Annelise opened her mouth to argue, then closed itagain.
Rolfe was close to triumph. He dropped to one knee before her and saw her try to spy something of him as the cloak parted. Her gaze flicked over his bent knee, then dropped to his gloved hand. She was curious about him, which could only beprogress.
Of course, she had concluded that he wasdisfigured.
Perhaps that worried her, aswell.
Rolfe straightened and doffed his glove. He held the ring out to her, the circle of gold pinched between finger and thumb of his righthand.
She looked and he knew what she saw. His hand was tanned, the palm broad and fingers strong. There was a callus on the palm at the base of his smallest finger. Her gaze lingered there, then she glanced suddenly athim.
“You are aknight.”
“Intent upon winning a lady’s favor so that she agrees to become mywife.”
She reached out and touched the white band on his finger. “You wore this ring until you gave it tome.”
“It is the only ring I possess, and a wife must have aring.”
She caught her breath, her eyesdarkening.
“Take my ring, Annelise,” he said softly, a thread of command in his tone. “Keep yourvow.”
Rolfe saw her panic, but then she was cornered. What would she do, this unpredictable lady? She would not flee. Not Annelise. No, she would try to expose him, Rolfeguessed.
Indeed, she reached abruptly for his hood, clearly hoping to surprisehim.
Rolfe’s other hand emerged from the folds of his cloak with lightning speed and locked around her wrist. She looked down at his hand, and Rolfe knew it was the supposed scar that she feared. His left hand was gloved, but clearly intact. Rolfe felt her pulse flutter beneath histhumb.
“I made myself a promise,” shewhispered.
“And you made another promise to me.” Rolfe shed the other glove, watched her look, then captured her wrist again. His thumb slid across the inside of her wrist in a gentle caress, and his voice dropped as he continued. “The two are not necessarilyincompatible.”
Her pulse leaped, the lady flushed, and Rolfe wasreassured.
She peered up at him, and he saw that her resolve wavered. “How could they notbe?”
Rolfe felt protective of her and wished he did not have to press her so on this matter. In the morning, the curse would be broken and he could confess all of the truth to her. There would be no cost in confiding in his wife then. “The two goals can be as one,” he said with conviction. “Your needs were met before you even stated them. I promise to you that willcontinue.”
Her eyes flashed and her next words were tart. “I expect more than a meal and the occasional bath frommarriage.”
Rolfe smiled despite himself, liking her spirit. “And perhaps you are overly ambitious for that,” he chided. “Many women are abused or ignored by their spouses, kept in dismal conditions and forced to bear countless children. It is not so uncommon as a sheltered woman like yourself mightthink.”
Annelise was so impassive that Rolfe wondered if that was herfear.
“You will experience none of that at my hand and will be better situated than most,” he said. “I swear it to you, Annelise, that as my lady wife, you will be protected and defended to my very best ability. Indeed, you will have the benefits that you consider to be a mark of a man’slove.”
“But there would be no love between us,” shesaid.
He clicked his tongue. “Can you divine the future, my Annelise?” He began to trace larger circles against the soft inside of her wrist as he spoke and felt her sway toward him. That was promising, indeed. “Who can say what will grow between us over theyears?”
Annelise peered up at him, again trying to catch a glimpse of his face. “Tell me your name,” she insisted. “Give me thismuch.”
Rolfe shook hishead.
“That does not bode well for this pretty future youpromise.”
“You must not look fully upon me before themorrow.”
