WolfeBlade: de Wolfe Pack Generations by Kathryn Veque (top 20 books to read .TXT) 📗

I speak of. With a name like that, of course the devil lives there. That whole family is full of devils. Where has de Wolfe been to protect us from those bastards? You speak of protecting an ally, but where were you when they attacked my daughter?”

Andreas froze. That wasn’t the subject he wanted to be on, not in the least, especially with Gavriella approaching the table with a big basket of fresh bread. He could see her out of the corners of his eyes. She was trying so hard to be a good chatelaine and an obedient daughter, but she had a fool for a father.

Andreas could see that quite clearly.

He could see her moving closer and he wanted to change the subject as swiftly as possible.

“How far are your lands to the south?” he asked, trying desperately to shift the conversation. “My father told me that you hold a good deal of land up here. What do you do with it? Sheep?”

“Mostly sheep,” Lukas answered. He could see what Andreas was trying to do. “We do have an entire meadow towards the east that contains cattle but, mostly, it’s sheep. We have massive herds that the Scots and others have pilfered from time to time, but that has been rare. It is a blessing that we’ve been left alone as much as we have.”

Gavriella had reached the table at that point, setting the basket of bread down. In her other hand, she had a bowl of butter, which she sat down next to it. Andreas dared to look up at her, concern in his expression, and the smile on her face turned into a questioning grimace. She had no idea why he looked so concerned.

But she would soon find out.

Merek’s hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Here is a victim of the enemy de Wolfe did not protect us from,” he said, quite obviously drunk now. “My only child, my daughter. She is a beautiful woman and should marry into a fine family, but not now. She cannot. De Soulis spoiled her by taking what did not belong to him and no one will want her. He violated her in unspeakable ways. You wonder why she is only good for the kitchen? Because she’s dirty. Dirty, I say!”

Andreas was prepared to punch the man in the mouth simply to shut him up. “She is nothing of the kind,” he snarled. “Shut your lips, you fool. You are embarrassing yourself in front of everyone.”

Merek blinked as if he hadn’t realized that. He looked at his daughter, who was already in tears with what he had said, struggling to pull away from him, and he yanked on her hard enough to snap her head back. She gasped and would have fallen onto the table had Andreas not grabbed her.

But Merek was on a streak. Whatever the redhead had given him had loosened his tongue and he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, stop it. It was Andreas who finally broke his grip on Gavriella, pulling her away as Merek stood up, pointing a finger at her.

“Every time I look at her, I feel sick,” he said. “She has ruined this family. De Soulis touched her and they bore a child together, so I should simply give her over to him and be done with it. That is what he wants, you know. He wants her and he wants the child, but like a fool, I sent my daughter to London and the child to Edenside simply to get them away from me. I cannot bear to look at either of them. I… I should have killed her when I was told de Soulis’ seed had taken root. At least I would have saved my family’s honor. But she is damaged goods now. Mayhap I should simply kill her now and be done with it!”

Andreas lashed out a massive fist and caught Merek in the jaw, knocking him unconscious in an instant. As he went flying backwards, onto the floor, Gavriella yanked herself away from Andreas and went on the run, barreling thorough the hall and heading for the exit. Will, Brodie, Gareth, Corey, and Reed were on their feet, preparing to defend Andreas against an undoubtedly furious Lukas and the rest of the de Leia army, but no one seemed to be moving towards them. In fact, Lukas was still in his seat, looking at Merek on the ground quite unemotionally.

Andreas had remained at the table only because he was certain he was about to be part of an enormous brawl for striking the lord of Falstone, but no one was moving against him. It took him a moment to realize that.

He caught Lukas’ eye.

“He threatened to kill her,” he said, sounding as if he were stumbling over his words. “The man is spewing violence and curses… I cannot allow that to go on. I will apologize for striking him if you think I should, but know that I would not mean it. I am not sorry in the least.”

Lukas sighed heavily. “You have done what I have wanted to do for quite some time,” he said, clearly distressed. “Have no fear. He will remember nothing in the morning.”

Andreas was still coiled, still braced for a fight. “What did he mean when he said de Soulis wants his daughter and her child?” he asked. “Has he made an offer of marriage for her?”

Lukas shrugged. “If he did, I was not made aware of it,” he said. “Lord de Leia used to consult with me on everything, but ever since that… that incident he spoke of, he’s not confided anything in me. I do not know what he means, but I intend to find out.”

Throwing his leg over the bench, he stood up, looking at his unconscious liege. The disgust on his face was evident. As he bent over to gather de Leia under the arms and drag him out, Will suddenly spoke up.

“That redhead,” he said. “The one feeding him all