“But I would not see you commit such a crime, even for me.”
Their gazes held for a long moment, and Anna’s mouth went dry.
Then she recalled something Bartholomew had said. “What pledge do you dare not break that will ensure you act ignobly?” she asked, knowing when Bartholomew winced that there was a detail of import she did not know. “I cannot think of any vow that would compel you to do as much.”
He sat down heavily beside her. “That is because I have not told you all about our escape from Haynesdale.”
What else had happened within those walls?
*
Trust Anna to ask the question he least desired to answer.
Bartholomew was confounded by his promise to Marie. He was caught between his word of honor and his commitment to good conduct. He knew Gaston would not have sympathized with his situation, and then realized the truth of it.
While he had learned much from Gaston, he had learned even more of Ysmaine. The notion of seeking Anna’s counsel filled him with new optimism, though he saw her surprise when he smiled at her.
“Suddenly this obligation gives you joy?” she asked.
“Nay, it is an idea that fills me with new hope. I have spoken to you of Gaston.”
“The knight of honor and Templar, the one who saved you from the streets of Paris and granted you both spurs and sword.”
“The very same. When Gaston heard that he was to be a baron, he found himself a wife, quickly, for he knew he would have need of a son.”
“A man can expect more than that from his wife.”
“As he learned from Lady Ysmaine, his chosen bride. We knew little of women after so much time with the Templars, but she was inspired by her parents’ match, and how they conferred together. Gaston did not dare to trust her, but in the end, she was the one who ensured that his task to deliver the reliquary to Paris was successful.” He took Anna’s hand again. “And so, I would take from Lady Ysmaine’s example and ask for your assistance in solving this riddle. Better, I would do so before it is too late.”
“You and your word of honor! To whom have you made a pledge now?”
“Lady Marie.” He sat back, awaiting the tempest, and was not disappointed. “I promised to aid her in conceiving a son.”
Anna was clearly shocked. “What madness is this? You would aid such a viper and give her the means to dismiss your claim?”
“I declined to reply the first time—”
“That night we were at the keep!” Anna guessed, eyes flashing. “I knew she meant to seduce you!”
“But then, she aided our escape this day.” He arched a brow. “And I pledged to pay her price.”
Anna’s eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest. “She wants you to bed her?” Her expression revealed her opinion of that.
“She yearns for a child, and Sir Royce has not given her one.”
Anna’s lips parted in outrage. “She would conceive a bastard and deceive her lord husband?”
“I had need of her aid.” Bartholomew flung out a hand. “She named the terms.”
“But she is wed! Surely there is no honor in adultery?”
He gritted his teeth, for he had already turned this question in his thoughts. “None,” he acknowledged. “Yet I am caught by my vow.”
“You do not have to do it. She cannot come after you in this place. She will never reach you.” Anna glared at him. “You could forget your pledge.”
“I gave my word,” Bartholomew insisted. “If I break my vow because it no longer suits me to keep it, what manner of man would I be?”
Anna audibly ground her teeth. “Yet if she does conceive, that child might be a boy.” She shook her head. “A boy who could challenge your claim to Haynesdale!”
