He's trying to stop the Rendering.”
“He is, but you didn't hear that from me.” He sighed. “Speaking of testing nether regions…” His eyes twinkled at me.
I eyed the bed and smiled. “Yes, I'm ready.”
He pulled me to him. “Then let's begin married life,” Edward murmured, kissing my neck.
“Yes, let’s.”
<<<>>>
You’ve just finished Unlikely Rebel. Click here to purchase Rendered, the next book in the series.
Keep up with what’s going on in the Dark Revolution by signing up for my newsletter: Amy Boyles' Newsletter
About the author:
Amy Boyles lives in North Alabama with her husband and has a passion for cooking ridiculously fattening food as well as writing. She loves to be contacted by readers.
Connect with Me Online:
Website: http://amyboylesauthor.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/amyboylesauthor
Facebook: http://facebook.com/amyboylesauthor
Thank you for reading Unlikely Rebel. If you enjoyed it, tell others about it or write a review on Amazon. If you do write a review, please let me know at [email protected] so I can personally thank you.
The Dark Revolution:
Book One - Unlikely Rebel (Anna and Branthe)
Book Two - Rendered (Drian and Colvin)
Book Three - Baited (Abby and Atticus)
riends
