“It’s not an easy choice with so much beauty and charm among them.” Jeremiah moved over and stood in front of my mother. “A woman my own age with grace and wisdom would make a regal queen.” Turning his head to my father he asked, “Don’t you think so, William?”
My father swallowed hard and refused to answer.
Jeremiah took a step to the left. “Marni has the strength of a true Northlander woman and I don’t sense a strong bond between her and you, Henry. Of all the women I think she would grieve the least, but it’s such a shame to kill off four healthy sons.”
Marni’s chest rose and fell fast, revealing her pulse was hammering.
“Obviously, no king can allow any competition to his own offspring, so four strong big brothers won’t do.” His eyes moved to Starr and Claire.
“I’ve considered taking two brides because the sweetness of you two is astonishing. Of course, Starr has a son as well and he’s so young that some might object to my killing him.” He gave a theatrical sigh. “That means the choice is really between Claire and Wilma, who aren’t mothers yet.” With his hands at his back, Jeremiah walked leisurely toward us men and stopped in front of Emmerson and Lucas. “My doctor assured me that should either be carrying a child the pregnancy can be terminated so we can start afresh.”
Emmerson’s growl rose to a roar and he pulled four guards with him when he tried getting to Jeremiah.
The captain pulled his gun and fired a warning shot that made the women scream in fright.
“Relax!” Jeremiah backed to the large table and stopped when his backside bumped into it. “I understand your frustration, Emmerson. You just won Wilma and now you won’t get to see the fruit of your hard work, but let’s be honest here; you would do the same if you were in my shoes.”
“You’re a fucking sick bastard!” Emmerson spat out and was knocked on the head with a gun by one of the guards. That only infuriated him and he looked dangerous with a split eyebrow that bled down over his eye.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” King Jeremiah waved a dismissive hand. “You’re just jealous and why wouldn’t you be? I’m the most powerful man in the world and tonight I’ll be inside my chosen queen.”
Pivoting around, King Jeremiah looked straight at the women. “Enough with all this anticipation. I’ve made my decision and I’m choosing the youngest and most fertile of them all.”
My mom sucked in air and gasped. “No.”
“That’s right. Wilma is the lucky one who gets to carry my heir in her womb.”
Wilma was staring at the floor with her whole body frozen in a rigid stance when Jeremiah addressed her:
“I can see it would be difficult for you to express your excitement with Emmerson still in the room, but I wanted the men to die knowing that you women would be taken care of by good men.”
“Bullshit!” Marni exclaimed. “You wanted to rub it in their faces because you’re an evil sadist.”
Everyone was looking at Marni and Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re making me almost regret not picking you. I would have enjoyed breaking a feisty woman, and it’s funny because rumors have it that Henry has been trying for years.” Turning to his four friends, Jeremiah chuckled. “Who is up for a passionate and feisty wife?”
Before they got a chance to respond, Jeremiah swung around and clamped his hand around Wilma’s wrist. “Why don’t we start the celebrations a little early? I want you in that chair.” He pointed with his free hand to a large chair in the middle of the table made for two people. “Don’t worry, I’ll join you in a minute and we’ll enjoy a nice roast while we say goodbye to your troubled past.”
Seeing the psychopath force Wilma around the table and push her down in the largest of the chairs made my piss boil with anger. For him to lay his filthy hands on my sister like that made me want to kill him even more.
“Unlike you traitors, my friends over here are smart enough to be loyal to me and as a reward, they too will be marrying tonight.” I watched in horror as Jeremiah waved Eli over and paired him with Claire.
“Eli is my oldest friend and a good man. Unlike Lucas, I’m sure he can give you the children that Lucas clearly hasn’t been able to produce.” Jeremiah took Claire’s hand and placed it in Eli’s. She tried to pull her hand back but Eli locked his grip on her.
“Now Starr, you’ll be happy with my loyal man, Bruce. He might not be as handsome as Frederick but he’s loyal to me so at least you won’t have to see two men executed.”
Starr backed away but was pushed into Bruce’s arms and he too locked his hand around her wrist to keep her close.
“Marni, you’ve proven to be feisty and I know the captain is used to dealing with difficult prisoners. Not only will he make a good obedient wife out of you, he’ll enjoy the process.”
Marni spat at the captain’s feet when he used force to make her stand next to him. As a result, he twisted her arm back.
King Jeremiah laughed. “Ah, I see the fun has already begun. Your marriage will be full of passion.”
Turning to my mother, he smiled. "Now, will you fight too or will you go to your new husband, tax collector Carl?”
My mother didn’t move but Carl walked over to stand next to her.
“Go ahead and join your next husbands at the table while we let the traitors say their last words to you.”
