by Rizzo Rosko
Nicholas shook his head. “Nay, I have not, but if yer wish is to see her then ye’d best be off. I believe he shall not mind if ye were to use his horse.” Nicholas motioned his head to where the animal grazed, then motioned back to Ian. “Ye shall have to risk that my men may not allow ye entrance while I see to him.”
“I imagine I can handle it.” Blaise grinned, sheathed his weapon and dashed for the animal. The white horse was in much better spirits than Reginald and allowed his new rider to kick off without trouble.
***
Eliza sat at the table, staring into her plate. The bread was freshly baked and steaming, but the scent that came with the simple food was enough to make her push the loaf away in disgust. Her baby kicked inside of her, as though demanding she eat the bread to settle them both.
She reached for her goblet instead, opting to sip at the weak wine in the hopes that 'twould be enough to settle her child until Blaise arrived.
'Twas hours since her father left, surely if the man had succeeded in kidnapping her husband he would have returned by now.
Though her head was down, the startled gasp and even a few screams of frightened servants did not escape her notice. Shuffled feet ran beyond the hall where she ate, but a few did venture inside when they saw her still there.
A woman’s panicking voice called to her. "Milady, Lord Blaise has entered the castle. He is running into all of the chambers searching for ye!"
A man’s voice came next, she assumed he was the leader of her father's knights with the authority in which he spoke. He was at his knees beside her place at the table. "Milady, I insist on being present when he speaks with ye. 'Tis not safe to allow him near ye in yer condition."
Unable to drink anymore, she merely fingered the rim of her goblet, not bothering to look at the frightened servants. “If ye believe so then why did ye allow him inside?”
She looked up to see the man’s face burning. “I did not want to. My men recognised him and opened the gates.” His muttering grew more hateful. “They did no’ think he’d run amok like this.”
Her father was not with him? She tried to keep her features calm lest the knight in front of her sense her panic.
"'Tis not a stranger ye speak of, but my husband. He will not harm me if we are alone." Not physically at any rate, she thought.
Her heart trembled, and it shivered in her chest when the echo of Blaise's voice reached her ears. The doors to the Great Hall were still open, but Blaise had yet to make his appearance between them.
He must be searching every chamber but the one I am in. His voice sounded pained, and a loud crash suggested that he'd knocked over a servant in his haste to find her.
Her brown creased with confusion. What did her father tell him?
His form finally appeared in the doorway. His hands reached out to support himself against the arched entrance as his chest heaved from all of his running. His eyes did a quick sweep of the room. In his haste they must have passed right over her because he turned to rush away before jerking himself to a halt.
She knew his panicked blue eyes finally found her when they widened in her direction.
She swallowed painfully, aware of how she must look to him. Her lack of sleep had put a darkness under her eyes that could rival the night. The added weight of her pregnancy must surely be what caused his mouth to drop in such a shocked fashion.
Blaise pushed himself off of the door, his legs hobbling as he entered the Great Hall. The knight who was at her side lifted himself and rushed to meet Blaise halfway.
"Milord, I must ask that ye wait for Sir Godwyn to arrive—”
Blaise face knotted in fury at the hand that stalled him. "Nicholas shall not hinder me from seeing my wife!"
The knight, Eliza did not remember his name, did not lose his temper the same way Blaise did. "Milord, 'twould be much easier if Sir Godwyn was here to confirm yer permission to enter. My men recognised ye and allowed ye entrance, but they do not know that ye are no longer the lady's husband."
“I am still her husband!” Blaise roared.
The knight appeared thoughtful. “I was led to believe ye had annulled the marriage.”
Eliza winced at the reminder.
Blaise's shoulder's sagged. The proud arrogance he'd charged into the Great Hall with vanished, much to Eliza's worry. His blue eyes looked beyond the man in his way and found hers again. The pleading she saw there was nearly her undoing.
"Yer father came to see mine, and he spoke of ye in such a way that I feared ye would be dead before I arrived."
Eliza's throat thickened and swelled, her eyes trickled with water. She opened her mouth to speak, but not a word made it beyond the trap in her throat.
"Perhaps 'twas wise of him to speak of such things, now that I see ye are in perfect health. If it was not for his cruel words I might not have come here in such haste, nor would I have discovered what a true fool I had been."
Eliza felt as though she were lifting a heavy weight, struggling and fighting so that she might obtain what she wanted most for the sake of her love. "Sir knight, leave us."
His eyes rounded under his leather cap. "Milady—!"
"Yer presence was required when Sir Ian paid his visit—”
“Ian!” Blaise spat the name.
Eliza ignored him. “—‘Tis not required now. I will call if I have need of yer assistance."
Her voice sailed and seemed to fill the wide room with her authority, consuming the man who wished to protect her from Blaise. He gave a slight bow and left the room, along with every servant and sewing maid who had been inside at the time.
The knight sent her a meaningful look just before shutting the door behind him. He sent another look, more of a glare, to Blaise. A warning for him should he cause any trouble.
Eliza allowed the comfort she felt to embrace her, knowing that, even if what Blaise had to say was not what she wished to hear, there were people nearby who would help her through any pain she had to bare. Could a mere knight even hope to threaten a lord as that man had done to Blaise?
Eliza would have to praise the man’s bravery to her father when he returned.
Blaise stood perfectly still, even when they were alone and the door firmly closed behind him. “I passed Ian on the way here. Though I hadn’t suspected ye would have seen him.”
Eliza shrugged. “He came to make an apology, he seemed sincere, and so I accepted it.”
Blaise’s eyes widened. “Did ye?”
She nodded. “Had I known my father had been keeping him out, I would have arranged to accept it sooner.” She groaned then, pained. “His face allows me to believe he has been punished enough.”
Blaise folded his arms. “Ye need not be made to feel any guilt for his circumstances. ‘Twas not yer fault, what happened.”
Eliza sighed. “‘Twas what he said, but again, I believed him to be sincere, despite what ye believe.” She glared at Blaise, remembering his words to her regarding the matter as he threw her out.
He winced.
She continued to speak before he could say anything. “I have decided that I was indeed, at least somewhat responsible. Ye warned me not to go with him, and I did regardless of that warning, or of his rude behaviour, or my own heart that told me not to go. If I was not so naive, I would not have allowed him to lead me away.”
Blaise shook his head. “Being naive does not put any of the responsibility on yer shoulders.”
Her eyes remained guarded on his. “I would have thought ye would be delighted to know that I am attempting to be responsible for my actions.”
He said nothing. His eyes seemed to move all over her body, or at least, the top of her body that he could see since she still sat at the head of the long table, which blocked his view of the rest of her.
Would the sight of her sagging belly frighten him away and make him rethink his decision to annul their marriage? Eliza steeled her nerves. If that was all it took for him to retreat then she would not mope for someone who
was not enough of a man to accept what he'd done with her.
His hands rubbed his face. "I can see I am not going to get through to ye now. All I care about is that ye're alive." His smile touched his eyes. “And ye look well.”
'Twas not what she expected to hear. "Ye said my father spoke of me as though I were dying. What has he told ye?"
His expression changed from gladdened to angered. "He nearly put me in a grave of my own. Worrying me with talk of yer body swelling, of illness, and a lack of appetite. I came here expecting to find yer weakening body in bed, fading away."
"And this is why ye chose to come here now? To see for yerself that I am not being led by the nose by Death before returning home to arrange for yer annulment?" She gnashed her teeth together. "Well, now that ye have seen I am not about to drop dead ye can be on yer way."
She did not mean for her words to sound cold, but 'twas cold enough for Blaise's hot anger to be snuffed out like a blizzard chasing away the summer sun.
He stepped towards her. She tensed at his approach, fearing he would sight the proof of her pregnancy, but he fell to his knees without once gazing at her middle. The cloth over the table disguised the mound there anyway, and he took one of her hands into both of his without being aware of her condition.
"Come to Graystone with me."
She yanked her hand away. "What?"
He did not rise from his feet. "Come home with me. Be my wife again. I forgive ye for the misdeeds that brought on my attack and I can only pray that ye shall forgive me for sending ye away."
She could barely look at him. His large body kneeling before her, his pride gone, was enough that she believed his words, but if she looked at him she would throw her arms around him and tell him to take her with him.
She desperately itched to do so, but...not yet. "And for calling me a harlot?" She asked softly.
His face burned brighter than the color of his hair. "I curse myself for allowing the word to leave my lips."
She sensed the sincerity and regret clinging to him, but she was not done. She would not remove his guilt from his shoulders until she knew everything. "And, what of Lady Claire?"
Blaise blinked. "What of her?"
She folded her arms. "Ye do not intend to make her yer wife when ye receive yer annulment?"
He shook his head. "I do not intend to make her my wife at all. Ever for that matter. Where did that thought come from?”
She did not want to admit that it came from her father. She had never even met Lady Claire before, yet hearing that Blaise might wish to make her his bride sent such a jealousy through her that she could not reason with. “Who else would ye marry?”
“The idea of an annulment was merely the deranged mumblings of a man lonely for his true wife beside him. As for Claire, I never harboured an interest in her, even before I met ye."
Blaise wet his lips. "I told ye once that ye were the reason I could trust, and I tell ye right now that ‘tis still true."
Warmth spread in Eliza’s chest.
Blaise took her hand again and she allowed him to cradle it. "Before ye taught me trust, I believed in fortune and luck. 'Twas luck that brought ye to me. Aye, ye arranged for my accident, but even though ye sought out a different husband, ye came to me despite my temper."
He wet his lips again, drawing Eliza’s attention to them, and a yearning for his lips against hers, trailing along her body as he used to do, struck her hard.
"Come home with me." He begged.
She did not fight against her eyes when the tears rushed down her cheeks like twin rivers. "Then ye...will not get an annulment?"
He sighed through a smile. "No, I shall never hold the thought again."
Her mouth issued horrible sobbing sounds, and despite her efforts she could not stop the hiccoughing that erupted when her throat opened and closed as quickly as it did.
Eliza hid her face in her arms on the table, wishing they would stop but unable to express in any other way how happy she felt. Her chest became sore with the urge to burst with it.
Blaise took her hand again, but said nothing to her. Her violent sobbing became gentle with time, but he waited until she finished before speaking.
"Ye shall come with me then?"
This time Eliza did throw herself at him. "Yes I will!"
His face erupted in a joyous smile. He pulled her from the bench and made to lift her into the air before halting. Eliza felt him lower her to her feet, then saw the shock on his face as he stared at her belly that sat so noticeably between them.
She swallowed nervously, encouraged only by his tight grip on her hand. Of course that could be his panic. "Ah, yes. I have been meaning to tell ye about this.”
He sank to his knees, his face lost its colour but his eyes never left her stomach.
“Blaise? Blaise! ‘Twill be well. Someone fetch me some wine! My husband is going to be ill!”
Epilogue
Eliza curled her toes as she was leisurely kissed to wakefulness. She opened her eyes and stared up into the twin blue pools that stared back down at her. The thick blanket over top of their heads blocked out most of the light, but she knew 'twas morning.
"'Tis a beautiful morn, my love. Ye should have been awake by now."
She groaned and pushed him away. She would never understand where his infinite energy came from. Of course, he was not the one carrying a heavy child in his womb, a child who seemed far more determined than her first offspring to kick her into submission.
After the birth of their daughter, some years passed before Blaise managed to put another child in Eliza’s belly. Not for a lack of trying on their part. But after so long with no other little ones coming, they had just settled themselves with the thought that they would only be blessed with one. Then it happened again, and Eliza was grateful that she was not alone during the first months like she had been the first time around.
Eliza closed her eyes and pulled a heavy pillow over her head, turning away from the cheeriness in her husband's face.
No sooner had she done so did her back tingle as Blaise's devilish fingers laboured against the hard flesh, taming the stiff muscles until they became happy slop.
She moaned, allowing the pillow to slip from her head as Blaise's lips came to her ear. "Are we to have another day in bed, my love?"
She opened her mouth, and a sound came out but 'twas not coherent even to her own ears, so she nodded. So long as he did not stop rubbing that spot she did not care what they did.
***
Alice quietly shut the door and ran away from her parent's bedchamber. She had been told very strictly from her parents and both her grandfathers that if she were to ever burst in her parent's chamber and find them hidden under the covers, she was to ask no questions, make no sounds, turn about, and leave as quickly and quietly as possible.
The words in which the warning was continually spoken made her curious, but fearful, and she kept to the wishes of her family.
She ran into the great hall and took a seat beside her grandmother, though she didn't seem to notice her presence. Her uncles were attempting to best each other in an eating contest and Marianne was too preoccupied in trying to put their game to a halt to pay any mind to her.
Her grandfather, William, shook his head at the antics of his sons before he took his third son, Jefferey, from Marianne’s arms, allowing her to properly scold Henry and Edward.
The infant made delighted sounds for his father, and William’s hand softened the head of red hair in a gentle motion before he kissed the boy’s head.
Alice’s father had always been particularly pleased that Jefferey had red hair, though she did not understand why. ‘Twas an awful color, and she was always grateful to have inherited her golden locks, though there were some tiny freckles on her nose.
"Will grandfather Nicholas come for a visit tonight?"
Her grandfather turned his eyes away from his children for a moment to address her question. "It has been two days since his last vi
sit, so we can likely expect him since he is overdue."
Alice grinned. Her grandfather always brought her small gifts whenever he came. She enjoyed being spoiled.
"Where are yer parents?" Marianne asked, having finally settled the eating game between Henry and Edward. She took Alice’s blonde hair in her hands and began to braid it.
"I think they are ill again because they were under the covers in bed."
Marianne abruptly halted her actions. Alice looked up as she sent a secretive smile at William, who sent her the same look.
“What is it?” Alice asked.
Her grandmother resumed her work on Alice’s hair. “Nothing ye should concern yerself with. Try not to knock on their door while they are inside. Allow them to come out on their own.”
William lifted his goblet in his free hand to drink. "Then we shall not see them all day, I fear."
THE END
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 (M/M)
Eclipse
The Wolf’s Pack (Sequel to Mate of the Wolf, Coming Sept 2011)
From Noble Romance (As Mandy Rosko)
Angels & Demons (M/M Coming Soon)
From Smashwords
Lady Thief
Lady Deception
Other Projects
