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“My lord, Sir Justin,” she said. “How kind of you to visit me again, so soon.”
The words had their intended effect, despite her gentle manner, and Justin inwardly cringed. He felt like a damned dog, sitting by her door night and day, and could only imagine how Lady Evelyn felt—probably like some prize calf at a fair being handed away to the highest bidder. She’d borne the matter admirably, and much more kindly than he would have done. Finding herself so suddenly betrothed to a complete stranger by the duke of Gloucester’s command must have been, for a beauty of her renown, quite an unpleasant shock. Until now she’d held court to an impressive assemblage of admirers, every one of them more suitable as a husband than Justin knew himself to be.
She was beautiful, educated, intelligent. At least Hugh had done that much in choosing a wife for him. And yet, Justin wondered if Lady Evelyn knew what she would lose if she married him. Talwar, with its simple comforts that appealed to Justin’s own nature perfectly, was like a stable compared to the grand wealth of this home where Lady Evelyn had been raised. Was that why she so firmly resisted the match? He was afraid it was only a small part of the reason.
“Thank you for receiving us, my lady,” he said, adding to her father, Baron Hersell, Sir Myles, “and thank you, my lord, for your long suffering in this unusual matter.”
Then, aware that the action would probably be viewed as extraordinarily rude, Justin walked past Lady Evelyn and Sir Myles, fully ignoring their surprise, and strode across the room to where another lady, dark-haired and plainly dressed, sat at a small table behind a stack of large leather-bound books. Seeing his approach, which she’d clearly expected even less than Lady Evelyn and Sir Myles, the girl flushed brightly and clumsily slammed shut the particular book in which she’d been making entries.
“Lady Isabelle.” Justin took the cold fingers she shakily proffered. Her heavy skirt caught beneath her chair as she awkwardly attempted to stand, causing her to stumble forward. Justin set a hand upon her waist to steady her, and the girl’s color became a fiery red.
“Sir Justin,” she murmured with what sounded like horror, her sapphire eyes wide.
Justin bowed over her hand. “It is a pleasure to see you again. I hope this day finds you well?”
“Oh, yes. Yes. Thank you.”
“Will you have a glass of wine, my lord?” Lady Evelyn asked behind him, displeasure clear in her tone.
Justin smiled into Lady Isabelle’s worried eyes. “Will we have the joy of your company, as well, this day, my lady?” he asked, holding fast the fingers that she attempted to tug free.
“Oh—I don’t think—”
“I fear that my niece is too occupied with her work to join us, Sir Justin,” Sir Myles stated over Justin’s shoulder. “Isn’t that so, Isabelle?”
“Isn’t she always?” Justin murmured, too low for anyone but Lady Isabelle to hear. He released her and stepped away, turning to Sir Myles with a pleasant smile.
“Have you received the satisfaction you sought from the duke?” he asked as they walked together toward the table where Lady Evelyn was filling golden goblets with wine.
“I regret to say, my lord, that I have not. I spoke with Duke Humphrey yesterday, as I promised you I would, but I remain unconvinced of the legality of his dictates. To that end, I’ve sent a missive to France for the duke’s brother, John of Lancaster.”
Justin’s brow furrowed. “John of Lancaster? How can he have any say in the matter? His concerns are only for France, as England’s regent there. Surely he would not gainsay the duke of Gloucester in any such domestic matter as this.”
“This may be true,” the baron admitted kindly, accepting the goblet his daughter handed him. “Nonetheless, I will await word from him until I make my final decision.”
“But that may be many weeks, my lord. I have been commanded to wed before this month finds its end, three days from now, else I lose all that I hold as my own.”
Sir Myles’s smile never wavered. “I understand, my lord, and I appreciate your concerns, but I cannot—will not—force my daughter to wed you or any man unless she freely consents to do so. It was her mother’s final wish that Evelyn be allowed to have a husband of her own choosing. ’Tis an oddity, s’truth, but I gave my oath of honor and cannot turn from it.”
Justin’s steady gaze moved to Lady Evelyn’s lovely face. “And you, my lady. Every day for the past month I have come, asking the same question. Has your heart experienced a change since yesterday? Do you have a different answer for me?”
The expression in her eyes told him that he was the most desirable man on God’s earth, while her lips said, “You must know how flattered I am by your declarations, my lord. I can think of no finer fate than to be wife to a man such as you are. And yet, if I only had a little more time to think on the matter… You could not wish me to come to you, to wed you, unless I can bring my whole heart?”
There it was, Justin thought. The same as every day. They must believe him to be a fool ten times over. He felt the trap being laid out as surely as if Lady Evelyn and Sir Myles were spreading a net on the floor beneath his feet. They were a cunning pair, he admitted, but come the morrow, they would know who it was had played their game the better.
“Nay. I would not.”
“Perhaps,” Sir Myles said lightly, “if Evelyn could be more certain of your regard for her, Sir Justin, such a step might become easier for her to take. After all, you were chosen for each other by the duke and your brother, the earl of Siere. It is understandable that any maid, under such like circumstances, would question the sincerity of her betrothed’s feelings.”
“I have come every day to ask Lady Evelyn to become my wife,” Justin told him. “If, after twenty-seven proposals, my desire to wed her is not evident, I cannot think that a hundred more would make the matter clearer.”
“But you would not be making such proposals if ‘twere not for the duke’s command,” Sir Myles argued, while Lady Evelyn blushed prettily. “If there were some way that you might make your own feelings in the matter more sincere, I’m certain Evelyn would feel secure in becoming your wife.”
Justin’s eyebrows rose. “More sincere?”
“Certainly,” Sir Myles said pleasantly, setting his wine goblet aside. “If you truly desire to make Evelyn your wife, could you not prove it by perhaps gifting her with some evidence of that desire? The dowry she brings to her marriage will be exceptional. A suitable marriage gift from you, in turn, would be proof of your consideration for her as a bride.”
“Father, please,” Lady Evelyn protested. “You make it sound like the veriest extortion. I’ll not be bought, nor bargained for. I want only to be certain of Sir Justin’s honest hope to wed with me, nothing more. Is it too much to ask, when we are to be bound together for life?”
“Nay, of course not,” Justin assured her, praying that he sounded fully sincere. He had never been good at plotting and deception, but if he failed in this, all would be lost.
“Perhaps,” Christian said gently, putting his own wine goblet down, “we should leave Lady Evelyn and Sir Justin to discuss the matter more privately.” He turned to Sir Myles. “I’ve been fascinated by the architecture of your fine home, my lord. Would you be so kind as to let me examine it more closely? There are a good many improvements here that I should like to have made at Briarstone, and I would very much appreciate it if you could explain the workings of some of them.”
With a bow, Sir Myles acquiesced. “A wise consideration, my lord. Indeed, perhaps Sir Justin and my daughter will be able to find their way more readily without company present. I will, of course, leave Isabelle.”
“Father, nay,” Lady Evelyn said quickly. “We have no need of an attendant.”
Sir Myles gave her a wry smile. “Haven’t you, my dear?” To Justin he said, “We will leave you for half an hour’s time. No more.”
“I am grateful,” Justin replied. “Thank you, my lord. You will have no cause for worry. I vow it on my honor as a knight of the realm.”
The baron was apparently reassured, and shortly left the chamber with Christian following behind. Justin waited until they had gone before turning his attention to Lady Evelyn, who, with a smile, had taken the liberty of refilling his wine goblet.
Chapter Two (#ulink_16e6795f-3e9e-5ff5-a7e9-6ac5f4b2ca5b)
Don’t trust her, my lord, Isabelle thought from her chair, keeping her eyes firmly on the page before her. Don’t trust either of them. ‘Tis only your land they want, only the power and influence they might gain by wedding themselves to your family.
With all the strength she possessed, Isabelle willed him to heed her silent plea.
“More wine, my lord?” Evelyn offered in the beguiling manner that never failed to charm.
“Nay, I thank you,” Sir Justin replied, and Isabelle whispered a sigh of thanks. Evelyn was captivating enough without the aid of wine, and Sir Justin would need every faculty undimmed if he was to avoid the neat trap that Sir Myles and his daughter had set for him.
He was different from the other men who courted her cousin. Entirely, wonderfully, different. Not only in his splendid physical frame, so tall and muscular, or in his face, which was by far the most handsome Isabelle had ever seen, but in his manner. Where other men praised Evelyn’s beauty with gallant words and poetry, Sir Justin spoke his admirations plainly, simply. Where other men hid behind masks of elegance and propriety, Sir Justin was open and honest, as clear as a bright day.
The next moment, she heard him add, “Will you not offer some to your cousin, who labors so greatly?” and, as Isabelle stiffened with panic and dread, he continued, even more gently, “Indeed, never once have I seen Lady Isabelle when she has not been busy with your father’s accounts. What wonderful diligence.”
Drawing in a breath through parted lips, Isabelle lifted her head, already knowing that he was looking at her. His kindness, though well-meant, was a torture for her. When her uncle and cousin had finally finished toying with him, when Evelyn at last agreed to be his wife, Isabelle knew she wouldn’t be able to bear it any longer—seeing him, suffering his gentle manners and kind ways, his pity. He was simply staring at her, she saw. Not smiling, not frowning. Simply looking into her eyes from across the room.
“Your father,” he said slowly, holding her gaze, “is most blessed to have such a considerate niece.”
“You speak truly,” Evelyn replied with the sweetness she generally reserved for such public displays. “I don’t know what we would do without cousin Isabelle. She’s an angel in every way. She knows very well that Father expects nothing from her in turn for his care of her and Senet, yet she insists upon relieving him of the most tedious duties.” She strolled toward Isabelle carrying a goblet, the tight smile on her lips giving full warning of what Isabelle had in store as soon as Sir Justin departed. “You’ve spoiled us terribly, Isabelle, dear,” she said, setting the goblet with slow care before the pile of books. “And you’ve been working so hard. Wouldn’t you enjoy a rest? Perhaps a walk in the gardens?”
Oh, no, Isabelle thought. She couldn’t save Sir Justin Baldwin entirely from her uncle and cousin, but one thing she could do was not leave him alone to battle Evelyn’s deft machinations. A few minutes alone under the heat of Evelyn’s seductive persuasions and his marriage to her would be as good as done.
“Thank you, Cousin,” she said, dipping her quill in the inkpot and bending over her work again, “but I’ll just finish this first.”
Isabelle didn’t need to see Evelyn’s fury. She could feel the heat of it where she sat.
“Leave your cousin to her work,” Sir Justin suggested in a voice filled with surprising tenderness. It was the first time Isabelle had heard him use a lover’s tone on Evelyn. “Come and sit with me, my lady. We have much to discuss.”
From the corner of her eye, Isabelle could see him touch Evelyn’s elbow, could see Evelyn turn, smiling, toward him.
“You speak truly, my lord,” Evelyn agreed with open pleasure. “There is nothing I should like more.”
Tucking her hand beneath his arm, he led her a distance away, to a couch at the opposite side of the chamber, so that Isabelle heard very little of their conversation. Making the best pretense she could of concentrating on the figures before her, Isabelle watched them—him—fleetingly, moment to moment, as she dared. She had never seen Sir Justin behave in such a way before, with such deference and charm, and the sight made her heart sink. He had fallen under Evelyn’s spell, just as every other man who courted her had. Evelyn, for her part, was masterful; shy, smiling, daintily colored with maidenly blushes.
At last, after what seemed an eternity, Sir Justin stood and pulled Evelyn to her feet. “I’m grateful for your candor, my lady, although I realize how difficult it must have been for you to speak of such matters. But have no care for that, I beg you. Now that I fully understand what you require to be made comfortable regarding the question of our marriage, I shall be able to proceed accordingly.”
“You have gladdened me beyond words, my lord,” Evelyn murmured, her eyes shining. “If I can believe that the man who would be my husband truly cares for me, then my decision to wed will be willingly and, aye, joyfully made.”
She lifted her face to receive his kiss—an invitation that just as well as sealed their betrothal—and Isabelle, her heart twisting painfully in her chest, lifted her head, to watch, as well.
Sir Justin smiled sweetly at the upturned face and closed eyes before stepping back and bending low to kiss Evelyn’s hands. Straightening, he met her bewildered expression and said, “It is past time that I take my leave, for I would never bring you harm in any measure, nor make your father worry. You have made me the happiest of men, my lady. Indeed, you have given me a gift beyond price, for which I shall ever be thankful. By this time tomorrow, I will have proven the depths of my feelings for you. I vow this by all I hold dear.”
Isabelle began to slowly release the breath she’d been holding, but when Sir Justin suddenly turned on his heel and strode toward her, the air came whooshing out in an embarrassingly loud rush. Horrified, she was hardly able to make sense of his words when he at last stopped before her and asked, “May I ask a great favor of you, Lady Isabelle?”
Dumbly, she nodded, unable to form even the simple word “Yes,” on her lips.
He smiled. “Will you do all that you can to finish your work here very soon? There will be cause for celebration shortly, and I’d not wish you to miss a moment of it. For any reason.” With a bow, he added, “I look forward to our next meeting. Good day, my lady.”
He bade Evelyn a similar farewell, and took his leave. The moment the door shut behind him, Evelyn turned to Isabelle with a triumphant laugh.
“Perfect!” she declared, her richly ornamented skirts whirling as she made her way toward Isabelle. “Just as Father said it would be. Absolutely perfect Do you not agree, Isabelle?” Setting her beautifully feminine hands on the tabletop, she leaned forward. “What? No congratulations, Cousin? Come. Wish me happy. Let me hear the words from your lips. Say them, Isabelle! I want to hear you wishing me happy.”
It was unfortunate, in Isabelle’s opinion, that she had not yet learned how to master her temper. Since her parents’ deaths four years before, she’d learned many things—how to beg for help, how to plead and crawl— but her temper, unhappily, had remained untouched by every misery that either her cousin or her uncle had visited upon her. Very French, her father had often said of her temper, approvingly. A thing to be conquered, her mother had always added with despair.
Her stony silence enraged Evelyn, as it always did, and the stinging slap that followed seemed, to Isabelle, just what she deserved for being so stubborn.
“You stupid little mouse,” Evelyn said with seething anger. “I’ve seen you looking at him, watching him. Sir Justin is handsome, is he not? Handsome, and well-favored in every way. And he’s mine. If you think a man like that would ever look at a repugnant mouse like you, then you’re stupider than I ever imagined. Now say it!” Another slap, harder this time, knocking Isabelle back slightly. “Tell me you’re happy for me, Isabelle!”
Evelyn was one of the most beautiful women in London. In all of England, so it was said. Isabelle recited the fact calmly in her mind, while her eyes registered, with deep satisfaction, that in this moment, mottled and enraged, Lady Evelyn was as ugly as the heart she hid.
“Bitch!” Evelyn cried furiously, childishly. “How can you smile? I hate you! I hate looking at your unsightly face every day, sitting here as if you had a right to such comfort, as if you were a queen, instead of naught but a beggar!”
She raised her hand again, and Isabelle straightened, preparing to receive the coming blow.
“Evelyn! Leave Isabelle be. Will you never learn to leave her in peace?” Sir Myles closed the chamber door behind him as he entered the room. “She has work to do, and I want it finished by day’s end. Leave her be.”
“She’s making me crazed, as she ever does,” Evelyn said angrily. “Why can’t you make her behave as she should?”
“Isabelle’s behavior doesn’t concern me at the moment,” Sir Myles told her curtly. “Our guests have just taken their leave. Tell me what happened with Sir Justin.”
Evelyn seemed not to hear his words. Still holding Isabelle’s gaze, she said, “It’s only pity, Isabelle. ‘Tis why he’s so kind, why he deigns to speak with you. Only pity…for a small, unsightly, insignificant mouse. You know it’s true.” She laughed when Isabelle closed her eyes against the pain the words wrought. “Aye,” Evelyn said, more softly. “’Tis worse than death, is it not? You’ve too much pride, mouse.”
Sir Myles grabbed his daughter’s arm, turning her about. “Sir Justin?” he prompted.
Evelyn’s smile was wide, brilliant. “He’s ready to give me anything I want to make me his wife. Tomorrow, he promised, he’ll prove the depths of his devotion to me. He said that he understands perfectly what needs to be done to make me comfortable in our marriage.”
“God be praised,” Sir Myles murmured fervently. “Well done, my daughter. Well done. I had thought he would surely run away when you made him wait so long for your answer. It’s been a near thing, I vow.”
“I would have made him wait until the last day, if you’d not been so insistent in the matter,” she said haughtily, pushing free and returning to the table where her wine goblet sat. “’Tis an insult to be given to a man—any man—in such a coarse manner. Sir Justin is fortunate that I find him so favorable, else I’d never have agreed to the match.”
“Oh, no, my dear,” her father countered, accepting the goblet she handed him. “I’d not have allowed you to let such a prize as Sir Justin Baldwin get away, no matter if you’d found him wholly unacceptable. An alliance with one of England’s wealthiest and most powerful families is naught to be trifled with. I gave you your moment of revenge, my sweet, but never should I have let you throw away such a boon.” He lifted his cup to her in tribute. “Wedded to a Baldwin! Who could have foreseen such a miracle befalling us? You’ll have everything your heart desires.”
“And you,” said Lady Evelyn, “will have the influence you have long craved. I expect you to remember what I’ve brought you, Father, and to be ready to repay me in the future.”
“Repay you? What nonsense is this? You’re soon to become one of the most envied women in all of Britain.”
“Being the wife of Sir Justin Baldwin will have its certain pleasures,” Evelyn admitted, “for he is well-favored in face and form, as well as in his relations. Howbeit, a duller man I’ve yet to meet. Lady Alicia told me what she suffered at his hands years past, before she found the courage to break their betrothal. He constantly wearied her with his dull manners and vexing conversation, and, despite his skills as a lover, she could not bear the thought of spending her life with such a tedious husband. I’m of no such mind to suffer the same.”
Sir Myles gave a careless shrug. “I care not how you amuse yourself in your marriage, Evelyn, nor with whom you do so. I only ask that you keep your name, and reputation, unsullied.”
“And I only ask, dear Father, that you stand ready to lend me aid as I require it. I’ll guard your interests, my lord, if you’ll help me to guard mine.”
With a smile, Sir Myles put his cup forward to lightly tap the one in Evelyn’s hand. “Agreed,” he said, and, laughing, they both drank.
“He is not dull!” Isabelle was on her feet, one fisted hand crushing her writing quill. She was as furious as she’d ever been in her life—more furious than she’d realized she could be—and when her cousin and uncle turned to her, shock on their faces, she repeated, “Sir Justin is not dull!”
After a moment of stunned silence, Evelyn began to laugh, while the baron’s face darkened with anger.
“You’ve no say in the matter, my lady,” he said sharply. “Indeed, you’ve no say in any matter. Be silent and finish your work, before I’m led to punish you for such intemperate speech.”
“I’ll not be silent!” she said hotly. “You sicken me. Both of you.” Her gaze moved over them with unveiled disgust. “Sir Justin Baldwin came here in truth, speaking honestly, in every word and deed a gentle man. Can you think it any better for him to be forced into an unwanted marriage? Yet he has behaved toward Evelyn, and yourself, i’faith, with naught but kindness and good intentions. How can you speak so ill of such a man?”
“By the rood!” the baron swore angrily, setting his goblet down with such crushing force that red wine spilled over the table and onto the floor. “You’ll not speak to me, or to your cousin, in such a froward manner!”
“Oh, Father,” Evelyn said between gasps of laughter. “’Tis too funny! Can you not see? She’s in love with him! Isabelle—” more laughter, gusting harder “—Isabelle’s in love with Sir Justin! Would he not be horrified to know of it? Can you not envision his face if he knew that such a—such an ugly mouse was in love with him?”
Sir Myles was too occupied in scowling at Isabelle to pay his daughter notice. “You’re wrong,” he said to Isabelle, “if you think I’ll ever let you wed. Save yourself trouble, my girl, and heed me well. Keep your thoughts on money and numbers, not on men. If you value your brother’s life, and your own, then understand what I say.”
But Isabelle couldn’t. Her unfortunate temper had taken control, and she was furious. For days now, as they played their game with Sir Justin, it had been simmering. Each afternoon, when he arrived and so urgently pleaded his cause, only to be turned aside by their cruel lies, it had grown hotter. Isabelle had spent four long years suffering and laboring as nothing better than a slave in her uncle’s house. Now, every insult, every unkindness, seemed to well up and burn. Holding her uncle’s gaze, raising her fist, she crushed the writing quill in her hand, mangling the instrument with labor-strengthened fingers until it was beyond use. Without expression, she dropped the broken quill on the open ledger.
Even Evelyn stopped laughing.
The silence that ensued was complete, until at last Sir Myles said, “That was unwise, Isabelle. I shall have to punish you. You shall abide in the cellar without food or drink until that account is finished. If it is not done by morning, when the banker arrives to meet with me, I shall write Sir Howton a missive regarding Senet—”
“He has naught to do with this!” Isabelle cried furiously, taking one step toward her uncle.
“You’re wrong, my dear,” Sir Myles replied calmly. “He has everything to do with it. You will go to the cellar and finish with that account before the sun rises in tomorrow’s sky—” he pointed at the book with a hard finger “—else Senet will return here to London, where he shall be made to rightfully labor for his care, in the lowliest manner I can arrange. I make you my promise on it.”
“Send him to White Tower, Father,” Evelyn suggested with purring satisfaction. “Have them put him to work cleaning out the garderobes. Or, better yet, offer him as a suitable gong farmer.”
The image of her beloved younger brother slaving daily at such a horrible, filthy task—emptying latrine pits—rapidly cooled Isabelle’s fury. She could just imagine her uncle doing such a thing to bend her to his will. He was a cruel man, as wicked as sin in most of his dealings. She’d been too closely involved in his world for too long to take the threat lightly.
Swallowing the angry words she longed to say, Isabelle stepped back and slowly sat in her chair. Her uncle’s soft chuckle told her that he understood her surrender, and she bowed her head.
“Most wise, my child. Most temperate. I shall have a new writing quill brought to you in the cellar, and plenty of candles and ink to work by. When you have dutifully finished your task,” he said, savoring the words, “and when I have approved it, you will be released.”
