Susan Spencer Paul (14 page)

When he lifted his head, Rosaleen discovered that her arms had somehow gone around his neck.

“You will never mention this matter to me again,” Hugh told her between breaths. “And you will never mock me again in such a manner.”

“I will,” she replied between her own labored breaths. “I will do so whenever it pleases me. And if you will not write your brother on behalf of these people then I shall, Hugh Caldwell. I swear it!”

He kissed her again, long and deeply, until Rosaleen’s legs had turned a consistency similar to that of boiled oats.

“If you do, mistress,” he warned when he lifted his mouth once more, “I shall lock you in the highest tower at Briarstone. You know the one I mean. That crumbling one at the northern corner of the outer wall.”

“Hah!” she scorned. “I shall scream loudly and without ceasing until every neighbor within five miles is at Briarstone’s door begging you to set me free.”

“I’ll gag you before I lock you up, then. Now be quiet, Rosaleen, and give in to me.”

Somehow Rosaleen found herself lying on Hugh Caldwell’s soft feather bed, with Hugh Caldwell himself beside her, kissing her and holding her and trying to undress her.

“Please, Hugh.” She struggled to get away from him. “I—I’m frightened.”

He chuckled, the action puffing warm breath against her ear before he gently kissed it. Moving his fingers from the laces of her chemise, he sought her hand and clasped it.

“You’re frightened,” he murmured, drawing her hand up to press it against his chest, “and I’m frightened.” He pressed her fingers flat at the place where his heart beat,
and feeling the wild movement there, Rosaleen stilled. She looked up in the darkness and met his eyes, so close to her own.

“What is it between us, Rosaleen?” Hugh asked quietly. “What is it?”

She shook her head slightly, confused.

“From the beginning, it has been there,” he went on, stopping her words. “Deny it if you can, Rosaleen. Tell me you have felt nothing between us.”

She wanted to deny it, so very much, but he spoke the truth. There was something between them, something she had never felt with another living being. It was a rightness, a completeness, a deep, immeasurable understanding that supplanted the need for words. He had never been a stranger to her. She had known him at once.

Mute, she shook her head again, telling him that she could not deny his words.

He pressed her hand against his chest more firmly. “I’venever been as afraid of anything or anyone as I am of you. I’ve been a free man these past ten years,” he said fiercely.
“Free,
Rosaleen. Do you understand?”

Hot tears stung her eyes. “Yes, Hugh,” she whispered. She loved him, but there was no future for him in her life, just as there was no future in his for her. “I understand.”

He lowered his mouth and began to kiss her again, fully and hungrily, while his hands went back to unlacing her shift. This time she lay passive beneath him, accepting the skilled, sensual caresses of his tongue in her mouth and the gentle touches of his warm hands on her flesh and trying to commit every feeling he gave her to memory. He pulled her chemise past her shoulders and breasts until it was rolled around her waist.

“Rosaleen,” he murmured, gazing at her in the darkness, touching one breast reverently with the tips of his
fingers. “You are so lovely. That first night, when I saw you, I could scarce believe how perfect you are.”

“You are very beautiful, also, Hugh Caldwell,” Rosaleen said, lifting a hand to touch the softness of his long, amber-colored hair. “And I’m still frightened.”

“Don’t be,” he whispered, kissing her gently. “I want only to give you pleasure, love.”

His hands moved on her, causing Rosaleen to shift restlessly beneath his touch.

“I…I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Good things, darling,” he murmured, his breath warm against one breast. “These are good things happening between us.” He touched her hard nipple with the wet heat of his tongue, and Rosaleen gasped with pleasure and surprise.

He chuckled. “Like that, do you? You’ll like this even better.” His mouth closed over her, suckling, and Rosaleen cried out and writhed beneath him.

“Hugh!”

“Yes, sweeting.” He moved to caress her other breast in the same manner. “I shall love all of you.”

“Hugh.” She tugged at his hair before becoming lost in the pleasure of his touch. “I…I don’t wish to lose my maidenhead. I can’t, even if I wished to.”

Hugh lifted his head. “Of course you don’t wish to lose your maidenhead,” he said softly. “All maidens are frightened the first time, just as you are. But I’ll not take your maidenhead from you. Not now. Not tonight. Tonight I only wish to touch you. That’s all, Rosaleen. That’s all.” She squirmed with fright, but Hugh held her tight with one arm, while with his free hand he began to caress her belly.

“Hush,” he murmured, kissing her mouth with soft, quick kisses, seducing away her will to resist him. “There
are many ways to find pleasure that will leave you a maiden, and I shall teach you all of them.” His fingers moved to stroke the soft skin of her thigh.

“Hugh…”

“This is but the beginning for us, Rosaleen. I’ll not let you hold yourself from me again after this.”

“Hugh…”

“Hush.”

“M
y darling. My sweet, darling baby. Did you miss me, little love? I missed you. Yes, I did. I missed you very, very much.”

This, followed by several kissing noises, brought Rosaleen awake.

“But we’ll never be parted again, will we, my darling? No, we’ll not. Never, never, never.”

It was sickening, Hugh Caldwell’s baby talk, and Rosaleen sat slowly, wondering why he should be doing such a thing. The only living creature she’d ever heard him speak to in such a foolish manner was his…

“Bird,” she said aloud, opening her eyes fully.

Hearing her, Hugh glanced toward the bed.

“You’re awake, at last,” he said, standing from where he’d been sitting by the window and carrying Amazon to the bed. “Look who arrived this morn with her own escort of four of my brother’s finest knights.” He sat on the bed with a thump, Amazon squawked in complaint, and Hugh kissed her beak soothingly. “There now, my sweet,” he crooned. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“‘Sbones, Hugh Caldwell, the way you treat that…creature…is beyond belief,” Rosaleen said, rubbing her eyes.

“Is that so?” he asked, setting Amazon on the bed’s wooden end. Turning back to Rosaleen, he captured her wrists and pressed her flat on the mattress. “And what of the way I treat you, sweeting?”

Full of shame and not a little remorse for what had passed between them the night before, Rosaleen turned her head away.

An angry sound rumbled out of Hugh, and he nipped the soft skin beneath her ear, just sharply enough to startle her.

“Never turn from me, Rosaleen.” With his tongue he soothed the sting away. “You gave yourself to me, and now you are mine for the next three months. I’ll not be waylaid by fits of maidenly fear. Set your mind to it.”

Briefly, she struggled, but he was so much stronger that she knew at once it was futile. Keeping her head turned, Rosaleen spoke through set teeth. “I came to Briarstone to oversee your household, Hugh Caldwell, not to be your whore.”

He had the nerve to laugh. “Whore?” he repeated, kissing her ear and lightly touching the center of it with his tongue. “You’ll never be any man’s whore, beautiful sweet. But we’ll discuss this matter later. Tonight, in fact,” he said with certainty, sitting up and releasing her.

“Tonight,” she informed him, “I’ll be staying in my own chamber.”

“Of course,” he replied easily. “Now, have you any interest in what else my brother sent?”

“No.”

He gave a sigh. “I’ll have to read the missive he sent you myself, then.”

“What!” She bolted upright and grabbed Hugh’s tunic. “Your brother sent me a missive?”
“He did,” Hugh confirmed, taking the opportunity to slip his arms around her waist. “Would you care to read it?”

She looked at him as though he were mad. “Of course I wish to read it. It is for me, is it not?”

“It is.”

“Well, then?”

“Well?”

“May I have it, please?”

He smiled. “May I have an appropriate morning’s greeting?”

Rosaleen was confused. “I suppose you might. Good morning, Hugh Caldwell.”

“Rosaleen, my sweet, surely you know me better than that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Only too well, Hugh Caldwell. Tell me plainly what you want.”

Hugh lowered his head. “Open your mouth, Rosaleen, and give me a proper kiss.”

“I’ll do no such thing! I’ll not make payment for something that already belongs to me! I’ll not—”

Hugh’s mouth closed over hers, stopping whatever else she meant to say. By the time the kiss was done, Rosaleen found herself lying on her pillows again, with Hugh Caldwell looming over her, a look of male satisfaction on his face.

“Do you want your missive, Rosaleen?”

“Hmm?” She gazed at him dreamily.

“Your missive, do you want it?”

“Very well,” she said pliantly, sighing.

Hugh chuckled and pressed a sealed parchment into her hands. “Here, then. Read it and get yourself up and dressed. I’ve brought warm water for you, over there.” He nodded toward a small wooden tub set before the fire. “Be
as quick as you can. I mean to ride to the village this morn with a few of the men to buy whatever we’ll need for the next few months, and I want you to prepare a list.”

Rosaleen was surprised. “You’ve sufficient money for that? Briarstone’s needs are great.”

He shrugged. “Enough to purchase those few necessities we’ll not be able to gather for ourselves, I believe. And if I don’t, a visit to a tavern should fill our purses a bit more thickly.”

“Of course,” she said. “You’d rather gamble than write your brother a simple request. I should have expected such from you, Hugh Caldwell.”

“Rosaleen,” Hugh said wearily, standing, “you walk a narrow ledge by speaking of matters best left unspoken.” He took Amazon on his wrist, then perched her on his shoulder. “We’ll expect you downstairs within the half hour, so that we may all break our fast together.”

She watched him leave, then directed her attention to the missive in her hands. Turning it to look at it from all angles, she briefly wondered how it was that the Lord of Gyer had known she would be at Briarstone, and whether he was writing to inform her that her uncle now knew of her location, too.

Breaking the seal, she unfolded the thick sheet of parchment and began to read.

To Rosaleen Sarant, Lady of Siere,

Forgive, I beg, my boldness in believing you to be under my brother’s care at Briarstone. I have known Hugh these many years, thus I felt certain he could meet with naught but success when he set out to find you a few days past.

My wife and I regretted most truly the sudden conclusion of your welcome visit to our home, though we
understand the circumstances that made you feel it necessary to depart. It is our great hope that you will honor us with your presence again in the future, my lady, when matters presently distressing you have been set right. Until that time, please be certain that we stand ready to serve you at any time and in any manner.

Information has arrived from London that I believe will be of interest to you. Your uncle has informed the king that you have been taken captive by unknown assailants and that a search carried out by him and your betrothed has failed to locate either you or your captors. Sir Anselm has vowed to continue the search, and the king has sent many of his own knights throughout England on your behalf, as well.

Lady Rosaleen, should you desire to travel to London very shortly, I would be honored to escort you there if you will but send word, and thus I make my pledge before God to maintain you against any threat of danger.

Please remember my lady and I to our wayward brother, and may God have you both in His keeping.

Sir Alexander Baldwin

The missive fell from Rosaleen’s hands, and she stared at it, stunned.

Uncle Anselm meant to kill her.

God’s mercy! He meant to kill her if he could find her, and had set his plan in readiness by telling the king that she’d been taken captive. No one would question her death, not even if Uncle Anselm took her body to display it at court, for one and all would accept his word that she had been killed by her captors. And if he didn’t take her body as proof, the king would wait only a few months be
fore declaring her death as fact, thereby making Uncle Anselm the Earl of Siere.

Damn the man!

She took the missive up and read it through once more, thanking God above that the Lord of Gyer had set his fealty on her rather than her uncle. It was too late for regret, of course, but Rosaleen silently berated herself for having so impetuously run away from Gyer.

She must get to London, now more than ever. She had to protect her family’s name and titles and estates. They were her responsibility, and assuring their continuance was what she had been born to do. Everything, her father’s honor, his lineage, depended on her and on her alone.

And yet at the same time, there was no use trying to deny that she wanted to stay with Hugh Caldwell, especially after what had passed between them in the night. It had been wrong, yes, she knew that as well as she knew her own name, but she’d not lie or pretend that she hadn’t wanted him then or that she didn’t want him again, even if she could have only that very little bit of him that they had already shared.

She loved him, and when this was over, when Siere had been restored to her and when she had done her duty as the heiress of Siere, she would never be able to see him again. For all the years to come she would have only her memories of this time with him from which to gather as much happiness as she could.

Throwing the covers aside, Rosaleen got up from the bed, strode to the fire and threw the missive into it. Watching as it burned, she made her determination. For three months she would stay with Hugh Caldwell. She would love him and help him and cherish every moment she had with him as if it were her last, and she would carefully store each memory away in the corners of her heart.
When it was all over she would go to London; she would turn from Hugh Caldwell and would never look back.

If, of course, her uncle didn’t find her first.

“Did my brother write you a proper scolding, sweet?” Hugh asked as he tied Amazon’s leather strap to his wrist.

“In truth,” Rosaleen replied with a haughty grin, “he thanked me for my visit and invited me to stay again at Gyer whenever it pleases me.”

With a laugh, Hugh began checking Saint’s saddle and reins. Although they were standing in the great hall of Castle Briarstone, they were surrounded by horses, where Hugh had decided the beasts should be housed alongside the oxen.

“Poor Alex,” he said pityingly. “I told you he’s possessed of too much charity. Chris, lad—” he turned his attention to the boy, who was readying one of the three skinny horses Briarstone possessed “—has the lady Rosaleen given you a list of what we’ll need?”

“By word, yes, Hugh Caldwell, for we’ve no parchment or writing instruments.”

Casting a wary glance toward Rosaleen, Hugh said, “Recite this list to me.”

Rosaleen cursed under her breath and Christian looked thoughtful.

“Twelve geese,” he began carefully, “twenty capons, twenty pigs, six milking cows, two dozen laying hens, three hundred new eggs—”

The people of Briarstone, who were gathered in the great hall, began to murmur excitedly.

“—seventy-five bushels cleanly milled flour, no pebbles or vermin, else the lady Rosaleen will personally see the miller jailed, fifty bushels cleanly milled oats, two
bushels salt, one bushel pepper, five bushels each sugar and raisins, twelve barrels good ale—”

The men of Briarstone gave up a small cheer.

“—twelve barrels good wine, preferably Italian—”

Hugh raised his eyebrows at Rosaleen, and Rosaleen blushed.

“—one hundred yards heavy cloth, twelve spools waxed thread, seven pots dye in the following colors, red, green, blue, yellow, orange, brown and black—”

The ladies of Briarstone aahed with delight.

“—twenty sewing needles, strong and sharp, sixty pounds good wax candles, ten pounds scented soap, preferably French—”

Hugh looked at Rosaleen again, and this time she simply looked away.

“—twenty sheets parchment—”

Hugh frowned.

“—twelve writing quills, five pots ink—”

Hugh scowled.

“—two pounds sealing wax—”

Hugh made a growling sound.

“—and twelve boards and sets of pieces to comprise complete games of chess.”

The loud cheers following this recitation were earsplitting, and no one save Rosaleen heard Hugh when he said to her, “I’ll see you outside, woman.
Now.”

“But, Hugh, there’s so much work that needs to be done and-”

He grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her toward the doors. A moment later Rosaleen found herself standing in the bailey with a furious Hugh Caldwell facing her down.

“You will explain yourself, mistress.”

Clasping her hands together, Rosaleen gazed at him innocently.

“Explain, my lord?”

“Rosaleen…”

Hearing his tone of voice, Rosaleen wisely gave up pretending.

“I don’t know why you are so angry, Hugh Caldwell. You told me to make a list of the things we needed, and I did.”

Hugh gritted his teeth. “Your list, my sweet, would pauper a king. I can easily understand the wheat and oats and candles and soap and even the cloth, but by the Fiend’s foot, what made you list the other? You know very well I haven’t the funds to purchase even a tenth of what you listed.”

Rosaleen met his gaze steadily. “I listed them, Hugh Caldwell, because those are the needs Briarstone must have met, and if you will note, I listed nothing frivolous such as spices or even milk or cream. You asked me for a list and I gave you one. An honest one.”

Hugh didn’t know whether to laugh in disbelief or weep with frustration. “Nothing frivolous?
Italian
wine,
French
soap, twelve sets of
chess!”

Rosaleen’s expression was blank, as if she didn’t understand what could possibly be wrong with those items being on her list, and Hugh did his best to keep his already hot temper under control.

“You made that list to set my back against a wall and to make me look a fool before my people when I return from Stenwick with less than what they are now so happily expecting. I am sorely tempted to set you over my knee again and teach you a much needed lesson.”

“I didn’t know that you would ask Christian to repeat the list I’d given him!” she protested. “I only wished to give him as complete a list as possible. From that I thought you would purchase what you thought best.”

He laughed bitterly. “I don’t believe you, sweet. By giving him such a list you meant to shame me into writing my brother. But you’ve failed, Rosaleen. I may be the bastard half brother of the great Lord of Gyer, but I will
never
lower myself to begging to him. Not to a Baldwin,” he added with hate-filled fury, stalking Rosaleen as she backed away from him. “I’d rather scrape and slaver to a goddamned Ryon than ever ask a Baldwin for one half groat of charity, and don’t you ever,
ever—”
he grabbed Rosaleen by the arms and shook her “—think otherwise again!”