Scarlet nodded again.
“So, he’s like…forced to love you?”
Scarlet’s heart felt heavy as she looked up. “No. I mean yes. I mean…he says no, but it feels like yes.”
Wow. That sounded confusing.
Heather started blowing on her nails and pulled a magazine off of Scarlet’s bed. “Well, which is it?”
Good question. Great question, actually.
“Honestly?” Scarlet sighed, watching Heather flip through the magazine, careful not to disturb her wet fingers. “I don’t know.”
Heather looked up with puckered lips. “Don’t you think that’s weird? Don’t you think that makes your relationship…fake?”
Scarlet was about to get defensive and argue that what she and Gabriel had was real. And hot, of course.
But she couldn’t.
Because, even if their relationship was real, it was still controlled by the curse. And the curse sucked.
Heather skimmed a few glossy pages and muttered, “See how no one in this magazine is wearing clogs? Yeah, that’s a hint, Scarlet.”
Scarlet wasn’t listening. “I’m stupid.”
Heather considered. “I wouldn’t say that. You just have trouble picking out footwear, that’s all—”
“Gabriel can’t love me,” Scarlet said absently.
Heather looked up, confused. “I thought you were the only person he could love.”
Scarlet looked at Heather. “Exactly.”
Jumping up from the bed, Scarlet started searching for her shoes. Not by the door…not under the window….
“What are you doing?” Heather blew on her nails again.
Scarlet looked under her bed. Nope.
“Something I should have done the day I found out about the curse.” Scarlet walked the perimeter of her bedroom.
Finding her shoes—which were not clogs—kicked off by the closet, Scarlet slid her feet into them and hurried out of her room.
As she headed down the stairs, she heard Heather call out, “I hate how you always leave me sitting in your bedroom without explanation!”
Scarlet called back, “Love you!”
She smiled to herself as she heard Heather mutter, “Yeah, yeah. Love you, too. Whatever.”
37
Gabriel forced a smile on his face as he entered the great hall for the engagement ceremony. He hadn’t slept at all the night before.
Tristan had been sent away that morning and Raven was furious with him for agreeing to marry the Scarlet girl. And now he had to find a way to take care of both women.
All because of his wicked father.
Gabriel’s legs were weak as they carried him to the center of the room and waited for his father to announce the girl.
Who was she? Had Gabriel ever seen her before?
Probably not.
If she lived in the eastern woods, she was either an outcast or a thief. Neither of which made Gabriel feel any better about marrying her. But he had promised Tristan he would care for her, and that is what he would do.
People gathered at both sides of the large room, murmuring and smiling. The son of the earl being wed to the daughter of a peasant was extraordinary news and the townspeople were buzzing with gossip and giggles. This was exciting for the villagers.
It was not exciting for Gabriel.
Soon, the court doors opened and in walked two forms. An older woman, dressed in a red cloak and a peasant’s dress. And a younger girl, also in a cloak, with her face hidden in the shadows of her hood.
She probably wore a hood because she was hideous. Tristan had failed to mention that tidbit when he’d been so desperate last night.
His father entered the hall and stood before the people with a smile. “Today, I am pleased to introduce you all to the family that shall be joined with my own through the marriage of my son. Please give your blessing to Scarlet Jacobs.”
At the declaration of her name, Scarlet pulled her cloak back, revealing her face.
And Gabriel stopped breathing.
Stunning was barely an appropriate term for her beauty. She was breathtaking and devastating at the same time. Her long dark hair was full and wavy, her blue eyes sharp and exotic. Her skin was flawless and her red lips were perfectly shaped.
No wonder Tristan had fallen for her. She was more perfect than any female Gabriel had ever seen.
Gabriel kept his smile intact, playing to the crowd. His look of adoration and wonderment, however, was not faked.
Scarlet’s eyes roamed the room and her smile faltered a bit as she took in the crowd around her. But once her eyes met Gabriel’s, her smile grew and melted his heart. She looked at him with love and loyalty, like a lost soul who had just found home.
It felt wonderful to be smiled at with such love.
And then Gabriel remembered.
She was not looking at him, but at Tristan. For she did not know Tristan’s twin brother stood to take her as his bride.
She did not know she was being deceived.
And she did not know that her true love was headed for war.
Gabriel would have to tell Scarlet of his father’s wretched plan and the arrangement Gabriel had made with Tristan.
He would have to break her heart.
He looked at the gorgeous girl who was now walking up to his father and taking his hand.
How could one break the heart of something so beautiful?
Gabriel swallowed and carried on his fake smile. At his fake engagement ceremony.
Fake. It was all fake.
Scarlet sat through hours of praise and well-wishes, Tristan at her side. She had practically smiled the entire journey from the woods to the court, thrilled at the thought of a life—a real life—with Tristan.
Tristan, however, seemed tense. There was no sparkle to his eye or laughter in his smile. He was cautious and careful around her as she sat beside him accepting the blessings of the people in the hall.
Her mother must have noticed Tristan’s odd behavior as well, for she kept eyeing him with a look of suspicion.
Hours and hours of greetings and kisses passed before Scarlet had a chance to have Tristan to herself. They walked with arms linked down a wide hallway that separated the court from the earl’s private dining area, escorted by two guards.
Scarlet’s mother had gone ahead, staying at the earl’s side with a stiff stance.
“Leave us for a moment,” Tristan said to the guards, and stepped away from Scarlet as the guards dispersed. When the guards were out of sight and it was clear Scarlet and Tristan were alone, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him shamelessly.