Lords of Honor (95 page)

Wenna Penrose heard her brother shouting Trevan’s name
.
She knelt on the pathway in her herb garden
.
She straightened and thrust her shovel into the rich earth
.
She stood quickly and immediately walked toward the back door of the Manor
.
She needed to make it up the stairs and to her room before Trevan saw her
.
She did not want to see him
.
Not today
.
She owed him nothing
.
‘Twas he who ignored her the last three months
.
She was damned sick and tired of being cast aside by Trevan Chynoweth, Duke or no
.
His actions and neglect over the last three years proved to her that he did not love her
.
Not really
.
Not enough
.

She would not marry a man who could go three months without even giving her a second thought
.
Even before that, his visits were not often enough to be considered frequent
.
Yet he would coo and flatter and tell her of his great love for her when he decided to finally show up
.
Kiss her, and more
.
They were doing
more
for two years now
.
And still she wore no ring on her finger
!

Well, Wenna thought to herself, as she wiped her hands on her apron and hurried in through the back door of the cottage, she was finished with his nonsense
.
For good!

She just put her hand on the banister and took her first step up the flight of stairs when a large, muscled arm snaked around her waist and pulled her against his hard, rigid frame
.

“Oh no you don’t, Wenna
!
You will talk to me this very minute!” Trevan growled against her ear.

Wenna tried to turn around, intending to slap him
.
But couldn’t for he held her so firmly against him
.
Her feet no longer touched the floor
.
He carried her through her home as if he owned it
.
As if he owned her
!
Which he most certainly did not
!
Why the devil was he angry at her
?
She had every right to be angry with him,
not the other way around
.

“Put me down, you big lummox!” Wenna demanded as she twisted and fought to free herself.

“No
!
We will be talking directly, you and me, Wenna Penrose, and we’ll do it at the Summer House where we can have some privacy
.
May I remind you, dearest Wenna, that every time you twist yourself against me…” he moved one hand to her hip and pressed her against his hardening ere
ction, “of what it does to me.”

Wenna stilled immediately
.
“I’ve nothing to say to you, Trevan Chynoweth
.
And you’ve no right to come inside
my
home and carry me out like I’m some kind of baggage or worse your doxy
!”
Still being held tightly, Wenna kicked her feet backwards to try and connect with Trevan’s legs.

“I’m the Duke of Penrose and all of this land has been shared by the Chynoweth’s and Penrose’s for over a thousand years
.
And as the Duke, I am the overlord of Callywith Manor
.
And might I remind you that
you
, Miss Penrose, and
I
have been having sexual relations for the past two years and been betrothed for five. If you count the time I asked you to marry me when I was ten and five and you were eleven, all I’ve just mentioned plus the fact that in the eyes of God we are man and wife because we’ve been having sexual intercourse it gives me the right to ask
why in the bloody hell are you courting the new Vicar of St. Mabyn
?”
Trevan carefully set her down when they reached the summer house and spun her to face him, keeping a tight hold on her shoulders
.

Wenna could see he was as angry as a bull, his chest heaved, his bright blue eyes flashed
.
Well, she was angrier
!
Wenna sent her palm flying
.
It connected hard against Trevan’s cheek
.
“I will not marry a man who treats me with so little disregard
.
I’ve been waiting to marry you for five long years, Trevan
.
You always gave me some excuse or another why the time wasn’t right
.
Why it would be better to wait
.
For the past two years, I’ve scarcely seen you
.
I wager I can count on my fingers and toes how many times you’ve visited me in the last year
.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper, “And your reason then was no doubt to slake your lust. I’m twenty and seven, Trevan
.
According to some of the old wise women hereabouts, I may even be beyond child-bearing years
!
I’ll not marry a man who will treat me as you have, and I’m tired of waiting
.
I deserve better
.
So I’m marrying John
.
He asked me today, and I’ve already given him my answer. We will be wed in six weeks or thereabouts, he said.”

Trevan blinked
.
“You are lying to me, Wenna
.
You’ll not marry anyone but me
.”
Trevan pulled her roughly against him and covered her mouth with his
.
He held her tightly in his arms and kissed her demandingly
.
As she opened her mouth to protest, he gained access, and thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth.

Wenna tried to fight the passion rising inside. She tried not to respond
.
She found it to be difficult
.
She dreamt for so many months of Trevan returning to her, of them making love in the Summer House at night
.
How many hours and days had she spent these past years waiting for Trevan
?
Dreaming of seeing him
.
Most often he never materialized
.
Scarcely ever did he send a message
.
She became alarmed when she felt herself molding to him, beginning to respond to the movements of his tongue, his kiss
.
The one thing they did share between them was passion
.
But it was no longer enough
.
Wenna took advantage of the moment and tried to pull away
.
He pulled her closer
.
Wenna closed her mouth
.
She opened to him again and sucked his lip into her mouth and bit him
.
Hard
.
She tasted his blood.

“Ouch
!
Damn it to hell, Wen Pen!” Trevan pulled back and spit out a mouthful of blood onto the grass
.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand
.

She spoke lowly with a great deal of calm, “We are through, Trevan
.
Sometime in the next two months I will be Mrs. John Maddingly
.
It is finished between us, Trevan
.
You may never kiss me or put your hands on me again
.
You may come to visit Grandfather and my brother and sister, but you do not have permission to call on me
.
Do I make myself perfectly clear
?”

“You love
me,
Wen Pen,” Trevan said lowly, again using the nickname he gave her when they were children. He spoke his next words in Cornish, “My a’th kar
.”

Wenna closed her eyes
.
My a’th kar,
Cornish for
I love you
.
He couldn’t really love her
.
A man did not ignore a woman for three months if he loved her
!
“No, Trevan
.
I do not love you any longer
.
I love John
.
He brings me flowers
.
He comes to call every
single
day. He talks to me and is never in a hurry to leave
.
He
makes
time for me
.
In fact, his seeing me is a priority, not an afterthought or out of guilt like when you come to see me because you know it’s been too long.”

“You’re not serious, Wenna
?
Have you lost your mind
?
How can you even know this man
?
Gabriel said he arrived only six weeks ago!” Trevan’s brows drew together
.

Wenna thought she saw a fleeting moment of pain and disbelief in his expression
.
She felt a pang of remorse and guilt at that point
.
When his anger took hold, and his features darkened, and his arrogance re-surfaced, she dismissed the feelings of remorse
.

“Have you given yourself to him, Wenna, as you gave yourself to me?” Trevan’s tone was low, menacing
.

His bright blue eyes bored into hers
.
She felt impaled by the venom she saw there
.
“I have not.” Wenna crossed her arms and sniffed.

“Does he know you are ruined?” Trevan’s brow rose accusingly.

“I – I, no
.
He does not
.
But, he loves me
.
He knows I’ve been with you for a long time
.
Surely he has figured it out.”

“I would think a man of the cloth would want a chaste bride
.
Perhaps you should tell him.”

“It’s none of your business what I do, Trevan
.
Now go
.
You have overstayed your welcome
.”
What if Trevan was correct? That John wanted a chaste bride. She hadn’t considered that
.
Well, if that were the case, she’d marry neither one of them
.

“Wenna, I know I’ve neglected you, but it was not done intentionally
.
I love you, Wenna
.
I always have
.
I always will
.
I can get a special license and we can be married as soon as the day after tomorrow
.
I’ll make it up to you, Wenna, I swear it
.
Let the Vicar go and marry me, Wenna
.
We belong together.”

“No, Trevan
.
I have made up my mind
.
I have to do what is best for me
.
I want to be happy, Trevan
.
Not miserable, wishin’ I had a husband who spent time with me
.
Now go.”

“You’re not even going to give me a chance
?
Let me prove my love for you
?”
Trevan felt his insides coil into a tight knot
.
He felt his face drain of color
.
His heart actually hurt. He felt a stab of physical pain inside his chest.

“Since you were counting the time when I was eleven when you first asked me to marry you, I gave you sixteen years, Trevan
.
No more
.
Your actions these last two years have made it quite clear to me that you do not love me
.
Not enough
!
My affections are for John now, for he returns them
.
Good day, Trevan.”

Trevan opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out
.
He tried to swallow but there seemed to be a great lump in his throat
.
His vision blurred
.
Tears threatened
!
He turned and stalked away, leaving Wenna Penrose inside the Summer House.

He nearly knocked over Wenna’s sister, Sennen, known to all as Senny, as he reached the graveled drive
.

“Hello, Trevan,” Senny smiled up at him
.
“If you’re looking for Wenna, she’s in the...” she faltered when she saw the angry expression on his face
.

“I found her, Zenny.” Trevan used the Cornish pronunciation of her name
.
“Thank you.”