Guy turned towards the people on the shore, mentally preparing himself what to do next. But truth be told, he didn't know what to do next.
He looked at Meg, who paled at the sight of her family. She turned to Guy and held onto his arm, like he knew how to protect her. The worst part was that Guy didn't know how he could protect Meg. He and she were having a splendid moment together, separating themselves from the harsh world and thinking only of each other. Now those buffoons by the water had shattered their joy. Vaisey stretched out his arms, as if to welcome the two in the water with a hug. He smiled, revealing his teeth, where there was a hole where a tooth should have been.
The older man stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I've come for my missing daughter," he declared politely. He kept a calm face, like the situation was nothing serious.
"Missing." Meg snorted, stepping forward, much to Guy's dismay. "Yeah, like I was missing. I am not coming back! I am staying with Guy."
"Surely, Meg, you can reason with your old man," said Lord Bennet. "I am only trying to protect you."
"Meg," Guy warned, "stay behind me."
Meg looked at Guy. "I know how to care for myself. Please don't tell me what to do here." It wasn't rude or anything like that; Meg was sure she could fend for herself and speak for herself. Then, she turned to her father. Her eyebrows slanted as she replied in a loud voice: "Your form of 'protection' was locking me in a room all my life because you feared of who I could become: an educated woman. You deprived me from having a decent life. You don't even have a reason behind all this. Because of you, I can barely read and write. I have hard time learning. What kind of person is that, someone who's been deprived of an education?"
"You can speak, ungrateful brat," Vaisey muttered under his breath.
Meg shot an angry glare at him. "I did a lot of arguing with father and my brothers; that was the one thing they did teach me. But speaking isn't everything; it can't be. I want to learn about nature, the animals, everything. And that's why I choose to stay with Guy."
Lord Bennet shook his head and waved his hand, sending his sons a command. At their father's gesture, the two men darted into the water. Guy placed Meg behind him as he rolled up his sleeves. The men exchanged a couple of hard punches. One brother managed to punch Guy in the stomach, where he lost his balance and fell. Then the other brother grabbed Guy by his shirt collar and started drowning him, dunking him for a long time. The first brother grabbed Meg by her arms. She started kicking and screaming, but her brother was stronger than her.
"No! No!" Meg cried out, as the second brother and lifted Guy from the water, where he barely breathed before being dunked into the water again. Meg turned to her brother who held her. "Arthur, release Guy!" she cried out in a louder, more shriek-like voice. Her face reddened as her tears intensified. Veins popped out of her neck. "Please, Leo, don't kill him! I'll go back; just don't kill Guy. PLEASE!" Then she started scream crying, not stopping for a second. England could hear her sobbing.
Whether it was pity or because he wanted to, Leo brought Guy up. He was coughing like food was lodged in his throat and he tried to get it out of himself. He also coughed out enough water to fill a jug. His face was red with a considerable amount of purple. Guy thought he was robust man; Leo proved to be ten times more than robust.
He dragged him to the shore, not even bothering to bind his hands. He placed his hands behind his back, squeezing them so Guy wouldn't have a chance of freeing himself. Guy saw noticed the distress on Meg's face. She was screaming so loud that even underwater, he heard her cries and shrieks. He wanted to tell her something so bad, a word of comfort or something like that, but he coughed more than he talked.
Meanwhile, Arthur also dragged Meg to the shore, but Meg tried fighting. Then, to slow her brother down, she slid to the ground, so Arthur had to grab Meg by the arms, dragging her feet along the sand. As they reached the shore, Meg managed to grab her bag and shell. However, her father saw what she held and snatched them away from her. Meg whimpered. Those items were precious to her. They were memories of the time she spent with Guy, the man she loved.
Lord Bennet examined the shell. "Hmm. G and M; how sweet," he said sarcastically. Then, in front of Meg he snapped the shell in two and tossed it on the ground. He looked inside the bag and dumped all of its contents, sand dollar included, among the pebbles. "You stupid girl."
"Why do you want to act like I don't exist?" Meg exclaimed between her tears, grunting as she tried to release herself from her brother. She slumped to the ground, looking like she conceded as a result of despair. But that was when she managed to grab the shell pieces and the white sand dollar and placed them in her dress pocket. They would not take away the treasures which contained the memories of her time with Guy.
Her brother lifted her up. She winced at her bare feet in contact with the rocks.
"Because you're a woman."
"Because I'm a woman?" Meg snorted. "Come on, I expected a more intelligent reason from a high lord like you. You've got to be more persuasive, father, as to convince me why I shouldn't be in the world."
Her father placed her chin between his two fingers and eyed her. "Big words for a dumb girl."
"Guy taught me," Meg declared proudly.
Her father looked at Guy, then back at his daughter with a mocking laugh. "Guy taught you, huh?"
Meg nodded and then smirked, forgetting about her tears and distress. "And now you won't give me a better reason, because you have no better reason. You're lost for words."
Her father growled. "Take her away. And arrest Guy as well. Isabella is waiting."