I married Madeleine to keep the estate from my cousin's hands, yet the moment the study door locked the title felt like the smaller prize. She watches me with defiance masking the hunger she will not name, that birthmark a mark I intend to claim with more than my eyes. The cane leans ready against the desk.
Her skirts will rise because I command it, because every order I give binds her closer and threatens to unmake the walls I built after my mother's death. She will learn the cost of this union in stinging discipline and quiet belonging. But if the marriage is challenged, I risk losing the only woman who could make this house a home instead of another cage.
