Curtis had opened that world up for her.
“What is the matter?” he asked softly, shifting so he could look at her. “Why do you weep? Did I hurt you?”
She hadn’t been as discreet as she thought she had. Wiping at her face, she shook her head. “Nay,” she said hoarsely. “You were quite gentle.”
“Then why are you weeping?”
She almost shut him down, avoiding the question, but she thought better of it. Other than Melusine, she’d never had anyone to confide in, fearful of opening herself up. But with Curtis, she’d already established a pattern of honesty.
She wanted to keep it.
“I do not know, really,” she said. “I suppose because I have spent so much time trying to push you away and keep you at arm’s length that I’m fearful now that I’ve let you in.”
He shifted so his head was on the pillow beside hers. “Am I in?”
“You’ve come through the door I had closed.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “You mean I’ve managed to breach the gatehouse?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Exactly.”
It was a language they could both understand as they learned to communicate with one another. Curtis was quickly coming to be aware of that. “So I am standing at your gatehouse, yet I have no weapons,” he said softly. “What are you afraid of?”
Her smile faded. “I am afraid that this is all a dream and you will leave me.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “I will not leave you,” he said huskily. “That is a promise. But you must stop trying to keep me out of the gatehouse. I want to come in, Elle. All the way in, if you’ll allow.”
She nodded. “I know,” she said. “And I want you to come in, but you must understand that pushing people away has become innate with me. If there is no one for me to depend on, then I cannot get hurt.”
“I understand,” he said, reaching up to wipe an errant tear from her right cheek. “But your days of being alone are ended. You have me now, and about twenty close family members who simply want the opportunity to love you. Give them that chance, Elle. Please.”
She forced a brave smile. “I will, if it is what you wish,” she said. “But I fear I have a great deal to learn about families and this life I now find myself in.”
“Like what?”
She shrugged. “I was not raised in a fine household,” she said. “I do not know how to manage kitchens or feasts or food or chambers. I do not know how to talk to English lords so they will not think I am foolish. I do not even know how to dance.”
He grinned. “I can see that I have a good deal of teaching in my future.”
“Do you mind terribly?”
He laughed softly and pulled her close. “Of course not,” he said. “I am delighted to do it. But I do not know everything, so I think you will have a few teachers to ensure you are the finest countess England has ever seen.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I know so.”
The conversation ended, but not uncomfortably so. In fact, he pulled her close and held her in warm silence as they became acquainted with the feel of one another. Flesh against flesh, heart against heart. Elle was soft and pliable in his arms, and Curtis enveloped her in his strength. It was a defining moment of what their future together would be.
Breached gatehouse and all.
When sleep came for them both, it was deep and undisturbed.
It was a solid night’s sleep for both of them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Those foolish boysweren’t going to keep her contained forever.
