She huffed, narrowing her eyes before briefly glancing at me. Her lips turned up into a terrifying, toothy smile. I pressed my body instinctively against Branford’s side.
“Alexandra”—Kimberly turned her head to the side and tilted it, looking at me with contempt and loathing—“surely you understand it was only in jest. It was still a prettier outfit than the one you were wearing when you arrived, and no harm was—”
I tried to step back to distance myself, but Branford kept his grip on me, holding me in place.
“Kimberly,” Nelle whispered as she reached for her sister’s hand.
Everything happened so quickly, I wasn't sure how I went from holding Branford's arm to suddenly being behind him, held at arm's length. My ears barely registered the scrape of metal as he drew his sword, but it was suddenly placed against the pale skin of Lady Kimberly’s neck.
“Do not make a move,” he said with a snarl. “Do not move a damned inch, or I’ll take your head from your shoulders right now.”
“Branford, how dare you—”
“Silence!” His voice th
undered the command, and Kimberly’s mouth closed with a snap. “Apologize to my wife.”
“I am not about to lower myself to apologize to some handmaid!” Kimberly screeched, and the silence around the marketplace was replaced by a simultaneous gasp from the onlookers.
Lady Kimberly’s words stopped abruptly, and her eyes went wider for a moment before she went perfectly still. She seemed to stare with unfocused eyes at Branford’s hand as it gripped the hilt of the sword. She whimpered slightly, and I could see her hands begin to shake. A moment later, a slight trickle of red flowed from the edge of the sword where it met her slender neck.
“Drop to your knees—both of you.”
I held my breath as Kimberly’s glazed eyes looked toward me as she slowly lowered herself into the muddy ground below with Nelle at her side. As she moved, Branford’s sword moved with her, keeping its deadly position near the artery in her neck.
“Your life is in jeopardy,” Branford said between his teeth. “Don’t push me any further. You live only because I honor the memory of my mother and her wishes. Say one more contrary word—anything—to my wife, and I will end you.”
Lady Kimberly stared at him, wide-eyed and unmoving. The blade at her neck remained completely steady though I could feel the tension from Branford’s body through his grip on my arm.
“Apologize,” Branford demanded again. “If Alexandra accepts your apology, you will keep your head, so I suggest you make it a good one. If she doesn’t accept, I will end your life right here and now.”
I watched her gaze turn to mine, and her tongue flicked quickly over her lips before she spoke.
“My humblest apologies for my words, Lady Alexandra.” Kimberly’s voice was strained. I could see her throat bob as she swallowed hard. Branford continued to glare down at her. “And we, um…we never should have put you in that…that dress.”
“I am sorry, too,” Nelle said softly. She could not look up at me as she spoke.
“Alexandra,” Branford said quietly without turning toward me. “Do you accept?”
I looked at the two women on the ground in front of me as I slowly realized what Branford was saying. He was putting their lives in my hands. I could forgive them and let them live, or with a word—my word—their lives would be over.
The lives of two noble-born women were at the mercy of a handmaid.
The irony was not lost on me.
Irony aside, I was not prepared for this kind of responsibility. I was not prepared to have the lives—let alone the deaths—of the people of Silverhelm in my control. Noble or otherwise, I could not have someone else die because I said they should, regardless of what they had done to me.
I was aware of what my husband was doing as well. I knew this was his way of making amends for his actions after his cousins’ stunt though it would have been better if he had given me some indication that he would put their punishment in my hands. In all likelihood, he had not planned this though. He was surprised by their sudden presence, and he was probably acting on impulse.
“Alexandra?” Branford repeated. I could hear the waning patience in his tone.
“Y-yes,” I stammered. Branford’s eyes swiveled to mine for a moment and then back to Lady Kimberly on the ground.
“Do you accept their pathetic excuse for an apology?”
“Yes,” I repeated. Branford’s gaze found mine, and for the briefest of moments I thought he was going to kill her despite my acceptance. Instead, he nodded his head in my direction and then turned his gaze back to the women at his feet.
“Consider yourselves lucky my wife is so gracious. You have until midday tomorrow to remove yourselves from Silverhelm entirely. If I ever, ever see either of you in Silverhelm again, I will place your heads on pikes outside the castle.”