Heart of Darkness

"Very clever to hide here," Simu smirked as the other man dragged her to him.

"I work for Lord Rayven now." She said hoping it would scare them away.

"Does he know about your debt?" Simu asked, "or did you lie to a Lord? Maybe you hid the mark as well. I know the clever ones like you."

He grabbed her and pulled her out of the other man's hold. He brought her close to him and glared at her. "I warned you not to cross me." He said with clenched teeth. "Now I will make you…"

"What are you doing?" Suddenly she heard Lord Rayven's voice.

They all turned to look at him. He stood at the entrance, this time well dressed and with his hair nicely combed. He looked more civilized and approachable than this morning but his eyes remained cold and empty.

"My Lord." They all bowed. "I hope we didn't bother you. We are only here to collect our belongings. This lady ran away from us."

Lord Rayven raised a brow and Angelica could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for him to say something.

"She belongs to you?" He questioned.

"To be more clear, she belongs to Lord Green, My Lord," Simu replied.

Lord Rayven put his hands in his pockets and walked closer, looking calm. Angelica could feel how the men tensed when he came closer.

"Do you have any proof?" He asked Simu.

"Yes, My Lord." Simu reached inside his pocket nervously and pulled out an envelope. Angelica knew her father's debts were in there and she dreaded what Lord Rayven would think.

Simu handed him the letter and Lord Rayven opened it and read it. Angelica watched him intently to see his reaction but nothing in his expression changed.

"Is this your father's seal?" He asked turning the letter for her to see.

Angelica nodded embarrassed.

Lord Rayven wrapped the letter and then looked at Simu. "Does this mean that Lord Green lent Lord Davis money that he used to plan for his treason?"

Simu's eyes widened. "He would not, My Lord. He knew nothing about Lord Davis and his plans. They used to work together on his business. That is why."

Lord Rayven narrowed his eyes with suspicion and Simu looked afraid.

"Perhaps you should let Lord Green know that this debt could lead him to trouble if the money was used for wrong purposes." Lord Rayven said.

Simu nodded. "I'll let him know, My Lord." He said. "We'll not trouble you anymore. We will be on our way." He said grabbing her arm again.

Angelica panicked and looked pleadingly at Lord Rayven before Simu pulled at her arm.

"The lady stays!" Lord Rayven spoke.

They stopped and everyone looked at him surprised. Angelica breathed out in relief. Her instinct about him was not wrong. She was right!

Perhaps he would pay for her debt so she would be indebted to him and belong to him instead of Lord Green. She prayed since it was all she could do.

Simu chuckled nervously. "Oh, I should have thought about it. You wish to buy her? I know she is rare."

Angelica saw a hint of disgust on Lord Rayven's face but for some odd reason, she felt like he was disgusted by them and not her.

"And how much would that be?" He asked tilting his head to one side.

"I'll give her to you for three crowns. You can have her the whole day. It is a good offer."

So he was asking for more money knowing Lord Rayven could afford it.

"How about two days?" Lord Rayven asked.

"Six crowns?"

"Three?"

Simu chuckled nervously but he was excited to get that much money. "Twelve crowns."

"So after three days, she belongs to me?" Lord Rayven said.

The debt was seven crowns so yes, that would mean she would belong to him until she paid the debt back to him instead of Lord Green.

Angelica looked over at Lord Rayven. Would he be willing to pay twelve crowns for her? He could buy at least ten servants to work for him forever with that money.

Simu became hesitant. Angelica knew he wished to keep her. He would gain more money by selling her every day than only once and he hoped she would stay after paying her debt since she wouldn't have anywhere else to go and no other way to take care of herself. But now Lord Rayven wanted to keep her forever so his plan was ruined.

She enjoyed seeing that expression on his face.

"Yes… she does." He said looking defeated. "But… we don't usually sell for such long periods. The one day was a special offer for you." Simu said trying to hold on to her with everything that he could.

No! Angelica didn't want to go back. Simu was trying to sell her a few times before Lord Rayven bought her completely. That way he would earn a little more.

Lord Rayven smirked. "I am sure you can make more special offers."

"That would cost more, My Lord."

Angelica's heart went wild inside her chest. She prayed Lord Rayven wouldn't let her go and pay any price to keep her without sending her away in between. She knew that would be a lot of money but she didn't want to go back. She wanted to beg and plead.

"How much?"

Angelica could see Simu coming up with something that Lord Rayven would deny. "Thirty crowns."

Oh Lord! This man was insane. She was doomed. There was no saving for her.

"Very well then." Lord Rayven reached inside his pocket and the men looked at him shocked that he was willing to pay that much for someone with a mark.

Why was he doing this? She thought he was trying to get rid of her.

He pulled out a few crowns and threw them at her feet. The men bowed at her feet to pick up the money.

Angelica realized it wasn't crowns. It was gold. Six gold were equal to thirty crowns. What was more surprising was that he carried that much money around.

The men looked at the gold surprised. They probably wondered why he was willing to pay that much for her when he could find both women and workers for much cheaper.

Simu seemed confused. At one moment he was happy when he saw the gold then he seemed disappointed as he looked between her and Lord Rayven.

"Uh… thank you, my Lord. We won't disturb you anymore." He said and then tried to leave quickly.

"Wait." Lord Rayven wasn't done.

Simu halted. "Yes my Lord."

"How much for you?" He asked shocking him. "You work for Lord Green because you owe him as well."

Simu chuckled nervously. He didn't want to work for Lord Rayven. She could see the horror on his face that he tried to hide with a smile.

"I am not for sale, My Lord." He said.

A corner of Lord Rayven's mouth lifted. "I am sure you aren't." He said. But there was a threat and a promise behind his words. As if he was taking this as a challenge and Simu didn't like that at all.

Lord Rayven smiled at him. "Have a safe trip back home." He told them and they scampered back to their horses like small frightened rabbits.

Lord Rayven watched them get on their horses and leave. Something about the way he looked at them as they left terrified her. What was he thinking?

When they were out of sight, he turned to her. "Do you hate me now?" He asked.

At first, she was confused but then she realized he was referring to buying her. As horrible as it sounded it was better than going back to that place. As twisted as it was, she was grateful.

"It seems like you want me to hate you." She said.

"I am no better than those men who left." He told her.

Oh. So was all this to prove to her how bad he was? Why did he want people to hate him or think badly about him? It seemed like he looked for ways to hurt himself.

"I don't expect you to be good to me. You are not even good to yourself." She blurted.

Oh. Her damned tongue.

His eyes widened in surprise. "At least you know." He said and then turned around to go back inside.

Angelica followed him. "What is the real reason?" She asked him and he stopped. "What is the real reason you bought me? To prove that you are bad or do you perhaps, a part of you sympathize with me?"

He turned to her with a frown. "It seems like you forgot I tried to kill you last night." He reminded.

"Why didn't you then? What made you stop?"

He looked away as if looking for an answer.

"Perhaps I pity you." He said.

That was the worst answer but knowing him he had to try to be mean.

"I am not really someone to pity, My Lord. I dared to come here. A place where no one dares to come to. Not alone at least. You forgot that part while naming the reasons why I came to you. No matter the reasons, I would have to dare come up here first and trust that you wouldn't kill me or harm me. Does that not mean something to you?"

He looked at her for a long moment and with an open mouth as if shocked.

"It does mean something." He breathed stunned. "You are insane."

Oh. Perhaps she was. But he didn't harm her so far. And even though he was disturbing in many ways and mean, she could see something else in him. She didn't know what it was.

She wished William was here so she could tell him and he would help her to find out if she was insane or if her instinct was right. After all, her brother had seemed fond of Lord Rayven. There had to be a reason for that and despite all his bad behaviors he had shown hints of kindness along the way. She knew he wasn't incapable of being kind. He just didn't want to.

The big question was why?