Page 84 of Juliet's Touch

The devil I will.

“Do we have an understanding?” he asked.

She glared at him.

Mumbling obscenities, he turned his back to her and strolled to a side table. He picked up a knife and held it high. Sunlight streaming through a nearby window reflected off the long, thin blade. This weapon looked as though it had been designed to rip through flesh and was much more ominous than the bread knife, which hadn’t exactly filled her with warm, fuzzy thoughts while it was puncturing her flesh.

She refused to show how truly terrified she was, so she met his gaze as he hovered over her.

“Do not make a sound, not even an inkling of a peep.” He pressed the knife to her neck and removed the gag with his other hand.

She swallowed and then licked her lips as the gag tumbled to her lap.

“Answer me, you traitorous little wench. Do you understand?”

She wanted to spit in his face, but since she did not relish being disfigured, she had no choice but to nod.

“Repeat the story you are going to tell everyone,” he demanded.

How in the dickens was she to speak if she didn’t make a peep? She sighed. “What were you doing in a brothel?”

He growled. “What the bloody hell were you doing in one?”

He knew exactly what she was doing there. She would not confess to it out loud, giving him an excuse to bellow and call her names.

He squeezed her chin between his thumb and index finger. “Answer me, you unfaithful trollop.”

It seemed that no matter what she did, he was going to yell and insult her, so she might as well find her pride and fight back. The only weapon at her disposal was her brain. If only she were as intelligent as her sisters.

“Do not cower,” Maria would tell her. “Men like Charles are chicken-hearted cowards.”

“Look into his soul and find his motivations,” Emily would say. “Then, expose any hypocrisy and be sure to call his bluff.”

Embracing her sister’s strength, Juliet stared into his soulless eyes. “My lord, I broke off our engagement before I pledged my heart and body to another man. You cannot say the same. How many times were you unfaithful?” She slid her gaze across the room. “What sickness ails you, that you surround yourself with this?”

He slammed his hand on the back of the chair. At the crack of skin against wood beside her ear, Juliet winced.

Swallowing her fear and fighting the quiver spreading through her muscles, she feigned indifference to his temper. “Are you so intimidated by women that you must resort to violence to exert control over them?”

For a moment, he simply blinked. Then, he retreated to the opposite side of the room.

Brilliant, Juliet,she congratulated herself. She’d broken him. Perhaps he would even curl into a ball in the corner and mourn the loss of his manhood.

To her horror, he whirled, throwing his arms wide, knocking paintings off the wall. They crashed to the ground, some of the frames splintering. Like a wild animal, he continued to rage. All around Juliet, paintings flew, porcelain smashed, and obscenities echoed, the sound of destruction deafening. The knife whizzed past her head, barely missing her cheek. Another followed.

Juliet fought to free herself from the ropes. Attempting to shame Charles had made matters worse, and now she was in mortal danger.

Where are you, Eric?she wondered. And then something hard smashed her cheek.