Lord Greyton's Fall From Grace (Lords of Avalon Novella Series) by K. R. Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

” The Marquess shifted uneasily in his chair.
    “ I have quite an array of damning d ocuments with all of your names on it, taken from each of your homes.” A chillin g smile spread across Marrek’s face as Lord Burrow frowned deeply . The Marquess just realized he was indeed caught . “Ah, I see you recall hav ing misplaced some documents . We have them.”
    Lord Burrow paled . He swallowed hard . “What do you want from me?”
    “I t has also been brought to my attention by a friend concerned about your wife ’s welfare that you harm her , purposely and for your own perverse pleasure .”
    “What is between me and my wife is no concern of yours .”
    “I have made it my concern , Burrow . If you ever beat your wife again, if you so much as lay a hand on her, I will know immediately. I will kill you personally . If you doubt my ability to do so, I can give you a list of names of the men I have killed out of duty to my country ; of course I would have to kill you immediately after you read the names.” Marrek shrugged nonchalantly . “ I have on my person a letter signed by the King which allows me to extinguish your life if I deem it necessary . You cannot hide from me. Orders are to kill you immediately if you should try to leave England’s shores . I will inform you that w e have been watching you for some time; in case you have not realized that by now . The reason I confront you today is because I learned what you do to your wife . It enables me to take action now instead of later .”
    “My wife is obstinate and disobedient . I cannot let her get away with-“
    “Silence!” St. Erth’s tone was ominous and deadly.
    “Your wife is a lady, a beautiful flower, and a gentle soul . You will treat her as a queen . You will never let a harsh word pass your lips in her presence . You will remain five feet away from her at all times . You will never touch her again .” The thought of such a pompous, bloody fool beating the beautiful and gentle Catherine for his own sick pleasure infuriated him. Charlie told him Catherine’s body was bruised and permanently scarred in places f rom the perverse torture bestowed upon her by Burrow . He would never understand how a man could receive sexual gratification from harming a woman.
    “No woman will live in my house and not obey me!” Lord Burrow stood. H is puffy face grew red with his anger. He seemed to notice immediately he was dwarfed by his opponent’s size and brawn.
    Marrek was well aware of the effect his size and dark looks had on others . He scowled . “ I have a doc ument for you to sign.” Marrek removed a paper from a small secretary . He handed it to Burrow.
    The Marquess scanned the document . “A divorce ! What nonsense is this ?  She is mine, my property, and I will keep her.” Burrow thrust the paper back at St. Erth, who made no move to retrieve it . It wafted to the floor. St. Erth moved the foolscap aside with the tip of the eagle-headed cane he held in one hand .
    “Let me make this crystal clear for you Burrow . You have three choices available to you . The first is to grant your wife a divorce and cooperate with His Majesty . The second is to keep her as your wife , but to never speak harshly to her or touch her again ; or as I promised, you will die . You would also be expected to cooperate with His Majesty. The third choice you have is to die by my hand this very moment if you refuse the first two choices. ”
    Burrow laughed, albeit nervously. “I’m one of the best shots in all of Eng land . Who says you can be s t me? ”
    Marrek let go a bored sigh. “I do . I prefer to slit an opponent’s throat , t hat way death is eminent . Breaking the neck works well also, it’s less messy . Greyton assured me they c an replace the carpet easily, so the choice is mine, really .” Marrek removed his gold watch and flipped open the case . “You have four minutes remaining to make your decision before I end your life , Burrow .”
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