A monster draped in gentleman’s clothing.
The thought sent a shudder up my spine, as cold as the shadow stretched across the garden walls.
And yet?—
Despite the dread sinking its claws into my heart, my thoughts drifted where they should not go.
To him.
To Lord Hassan.
His image was etched behind my eyelids, an unwelcome specter in the depths of my mind.
Those dark, piercing eyes?—
Seeing through me.
Understanding, and yet unfathomable.
He had come to the garden that night, and he was an unexpected solace in my world of chaos.
And then?—
He had given me his address.
A single slip of paper now burned into my memory.
I chastised myself for entertaining thoughts of him.
No good could come from such dangerous daydreams.
And yet?—
They persisted.
Fantasies wove through my mind like vines curling around trellises, twisting tighter?—
Pulling me in.
Offering a fleeting escape from the grim reality that awaited me.
With a deep sigh, I let my gaze drift from the delicate petals to the far end of the garden, where shadows slithered between the hedges.
It was there that my father’s associates had gathered after the betrothal dinner?—
Their laughter, grating against the stillness of the night, had reminded me of carrion crows coming to roost.
I had never met most of them before that evening, yet?—
They had all carried an air of familiarity.
As if they already knew who I was.
As if they already knew the role I was to play in their macabre theatre.
They had circled my father like vultures, their heads bowed together in urgent and secretive conversation.
I had not needed to hear their words to know.
