The Succubus (8 page)

“Mother,” Isabel said. “We don't know for sure he'll come here.”

“Nonsense, you are the dowager baroness. He's as much responsible for you as he is for Chloe. You should have stayed in the castle and demanded what is rightfully yours.”

Isabel looked at her mother sadly, knowing the woman had been sorely disappointed in her daughter's inability to persuade Kendrick to provide a better living for her family. “I've had little success in demanding things from the Baron of Tewsbarrow.”

Miranda paused long enough to give her daughter a sympathetic hug. “Kendrick was old and bitter. This new lord is a young man and will want to please a woman as pretty as you. Remember, dear, we are all dependent on the baron. Now go change your clothes. That gown has a stain where Chloe spit up.”

Isabel had never told her mother of the terrible things she'd done while she was Kendrick's wife and didn't intend to do so now. Trying to keep a roof over the heads of her five children had been Miranda's prime concern since her husband's death. There was no reason to add to her worries by raising the possibility they might be thrown out of even this humble cottage.

Following her mother's advice, she went to change her clothing. She debated for long moments over what to wear.
Should I use clothing and jewelry to show Daniel I deserve to be treated like a true baroness?
If he were still angry at her, finery might make him even angrier, so she donned a plain brown gown and covered her hair and neck with a wimple and veil as a widow should.

Then she attended to Chloe, changing her napkin and her gown while the baby tried to bat away her hands and laughed when Isabel pretended to scold her.
What will Daniel think of his child?
She was beautiful, healthy, and happy, but female. Kendrick had gone into the fit that eventually killed him when he'd heard of the child's sex.
Will Daniel also fail to value Chloe because she is a girl?
More likely, he'll resent her because of the way she was conceived.

Isabel hugged Chloe and hummed a lullaby and understood more clearly why her mother had bartered Isabel off to an old man. It had been the only way to provide for her other children.

In the middle of the afternoon, Isabel heard the clatter of hooves on the road leading to their cottage. Still in the upstairs room she shared with Chloe, she peeped from a window. Four horsemen were approaching. She instantly recognized Daniel. Sir Theobald, and the young knight from Tewsbarrow, Sir Robert, and a man-at-arms from Whitmere Keep were riding with him.

Realizing Sir Theobald must be conducting a tour of the manor, Isabel held her breath hoping the men would ride by. But they slowed and Sir Theobald dipped his head toward the cottage. A look of surprise came over Daniel's face when he turned toward it. While the house had two stories, it was half-timbered and had a thatched roof, hardly a residence for nobility.
Is Daniel shocked at the shoddy way Kendrick provided for my family?

He spoke to the other men and then came into their courtyard alone as the others rode toward Whitmere Keep. His coming alone had to mean he wanted a private talk with her. Surely that was a good omen. Isabel took a long look at her sleeping daughter and then squared her shoulders and started downstairs.

Her brothers, John and Thomas had already opened the door when she reached the top of the stairs. She heard Daniel loudly announce, “I'm the Baron of Tewsbarrow, here to see Lady Isabel.” Then his head twisted back and forth as he examined the identical twins.

Isabel paused, struck by the handsome impression he made dressed in a flowing brown cloak with wide sleeves trimmed in fur. A reddish brown tunic hung from beneath the cloak. He wore no head covering and his tawny hair turned under just before touching his shoulders. The most impressive thing about him, however, was his air of haughty command. He was not here as a lover.

Miranda rushed into the hallway, dropped a hurried curtsy and said, “Lord Daniel, welcome. I'm Lady Miranda, Isabel's mother.”

“I'm here to see the baroness and the child,” Daniel said in a demanding tone.

Lady Miranda looked taken aback by his brusqueness. “Of course, she's…”

Isabel couldn't let her mother take abuse meant for her and started down the stairs. “Welcome to our home, Lord Daniel.”

He watched her descend with a frown. When she was standing in front of him, he said, “I expected to find you at Tewsbarrow.”

“I wasn't sure you'd want me to remain there.”

“The child is a baron's daughter; she deserves to be raised in a castle, not a hovel.”

Her mother gasped. Isabel turned and patted her arm. “Mother, may I have a few words in private with Lord Daniel?”

Miranda nodded and pointed to the chairs gathered in front of the fireplace. “Yes, why don't you have a seat and I'll see to refreshments.”

“Don't bother on my account, Lady Miranda. I only have a brief message for Lady Isabel, and I'll be on my way.”

Daniel followed Isabel to the portion of the room that served as a sitting area. The jump in his pulse rate at his first sight of her had shown him how truly angry he still was with her, and he took a moment to calm down before speaking.

But how does she have the nerve to appear before me dressed like some pious nun?
He was sorely tempted to rip that damn veil and wimple off and expose her shiny black hair and—
not now. Not now
. He wanted her humiliation to be before all the residents of Tewsbarrow, not her mother.

He sat in a stiff-backed chair and removed his riding gloves. “I'll be touring Whitmere lands for the rest of the day, but I'm returning to Tewsbarrow in the morning and plan to take my ward with me.”

That got her full attention. She stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes. “You-you're taking her away from me?”

“You may accompany the child, but only if you accept my complete authority over you.”

She stared at him for another moment and then slumped into a chair opposite his. “You are my lord,” she softly murmured.

He wanted to hit her, instead he barked, “And don't you forget it. I'll make all decisions concerning my daughter's welfare from this time onward.”

Isabel's face twisted into a scowl. “You haven't even seen her. How can you be so sure she's yours?”

“I can count. You didn't have time to lure another man into your web.” Anger caused him to lean toward her as he continued. “But it really doesn't matter if she's mine or not since I can never claim her without branding her a bastard.”

She bowed her head as if she were truly sorry for all the trouble she'd caused him, but he didn't believe a bit of it. He stood and tapped his gloves against one hand. “Be ready to leave an hour after the cock crows.”

As he turned toward the door, she said, “Don't you want to see Chloe?”

“Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

He let himself out and discovered a group of children examining his horse. “Don't stand behind him. He's a warhorse and might kick.”

One of the twin boys who had answered the door spoke up. “I told 'em that.”

“Can I pet him?” a chubby little girl asked.

“No,” Daniel warned. “He's been trained to bite.”

A girl on the verge of womanhood grabbed the younger girl's hand and pulled her further from the horse. Daniel became aware of the family resemblance and asked. “Are you all Lady Miranda's children?”

The older girl did an awkward curtsy and said, “Yes, sir. I'm Phoebe and this is Nelly and the boys are John and Thomas.”

Daniel gave them a curt nod and mounted his horse. Isabel had evidently gotten her fertility from her mother. Maybe he'd fill her belly a few more times before discarding her.

* * * *

The next morning the caravan bound for Tewsbarrow arrived at the cottage just when Daniel had said it would. What with packing and worrying about her future under Daniel's “complete authority,” Isabel had slept little the night before. This morning her mother had roused Phoebe to help but left the other children sleeping. Still there was quite a bit of noise and confusion as servants loaded Isabel's luggage onto a stout wooden cart while Daniel barked orders at everyone.

After kissing her sister and mother goodbye, Isabel stood beside the horse equipped with a lady's saddle. Her mother had tied a cloth sling around her shoulders and under her cloak so Chloe would be protected from the blustery November weather, but the babe had no intention of missing all the activity around her. She whined and fought against her bindings until Isabel flipped one side of her cloak back and adjusted the sling so Chloe's capped head was in the open.

Just then Daniel came to help Isabel mount. He placed his large hands at her waist and lifted her up with ease. As she rose in the air, Chloe's face came abreast of Daniel's and she screamed as if she'd been touched with a hot poker.

Daniel started and almost dropped Isabel. When she was firmly seated on the saddle, he asked, “What's wrong with her?”

“She's frightened of strangers,” Isabel assured him as she wrapped her arms around the child and tried to soothe her.

After watching her for a moment, he said, “I'd better take your reins. You have your hands full.”

In order to lead her horse, Daniel had to ride ahead of Isabel, which pleased her because she had not decided how she should treat him. Of course he had a great deal of power over her and she certainly didn't want to do anything that might anger him into sending her away from Chloe, but she didn't feel obliged to play the guilty supplicant either.

Chloe's excited squirming interrupted Isabel's thoughts. Evidently, the six-month-old found riding on horseback very much to her liking and didn't want to miss a thing. She fought the sling that interfered with her vision so determinedly that Isabel found it difficult to control the child and keep her own balance.

Sir Robert apparently saw she was having trouble and rode up beside her, ready to prevent a disaster. Chloe fastened her attention on him, and he obligingly smiled and waved his leather-clad fingers at her. Surprisingly, Chloe returned his smile. Once she had turned so she could carefully observe him, she began a coy flirtation, burying her head against her mother's chest and then peeking out at Sir Robert.

The young knight encouraged her interest by making strange faces and noises, and Chloe settled down to suck her thumb and watch Sir Robert as if he were the most interesting creature she'd ever seen.

Isabel smiled her appreciation at him. “Thank you for distracting her.”

Sir Robert, who'd always been shy around Isabel, reddened a bit before answering. “I'm the eldest of six children, so I've a good deal of experience with babes.”

“Then we have a lot in common for I'm the eldest of five.”

“I know.”

“Did you become a knight to get away from caring for your siblings?”

“As the eldest son, I was expected to be a soldier.”

“And do you like soldiering?”

“I don't know. I think I might have liked real soldiering, but my father made sure I came to a part of the country where there was no opportunity for fighting.”

Isabel shook her head. “You surprise me, Sir Robert. You don't seem the bloodthirsty type.”

His eyes opened widely. “No, my lady. It's not that I want to harm others, but how will I someday rule my father's lands if I have not fully tested myself as a man?”

Isabel didn't know how to answer his question, but then her horse stopped and she looked ahead to see Daniel glaring at the two of them. “Test yourself by leading this horse for awhile,” he said in a curt voice.

Sir Robert instantly moved ahead to change places with Daniel, who waited for the horses to start again and fell in beside Isabel, but kept his distance, apparently warned off by Chloe's disgruntled frown over the loss of her hero.

Isabel wondered why Daniel kept glaring at her.
Does he resent my innocent conversation with Sir Robert?
She was finding it hard to act contrite when he was being so unreasonable. She pretended to be unaware of him and rode in silence until Chloe began to whine and twist and Isabel felt wetness seeping through the sling.

She looked at Daniel. “Ah-I need to stop.”

The creases between his eyes became caverns. “We've barely started.”

“Chloe needs changing.”

He made his displeasure obvious with a disgusted huff, but called a halt near a grove of oak trees. When he approached to help her dismount, Chloe's whines became full-fledged cries. Not as frantic as her earlier howls, but nevertheless showing her dislike of Daniel.

He looked stricken and stepped back, calling, “Robert, can you help Lady Isabel down?”

The young knight came quickly, but rather than reaching for Isabel, he said, “Take the sling from around your neck.”

Isabel followed his suggestion, grateful to have the weight removed from her shoulder. Through the sling's cloth, Robert grabbed Chloe around the waist, and held her so she could watch her mother while Daniel lifted Isabel to the ground.

From there on, every time they stopped to change napkins or allow Chloe to privately nurse, Sir Robert held the babe as Daniel lifted Isabel. It was obvious Daniel knew little of babes and felt intimidated by Chloe's negative reaction to him. Isabel realized this caused him pain, but there was nothing she could do under the circumstances to correct it, and did she want to correct it? Chloe's reaction might cause him to lose interest in the child and decide he no longer wanted her around.

* * * *

Because of the slow-moving cart and the many stops caused by the babe, they did not arrive at Tewsbarrow until early twilight. Daniel was totally out of sorts by the time the castle's towers came into view. The babe—his babe—seemed to hate him and yet had quickly accepted being handled by Sir Robert. This made him wonder if Chloe had seen Sir Robert before, if perhaps he had been paying visits to the cottage in Whitmere. He and Isabel seemed friendly enough. Thoughts of how “friendly” they might have been made Daniel's jaw twitch.