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He made a rude noise. “I don’t know why I bothered to ask.”
“I—”
“Get back to the keep, madam,” he said. “And do not venture—”
“Nay!” she cried, standing firm as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I have no intention of returning to the keep until I’ve had my walk.”
“’Tis not for you to defy—”
“Nor should you try to hold me prisoner!” she said, her eyes flashing angrily. Her chin trembled and she swallowed once, drawing his eyes to the muscles working in her delicate neck. The pulse at the base of her throat throbbed rapidly. “I have done naught to you or yours, my lord, and I wish you would stop your…your vile insinuations!”
Without hesitation, she flipped the end of her shawl over her shoulder, turned and strode away.
Bart dropped his hands to his sides and stood speechless for a moment, watching as she stepped onto the garden path. Her back was straight, and she held her head high, though he could see that her poise was hard-won. She was not nearly as confident as she would have him believe, and her boldness intrigued him.
He went after her.
Quickly catching up, he took hold of her arm again and whirled her around. Her chest rose and fell with each rapid breath, and her eyes were dark with anger. Her cheeks were now flushed with color, and her mouth parted in surprise. Without thinking, Bartholomew lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Marguerite was shocked by the heat of his mouth and the sound of need that emerged from deep within him. She was suddenly awash with her own needs, her own cravings. She was drowning again.
The kiss was no light brushing of lips, but a meeting of flesh that quickly intensified as her body melted into his. His heat enveloped her, his scent tantalized her. His mouth was warm, but softer than she ever would have imagined, knowing how hard and unyielding he was.
An exquisite ache formed in Marguerite’s lower body, and it seemed the only way to soothe it was to press even closer to him. When she moved to do so, he suddenly broke away.
Still dazed, Marguerite did not resist when Bartholomew took hold of her hand and pulled her alongside him, farther into the garden.
’Twas late enough in the season that the trees were mostly bare of their leaves. All of the flowers had ceased to bloom, leaving withered stalks and tangled, brown underbrush along the path. The garden was colorless and bleak, but Marguerite noticed naught but the pounding of her heart and the heat of Bartholomew’s hard, callused hand around her own.
When they were deep in the garden, Bart stopped next to a massive oak tree at the edge of the path. The only color in his face was the slight flush in the hollows of his cheeks. He looked altogether too formidable, and when he let go of her hand, Marguerite took a step backward, causing a collision between her backside and the tree.
He followed.
Without speaking, he pressed his hands against the trunk on either side of Marguerite’s head. Fire was in his eyes, and determination in the set of his head. He studied her face, gazing at her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, and then at her mouth.
Marguerite trembled under his scrutiny, unafraid of him, but distinctly alarmed by her own attraction to him.
Without warning, he took her mouth again.
With both fists, she grabbed the damp linen at his chest and pulled him to her, taking possession of his lips, his teeth, his tongue. Shivering, she felt his hands drop to her shoulders, then down her back and lower, dragging her body into closer contact with his.
Marguerite let go of his tunic and slid her hands up the hard muscles of his chest, even as he overwhelmed her senses with his mouth, his touch, his very size. He tasted male, if that was possible, and so very potent he made her dizzy.
Every nerve in her body hummed. Her blood boiled and her bones seemed to melt under his sensual onslaught. Her lack of memory made no difference now, when the present was all that mattered.
He jerked abruptly away from her. “I must be mad,” he said. He encircled her wrists with his hands, imprisoning them against his chest even as he stepped back.
Marguerite swallowed and gazed blankly at his chest as she worked to compose herself. He was not the only one suffering a kind of madness. She had allowed herself to succumb to her attraction for Bartholomew, in spite of her anger, in spite of her uncertainty of who and what she was.
She let out a shuddering breath and looked up.
His dark eyes still smoldered with heat, and his jaw was clenched tight. His breathing was not as steady as usual.
Her own certainly was not. Nor did her heart maintain its normal rhythm. Every inch of her skin felt as if it were on fire, and the tips of her breasts tingled uncomfortably. She swayed toward him, unwilling to end their ardent encounter.
After but a moment’s hesitation, Bartholomew swept her up in his arms and carried her farther into the garden. He did not stop until they’d reached a small, wooden hut, hidden behind a thick row of evergreens. He shoved the door open with one foot and carried her inside.
There were no windows, so the only light inside emanated from the open door. Marguerite eased her arms from around Bartholomew’s neck and slid down the length of his body to the floor. He cupped her face and kissed her once, quickly but deeply, then turned away, leaving her shaken and with a growing sense of uncertainty.
Marguerite was hardly aware of his actions as he lit a lamp and closed the door. Being alone with Bartholomew in this isolated shed at the far end of the garden was as daunting as it was exciting. And Marguerite knew she could not stay.
Bartholomew did not trust her, nor did he believe her claim of memory loss. She would never allow such intimacy while he held such a low opinion of her.
She clasped her hands before her and cleared her throat. “M-my lord,” she began. “I…” She bit her lip and watched him as he came back to her.
“Do not think, Marguerite,” he said, nuzzling her ear. He moved his lips to her throat. “Just feel….”
She swallowed, and felt all too much. Her body was overcome with the sensations he was able to elicit with barely a touch, and she felt herself falling all over again.
“My lord,” she breathed. “I cannot…This is unseemly….”
“I want you.” He pulled the shawl away from her shoulders and let it drop.
“I…I—”
His hands slipped down to cup her breasts, and Marguerite felt the tips hardening in response. The only thing that could possibly feel more glorious would be his hands on her naked flesh.
“You want me, too.”
She swallowed hard. “Wh-what if I have a husband, my lord?” she asked tremulously. “Or a betrothed?”
The seductive touches at her throat and breasts stopped abruptly, and Bartholomew drew himself up to his full height, sliding his hands up to her shoulders. “Have you?”
Marguerite blushed. She shook her head. “I do not know,” she whispered. “I don’t believe anyone has ever t-touched me this way, but I cannot be sure.”
“It changes naught,” he said roughly. “How can you cuckold a husband or lover if you cannot remember him?”
“I do not know, my lord,” Marguerite retorted as she worked to compose herself, “b-but I would not betray a husband if indeed he exists.”
“But you…” Bartholomew turned away, dragging his fingers through his hair in frustration. She heard him mutter something under his breath, but could not make out the words. He walked toward the door, then stood facing it as he plowed his fingers through his hair.
“I am sorry, my lord, if—”
“I want you in my bed,” he said, turning to her again. His hair was more disheveled now, and his eyes were dark, dangerous to her peace of mind. “I want you naked, willing. Come to me when you’ve decided what you want.”
Chapter Five
“Bartie!” Eleanor cried when she met Bartholomew on the garden path.
“What is it, Eleanor?” he growled. His young sister had managed to take him off guard, and that was highly unusual.
“Are you angry?”
“Nay,” he said, more harshly than he intended.
“But you look—”
“What is it?”
“I came to find Lady Marguerite in the garden,” Eleanor replied, abandoning her line of questioning. “I thought you were on the practice field.”
“Lady Marguerite told you she was coming here?” he asked, focusing on Eleanor’s first statement. “To the garden?”
“Aye, for a walk,” she replied. “She said she hoped ’twould help to clear her head.”
As would a walk outside the walls, he thought. Just because she’d told Eleanor that she was going to the garden meant naught. ’Twas just as likely she’d lied to Ellie about her destination.
“Did you see her?” Eleanor asked.
“Hmm?”
“Bartie,” Eleanor said with exasperation. “Are you listening at all? I asked if Lady Marguerite is in the garden.”
“Aye,” he replied absently. “But I think it unlikely her head has cleared.”
He left Eleanor in the path and returned to the keep.
It took a long time for Marguerite to regain her balance after Bartholomew left her. She picked up her shawl from the floor and left the shed, closing the door tightly behind her. She stood quietly for a moment, with her hands on the rough wooden door.
“Come to me when you’ve decided what you want,” he’d said, as if there was no question that she’d want to become his mistress.
A tremulous sigh escaped her. She could not deny the attraction that pulled so strongly between them. She craved the sensual pleasures of Bartholomew’s promise, but knew she could not engage in such intimacies without involving her heart.
And she knew Bartholomew Holton would never do the same. He guarded his heart like the fiercest sentry at the castle gates.
She would be no more to him than his leman, a woman who gave her favors to the lord in exchange for her keep, and any other gifts he might bestow. ’Twas an arrangement that would crush her spirit.
The sound of a child’s song interrupted Marguerite’s deliberations, and she turned to see Eleanor, skipping and singing as she made her way up the path. Marguerite stepped away from the shed and greeted her.
“Do you feel better now?” Eleanor asked.
Marguerite smiled. “Aye, I do. Especially now that you’re here to show me all the best places in the garden.”
“I know a much better place,” Eleanor said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She took Marguerite’s hand and pulled her in the opposite direction from which she’d come. “Shall we go and watch the men who are building our wall?”
“Nay,” Marguerite said. “First you must tell me about the jewelry you left in the shoes in the trunk.”
“Jewelry?”
Marguerite looked askance. “Aye. You knew very well that I would find those necklaces and rings among the clothes in the trunk.”
“I thought you would like them,” Eleanor said, clearly aware that further denials would achieve naught.
“That is not the question,” Marguerite replied as she walked along beside Eleanor. “Whose jewelry is it, and where does it belong?”
“They are the Norwyck jewels,” she said. “Bartie keeps them in a casket in his chamber.”
“Then you must take every bit of it back to your brother’s room when we return to the keep.”
“Very well,” Eleanor said petulantly, but she quickly brightened. “But shall we go and see the wall now?”
Marguerite followed along in good humor. She had seen very little of Norwyck through the tower windows and wished to see more. “What wall?”
“Around the village,” Eleanor said as she hiked up her skirts and pulled herself up onto a low branch of a tree. “Bartholomew says that is the only way to protect the village from the Armstrongs.”
“Ah, and ’Tis a good idea, too.”
“He just hasn’t figured a way to keep the Armstrongs from stealing the sheep and cattle from the hills,” Eleanor said as she climbed higher.
“Aye, but keeping the village safe is of greater importance,” Marguerite remarked as she watched Eleanor swing her legs from the limbs overhead, wondering at the same time where the girl’s nurse was.
“Still, our wealth comes from the sheep.”
“You’re quite informed for one so young,” Marguerite said. In truth, the child was an amazing dichotomy of youthful mischief and a mature understanding that seemed beyond her years.
“Aye,” Eleanor replied breezily as she reached up and climbed to a higher branch. “Someday I will grow up and be the lady of a grand demesne. Nurse Ada says I must learn all that I can here at Norwyck before I marry a great lord.”
Marguerite stifled a smile. “Why don’t you come down here and tell me who you have in mind?”
“No one.” Eleanor sighed. “But Bartie will find a suitable husband for me.” She climbed down and jumped to the ground, then took Marguerite’s hand and continued up the path. “Kathryn will wed first, but Bartie will find a much better husband for me after he learns how with Kathryn.”
Marguerite laughed and asked Eleanor to tell her about Norwyck’s wall.
“Bartie says that every cottage must be within the wall. We’ll even have two wells inside, one in the castle and one in the center of the village!”
That was a definite advantage. Norwyck could withstand a siege as long as they had a water source. Food would be another problem altogether, but if the villagers stored their grain and kept chickens and pigs in their yards, ’twould not be quite so bad.
Marguerite had no idea how she knew all that, but did not question it when they reached the site where masons were erecting a gatehouse, using large stones gathered from the hills and fields. She was amazed by the extent of Bartholomew’s project, but knew it made perfect sense to defend Norwyck this way.
It seemed to Marguerite that he was a prudent and vigilant overlord, actively working toward the safety and well-being of all who lived within his realm.
There was a great deal of activity here. Dust flew and tools clanged as voices carried across the site. Men pulled carts laden with the stones that would make up the wall, and tipped them out on the ground near the masons. Others stood on ladders, laying rock and patching small holes with mortar.
Eleanor took great delight in showing Marguerite around, dashing here and there, speaking to some of the men at work. Marguerite had to direct the child away from potential hazards several times, but Eleanor continued to scamper everywhere, running on both sides of the wall. She tipped over one bucket of water, and stuck her foot in a mass of wet mortar.
“Eleanor!” Marguerite cried. Though she had no real authority over the child, she knew she had to get the girl away from the work site before she caused a serious disaster.
A burly man in a coarse brown tunic caught Eleanor’s arms before she could fall into the mess.
“I am duly impressed with the wall, Eleanor,” Marguerite said, looking up gratefully at the giant who’d rescued the child. She grasped her hand and pulled her away. “But we should take ourselves back to the keep.”
“Aye,” said the burly man, wiping Eleanor’s shoe, “your brother wouldn’t want ye here, m’fine young lady. Besides, we’ve got some problems.”
But an exuberant Eleanor slipped away again.
“M’lady.” The man turned to Marguerite. “Lord Norwyck has been sent for, and he’ll be on his way in a moment. ’Twould be better if he did not find his sister here.”
Nor did Marguerite want him to find her here, either. She gave a quick nod to the fellow and turned to go after Eleanor. She would insist that they return to the keep before Bartholomew arrived.
But Eleanor delighted in her game, running away from Marguerite and attempting to hide behind a precariously stacked pile of rocks. Marguerite worried that the child might upset the pile and injure herself. ’Twas obvious Eleanor was not going to come away easily, so Marguerite had to think of some way to entice her.
“I’ll wager I can beat you back to the keep,” she called. “I’ll even give you a head start.”
Eleanor laughed aloud and came away from the rock pile, allowing Marguerite to breathe again. “Nay! I’ll make it there first!” the girl cried, then ran away through the village lanes toward Norwyck Keep, while Marguerite watched her.
“I’ll give ye due credit, m’lady,” the big man said behind her. “Ye handled her better than most.”
Marguerite turned to face the man, and saw that Bartholomew had arrived and stood beside him. He still wore the sweat-stained tunic and hose she’d last seen him in, and he remained silent, quietly observing. Marguerite did not know how long he’d been standing there, but he said naught.
She gave a slight bow, hoping he could not hear the wild beating of her heart, then turned and walked away.
Bart was going to have to find a younger nurse for his sisters. One who was more capable of governing them than poor old Ada could do. The family’s old nurse had declined in the past year, and Bartholomew would not have his sisters making the poor woman’s life miserable.
As he stood watching Marguerite’s fading form, his mouth quirked into the semblance of a smile. She had handled Ellie like a master—better than even he could do, and he’d been the only one who’d had any control over the girl since William’s death.
“M’lord?” Big Symon Michaelson brought his attention back to the matter at hand.
“What seems to be the trouble?”
“Er…the bailiff and the reeve are about to come to blows, m’lord.”
This was not the first time the two men had clashed during the building of the wall. Norwyck’s Bailiff Darcet was a strict little man whose opinions and judgments often seemed overly harsh to the villagers, and Bart himself had had occasion to question his competence. On the other hand, the reeve was intimately familiar with the situations of every family in the village, and he exempted the village men or women from work accordingly.
Until now Bartholomew had kept the peace by keeping the two men separate. But the wall-building was an important function, one he could not keep either from attending. He just wished he could manipulate them as well as Marguerite had managed Eleanor.
He followed Big Symon to the gatehouse and spent an hour solving the dispute to everyone’s satisfaction, when all he wanted was to go back to the keep, get cleaned up and consider the best way to seduce Marguerite into his bed. He wanted her with an intensity that was entirely foreign to him. Even without knowing who she was, or what lies she’d told him, he felt a desire that was unparalleled.
That did not mean he would trust her. He would provide shelter and board at Norwyck, but ’twas not necessary for him to believe every tale she told. She was beautiful, and enticing, and that was enough for him.
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