I'm sorry it has been so long. Thank you my reviewers you keep me going!


The carriage heaved as I took my last stares of the beautiful palace that I had dwelled in for only a week. I sat back against the cushion of my lonely jeweled box that would carry me into my personal hell. No one to talk to but Cutler. No one to stimulate the mind but Cutler. No one to dress for but Cutler. Nothing but the ghosts that lingered in my soul and Cutler.

How had things come to this? Only married a week and he suspected me of committing adultery.

How long would I stay there? A few weeks? Months? Years?

The wind whipped around the carriage as it heaved itself up an inclination of gravel. It was hours before we arrived and I was displeased greatly at what I saw. It was green, like most of England, and rustled with the winds of a thousand sighs that bit at my feet. There were no gardens, only thickets of trees and a crystal clear lake around the back. My heart sank as I walked into a dank hallway. The place was covered in dust and Cutler hadn't used it in years nor had his relatives. It was the neglected child of a wealthy family and I had come to dwell in it. I took off my cloak and glanced about in discomfort. It was dark. It was frightening. It was my worst nightmare.

"My lady." A maid came in with a single file of servants behind her. They had runny noses and were covered in dirt as they either worked in the fields or were cleaning up the Manor for my use. "We apologize for the current state of the Manor. We just received word of your arrival and hope to have everything ready for you in due time." The maid was obviously well educated and I could see that she ran the rest of the servants. "Your apartments, however, are ready for you."

I nodded and floated by them. It seemed as if they had never seen a lady of the elite before as they scurried from their frightened stares to make way for me. I drifted up the steps to survey my apartments. They were suitable and were nothing like the rest of the Manor. I decided that I would stay within my room and not come out. I would not allow myself to wander about and get lost. I would stay in one place.

"Is there anything you wish for at present, my lady?"

My eyes flashed in curiosity at the speech of such a maid. "Two glasses of sherry."

"Are you expecting company?" Her eyes narrowed into angered points. She must have been told by Cutler why I was visiting. She would be no friend to me. All curiosity vanished.

"No…forget the request. Instead I have another, leave me be." I snapped as I threw her my cloak.

My one chance for conversation had sprung wings and taken flight. I scowled out the window at the tips of the trees and cursed it all. Living here was not going to be easy.


It proved to be worse than I imagined. For two straight weeks I rarely came from the room. The first week was bliss as I did not have to wake for any protocols and I could read and sleep and dream of a life long lost. But then hell kicked in. Beckett's punishment was far worse than possible.

He stayed away from me for more than those two weeks. It was two months. Two whole months of boredom. I had not spoken much but to thank the maids and to sing to myself when feeling lonely, which was always. I had to applaud him, however, of keeping himself away from me. I had thought that he would go mad without sex but he proved to be an adequate partner for hatred.

It wasn't until a particularly gloomy day that he arrived. I was wandering a hall as I was going to throw up my bland food if I had to stare at my wall once more. I found a large portrait and to my surprise it was Cutler's father. I was staring at him with immense intensity for I saw at once where Cutler received his lack of height and stern features. The man was daunting, pompous, and arrogant even in the face of a painter who only wished to portray him as something other than a bastard.

"My father was a brilliant man."

I screamed at the voice. It had been so long since I heard a man's voice that I was honestly ready to faint. Cutler laughed as he stepped forward to gather me into a kiss but I ran into the wall and guarded myself from him with an antique vase. His eyebrows rose in lust as he eyed my figure. "The lack of a corset and panniers proves to make you more irresistible."

"Stay away from me." My voice was coarse and only a mere whisper.

His smile hit the floor at once. "I thought you would have learned your lesson."

"Do you expect me to grovel at your feet? You are possibly the worst husband a woman could ever have!"

I then began to sob in my own pity but Cutler did not even comfort me, much to my relief. Instead, he hoisted me up in his arms and dragged me off towards my apartments where I hated him even more as he undressed me and satisfied himself in ecstasy.

"Now will you beg?" He asked as he retrieved his tunic and vest from the floor.

I threw myself into my sheets and shook in my own tears.

He was growing impatient. "Well? Is that a yes or a no?"

"Never." I bit out at him.

There was a rustling and then the slamming of a door. He was gone. And he was most likely to stay away for months.


Oliver pounced up the steps of Gallow Manor like an irritated lion ready for its prey. The stiff butlers opened the doors and were baffled to find Oliver storm past them in heated rage towards Lord Beckett's private office. He did not bother to knock as it was unnecessary in his state of anger.

"Oh, there is my annoying, disowned cousin." Cutler growled as Oliver leaned over the desk to glare right in the face of his ill tempered relative.

"You are the most despicable, disgusting, arrogant, and daft man in this country."

"Is there anything you wish to tell me that I don't already know? Perhaps the fact that you slept with my wife?"

"Aunt Sara!" Oliver bellowed. It rattled throughout the halls and in came a shaky and discouraged woman with her shoulders shrugged. "Come…here!" Oliver barked as the woman came forward.

Cutler's eyebrow rose in worry. "Has something happened?"

"Tell him what you told me." It was an order not to be disobeyed.

She sniffled.

"Tell him!"

She jumped and brought her pointy nose up but left her eyes on the floor. "Your wife…is…innocent."

Beckett sat back in his chair. "Go on."

"She and Oliver never touched. I never saw them embrace. If they did I was not there to see-"

"Aunt Sara…" Oliver's voice came as a warning.

"I was jealous!" She gasped. Her shoulders shook, her tears poured as she dabbed them. "She has everything now and we get nothing! Just the pleasure of the family name."

"Aunt Sara…do you realize what you have done?"

Aunt Sara bent her head down.

"You made me believe that my precious wife has done something unfathomable. Do you know where she is now?"

"I pray not in a convent."

"Worse."

Oliver bit his tongue from making a crude comment on nuns as it was not the time. "Hatfield Manor."

Aunt Sara's eyes went into shock. "Cutler…she is sure to go batty!"

"She has been able to keep herself well entertained by staring at my father's portrait." Cutler grumbled. "Aunt Sara, because of your ludicrous predicaments, I am afraid I must send you away."

"To w-w-where?" Her voice cracked.

"Hatfield Manor."

"No." Her voice was now a ghost as she fell into Oliver's arms.

Oliver's lips perched. "I think she has learned her lesson. Hatfield Manor is no place for a lady."

Cutler mulled over his thoughts for a few moments and then nodded. "Quite right, cousin. I shall see to Brenna's return at once as it is obvious she has been nothing but virtuous."

Oliver looked relieved. He and Aunt Sara left the Manor and as soon as they were out of sight, Cutler rose in haste and called out to the butlers and maids.