by Rizzo Rosko
"'e was, last I heard, milady," the small girl said timidly, and Elizabeth decided that Olma truly hadn't known Blaise returned to the castle.
Olma raised her hand to announce their presence with a soft knock, but Elizabeth grabbed her hand. "Wait."
She pressed her ear to the door, eager for any information that could aid her in making Graystone her permanent home.
“Milady! What are ye—?”
Elizabeth hissed, waving her arm at the girl as though she were a fly. “Shh!”
Olma twittered about nervously. “Lady Elizabeth, please, ye cannot. ‘Tis dangerous to spy on the lord.” She whispered, but Elizabeth continued waving her off.
What she heard struck her harshly. Aside from Lady Gray, neither Lord Gray nor Blaise trusted her.
How could this be? She was certain her demeanour gave no reason to have anyone suspect her. Did they believe her to be responsible for Blaise’s attack?
No. A moment longer of listening and while she had no definite answer, she was certain they did not have any thoughts that she could have arranged for Blaise’s attack.
‘Twas relieving, but what had Lord Gray meant when he spoke of her father? So they did know sir Ferdinand. Elizabeth would find out what sort of girl they thought she was based on a man she did not know.
She allowed Olma to knock, and they entered the solar together. She straightened her back, and prepared to smile at the lord of the castle, hoping to win his affections enough to convince him that he had not invited a dangerous woman into his home.
Instead her eyes were drawn to Blaise, sitting on a stool and leaning his back against the stone wall, a goblet in his hand and hair windswept. He must have come into this room straight from riding his horse.
Perhaps his experience with the men Elizabeth had hired had not convinced him to take safer precautions when it came to his daily routines after all.
Regardless, his blue eyes captured her and held her in place. The innocent smile she had meant for Lord William turned into a wanting thing devoted solely to Blaise.
Her memory conjured the image of his naked form, standing before her, dangerous, and demanding. Elizabeth's breath left her, and her lips parted so that she might breathe easier.
Blaise returned her gaze with a fierce longing she had never seen before, as though he too was captured in whatever spell had ensnared her.
Then he glared at her.
Elizabeth stepped back, shocked at the hostility she found in his blue eyes. Useless tart! She admonished herself. The man believes you are out to steal from him and you look at him in such a manner? 'Tis no wonder he chooses not to trust ye!
Then Lady Marianne rushed forth and put her arms about Elizabeth's shoulder, holding her so close that the belly between them bumped her and pushed her away again.
Elizabeth smiled and pulled away from the lady of the castle and curtsied to her, the one person who seemed to believe she was worth trusting. Tears welled in her eyes, stinging their dry surfaces.
Stunned sympathy moulded Lady Gray’s cheeks. "Whatever is the matter?"
Elizabeth shook her head and wiped her eyes. "I have not been embraced like that since the death of my mother." And never had she expected a gentle bred lady to do so for her either. It brought up old regrets and made her wish that she and her mother had not fought so often before she died so horribly.
Lady Gray pulled Elizabeth into another embrace and held her tightly. Lady Gray threw a dirty look to Blaise, who turned his head away from the scene. Could he perhaps feel guilty over his words about her now that she was in an emotional state?
If he sought her honesty and would trust her for it, she would give it to him. She would spill all of her secrets, or at least, most of them, if it meant she could keep her new position in the castle.
She sent him another smile, though this one lacked the lust that thumped through her earlier. She squashed it down and replaced it with the excitement of her new plan. All she needed was to carry it out.
Marianne took her cheeks in both hands and turned her head so that she might face the older woman. "I am sorry for your mother, but I have some news that will cheer you. To celebrate Blaise's safe return, we have invited friends and family to Graystone to feast. There will be music and dancing to put a smile on yer lips, and 'tis also likely there will be a handsome man who will fall in love with a pretty girl such as yourself."
Elizabeth's face heated beyond anything she ever felt. Hope presented itself, stretched, and sprang around like an excited child. Being married would ensure her comfort indefinitely. "Do ye think so?"
"Marianne! The woman's been in this castle less than a fortnight and yer already trying to wed her off?" Blaise barked, glaring.
Lady Gray stuck her nose in the air in a haughty manner. "Simply because you choose not to wed does not mean that everyone else wishes to be a hermit."
Blaise crossed his arms, his sour mood radiating from him. "I am no hermit," he insisted.
He was pouting!
William shook his head and left the solar, mumbling about finding Edward.
Lady Gray returned her attention to Elizabeth, ignoring Blaise who still growled like a cat in the corner. "This celebration shall not be for at least another fortnight. We haven't even sent the messengers to inform William's friends of our intent. Ye surely shall have a new gown ready by then."
Elizabeth glowed. Then like a disappointed bird, her puffed feathers shrank back into herself as her glee disappeared. "Milady, if ye introduce me, I shall surely make an embarrassment of myself and you. I am not knowledgeable in the ways of courtly love, or manners, or—"
"Ah," Lady Gray raised her hand, silencing anything else that would have escaped Elizabeth's mouth before she took her hand and pattted it. Elizabeth could hardly believe the woman who behaved so motherly towards her was so close in age to herself.
"I should tell you that while growing up, I never had a nurse to teach me these things either. I learned as much as my brothers could teach before they passed on. But even then I never learned music, languages, or even sewing until Lady Anne took it upon herself to teach me."
"Lady Anne?"
"William's cousin, and mine now I suppose. But as you can see, despite all those flaws I possessed, William fell in love with me."
"Had no choice in the matter, as I recall." Blaise muttered.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to ask about his meaning, but Marianne squeezed her hand and stole her attention again, smiling brightly as though she hadn't heard the insult Blaise uttered. "If you need a tutor, then I'm certain Blaise will be a true gentleman and offer his services."
Blaise nearly teetered off of his stool with how hard he rocked on it to stand on his feet. "The devil I will!"
Again, Lady Gray pretended not to hear. "I am certain that by the beginning of the celebration you shall be a lady to be admired." She forcefully shoved Elizabeth in Blaise's direction with more strength than a woman in her condition should possess.
She stumbled on her gown and landed in Blaise's chest. His hands clenched like iron shackles around her arms as he steadied her. Elizabeth turned her head up and met the complete displeasure on his face, as well as a dark glow under his tanned flesh.
Lady Marianne laughed as though she had not nearly injured her new lady in waiting. "I certainly shall not hold fault against you for wishing to proceed straight away. Come find me when today's lesson ends!"
"Marianne!" Blaise roared, still squeezing Elizabeth's arms in his tight fingers.
While unsure if her eyes played tricks on her, Elizabeth thought she saw Blaise's orange hair blaze over his head in fiery indignation. 'Twould be fitting to be named after the flame that burned over his skull.
The lady ignored the furious call of her step-son and waddled out of the solar as quickly as her feet would take her. Olma, frightened of the display, followed her instead of opting to stay.
For the first time since she arrived at Graystone, Elizabeth found herself compl
etely alone with the man she had rescued on that rainy road. He still held her close to his chest, as though unsure of what to do with her.
Elizabeth did not mind. She marvelled at the solid form of his chest beneath his tunic and her fingers. When she had first laid eyes on it, she immediately knew of love and admiration for his handsome body. She was not a blind woman, but never would she have thought to feel such pleasure being held so tightly to him.
"Well, my sweet Eliza," he said, and Elizabeth turned her head up, lifting herself from her lustful thoughts and once again banishing the image of Blaise's broad shoulders, bare chest, and strong legs in her hut.
He stared at her with one side of his lip curled and his nose scrunched, as though his current situation was somehow her fault. "I shall speak to my father, but because he allows Marianne every freedom she desires I doubt we shall escape this arrangement.”
She swallowed. “What do ye suggest, then, Lord Blaise?”
His lip did not curl, nor did any hint of amusement enter his eyes. “Shall we begin?"
She nodded. “By all means.”
About The Author
Rizzo Rosko lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario, is a romance junkie, a lousy web designer, and is working hard to improve the craft of creating an actual plot. She one day hopes to stop mooching off her big brother for cheap rent, because, as we all know, writing is an easy way to earn a lot of cash.
Rosko has won no awards, requires eleven hours of sleep per night, and sometimes has to force herself to sit in her chair to write because, for the most part, she is too lazy to write an outline before sitting down at her computer.
Other Books by Rizzo Rosko
From Siren Publishing (As Mandy Rosko)
Mate of the Wolf
Night and Day
Eclipse (Coming in August 2011)
From Smashwords
Lady Thief
Lady Deception (Coming Soon)
Connect With Me Online:
Website: www.rizzorosko.com
Blog: www.rizzorosko.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rizzorosko
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rizzorosko
