She continued to stare at him as if unsure what to make of his chivalry. She was a captive and he was… well, it was her understanding that he had come to support de Wrenville. But his actions suggested that he wasn’t entirely on Winterhold’s side.Confused, she pushed her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“I fail to understand why you should, my lord,” she said. “Please do not misunderstand. I am grateful to have you as my advocate. But I do not understand why you should be concerned.”
Caius tried to tell himself that he would have the same concern for any prisoner in the face of such an upsetting situation, but if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely sure that was true. From the beginning of their association, he’d been drawn to Emelisse. He didn’t even know the woman but, somehow, she had his attention.
After a moment, he averted his gaze, looking around for something to sit on.
“I am concerned as the only neutral party here,” he said. “As I told you, William Marshal has a stake in all of this and until I can determine who is in the right, and who is in the wrong, if any, I shall be your advocate and ensure you are treated fairly.”
It sounded reasonable enough and he was proud of himself for explaining it so logically. But her brow furrowed as she considered his words.
“You did, indeed, mention that you had come on behalf of William Marshal,” she said. “But my question is why? We never knew that Covington de Wrenville was such a close ally of The Marshal.”
Caius had found a chair and he pulled it up, sitting opposite her in front of the hearth. “He was not until he married Lady de Wrenville,” he said, finally looking up at her. “Lady de Wrenville is the former Alice de Gras. Her mother, Margaret, is a beloved sister of William Marshal.”
Emelisse’s eyes widened when she realized what he was saying. “He married a niece of William Marshal?” she gasped.“That means… now he is part of The Marshal’s family. Did he do this on purpose? To destroy Hawkstone?”
Caius shrugged, trying not to make it sound as bad as all that when the truth was that itwasas bad as all that. He simply didn’t want to feed the fear he could see in her eyes because he needed for her to remain calm considering what he had to tell her.
She still didn’t know that Covington intended to marry her to his son.
“I am sure there were many reasons why they were married,” he said. “Marriage can be for money, for power, for armies, or for love. I do not know the reasons why he married her, but he did.”
His words eased her only slightly. Her gaze lingered on him a moment before she turned back to the flames, staring into their mesmerizing depths.
“It seems clear that he married her for William Marshal’s support,” she muttered. “He only married her two months ago and now here you are, with an army. I am not a politician, nor a military tactician, but even I can see why he did it.”
Caius watched her profile in the flickering light, his thoughts moving from the marriage of Covington and Alice to the curve of Emelisse’s face. He was being an utter idiot, he knew, but he didn’t care. His initial observations of her had not been incorrect; she was an exquisite creature. He was curious about her, personally, and trying not to be obvious. He was trying to be completely professional in all aspects, but the more he looked at her, the more difficult it became.
“Until I determine the truth of the situation, it will do no good for you to worry about this,” he said. “But there is something you should know because I feel that it is only fair to tell you the truth. De Wrenville has recalled his son to Winterhold with the intention of marrying you. I know that is not what you want to hear, but that is what he has spoken of.”
Her head came up, her eyes wide on him. “Marius… he is coming here tomarryme?”
Caius nodded. “That is what I have been told,” he said. “I thought you should know so you are not surprised when Marius arrives and the subject comes up. Mayhap knowing will give you time to… prepare yourself.”
For a moment, she simply looked at him and he met her gaze, waiting for her reaction. Either she would be resigned to it, which he couldn’t imagine she would be, or she would vehemently protest. He suspected he was going to have to listen to fearful tirade.
He wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
Suddenly, Emelisse was on her feet, running for the nearest shuttered window. Caius was out of his seat, grabbing her just as she yanked open one of the broken shutters and tried to crawl up into the window. Her intention was clear and, shocked, Caius pulled her out of the window, into his massive embrace, as she fought like a wildcat.
Caius was a big man, and strong, but Emelisse seemed to have superhuman strength. She was twisting and fighting, and when he lifted his hand to hold her thrashing head still, she bit him. It was enough for him to loosen his grip and she managed to yank herself free of his grasp, but not for long. He tackled her before she could get to the window and they both went down on the floor in a heap.
“Please,” she begged, beating at the arms that were holding her. “Let me go! Please let me go!”
Caius was genuinely afraid of what would happen if he did. “Nay, my lady,” he said, his head tucked in behind hers. “I will not let you throw yourself from the window. Breathe, Emelisse, justbreathe.”
He called her by her Christian name, hoping it might break that barrier between a professional and neutral party tosomeone who was concerned. The human emotion factor in all of this, which had been sorely missing in this situation. Emelisse had been treated like an enemy, punished and emotionally abused, and she was reacting in kind. Only Lady de Wrenville had been kind to her.
Caius wanted to be kind to her, too.
But she wasn’t making it easy.
“Let me go!” she grunted, trying to force herself free of his iron grip. “It is not your right to save me! It is not your privilege! It is my life and I will not live it with Marius de Wrenville. So let me go or you condemn me to a fate worse than death!”
Caius didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to say. He was coming to regret telling her about Marius but, in the same breath, she had to be told sooner or later. Better do it now while he was with her and able to prevent her from ending her life in desperation. Frankly, her reaction had caught him off-guard.
There was nothing he could do not but hold on tightly until her urge to end it all subsided.
