In the sleepy town of Slaughtavery, all is not as it seems.
In 1745, boys began to disappear, leaving no trace behind. The town was trapped in a hush of anxiety, gripped by fear too profound to express. After beautiful Madrigal Byrne ran away on her...
Liam blushes the sweetest shade of red, glancing down at the ring and up at my face, and then he laughs nervously. He is adorable when he's flustered.
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"No... uhm... no... that would be pointless," he says, and now I feel insulted and quite hurt. Why would marrying me be pointless? He rises from his knees to sit beside me instead, probably trying to avoid any further misunderstandings. He must see the hurt expression on my face because his eyes widen, and he takes my hand in his. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I just meant... I mean..."
I don't think he knows what he means, and he is starting to look rather desperate now.
"You would be an amazing person to marry," he assures me. "But it would be pointless for you to marry me."
Now, he's just insulting himself and making even less sense. From what I've experienced of Liam - and seem to know about him when I really shouldn't - he is a wonderful person. He is strong, honest, steadfast and intelligent, with more humanity in his pinky than most people have in all their bones. He is perfect husband material.
"Please always wear this when you leave the mansion," he says, and I watch as he lifts my left hand and slips the ring onto my ring finger. It fits perfectly, and I blink at him in surprise. This is possibly the strangest situation I've been in since my arrival on Peacehaven.
"It... uhm... has... uh... some health benefits," he tries to explain, and I wonder why he is lying.
"Aren't those just emeralds?" I ask, narrowing my eyes on his face.
"Never underestimate a good emerald, Aubrey," he says, blinking his eyes, pretending to be offended. "They're... uhm... known for supporting heart health... and they can heal some issues. They also bring calm and will soothe you."
"I thought you were a scientist," I say, giving him a sceptical look, grinning now, no longer hiding my amusement. He is terrible at lying. I know those properties have been attributed to emeralds; I just don't think he is giving me the ring because he believes that.
"Yes... well... I'm open to all kinds of medical ideas."
"Shouldn't it be on my right hand?" I ask, letting him off the hook... for now. I have no idea why it is so important to him that I wear the ring, but I trust Liam. I wish he would tell me the truth, though, but I've put him through enough discomfort for one day. I'll bombard him with questions later when I feel less terrible for making him so sad. "If I wear it on the left ring finger, it will give the impression that I'm engaged to... well... the lord of calming energy."
Liam chuckles and evades my eyes, running the tip of his finger from the ring up my hand, tracing an invisible path along my arm.
"There's an important vein that connects this finger to the heart, which is why this is the finger wedding rings are symbolically worn on," he tells me, and when he meets my eyes again, I can see that he is feeling a bit frantic, which doesn't give me much confidence. "Please trust me and wear the ring, Aubrey. Will you?"
