The Vampire & Her Witch

”Then you had best hope that Owain convinces me he can be a worthy heir,” Bors said bluntly. ”Not everyone gets a happy ending, Lady Jocelynn. If you cannot love Loman and he is a better heir, then I will look elsewhere for a suitable bride for him and you can return to Blackwell County to find a future of your own. One that will not involve marriage to a son of the Lothian house.”

”But, if that happens, then your alliance with my family...” Jocelynn started.

”This was an alliance that benefitted your family more than ours,” Bors interrupted. ”And we’ve already all but secured the cooperation of the merchant guilds from Blackwell County. That Isabell woman is cunning, but she’ll be arriving along with Owain in a few days. Once she’s verified and accepted the lands and titles we’re offering to her and her fellow guild masters, our need for an alliance with the Blackwells will diminish greatly.”

”You used us as a wedge,” Jocelynn muttered. ”You just needed to get your foot in the door and now that you have, you’re ready to cast us aside,” she said, her voice growing stronger as she realized how badly they’d been out-maneuvered.

If her sister was still alive, then the Blackwells would also have gotten what they needed by now, an alliance secured by marriage. But since they’d gone ahead in their negotiations with the guild masters, it had left a window open for the Lothians to cast them aside.

”Don’t say it like it’s a foul or dirty thing,” Bors chided her. ”Your father used me, and I used him. This is the way that men barter power and favors. Your father is an honorable man and he never once backed away from our bargain, even after my son murdered your sister,” he said pointedly.

”You should think of the kind of man that makes your father,” the middle aged Marquis added. ”His daughter’s body was barely cold when he agreed to the charade and to allow you to take Lady Ashlynn’s place. He might look soft with his comfortable life by the sea, but your father is as ruthless as a demon when he needs to be.”

”Don’t say that about him,” Jocelynn said, glaring at her future father-in-law. ”Don’t you ever compare him to a demon. If my sister wasn’t a witch then my father is no demon and I won’t hear that word used on him,” she insisted.

”I meant it as a compliment,” Bors said with a slow shake of his head. ”But I suppose it’s inappropriate. But you see now, the position you’re really in? You need to show me that you still have value. Convince me that you and Owain should inherit the march and I won’t hesitate to abdicate in his favor at the end of the war. But fail in that,” he said, allowing his voice to trail off.

”You’re too much like my sons,” Bors said with a heavy sigh. ”You have potential, but you’ve squandered too many of your opportunities and you’re not making the best of what you have. You’re more thoughtful than Owain and more ruthless than Loman. You could compliment either of them as a Marchioness, but just like they are lacking, you are also far too deficient in your understanding of real power.”

”What would you have me do, my lord?” Jocelynn asked, biting her lip and looking up at the imposing Marquis through moist eyelashes.

”You’ll have to figure that out for yourself, Lady Jocelynn,” Bors said, leaning back in his seat and returning to his meal. ”But the time to end the charade about your sister living in the Summer Villa is rapidly approaching. It wouldn’t do for you to be seen as someone fickle, courted by both my sons.”

”Three months,” Bors said, holding up three fingers. ”In three month’s time, we’ll announce your sister’s tragic death in labor. There will be a period of mourning during which you will represent the Blackwell family in all public functions. The roads are all but impassable in winter and no one will be surprised that your parents are unable to make the trip.”

”Between now and then, show me that you’re a worthy daughter-in-law who can strengthen the march, and help Owain find a way to prove his worth as my heir,” he added. ”Do that, and when the spring comes, you’ll find a wedding awaiting you that’s no less grand than the one we held for your sister.”

”I understand. Thank you for the opportunity, my lord,” she said, standing to curtsey. ”I promise, you won’t regret it,” she said before excusing herself and returning to her chambers within the sprawling Lothian Manor.

It wasn’t until she reached her room that a wide grin spread across her face as she began to carefully remove her makeup. Many of the tears she’d shed during their meal had been real, especially when he threatened to send Owain to the Church after installing Loman as his heir, but in the beginning, when she’d broken down over Ashlynn...

”I’m sorry, sister,” she whispered. She’d already resolved not to shed any more tears over what had happened to her sister. It was impossible to take back her words that night, no matter how much she wanted to. Now, she could only move on with her life and hope that her sister smiled on her from the Heavenly Shores.

”I promise, I’ll make up for your portion too,” she said, retrieving her sister’s string of pearls from her jewelry box and holding them tightly. She refused to leave them in the care of the bumbling imposter in the Summer Villa, and holding them brought her a sense of comfort, as if her big sister were still here to watch over her.

”I may not be as well learned as you were, but I’ll make Owain happy in your place, and deliver an heir for father too,” she promised.

She disagreed with Bors Lothian on many things, but he’d been right about one thing. Not everyone would receive a happy ending. Ashlynn had already lost her chance to live out a happy life, but that only made Jocelynn more determined to ensure that she secured a happily ever after for herself and for Owain.

As long as she could do that... then she was certain that everything else would take care of itself, one way or another.