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As she watched the moon appear at the edge of a cloud, it occurred to her that if there was anything impressive about Montmorency Castle, it was the master, not the place itself.
Sir Roger de Montmorency was not quite what she had anticipated, either. He was as vain and arrogant as any man, but in his case, not without some cause. Nor was it a surprise that he expected unwavering obedience.
She sighed softly. She was used to such expectations, which did not mean she intended to give in to them. Or to him. For too long she had been at the mercy of others. She had learned to endure in silence and to pray for the day when she would be free.
But what freedom was there for an unmarried woman? None, she had discovered after her father’s death, and even less respect. She was merely a valueless commodity to be disposed of in marriage with the least trouble possible, or sent to the seclusion of a convent.
Marriage had seemed by far the lesser of two evils. As a nobleman’s wife, she would at least share in the respect due her husband.
Sir Roger obviously demanded and commanded a great deal of respect, so her plans were being fulfilled in one way. However, it remained to be seen if he could earn such a response from her. Thus far, she didn’t find that likely.
Still, things could be worse, she reflected as she walked back to the brazier. Sir Roger had ambition, another quality she had wanted in a spouse. It had to be ambition that would cause him to join with the Chilcotts, whose greatest asset was not wealth or power but the value of their ancient name. She was ambitious, too, or at least eager to better her lot.
She could also appreciate her future husband’s self-control, perhaps better than any other noblewoman. Despite his anger, Sir Roger had not hit her. Her father would have beaten her for considerably less aggravation, but then, her father often beat her for nothing at all.
A greater mystery, perhaps, was what Sir Roger made of his bride. She had angered him, and he had understood all too well that she acted not as she truly felt in the hall below, but as might be expected of a woman in her position. It was something new to discover that somebody had seen through her deception.
She recalled the unexpected tone in Sir Roger’s voice when he asked who had scarred her back. He had sounded angry, yet it was a different kind of anger, as if he wanted to punish the person responsible.
Or was it pity? She frowned and crossed her arms. She didn’t want or need pity. She wanted a place in the world. And she wanted respect.
Mina went toward the bed. She surveyed the linens and lightly brushed her hand over the fine coverings. Her gaze roved over the other furnishings, simple but finely made, chosen with a discerning eye. The hour was growing late, and she suddenly realized she was exhausted. She blew out the candles and prepared to get under the covers.
Then she heard a woman’s giggle and a man’s low voice in the corridor. Sir Roger’s voice, she thought. Curious and quite used to listening at doors to avoid future trouble, she got out of bed, drew the coverlet around herself again and opened the door a crack, peering along the corridor. Someone had taken the torch from the iron bracket outside her door and doused it in a nearby bucket of sand, so the only light was provided by another torch flickering near the spiral stairs.
Mina could discern two shapes, one a woman with her back against the wall, the other, larger one obviously a man—and obviously Sir Roger. The woman laughed, low and guttural, as she slid her slender arms up his muscular ones. “I thought you were planning to do without,” she whispered, and Mina recognized Hilda’s sultry voice.
Sir Roger’s bride turned away and closed the door softly, her mouth a hard, grim line.
Roger removed Hilda’s hands from his shoulders. “No,” he said quietly but firmly. “It’s finished between us.”
Hilda gasped, and even in the darkness he could see the panic in her eyes.
He suspected she had been waiting for him, to see where she stood now that he was to be married. He had no intention of punishing a woman who had pleased him by sending her away from her home. “You need have no fear,” he said. “You may remain as a servant in the hall.”
“I can’t, my lord!” Hilda protested, starting to weep and covering her face with her hands. “She’ll not allow it! She hates me already, I think. The looks she gives me! She knows about us, or guesses—and rightly, too, as you well know. I’ll have to leave here!”
Roger grasped Hilda’s upper arms and waited until she uncovered her tear-streaked face. He spoke slowly and deliberately, so that she would hear his sincerity. “I say that you may remain in this castle. You are a good woman, Hilda, and a fine servant. No one may force you to leave. Do you understand?” He thought of the stern condemnation he himself had received from Mina Chilcott’s censorious eyes. He let go of Hilda and stepped away. “Nevertheless, you had best keep your distance from me in the future.”
Hilda nodded and smiled tremulously. “I...I will, my lord. Thank you, my lord.” A little of Hilda’s usually seductive manner asserted itself. “We had some good times, didn’t we, Sir Roger? If she don’t treat you right—”
“I will be faithful to my wife, Hilda.”
“Yes, my lord. I should have known.” She sighed again as she turned to walk away. “I hope you’ll be happy, my lord.”
Roger didn’t answer. What was there to say?
“Would you be so kind as to order an escort for me?” Mina asked Sir Roger as she joined the men at the high table the next morning to break the fast. The mass had been mercifully brief, yet something of a trial, for Father Damien mumbled and even fell asleep at one point.
A seat had been left vacant for her beside Sir Roger, she noted, which was an improvement from the previous evening. Sir Albert sat beside the empty chair, and again she was warmed by his pleasant countenance and kind smile. Reginald sat to Sir Roger’s left, and seemed rather overwhelmed by his host, to judge by the constant ingratiating grin on his face.
As for Sir Roger, she did not really know what his expression might be, because she did not deign to look at him after the first glimpse, which had made her blush and remember all too well the last time she had seen him, when he’d been enjoying his lustful rendezvous with the serving wench. Apparently she was more ashamed of his conduct than he.
The unbridled arrogance of the man, to practically make love with another woman right outside his betrothed’s bedchamber door! She would be relieved to be away from him.
“I wish to ride out today,” she announced, “since the storm has ceased. We were unable to see the land around the castle last night in the rain and the dark.”
“I cannot waste my time riding about the countryside,” Sir Roger said brusquely and not unexpectedly. “I have business to attend to.”
Mina was glad the hall was not as crowded as last night. She didn’t particularly want everyone to see the curt manner with which Sir Roger treated her. “Of course,” she answered with seeming affability. Truly, she didn’t desire any company. She wanted to get away by herself, as she often did when she was dispirited, which had to be because of the tiring journey in yesterday’s rain and the unfamiliar bed, nothing else. “You must oversee the repairs to the bridge,” she continued just as pleasantly, “as well as any other edifices that may have crumbled in the storm.”
Hilda sauntered by the table and set a platter of bread and fruit in front of her. “And perhaps you are tired,” Mina added innocently.
Sir Roger gave her a black and questioning look, and Hilda scurried away. Mina kept a sly, triumphant smile from her face as she took an apple and bit into it, enjoying the sweetness and juiciness of it.
“I will be happy to—” Sir Albert started to offer.
“I need you,” Sir Roger interrupted.
“I thank you for your concern, Sir Albert,” Mina said with a smile, “but I am quite comfortable going out alone.” She daintily dipped her fingers in a bowl of scented water beside Sir Roger and delicately wiped them on her napkin before rising. “Good day, gentlemen. I shall look forward to your gracious company at the evening meal, when I have returned from my ride.”
“I will not provide an escort,” Sir Roger reiterated.
“I understood you the first time, sir,” she replied evenly. She caught sight of Reginald, who was desperately shaking his head and winking as he tried to warn her to acquiesce to Sir Roger’s wishes.
She could easily ignore her half brother.
Sir Roger shot a glance at Reginald, who flushed bright red and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Mina, perhaps it would be better if you were to stay here today. It was a long and difficult journey, and the rest will do you good.”
“How kind of you to think of my well-being, Reginald. I appreciate it all the more for its rarity. Now I bid you a good day,” she replied, curtsying with maidenly modesty.
Roger wasn’t deceived. He saw her slightly stubborn smile and the hard gleam of determination in her eyes.
He recognized that look on her face. The best knights had it, for it revealed an unyielding desire to win in any situation. Inflexible fortitude was an admirable quality in a nobleman—but certainly not in a woman. There was only one kind of desire he wanted in a woman.
Then Mina Chilcott swept out of the hall without so much as a backward glance. God’s blessed blood, she was like no woman he had ever met before. Thank God.
Reginald cleared his throat again. “There, you see, my lord,” he said eagerly. “She can be reasonable.”
“Good,” Roger replied, but he was far from convinced that Mina Chilcott had any intention of obeying either him or Reginald. That smile, that superior little smile—the man who had trained him in the arts of war had always smiled like that when he expected Roger to fail, and that smile had too often proved prophetic. He had come to hate that smile of Fitzroy’s very much.
“If you excuse me, my lord,” Reginald said, “I have not much of an appetite this morning.” He got up and wandered in the general direction of the outer door, then into the courtyard.
“If he consumes that much when he has little appetite, I fear for the contents of my larder,” Roger said sarcastically.
Albert shifted in his chair. “Your betrothed has spirit, my lord,” he offered. “Very stimulating, and surely suggestive of a passionate nature, too.”
Roger looked at his friend with some surprise. “What’s this, Albert? I haven’t heard you comment on a woman in years.”
“And you seem to be going to great effort to be unpleasant,” Albert noted.
“I am the way I am,” Roger replied. “If she’s going to be my wife, she had better get used to me.”
“I’ve seen you be quite charming toward other women, Roger,” Albert chided gently. “I should think you would make an effort for your betrothed.”
“It is precisely because she is my betrothed that there is no need for any exertion on my part. She will be in my bed on our wedding night whether she wants to be or not. Or whether I want her or not, for that matter.”
“You are a heartless creature, Roger!” Albert said with very real dismay.
“I am the way I am,” Roger repeated coldly, getting to his feet. If he had no heart, that was not his fault. It was God’s, or fate, or the whim of nature that had taken his parents from him too soon. And it was the fault of his parents’ friends, who had decided it was best that Roger go to Castle Gervais to learn the ways of knighthood while his sister Madeline was sent to a convent.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Albert said. “I just thought you could be a little friendlier to her. I’ve heard some things... I don’t think she’s had a particularly easy life.”
Roger thought of the scars on Mina’s back, and although to a casual observer his face would have seemed expressionless, Albert saw that his words had affected his friend.
“Very well,” Roger said. “I will make an effort to be polite, if that will please you.”
“It will, indeed.”
Roger gave Albert the ghost of a grin as they headed to the door. “I daresay it’s quite a trial shepherding Reginald.”
Albert chuckled companionably.
“We had best see what damage the storm brought about,” Roger said. “I am especially concerned about the mill. If the water was strong enough to ruin a bridge, it might have damaged the wheel.” He halted abruptly when he looked into the yard.
Mina Chilcott, attired in a long blue cloak that made her chameleon eyes look like the sky in the first days of spring, sat upon her horse with absolutely no escort in sight. Her mount was a brokendown nag who had obviously seen better and younger days, quite a contrast to the splendid stallion Reginald rode.
Reginald hurried up behind them. “I say, Mina!” he called out nervously. “I won’t give you an escort, you know.”
“Don’t fret, Reginald,” she said with an infuriatingly cool smile directed at Roger. “Unlike some people, I have learned to do without.”
Roger stared at her, very well aware that Hilda had used similar words when she had waylaid him in the corridor the previous night.
He marched toward Mina Chilcott. He would not provide an escort, and no woman—not even this one—should ride alone and unprotected. Before-he could reach her, however, she kicked her horse’s side and went galloping out of the gate, the beast moving with more speed than he would have thought possible.
“Stop!” Roger shouted, running a few steps after her, but she either didn’t hear him, or, more likely, ignored him and rode on.
“Saddle my horse!” he called to one of the lads gawking out of the stable door, suddenly cognizant of the humiliating spectacle he had made of himself. When the boy rushed to do his bidding, Roger turned and glared at Reginald. “Your sister has seen fit to disobey both of us,” he said through clenched teeth. “I am going after her and when I find her, I fully intend to make sure she understands that was not a wise decision!”
Chapter Three
Mina smothered a pleased laugh as the troop of mounted men thundered past her hiding place in the grove of beech trees beside the road. She could see well enough to catch the grim expression on Sir Roger’s handsome face, and the frightened one on Reginald’s. He hated a pace faster than a walk, so this headlong gallop after her had to be terrifying.
Poor fellow! There was no need for Sir Roger to insist upon his presence, for she was quite sure Reginald had been compelled to go either by a direct order, or the force of Sir Roger’s malevolent glare.
The other soldiers simply looked intent upon keeping up with their lord. She could well imagine the harsh words with which Sir Roger would upbraid them if they fell behind.
When the sound of the horses disappeared in the distance, Mina took off her stiffened headband and wimple and walked her horse along a narrow path through the unfamiliar woods. The land around the rise on which the castle stood was flat and even, but a short distance away, the forest began, as well as the slight swell of rounded foothills. Squirrels scampered overhead, and she caught the occasional call of a jay nearby.
As she continued on her leisurely journey, she realized her future home was located in very pretty countryside. The path wound close to tended fields, and she could hear snatches of conversation among the peasants. They spoke of the coming harvest and their families, and they made jokes. Sir Roger must be a good lord, she thought, or she would hear complaints and grumbles from people thinking themselves unheard by anyone from the castle.
Soon she reached a babbling brook, its banks covered with purple scabious, ladies’ bedstraw and rushes. She bent down to drink the clear and delicious water. Sitting back on her haunches, she sighed contentedly, taking in the beauty of her surroundings and her few moments of peace. Long ago she had learned to savor such rare moments, and to store them in her memory to recall again when her life grew more difficult.
How many more such solitary rambles would she enjoy? Very few, probably, unless she could convince Sir Roger that they were safe and enjoyable to the point of being a necessity. That might be possible, although she was quite certain that Sir Roger would never see it that way. Surely he never stopped to admire a lovely, sunny summer’s day, or watch the birds and squirrels preparing for the winter.
Was there anything he enjoyed simply for the pleasure it gave him? She could easily think of one thing, she realized with a frown, her mood spoiled by the remembrance of Hilda in her betrothed’s arms. Yes, that no doubt gave him pleasure. But did it give him peace?
Wrapped in her thoughts, she slowly walked the horse back toward the main road, stooping periodically to pick a bouquet of wildftowers. How sweet they smelled, the various scents blending in the warm air with the odor of the thick carpet of earth and leaves beneath her feet.
A rabbit peeped cautiously out of the undergrowth, making Mina smile. Was it a mother rabbit looking for food? Or a male rabbit looking for a mate?
Suddenly the rabbit dashed across the pathway as if it had been frightened. Then Mina heard the sound of horses on the road.
As she suspected, it was Sir Roger, Reginald and the soldiers. Since she had accomplished her goal, she did not try to conceal herself.
“Mina!” Reginald called out, relief in his voice as Sir Roger gave the signal to halt. “Where have you been?”
“Picking flowers,” she answered calmly, ignoring Sir Roger’s glare. The other soldiers shifted nervously in their saddles. “There was no need for alarm.”
Sir Roger swung down from his horse and marched toward her, his frowning lips matching his glaring black eyes. “It is dangerous for a lady to ride out alone.” His forbidding gaze seemed to bore into her.
“Really, Sir Roger? Your lands are not safe? Outlaws do not tremble to hear your name?”
Roger stared at this foolish young woman with the limpid eyes who dared to imply that he could not maintain the safety of his people. “No forest is safe for a lone woman.”
“Of course. How stupid of me to forget.”
She went to go past him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her close. Her horse’s reins fell from her hand, and the flowers she carried in the other were crushed against his chest. “You are not stupid, but you are a lady. And if you want to be treated as one, I suggest you act like one.” He pulled her even closer, so that her breasts were pressed against his hard chest. “Or would you rather I did not treat you like a lady?” he whispered huskily. “I could, you know. Do you think that simpleton Reginald would come to your aid if I dragged you off into the trees. Or perhaps that is what you would like?”
“You would not dare—”
“I dare whatever I like, my lady. This is my land, and you are to be my wife. If you do not wish to anger me again, I suggest you do as you are told.”
“Or you will what? Rape me?” she demanded, her voice low so that the others could not hear, but so intense he couldn’t doubt the passion and the conviction behind them.
She twisted away from him as he gaped at her, stunned by her blunt words. He had only been trying to frighten her into obedience.
“My lord, I can believe you are capable of anything , and if I am to act like a lady, might I suggest you act like a gentleman?” She tossed the destroyed flowers aside and crossed her arms. “You are right about Reginald. I know that as well as you do. Better, I daresay. Rest assured, Sir Roger, when we are married and in public I will be a docile, obedient wife. But do not ever try to take me against my will, because if you ever attempt to destroy the one shred of dignity I have left, you will regret it.” She grabbed the trailing reins of her horse and moved to mount.
He yanked her around and her gaze darted from his strong, lean fingers on her arm to his stern face. “You are hurting me, Sir Roger.”
He let go of her. She mounted quickly and spurred her horse into a gallop, heading down the road toward the castle.
Roger stalked to his waiting horse, too angry and distressed to notice the curious, astonished expressions of the others. God’s blood; she had surprised him—and not just with her words.
A woman who was not afraid of him, even at his most domineering. How did she get that way? From what source did that incredible resolve and the fierceness in her glowing gray eyes come? She was undeniably shocking. Even more surprising, perhaps, was his other reaction.
He liked her. He admired her poise and her assurance. More importantly, he could respect her.
