Читать книгу Bedded by the Warrior - Denise Lynn, Denise Lynn - Страница 11

Daylight barely filtered through the denseness of the trees when William’s senses alerted him to danger. A quick, but thorough, study of the woods and bramble surrounding them gave no clue to the unease pricking at him. He’d long ago learned to depend on his gut reactions, and while he saw nothing, he was certain they were being followed.

After visually checking on Hugh and Adrienna riding a short distance ahead of them, he glanced across the path at his wife. Her features were as strained as they’d been when leaving Eleanor’s castle. William doubted if her unease was caused by anything more than outrage at being forced to marry him, and her unwitting response to his kisses.

A response that promised him more than words ever could.

He’d heard the rumours about Sarah being the Queen’s whore. How could he not? They were bandied about the court so often that it would have been impossible to miss them.

He hadn’t demanded this marriage out of any feelings he had for the woman. He’d done so to offer her protection and to gain a wife for his keep.

It seemed a good choice for all concerned. She would be spared the horrors of a cell, or the danger of life alone outside the court. And he would have the benefit of a wife without any emotional attachment. In addition he’d gain an experienced woman in his bed, not a simpering, frightened virgin.

Perhaps the appearance of Langsford and Arnyll had been a blessing. It had given him the opportunity to witness Sarah at work firsthand, instead of watching from afar.

He’d heard the men’s voices as they had neared the alcove. Although he had been unable to hear their words, Sarah’s reaction made him aware that she had heard them. At first, her response to his closeness had been tentative.

But the nearer the men had come to the alcove, the louder their voices had become, the more passionate she had acted. For some reason, Sarah had felt it necessary to make certain he hadn’t heard what the men had been saying.

He wasn’t some court dandy that she could ply with her wiles in an attempt to distract him. While knowing that Sarah had secrets so dire she needed to keep them from him did not please him in the least, it had been interesting—near amusing—to discover that turning the tables served to fluster her.

‘What is wrong?’

Sarah’s question startled him out of his musings. ‘Nothing.’

‘Ah, so not only are you thick-headed, you lie, too.’

Certain he couldn’t have heard her correctly, he looked at her, asking, ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I did not live this long without learning to read a person’s expressions.’ She studied him intently, as if looking for something, and then explained, ‘Your frown, the stiffening of your body, and your sudden interest in our surroundings—all tell me that something is wrong.’

‘It’s nothing that concerns you.’

Sarah reached up and flicked a braid over her shoulder. ‘No, of course not.’ She paused to smile and flutter her eyelashes before adding, ‘I am but a simple woman with not a care in the world, nor a useful thought in my head.’

They weren’t in the castle; they were no longer at court. There was no need for her to put on such airs, or take such a snappish tone with him.

William was certain there were two ways to get her to drop her play acting—seduction or an insult. At the moment, seduction would be rather difficult. He stared hard at her and said, ‘Simple woman? No. I am guessing you have all the makings of a shrew.’

Instead of flinching away in shame, or becoming angry, as he had hoped, Sarah’s laughter rang loud, chasing the birds from their perches overhead. ‘Perhaps you might have discovered that before insisting I become your wife.’

Not quite the response he’d expected, but she was right. ‘I imagine there are a great many things I might have discovered about you beforehand…had I the time.’

‘Do not place that blame on me. It wasn’t my idea to wed.’

‘No, but you didn’t argue too much about being discovered in bed with me.’

A faint tinge of red covered her cheeks, but Sarah didn’t turn away. ‘You know that I had a task to perform for the Queen. What other choice did I have?’

She might not have had a choice then, but she had choices now. ‘I find it all rather odd.’

She curled her fingers tighter around the reins, but calmly asked, ‘How so?’

‘Even after Eleanor ordered you from her sight, you ran away from me. I can only assume you went to seek refuge from the Queen. Why is that?’

‘I wanted her to stop this marriage.’ Sarah reached over and briefly touched his arm. ‘It was nothing personal, William. I simply did not wish to be forced into a marriage so quickly.’

He looked down at her hand just as she jerked her arm away. ‘Becoming someone’s wife is very personal.’

‘It need not be.’

‘Some marriages, perhaps. But this one will be.’

‘How so?’

William folded his hands atop the pommel of his saddle. ‘I knew what was said about you when I requested this marriage.’

‘Requested?’ She leaned slightly away and stared up at him. ‘You never requested that I wed you.’

He shrugged. ‘Regardless, I took you as wife, knowing you were the Queen’s whore.’

‘I tried to talk you out of wedding such a woman as I.’

Ignoring her, he continued, ‘In return, I expect little from you.’

‘Then that is what you will get.’

William tightened his fingers around the top of the pommel, holding his temper in check. For whatever reason, Sarah was itching for an argument. If she wasn’t a little more careful, she might get more than what she wanted.

‘You are alone in this world, Sarah. There is no one to take care of you, or to protect you, except me. If you desire that security, you need to learn to trust me. You have no other choice.’

He lifted his gaze to capture hers. ‘Tell me again, how can two people sharing a life, a home, a name and a marriage bed not be personal?’

‘We have shared no marriage bed.’ She held his stare, while adding, ‘Nor will we.’

‘Oh?’ Her direct challenge surprised him. Didn’t she realise he’d not ignore her dare? He wanted to tell her that one day she would be more than willing to come to his bed. But he fought to hold his comment back. Finally, he asked, ‘What makes you think we won’t share a marriage bed?’

All colour left her face at the mere suggestion that she couldn’t stop him. Sarah turned away, stiffened her back and stared out over her horse’s head. ‘You would not force me.’

He didn’t believe he’d have to force her. But why did the idea frighten her so? And she was afraid. He knew what fear looked like from experience. He could see her fear in the stiffness of her bearing, in the paleness of her face and heard it in the hesitant, less certain, tone of her voice.

The need to ease her worries prompted him to move closer, to uncurl her fingers from the reins and take her hand in his. William lifted her hand to his lips and dropped a chaste kiss on her knuckles. ‘I doubt if force would prove necessary, my lady.’

Sarah jerked her hand free. ‘You have a high opinion of yourself, my lord.’

‘Perhaps. But there is not a man alive who would dismiss your challenge.’

‘I issued no challenge.’

‘No? Do you truly think me that naïve?’ At her bewildered look, he explained, ‘Your ruse is as ancient as time. An experienced woman boldly tells a man that she will not share his bed, knowing full well that it will be a challenge he cannot refuse. You have no secrets in that regard. Every man knows she does it intentionally, Sarah, in expectation of eventually losing the chase.’

She parted her lips, then clamped them tightly together without saying a word.

Her reaction baffled him. He expected more of an argument from her. William moved away. His wife was a ball of mass confusion wrapped in beautiful finery.

He glanced sidelong at Sarah again riding silently beside him. A man in his position would never imagine himself wed to one as lovely as Lady Sarah.

She turned briefly to glare at him and he hid a smile of amusement. No battle to the death had made his stomach knot, or sweat bead on his forehead in such a manner. Yet, this little bit of a woman sent his body, and mind, reeling with nothing more than a glance his way.

And when she once again turned away, a cold wind swept over his body, leaving him strangely bereft of warmth. He sighed at this unfamiliar womanly nonsense teasing at him.

After once again surveying the area for someone following them, and finding nothing, William wondered if he’d imagined the feeling of danger.

Maybe their hasty exit from Eleanor’s court, combined with his even hastier marriage, had made his senses overwrought. His weapons were at hand, and Hugh was also well armed. So, for now, William would set aside his worry.

For a more pleasurable distraction, he concentrated once again on his wife. The women in the church were justified in their jealousy. Despite a crooked nose and a thin scar cutting across one eyebrow, Sarah was a vision of beauty.

Besides her blonde hair, the first thing one noticed when looking at her was the vivid blueness of her eyes against the unblemished paleness of her face.

He briefly wondered how many men had wished to drown in those eyes. As his attention retraced her nose and the scar, he realised that at least one man had not wished to lose himself in her gaze. Had that been the reason for her sudden fear of him?

‘What are you looking at now?’

‘You.’

‘Why?’ She swiped a hand across her cheek. ‘Is something amiss?’

‘No, everything is in place. I was just admiring your beauty.’

Sarah’s eyes widened before she schooled her features into a mask of contempt, then turned her face away. The forced look didn’t bother him. He’d witnessed her doing the same thing to others at Eleanor’s court. While they may have been put off by her contemptuous expression and left her alone, he knew exactly what she was doing and wouldn’t be intimidated quite so easily.

‘I cannot believe that none have commented on the fairness of your features.’

‘Aye, they have. When they either wanted something, or were so far gone in their wine that they knew not what they were saying.’

‘I know exactly what I am saying, and I already possess all I desire.’

‘And what is that?’

‘You.’

At his answer Sarah swung around to face him. ‘Me?’ Shock fired her cheeks before she shook her head in disbelief. ‘We just wed, and yet already you count me as one of your possessions?’

William cringed at the idea. He knew what being a possession entailed. ‘That is not what I meant.’

‘But isn’t that what a wife is?’ Her voice rose, and she paused to swallow hard before adding, ‘Just another item to add to your assets?’

‘My assets?’ He shook his head at the absurd statement. His possessions amounted to his weapons, the armour on his back, the horse beneath him, and the promise of gold coin and a keep from King Henry. The weapons and armour he could always count on. The promise, however, was nothing more than words and counted for little. He’d not yet seen the gold, or the keep.

He kept a tight rein on his voice as he answered, ‘Oh, aye, Lady Sarah, that is all a wife is to me. Simply another possession. One to use when, and how, I see fit.’

A red haze clouded her vision. Sarah parted her lips to spew curses at him. Just then she caught sight of a glint of humour in his eyes, and she knew instantly that he’d baited her. She closed her mouth, giving him her fiercest scowl and watched in disbelief as he burst into laughter.

When his mirth calmed, she said, ‘You did that on purpose.’

He cocked an eyebrow at her, and asked, ‘Me?’

‘Yes, you, William of Bronwyn.’

‘Perhaps I did. But teasing you is a far cry from keeping secrets from your husband.’ He reached over and caught her chin before she could turn away. ‘Would you not agree, Sarah of Bronwyn?’

She wanted desperately to close her eyes. To shield herself from the accusation and distrust in his unwavering stare. But to do so would give proof to her guilt. She couldn’t do that. Not yet.

The pouch Lady Elise had delivered from the Queen contained more than a measure of gold. A brief missive had been included. One that only reconfirmed the importance of gaining the information Queen Eleanor wanted.

Sarah willed her eyes to stay open and her breathing to remain calm. It would not be the first time she’d been forced to lie; she could only pray it would be the last time.

For the moment, instead of lying, she thought it best to feign dull-wits. ‘Do I not agree with what?’ She pulled free of his hold. ‘Are you accusing me of something?’

‘You were so afraid I might have overheard Langsford and Arnyll that you thought to distract me with your charms. A dangerous distraction considering you don’t know me well enough to feel that safe in my arms. You can’t deny it.’

The man was far too quick-witted. Sarah realised that staying one step ahead of him was going to prove difficult at best. Eventually, if she did not keep her wits about her, he would discover her guise of whore was nothing more than a fabrication.

She didn’t fear that overmuch, because she doubted if William would be offended to discover his wife was not a harlot. But instinct warned her his reaction would be far from accepting if he learned she continued working for the Queen. Forcing an affronted tone to her voice, she asked, ‘Deny what?’

‘That you are keeping secrets from me.’

‘I can, and do, deny it. What could I possibly gain from doing so?’

‘I know not. I’m waiting for you to tell me.’ He leaned back in his saddle as if content to wait all day for her answer.

He’d wait longer than that. Sarah wasn’t about to tell him anything. She stared directly between her horse’s ears and set her jaw.

William chuckled softly. ‘You can ignore me now, Sarah. But some night in the future, when it’s dark…’ he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers ‘…after the fire has burned low…’ he deepened his voice to a spine-tingling timbre ‘…and we’re wrapped in nothing but each other…’ William leaned across the distance separating them to promise ‘…you will tell me.’