Arissa gazed at her sister’s fair head a moment before turning her apprehensive gaze to Richmond. He had given Regine several months to make her confession; now, she was throwing a most clever twist into the deal. Richmond’s impassive gaze lingered on Arissa a moment before turning his attention to Regine.
“A bargain?” he repeated. “Does it stand to reason that if I do not agree, you will carry out your implied threat?”
In spite of her anger toward him, she was still deathly afraid of the man who did not hesitate to punish her for the slightest infraction. She shook her head, hard. “Nay, no threat. But I will know that my secret is safe, as I will keep your secret safe.”
Richmond’s hard gaze lingered on her a moment before slanting a glance to Arissa; he had no choice in the matter. As they both had powerful secrets to be kept, there was simply no other alternative but to agree to the terms. Turning away from both ladies, he moved for the remainder of his clothing. “Your proposal is accepted, Regine. You had better pray that your word of honor is as good as mine.”
Regine watched the massive knight lumber across the room. Pensive and somber, she meandered to the mussed bed, perching her sore bottom on the mattress. As Arissa dropped the linen sheet in favor of a heavy brocade robe from the wardrobe, Regine pondered the predicament her curiosity had gotten her in to. However, her thoughts once again turned to the apparent double standard between herself and Arissa, and the harder she thought, the more indignant she became.
“Why is it acceptable for Arissa to couple with you, yet it is not allowable for me to experience the act?” she muttered, more to herself than to the other occupants of the room. She wanted Richmond to hear her; then again, she did not.
He pulled his tunic over his head, running his fingers through his rich brown hair to smooth it as he turned his focus to the young girl. “Because, as you have discovered, Arissa and I love one another. We were demonstrating that love.” When Regine looked as if she did not understand what he was telling her, his manner gentled. She was trying so hard to grow up, to comprehend the complex realm of adults. Picking up his boots, he went to sit beside her on the bed. “Why do you want to mature so quickly, Regine? Why can’t you simply enjoy your childhood and rely on time and experience to mature your mind and body? You are trying so hard to force nature, love. You must learn patience.”
Regine watched him pull on his boots, her cheeks a dull red. Shrugging lamely, she turned away from him; she could not provide answers for his sensible questions. Across the room, Arissa tightened the sash of her luxurious brocade robe and moved toward her sister and Richmond, her manner more subdued than it had been moments before.
She heard every word Richmond had spoken and was forced to agree with his reasoning. As always, his wisdom worked wonders to soothe her fury and ease her anxieties. She did not hesitate to reach out to him as she neared the bed; still looking at Regine, Richmond caught her gesture from the corner of his eye and pulled her onto his lap.
Regine turned to look at her sister, snuggled comfortably on the lap of a man she had grown up knowing as closely as one would a father. A man who had treated her with incredible gentleness, respect and caring.
But now, there was far more than simple friendship between them and observing the tender expressions of Arissa and Richmond, Regine began to realize that mayhap there was supposed to be more between a man and woman than superficial pleasure and excitement.
“Riss has always loved you,” she said softly. “We have all known it.”
They turned to look at her, Arissa’s expression one of surprise. “Who is ‘we’?” Arissa asked.
“Penelope and Emma and I. We have always known. But we never thought Richmond was in love with you, too. He’s so much….” she suddenly flushed a bright red, quickly averting her gaze. Swallowing hard, she stumbled over her words. “He’s a great knight, one of Henry’s chosen, and we did not think he would….”
“What you mean to say is that I am twice her age,” Richmond supplied, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Regine had the fearful look she often wore just before Richmond spanked her. “I never said that…. Penelope did!”
Arissa let out a gasp of outrage, but Richmond snickered. “She’s right, Riss. I am nearly twenty-two years older than you are.”
Arissa still appeared offended, whether or not he was correct. Regine, sensing that Richmond was not at all slighted as an effect of her potential insult, peered at him curiously. “How old are you?”
“Come, Regine, you have been schooled in basic mathematics,” Richmond chided with a touch of humor. “Eighteen plus twenty-two is forty.”
Regine’s mouth opened with surprise. She never imagined he was that old. “You are forty?”
He nodded. “Almost. I am thirty-nine until the eve of the New Year. On the last day of December, I will become forty years old.”
Arissa gazed at him lovingly, smiling as he chuckled at Regine’s shock. “Look at him, Regine. Not a gray streak to blemish his hair, barely a line on his face. Isn’t he wonderful?”
As Regine studied him closely, Richmond merely waved them both off. “You cannot see the age lines because the light is so dim. Under direct sunlight, my face looks like the map of France. Roads and boundaries crisscrossing all through it.”
The girls giggled loudly. He smiled at them both, laughing at his own expense. All of the tension, the fear, that had occupied their world just moments prior seemed to have vanished. As if a new understanding had dawned between the three of them; certainly, Richmond had never been more satisfied nor more content with Arissa in his arms, and Regine’s mannerisms were somehow bordering on those of a normal, respectful lady as opposed to the spoiled wench he had come to know.
It was as if they had progressed to a new level of comprehension. Even though Regine knew the details of an explosive secret, Richmond found himself willing to trust her oath of silence. Not that she had ever proven herself to be trustworthy in the least; yet, somehow, he was willing to take the chance. Furthermore, he had little choice.
He hadn’t realized his thoughts to be drifting away from the conversation until Arissa gently touched his cheek, bringing him back into the world at hand. He turned to her, drinking in her beauty with more appreciation than he had ever known. Regine sat beside them, fumbling with her surcoat and pondering her own quieting thoughts. When Richmond whispered something to Arissa and her sister giggled, Regine’s attention was again drawn to the happy couple.
In spite of everything, she was thrilled to see her sister so content. But along with that reflection, the undeniable reality of Whitby Abbey suddenly entered her thoughts and she found herself intensely curious over her sister’s established future.
“Are you still going to Whitby, Riss?”
Arissa’s smile vanished in spite of Richmond’s encouraging expression. He answered for her. “She’s still going, but she will not stay for long. We will be married as soon as I can arrange it.”
“Married?” Regine repeated, incredulous. “You are going to marry my sister?”
