They Broke the Duke's Bastard, Now She Is His Only Heir novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: Judgment
They brought Odette before the high bench with her wrists in iron.
Her white gown was torn at the hem, and her curls hung loose and tangled on her shoulders.
For the first time in her life, nobody looked at her kindly.
The King stood to pass judgment, and a lord stood on either side to hold him up.
"Odette," he said. "I will not use the name Marchbanks, because by your father's own oath you have no right to it."
She flinched.
"You were born outside any lawful marriage. You hold no title, no lands and no claim in the river lands. The title of Lady is taken from you. So is the title of Saint."
A warden stepped forward and lifted the gold lantern pendant over her head.
He set it on the clerk's table.
"For the forgery of a gift, the deceiving of your King and the bleeding of a prisoner against her will for three years: guilty."
"For the false witness that sent an innocent woman to Greywater: guilty."
"For ordering her knees broken: guilty."
"For the murder of Orrin Moxon, and for the attempt on my life today with spoiled blood: guilty."
Each word fell into the Hall, and nobody coughed.
Odette had stopped shaking.
She stood with her chin raised, and her blue eyes had gone dry and cold.
"You will serve the rest of your life at Greywater Quarry," the King said.
A gasp ran around the benches.
"It will not be Moxon's quarry. The camp is closed to every prisoner but one, and the Wardens hold its gate. You will break stone from sunrise to dark. You will eat the bread that you paid for."
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