Chapter 55 The Humiliation
The spectacle was at once ridiculous and pitiful.
With painstaking care, Madison had braided the severed hair into a neat, square mat and handed it to Sadie with exaggerated solemnity.
“I owe you for pulling me from the fire,” he said. “Yesterday was your birthday, so here is my gift–a lovely cushion. You can sit on it or place it on your bed.”
Sadie could only gape.
Thank you very much. Who on earth would dare use such a cushion? Wouldn’t it turn the whole house into a haunted shrine?
“I… really don’t need a cushion,” she murmured.
At once, Madison’s features crumpled in theatrical sorrow. “You don’t like my present, Sadie?”
Sadie fell silent again.
Like it? Over my dead body.
She searched for a tactful escape when the shackle on her wrist jerked, cutting the thought short.
Zephyr studied her with a pleasant smile. “Your second brother has given you a present. What do you say?”
Sadie stared at him. The smile looked tender, yet menace shimmered in his half–lidded eyes, promising a trip to the magistrate if she dared offend Madison.
Resigned, she pinched the sooty mat between two fingers and forced a wavering smile. “Thank you, Madison.”
“If you like it, I’ll weave more for you,” Madison said, instantly cheerful.
Sadie managed another brittle smile.
Wonderful. That’s exactly what I needed.
It was well past midnight. Zephyr ordered his guards to escort the four Francis siblings home and told the curious that their kidnappers had slipped through his net.
Afterward, he brought Sadie back to the Gates Estate, the two of them sharing the same carriage.
Keeping her chin rigid, Sadie said, “Please, Lord Zephyr, would you remove these shackles?”
Zephyr twirled the key between his fingers. “I once thought you vain and grasping, Miss Francis, yet in a blink you have my two brothers treating you like kin. Your skill is clearly far from ordinary.”
Sadie’s gaze fixed on the key. “I showed them nothing but sincerity. Is it so strange they happen to like me?”
Zephyr leaned forward until their breaths crossed, a mocking light flickering in his narrow eyes. “Sincerity?” he murmured. “If sincerity is your way, why have you never tried it on me?”
They were so close that when Sadie lifted her lashes, she could count the fine dark fringe of his lowered ones. His breath brushed warm across her cheeks, mingling with the dim lantern glow that blurred the
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Chapter 55 The Humiliation
carriage shadows.
Clad in scarlet silk and gold, Zephyr looked almost unical–aristocratic features sharpened into a beauty that bordered on wicked.
Sadie dared not meet that gaze; instead, her eyes slid to his mouth, finely shaped and tinted the palest rose soft and unblemished.
Detestable as the man was, he was, undeniably, stunning.
Alexander once waved the scandalous Book of Dalliance at her; the illustration sprang unbidden into her mind.
Wouldn’t Zephyr’s lips feel wonderful?
The audacity of that thought jolted her. She jerked backward, widening the space between them.
“How can you say I am insincere?” she blurted. “I have always respected and admired you as an elder brother. You are the one who chose to cast me aside!”
Respected and admired–Zephyr tasted the words and felt a spike of irritation. He was only four years her senior, yet her tone made him sound ancient.
He yanked the chain, dragging her close. Even seated, he loomed over her, tall and unyielding.
“Let’s talk,” he said, voice cool.
“T–Talk about what?” she stammered.
You are clever, Miss Francis. You already know who targeted the Gates Estate and how precarious our position is. I will not allow anyone within these walls to waver. Do you understand what I expect from you?
Sadie swallowed hard.
Of course, she understood–how could she not?
Zephyr feared that if she stayed in the Gates Estate, she might one day turn against him.
He wanted her to join him in outright rebellion.
Yet, rebellion ended with severed heads and entire families erased.
Uneasy, Sadie did not dare admit that treason repelled her, so she squared her shoulders and declared her loyalty.
“Since my mother brought me into the Gates Estate, I am one of you,” she said. “What right have I to bask in its riches yet refuse to share its trials?”
She added, “Rest easy, Lord Zephyr; I will ride the same boat, face the same storms–life and death together.”
He neither approved nor dismissed her pledge.
He rolled the iron chain between elegant fingers; at length, he murmured, “General Hawke wishes to train Alexander.“.
Chapter 55 The Humiliation
In the previous life, that same general had once poured all his strength into shaping Neville Into a prod
He had been the most celebrated vanguard in the southwestern region, and his family rose to prominence as a result. Childless, he yearned for a gifted heir to keep the art alive.
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