Rosamund’s eyes turned the colour of storm clouds. ‘And what if God grants me a daughter again? She cannot inherit, and I will have betrayed you for naught.’
‘It is a chance we must take.’
She stood, her face bright with anger. He could tell she was itching to lash back at her husband, but she bit back the words. Instead, she turned her back on both of them and fled.
‘Go through the passageway between our chambers and follow her,’ Alan commanded him. ‘No one will see you.’
But Warrick’s own anger tightened beneath his skin. Despite his desire, Rosamund did not deserve to be treated like this. It was clear that Alan had made her into a pawn, manipulating her into a game she did not wish to play.
‘She said no. Does that not mean anything to you?’ His voice held a feral edge, and he held himself back from the violence rising.
‘No,’ Alan said quietly. ‘It doesn’t. She will do as I command, or I will find someone else.’
Warrick seized the man by his shoulders, hardly caring that de Courcy was so weakened. ‘She is not your brood mare. She is a good woman, and I’m damned if I will stand back and let you hurt her in any way.’
‘You still love her,’ Alan accused. The words sliced through him, for Warrick had vowed that he would never let himself fall prey to that emotion again. He started to shake his head, but de Courcy was not finished. ‘It matters not that you care for my wife. She marriedme, not you, and I have been patient enough with her. Time has run out, and she must obey. She will, if I have to witness the consummation myself.’
‘You care more about Pevensham than her,’ Warrick shot back. ‘You would throw her to the wolves if it meant saving your estate.’
A strange expression passed over Alan’s face. ‘You don’t know what it has been like these past three years. To love a woman and know that she wept at the thought of marrying you. To claim her body and know that she loathed the very act.’ There was weariness in his tone. ‘I love her nearly as much as I despise her.’
Warrick took a step back from the man. There was no mistaking the resentment in Alan’s words or the hatred towards him.
‘I will go to her after midnight, when it is too dark to see. She will think it is me touching her. And you will do what is necessary to help her conceive an heir.’
Warrick wanted to say no, for Rosamund would immediately know the difference between them. But he could not deny that he hungered for the woman he’d wanted to wed. Though it was a sin, he craved the silken touch of her skin. He wanted to kiss her, to pleasure her in the darkness until she could not refuse him.
Without a word, he left de Courcy’s chambers and didn’t look back.
Chapter Eight
It was dark within her bedchamber when she heard the passageway open. Immediately, Rosamund froze in her bed.
‘It is I,’ she heard Alan say. His voice was a relief, and she started to sit up when he refused. ‘No. Lie back upon the bed.’
She heard him approach, but for some reason, her instincts were raised. She felt him reach towards her in the darkness, pushing back the coverlet.
‘Remove your shift,’ he commanded. ‘I am going to lie with you.’
She hesitated, for she was not eager for his touch. And yet, she understood his desperate need for an heir.
It is your duty,her conscience reminded her. It didn’t matter that she did not want her husband to join with her.
‘Are you...well enough for this?’ she asked him, feeling awkward about the question. He had grown weaker each day, so much that the very idea of lovemaking seemed impossible.
It will not take long,she told herself. If she lay still and did not argue, it would be over soon.
‘Do not ask questions,’ he rebuked her. ‘Take off your shift and lie naked upon the bed. I want you on your stomach with your legs spread apart.’
Rosamund flushed at his blatant request. But then, the position was likely easier for him to manage in his condition. In the darkness, she could not see his face, but she heard his footsteps drawing nearer.
Dear God, she didn’t want this. The idea of lying still while he drove himself inside her was not at all appealing. But she gritted her teeth and removed her shift. Slowly, she rolled over to her stomach and did as he asked, spreading her legs apart.
She closed her eyes tight, hoping that somehow he would be unable to perform. That he would be overtired and would give up.
But then, she felt a warm hand upon her bottom, and she jolted at the sensation. It was not Alan’s hand. She knew it from the moment she felt Warrick’s caress upon her. She was shocked to realise what her husband planned.
‘Alan, wait.’
