Table of Contents

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Copyright

“Such a sharp tongue you possess, Katharine. No soft and gentle wife will you be, I vow.”

“No wife will I be. I will not wed you!”

“I will give you a choice. You may don the wedding gown I have brought—”Senet nodded at the heap she had thrown to the floor “—or you may be married as you are, in your chemise.”

“You are deaf, dumb, blind and senseless!”she shouted furiously, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “I will not wed you!”

“I give you the span of a minute to make your decision.”

“You, a knight of the realm? You would not parade any woman before her own people so nearly undressed. And certainly not the woman you mean to have as a wife,”she said with disdain.

“Nay, I would not subject you to such a humiliation, but you are the one who will conclude the outcome.”

Dear Reader,

As the weather heats up this month, so do the passion and adventure in our romances!

Susan Spencer Paul brings us another tale in her fabulous medieval BRIDE SERIES, all loosely related—and very hotl—stories of stolen brides. You may know Susan from her mainstream historical novels written as Mary Spencer. The Captive Bride is the story of Senet Gaillard—Isabelle’s tortured brother from The Bride Thief—who meets the one woman who can mend his broken heart, Lady Katharine Mathus. But first he must storm her castle and “force”her to marry him!

Lord of Lyonsbridge marks the twelfth book for the talented Ana Seymour. In this unusual medieval novel, a sinfully handsome horse master teaches a spoiled Norman beauty important lessons in compassion and love. And don’t miss Linda Castle’s new Western, Heart of the Lawman, about the power of forgiveness. Here, a single mother, upon release from prison, is drawn to her child’s guardian—the same man who mistakenly imprisoned her…

Finally, we have a wonderful marriage—of—convenience story set in Oregon, Plum Creek Bride by Lynna Banning. When a German nanny travels to the West to care for a baby girl, she arrives to find a grieving widower—the town doctor—and teaches him how to love again.

Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historicals® novel.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Captive Bride
Susan Spencer Paul

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUSAN SPENCER PAUL

who also writes as Mary Spencer, lives in Monrovia, California, with her husband, Paul, an R.N., and their three daughters, Carolyn, Kelly and Katharine. She is the author of twelve historical novels set in a variety of time periods, and especially loves writing about the medieval and Regency eras.

Dedicated to my wonderful Liming sisters-in-law, Jeanie, Lori, Nancy and Barbara, with all my love

Prologue

France, March 1437

Sir John Fastolf was sitting with his booted feet propped on a trunk when the flap to his tent opened. He looked up from the missive he was reading and saw the tall man standing outside in the heavy rain. “Ah, at last. Sir Senet. Come in and be welcomed. Luc—”he turned his attention briefly to his busy serving boy “—bring Sir Senet some wine.”Then he waved to his visitor. “Come in, man. No need to stand in the rain. Come in and sit down.”

Senet ducked and stepped into the tent, removing his helmet with one hand as he did so. When he lifted his head it was to meet Sir John’s greeting smile with a somber gaze.

“Have you word from London, my lord?”he asked, standing in his place and dripping water on the rug that had been laid on the ground.

Sir John nodded. “This morn. I sent word to you as soon as I had it in my hands. The battle has gone hard, I take it?”His knowing gaze moved over the other man’s dirty, much worn armor.

Senet’s expression gave little away. “As ever, my lord.”

“Yes,”Sir John said with a sigh. “As ever. I shall miss your good services when you’ve gone, Senet. You’re one of the finest soldiers I’ve had the pleasure to command. Sit down and we’ll share a goblet over your good fortune.”

Senet’s gaze sharpened. “The king has approved my request?”

“His regents have, rather. You’d have made no headway without the aid of your sister’s husband, Sir Justin Baldwin. It was he who convinced Duke Humphrey to consider making you this boon. I needn’t tell you how unusual this is, given the fact of your father’s treason.”

“Have I made no reparation for that?”Senet demanded.

“Quite obviously you have,”Sir John told him, “else you’d not have your family lands returned to you. There is a condition, however, before you may take repossession of Castle Lomas.”

“Condition?”Senet repeated warily. He pulled the gauntlet from one hand and took the goblet the boy Luc brought him. When Sir John motioned again for him to sit, he carefully took the chair opposite his host.

Sir John accepted a goblet as well, sipping from it slowly before answering.

“Circumstances have fallen in a fortunate manner for you, Senet. I doubt the request to regain your lands would have been considered, much less granted, if Sir Richard Malthus hadn’t died without leaving an heir. It was Malthus, you recall, who was given the deed and title to Lomas after your father was executed for treason. There is only an unmarried daughter now, Lady Katharine, twenty and one years of age, who has seen fit to run the estate since her father’s death in any manner she pleases—which does little to endear her to Duke Humphrey, you may be sure. But that was as Malthus wished, at least until the girl should be properly wed. Sir Justin petitioned for you in the matter, and the king’s regents have agreed. Your lands will be returned to you in full as soon as you’ve taken Lady Katharine to wife.”

Senet stared at him, his fingers tightening upon the goblet he held. Sir John held his hands up, as if warding off what he thought must be an objection. “I know she is somewhat older than what most men seek in a wife, but I am assured that she is both hearty and hale and descended of a long line of good breeders. ‘Tis unlikely that you would have any trouble in getting an heir off her.”

“Has Lady Katharine agreed?”

Sir John smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, no. It appears that she’s received the news of your proposed marriage with little enthusiasm, and has denied the request based on a formal betrothal her father arranged between herself and a wealthy baron, Lord Hanley. Lord Hanley, however, disappeared more than three years ago while on a religious pilgrimage, and has long been presumed dead. Still, Lady Katharine insists that the betrothal be maintained and has refused any and all proposals of marriage. Duke Humphrey, understandably, is exceedingly displeased with the girl, and has granted you permission to.encourage her in the matter. Only make certain that you bring the lady no harm, nor any of those in her care.”He set his goblet aside on a nearby table and sat forward. “And now, Senet Gaillard, I have the unhappy task of releasing you from any further duty here in France. You’re to leave for England as soon as possible and make for Lomas.”

Senet nodded, his expression as sober and unremarkable as if Sir John had merely spoken of the weather.

“What of my friends? Sir Kayne—”

Sir John held up a staying hand. “He and Sir Aric and John Ipris are to go with you. I would not separate you from your comrades at such a time, and they have served England as well as you have done these past several years. To ask more of them now would be unjust. You are all released from duty to return home and lay your siege upon Castle Lomas.”

Senet drained his cup and set it aside. Standing, he took up his gauntlet and helmet. “Lomas is mine by right of birth,”he said evenly. “Lady Katharine is another matter. If by wedding her I reclaim what is rightfully mine, then you may be certain, my lord, that she will be my wife. Regardless of what her wishes may be, or how stubborn she may prove. She will wed me, even if I must lock her away to make certain of it. I promise you that on my very honor.”

He set his helmet upon his head with an easy, longpracticed motion, and tugged on his gauntlet. Making a curt bow, he bid Sir John good day, then turned about and left as abruptly as he had arrived.

Chapter One

England, July 1437

“It is unacceptable.”

Katharine put the missive aside with finality. The gaze she set upon the man standing before her was unwavering. “You may tell Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet Gaillard that my decision on the matter remains unchanged. And,”she added distinctly, “unchangeable. I will not accept Sir Senet for a husband. If Duke Humphrey finds this distressing, then I pray you will remind him that I am already betrothed.”

“He has not forgotten it, my lady,”Sir William told her with a slight bow. “But Lord Hanley has been presumed dead these past three years—”

“He is not dead!”Katharine rose from her chair. “I will not have you, or anyone else, saying so.”She gripped her skirt in a tight fist as she moved nearer the man. “The pilgrimage he’s undertaken has merely lasted longer than expected. If any ill had befallen him or his companions, I would have had word of it”

“The trouble, my lady, is that you’ve had no word from him. Nor has anyone else. It is only logical to assume the worst.”

“Not at all,”she countered. “Lord Hanley is an exceedingly devout man, and would not be given to such worldly concerns as writing mere missives when he is instead giving worship to God. He wished to make this journey before taking on the duties of marriage and so asked me to wait for his return. I will do as he requested and fulfill the promise I gave him. Surely Duke Humphrey would not want me to do otherwise.”

“My lady, only hear me—”

“There is nothing more to say,”she said brusquely. “You may convey my sentiments to Duke Humphrey exactly as I have expressed them, and tell him that I pray he leaves me in peace.”

The man hesitated.

“Are you quite certain that this is what you wish, Lady Katharine?”

“Quite certain.”

He looked behind her to where three other ladies sat watching the proceedings.

“There is no one who can change your mind?”

The ladies to whom he looked variously cast their eyes to the floor, and Katharine replied, “No one.”

He bowed. “Then I will thank you for receiving me, and bid you good day.”

Katharine nodded. “Mistress Ariette will escort you through the hall.”One of her ladies, a diminutive young woman, rose silently from her chair. “Godspeed to you, my lord.”

She collapsed into the nearest chair the moment he quit the room.

“May God forgive me,”she murmured, drawing in a deep breath and crossing herself, “for speaking so many falsehoods.”The breath was released in a rapid whoosh.

The remaining women quickly surrounded her.

“Oh, my lady, you were wonderful!”

“Thank you, Dorothea.”Katharine accepted the goblet of wine that was pressed into her shaking hand. “I thought my knees would give way before he finally left. Did he believe it, do you think?”

“He must have done so,”Dorothea answered, fanning her mistress with a small square silk linen. “You were most convincing.”

“Indeed,”said the other maid, younger than the other two. “You made Lord Hanley sound almost a saint, and that was not easily done.”

Katharine smiled. “I nearly choked on the words. If that pompous fool ever does return alive from his travels, I can only pray he’ll never hear of what transpired this day.”

“He might insist that you wed him.”

“May heaven forbid it!”Katharine said fervently, and her ladies nodded.

A soft voice came from the doorway. “My lady?”Ariette had returned. “He has gone.”

“But he’ll be back soon,”Katharine said with a frown. “Or if not him, another of Duke Humphrey’s messengers. The king’s regent has a never ceasing supply of them, so it seems. This makes the sixth we’ve dealt with thus far, not including the visit Sir Justin Baldwin paid.”

“Perhaps the duke himself might make the journey,”Dorothea speculated.

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”Katharine stood and walked back to where she’d left the missive. Unfolding and laying it upon the table, she flattened it with both hands. “I must find the means to keep Lomas without fettering myself in the doing. Surely there is some way to manage it.”

“I don’t know why you won’t at least see Sir Senet,”the youngest girl said. “’Tis rumored that he’s very handsome, as well as a brave knight who has attained much honor. And Lomas would have been his by right if naught had happened to change the matter.”

“I’ve no care for either Senet Gaillard’s looks or his attainments, Magan,”Katharine told her distractedly, studying the page before her. “His father was a traitor to the throne, and I’ll not be wed to such a one. And as to Lomas being his—I should have to be dead first.”

“Oh, my lady, please don’t say that,”Ariette begged. “The duke may force you to wed the man. Or he may grow even angrier and make Sir Senet lord here without the necessity of marriage. Then we would all of us be beneath his hand. Even you.”

It was true, Katharine thought unhappily, and might very well occur, especially if she continued to turn aside the proposed marriage. And it was something that might already have occurred to Duke Humphrey, regardless of whatever crimes Senet Gaillard’s father had committed. The past lord of Lomas might have been a traitor to the crown, but Sir Senet, if all that she’d heard was true, had more than proven himself loyal to both king and country. He’d killed his father’s own people in the war with France—his own people, since he was so closely related to French royalty, in order to prove himself.

But none of that mattered to Katharine. She had no wish for an arranged marriage. Indeed, she had no wish for marriage at all. It was naught but a chain to women, a path to lifelong servitude. Even the betrothal that her father had arranged to Lord Hanley, whom she despised, had been awful to her. When he had decided to go on his pilgrimage, Katharine had been utterly relieved; when he’d evidently disappeared on that same pilgrimage, she’d thanked God for unexpected mercies. Not that she wished harm upon Lord Hanley, but she’d been her own mistress at Lomas since even before her father had died, and had no wish to be otherwise. If she married Lord Hanley or Sir Senet, or any man, she would suddenly become as she had once been—powerless and, worse, unable to do so much as speak her mind on how best to manage Lomas for the benefit of both the land and the people. She had seen that fate befall her own mpther before her father had been gifted with the estate and title that belonged to Lomas, when they had lived at court in London. It was as if her mother had merely become a shadow, necessary only to make certain of the comfort of others, but nothing more. And like a shadow she had eventually faded beneath such a lack of identity. Katharine’s father hadn’t even realized that his wife was slipping away until it had been too late. She would never forget how stunned he’d been at her mother’s death, how unforgivably surprised.

“I will think of a way to keep it from happening,”Katharine vowed. “I must. Even if I cannot hold off marrying forever, at least I may buy enough time to find a husband of my own choosing.”

“I cannot see what good that will do,”said Dorothea. “They are all the same, are they not? And perhaps you may find one who is even worse, than Sir Senet. Only think of Lord Hanley.”

Katharine gave a slight shudder. “You speak truly, though few men could be a worse prospect for husband than he.”She grew thoughtful. “But it would be convenient, would it not, if I truly had a betrothed? Someone who would convince Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet and any other suitors that I am soon to be wed so that they may leave me in peace.”

“But you are betrothed,”Magan told her. “To Lord Hanley. And it would be impossible to procure him, would it not?”

“Yes, and may God be praised for it,”Katharine said with a nod, “but I doubt that any of Duke Humphrey’s messengers would recognize Lord Hanley if they saw him. He was not given to visits at court, and was somewhat solitary. Would it not be most convincing to my case if he should suddenly return from his pilgrimage?”

Her ladies gaped at her, until Dorothea said, “My lady, you cannot intend to practice such deceit.”

“Can I not?”Katharine’s lips curved into a smile. “I am a woman sorely pressed, and capable of attempting anything at all. Indeed, the more I think of it, the better I like the idea. I need only find the right man to lend me aid in such a scheme, and all will be well.”

“My lady, this is madness!”Ariette protested. “Only think. You would have to marry this man—a stranger. How can that be any better than wedding with Sir Senet?”

“I can’t think I should have to do any such thing,”Katharine replied evenly. “If I can only convince whoever will help me to temporarily play the part of my betrothed, then he may leave Lomas unfettered—and much the richer—once Duke Humphrey has been convinced. I’ll have no further need of him.”

“Will you not?”Ariette pressed. “And what will happen when the duke discovers you never wed? He’ll be angrier than before, and will have you punished for such a lie.”

“Hmm.”Katharine tapped the tip of one finger against her chin, thinking of this. “You speak truly, Ariette. And it would be just as well to have the matter done with so that we need not worry over any interference in future. But the answer to that is simple, as well. I must only find a man who will wed if enough money is offered and who has no more interest in maintaining a binding union than I. Someone who will gladly be on his way once the ruse has met its goal.”She smoothed her hand over the missive once more. “I believe I know the perfect man.”

“Who, my lady?”

She straightened. “Kieran FitzAllen.”

A collective gasp rose among the others.

“But, Lady Katharine!”Magan cried. “He’s your own cousin!”

“My half cousin,”Katharine corrected. “And distantly removed, at that, as well as basely born. Duke Humphrey has probably never even heard of him, or known of his existence. He’d pass perfectly as Lord Hanley, without a moment’s question.”

“But he’s…he’s…”Ariette began, faltering.

“A rogue,”Dorothea stated sternly. “A complete scoundrel in every way. He’s ever in trouble, and well you know it. I can’t believe anyone would mistake such a coarse man for Lord Hanley.”

“And I can’t believe you should wish to wed him,”Magan said. “Despite that he’s the most handsome of men, he would likewise make the most unreliable of husbands. Only think of all his.women.”She reddened just speaking of it. “How could you possibly wish to be united to such a man?”

“Easily,”Katharine said with a wave of one hand. “Oh, Kie’s a troublemaker, I grant you, but his heart is good and his pockets empty. ‘Twould be a simple matter to coax him to the idea, and he’d leave Lomas readily enough when the time came. He’s never wished to marry any more than I have. I can’t think why it’s not occurred to me before now that we might lend each other aid in the matter.”

“He’d be a burden about your neck for the rest of your life,”Dorothea declared. “Always showing up when he was in trouble or needing money. You’d never be rid of him.”

“I won’t care for that, so long as he never attempts to lay claim to Lomas. And that,”she said with certainty, “is something he would not do. You know how he disdains responsibility.”She grinned at her ladies. “’Tis why he’s always roaming about, hither and yon, is that not so? Nay, Kie will give me no trouble. He’ll make the ideal husband, if I can but convince him to come to Lomas to hear what I propose.”

“I doubt you could even find him,”Ariette said with a sniff. “He only shows up when he wants something.”

“Unkind!”Katharine charged. “And untrue. You know very well that he comes often only to visit. We’ve always gotten along well, and I have counted him among my truest friends. If he has needed aid on occasion, I’ve been more than glad to lend it. He’s never grown wearisome in his company, at least, as Lord Hanley was given to do.”

“And what of Lord Hanley?”Magan asked. “What if he should one day return from his pilgrimage? What a fine road of trouble that would be, were he to find you wed to another who’d taken his name.”

Katharine shook her head. “He’ll not return. Not after so long. And if he should—”The idea made her feel slightly ill. “At least I would be safely wed to another. If I lose Lomas for the deceit, I would not also have to suffer in being his wife. But come. We waste precious time. Magan, bring parchment and ink, and I will write a missive to Kieran. If only he can be found in time, we may be ready to receive whoever else Duke Humphrey deigns to send. Even Sir Senet Gaillard, should he be so bold as to come to Lomas uninvited. But I cannot think he would do anything so rude, unless he is more treacherous than his father was.”

“Oh, my lady,”Magan said, pleading, “I beg you to think of this matter again. It can bring naught but disaster!”

“There is no more time for pondering. Indeed, we would do far better to spend our time in prayer, and ask God to aid us in finding my cousin. Knowing how he wanders, that in itself may require a small miracle.”

It looked the same as Senet had remembered it. The valley spread out below was the most beautiful he’d ever seen—although he knew, in truth, that only he would think it so. But the land surrounding Castle Lomas was ripe with crops—wheat, oats, beans—while farther away it rolled gently, dotted with oak trees. Farther still the trees grew together more thickly, forming a forest. A small, constant river meandered through the middle of the valley, bordering the castle gates on one side. He remembered fishing in that river, and riding through the oak trees and forest, and hawking with his father in the fields on cold, early mornings. His mother had liked to sit atop the castle walls on pleasant nights and gaze out at the stars, pondering their distances and trying to figure the numbers in her brilliant mind. His sister, Isabelle, had played with him in the garden in the inner bailey when they were children, although she was older than he by some few years.

How very long ago it seemed, when he had believed that Castle Lomas was a place of complete security. He had thought he would live there forever and one day be lord, that he would bring his own lady there as wife and raise his children in the castle where he himself had been born.

It had gone away so quickly, all of it. The land, the castle, the title—even his parents. His father had found it more difficult to give fealty to his family than to France, the land of his birth, and so had turned traitor when England had sought the French throne. Even after England had secured the throne he’d continued plotting treason, and when the betrayal had been discovered, Lord Lomas had been promptly executed. Castle Lomas, the lands and the title had been stripped away, claimed by the crown as forfeit for the crime. Senet’s mother, an English noblewoman, had died soon thereafter, of a broken heart His sister, Isabelle, had been given into the care of their mother’s half brother, Baron Hersell, and had been made to labor as little better than a lowly servant. Senet himself had become a slave to the man who had been fostering and training him for knighthood, but who would no longer countenance to train the son of a traitor. For years Senet had labored as if he were an animal, and had prayed daily for death, finding the thought of it far preferable to the life he had. His father’s deeds had taken away everything, even Senet’s claim to honor.

When he was sixteen he’d been miraculously rescued by Sir Justin Baldwin, the man who had saved Isabelle from Baron Hersell and taken her as his wife. Sir Justin had given him a home, a family, and had trained him for knighthood. In his selfless, gentle manner he had also given Senet something far more—the courage and the means to fight for his honor again. And Senet had done just that, serving England for the past ten years in its bloody, hopeless war against France, proving his loyalty time and again on the battlefield. Whatever his father had given away to France, Senet had taken back again, not letting himself think too long or too hard on who it was that he killed, or that his enemy might also be of his own, half—French blood.

And now he was nearing the last of it. His final goal. Castle Lomas would be his before the day was out, as it should always have been, and he would have his honor restored in full.

“The king’s messenger is returning.”Kayne, standing beside him, pointed to where the small figure of a man on horseback moved across the valley floor. “I wonder if Lady Katharine’s response was any different today than it has been these past many weeks.”

“It matters not,”Senet said. “Today is the finish of her wavering, whether she said ‘nay’ or ‘yea.’ Today I will have Lomas, either by reason or by force, and tomorrow, by the same reckoning, Lady Katharine will become my wife.”

“What I wonder,”said Aric, standing on Senet’s other side, “is if she’s ugly. A woman that age, twenty and one, and unmarried—there must be a reason for it.”

“It matters not,”Senet repeated. “I’ve no care for what she looks like, even if she should be an ugly hag. She will be my wife. Tomorrow.”

“’Tis indeed a goodly land,”Kayne remarked, crossing his arms against his chest. “I can understand why you longed for it. But, God’s feet, what a price you’ve been made to pay.”

Aye, he’d paid a price for it, Senet thought, in blood, with his very soul. Nothing would take it from him now.

“I give you good day,”a voice behind them greeted, accompanied by the sound of a horse’s hooves.

“John, well met.”Senet moved to hold that man’s horse as he dismounted. “How is it that you’ve returned before the king’s messenger? Did all go well?”

With a good—natured smile, John Ipris joined his friends at the edge of the hill, his stance leisurely and relaxed compared to the ready manner of his warrior companions.

“I’ve completed my survey of the castle proper, Senet, if that is what you mean. As to Lady Katharine—from what I overheard of her conversation with Sir William, your suit has not yet met with acceptance. She invoked the name of Lord Hanley again and insisted upon her loyalty to him.”

“’Tis an admirable quality in a woman,”Kayne said. “Loyalty.”

“And not often found in the fairer sex,”Aric added somewhat bitterly. “She’s a fool to waste the virtue on a dead man.”

“If what John says is true, and we will discover the full of it when Sir William arrives, then we must fall upon our next planned course of action.”

Kayne sighed. “I had prayed it would not be so. I am heartily weary of killing.”

“As am I, my friend,”Senet said soberly, “but it will not come to that, if we are carefuL John can tell us what weaknesses Lomas possesses, if they are any different from what I have remembered, and we will easily take it. Indeed, I have no wish to bring harm to any in the castle. Certainly not to my future wife or those belonging to her.”

Aric chuckled. “’Twould not be the most befitting way to begin a marriage.”

“She’ll have every opportunity to give way in peace,”Senet said. “Just as soon as the attack has begun.”

“And what if she will not do so?”Kayne asked.

“Then I’ll know what manner of woman I’m taking to wife, will I not? And she,”he continued evenly, “will discover what manner of man she shall have for a husband.”

Chapter Two

The battle for Lomas was a brief one, in part because it came without warning—so shortly after Sir William had departed—taking Lady Katharine by surprise, and in part because it was so well—executed that none of the men—atarms had a chance to obey their mistress when she gave the order to defend the castle. Still, Senet admired the effort those same men had put forth before being subdued. Lady Katharine might know little about keeping a castle safe at all times, but she clearly possessed enough intelligence to make certain of the loyalty of those beneath her hand.

No one was killed, a fact for which Senet was fully grateful. Kayne had spoken truly—they were all weary of killing. Ten years of it was sufficient for any man. Kayne, especially, was near the edge of enough.

The fighting men of Lomas were corralled in the inner bailey, looking about in a bewildered way at the smaller force that had so readily bested them. It was proof once again of how invaluable John’s remarkable skill in memorizing exact details was. He’d shown them the way to steal into the castle without detection, his facile brain remembering each entrance as if he’d held a map in his hands. But it had ever been thus with John, since Senet had known him. Indeed, his own rescue from slavery had been made possible only because of John’s amazing skill.

Apart from their ease of entry into Lomas, there had been the actual fighting that had made the difference in their quick victory. Months it had been since he and Kayne and Aric had fought side by side, and yet it was as if it had merely been days. They each knew what the other would do and how he would act without having to think on it. It was what had given them such strength during all their years in France—an instinct that proved the difference between life and death. The small forces Duke Humphrey had lent Senet to aid in his conquest had merely filled in the missing spaces.

It was over now. Castle Lomas was in his hands again, at last, and Senet stood before the men of the castle and addressed them as rightful master.

“I am Senet Gaillard,”he said loudly enough for all to hear. “Some of you will remember my father, Ignace Gaillard, who was the lord of Lomas for many years before he was tried and executed as a traitor to England. I am his heir, and have proven myself loyal to the throne. The crown has therefore declared it right and fitting that I should regain the estate which my family held for four generations before it fell into disgrace. This is my inheritance, given by God and king, and I am your rightful lord. Any man among you who finds it impossible to vow his fealty to me may take his things and leave. Whoever stays will make his pledge of loyalty on the morrow, before the priest and Lady Katharine.”

“We have vowed fealty to Lady Katharine!”one of the men shouted, and the others murmured and nodded. “’Tis she whom we serve!”

Senet exchanged a brief look with Kayne, who shook his head. That soldiers should declare for a woman over a proven fighting man was almost beyond belief.

“And where is your lady, then?”Senet demanded. “I do not see her here, to guide or support you, or even to do her duty and make terms for you. Is this the woman you wish to serve?”

“I am here, Senet Gaillard.”

The strong but clearly female voice came from behind, and Senet turned to see the speaker standing on the arched walkway above him, gazing down into the bailey. Their eyes met and held, and he realized, with a distinct certainty, that he was looking upon his future wife. Lady Katharine.

His first thought—an unsettling one—was that she was going to prove a handful. There was a defiance in both her stance and expression that boded no good for either of them. His second thought, even more disturbing, was that she was an uncommonly beautiful woman, tall and elegant and admirably formed. Her eyes were green—he could see the vivid color even from the distance at which he stood, and her hair, which was partly covered by white silk, was a mixture of gold and red. The stubborn set of her lips detracted only slightly from what he perceived to be a heart—shaped face, delicate and lovely and fully at odds with the bold manner in which she held herself. She looked like more of a battle—ready Valkyrie than a soft female. But she wasn’t soft—she’d proven that time and again by her actions during the past two months—and it was a fact Senet knew he had best remember if he wished to master the woman. And he would master her. He had not thought, since he was a much younger man, that he would marry, but if he must do so, he would at least be lord of the union.

“Lady Katharine,”he said, inclining his head toward her slightly. “We are honored by your presence. Do you come to speak terms for your men?”

“For all of my people, aye,”she stated, and he noticed for the first time the three women standing behind her, each as unfriendly in their manner as she was. “Come to the great hall, Senet Gaillard,”Lady Katharine said curtly, making it a command, not an invitation. “I will receive you there.”

Chin high, she turned about and strode away, leaving everyone present with the clear impression that she yet held herself as the lady of the castle. Senet allowed the behavior for the moment. It was an insult to him as the new master of Lomas to be treated with such contemptshe’d not even deigned to address him by his knightly title—but he was the one who had time on his side. For Lady Katharine, both time and power had slipped away; Senet could afford to be generous if it would in any way soften her before their marriage. It was a false hope, perhaps, to strive for some measure of peace with his wife. It didn’t particularly matter if they remained enemies, but he would rather gain her willingness and friendship than forever be wary in her presence.

“Kayne, Aric,”he said, glancing at his friends. “Attend Lady Katharine with me in the hall and we will make our terms. John, go and fetch Clarise and escort her safely to the castle. Bring her to the hall as soon as may be.”

“God in Heaven,”Ariette murmured as she followed her mistress into the hall. “He’s even more handsome than rumored. Did you see his eyes? So blue and clear. I’ve never seen the like before.”

“And his hair!”Magan said, scurrying beside her. “Black as coal, and straight and fine as a woman’s. I couldn’t help but stare, though I tried not to.”

Katharine had made the same attempt, but had found it impossible. Senet Gaillard must have been fashioned by the very devil to appear as he did. His coloring alone made it impossible not to look at him; those icy blue eyes seemed almost inhuman against the black of his hair. But he was very much a real man. A real, large and muscular, thoroughly masculine man. She’d seen the intention in the expression that his handsome face had held. There was no softness in him whatever. He meant to give up nothing, to take what he wished. It was to be battle between them. He’d clearly understood it, just as he had clearly understood her open disdain for him and his men.

Lifting her sweeping skirts with a tight fist as she moved toward the great hall’s dais, Katharine said, “His eyes and hair have naught to do with the man. He is our enemy. Don’t let his outward appearance cause any of you to forget that. Has the missive gone out to Kieran?”

Dorothea nodded. “The messenger was able to get away before the fighting began—but only just. I fear he will not find Kieran FitzAllen in time. What if Sir Senet should demand that you marry him at once?”

With a graceful gesture, Katharine turned about and sat in the large, thronelike chair that had served as her father’s seat of judgment. “He may demand as he wishes, but it will avail him nothing. I do not intend to wed him. And I certainly do not intend to cede Lomas to him. At least not forever.”

She couldn’t lose Lomas. It was all she had, all she’d ever had that truly belonged to her. And she had managed both the land and the castle successfully, putting the full of herself—all of her heart—into the task. Her father had been Lord Lomas in name only, never having much interest in the details involved in maintaining such an estate, preferring instead to busy himself with the grandeur of his title and fortune. She was the one who had labored so hard on Lomas’s behalf. She was the one who had devoted her every waking hour—and hours when she might have been sleeping, too—to the welfare of the people who had lived beneath her father’s hand. She wasn’t going to give over all she’d striven for, or the people she’d striven for, to the son of a traitor.

The doors to the great hall opened and Sir Senet Gaillard walked through. He was yet dirty and sweat—soaked from the battle, and carried in one hand his sword and in the other his helmet, as if he were still ready to fight. He advanced toward her unsmiling, and Katharine felt a strange, unbidden clutching sensation in her heart, something akin to fear, she thought, although she wasn’t afraid of him in the least. She forced the odd feeling away and made herself meet his gaze directly. Walking behind him were two other men, one as blond and fair as day and the other as dark and formidable as Senet Gaillard was, though far less appealing in face.

They stopped directly before her. Senet Gaillard alone took one step closer.

“Lady Katharine,”he said, and again she felt that strange sensation thrumming deep within. “As you have seen fit to ignore the edicts of the king’s regents to receive us peacefully, I have come in the only manner left me. Having taken Castle Lomas by force and possessing it fully, I make my formal claim to the land, the castle and the title, as well as to all those people, moneys and chattel. belonging to them. Including,”he said more slowly, “yourself.”

What on earth was wrong with her? Katharine wondered. It was impossible that she would be affected simply because a man was so handsome. Indeed, she had known many men who were far fairer to gaze upon than Senet Gaillard, yet not one of them had produced as much as a quickened breath. The sight of Senet Gaillard, the sound of his voice, affected her horribly. Not only was her heart pounding in her chest, but she had somehow suddenly gone dumb. All of the biting words she would have said faded away. She struggled to speak, even to think of how to answer him, and felt utterly foolish.

He stood where he was, waiting, finally arching one eyebrow upward questioningly.

“Do you concede, my lady?”

“In the matter of the castle, I have little choice,”she said at last, striving to make her voice calm and steady. “You have taken it by force, without due consideration for any of my requests for peace. For the time being, I concede it to you. Howbeit, as I have already informed Duke Humphrey, I am betrothed to be married, and will honor the promise I have already given Lord Hanley in the matter of marriage. As I understand that you cannot attain Castle Lomas, the lands or title without a marriage between us, I have faith that you will find your rule here to be of very short duration. If such as that appeals to you, please be content to pursue your pretense until the day of the arrival of my worthy betrothed. After he has come, I pray you will leave Lomas peacefully and with respect for what the law holds as true in these matters.

“In the meantime, my ladies and I will abide abovestairs, out of your way. I ask that you and your men leave us unmolested, in peace and privacy, as your knightly vows will require of you. I appeal to your knightly status, as well, in your dealings with my people, including the servants of this castle, whom I demand be treated with forbearance and kindness. I will not take it lightly should one of them come to any harm while you play out the farce you have brought upon us. That is all I have to say.” She rose from the chair. “My ladies and I will leave you now to enjoy the temporary victory you have attained.”

“Nay,”Sir Senet said. “You will not go. I have heard you out, Lady Katharine. You will now allow me the same courtesy.”

“I allow you nothing,”Katharine told him coldly.

His somber gaze never wavered. “Then I will force you to it, my lady, if that is your preference.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You are truly your father’s son, Senet Gaillard. I had heard it was so. Is it your intention to rule Lomas with threats?”

“It is my intention to be lord here. The manner in which I rule will be determined, in large, by you, Lady Katharine. I have said that you will listen to me, and you will. I would prefer not to use force. Be seated again.”

Katharine lifted her chin. “Nay, I will stand. Speak what you must.”

He drew in a long, taut breath. Katharine could see a muscle twitching in the tight set of his beard—stubbled jaw.

“I would that you sit.”

Katharine strove to keep from fisting her hands. She was so filled with anger at the beastly man that she felt as if flames must surely be about to spout from the top of her head. How dare he speak to her as if she must obey him! She was the mistress of the castle, and he nothing better than a false usurper.

“My ears,”she replied tersely, “work just as well whether I sit or stand, Senet Gaillard.”One of his companions, the handsome, blond—headed man, cleared his throat in an obvious effort to keep from laughing. Senet Gaillard gave him a sharp, quelling look. Katharine straightened her shoulders to stand taller. “I am not so poor a maiden as to wilt beneath the force of your words, or those of any man. Speak, and then leave my ladies and me in peace.”

She thought she heard a weary sigh emanate from his stern mouth. He set the tip of his sword on the edge of his booted foot and relaxed his posture as if he were, indeed, most weary.

“Very well, Lady Katharine. I’ll speak to you plainly. Lord Hanley has been presumed dead these past two years, and your betrothal to him, in the eyes of the throne, the church and the law, is therefore made void. As the lord of Lomas, I have been commanded to take you as wife to make certain of your future, also to protect and keep you. We will wed on the morrow. I advise you to make yourself ready. The ceremony will be performed after morning mass. Afterward, your men will vow their fealty to me as their lord, and to you as their lord’s wife.”

Her heart began to beat more painfully in her chest, and Katharine lowered her gaze briefly, struggling to maintain at least an outward composure. The man clearly meant what he said, and looked fully capable of carrying out every word. If she showed the slightest weakness before him now, she’d be finished before she’d even started.

The doors to the great hall opened and several armed soldiers entered, followed by a tall, slender man whom Katharine had seen only hours before in the company of the king’s regent, Sir William, when he had come to deliver Duke Humphrey’s missive. She had assumed that he was one of Sir William’s men, but it was suddenly clear that he was one of Senet Gaillard’s minions. He approached the dais where Katharine sat, leading on his arm a young, very beautiful woman who appeared to be rather frightened by her surroundings. Senet Gaillard turned at the girl’s approach and reached out a hand to draw her near.

“Here you are, Clarise. Come. Don’t be afraid.”To Katharine he said, “Lady Katharine, I make known to you Mademoiselle Rouveau, a gentlewoman beneath my care. I desire that she be given an appropriate chamber and a maid to attend her needs. At once.”

Katharine didn’t think she’d ever been so angry in all her life, and trembled with rage.

“How pleasing your proposal is, Senet Gaillard. You speak of marriage in one breath and present your whore to me in the next! Do you dare to bring your leman here and ask me to take care of her? You may take yourself off to the devil, sir! You, your men and your woman with you!”It was bad enough that he had taken her castle by force and meant to take her by the same means, but to so openly humiliate her was beyond belief!

The beast only stood where he was, frowning at her in a calm, albeit bemused, manner.

“She is not my leman,”he said, “but a lady of gentle birth. I will not have her insulted or mistreated, certainly not by my own wife. While she lives beneath my hand, you will treat her with every respect.”

Katharine had had enough. She speared the frightened girl with a look of thorough disgust, almost gratified to see the shaking creature cringe behind Senet Gaillard’s muscular form.

“If I treat her to anything at all, Senet Gaillard, ‘twill be pity, for she appears to be much in need of it. Keep her out of my way if you wish her well.”

“I do not intend to do so,”he told her. “I mean to give her over into your care. You will do as I have said and make her comfortable here. It is your duty as my wife.”

“I am not your wife,”she said from between set teeth. God’s feet, but she hated the man! On the day he was thrown off of her lands she would give the biggest celebration Lomas had ever seen.

At that, he at last began to look aggravated. Lifting the tip of his sword from his boot, he took a step toward her.

“But you will be on the morrow,”he told her softly, for her ears alone. “I had hoped for matters to go well between us, Lady Katharine, to make a friend rather than an enemy of the woman I take to wife. That is still my desire. Is it yours?”

“What I desire,”she began hotly, “above all things, is for you to go to—”

“Because I should very much dislike having to bow you to obedience,”he interrupted smoothly, “and would advise that you instead offer it freely. You will not like the taming to be had at my hands, Lady Katharine. I promise you that. If you make peace with me, however, I equally promise that you shall never come to regret it. I repay honor with honor.”

“And dishonor with dishonor?”she asked tartly.

He inclined his head. “If that is the way you will have it. Either way, you will be my wife, and I will be the lord of Lomas.”

She was silent for a long moment, meeting his gaze fully. At last, her features softened, as did the posture with which she held herself. She lowered her lashes and attempted to look meek, although she was certain she had never felt the emotion before.

“Of course, my lord,”she said finally, keeping her voice low and feminine, purposefully deferential. “It will be as you say. I admit that I do not wish to marry you, or any man who is not of my choosing, but there is clearly no other course for me but to accept the situation. If you will but be patient in allowing me time to become used to the fate that has befallen me, I will consider it a great kindness. I have not been used to living beneath the command of any man.”She lifted her eyes to his. “Including my father. I have ruled here as mistress since I was but fourteen years. It is not my nature to be.obedient.”

He appeared to consider this, and at last gave a slight nod. “I do not desire a dog for a wife, nor a slave, but only for you to know that I will be master here. In every way. So long as you give me no cause to do otherwise, you will be treated by myself and my people with every respect due to the lady of the castle. Indeed, save that you will have a husband to answer to, I do not intend that your life at Lomas should change overmuch. I will be patient with you.”

“You are good, my lord,”she said, trying not to choke on the words. “I am most grateful. Forgive, I pray, the lack of welcome you have received at Lomas. I shall strive to remedy the situation at once. Be pleased to make yourself and your men comfortable.”With a hand she indicated the entire hall, where chairs and tables were available for many. “I shall instruct my captain of arms to answer to you directly.”

“He will answer to me as his lord,”Senet Gaillard stated.

“Yes,”said Katharine. “Of course. And I shall have my servants lay out food and drink sufficient to refresh your forces. As to your own comfort, my lord, a suitable chamber will be prepared.”

“The lord’s chamber will be made ready,”he corrected. “I will abide there.”

Katharine had to draw in a slow breath to maintain her appearance of calm. To think of such a man occupying the chamber next to her own renewed her outrage altogether. But when she spoke, the words were carefully polite and contained.

“It shall be as you have said, my lord. Give me but an hour, and I shall send a servant to escort you there.”

“There is no need.”He sounded almost amused. “I was born at Lomas, and remember very well where my father’s chamber is. Do you abide in the mistress’s chamber that adjoins it, my lady?”

She understood the intent that lay behind the question, and felt her skin heating. “Yes,”she replied tightly.

He regarded her steadily. “It is well. I will leave you now with the request that you see to Mademoiselle Rouveau’s needs directly. Her comfort is to be your utmost concern.”

Katharine’s jaw ached from the force with which she made herself keep silent. The tiny creature who was still cowering behind Senet Gaillard dared to peek up at her, revealing a face that was delicate and beautiful, hair that was the color of dark honey and eyes that were large and blue. Katharine felt like a clumsy, ugly giant before the girl’s dainty perfection.

“Certainly, my lord,”she said at last, even managing to smile at him. “You will be well pleased, I vow. Everything shall be just as you wish.”

He moved even nearer, and Katharine resisted the urge to step back. He was very tall, she noted, as well as muscular. He even made her feel small, which, considering her unfashionable height, was no simple feat.

“We will do well together, Lady Katharine,”he said softly, and she felt again that unbidden sensation deep in her belly. “I shall repay you tenfold for your kindness and obedience. I vow this before God.”Reaching out suddenly, he grasped her hand before she could pull it away. Lifting it slowly to his lips, he gently kissed her fingers, never moving his remarkable blue gaze from her face. “This marriage is not of our choosing, but we can make of it an agreeable union. You’ll never regret being my wife. I’ll make certain of it.”

He released her and turned away, striding out of the hall with his men at his heels, leaving Katharine staring at the place where he at last disappeared. Only the girl remained, standing some feet away and watching the women on the dais with such pathetic trembling that Katharine felt a reluctant leniency toward her.

A hand touched her arm, and Katharine turned. “What was that about?”Ariette whispered as Dorothea and Magan gathered close. “I’ve never seen you act so meek and mild before.”

Katharine smiled. “Pray God you never see such again,”she said in a low voice. “But I’ll do whatever I must to save Lomas, even if it is to act the fool. Don’t forget that it is the man I marry who will gain Lomas, not the man who merely takes it by force. If all goes well, I shall be a wedded woman within the week, but Senet Gaillard, for his every effort, will not be my husband.”

“But, my lady—!”

“Hush!”Katharine demanded in a whisper. “We cannot speak safely here. And there is much to prepare for. Come, let us play out this farce as long as we must to keep Senet Gaillard from discovering the truth.”With a welcoming smile fixed on her face, she turned again to face the waiting French girl. “Mademoiselle Rouveau, be pleased to come with my ladies and me.”Katharine began to descend the dais stairs. “You will be weary from your journey and desirous of rest.”She extended a hand to have the girl follow her. “Come. We will have you comfortable shortly, I vow.”

Chapter Three

From the long table set on the dais, Senet looked about him with approval. Lady Katharine had somehow done the impossible in the five short hours since he’d spoken with her, which was proof, he realized, of just how capable a female she was. The great hall of Castle Lomas had rapidly been prepared for a feast, and both food and drink of amazing quantity and fine quality had been set out for all to enjoy. That she had managed all this with such short notice was a miracle in and of itself. He’d assumed that he and his men would be fortunate to enjoy a thin stew and bitter ale. This, instead, was just the sort of feast that a woman might spend weeks preparing to honor the arrival of her future husband, in celebration of their coming marriage.

Musicians strolled among the impatiently waiting feasters, singing merry tunes to both entertain and appease until Lady Katharine and her ladies should arrive and signal that the festivities could properly begin. Servants continued to bring trays out of the kitchens, bearing a variety of meats, breads, vegetables and cheeses, so much food that Senet could hardly imagine it all being eaten, even by the hundreds of hungry people sitting at the tables spread out across the hall. Where had it all come from? He couldn’t remember Castle Lomas being so prosperous as this when his father had reigned there as lord.

Seated in the place of honor at the head of the table, surrounded by his men, Senet felt a deep sense of gratitude regarding his future wife’s conduct, and an equal appreciation for the grace with which she had accepted defeat. She’d clearly arranged the grand feast as a way of making apology for her earlier behavior, and he would not only accept the gesture, but publicly honor her for it, just as soon as she and her ladies arrived to take their places on the dais. He would gift her with his deepest bow, he decided, and then, before seating her beside him, he would take her hand in his and lift them, clasped, for all those assembled to see. It would be a gesture of their coming union, and of the deep respect he bore for her as one who had not only managed the lands and castle well in the past, but who would, with him, continue to do so in future.

The idea of ruling Lomas jointly with Lady Katharine pleased him more than he’d thought it would. Until this day, his only object had been to regain what was rightfully his, but now, having it again, claiming his lordship over Lomas, he realized how unfit he truly was to manage the estate. A great many years had passed since his father had taught him about the duties of being a lord, and although he believed with time he would regain the sense of them, he was grateful that Katharine would serve not only as his wife, but also as his guide.

Such a wife she would make! he thought for perhaps the hundredth time since setting sight on her. So proud, she was. So intelligent. And, yes, stubborn and haughty, too. She was like a wild falcon that needed a firm and knowing hand to master her—to bring out the best in her. He’d already proved that he was more than capable of mastering her this afternoon, when a measure of firmness had caused her to choose the better course between her dangerous pride and the wisdom of being reasonable. Life with Lady Katharine would never be dull, he thought with a smile, sipping at the wine in his goblet. For that, he was strangely glad.

He had not thought to marry. Not for more than ten years, when his heart had learned that it was far better to shut itself off from love than to be vulnerable to the pain that love, and its losses, could bring.

Just thinking of his beautiful Odelyn, even now, brought grief welling up, despite the years that had passed since her death and his fervent struggle to press the memories away.

She had been very different from—the kind of female that Lady Katharine was. Odelyn had been sweet and gentle and giving. God alone knew how her tenderness and patience had worked to bring him out of the darkness that had been the legacy of his years of slavery. If not for her, Senet had no doubt that he’d yet be living in that darkness. He’d built all his dreams about her, every plan for the future, and when he had lost her everything had faded away to darkness again. But it had been a different sort of darkness, for at least he had her memory to light his way. A distant illumination tempered the shadows—distant, aye, but there all the same, always there, and it was for that lone sweet, ghostlike presence that he’d pressed on.

Katharine Malthus was nothing at all like Odelyn. There was nothing gentle or sweet about her, or even tender, at least not insofar as he’d yet encountered. Lady Katharine would have frightened his delicate Odelyn with her height and severe manner, even with her stark beauty. But Odelyn had been so young when she’d died, only just out of childhood. As he’d been. Katharine was a woman full grown, in face, form and clearly in mind. A woman he wanted in every way that a man could want a woman. The knowledge brought him no little discomfort. He’d not expected to experience such.outright lust for the woman he took to wife. Lady Katharine deserved better from him than that. He’d desired Odelyn, but had always practiced a certain restraint with her. Restraint, with Katharine, disappeared. She was far too challenging to inspire such feelings.

“Will she appear any time within the next fortnight, do you think?”Aric, sitting beside him, muttered. “It’s been over an hour that we’ve sat here and waited.”

“Having spent the past several hours laboring on our behalf to arrange this feast,”Senet said, “as well as making our chambers ready and directing that pallets be set out for the men, it may be expected that Lady Katharine and her women require some few minutes to make themselves ready.”

He was looking forward to seeing her again, he realized with some surprise. Anticipation was foreign to him, but she was a lovely, mysterious creature, and he wanted to know more of her. To speak to her, and see if he might coax her to smile at him again, as she had briefly done earlier.

“Calm yourself,”Kayne advised Aric, sitting on that man’s other side. “Ladies are given to much concern over their appearance, especially in such times as these. Lady Katharine is to be wed on the morrow, after all, and will wish to present herself to her future husband in her very best raiment and looks.”

“She doesn’t require much help for that”John Ipris put in. “She’s remarkably beautiful, is she not? Not in the least an ugly hag.”He gave Senet a teasing grin. “You’re a fortunate man, Lord Lomas.”

“Hah,”Aric said. “A beauty she may be, but her tongue is sharp enough to slice a man in two. I don’t envy you in the least, Senet”

Clarise, sitting beside John, leaned forward to say, in English, rather than French, “But she was very kind to me, m’lor, after you had gone. Lady Katharine and her ladies. They were all very.happy, oui? très joyeuses.”

“There you have it,”Kayne said. “The lady of the castle has clearly decided to make the best of the situation, just as you have done, Senet. All will be well.”

“Just as soon as the lady decides to make an appearance,”Aric said irately. “God’s feet, Senet, send someone to tell her to make haste. You’re master here, now. Will you let her keep you waiting so long and looking a fool?”

Senet supposed it would do no harm to send one of the servants to request that Katharine hurry to present herself. The feast could not properly begin until the blessing had been given, and the priest could not give the blessing until the lady of the castle was in her place. Lifting a finger, he beckoned a serving maid to attend him.

“Go up to my lady’s chamber,”he instructed, “and give her my compliments. Tell her that I desire she join us within the quarter hour.”

“M’lor?”Clarise leaned forward again, looking past John. “M’lady is not in her chamber.”

Senet and the men surrounding him all turned to look at her. Clarise blushed hotly beneath their steady regard.

“I went to speak with her,”she explained slowly, striving to make her English perfect, “before coming to the hall. And the chamber, it was empty. I think she must be with her ladies.”She was thoughtful a moment, before saying, “I mean to say, in the chambers of the ladies?”

“I understand, Clarise,”Senet told her. “You’re certain she was not in her own chambers?”

Clarise shook her head. “I called for her. There was no one, m’lor. I thought it very strange, for there were many clothes, lying all places.partout, oui? It was a great disorder.”

“I don’t think that she means Lady Katharine’s simply a poor housekeeper,”John said, turning a wary gaze upon his friends.

Senet was already on his feet, with Kayne and Aric following him. Racing up the stairs he told himself that he was wrong, that she was merely somewhere in the castle, in one of her ladies’ chambers, just as Clarise had said, but his heart knew the truth even before he pushed open Katharine’s chamber door.

Breathing hard, he took in the sight before him. It was exactly as Clarise had described it. There were clothes everywhere. Fine clothes, and shoes, too, as if the women had been in far too much of a hurry to hide their escape.

“Where could they have gone?”Aric said, surveying the chamber through steely eyes.

“They can’t have left the castle,”Kayne muttered. “There were guards at every door. It would have been impossible for that many women to slip out And certainly not Lady Katharine, with her great beauty. There is no place where she might go unnoticed.”

Senet walked slowly across the room, to a tapestry that covered one wall. Reaching up with both hands, he yanked the elegant cloth from the wall, exposing the hidden door.

“Lomas is ridden with tunnels, secret and mazelike,”he said in a low voice. “She must have forgotten that I know this castle far better than she, or anyone else, could.”He turned to look at his friends. “Tell Sir Alain to get the horses and men ready, Aric.”A hard, grim smile that they knew well formed on his lips. “We’re going hunting.”

The Bull and Dog was, to Katharine’s mind, a thotoughly sorry refuge, but it was likely the only roof they’d be able to buy to cover their heads for the night. She’d paid the innkeeper dearly to give them the lone private room the dwelling possessed, as well as to put a guard over their horses until morning. It was small comfort set against the smells and vulgar sounds the inn’s patrons filled the place with, but it was better than sleeping in the rain, which had begun to pour an hour earlier.

In the filthy, tiny chamber that the inn’s only whore had vacated for their use, Katharine and her ladies sat on a single pallet and tried mightily to eat, but the greasy stew the innkeeper’s wife had brought them was difficult to identify and harder to stomach.

“Is it squirrel, perhaps?”Magan asked, lifting out of her bowl a hunk of something that still had hair on it.

“Let us pray that it is,”Dorothea replied. “Squirrel would be far preferable to what I think it is.”

Ariette let out a sudden scream and threw her bowl across the room, splaying the contents across the wall and floor.

“What in the name of all heaven—!”Katharine was across the room at once, peering at the discarded bowl and its spilled contents in the dim candlelight light before lifting a foot to squash what was crawling about among the stew’s other, more lifeless ingredients.

“I’m sorry!”Ariette cried, clutching her cloak tightly about herself. “It was moving.”

“’Twas only a roach,”Katharine said calmly, returning to sit beside the other women. “I’ve killed it, though God knows what good it will do us. The room is crawling with them. And other vermin.”

Exchanging glances, Magan and Dorothea put their bowls aside and discreetly scooted away from them.

Katharine set her hands on her indrawn knees and leaned her head against the wall. “How weary I am,”she murmured. “I realize this is no fine place, but at least we are dry, and so are the horses.”

“Yes,”Magan said, “we must be thankful for that.”

“Yes,”Ariette agreed quietly, without enthusiasm. “Although ‘tis cold in here as it is out of doors.”

“We’ll be fortunate if those leering brutes in the tavern don’t come bursting in all together, intent upon the most lecherous sort of evil,”Dorothea said. “They were loud enough in their thoughts when we entered this place.”

“Oh, my lady, will they?”Magan asked with open fear. “They did seem so very rough and crude.”

“If they do,”Katharine said from behind hands that rubbed at her face, “we’ll fend them off. You have your daggers, do you not? Don’t hesitate. to make use of them, for I assure you I’ll have mine well blooded before one of the wretches can so much as set a finger to me. And if they do attempt to enter this chamber, ‘twill be for our gold, most like, rather than our persons.”

“That is even worse,”Dorothea said dryly. “We need our gold far more dearly than we need our virtue. If we’re to make our way without starving to death,”she added when her companions looked at her.

“I think this a complete madness,”Ariette stated, drawing her cloak still more about her. “We’ll never find Kieran FitzAllen, and if Sir Senet should find us.”She left the dire thought unfinished.

“We will find Kieran,”Katharine said insistently. “If not us, then the messenger who left Lomas will do so, and then Kie will come looking for us. Somehow we’ll come across each other. It must be so.”

“You try to convince yourself, my lady,”Dorothea said, “but if Sir Senet finds us first, we’ll be fortunate to live through the beatings we’ll be given.”

“I know,”Katharine admitted morosely. The idea of running away from Lomas had seemed such a good one earlier, in the light of day and in the face of her fury at Senet Gaillard, but now, sitting in this dank hovel with the prospect of a long and sleepless night looming ahead—and a longer, difficult journey, as well—it wasn’t quite so appealing. “But that son of a traitor—that usurper—will not find us so easily. The feast will delay him from discovering that we’ve gone, and the rainthank a merciful God for it—will wash away the tracks we’ve made.”

Dorothea shook her head. “That won’t stop a man like Senet Gaillard.”

Katharine thought of the man, of his ice—blue eyes and black hair. Of the hard face that had been without emotion after the victory he’d won at Lomas.

“No,”she said softly, “I cannot think it will. I admit that my scheme to get away from him is perhaps a foolish one. I should never have let you all come with me.”

“We would never have let you go alone,”Ariette told her.

“Oh, no, dear lady,”Magan agreed. “How could we forsake you in such a desperate time? I do not care what Sir Senet may do to us. Truly.”

Poor little Magan, Katharine thought with affection, setting an arm about the trembling girl’s shoulders. She was far too young for such a frightening adventure.

“But I care, Magan,”she said. “And if, may God forbid it, he should find us, you must be obedient to his command and let me draw his wrath down upon my own head.”

“No,”Dorothea said firmly. “We are not such poor friends as to desert you.”

“’Tis not right, Doro, for any of you to suffer for my sake. I am older and stronger, and the lady of Lomas, besides. You will do as I say and let me handle Senet Gaillard in my own manner. I do not ask it. I command it. But we will have no worry for that now. Let us rest as we may this night and pray that our journey to discover Kieran FitzAllen finds success.”

They huddled together, sitting upon the pallet with their backs against the wall, and fell silent, not daring to lie down for fear of the vermin that crawled about the place. The loud din made by the patrons in the tavern continued unabated for hours, eventually lulling them to sleep. Katharine struggled to remain awake, to make some kind of guard for them against intrusion, but exhaustion overtook her and she drifted into uneasy dreams of Lomas, and of cold blue eyes in a hard, starkly handsome face.

His voice brought her awake with a start and a gasp. She flung her head up too quickly, striking the mortared wall and sending a shock of pain all the way down to her sleep—numbed toes.

“Search the tavern.”The command was loud against the clattering of boots and swords, of tables being overturned and dishes breaking on the floor.

It was yet dark outside, and so cold that Katharine’s skin burned with it. The lone candle that had earlier given them light had long since burned to naught, but the moment the door was flung open they would be discovered.

“Up!”she whispered fiercely, shaking the others. “Up! Magan! Ariette! Doro—”Her hand searched about in the dark for the third girl. “Doro!”

She wasn’t there, Katharine realized with growing panic as the searching men grew closer and louder.

“Oh!”Magan cried, scrambling to her feet as Katharine pulled her up from the floor. “It’s Sir Senet!”

“God save us!”Ariette murmured with pure fright. “Where’s Doro?”

“Gone,”Katharine said, quickly feeling for the leather pouches that she’d tied about her waist. “Out that window, most like. And taken half the gold. The fool! She’s gone in search of Kieran on her own. Ariette—”she pushed the older girl toward Magan “—go with Senet Gaillard and his men. Give them no trouble.”She began to climb out the window. “Take care of Magan.”

“But, my lady—!”

Katharine was out the window just as the door burst open. She heard one of Sir Senet’s men shouting, “My lord!”and waited to hear no more. She started running, headlong, into the dark forest, picking up her skirts to race as fast as she could away from the sounds of Ariette and Magan screaming. He wouldn’t hurt them, she told herself. He wouldn’t. He’d taken Lomas without killing even one of her men, without causing any great injuriessurely he wouldn’t beat two innocent women for crimes that were not their own.

She was the one he wanted—no, needed. Because without her he couldn’t have Lomas. Now it came down to which of them wanted it more. She would run all night if she had to. She would find Kieran if she had to cover every square inch of England on foot, alone.

The woods were filled with a fine, chilling mist that made it hard to find her way, and caused each desperate breath to ache like a frozen knife plunging in her chest. She stopped, after several minutes of panicked flight, and rested against a tree, panting harshly, trying to decide which direction to go. She was cold, so cold, and wet from the fog and mud. All around her the trees dripped with the rain that had fallen. In the distance she heard shouts, the sounds of horses whinnying and stomping. She wondered how Ariette and Magan had fared at the hands of Senet Gaillard and his men, and sent up a silent prayer that all was well.

Dozens of horses drew nearer in the dark, their hooves muffled in the mud. And then there were voices. Men’s voices. His voice, above all the others. Katharine pushed from the tree and started running again, cursing the darkness that made it so difficult to see her course.

“Kayne!”

It was Senet Gaillard, she realized with panic. Right behind her. She began running faster.

“Here!”a man’s voice shouted in reply, coming from Katharine’s right.

She. veered left, stumbling and crying out, then picked herself up and threw herself onward. Suddenly she heard muddy footsteps, and a man appeared out of the mist. The blond man who had stood beside Senet Gaillard that afternoon. Kayne.

“Lady Katharine!”he shouted, putting his arms out as if to catch her. Katharine stopped and stared, gasping for air. He was panting, too, moving toward her more slowly. “My lady,”he began in an unsteady tone. Katharine ducked her head and rammed him with all her strength, sending him flying backward into the mud. The look of utter surprise on his face would have made her laugh if she’d had the leisure. As it was, she jumped past his inert body and ran on into the darkness. But her freedom was short—lived. Within steps she heard Senet Gaillard behind her, cursing as he closed upon her, and then his hand was on the collar of her surcoat, dragging her to a stop. Katharine whirled about with a fist, striking him in the face, nearly gaining her freedom again. But he held on and dragged her, struggling, into the mud.

“Foolish…woman,”he managed to growl against the flailing blows she landed.

“I will not,” she panted, “wed you!”A particularly strong slap stung against the side of his face, almost knocking him away.

That was when she realized he’d been striving to be gentle with her, for all at once her hands were clasped in a viselike grip and pressed into the mud, and her struggles stilled almost instantly by the hard strength of his body, which he nearly smothered her with, lying atop her. She felt unutterably stupid, as helpless as a child, and could have laughed at how she might ever have believed she could fight her way free.

He brought his face near her own and spoke in a tone that was full angry. “I offered you peace. I would have taken you for my wife with every respect owed to the lady of Lomas. You have made the offer forfeit. Now, Lady Katharine, I have hunted and caught you fairly, and you are my captive. I owe you nothing.”

“Bastard!”she snarled. “Nothing is just what I want of you! Son of a traitor!”

“Prisoners do not speak in such a manner to their captors. Not without punishment That I will save for later. For now—”He sat up, dragging her with him. “Kayne!”he shouted into the darkness.

“Here.”Kayne came walking slowly through the mist, and several other men appeared as well.

“You have taken no harm?”Senet asked his friend.

“Only to my pride,”Kayne replied with an embarrassed laugh. “And my clothes are muddied, but nothing more.”

“Bind our prisoner’s hands. She cannot be trusted.”

Kayne rubbed the back of his blond head, hesitating. “Senet.”

“Bind them!”Senet commanded, pulling a knife from the belt at his waist. He roughly grabbed the hem of Katharine’s surcoat and, ignoring her cry of fury, cut away a strip of cloth. “Here.”He tossed the cloth to the other man, who had knelt behind Katharine and taken her hands. While he tied them together, Senet cut another, longer strip. He dangled it in front of Katharine’s face. “Shall I use this to silence you? Or will you keep still of your own accord? For I tell you now nothing will anger me so well this night as any more of your foolish prate.”

“Use it,”she dared with ill—concealed hatred, “and prove to my people what manner of man you are. Traitor. Usurper.”

His icy eyes held no emotion as he deftly set the gag about her lips, tying it securely so that she could say no more.

“Those are better titles than the one you now bear, my lady,”he told her softly, close to her face. “Titles you have taken of your own will. You are my prisoner, Lady Katharine.”His cold gaze held her own. “My captive, and, by God above, I vow that I shall treat you accordingly.”

Chapter Four

He carried her back to Lomas tossed over the bow of his saddle, ignoring her squirming and muffled complaints. After a while she subsided, and the only thing he worried about was what deviousness she might be plotting. But perhaps Lady Katharine was too weary for any further adventures, for they arrived at the castle before dawn without mishap.

She renewed her struggles when he lifted her from his horse and carried her past the many servants who were yet awake and waiting for their return. They stared, murmuring, as he strode by them and started up the stairs. When he passed Katharine’s chamber and continued upward, her eyes widened and she made a long protest of, “Mmm-mmm!”

“That is the chamber for the lady of the castle,”he told her, understanding her complaint. “When you are the lady of the castle, as my wife, you will return to it. In the meantime, you will be kept in the north tower.”She began to struggle in earnest, and squealed furiously beneath her bonds. “Aye, you understand me well,”he said with satisfaction, hefting her wet, muddy person higher in his arms with ease. “There are no tunnels there from which you may escape. How foolish you are, Katharine, to think I would not find you out. I know every secret Lomas possesses, and probably many that you’ve yet to discover.”

The chamber he took her to was almost as dark and dismal as the one at The Bull and Dog, although certainly cleaner. Katharine had never allowed any part of the castle to be let run with vermin. He deposited her on the stone floor, which was barren even of straw, and, without a word, turned about and walked out, locking the door behind him.

Katharine lay in the darkness, too exhausted and miserable to be angry. He had left her to die, to lay upon the cold floor in wet clothing without heat or comfort, to freeze in the chill of early dawn. He’d not even removed her bonds, or the gag about her lips. She would die in silence, immobile.

She was almost too frozen to think, but she tried to send up silent prayers for Dorothea, Magan and Ariette. God alone could keep Dorothea now, wherever she was. It had been beyond foolishness for her to go off alone as she had, but Katharine could both admire and love her for it, and be thankful for the friendship that had caused her to attempt such a dangerous task. A woman traveling without escort on England’s roads was in no way safe. Robbers, thieves and worse would be glad of such easy prey—although Doro, cunning and brave, would certainly make any attack of her person a difficult chore.

In a way, Katharine was more afraid for Ariette, and even more for Magan. Ariette was tiny and delicate, and could so easily be harmed, while Magan was young and readily frightened. When they had left The Bull and Dog, Magan had been tucked under the arm of the dark, hugely muscular Sir Aric as if she were a child’s doll. She’d looked utterly terrified, and Sir Aric, scowling and unfriendly, had done nothing to reassure her. Poor, dear Magan. Katharine could only imagine how difficult the return to Lomas had been for her in the company of such a brutish man. Ariette had fared somewhat better, riding with Sir Kayne who, unlike his friends, appeared to take his knightly vows seriously in being courteous to ladies.

What would happen to them if she died? Katharine wondered. Would Sir Senet treat them well? And the people of Lomas? He might know the secrets of the castle itself, but how could such as that benefit the castlefolk and townspeople? He wouldn’t know about the agreement she’d worked out between the dye merchant and the town’s weavers; it was so uncertain that one wrong word would have the two sides warring again. And what of the new children in the convent? Senet Gaillard would not know of all that she’d promised to the tanner in exchange for leather for shoes for them, or to the cobbler for making them. The children had to have new shoes before winter. She’d promised them—indeed, all of her people—so much. They depended on her, day by day, to keep everything moving along, if not smoothly, at least in the right direction. To make certain there was food enough in the winter, and labor enough to bring in the harvest each fall. And pleasure faires in the spring. So many matters were beneath her command. So many things that Senet Gaillard would let go by, just as her father had done, while he played at being lord of the castle.

Exhaustion made it impossible to keep her eyelids open, and Katharine at last relented and let them drift shut. Sleep pressed heavily, a dark, alluring blanket, but before she could give way to it the door was unlocked and pushed open. Light spilled into the room, along with voices.

“Bring everything in. The pallet goes there by the wall. Make a fire in the hearth. Quickly.”

The chamber came alight and alive as what seemed like a dozen or more men entered.

Sir Kayne knelt beside her, concern filling his handsome face. “Lady Katharine.”

“Leave her to me,”Senet Gaillard said curtly. “And save your pity for Mistress Dorothea, who for the sake of this lady has exposed herself to every manner of danger. If John doesn’t find her soon, she may not live to see Lomas again. Now, be pleased to leave me with my lovely betrothed. Aric will need your help with the other women.”

Sir Kayne set a warm, comforting hand briefly against Katharine’s cold cheek. “John will find her, my lady,”he murmured, then stood and, with the other men, left the room.

Katharine heard the door shutting, then Senet Gaillard’s footsteps moving back toward where she lay. She was shivering too hard to protest when he pulled her into a sitting position.

“Kayne means to reassure you,”he said as he cut her bonds away. She gasped when the gag about her mouth fell to the floor. “But it is his misfortune to be possessed of a kind nature.”

“He is,”she said, fighting the cold pain that gripped her, “a ch—chivalrous kn—knight.”

When her hands were released she nearly fell forward on her face. Senet’s arm circled her waist, pulling her up.

“And you think I am not?”

“Wh-what will h-happen to D-Dorothea?”

He hesitated, then said, “John will find her, if any man can do so. He possesses a rare gift for finding the lost, for finding anything or anyone. I make no promises, but you may be easy at least that all is being done that can be done for Mistress Dorothea’s sake.”

“Th-thank God.”

“He will certainly be the one to thank, should she survive your thoughtless care,”he said, leaning her back until he could reach the laces of her surcoat.

“No,”she protested weakly, trying to push at the knife as he began to cut her dress away.

“You wish to lie in wet clothing and take ill?”He put the knife aside in order to pull the dress down her arms.

“Aye!”she said defiantly, forcing the words past chattering teeth. “M-mayhap I will be f-fortunate enough to die—p-p-please God—and be free of you! L-leave my chemise!”

“It is too wet. And filthy.”He began to strip it off, as well.

“No!”She was shaking violently from both cold and shame. “P-please.”

He paused. She could feel his indecision.

“Please,”she whispered.

He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the fire, setting her before it and saying, “Can you sit while I fetch a blanket?”

She nodded. But her muscles were not as convinced. The moment he let go of her she rolled down to the floor and lay there, helpless and weak as a babe, until he returned and pulled her up to sit.

“Sleep will do you good,”he muttered, setting the blanket about her shoulders. “Now you shall have your modesty while I rid you of this foul garment. Don’t squawk at me, woman. I’m not the one who sent you out into the mud and rain, whatever you see fit to tell yourself. Hold still.”He took the back of her chemise and, with an easy motion, tore it apart. Katharine made a sound of protest, but he ignored it and pulled the garment from her body.

“Now,”he said, tossing the ruined chemise away, “to wash you.”

She was too weary to argue when he lay her down once more, still wrapped in her blanket and near the warmth of the fire. He rose and brought back a bucket and cloth, then knelt and drew out one of her arms.

“What have you done with my ladies?”she murmured as he dipped the cloth in the bucket. “Ariette and M-Magan?”

He glanced at her as he began to wash the mud away. The water, to Katharine’s surprise, had been heated. She closed her eyes and murmured with utter pleasure as the warmth soothed her chilled flesh.

“I gave them over to Sir Aric and bid him do as he pleased. By now I imagine he’s beaten them both senseless.”

Katharine’s eyes grew wide and she tugged to free her arm. “No…”

“What? You’re not troubled for them, are you? Not when you took them out into the night for such adventure? What did you think to do, Katharine?”He drew her other arm out to give it the same cleansing as the first.”You knew you could not run from me forever.”

She was silent, and gave him a stubborn glare.

“It is no matter,”he told her. “I shall have Aric persuade Mistress Magan to give me the truth. It should not take long. She’s terrified of him.”He shoved her arm back beneath the blanket and moved down to wash her legs.

“How did you attain knighthood, Senet Gaillard?”she asked with all the hatred she felt for him. “Beating in-nocent women to your own purpose? You’re an animal, and no better, I vow.”

The warm, damp cloth in his hand slid slowly upward from her foot across the curve of her calf, to her knee. The touch was so pleasurable that Katharine had to bite her tongue, hard, to keep from murmuring with it. All the while, the man held her gaze.

“An animal,”he repeated thoughtfully, drawing the cloth back toward her foot in a slow, gentle caress. His other hand, holding her ankle, spread its fingers wide over her flesh, pressing soothingly against the aching muscles there. He dipped the cloth into the water again, then brought it back, hot and new, to bathe her frozen toes. The pleasure was so intense it was nearly painful. Katharine drew in a slow, steadying breath.

“Aye,”she said unevenly. “To treat w-women so.”

He set her leg on the floor, beneath the cover, and drew out the other. Dipping the cloth into the heated water again, he said, solemnly, “One day, Katharine, I vow, you shall say otherwise.”

They were silent again. Her eyes drifted shut with the tingling sensation of warmth returning to her limbs, and weariness tugged mightily, but she murmured, “I meant to find Lord Hanley. To wed him before I might be forced to marry you.”

“Lord Hanley?”he said with a measure of surprise. “Did you think to go all the way to the Holy Land?”

“No,”she said wearily.

Silence again, until he tucked her finished leg into the covers. “It is a grave sin for a man to love his wife, or for a woman to love her husband,”he told her. “Has not the church declared it so? We must give all our love to God. Perhaps I do you a kind service in forcing you to wed with me, rather than this Hanley, whom you appear to hold very dear. You love him?”

“Yes,”she lied. “With all my heart. And I find no sin in it, nor in anything so pure and abiding.”

He moved to wash her face. The cloth stroked gently over her forehead and cheeks, across her nose and lips and chin, then moved down to her neck.

“I once loved in such a manner,”he said at last, his voice soft and careful. Katharine couldn’t keep the surprise she felt at such words from her expression. “You think it impossible?”he asked at the sight of her raised eyebrows. “I assure you I speak the truth.”He turned to toss the cloth into the bucket. His voice, when he spoke again, was void of emotion. “I loved well and deeply, and with this same abiding passion of which you speak. The church would have found me a very great sinner.”

“Why did you not take her to wife?”Katharine asked. “If you loved her so well, surely you would not have given her up for the sake of Lomas?”

He shook his head, busying himself with picking up her torn clothes and making a pile of them. “Nay, not even for Lomas would I have given my Odelyn up. Nothing could have parted us, save death.”He turned to look at her. “She was foully murdered shortly before we were to marry, and I have grieved her every day these ten years past.”

Katharine touched her lips with her fingers, unable to find words to say for the pity she felt—for him, her basest enemy. Her weariness had surely robbed her of sanity, she thought, for her to feel any manner of sorrow for a man she so fully hated.

He stood with the clothes under one arm and the bucket in his hand.

“And so you see, Lady Katharine, that we are two of a kind, for our hearts have been given to ones forever lost to us. You may at least take comfort in the knowledge that I shall never attempt to win your love. Your devotion to Lord Hanley may remain hallowed and untouched, just as mine for Odelyn ever will.”

She gripped the blanket tightly about her shoulders. “It matters not,”she told him. “I will never wed you of my own free will.”

He began to walk toward the door.

“There is wine and food by your pallet, and a dry chemise that you may don. The pallet and fire should keep you warm enough through what remains of the mom.”

“I will not wed you!”she repeated fiercely.

He ignored her and unlocked the door. “Sleep,”he advised. “We will be wed this evening, when you have had sufficient time to rest.”

“We will not, sir,”she stated.

“Katharine,”he said, making her a mock bow at the open door, “we will.”

Chapter Five

“A wager,”said Sir Aric, “that she’ll not come of her own accord.”

“She’ll come,”Senet said, sitting calmly in the lord’s chair in the great hall. He was flanked on either side by Aric and Kayne. Farther away, in his finest robes, sat Lomas’s priest, Father Aelnoth, waiting in stony silence for

Lady Katharine to attend her own wedding. “She understood me well, I vow.”

“I fear Aric has the right of it,”Kayne murmured, his gaze moving slowly over the castlefolk who filled the hall, each and every one of them staring up at Senet with mute reproach. They clearly loved their lady, and had no wish to see her wed by force. “And I do not think it wise that you sent Clarise to tend her. You know what Lady Katharine thinks of her. You might have done better to let her own ladies help her to prepare.”

“It is best, I find, to give no importance to what Lady Katharine thinks,”Senet told him. “At least not until we’ve wed and she’s had time to reconcile herself to her new state. At the moment, she’s not capable of thinking rationally. As to her ladies—”he looked to where Mistresses Ariette and Magan were sitting, on the other side of Father Aelnoth, their faces and bodies rigidly held “—they are not to be trusted until they have made their allegiance to their new lord.”

“I cannot see Mistress Magan bowing to you for any reason,”Aric said irately. “She’s a stubborn, meantempered little wench. Put her elbow in my stomach when I merely tried to set her on my horse, so she did.”He rubbed the offended area and cast a look at the female in question. She took note and gazed back at him with narrowed eyes.

“Clarise returns,”Kayne said, drawing the attention of them all toward the stairs. “Alone.”

Concern was written on the delicate girl’s face as she hurriedly moved toward them. Senet didn’t wait for her to cross the great hall, where all those waiting had turned to watch her, but rose and strode to meet her halfway. He took her hand before she could speak and led her back toward the stairs.

“Lady Katharine will not come,”the girl said breathlessly, in French. “She would not even dress. When I tried to speak to her, she threatened to—”

“I’ll deal with her.”Senet cut her off in a low voice, striving to maintain his outward calm for the benefit of their avid audience. “You need never be afraid of Lady Katharine, Clarise. I promise you this on my honor.”

Kayne and Eric had joined them, and he set Clarise’s hand on Kayne’s arm. “Take Mistresses Ariette and Magan to the solar and wait for me there. I will bring Lady Katharine.”He began to ascend the stairs. “And bid Father Aelnoth to prepare himself. We will begin the ceremony shortly.”

Guards stood at the door of the chamber in which he’d locked his bride. At the sight of him, they stood aside and let him enter. The first thing Senet saw, apart from Katharine standing by the room’s small, lone window, yet dressed in her chemise, was the expensive gown he’d brought her as a wedding gift—lying on the floor.

“We will have an understanding regarding Mademoiselle Clarise,”he said, shutting the door behind him.

Katharine lifted her chin and folded her arms. “Will we?”she asked insolently.

“Indeed, my lady, we will. She is to be treated as an honored guest at Lomas, by yourself, as my wife, and by every other person who bides on my lands, including your ladies. I will not tolerate the least slight toward her, and if she should even once be driven to tears—”

“Never have I met such a hypocrite,”Katharine said, sneering. “Only a few hours ago you spoke so sweetly of the eternal love you bear for your departed betrothed, yet now you trumpet openly an even sweeter concern for your French whore. If you love her so well, Senet Gaillard, then pray, marry her.”

He moved toward her slowly. She stood her ground, eyeing him with defiance. She was, he thought, a beautiful creature, with her long red—gold hair unbound, flowing down the length of her shapely body and past her hips. The chemise she wore was thin enough to tease and entice. He felt a shocking, overwhelming lust for hersomething he’d not felt with the myriad other women who’d tempted him before. But just as he’d not let other women rule him during the past ten years, with passion or lust or anything so foolish, he would not let her do so either. He would be master at Lomas, and the sooner she learned that, the better for all concerned. Especially for her.

“If Mademoiselle Clarise should shed even one tear because of you, Katharine,”he repeated, moving until he stood directly in front of her, “I will turn you over my knee and punish you.”

She pressed her face closer to his, unafraid and daring. “If you think I should deign to waste my time in tormenting your witless little whore, then you greatly mistake the character of my mind. I would rather labor in the kitchens, on my knees, yet, than lower myself to so much as countenance her existence. Keep her away from me, and we shall have no quarrel.”

He shook his head. “Such a sharp tongue you possess, Katharine.”Setting a finger beneath her chin, he lifted it even higher. “No soft and gentle wife will you be, I vow.”

She slapped his hand away. “No wife will I be. I will not wed you!”

“I will give you a choice,”he continued in the same calm tone. “You may don the wedding gown I have brought—”he nodded at the heap on the floor “—or you may be married as you are, in your chemise.”

“You are deaf, dumb, blind and senseless!”she shouted furiously, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “I will not wed you!”

“I give you the span of a minute to make your decision.”

“You would not humiliate me so,”she said with disdain. “You, a knight of the realm? You would not parade any woman before her own people so nearly undressed. And certainly not the woman you mean to have as a wife.”

Senet felt the sharp truth of her words deeply, as if they were knives striking a wound. It would be the meanest manner of torment, especially for a proud woman like Katharine.

“Nay, I would not subject you to such a humiliation, but if you are determined, so be it. You are the one who will conclude the outcome. Quickly, now, Katharine, for we will be wed, even if 1 must carry you naked before all those assembled below.”

“So be it,”she said in a low, heated tone. “I take no responsibility for what you have forced me to, and my people will know the full of it. You may carry me naked before them and stand me in front of a priest, but I will not say the words, Senet Gaillard. I will not.”

He didn’t think he had ever admired a woman so completely before now—certainly not since Odelyn had died, and never in this manner. Katharine was fierce as any warrior, her spirit strong and her determination true. The knowledge that she would be his filled him with exultation. Bending, he looped an arm about her legs and, ignoring her cry of surprise, lifted her over his shoulder. Senet walked out of the chamber and toward the stairs, deaf to his bride’s loud fury and the ungentle blows she struck upon his back.

The great hall was filled to overflowing, Katharine saw as she descended the stairs carried like a sack of grain over Senet Gaillard’s shoulder. And every single person present watched as he made his way, with her all but naked save for the thin chemise she wore. Gritting her teeth she put every ounce of strength she possessed into the fists she flung at him.

“Bastard!”she shouted furiously. “Bastard! Bastard! Oh, God.”She gave up when they reached the bottom of the stairs, and sank her aching fingers into her unbound hair, letting herself go limp against the bouncing rhythm of his stride, wishing that she could somehow disappear. That her people should witness her shame was beyond repair. She would never forgive him. A loud murmuring rose up, and from somewhere to her left she could hear Father Aelnoth making a feeble protest. Katharine shut her eyes tightly against all of it.

He carried her to the small garden solar just off the hall, where her ladies spent many hours plying their needles in the greater sunlight that the chamber’s tall paned windows provided. He set her on the floor, and Katharine barely had a moment to collect herself and push her hair from her face before Ariette and Magan threw themselves at her.

“Oh, my lady!”Magan cried. “We’ve been so worried for you.”

“Are you well, Lady Katharine?”Ariette asked. “Oh, here, please—”She began to pull the hair covering from her head, in order to set it over Katharine’s shoulders.

“Nay, Ariette.”Katharine stopped her. “Senet Gaillard wishes to humiliate me openly. Let him do so and prove what manner of lord he intends to be.”She gave that man a defiant glare.

“Lady Katharine, you are overset,”Sir Kayne said gently, untying the elegant cape about his massive shoulders. “None of us would ever allow such a thing.”Keeping his eyes lowered, he quickly set the garment about her. No sooner had he done so than Senet grasped it and tossed it back to his friend.

“Lady Katharine chooses to humiliate herself, Kayne, and you’ll not save her from such rash foolishness. She will wear my cloak when we wed.”

“How many times must I speak the words?”Katharine demanded. “I will not—”

“Quiet, woman.”Senet cut her off impatiently. “I can scarce think with all your noise.”

Noise? Katharine thought with complete outrage. She’d acquaint him with noise. She opened her mouth, only to have him dismissively turn away.

“Aric.”He said to that man, who was standing by the door, watching the scene with clear amusement.

“Aye?”

“Which of these women do you prefer? Mistress Magan or Mistress Ariette?”

“Senet,”Sir Kayne said uncomfortably, moving nearer to the women as if to protect them.

“Which one?”Senet demanded.

Sir Aric’s lazy gaze fell on Magan, and she pressed more closely to her mistress. Katharine set an arm about her, feeling the younger woman’s violent trembling. She realized, with sudden clarity, what Senet Gaillard meant to do.

“You will not,” she said.

He looked at her, his blue eyes cold, his handsome countenance as inflexible as stone. “I will.”

Their gazes held for a long, silent moment, with only Magan’s soft whimpering filling the room.

“She is my ward,”Katharine said at last, striving to keep her tone even. “I have sworn to keep her beneath my protection until she marries.”

“Then perhaps Aric had best take her to wife, rather than as a whore.”

“You ask much of me,”Sir Aric said over Magan’s sudden wails. “I don’t want a wife.”

“There are compensations,”Senet told him. “She comes with property and monies, a small but prosperous estate in Somerset, and full rights to several acres of forested land. All of it yours for the bedding of her.”

Magan gripped Katharine with both arms, with fingers and nails, weeping violently, pleading for safety.

“You cannot do this!”Katharine shouted. “To violate one so innocent—and a lady born. She would be ruined forever, with no chance of gaining a respectable husband.”

Senet turned to look at her. “She is in your keeping, Katharine. Think of the way to make certain of her safety, for I assure you it is very simple.”

She couldn’t. God help her. She couldn’t say the words to put herself into his keeping forever. He wouldn’t do this horrible thing to Magan. It was impossible.

“Take her, Aric,”Senet said, his voice hard and unyielding. “You may use my chamber if you desire privacy for bedding your newly betrothed bride.”

“Very well.”Sir Aric pushed from the wall. “But I’ll have to tie a cloth about her mouth to keep her quiet.”

“Tie her any way you please,”Senet said above Magan’s loud cries. “Only make certain that you finish the task. You may wed her in the mom.”

A brief madness broke out as Sir Aric tried to wrest Magan out of Katharine’s grip. Katharine started it by shoving Magan toward Ariette and then striking Sir Aric full in the face with her fisted hand. It was a good blow, knocking the huge man back a pace and stunning him. She would have hit him again if Senet hadn’t picked her up off the floor.

“Leave him be, Kayne!”he shouted when his blond comrade began to pull his sword out of its scabbard. “You must stand with me in the matter. Give me your trust, my friend. I will not betray it.”

“Sir Kayne!”Katharine cried, struggling against Senet’s steely grip. “You are sworn to protect innocent maids!”

Scowling, Sir Kayne shoved his sword back into its place. “I never thought to see you torment a lady so, Senet. Any lady.”He moved toward Ariette, and held her as Aric scooped a now screaming Magan into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.

Ariette shrugged free of Kayne’s gentle grip, covering her mouth with both hands, watching with wide—eyed horror as Aric carried Magan from the chamber. Her cries could be heard echoing throughout the great hall, becoming fainter with each passing moment.

“Oh, my lady,”Ariette murmured, tears coursing down her cheeks as she pleaded with Katharine. “Oh, my lady.”

Senet had put Katharine on her feet once Aric had carried Magan away, and now she shut her eyes and covered her ears, striving to drown out the sound of Magan’s distress. But it was impossible. The girl’s terrified visage swam before her, and her cries rang in her head.

“I give way,”she said faintly, dropping her hands to her sides. She repeated it more loudly, turning to Senet with all her fury, “I give way!”

He crossed his arms and faced her.

“Your word, Katharine, that you will stand beside me of your own accord, before all those assembled in the hall, and become my wife. You will readily take your vows, in full voice and agreement, for all to hear. There will be no question of your willingness.”

She nodded wearily. “Aye.”

“You will cover your nakedness with my cloak, accepting this mark of my possession without protest.”

Her eyes opened, but not to look at him. She stared at the floor beneath her bare feet. “Yes.”

“When you have become my wife, you will instruct your people to make their pledge of fealty to me, their new lord. I want no discord in Lomas, and no false loyalties.”

She swallowed, then released a long breath. He waited.

“It will be as you have said.”

He nodded. “Kayne, go and tell Aric that he is to bring no harm to Mistress Magan so long as Lady Katharine honors her word. He is to keep her out of the hall until I send for them, when all has been done. I shall want Mistress Magan to make her pledge of fealty.”

Kayne left the room without a word. Senet unclasped the cloak about his shoulders.

“I will take no blame for what you have forced me to, Katharine.”He set the cloak about her shoulders. She gave no resistance when he clasped it. Indeed, she would not even look at him. “I meant to make you my wife with every honor that is your due. I will yet do so, if you will but let me.”

She shook her head in stony silence.

“So be it,”he said. “Mistress Ariette, wipe your tears away. Go and tell Father Aelnoth that Lady Katharine and I will present ourselves in but a few moments. He is to make all ready. Now.”

“My lady.”Ariette murmured.

“Go, Ariette,”Katharine said dully. “Do as our master has told you.”

When she had gone, Senet lifted Katharine’s chin with a careful finger, until her eyes met his own.

“Katharine,”he said softly, “you fight against your own measure. Not mine. ‘Tis the fool’s way to spite yourself.”

She shrugged free of his touch. “Better a fool of my own choice than a willing slave. You have forced me into servitude, Senet Gaillard, but nothing more will you have of me.”

“I do not want you for a slave,”he told her. “I mean to make you my wife, Katharine. To honor you as such.”

Her voice, when she spoke, was low. “Wife or slave, my lord, it makes no difference. They are the same.”She leaned closer, gazing at him with eyes reddened and weary, yet still holding the light of defiance. “The very same.”

The ceremony was brief, for which Katharine was grateful. She let Senet Gaillard lead her to the dais where Father Aelnoth waited, and, before all those assembled, she made her vows. She felt the eyes of her people upon her, felt, too, their deep regret and sorrow at the manner in which their lady was wed—in such a state of undress, without even shoes on her feet, her hair uncombed and unornamented. And wearing Senet Gaillard’s cloak, which so clearly marked his victory and her defeat.

He stood beside her, holding her hand upon his arm, and solemnly repeated his vows. When the priest gave him the kiss of peace, he passed it to Katharine in a brief, firm meeting of lips. Then he surprised her, when Father Aelnoth asked whether he had any token to make proof of his pledge, by opening the leather pouch that hung at his waist and pulling out two gold rings, joined together, as was common, by a thin band of silver. He set the rings into Father Aelnoth’s hands, and when they had been blessed, took them back and broke away the silver bond. Taking her left hand, he touched the smaller of the gold circles upon the tips of each finger, as Father Aelnoth spoke, “In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Ghost.”until he reached her fourth finger, and slid the ring all the way on.

It was a beautiful ring, clearly crafted with care and made of such clean, pure gold that it shone almost white. She had not expected this of him, just as she had not expected the beautiful gown that Mademoiselle Clarise had earlier delivered to the north tower, and the surprise kept her silent as Senet Gaillard took her other hand and set the ring meant for him in it Katharine’s fingers curled around it She could throw it in his face, if she liked. It wasn’t part of the bargain they had made, and she had already peaceably taken her vows. To do this thing—to put the ring upon him as he had done to her—would only serve to make her appear compliant and willing.

The silence in the hall was thick with meaning, and Katharine slanted a glance at the myriad, wide—eyed faces staring up at her, waiting.

She lifted her gaze to Senet Gaillard’s handsome countenance. He was waiting also, patiently. There was no sign that he meant to force her to perform the small service.

Katharine uncurled her fingers and reached down to take his hand. Her own hand trembled as Father Aelnoth began to speak, “In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son…”and she moved the ring from his thumb to his forefinger to his middle finger and finally, to the fourth finger, where she slid the ring on.

The hall resounded with a collective easing of breaths, and Senet took her hands in his, holding them tightly. Katharine could no longer meet his gaze. It was over. They were man and wife, and Lomas was his.

Chapter Six

“He took you walking on the roof? That was how he meant to terrify you?”

Katharine stood in the middle of her chamber, still wearing Senet Gaillard’s cloak over her chemise, and stared at Magan in disbelief.

Magan, who was busying herself with arranging Katharine’s brushes and combs on a table upon which a steel polished mirror was set, said, blushing, “I know ‘tis difficult to credit, but Sir Aric was very kind. The moment we reached the roof he put me down and apologized…in a most heartfelt manner. He—he even knelt—”she blushed more hotly “—and took my hands and asked me to forgive him for any fright he may have given me earlier, at The Bull and Dog.”

Utterly shocked, Katharine sat down on her bed and kept staring. Ariette, standing across the room, stumbled to the nearest chair and sat as well.

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