But it did hurt me.

And after that the banquet spiraled into the worst nightmare.

“I hope the poor fool realizes she wouldn’t touch him even with a cue stick,” Lady Wyatt loudly hiccupped.

“Oh dear! I believe she does feel something for him – pity,” my aunt roared with laughter. They were so drunk they haven’t even realized how loudly they were conversing.

“He’s a coward, a stuttering fool. He’s lucky he trapped her into a marriage,” an older Lord added.

“Revolting,” Lady Wyatt shuddered to emphasize the depths of her disgust.

“E-Enough!” Somebody roared. My jaw dropped as I saw Baxter looming above them, his hands clenched into fists.

Lady Wyatt’s eyes widened in horror and she hurriedly nudged Jared, who sat beside her. “Darling!” She squeaked. “Will you just sit there and leave this man to threaten us?”

I haven’t even realized the moment when I raised to my feet. “How was that a threat?” I snorted in disbelief, glaring at the immoral matron.

Intoxicated Jared lifted up his swaying body and leaned closer to Baxter. “You better back off Read or I will demonstrate how a black eye looks like,” he slurred. People around him laughed, excluding my family who watched the incident, completely stupefied.

In mere seconds I stepped around the table and forced the drunken man to step back. “Jared, that’s enough!”

“And you!” He stabbed a finger at me. “Your own stupidity brought you here.”

Baxter was instantly in his face, grabbing Jared by his collar. “Y-you will not s-speak to h-her in such m-manner!” He hissed at him.

A collective outraged gasp travelled around the table. Ladies clutched their hands, their eyes wide in astonishment.

“W-w-what w-will you d-do?” Jared mocked his speech impediment, before proudly looking around as guests maliciously grinned at his ill joke.

And then everything happened in a blink of an eye. Baxter’s fist collided with Jared’s face with such force the man simply slumped to the ground.

Ladies started to scream hysterically, calling Baxter a madman.

“I believe this celebration has come to an end!” My father announced loudly, positioning himself in front of Baxter. “Leave,” he commanded, staring down at anyone who dared to disobey.

I gaped at the disaster before my eyes. His Grace Andrew and Lord Travis lifted the unconscious Jared by his arms, intending to carry him outside.

“I apologize, Your Grace,” nodded Richards. “He’s a drunk, miserable fool. Oh, and congratulations on your wedding.”

Lady Wyatt arrogantly brushed past me. Her hawk like snout sticking so far up, I could see the protruding dark nasal hair. “Good luck, you poor wench,” she mused. “May God bless you with house full of children.”

“At least I won’t be an old miserable witch who has to buy off a drunk to love her,” I mumbled loud enough for her to hear me.

Her jaw dropped in astonishment and pure shock. “You unmannerly commoner!” She stubbornly stomped the ground. “You will get yours, you’ll see,” she pivoted on her heel and rushed out of the house.

“That was an utter disaster,” Jane’s head peaked from behind my mother’s skirts. She apparently assessed it was safe enough for her to make her presence known.

“I am sorry, daughter,” Papa placed his hand on my shoulder. “I believe things should get better once you leave London.”

“I don’t want to run, Papa!” I exclaimed with outrage. “Just because of my aunt and that old witch!”

“Ashlyn!” My mother scolded, although the corners of her mouth twitched with a poorly concealed humor.

“I think it’s time for us to leave the newlyweds to talk,” father sent a meaningful look to his wife and his youngest. “We should depart.”

“Where is His Grace anyway?” I glanced around the disarrayed space, but he was nowhere to be found.

“He retreated into his study. Good luck, my little dove,” Papa leaned in to peck my forehead, before he nudged a waving Jane out of the room.

My mother stepped closer to me while nervously twiddling with the hem of her gown. “Try to relax as much as you can, daughter. That way it will be less... Painful,” she bit her lower lip, her eyes glimmering with concern. “I promise you’ll get used to it in time.”

“What are you… Dear God, mother!” I gasped with horror when I realized what was she on about.

“You don’t have to do anything else but lie still and suffer through it. It will become easier, eventually. Simply close your eyes and think about something you like,” she whispered.

The message was however loud enough to send anxious shivers down my spine. Fright painfully pulsated through my veins, paralyzing my limbs.

She must’ve sensed how my muscles stiffened under her touch. “It will be all right,” she assured me gently. “His Grace is a good and polite man; he will not harm you I am certain of that. Good luck, my love,” were the last words she said to me before she disappeared out of view.

And with that I was left alone with my swirling thoughts. Only a few moments ago the house was brimming with drunken sounds which now seemed almost less menacing than the defeating silence. I was left to face Baxter Read and I was nowhere near ready.