Unbroken

Chapter 20

My rider helped me dismount in front of the castle. Grant dropped down next to me and stood by my side as his rider took off towards the stables. Grant reached down and took my hand in his. I looked up at him and smiled.

"After all this time we are finally here." I said and the front doors opened. A woman rushed out to receive us. I saw her eyes widen as she saw my dress covered in blood. She managed to put her eyes back inside her head before the fell out as she stopped in front of us.

"We received a messenger just a few hours ago that told us you were coming." She gave me a small bow and smiled at Grant. "We were told to bring you inside and offer whatever you would like." She said with another bow. 

"That would be very kind of you." 

She nodded then motioned for us to follow her as she returned up the steps to the front door and pulled it open for us to walk inside. 

Grant had a scowl on his face as he looked at the grand castle. I kept shooting glances at him wondering what was wrong. He refused to meet my eye.

"I imagine you two are hungry?" The woman asked. 

Grant grunted in reply and kept walking. I looked back at him confused.

"Yes, we are." I replied for the both of us not taking my eyes off of Grant.

"I'll have the cooks put something together for you two." She said and paused in front of a door. "You can get cleaned up if you like. I'll have a maid get some clothes for you." Grant walked inside the room and slammed the door behind him.

The woman looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Is he always this unpleasant?"

"No he's not usually quite this ornery. Thank you. For all that you have done." I said putting my hand on her shoulder. Then I went in through the door opposite of Grant. Inside was a large bath that was a welcome sight. Quickly I removed my clothes and sunk into the steaming water. I could have stayed there all week but I scrubbed myself clean then climbed out of the water. As promised clean clothes had been delivered and they fit perfectly.

A girl came in to style my hair for me. She twisted it into a rope then coiled it at the back of my head in a simple but stylish fashion. I thanked her then she took me downstairs. She pushed open a heavy oak door for me and Phillip was waiting inside the room. He stood when I entered. Grant was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you feel better?" He asked. I was surprised to see him here so quickly. 

"Yes, thank you. There's nothing quite like a hot bath to wash the journey off of you."

"I know exactly what you mean."

The door opened behind us and a girl entered carrying a large tray with food on it. She set it down on the table curtsied and left us. Phillip walked towards me and we stood a few feet apart. 

"Tell me, why were you traveling through the woods when you got captured?" He asked.

"Actually, I was coming to see you when we were caught."

"To see me?" He asked with surprise. 

"Yes, I was coming to see if you would like to make a deal."

"What sort of a deal?" He asked. I looked at him as I tried to gather up my courage. It was extremely forward and unheard of for a woman to propose marriage. I had just met him and I didn't know anything about him. I tried to gather up my courage as I felt his eyes on my face. 

"A deal where you would become my husband and I would become your wife."

"My wife?" He said looking at me as he processed the idea. He reached down for his cup and took a long drink from it.

"I know it's not an ideal situation for you. You probably have someone else in mind. I just want you to consider the thought." I stammered quickly feeling my face heat up. 

"Why?" He asked.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to marry me when you know nothing about me?"

"My mother wanted to marry me off to a Duke that was three times my age. Someone suggested that you might be a better candidate." I said as I felt my cheeks flame with heat. I was grateful that Grant wasn't there to witness my embarrassment. 

He paced back and forth across the room in front of me with an expression that was impossible to read. My hope was slowly fading with each step that he took. 

"I understand if there's someone else that you would prefer. I'm not going to demand that you marry me. I wanted to ask if you would make a deal with me."

"What does your mother say about this?"

"She doesn't know. I ran away from my engagement party."

"Would she agree to you marrying me?"

"I have no idea." I told him. "But anything is better than marrying that old man. He was working with the men that captured Grant and I. The Duke came to the camp to buy slaves and he saw me."

"Why do you want to marry me?"

"I think that we can make it work. That we can agree to work things out together and have a happy mutually beneficial union. You gain someone with access to royalty and I gain someone who will save me from the Duke."

"Is that all that you want? A happy mutually beneficial union?" He asked and I realized just how cold my words had sounded. 

"I think that it would start out that way. Who knows what would happen after we got to know each other or how we would feel after a few years. Our marriage could change and we could possibly develop feelings beyond a happy mutually beneficial union." I finished lamely. 

"How would you like to send word to your mother?" He told me after a few moments of silence.

"Send what word to my mother?"

"That you have found a husband."

I looked at him in awe and there was the sound of an angry yell and a crash out in the hallway. Both of us rushed to the door to look down the hall. There was a servant on the floor with a shocked expression on his face. All of us watched as Grant disappeared around the corner out of sight. 

He had heard every word.