Her Assassin's Heart - Book 2

Chapter 9

An hour, a slow, tedious hour had passed, and with it, the uncontrolled element of rage that had shaken Ezra Antrucha to his core. In its stead, there was a cool, collected fury. There was a fiercely dangerous calm in the depth of his dark eyes, a coldness in his expression that spoke what his lips did not.

His back was ramrod straight in the finely upholstered parlor chair, and for the first time since his marriage, he had sent a summons for his wife instead of the reverse. The harsh signs of age that had marred his features so deeply had been replaced with a glimpse of the youth he had prematurely lost. It was now all too clear who was really master of Antrucha Manor.

Belying the silent, serious atmosphere of the house, the Antrucha staff were filled to the brim with unbridled curiosity. There would have be some sort of explanation for the odd events of the day, but there would be time for that later when he had fully decided what he was going to do. Even then, they need never know all the details of what had transpired behind closed doors. He would tell them only what was necessary to prevent the rise of gossip and the ruin of Cassandra.

He knew the servants were wondering if Lady Antrucha would respond to his call or simply ignore him in her usual fashion. He had spent so many years submitting to her every wish and whim without protest that the thought of her actually paying any heed to him was beyond foreign. In fact, he was fairly certain the footmen had some kind of wager on the subject, but none of them understood the way he and Lady Antrucha did that if she ignored him, he could ruin her forever. Besides, he knew her too well. She was curious about what he was going to do, and her emotions—in this case, her curiosity—always led her, no matter what the consequence.

He rose as the door opened, his cold eyes levying on the figure of his wife. She looked almost timid as she stood in the doorframe, her eyes shifting about the room. Ezra wet his lip and raised a challenging brow. She wouldn't dare run from this now she had come.

"Well," Some of her old confidence returned. "Isn't this cozy." She moved into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"I suggest you keep silent, Maria. This is no game, and I'm not going to play with you." He spoke evenly despite the rise of his temper at the sound of her nonchalant voice. She raised a brow and looked him over almost mockingly.

"Well then, can we get down to. . .whatever it is you've called me here for?" She adjusted her shawl and settled into a chair. "I do have a life outside of this little disturbance. We still have the house party to think about, you know."

Ezra smiled, but there was no pleasure in his expression, and those who knew Ezra Antrucha would have been startled at how suddenly sadistic and animalistic he appeared. "There will be no house party." He enunciated each word slowly and clearly as though her mind were addled. "I have already made arrangements to cancel it. In light of this. . .'disturbance', I don't believe we will be hosting or attending any parties this season."

Apparently, Lady Maria was at a loss for words. She gulped and looked at him with startled eyes.

"I've also put into process some changes with your allowance. You may no longer purchase anything without my written consent, and I will personally be monitoring any and all of your correspondences. The servants have been directed to bring all of the letters your write to me before posting them, and I'll also be taking any letters directed to you and looking over them before handing them over to you." Ezra stood with his back to the fireplace, looking at his wife with a challenging expression as though he were almost begging her to push back.

"This—you—how—you—you can't just do that!" Maria gasped, her eyes wide in disbelief. "It's—well, it's preposterous!" She breathed, sinking back into her chair as though she felt faint.

"I've just done it, Maria." Ezra's smile widened.

"No respectable man treats his wife in such a manner!" Lady Antrucha panted, clutching the arms of her chair until her knuckles were white with the effort. "You can't!" She wheezed, suddenly seeming weaker than usual.

"You're right." Ezra rubbed his knuckles. "But I'm tired of being respectable, and you stopped being what I call a wife when you orchestrated that 'event' with Cassandra. I'm not going to stop restricting you until you stop attempting to destroy the lives of our daughters." He turned to face the flames of the fireplace, leaning a hand on the mantel. It was done; the girls would be safe now.

"You think this will stop me?" The sound of Maria's voice caught him off guard. It was laced with her old venom, and then she was standing next to him, her face red with wrath. "Well, you're wrong! Now that I've started, there's nothing in the world you can do to bring this to an end. Nothing." She gripped the front of his shirt. "I will bring you down, Ezra Antrucha. Mark my words, you will rue this day. I will make your life a living hell, and your precious daughters," she scoffed, and spittle sprayed his face. "Cassandra will marry, and her match will be the richest, most titled man I can find. She will be my means to finishing this life in ease and comfort, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. I don't care what I have to do, but you can be sure your petty attempts to stop me will only give me more time to find a better match. I. Will. Not. Be. Stopped." She enunciated each word clearly, so that he couldn't be confused at her unmistakable meaning.

Wetting his lips, Ezra looked away from her wrath-ridden eyes. A pang of sadness filtered into his heart at the realization of what he must do. He couldn't allow this to keep going, not like this, but the thoughts flooding his mind gave him no pleasure.

Through the sadness, fiercely burning anger rose in his chest, threatening to overrun him with its fury. He swallowed, gritting his teeth against the heat in his veins. In that moment, he knew how true the words she had spoken were. She wouldn't give up, and nothing he could do would change that. She would press and fight relentlessly until she had locked Cassandra into a marriage of misery, no matter what the consequences. His mind reeled with the knowledge. No man was more aware of his mortality than he, and if he were gone, who would be there to take care of and protect Cassandra? No one.

Determination welled in his chest, conquering the plague of sorrow and anger. His hands curled into fists, and with a quick jerk he released himself from her grip, pushing her away from him. Her foot caught on one of the footstools, and she sprawled on the floor in a heap of angry surprise. He leaned down and looked her in the eyes. He wanted her to hear every word he was about to say in perfect clarity.

"You're right, Maria." His voice was dangerously quiet and calm. "That's why Cassandra is leaving. I'm sending her away to Scotland where you won't be able to see or harm her in any way ever again. She is my daughter, and I will not see you ruin her." The muscles of his jaw worked in and out. "And if you so much as think about trying to injure her or Lavinia in any way ever again. . ." he wet his lips slowly. "There's no fine house in London that will protect you from me, and I will destroy you."

He rose without offering her a hand up. "Now, you will excuse me. There are pressing matters that require my attention." He looked down at the white face of surprise. "Goodbye, Maria." And with that, he stepped around her and left the room, sighing as the door swung shut behind him. Cassandra, too, must leave him. What would he do without his girls here to cheer him? Grinding his teeth in resolve, he made his way toward his study. No matter how he felt, he must protect them, and this was his only option.

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There it is folks. What did you think of Ezra's plan? Did you like the way he dealt with Lady Antrucha? What do you think: will she have her revenge or settle quietly back into her miserable life?

As always, I hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the delay, too, but I should be back to normal, Friday updates from now on. . .should be. . . :P