Читать книгу Forbidden Lady - Anne Herries, Anne Herries - Страница 5

‘Melissa!’ Rob cried, shock and despair in his face as he looked at the girl he loved and found her cold and remote, her eyes seeming to look straight through him. ‘You cannot mean it. I beg you, tell me it is not true!’

Melissa stared at a point somewhere beyond his shoulder as she answered, ‘Your suit is unwelcome to me, Robert of Melford. I do not wish to wed you.’

‘Only yesterday you swore that you loved me,’ Rob said, a flash of accusation in his eyes now. ‘You laughed and kissed me and begged me to come here today and speak to your father…’ He took her by the upper arms, his fingers digging into her soft flesh. ‘Now you say you do not wish to be my wife? What has changed you? Tell me!’ In his passion he was so magnificent that she almost broke, but somehow…somehow she kept her body stiff and straight and raised her eyes to his.

‘I was merely playing a game,’ she told him, deliberately making her voice cold and toneless. ‘You are a fool to believe that I would truly wish to marry a man of your order. I am the daughter of a rich and powerful lord—and you are merely the son of a knight.’ Her laughter was false and shrill. ‘How could you think that I loved you? Leave this house now and never return!’

Rob stared at her for a moment longer, hardly able to credit that she was saying these words. Had her father been in the room with them he might have wondered if she was being forced, but they were alone and he had been welcomed to the castle by Lord Whitbread’s steward before being brought here to speak with Melissa. Looking at her now, he saw how proud she was and realised that he had been mistaken about her nature.

‘You laugh, lady,’ he said, his voice harsh as he looked down into her lovely face. She had flawless skin, eyes that reminded him of a clear, mountain pool and red-gold hair that clustered about her face and fell to the small of her back in soft waves—but her words showed she was a heartless witch. ‘But do not forget me—for I shall not forget you and one day…’

He left the threat in the air, turning to stride from the chamber. Melissa remained standing until the door closed and then she sagged, falling to her knees, her hands covering her face as the sobs broke from her. And then the tapestry behind her moved and a tall, heavily built man with a pockmarked face came out from the alcove behind it. Melissa rose to her feet and turned to look at him.

‘Are you satisfied, Father?’ she asked, her heart breaking. Yet pride returned as she met his stern gaze. ‘You will keep your promise to me now that I have sent him away as you demanded?’

‘He shall live, yes.’ Lord Whitbread grunted. ‘I doubt that puppy will come sniffing ‘round here again in a hurry. You did well, Melissa.’

‘And now you will send me to my aunt? You will allow me to live with her in the Abbey—and take my vows?’

Lord Whitbread’s thin lips drew back in a sneer. ‘No, you may not. Take the veil you shall not. For this you would need my permission and I do not give it. In time I shall arrange a marriage for you. One that will bring credit to our family.’

‘But you promised…’ Melissa looked into his eyes and knew that he had lied to her. She had done what he demanded of her but he did not intend to keep his word. She moved towards him as the fear started up in her. ‘Father, you promised that he should be safe if I did what you want!’

‘I promised that he shall live,’ Lord Whitbread told her, his eyes glittering. ‘His life shall be spared, though I do not think he will thank you for it.’

‘What will you do to him?’

‘I have told Harold to have some sport,’ Lord Whitbread said, and his mouth curved in a cruel sneer. ‘You know your brother, Melissa.’

‘He is not my brother!’ Melissa cried. ‘That oafish brute is a bastard and no true…’ She gave a little scream as Lord Whitbread struck her across the mouth and she tasted blood.

‘Get to your room, girl, and stay there until I give you leave to come down,’ he ordered. He moved nearer to her, his face close to hers. ‘Remember that I own you, Melissa. I can do what I like to you—and if you displease me I might give you to your brother for his amusement.’

Melissa shuddered, for she knew that her father loved Harold but despised her. ‘Why do you hate me so much?’

‘Leave me!’ Lord Whitbread thundered. ‘You are lucky that I do not have you flogged for bringing Robert of Melford to my house. Remember, girl, if I ever discover that you have seen him again you will suffer.’

Melissa looked into his face and turned away. As she walked up the twisting stair that led to her solar she knew that she had made a terrible mistake. Her father had been so angry when he learned that she had promised herself to Rob, and he had warned her that if she did not send him away he would kill him. Melissa had obeyed him for she knew that he was a cruel hard man and would have carried out his threat. Now she knew that she ought to have run away and met Rob. She should have begged him to take her away…somewhere that her father and half brother would never find her.

But it was too late. She had seen the pain and anger in Rob’s eyes when she denied her love. She had known that she must be harsh to make him leave her, and for his sake she had used words she knew would cut him to the heart. And now her heart was bleeding for she had lost the man she loved, her only chance of happiness denied her. Her father had promised that she would be allowed to visit her aunt at the Abbey, but now he had decided to keep her a prisoner in her chamber. He meant her to marry a man of his choosing but how could she marry another when she loved Rob?

But he must hate her now. She knew that it was too late to go back and that he would never forgive her for her cruel words. She had played her part well to protect him from her father, who had warned her Rob would die a slow and painful death. So she had done her father’s bidding, and now she had lost the only man she had ever loved.

She took a tiny jade heart from inside her gown, holding it in the palm of her hand, and then she raised it to her lips and kissed it. Rob had given it to her on the day he had taken her to a fair. It was but a cheap trinket, but it meant more to her than all the gold and jewels in the world. She would keep it close to her as a reminder that once she had been loved.

Melissa raised her head proudly. Lord Whitbread had banished her to her chamber and ordered her to stay there until sent for, but one day she would leave this hateful place, though what would become of her she did not know. It did not matter, for it would be better if she had died rather than see the hurt her cruel words had inflicted on the man she loved more than her life.

Rob strode from the manor house, which was a later addition to the castle at Meresham and meant to make life more comfortable, his expression one of anger. How could Melissa’s smiles and sweet kisses have fooled him so? She was beautiful and the scent of her drove his senses wild, but she was as false as she was attractive—and he was well rid of her!

It was as he approached the ancient Keep that several men fell on him. Rob was taken by surprise, but he struggled against them valiantly, knocking two to the ground and winding another before they finally subdued him.

‘What is the meaning of this?’ he cried out. ‘I came here in good faith to ask for the hand of the lady Melissa. I demand that you unhand me now.’

‘And you shall be repaid for your insolence,’ a voice said. ‘My father wishes you to have a token of his esteem. Harris—tie his hands behind him. I want to teach this dog a lesson.’

Rob gazed into the face of the man who had spoken. He knew Harold of Meresham only slightly by sight, but his reputation was common knowledge. He was an oafish lout who took pleasure in the lusts of the flesh and indulged his tastes by inflicting himself on village wenches. However, his most dangerous vice was bullying and he had been known to beat a man near to death for amusement when under the influence of wine.

‘You may do your worst, Harold of Meresham,’ Rob said, meeting his eyes fearlessly. ‘I have done your family no wrong.’

‘Be quiet, dog!’ Harold said, and struck him across the face with a metal bar he had in his hand. It was sharp and cut into his flesh, making the blood spurt. Rob recoiled from the pain of it but could do nothing with his hands tied behind his back. ‘That was for my sister! She told me that you had insulted her and she wanted nothing more to do with you. You are too low for her, Robert of Melford. She will marry into one of the best families in England. How dare you imagine that you were fit to be her husband?’ He was raging now, his eyes staring and spittle upon his lips as he raised his arm and brought his weapon crashing down against Rob’s skull, sending him to his knees. Rob was almost unconscious but he heard the words that decided his fate. ‘Take him out and kill him, Harris. Let it be away from the castle for my father wanted him to live with the knowledge of his humiliation, but I prefer him dead.’

‘Yes, sir. It shall be as you wish.’

Harris grabbed Rob by the arm, making him stand upright even though the faintness was washing over him and he barely knew what was going on. He was dragged away, the pain so overwhelming that he could not think clearly.

‘Come on, fool. You deserve all that you get for thinking that you could insult the lady Melissa!’

Rob’s wits were reeling. He hardly knew what the man was saying. Blood was running down his face, into his mouth and his eyes. He could see nothing as he was hustled away. Harris barked some orders and a horse was brought. Rob was hoisted over its back, his head hanging down to one side as if he were a sack of wheat. Dimly, as from a distance, he heard the drawbridge being lowered and the horse moved forward. Everything was becoming hazy and he felt as if he were falling into a black pit, the sounds of voices fading as he lost his senses.

It was a long time before the blackness began to get lighter. He gradually became aware of a throbbing in his head. He could not see clearly but he knew that he was being carried, not thrown across the horse as before but in a sling between two horses. His mouth was dry and he was feeling very ill, but he was alive—and he should not be alive.

He moaned aloud and a man came to his side, looking down at him. A water flask was put to his lips and he swallowed as a few drops trickled into his mouth.

‘Do not try to talk, sir,’ the man said. ‘They meant to kill you, but I found help and beat them off. There were three of them but they did not know I followed. We shall soon have you home—though I fear that you will never be as handsome as you were.’

‘Who are you?’ Rob asked through cracked lips. ‘Why…’

The man smiled. ‘All you need to know for now is that I am a friend—and that you are safe…’

Rob closed his eyes again. He was alive. The pain was almost unbearable but he would bear it…as he would bear the agony of her betrayal. She had led him on, making him believe that she loved him as he loved her. Oh, God, how he had loved her! But she had betrayed him.

He saw again the triumphant sneer of Harold’s mouth as he struck him across the face, laying the flesh open to the bone.

That was for Melissa. She told me that you had insulted her.

Rob groaned, knowing that the pain of those words and her false laughter would live on long after his wounds had healed.