Sold Into Marriage Read Free Page B

owe.”
    Meadow gasped and tried to escape his hold, and Varron rounded the table and approached them.
    “You tricked me!” she shrieked. “I’m not your daughter, anyway. I’m your stepdaughter. And my mother would have never agreed to this.”
    “You became my responsibility when I married your mother, God rest her soul,” Mr. Lansing said, giving her a shake. “Now shut up, you stupid girl. It’s your fault I don’t have the taxes. You’re an extra bloody mouth to feed.”
    She lifted her chin, oblivious to Varron’s approach. “It’s your fault you don’t have the tax money, you drunken fool. You spend everything in the tavern, on mead and gambling.”
    “Let the girl go,” Varron thundered, his voice full of command.
    Mr. Lansing eyed Varron warily and released Meadow’s arm. She took two steps back and bumped into Varron, then she spun around and stared up at him, her gaze questioning. “Is this legal? Can he really do this?”
    Commander Varron suddenly hated this assignment even more than he already had. Damn and blast, he didn’t want to answer Meadow, because she wasn’t going to like his answer. Hell, he didn’t like the answer.
    He inclined his head and spoke in a low voice so only she could hear. “Legally, your stepfather can offer any healthy and able bodied member of his household into the capital city’s service, in exchange for ten years of paid taxes.”
    She inhaled a quick breath and her lower lip quivered. “Will I be freed after those ten years are up?”
    He felt the weight of her predicament upon his own shoulders as he stared into her eyes. “No, Meadow, I’m afraid not.”
    “I see.” She squared her shoulders, appearing to summon her strength. She looked adorably brave, and his heart ached harder for her.
    Christ, he wanted to press her against his chest and smooth his hands through her dark locks. He wanted to place soft kisses on each freckle that dotted her nose and cheeks. He wanted to tell her that she wouldn’t be considered a slave under the crown for the rest of her life, that she would be free to marry and have a family, that she would be free to be her own person. But he couldn’t lie to her. All the freedoms she’d known and all her dreams for the future were about to be destroyed, and he hated himself for his part in it, even if he was just following the law of the crown.
    Then a thought struck him, a sudden and ridiculous thought at that, considering he barely knew the girl.
    Buy her from her stepfather. Pay her family’s tax debt and keep her for yourself.
    He gazed down at her unblinkingly as the idea formed in his head, whispering intently to his conscious, as well as a darker part of him that wanted to possess the lass. When he had imagined finally taking a wife, he’d never imagined buying a wife.
    He felt his nostrils flaring as his blood heated and his muscles tensed. He pictured her naked beneath him, her silken locks spread out upon a pillow as she panted under him, parting her legs as she accepted him into her body.
    Make her your wife.
    Did he dare? He admired her spirit, admired how despite her fear she stood tall and kept her chin lifted, as if daring him to actually let her stepfather go through with the deed of handing her over to the capital city.
    He had the funds to purchase her. The purse he always carried in his pocket suddenly felt heavier, and he shifted and brushed his hand against it, wondering how she would react to his next words.
    Varron looked at Mr. Lansing. “I will pay you fifteen tax seasons worth for your stepdaughter.”
    A gasp went up amongst the villagers who were gathered around, and an abrupt silence soon blanketed the village square.
    Mr. Lansing smiled, revealing crooked yellow teeth. “Fifteen tax seasons, you say?” He scratched his bulging stomach and laughed. “That’s a mighty fine offer. Had I known I could get so much for the lass, I would have sold her into marriage long ago.”
    “What are you