His Mistress Demands My Crown,But I Won't Kneel

Celeste nodded. "Nana raised me from infancy. She is like a mother to me. For your lady to strike her is the same as insulting my elder. She took a slap from your mistress, so now they're even. When the heir returns, we'll call the matter settled."

Nana Burke spat on the ground. "You were so pleased with yourself a moment ago, weren't you? Humiliating my lady like that. Now you'll kneel and kowtow to her, and welcome her into the estate with proper respect. From now on, you'll be sisters, nothing more."

Rosalind snarled. "You? You're nothing. How dare you demand our lady kowtow to anyone."

A guard was already moving. His boot caught Rosalind square in the chest and sent her sprawling. Then he seized my wrist, dragged me in front of Celeste, and shoved me down. "Kneel."

I looked up at him, cold and unblinking. "You forget yourself. What gives you the right to lay a hand on me?"

The words had barely left my mouth when something slammed into the backs of my knees. They buckled, and I crashed onto the stone with a crack that shot white-hot pain through every bone in my body.

The guard pressed the flat of his sword against my spine. "Apologize to the lady."

Celeste stood before me. Her brocade slippers were exquisite, each stitch immaculate. They might as well have been a taunt.

Rosalind clutched her injured chest and tried to lunge forward, but Celeste's people pinned her down. "Shut your mouth. A lowborn maid has no business running it in front of our lady."

Celeste's voice drifted down from above me, soft as silk. "My lady, all you need to do is apologize. I won't hold it against you."

"Or is it that you look down on me? That you think I'm some shameful kept woman not fit to be seen?"

The guard roared. "I'll count to three. If you haven't bowed your head to the ground by then, I won't be gentle about it."

I kept my chin raised. He counted, loud enough for the whole street to hear. "One. Two. Three."

Then he brought the pommel of his sword down hard against the back of my skull. My forehead slammed into the stone pavement with a sickening crack.

Blood ran down from my hairline. Rosalind screamed, sobbing. "My lady! Have you all lost your minds? Our mistress isn't the heir's wife! You have the wrong person!"

Celeste laughed. "Oh? Now you won't even claim your own title?"

"My lady, it's only a couple of bows. Surely you're not frightened?" Her voice dropped low. "You were so proud of yourself just a moment ago."

"Once I bear the heir's child, even the position of his wife will be mine."

"Honestly, how has someone as foolish as you survived this long? The seat of Lady Gilbert, wasted on someone like you. What a pity."

"The day I enter the estate as the true lady of the house, I'll have you kneel before me and serve me tea as a concubine. Just the thought of it makes me smile."

She straightened up. "My lady, you still owe one more bow."

"This one is for the child in my belly. After all, you did kick him earlier."

When I lifted my head, the passersby flinched. My hair had come loose from its pins, and the blood from my forehead was matted into the dark strands, making the sight all the worse.

"Good heavens, she's bleeding. This is going too far."

"She's the heir's wife, for pity's sake. If someone dies over this, there'll be hell to pay."

"Exactly. That concubine has some nerve."

Celeste only glanced at the guard. He pressed harder. I clenched my teeth and braced against the stone. "You wouldn't dare. I am the Marquess's..."

Hoofbeats cut through the air. A column of riders reined to a halt before us. "What is going on here?"

I looked up. Ferris Gilbert sat high in the saddle, surveying the scene, his traveling cloak still powdered with road dust. He had only just returned to the capital.

The instant Celeste saw him, she threw herself forward. Ferris swung down from his horse and caught her. "Celeste. What are you doing out here?"

Celeste crumpled against him, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. "My lord, your wife tried to beat our child to death."

"She kicked me in the stomach too. It hurts so badly now. You have to stand up for me and our child." Celeste clutched at Ferris, her voice pitched to carry.

Charles Matthews, Vice-Minister of Ceremonies, sucked in a sharp breath from behind the heir. "Whoever dares harm the heir's child must be severely punished! Everyone knows how difficult it's been for the heir to produce an offspring. The heir's wife has gone too far with her jealousy."

Ferris walked toward me. I was still on my knees, pinned down by the guards.

He glanced at me once, his lip curling in disgust. "What are you dressed like? You look nothing like the heir's wife."

I had just returned from my pilgrimage, still wearing plain robes. The simplicity of my appearance only deepened his contempt.

Celeste burrowed into his arms. "My lord, I was so frightened. She truly meant to kill me. Our child and I nearly never saw you again."

Ferris looked down at me. "Wretched woman." Then he drove his foot into my body. I fell backward, and the veil slipped from my face.

Celeste let out a little gasp and pressed closer to Ferris. "No wonder you don't care for the heir's wife. Look at her. She looks even older than you."

"A man as handsome and distinguished as the heir, saddled with a woman her age? How could she possibly be a match?"

But Ferris had seen my face. His eyes went wide. The color drained from his skin, and his knees hit the ground with a crack.