Lindsey, Johanna - Prisoner Of My Desire

by Prisoner Of My Desire (lit)

  only one direction.

  ?With Isabella?s coming and going, there was no opportunity?

  ?Say no more,? Sheldon interrupted what was in truth a lame excuse.

  ? Tis appalling the treatment you have had from that family, and young Miles,

  the boy must be mad to think he could steal your bride and not die for it. ?Tis

  a shame. I know his father and?

  ?God?s blood, Sheldon, do not put deeds to my hand that have not entered my head.?

  Sheldon stared at him so incredulously, Warrick flushed to the roots of his hair.

  ?You cannot mean to actually let the boy live after the ill he has done you. You?

  Are you feeling quite well, Warrick??

  Warrick was scowling before Sheldon finished, because his friend was absolutely

  serious in his concern.

  ?I am in no wise addled, damn it. Merely do I not care overmuch that the lady is

  lost to me. The alliance stands, since I have now promised Beatrix in my stead.

  Lord Reinard is as satisfied as I with the end result. Verily, what have I lost

  but the lady herself, who was already bespoke in her feelings, so would no doubt

  have turned shrewish on me. In truth, I must thank Miles Fergant for his daring.?

  Again Sheldon just stared, prompting Warrick to growl ?How is your arm, my

  friend? Grown as rusty as mine has these past weeks??

  Sheldon finally laughed.

  ?Do I dare refuse such a pleasantly expressed offer??

  ?I would not recommend it.?

  ?Then have at me,? Sheldon said, drawing his sword.

  ?Just do not suddenly forget that you are forgiving the Fergant whelp. The last

  time you substituted me for one of your enemies, I did not rise from my bed for

  a fortnight.?

  Warrick cocked a brow as he drew his own sword.

  ?That bedridden time lengthens each time you make mention of it. Is it sympathy

  you seek, or a light practice??

  ?The day you give anyone a light practice?

  Sheldon did not finish as he met Warrick?s first swing. The clang of their

  blades joined the others on the field, but soon only the two rang out as their

  men quit their own sport to watch. Rowena watched through the open door of the

  laundry, ignoring the bedding she had brought there to wash. Near the inner gate,

  a messenger who had just arrived was now reluctant to deliver the challenge he

  carried, when he was directed toward the two seasoned knights hacking at each

  other in what appeared mortal combat.

  High on the castle ramparts, Beatrix also watched her father, hoping he would

  trip or err in his offense, thereby making a fool of himself. She was so furious

  with him, she had already slapped two servants and caused her beloved Melisant

  to cry.

  Twas the horrid disappointment in having his betrothed arrive when Beatrix had

  begun to think Isabella never would, and expecting the worst, a wedding within

  days, only to be told a few hours later that her father was not to wed, that she

  was insteadand into that family. The Malduits might have been good enough for

  her father, but she could have aspired to a more lofty title, more power, more

  wealth, an earl at the very least. But nay, she was to have a stripling of a boy,

  only just knighted, who could not hope to inherit for many a year. She would not

  even have her own castle, but was expected to live with her father by marriage.

  Twas intolerable, and all because he decreed it so. She would, must make him

  sorry for it. That he would dare do this to her?

  Warrick sat up slowly, his pride more bruised than his arse. Sheldon stood over

  him laughing, and with good reason. Never in Warrick?s life had he been taken so

  unawares, like a squire with his first wooden sword in hand. Damn that flaxen

  haired wench and her eyedrawing red chemise, not to mention that delectable body

  it covered. He had no more than caught that flash of red out of the corner of

  his eye, just enough to be drawn into looking furtherjust enough for Sheldon to

  knock him off his feet as their blades connected low, the unprepared for impact

  sending him backward, flat on the ground. And now she stood there, having

  stopped across the yard to stare at his ignoble position on the ground, looking

  as if she might be concerned, when ?twas more like she was fighting not to laugh,

  as Sheldon was doing.

  ?You realize, do you not,? Sheldon said ?that my prowess in downing the dragon

  will travel?

  ?Go to hell,? Warrick grunted as he rose to his feet, but added with a tight

  smile ?Or better yet, do you care to try that again??

  Sheldon backed up, still grinning.

  ?No fool stands before you, friend. I will take my laurels and quit whilst?

  ?A messenger, my lord,? Warrick?s bailiff interrupted at that point.

  Warrick turned impatiently to the messenger, noting that he was too clean to

  have traveled very far. He took the rolled parchment handed to him without the

  least change in expression to indicate that he recognized the seal.

  The messenger waited to repeat the words that he had set to memory, but the Lord

  of Fulkhurst had no need of them, as he was reading the missive himselfor

  pretending to, the man thought, smirking to himself. He assumed this since the

  lord was not reacting properly to his master?s words of challenge. He was no

  longer nervous either, after witnessing the Lord of Fulkhurst?s clumsiness on

  the field. The feared dragon of the north obviously depended on his men to win

  his battles for him.

  The messenger was less sure of that opinion when Warrick met his gaze directly

  with the most chilling gray eyes he had ever encountered. The renowned dragon

  had a cruel look about him, too, damned if he did not.

  ?If your lord is so eager to die, I will oblige him, but at my leisure. You will

  have my full answer anon.?

  And with a wave Warrick dismissed the man.

  Sheldon barely waited for the man to turn away before he asked with lifted brow

  ?Is it anyone I know whom you mean to dispatch??

  ?You do not know him, but you have certainly heard of him. Tis d?Ambray, and

  with a new change in tactics. He now requests we meet at Gilly Field two days

  hence to end the war between us with individual combat.?

  Sheldon whistled through his teeth.

  ?The man must be as lacking in wits as his father was, to think you would not

  know Gilly Field is a ripe setting for trickery. I had heard the same challenge

  was issued to Walter Belleme, the old Lord of Tures. But when Belleme rode out

  to accept, he was ambushed and murdered. Twas how the d?Ambrays gained Tures and

  all it entails.?

  ?I am aware of that,? Warrick replied.

  ?And I have taken that prize from his collection. I had even entertained the

  thought of letting him have the peace he sued forafter Ambray Castle is lost to

  him.?

  ?So that is your next campaign, his own stronghold??

  ?Aye, but obviously I delayed too long in the taking, giving him ample time to

  consider treachery as an alternative.?

  ?Mayhap, though you must admit, Warrick, that you are not an easy foe to stop

  once you set out to destroy an enemy. Tis well known that no one prods the

  dragon without getting burned. It has made more than one man consider murder

  instead of fair means to defeat you, e
specially when Stephen will not lift a

  hand against you.?

  ?Why should he? Half my enemies are his enemies, and he delights that I rid him

  of them without cost to him.?

  ?True,? Sheldon agreed, then asked curiously ?Were you serious, that you would

  not have destroyed d?Ambray completely??

  Warrick shrugged, looking again toward the spot where Rowena had stood, but was

  now gone.

  ?Mayhap I am growing tired of constant war. Too many things have been neglected

  in the pursuit of it. My daughters have lacked proper guidance, my lands are

  barely known to me. God?s blood, I traveled warily across Seaxdale to reach

  Tures and did not even know ?twas my own fief. And I have neglected the getting

  of a son?

  ?Oh, aye, and you are so old that ?tis nearly too late to?

  ?Go to hell, Sheldon.?

  The older man chuckled before his expression turned serious again.

  ?I am sorry about Isabella. I know you were pleased in your choice of her.?

  Warrick waved that aside.

  ?Verily, I should be furious with the lady, and with her father for forcing her

  into deceit when he knew her heart was well set on another. But instead I feel

  almostreliefto have it ended, particularly since ?tis plain that she would not

  have suited me as well as I had thought.?

  ?And mayhap you have someone else in mind already to replace her??

  It took a moment for Warrick to realize whom Sheldon referred to, but then he

  scowled.

  ?Nay, you are mistaken. Never would I honor that little witch with?

  ?Aye, you wouldif she gives you the son you desire.?

  A picture of Rowena with a babe in her arms came to Warrick?s mind and filled

  him with such longing he was shaken by it. But the precepts he had lived by for

  half his life had refused to let anyone escape retribution after doing him a

  harm, much less benefit in the end.

  He shook his head adamantly.

  ? Tis inconceivable that?

  But Sheldon held up a hand, interrupting yet again.

  ?Speak not words that you will then feel forced to adhere to.?

  And before Warrick did so anyway, he added ?I will see you anon, my friend.?

  Warrick stared after Sheldon with his darkest scowl yet. There had been times

  when he had regretted that his manner kept him almost friendless, except for

  Sheldon, who had known him from before his tragedies and understood what drove

  him. Then there were times when he was quite certain ?twas better to be

  friendlesslike now.

  Chapter 32

  Warrick was not in one of his better moods when he entered the hall late that

  afternoon. And there was Emma to remind him that he had not yet seen to the

  matter of her transformation. He called her to him now as he headed for the

  empty hearth area. There were only two chairs amongst the many stools, reserved

  only for him and his guests, or for his daughters. That he motioned Emma into

  one of them as he took the other brought a wary look to her face, and made him

  realize that she did not consider herself a member of his family any more than

  he had ever thought of her as such.

  That he thought of it now did not bother him unduly. Bastards were a fact of

  life, and very few ever rose above the stigma of their births or the serfdom of

  their mothers, unless they had a royal sireor no legitimate siblings.

  Emma was, as far as he knew, his only bastard, if he did not count the one

  growing in Rowena?s belly. Though she must be nigh six and ten, he had only

  known of her existence these past few years. Possibly he would have done better

  by her if he had given her more thought, but he had rarely been home since she

  had come to his attention, and rarely had he had other than war on his minduntil

  now.

  He stared at her, noting what Sheldon had so easily seen, that she was indeed

  more like him than either of his other two daughters. There was strength in her

  face and bearing which the other two lacked. Even her eyes and hair were exactly

  the shades that his were, except whereas his eyes could be coldly chilling and

  most times were, hers held a warmth that lent a certain beauty to her face.

  He noted also that she did not fidget under his direct regard. Had he stared at

  Melisant this long without speaking, she would have burst into tears. Beatrix

  would have started volunteering excuses for whatever she had recently done wrong,

  without waiting to hear an accusation made. Emma just quietly sat there and

  stared back at him, though she was unwise at ease. Courage, then, that he had

  not expected. Mayhap she would do well for young Richard after all.

  Warrick did not think to ease lightly into the subject. His first words to her

  were ?Sheldon de Vere has a son who wants you.?

  ?Is it Richard you speak of??

  He nodded.

  ?Had you knowledge of his intent??

  ?None.?

  ?But I take it you have had some converse with him, else he would not have asked

  specifically for you.?

  ?He has sought me out each time he comes here with his father.?

  ?To steal kisses, no doubt.?

  Warrick snorted.

  ?Are you still a virgin, girl??

  Her cheeks pinkened, though her gaze remained locked to his, and her lips turned

  down at the corners.

  ?No man here will even look at me, for fear of you.?

  Warrick grinned at her chagrin.

  ?I am pleased to hear it. Richard will no doubt be even more pleased. But before

  I agree to give you to him, you will have much to learn so you will not bring

  shame to his family.?

  She stared at him incredulously.

  ?You intend to have me taught the ways of a whore??

  He frowned.

  ?What have I said that could lead you to think so??

  ?You say he wants me and you intend to give me to him. If not as his leman, then

  what??

  Warrick?s lips turned down in disgust, but at himself.

  ?I suppose I cannot fault you for thinking so. But ?tis his wife you will be, if

  you can be taught the ways of a lady.?

  ?Wife?? She merely mouthed the word without sound, her surprise was so great.

  But when the implications of that word fully sank in, her face lit up with a

  radiant joy, her smile nigh blinding.

  ?To Sir Richard?? r.

  ?If? he started to reiterate, but she would have none of that.

  ?There is no if, my lord. Whatever needs be learned I will learn. Doubt it not.?

  For the first time in his life, Warrick felt pride in one of his children,

  something he had not expected to know until he had a son. Her determination he

  did not doubt. Her capability, however, remained to be seen.

  But for her sake, he wanted her to succeed. To that end, he was now reluctant to

  order Rowena to the task of teaching her. Rowena?s current behavior might not

  speak of held grudges, yet was there much that he had done to her that she might

  still resent. He had done naught that had not been deserved, yet the way a woman?s

  mind worked was not to be trusted. The possibility was there that she might

  teach Emma incorrectly just to get even with him.

  ?Lady Roberta wouldst be the likely choice,? he remarked thoughtfully, but

  before he could state why she would not be acceptable, Emma did.


  ?She would not do it,? Emma said, some of the radiant glow leaving her face.

  ?She despises me, andand I am not so sure she knows aught more than stitchery.

  Tis all she finds important?

  Warrick?s chuckle cut her off.

  ?There is much to be said for a fine stitch, but I mention the lady as the

  likely choice only in that she is already employed in that capacity, and so ?twould

  be idealyet do I agree that she would object to teaching you. As an alternative,

  I believe Rowena can help you in this area do you ask her.?

  ?But she has so many duties now? She did not finish because he was frowning

  again, and he was frowning because he had not realized he had overburdened the

  wench. Rowena had said nay, that she was not being overtaxed in her laborsyet.

  But had she lied to him? What did he know of servants and what was considered a

  normal work load? He had never had the directing of anyone other than his men.

  But now that he thought of it, even Mistress Blouet had looked at him strangely

  when he had mentioned everything that he wanted Rowena to do. All he had

  considered at the time was to give her tasks that he felt she would object to,

  because they were as near to wifely duties as he could think of. Putting her in

  the weaving room had merely been an afterthought so it would not appear that she

  served only him.

  ?Her other duties will be lightened to give her ample time to devote to youif

  she agrees to the task.?

  ?I will be most grateful for her help, but should you not be the one to approach

  her on this matter, rather than I??

  Warrick grunted.

  ?She would not do me any favors, Emma, and for me to insistsuffice it to say,

  you are like to get more from her in asking than I would get for you in ordering

  her to teach you.?

  It occurred to him, finally, that his daughter had not once questioned his

  choice of tutor, and he asked ?You knew she was a lady??

  ?Twas Emma?s turn to frown with her correction.

  ?But she still is. Tis not something you can take from her merely because you?

  She blushed, amending ?I am sorry, my lord. Was no one to guess? We have

  wondered why you treat her so, but ?tis your affair.?

  The censure in her tone had him nearly growling.

  ?Exactlymy affair and not to be questioned, so wonder about it no more.?

  But he knew before he finished speaking that ?twas guilt that had struck a sour