Annelise lifted her head in shock and peered after him. She saw his cloaked silhouette as he entered the courtyard, then he rounded a corner and disappeared fromview.
He would come back. Certainly. He only fetched aswitch.
But his footsteps faded tosilence.
And he did notreturn.
Long moments later, sheexhaled.
Her husband had simply turned away. Words had been his weapon ofchoice.
What manner of man had shewed?
A man who was gone. Anneliseswallowed.
He had left her because she had broken herword.
She left the bed, her knees trembling, and donned her chemise. There was no sign of him, not in the chamber beyond, not in thegarden.
Certainly, her spouse appeared to be of a different ilk than herfather.
Indeed, Annelise could think of no one who had ever treated her with such kindness. She had been fed, sheltered, protected, introduced to lovemaking with a tenderness unexpected in marriage to astranger.
And how had she rewarded his kindness? A lump rose in Annelise’s throat. She had defied the request he had made of her. She had known he would see such a small thing as a betrayal. She had believed she knew better. She had believed she made a choice for the greatergood.
But he had left and she would have no opportunity to argue in her own defense. She looked down at his ring, still upon her hand. They had exchanged marriage vows, but there had been no witnesses. Would he deny her after all they had done together? Would she be cast from the gates of his palace to fend for herself? She was a maiden no longer—what if she bore hischild?
Annelise sat on the side of the bed, more fearful of the future than she had everbeen.
What would be her fatenow?
* * *
Betrayed!
Rolfe was furious, though his anger was directed as much at himself as his wife. He paced the length of the stable and railed atMephistopheles.
“Seven kinds of fool!” he said. “How could I have trusted her? I should never have trusted her! I should never have trusted anyone! Have I learned nothing in thislife?”
Mephistopheles rummaged in his feed bin. Rolfe strode to the side of the stall and leaned over in an effort to catch the beast’s attention. He had to talk to someone or go mad, but Mephistopheles seemedindifferent.
“Was it not enough for me to be cursed?” he demanded. “No, I had to insult a djinn and have the curse redoubled. It is one thing not to believe in the unseen, quite another to tell a djinn as much!” He shook his head. “And was that enough? No, even once warned, I had to trust Annelise that I might bebetrayed!”
Mephistopheles continued to chewcomplacently.
“One might argue that I believed I had a good reason to trust her.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Oh, yes, it was a fine reason, and I shall share it with you. The lady is attractive and possesses a rare passion.” Rolfe turned on his heel to pace the length of the stable again. “Is that not adequate reason to entrust my life to herkeeping?”
He waved a hand. “Oh, yes, lest I forget, she also appreciates a venison stew.” He shoved his hand through his hair, sick with the knowledge that he had been his own worst enemy inthis.
The sad truth was that he did not know enough about Annelise. He could unerringly find every mole upon her flesh in the deepest darkness. He knew precisely how to caress her to send her scaling the highest cliffs of pleasure. She had a passion for life and a sharpness of wit that captivated him. Rolfe liked how she laughed and appreciated that she was the first woman with whom he had ever been able totalk.
His mother would have noted that he did not know sufficient about the lady’s history and family to take her towife.
Rolfe enumerated what he did know. She was Quinn’s sister. She had been raised in a convent after her mother’s death. He could not imagine that she had enjoyed her time there. Yet she had chosen to return to the convent rather than accept an arranged marriage, proof of her determination to keep her vow to wed only forlove.
Where had she come by such a conviction? Certainly, no father or overlord would teach a daughter such a notion, and Rolfe doubted the sisters of Ste. Radegund would have endorsed such aview.
Was he right that she had been afraid when he snatched away the candle? To be sure, he had been angry, but he had never injured her. Why would she fearhim?
