A LORD'S WEAKNESS

25. THE SILVER CHAIN

Mariann pushed the heavy door open and entered the Lords reading chambers. Judging by the look on his face she knew that nothing she would say would ease his anger.

The corners of his mouth pointed downwards and his eyebrows were lowered as his bright eyes gleamed at Mariann.

"What happened?" The Lord asked demandingly. Mariann was about to fold her hands behind her back, when the Lord continued.
"I have already seen that your hands are red, so don't bother hiding them."

Mariann let her hands fall to her sides, "I've made a mistake, and gotten into a fight with a servant." She said straight up not wanting to wait out the conversation any longer.

"Define fight," he said glancing at her hands while crossing his arms. "I hit him."

A flash of disapproval surged the lords face. "Which servant?"

"The one you," Mariann tried to think of the right phrase, "enslaved earlier."

Despite his visibly angered demeanor he didn't move a muscle as she spoke.

"Explain yourself," is all he said.

Mariann grabbed her dress by the side before speaking, "I refuse to lace my actions in innocence. When I found out that Laria and Alec weren't getting anything to eat I went to speak to the housekeeper and stumbled across Quentin, and," Mariann wet her lips in thought.

"The things he said made me snap so I lunged at him."

"You lunge- What the hell, Mariann? What could he have possibly said?"

Mariann had hoped that he wouldn't ask this, but she had no choice. "What all servants are thinking."

Lifting a brow Rowan grew inpatient. "He said something along the lines of what he said on the stairs about slaves and,"

"And what?"

"That I am nothing but a whore."
Mariann lowered her head.

For the first time his almost motionless facial expression let up.
"Because you stayed at my chamber?"

Mariann nodded. Rowan had not thought it to cause Mariann trouble or maybe he'd only thought about what people would think of him. He leaned forwards and folded his hands on the table.

"Did you-" he asked but Mariann interrupted him, "Of course not."

He always asked her if she used her powers, making Mariann wonder when he would finally believe her once and for all.

"You have always been impulsive," his words seemed to echo in the room, "which has saved me before but I cannot let you act like that when both of our lives depend on it."

Mariann tensed up, thinking back to the pain she'd felt from her other masters when she upset them.

Knowing her master she didn't think he would do the same but she feared being thrown into the dungeons again just for the sake of his own reputation. She bit her nail in thought not daring to look at her master directly.

Rowan pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked one of the drawers in his desk. Taking out a white glove from it he pulled it over his hand before slipping into the other one aswell.