Prologue
“I suppose she’ll do,” Vince Fiddick hissed the words. He looked at Julianne like she was a tolerable prize. He may have wanted Annabelle Portwood, but he would settle for her. Oh, Julianne knew she wasn’t the man’s first choice, but he would take what he could get.
“Oh, how wonderful. Lovely news, isn’t it?” Julianne’s father rubbed his hands together, no doubt thinking of the betrothal fee Vince would be paying for the honor of wedding her.
“No,” Julianne shook her head. She could not do it. She would not consent to marrying the man her parents had chosen for her. She would be his fourth wife, and Julianne knew she would fare no differently than they had.
“Julianne,” Margaret Rye glared at her daughter. Julianne knew the look well. She had always been a disappointment to her parents. Why should things be any different now? Margaret and William Rye wanted their daughter to wed this man, who was nearly twice Julianne’s age, and they cared naught for their daughter’s opinion on the matter.
Julianne looked at her mother blankly, waiting for her to say something else, but Margaret simply stared at her.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Vince said, turning his attention to Julianne. “It’s natural to be nervous before your wedding, but you have nothing to be concerned about. You’ll see.” He shook hands with Julianne’s father, and then the two men retreated to William’s study to make the necessary arrangements for the ceremony.
Julianne sat in silence with her mother while the men were gone. The sitting room felt stuffy and small. Suddenly, the entire room felt hot. Julianne felt as if her entire life was being decided for her and she had no say in the matter. She should be used to the feeling by now, but somehow, this was different.
This was her entire life.
This was her whole future.
“I won’t marry him,” she said finally.
“You don’t have a choice. You were raised for this, bred for this.” Margaret did not meet her daughter’s eyes. Julianne stared at her mother, openly gawking.
“This is marriage,” she said. “Marriage should be to someone you love, to someone you can’t stand being apart from. It shouldn’t be some financial transaction.”
“You know nothing of the world,” Margaret said, sipping a cup of tea. Her face was wrinkled and she had dark circles under her eyes. Julianne knew her mother was getting older, and restless. While Julianne suspected her mother was battling health issues, Margaret had too much pride to ever admit this to her daughter.
“I know what the world should be,” Julianne told her mother, suddenly feeling brave. “And I know this is not what it should be.”
“If only you were more like your brother,” Margaret shook her head. Julianne bit back a cough. Oh, if only her parents knew what her sweet brother was up to. They believed he had gone off to Ellensworth to work as an apprentice. They had no idea where he really was. They had no clue the things her brother did.
Julianne knew better than to argue with her mother, though. Once Margaret set her mind to something, nothing would sway her opinion.
After what felt like hours, her father and Vince Fiddick emerged from the study.
“The wedding will take place on Saturday,” William announced to the women in the sitting room.
“But that’s in two days!” Julianne jumped to her feet. “That’s-” She stopped. Her parents had made up their minds. There would be no talking them out of this. If she protested the marriage, they would simply lock her in her bedroom until the time of the ceremony, and she couldn’t have that.
No, if Julianne wanted to be able to have any chance to escape, she would have to play her cards close to her chest. She would have to appear to be compliant. She would have to be clever because there was no doubt in her mind Vince Fiddick had murdered his other wives. She would not end up like them.
“That’s not nearly enough time to plan a wedding,” she said instead. “Why, how can I have a proper gown made?”
“Darling,” Vince Fiddick walked across the room to Julianne. He reached for her. Though it sickened her to have him touch her, she swallowed hard and allowed his clammy palms to squeeze her hands. “Believe me when I say you will have the most perfect wedding you can imagine.”
“Thank you,” Julianne said. She had nothing else to say to the man. She hated him, despised him. He was not a man she would ever choose to associate with, let alone marry, but she had to be careful. If he suspected her of trying to escape before the ceremony, he would do anything in his power to keep her.
Even if it meant killing her.
“Such lovely news,” Margaret said, clasping her hands together. “And what a beautiful pairing.” She looked at Julianne and Vince, and for a brief second, Julianne thought her mother looked truly happy.
Then she remembered that her mother didn’t have a soul. Any emotion she di
splayed, aside from anger, was a carefully calculated appearance designed for maximum manipulation.
But during her childhood, Julianne hadn’t simply learned how to run a house or how to sew. No, Julianne had learned more than that. She had learned how her mother worked, how Margaret used emotional manipulation to get what she wanted.
Julianne realized that if she wanted to escape this marriage, she would have to act quickly. Once she was alone in Vince’s house, she would never be allowed to leave. She would be locked away: another prize he had won.
But there was something Julianne’s parents didn’t know, something Vince Fiddick didn’t know. There was something none of them knew, and it would be her saving grace.