‘After Alan dies, I could bring you to Ireland. I have friends there, one of whom is acquainted with the MacEgan tribe. They could give you sanctuary.’ The MacEgan King had four brothers and their family controlled vast lands in the south. There was no safer place for Rosamund.
Rosamund motioned for him to follow her into a smaller chamber. No one was inside, and she closed the door behind them. ‘You want me to flee and abandon my responsibilities.’
‘Owen will control this land by law. You can do nothing to threaten his inheritance unless you give birth to Alan’s heir.’
‘I have already said that I will not lie with you, Warrick. I cannot do that to Alan. It’s not the sort of woman I am.’ She kept her voice hushed, and in the darkness, he could barely see her face.
‘You were mine first,’ he insisted. ‘Or did you forget the vows you spoke?’ The words were bitter, despite his efforts to keep them neutral.
‘I had no right to make those promises. We were never truly married.’ Her voice was flat, as if she hardly believed the words she was speaking.
‘Say what you will, we were bound by holy vows and by flesh. The Church would have recognised our marriage.’
‘And if I had not obeyed my father, you would be dead.’ She stared back at him. ‘I did what I had to.’
‘Do you love him?’ he asked quietly.
‘Yes.’
From her tone, he sensed that it was a different love, almost that of a sister towards her brother. And yet, she had given her body to Alan, consummating their marriage. The thought brought about a surge of jealousy. Lord Pevensham had possessed her for nearly three years, and nothing would change that.
Warrick started to turn away, but then she caught the edge of his tunic and pulled him back. In her eyes, he saw the turmoil. She looked torn about whether to speak. He didn’t press her for answers but simply waited.
At last, she whispered, ‘Alan is a friend, a kind man who did his best to care for me.’
Her hand touched his, and Warrick held it for a moment. Her actions and words warred with one another, as if she didn’t know what she wanted.
‘You’re asking me to walk away and let you be Owen’s victim,’ Warrick ground out.
‘No.’ With a shaky sigh, she added, ‘I do want you to stay and guard me from him. I trust you more than any other man.’
Even if she had refused, he had no intention of leaving her behind. He reached out and touched her chin, lifting her face to look at him. In her green eyes, he saw fear, determination, and a faint trace of longing.
The years had not destroyed the love that had once been between them. It had only buried it. And when he looked into her eyes, there was no denying his hunger for this woman. He understood her tangled emotions, but he saw the solution, just as Alan did. A child would invalidate Owen’s claim to Pevensham, as long as they could keep him safe.
‘What if...we allow Alan to believe that we have been intimate, even though both of us know the truth?’ she murmured.
He took her hand and brought it to his throat so she would feel the way his pulse had quickened. Her fingers were soft against his skin, and God help him, he wanted this woman. ‘Are you afraid of me, Rosamund?’
She closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘I know you would never hurt me.’
‘But I never promised not to tempt you,’ he said quietly. ‘I want you still, even after all this time.’
He drew her hand lower to his heartbeat. She didn’t even try to pull away, and he unlaced his leather armour and tunic, placing her hand upon his bare skin. ‘If you want a child, I will give you one,’ he said quietly. The very thought aroused him. Here, in the darkness, he envisioned her lying upon his sheets, her naked body exposed to him. He wanted to taste her skin, to watch the gooseflesh rise as he caressed her breasts. She would moan as he suckled her breasts, arching into him as she grew wet between her thighs. Warrick gritted his teeth, trying to force back the rush of need.
She held her hand against his heart a moment longer before she drew it away. ‘No,’ she murmured. ‘I will not take that risk. Let Alan believe we tried and did not succeed.’
God help him, he wanted more than she would give. With each day he spent at her side, he longed to accept Alan’s proposition. Her husband was going to die, and Rosamund would be at the mercy of Owen de Courcy.
He could not stand by and let it happen.
He had been given a chance to reclaim the woman he wanted above all. Alan wanted her to be protected after he was gone, and the man was right—there was no one else who would guard her the way Warrick could.
The more he considered it, the more he saw the sound reasoning behind Lord Pevensham’s proposition. All the man lacked was an heir of his own. But Rosamund would not surrender easily. She guarded her body as fiercely as she did her heart.
He followed Rosamund out of the room and into the corridor. ‘What will you do about Owen?’
She paled but lifted her chin to face him. ‘I am aware of his...eagerness for Alan to die. But Owen would never do anything to endanger himself. Too many would suspect his involvement if Alan died whilst he was here.’
