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Tray curbed his flaring temper. “Alyssa, I hadn’t intended on giving you my life story, but I see I must. Two hundred years ago Culver Trayhern was given an earldom in South Wales by the King of England. But he and every firstborn son after him, including my father, Harold, wed Welshwomen. What few drops of English blood were ever in me have been put back into the soil of Shadowhawk long ago. I’m far more Welsh than English, believe me.” He was, but Vaughn wasn’t. Vaughn reveled in his half-English breeding through his mother, the Lady Edwina.
Her mutinous look wavered and then she released a sigh. “I’m so tired…just leave me alone. I want to sleep.”
Tray scowled. At that moment, Alyssa appeared so frail, almost as if she would disappear before his very eyes. He lowered his voice. “Then sleep. I’ll be here when you awake. If you need anything, call. I’ll be in the adjoining room.”
Alyssa slid beneath the covers, her head aching abominably. Sleep was an escape from a man called Tray, whose voice flowed over her like thick golden honey, soothing her ragged nerves.
* * *
It was midafternoon when she awoke. Alyssa lay there a long time, listening for noises. She heard the snort of horses in the distance and the faint bleat of sheep, but the wind distorted the sounds as it gusted against the windows and rattled them beneath its power. A fire crackled nearby and she longed to be able to get up and walk over to it. Fire was always comforting to her. Not that she was cold. No, for once in her life, she was warm. Her fingers moved in a caressing gesture over the smooth texture of the sheet around her. Never had she felt material of such fine quality. So this was how the rich lived? Her father had always told her the English were decadent, that they taxed the poor Irish Catholic farmers out of their land, putting the hard-earned money of the laborers into their own pockets. That money bought such finery as this, Alyssa thought hazily.
Her sharpened hearing caught the sound of heavy boots scuffing across a thick carpet. She stiffened, her lashes lifting.
“How are you feeling?”
The care in Tray’s deep voice dissolved her acid retort. His voice…why did it seem so familiar to her? Her heart gave a little lurch. She tried to speak but found her mouth gummy.
“Water?”
Alyssa nodded and struggled into a sitting position. She heard the water being poured and the familiar sound of his approach. Never had she relied so keenly on her hearing as now.
“Hold out your hands,” he commanded her, “and I’ll place the glass between them.”
She obeyed his instructions. When her fingers brushed his, she froze momentarily. But driven by thirst, Alyssa gripped the glass firmly. He removed his hand and she eagerly drank.
“More?”
She shook her head, holding out the emptied glass. “No, thank you,” she whispered.
Tray smiled tentatively. So, Alyssa could be civil when she chose. Or was it that she had just awakened, her defenses not yet in place? It didn’t matter. Tray made sure he didn’t touch her fingers a second time as he lifted the glass from her hand. After setting it on the sideboard, he moved back to her.
“It’s been a while since your last trip to the water closet.”
Alyssa felt the heat of blush rapidly sweep from her neck up into her face. The scarlet color graced her cheeks and Tray took pity upon her.
“I don’t think Dr. Birch will be angry if I hold your hand and you try a few steps toward the water closet on your own instead of being carried all that way. What do you think?”
Alyssa was so grateful she almost cried. She hadn’t expected any enemy of Ireland to show humanity. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she nodded and lifted her hand outward. The graceful gesture reminded Tray of the ballerinas he had seen performing in London. His mouth compressed and he gently pulled back the covers and gripped Alyssa’s hand firmly in his own.
“Come to the side of the bed and then just rest a moment,” he counseled softly.
Alyssa did so, wildly aware of his powerful, calloused hand surrounding her own, swallowing up her cool, damp fingers. The vibrating tenor of Tray’s voice thrummed through her like a beautifully played Irish harp, and she couldn’t ignore the sudden flutter of her heart in her chest.
“All right, stand, slowly.”
She was weak. More weak than she could ever recall being in her life. But with Tray’s assistance, she stood, wavering, but standing nevertheless. She felt the heat of his body, so close to her own, and suddenly wished that she could see his face. Faces told her so much about a person. And right now, Alyssa felt one part of herself desperately wanting to reach out and trust this stranger, yet she knew she couldn’t.
“How do you know so much about all these things?” she muttered, frowning.
Tray’s laughter was deep and free. “I’m treating you as if you were a newborn foal who is trying to get to her feet for the first time. Have you seen foals? First they push upright on their straight little front legs and then promptly fall back down on their noses. Next, they push with their gangly hind legs, getting to their knees in front.” His voice lowered intimately, heightening her already aware senses. “And then those tiny front legs come up and there they stand, wobbling and wavering on all four feet for the first time in their life. It’s quite a moment.” Amusement laced his voice. “And then the mother will urge her newly born foal to nurse. In this case, we’ll nudge you toward the water closet. Shall we take your first faltering step, little one?”
His voice was a mesmerizing drug, and without a word, Alyssa took her first faltering step forward. A delicious sense of protection and care surrounded her as he called her little one again. She hadn’t the meanness to tell him not to call her by that pet name.
“And another…” Tray urged, and so it went. Alyssa took ten steps before she felt her knees giving way. Her right hand flew out in his direction and he caught her, his arm sliding around her waist, allowing her to fall against him. The shock of her thinly clothed body meeting the masculine hardness of his brought a gasp from Alyssa.
“Easy, Aly, I’m not going to hurt you. Easy…” He slipped his arm beneath her thighs, lifting her up against him.
Alyssa’s muscles tensed. He was a man, and her enemy.
“Ten steps isn’t bad for a first time,” he told her conversationally as he carried her to the marble-tiled bath area, trying without success to ignore her reaction to him. Her once flushed features were now pale and taut, and he could feel Alyssa retreat inside of herself. He gently set her on her feet. Taking her right hand, he verbally laid out the dimensions of the water closet before releasing her.
“Call me when you’re done,” he told her. “I’ll be in the drawing room working at my desk. You may have to raise your voice a bit so that I’ll hear you.”
Tray tore his gaze from her waxen features and those large, haunted jade eyes that tore his soul apart. She didn’t believe a word he had said. Well, what did he expect? Going to his mahogany desk, he took up the quill and forced himself to concentrate on the work before him.
For the first time in almost eight days, the sun broke through the low-hanging gray clouds and its beams cascaded through the french doors, making the blue drawing room come to vibrant life. The warmth felt good and Tray lifted his chin, allowing the sunlight to fall across his face. He preferred being outdoors. Although he did not regret the past week with Alyssa, he missed the fresh salt air and his daily ride on Rasheed along the beach.
His thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of Alyssa, clutching at the woodwork of the doorway in order to stay upright. His chair tipped over as, too late, he raced to catch her before she fell. Alyssa’s auburn hair spilled like a wine waterfall around her face as she crumpled to the carpet.
“You little fool,” Tray breathed savagely, gripping her arms and pulling her upright. “What do you think you were doing? Why didn’t you call for me?” Tray swallowed the rest of his anger as he saw tears form in Alyssa’s luminous eyes as they lifted toward his voice.
“I—I thought you were lying,” she choked. “I thought you were watching me all the time. I couldn’t stand the thought of—of—”
He groaned and knelt with Alyssa in his arms, burying her head against his chest. “God’s blood,” he whispered rawly. “I would never do anything to humiliate you, Aly.” His voice softened. “So you decided to see if I was secretly watching, knowing I would stop you from walking out of there?” Her logic was faultless. Had he been that devious, Tray would rather have admitted his lie than risk her falling. She knew him better than he cared to admit, which was rather unsettling. He didn’t want to be vulnerable ever again. He gave Alyssa’s cheek a gentle caress, his voice coaxing. “You have to learn to trust again. Trust me.”
Belatedly, as he lightly held her in his embrace while she valiantly refused to cry, he remembered what Sean had said: Alyssa had not been betrothed. She would have been protected from men. She was only seven and ten and, until recently, a virgin. She would have been protected from men all her life. At no time would she have had her maidenly privacy disrupted by a man. And now, he was the one to see her in little more than a nightgown and to carry her to and from the water closet. And she lay in his bed. Tray’s mouth quirked in understanding as Alyssa raised her head and pushed away from him. He released her, but only inches separated them.
“Better now?” he asked, his own voice unsteady.
“Y-yes.”
“Tears are the language of the heart. There’s nothing wrong with crying, little one.”
“Men don’t cry. Why should I?” she asked defiantly. “I’m ready to go back to bed.”
He gave her a patient smile. “Sometimes it’s better to cry, to let all your feelings out instead of bottling everything up. You’ve been through a great deal.”
She looked up, a challenging tilt to her chin. “And I suppose you cry?”
“Yes, I have. Several times,” he admitted quietly.
Her eyes widened. “Oh…”
“Do you want to try to walk or do you want me to carry you?”
Alyssa’s lips parted as she considered her answer. Her heart gave a funny twist in her chest. He had given her a choice. Tray could have dragged her back to the bed by her hair, as the sailors had dragged her from the cell, without consulting her on the matter at all. But he had not exerted his male dominance upon her, even though it was in his power to do so at any time. Alyssa tilted her head in confusion, trying to understand this complex man.
“Carry me?” she responded honestly.
Tray rose on one knee, his face thoughtful as he picked Alyssa up. This time she wasn’t so stiff and unyielding in his arms, and when he felt her relax ever so slightly against him, his heart soared. Despite the abuse and pain, there was still a core of trust in Alyssa. Trust. He could have exploded with happiness, but he masked it and said nothing as he deposited her on the safety of his bed once again. Tray helped her with the covers and she lay quietly with her hands in her lap, looking almost serene. Her stomach growled, and she immediately placed her hand across her middle.
“Hungry?” he asked, breaking the mellow silence between them.
“Yes.”
“I’ll have Sorche bring you something to eat.”
“Thank you.”
Alyssa listening to him leave the room, her stomach still rumbling, telling everyone within earshot that she was indeed starved! She had heard the carefully cloaked amusement in Tray’s voice when he had asked her if she was hungry. He could have embarrassed her with a snide comment, but he hadn’t. What an odd man he was!
Again, Alyssa found herself wishing mightily to know what he looked like.
Chapter Five
Alyssa seemed in the best of moods when Tray returned from his long overdue gallop along the cliffs of Shadowhawk. The brisk ride had lifted his spirits, and when he had knocked lightly at Alyssa’s door and heard her voice ring out, his heart pounded briefly. He gave her a smile of welcome, even though she could not see him as he entered the bedchamber.
“You look improved,” he noted, walking over to the fire and warming his cold hands.
Alyssa shyly lowered her head, her fingers nervously entwined in her lap. “Sorche is responsible for that. She chatted with me while you were gone.”
“I imagine she is happy to have someone new to talk to.”
Alyssa nodded. Tray’s voice was lighter, devoid of…unhappiness, perhaps? She licked her chapped lips and mustered the courage to talk with him directly. “Sorche said you own an Arabian horse. Is that true? I’ve heard that they’re very rare. Did you carry us here on one?”
Tray’s eyes lightened and a slight smile hovered around his mouth as he drew up a chair near the hearth and sat down, sprawling his long legs out in front of him. “Ah, I should have expected it,” he baited her. Alyssa lifted her chin and he suppressed the rest of his smile in that fleeting instant in favor of drinking in her unparalleled beauty. The blue silk nightgown she wore brought out the emerald highlights in her eyes and the wine darkness of her hair.
“Expected what?” she challenged, her voice stronger.
“That you would have an interest in horses.”
“The Irish are famous for their love of horses. We can gentle brutes that can’t be tamed by anyone else.”
Tray relaxed and enjoyed her spirited exchange. My God, her face was so expressive, so readable. He found himself wanting to burn those images into his memory. “You won’t get any argument out of me. Sorche told me the Irish have a secret method of taming a horse.”
“We do. And I know that secret.”
One dark eyebrow rose as Tray rested his chin against his hand. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“That wouldn’t be a bit of Irish blarney, would it, Aly?” he teased.
She flushed when he called her Aly. The man was forever giving her pet names! “You don’t believe me?”
“No, I didn’t say that. It’s just that I know there are very few Irish horse tamers who pass on their trade secrets. Especially to a young and beautiful woman such as yourself. Taming a horse is a man’s task, not a woman’s.”
Alyssa’s lips parted in consternation. “A man’s task? Indeed! I’ll have you know that I’ve gentled horses no man could get near!”
Tray’s gray eyes grew light with amusement. “There isn’t an Irishman alive who doesn’t indulge in a bit of stretching the truth. I’m afraid you’d have to prove that to me, little one.”
“I can. I mean I could, if…if I weren’t blind,” she stumbled lamely.
Tray winced as he heard the excitement drain from her voice. “Well,” he soothed, “perhaps when you’re better, and when Dr. Birch says that you can ride, I’ll let you go with me. Would you like that?”
An instant’s hope flickered to life inside Alyssa and then died. He was handing her dreams, only dreams. She bowed her head, muttering, “Sorche said you were an unusual man. But you’re a lord and I’m a commoner. No lord rides with someone like me.”
Tray roused himself, scowling at the truth in her words. “We’ll see,” he said.
Alyssa raised her head, her eyes large and sad. “Please,” she whispered rawly, “tell me what you’re going to do with us. I’m blind and of no use to you. And I’ve heard tales of small boys who are taken to Wales and sent to coal mines, never to be seen again.” She raised her hands in an open gesture toward him. “Are we slaves? Will you send Sean to the mines to die?”
Tray rose, his face ashen as he stared across the room at her. “Did Sorche tell you anything?” he asked tightly.
“Only that you were told to come to the ship and pick up a boy.”
Tray expelled a deep breath and drew a chair near her bed. “I owe you some answers. My half brother, Vaughn, demanded my presence aboard that ship to pick up a small boy who had been captured in the rebellion. Vaughn told me I’d find Sean in the ship’s hold.” His voice softened momentarily. “And I found you there along with him.”
Alyssa swallowed, her eyes unnaturally bright. “Sean told me how you saved me from being killed. The sailors were going to throw me on the cart….”
Tray avoided her gaze. “Anyone would have done the same,” he muttered. “As for what I’m going to do with you, I’d like to return you to Ireland once you’ve fully recovered. Both of you.”
A small cry shook Alyssa and she clasped her hands together. “You mean that?”
“You have my word upon it,” Tray promised grimly, dreading the moment he would have to let her go.
Confusion laced her voice, “You’re so different…”
Tray gave a harsh laugh, crossing his booted feet and staring pensively down at them. “Different? Now you’re being kind. People usually use much different words to describe me, such as devil, or monster.”
“No…they couldn’t. They’re wrong.”
He chanced a brief look at Alyssa and closed his eyes, unable to deal with the compassion he saw flooding her face. “It’s good that you’re blind or you’d agree with them. Just ask Sean. Hasn’t he told you that I’m like a huge, hulking monster, silently treading the halls of Shadowhawk like a satanic effigy?”
Alyssa heard the bitterness in his quiet voice, unable to understand his sudden sadness. “Why, no. He’s frightened of you, but only because you’re English.”
“Welsh,” Tray corrected. “Now, what other questions do you need answered?”
Just the gentle teasing in his voice gave her the courage she needed. “My father, Colin.”
“What about him?”
“He was on board that ship, too.”
“A prisoner?”
Alyssa nodded.
Tray sat up. “Don’t tell me your whole family was caught in the middle of that uprising?” His tone was incredulous.
