Chapter 28
Tiernan took the news of his impending fatherhood badly. As soon as the doctor left his office, he threw the crystal glass against the wall and cursed loudly. Seven weeks ago, he’d been practically raping her after chasing Madison through the wilderness to get her back. No wonder she hated him enough to betray him to the rebels and plot to kill him.
It made a terrible sort of sense that she had gotten pregnant then. As messed up as their relationship was, with him holding her against her will in the beginning, and her planning to kill him, it was horribly right that their child had been conceived that fateful night.
There was no question about her facing the tribunal now. He would make the journal disappear, along with the allegations against her. If anyone dared mention a word of her suspected treasonous activities, he’d make sure they weren’t in the Federation long enough to share more gossip. Tiernan would ensure Aidan circulated among the troops that any acknowledgement of her betrayal, or gossiping about the outcome, would lead to banishment from the Federation.
So, what was he going to do about her? He clearly couldn’t trust her, but knowing she was untrustworthy, wouldn’t it be possible to keep her under close scrutiny? As long as he never let himself trust her again, he could keep her. It would be safe to do so, and easy enough—especially once the child came. He already knew she’d do anything for her family, including betraying him. That protective instinct would certainly extend to her child, even though he was the father. The baby would offer leverage to control her, to keep her from ever doing something so horrible again, and allow him to finally regain complete control over his emotions and the situation.
* * *
Without a way to tell time, it was impossible to know, but she estimated it was about two hours after the doctor left that guards entered the room, uncuffed her, and led her from the building through the back entrance. Another contingent waited for her, and she walked between the four men without acknowledging them. It was important to keep her head held high, and she focused on that task—along with keeping her dragging feet moving as exhaustion wore her down—on the trip back to the capitol building.
The soldiers led her upstairs, past the third floor, and she knew they weren’t taking her to Tiernan’s room. It hurt more than it should have, in light of how much had already happened between them. If she couldn’t trust him, and he obviously didn’t trust her, they didn’t need to share a room anyway. That didn’t stop her from mourning the loss of the suite, or rather, what it represented—the time when they had been happy and blind to what was coming.
She didn’t try to resist when the troops took her up to the fourth floor, and then beyond, to a steeper flight of stairs. When they emerged onto a new landing, she recognized this room as the cupola of the capitol building. Ignoring her escorts, she walked deeper into the small room. Though nicely furnished, it was clearly a prison cell, complete with bars on the windows. The large bed and antique dresser couldn’t disguise this was a room meant to hold prisoners.
When she turned around, she found the soldiers gone. Curiosity prompted her to walk to the landing, and she arrived in time to see them closing a set of heavy wooden doors that had been opened before. The definitive sound of a heavy bar sliding into place left no doubt that she was trapped in this room unless Tiernan allowed her to leave.
There were two doors in the room, and she opened the first, finding a serviceable bathroom, complete with a tub similar to the unused one in her parents’ house. She was going to miss those long soaks in his spacious bathtub. After closing that door, she opened the next one to find a small closet. Some of her clothing had been transferred, but it was all plain and serviceable. There were no fancy gowns or sexy lingerie. Only practical underwear and nightgowns occupied the shelves. There were no outside shoes at all, and she wondered with a cynical twist of her lips if they would be repossessing the leather boots she wore.
Deciding to make it easy on them, Madison shed the boots, along with her other filthy clothes, and scooped up a flannel nightgown to take into the bathroom. She ran the water hot enough to make her cry out softly when she immersed her cuts, but it was warm enough to remove the last lingering chills racking her body. She couldn’t have said confidently if they were shivers from the elements she’d been in earlier in the day, or emotional reaction to Tiernan’s iciness.
The tub was adequate, but didn’t encourage lingering, so she washed her hair, gingerly cleaned the unbandaged cuts and the rest of her body, and got out. A soft towel awaited, and she dried off quickly before slipping on the modest nightgown. Her eyes were half-mast by the time she returned to the bedroom, and she couldn’t stifle a groan at the sight of Tiernan standing near the bed, spine stiff.
“Can’t we do this tomorrow? I’m exhausted. Being kidnapped, wrongfully imprisoned, and threatened with death twice in one day will do that to anyone.” She couldn’t completely mask her resentment and didn’t particularly care if her words bordered on passive-aggressive.
He ignored her statement, watching impassively as she went to sit at the small dressing table to run a comb through her wet hair. Deliberately avoiding his eyes in the mirror, she couldn’t help a pang of regret, recalling how many times he had watched her perform the ritual before coming over to take the comb or brush from her hands and run it through her hair himself. That had often led to lovemaking. There would be no more of that.
“Dr. Oritz confirmed your pregnancy.”
“No kidding.” She put down the comb and turned on the bench to face him, not having the energy to cross the room, and lacking the courage to climb into bed with him still in the room. Madison couldn’t be blasé about that, and she couldn’t trust herself not to beseech him to forget all this ridiculousness and take her back to his room—or climb into this bed beside her. Knowing he would be impervious to her begging helped her rein in the impulse.
“That has bought you a measure of freedom,” he said with his own heavy note of bitterness. “You won’t be facing charges of treason.”
“How kind.” She didn’t have to feign her apathy. Either exhaustion, or more likely shock, seemed to have given her a cocoon, though she suspected it was only temporary protection.
“As of now, you are confined to this room. There will be no more shopping trips or volunteer work. You won’t be joining me for functions or enjoying any of your previous privileges.”
“How I shall miss them,” she said sardonically.
His mouth tightened, but he didn’t respond to her taunt. “Your sole job now is to ensure the healthy development of my child.”
Maybe she wasn’t as apathetic as she’d believed, because that rankled. “My child too.”
He scoffed. “You have no rights to that child, Madison. You’ll be lucky to have any part in this beyond incubator. If you want to have a role in his or her life, you’re going to have to earn it with trustworthy behavior.”
“Which I have done since you ripped me from my family.” She had to resist the urge to throw one of the bottles behind her in his direction. “You are the one who doesn’t trust and has no faith. I can’t ever win with you, because you don’t want me to. I’m under no illusion exactly what will happen to me after the baby’s born.”
He glowered. “I trusted you, and you have betrayed me twice now.”
“How do you figure?”
He held up a finger. “First, you ran away.”
Madison rolled her eyes. “Only after you were an obstinate ass who wouldn’t listen to me.”
Tiernan pressed on, lifting a second finger. “Then you joined the rebels, tried to kill me, and helped kill three other people in the process. I don’t care if you didn’t make the dynamite or plant the bomb yourself. You’re just as culpable for Cleo’s death as the rest of the rebels.”
Madison compressed her lips. “Yes, I know. I have been convicted by the court of Tiernan. Am I to serve a life sentence?”
He regarded her impassively. “That depends on your behavior. If you can be a good mother, you’ll be allowed to stay in Seattle-Archer until my child no longer needs you.”
She had to take a deep breath to breathe through the pain his words caused. At what point would he consider her unnecessary? At age two, when the baby was ready to wean? Perhaps when he or she started school, around age seven? Surely, no later. He wouldn’t want to risk her tainting the future commander’s upbringing with compassion or anything contrary to his views. “When I’m no longer needed?”
He shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll let you go home, if the rebels have been disbanded.” His nostrils flared. “If I ever catch you plotting against me again, you will go in front of the tribunal to face the consequences of your actions.”
Sadness filled her, and she blinked back tears that pride wouldn’t let fall. “I can promise you I’ll do nothing to you, Tiernan. If I never see you again, I’ll be just as happy as you will be, no doubt.” Her limbs seemed to weigh a hundred pounds each, but she forced herself to walk proudly to the bed, turning her back on him as she climbed in. She no longer had the urge to ask him to join her. “Turn the light off when you leave.”
A second later, she heard his boots clicking on the wooden floor, followed by the light extinguishing. She strained to hear him walk down the stairs, and the heavy door slammed shut a few seconds later. “Don’t come back,” she whispered, though her heart broke at the thought of never seeing him again. Her mind took a different turn, and in her anger, she wished she had never met him. Failing that, she hoped he would leave her to wallow in the tower, forget her existence, and allow her at least a little time with her baby before he sent her away.
The urge to cry remained, but she couldn’t summon the energy to let the tears fall. The events of the day had left her drained, and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep within minutes of closing her eyes. Even the aching loneliness of having the bed to herself, and of knowing how much Tiernan hated and distrusted her, couldn’t keep her from slumber.