She gazed at him for a few moments before a smile spread across her lips. “For that peace of mind, I will thank you,” she said, squeezing his hands. “I’ve never had a champion before.”
He smiled in return. “Not only a champion, my lady,” he said. “A husband.”
“And you know this for certain?”
“Lady Isabel has given me permission to court you,” he said. “She said that your mother would not care, so she gave her permission. I was going to tell you the good news last nightbefore the evening got away from us. I will, therefore, tell you now. I have permission to court you.”
Her smile was huge. “Are you sure you want to, given the madness of last night?” she asked. “If you have changed your mind, I would understand.”
He shook his head. “I will not change my mind,” he said. “You are, and always will be, my choice.”
My choice.
The words from the pendant. Suddenly, Mira’s smile vanished and she sat up quickly, looking around in a panic.
“The pendant,” she said. “I was wearing it when Raymond… Where is it?”
He held her arms to prevent her from pitching herself right out of the bed. “It is safe,” he assured her. “When I brought you up here after the fight, I took it off your bodice and tucked it away in the wardrobe. It is quite safe.”
Mira was visibly relieved as she turned to him. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I could not bear it if something happened to it.”
It was a heartfelt sentiment. He could feel it. He was holding her hands but he let them go, reaching up to stroke the side of her head. He just wanted to touch her. Her blonde hair was like velvet in his hands, soft and warm and glorious. He tried very hard not to think about this petite, beautiful woman in a fight for her life against a man who was intent on brutalizing her.
That made him want to kill all over again.
“Nothing is going to happen to it,” he murmured. “Or you. You have me now and I will see that you are always safe and warm and protected, Mira. I promise.”
Mira leaned into his hand, her green eyes glittering at him. “It seems like a dream,” she said. “I have never been courted before.”
“And I have never courted before.”
“Do you know what to do?”
He shrugged, his eyes glimmering with mirth. “I think so,” he said. “I have four older brothers who have courted women. I have learned something.”
“Is that so?” she said, interested. “What have you learned?”
He thought on that question. “Peter is the eldest,” he said. “From him, I learned persistence. The man was very persistent when he courted Liora. Curtis is the second eldest and he married a Welsh princess. Do you know how they met?”
“How?”
“She tried to kill him in battle.”
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “And he married her?”
Douglas chuckled. “He did and he is very happy,” he said. “From him, I have learned patience. Women require great patience.”
Mira waggled her eyebrows. “I think some require more than others,” she said. “I hope I do not tax yours overly.”
“You haven’t yet,” he said, grinning. “Where was I? Oh, and Roi is the brother who is a king’s chief justiciar. He is quite scholarly, but also an excellent knight. His story is a little sad, in fact. The woman he married was meant for his eldest son. When Beckett was killed, Roi married Diara in his stead, and I swear to you I have never seen him more content. From him, I learned acceptance. Sometimes you must accept what life brings you.”
“And it has brought you to me?”
He chuckled. “Something like that,” he said. “Myles is the fourth brother, the one I am closest to. He is a glorious stud of a man, much pursued, and he fancied himself in love with a woman who, in fact, was no good for him. That pushed him into the arms of a bookish, beautiful woman whom he had no interest in, or so he thought. But Veronica is the best thing that could have happened to him, so from Myles, I have learned that what you want in life is not always what will make you happy.”
She was watching his face as he spoke. “Does that apply to you?” she asked. “Wanting something in life that has slipped away from you?”
He shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “Nothing that mattered, although I will say that out of all of my brothers, Myles and Westley and I seem to be the most pursued by women. I suppose we all look somewhat alike with the hair and the big build. Women seem to find it pleasing.”
