“No. Mary was with me, and few are foolish enough to confront her directly. She’s taken to sleeping in my room with me, and I keep a sword with me at all times.” Sapphire eased aside her wide skirts enough to reveal the hidden scabbard.
“I didn’t know you were skilled with a sword.”
“Papa taught me. Wanted me to be able to take care of myself.”
“I like your father more and more. Has your stepfather tried anything since?”
“Not yet, but if my grandfather worries I’m slipping away from him…” The knot in her chest tightened.
There was only one way to get along with her grandfather, and that was doing exactly what he wanted. Her mother had once mentioned some of the horrible and inventive punishments Lord Carsons could devise, and none of her mother’s infractions ever deprived him of a fortune. And Lord Carsons hadn’t considered Sapphire’s mother a stain on the family name.
Unlike Sapphire.
Sir Matthias tightened his hold on Sapphire’s hand. “Your grandfather would try to force you to marry your stepfather?”
“I’m not my mother, and I won’t bow to his every whim. He’s trying to have me declared insane, but the Dragon Church has denied his requests. So far.” Sapphire dropped her hand to her sword hilt.
“Are you certain?” He stared at her intently, but it wasn’t denial she saw reflected there. It was worry.
Blowing out a breath, she nodded. “My father’s attorney showed me the documents. They are public record, as demanded by the Dragon Church.”
“Secrets breed corruption,” Sir Matthias murmured. “But why would he do that?”
“He grows ever more desperate for my father’s fortune.” Of that, she was certain, otherwise her grandfather would have disowned her. “I half expect him to abduct me, forge my signature on a marriage agreement, then kill me and hide the body.”
Sir Matthias blanched, but he didn’t discount her fear. “Things are that bad between you and your grandfather?”
“He needs the money, and he’s always hated me. A living reminder that he sold his precious daughter into marriage with a commoner.” Sapphire paused and stared across the park. “Half the time I sound crazy to myself.”
“Not unusual when someone is trying to force you to do things you don’t want, things you know are wrong.”
Her heartbeat quickened. Maybe she wasn’t slowly losing her mind. “Really?”
“I’ve seen it several times. If your grandfather can get you to doubt yourself, doubt your judgment and your perception of reality, then you must rely on his.”
Sapphire let her gaze wander to the iridescent green beetle climbing the stem of a crimson flower. “Like when I wanted my stepfather to leave my home when my mother died, especially as he wasn’t a blood relation to me. My grandfather decided he should stay on as my guardian, told me it had been my idea even when it hadn’t been. It became his word against mine, and my grandfather made certain I couldn’t remove Lord Bartley without a scandal.”
“And you feared your grandfather would use a scandal to further his claim you couldn’t be trusted to manage your inheritance?”
Anger churned through her, and she nodded. “I’ll endure whatever scandal they concoct before I marry Lord Bartley or Lord Musgrave, but if my grandfather can convince the Dragon Church I’m crazy…”
“That’s why you want to marry me.”
It was one of the reasons, but she would not admit to more. Not even to herself. Sir Matthias bandaged scraped knees, thatched roofs, and baked bread, never wanting or asking for anything in return. He epitomized the perfect Knight of Valor and made her heart beat a little faster every time she saw him. Of course she wanted to marry him.
But that was her secret.
“If we’re married, the money doesn’t go to him.” Sapphire stared across the park, keeping her face placid. “I have no illusions of marriage. But if I have to marry someone, at least you’ll be kind to me and take care of the people that depend on me.”
Sir Matthias eased her closer to him. “We’ll marry today. Tell me what you need from me to make that happen.”
Sapphire stumbled mid-stride, and he caught her elbow, keeping her upright. He was going to marry her. He was really going to marry her. Elation warred with fear, anticipation, and the thrill of success. She nearly choked on her words. “Sign the papers to start.”
Sir Matthias took the papers from his pocket and handed them to her. “Already done.”
Forcing her hands to stay steady, Sapphire slipped the papers into her reticule. “We’ll take my carriage, drop these off with my solicitor, then go to the temple.”
Sir Matthias nodded, and she glanced up at him, struck again by his boyishly charming face.
She had to do this, had to go through with it. It was the only way to protect the people that relied on her, people like Mary. To be certain that they would be fed even when harvests failed. That they would always have enough to get through the winter. To make sure they weren’t used and cast aside in pursuit of whatever her grandfather sought.
To make sure they weren’t treated as expendable, or worse, treated as garbage.
Like her grandfather treated her.
Sapphire reminded herself of that over and over as she led Sir Matthias back to her carriage.
There was no other way but marriage, and it had to be to someone above reproach. Someone the Dragon Church could not fault. That she had chosen Sir Matthias instead of someone else… Well, that was another matter, one she hadn’t let herself reflect on too much.
Still, she had considered the situation from every angle possible, discussed it with her solicitor, and he had agreed with her enough that he’d drawn up the papers.
And it was okay to be nervous and a little scared. Doing the right thing wasn’t always the easy thing, something her father had taught her well.
And many brides were nervous on their wedding day.
Wedding day.
She had planned her strategy so carefully, had figured out exactly how to appeal to Sir Matthias’s need to protect to convince him to agree to her proposal, yet a part of her still couldn’t believe she was marrying Sir Matthias Northland, High Knight and Speaker of the Dragon Church.
The notion thrummed through her, thrilling and terrifying her in equal turns, until they arrived back at her carriage.
Sapphire smiled up at Sir Matthias and tried to ignore how handsome he was. “You might want to ride with me. The fewer people that see you, the fewer people that will stop you.”
Sir Matthias considered a moment, then gave Spirit’s reigns to one of her footmen before handing her into the conveyance. He climbed up and sat beside her, linking his fingers with hers as the coachman closed the door behind them.
Sapphire’s breath caught as Sir Matthias wrapped his hands around hers.
He was large and broad beside her, and she stared down at where he held her hand in his. Strong and calloused. Workman’s hands, her mother would have said. Like Sapphire’s father.
Not the soft, useless hands of noblemen like her grandfather.
And Sapphire was going to marry him anyway. Sir Matthias would be her husband. She would be his wife.
Sir Matthias’s wife.