Page 44 of Hooked

He gave me what might have been a pitying look if he wasn’t clearly running out of patience. “My darling, I was there when you signed it. I witnessed it, as did your mother and your uncle.”

The magistrate seemed to latch on to this fact. “Would your mother testify that you signed unwillingly?”

“I—“ Would she? “She might…” Even I could hear the weakness of my conviction.

“She might?” Huckley taunted. “Your own mother who adores you might support your story?” He turned to the magistrate, giving him a look of Surely you don’t believe this girl?

“She didn’t adore me,” I argued, the bitterness of her betrayal rising up. “She was too terrified of my uncle to care for me properly.”

The captain let out a deep sigh. “I grow weary of this, Wendolyn. It is time to go.”

“But—” I looked to Marcus, the guard who stood at the edge of the room, but I knew he wouldn’t make a move unless Sir James ordered him. I turned my desperate gaze to the magistrate, hoping for some sliver of hope.

He seemed to be thinking hard, and finally turned to Captain Huckley. “Do you have proof that you fulfilled your part of the contract?”

My chest filled with hope which was immediately squashed at the sight of Captain Huckley’s grin.

“As a matter of fact—” Huckley pulled a piece of parchment from inside his vest and handed it over to the magistrate.

As the magistrate read, his face transformed into a horrible look of resignation and my heart sank. “It is a letter from the magistrate at Norsing, certifying that the captain’s part was indeed fulfilled.” He looked up at me, pity filling his eyes. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he said.

“There you have it,” Captain Huckley declared. “It is time to go.”

“No!” I protested, turning to the magistrate. “Arrest me! I am refusing to honor the contract. Arrest me.”

The pure pity that filled his gaze left me desolate. “Even if I did that, I would then be obliged to hand you over to the man who is to be your husband.”

“What? No!” This couldn’t be happening.

“Come, Wendolyn,” Captain Huckley insisted.

I looked to Sir James, who seemed ready to boil over with rage. “You cannot mean to take her with you now,” he insisted, indignation painting his face. “You will not be married for two weeks. Where will she stay in the meantime? Surely you can give the young lady some time. Let her stay here until the time for the marriage arrives. She can properly prepare and pack. She can say goodbye to my wife, who deserves more than to have her good friend taken from under her nose.” His voice rose louder and louder with each protest.

“Indeed,” Huckley said with steady determination. “No one deserves that. I certainly did not deserve for my beloved fiancée to be spirited away, vanishing into thin air. And I will not risk that happening again.” He gave the magistrate a hard stare. “If you please, sir?”

The magistrate drew himself up and turned to me. “My hands are tied as much as yours. You must abide by the contract.”

“You cannot take her to your home when you are yet unwed!” Sir James protested.

“Do not insult me, sir!” Huckley yelled. “I would never tarnish my Wendolyn’s reputation in such a fashion. She will be installed at my mother’s home, where she will be loved, cared for, and given the time to plan and prepare until the time for our marriage arrives.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he turned his gaze on me and the blaze in his eyes shut my mouth.

“Or,” he said, then left a grand pause, no doubt on purpose. “If that is unsuitable, I will arrange for us to marry the moment we arrive.”

Something cracked and broke inside me. My hope died and my chest convulsed as I tried to swallow my pain and accept that I had lost. I was a lost girl, being forced to grow up. This was going to happen.

I blinked in shock and turned toward the stairs. “I will go pack my things.”

“No need,” Captain Huckley insisted. “I will happily buy you anything and everything that you require. You must leave this common life behind and remember who you truly are.”

I didn’t know I could feel worse, but somehow his denial did just that.

“Surely you will not deny her the dignity of taking her own possessions with her,” James said with incredulity.

“And allow her the opportunity to run again?” Captain Huckley scoffed.

We looked to the magistrate, whose expression was grim. “He is to be her husband, he has the right—”