All serious crimes,
punishable by death." He paused, letting this new threat sink in. "Now
do you have anything to say to me, to save the girl's life, as well as
your own?"
The widow glanced quickly at the son, wondering when, if not now, he
intended to come to her aid. But he only turned away, and she
surrendered all hope of it. Looking back at the father, who had
stopped twirling the knife, and only stared back at her with cold
murder in his eyes, she could not help but feel that the end had truly
come.
She had been prepared for the worst, and ready to sacrifice all.
Because of this, and because of the skilled aggression of the Lord
Purceville, everything she saw and heard only worked to confirm her
darkest imaginings. Her heart went cold inside her as he rose to his
feet, the knife clenched firmly in his hand. Her eyes misted and her
limbs trembled; but she never once thought of betraying her son. She
hung her head and was silent, waiting for death.
She waited in vain.
Stephen Purceville did not intervene, among other considerations,
because he knew that his father was bluffing.
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