Quinn nearly choked.“But I am not Lord de Sayerne,” he whispered to Melissande.
The lady’s smile did not waver.Indeed, she looked most pleased with herself.
“Indeed, Quinn, you speak aright,” Tulley said.He cleared his throat and removed a familiar item from his purse.“Your lady wife made a most ardent and persuasive argument on your behalf this day while you were at hunt.Indeed, if I did not already agree with her assessment of your abilities, I might have been insulted.”
The company laughed lightly, though Quinn doubted it was a jest.
“As it stands, however, I do agree.”Tulley waved the seal.“Come here, Quinn, bend your knee and be endowed with your legacy and your heart’s desire.”
He still could not believe it, but Melissande squeezed his hand.“Go,” she whispered.“Lest he change his mind.”
They shared a smile before Quinn bowed before Tulley.Tears pricked at his eyes when the weight of the seal was in his hand, and he could scarce catch his breath.He felt as if his mother was watching him with pride, and that was potent, indeed.Then he turned to offer his hand to Melissande who crossed to his side with a smile that filled him with mingled pride and desire.He knew then that his wife possessed an even more potent sorcery, and his heart swelled with joy as he kissed her hand before the company.
“If only Rolfe were here,” Thierry said.“Our company would be completely assembled in Tulley.”
“Rolfe?”Tulley himself said.“Rolfe de Viandin?”
“Aye, the last of our comrades,” Quinn confirmed.
“Of course, he is not here.He is Lord de Viandin and has returned home with his mother and his bride to administer his holding,” Tulley huffed.“I saw them wed myself at Beauvoir at the Yule.”
“You might say the match was of your doing, Uncle,” Heloise contributed.
“It was the match I made, but not when I made it,” Tulley complained.He shook his finger at Heloise.“And there is the evidence that people, particularly unwed people, should do as they are bidden from the outset.”
Heloise eyed Niall and sighed.“Aye, Uncle.”
“I do not understand,” Quinn said.
“I matched them,” Tulley admitted.“But Annelise would not wed a man she had not met, even though he was a knight.Truly, Quinn, your sister did not inherit your mother’s obedient nature...”
“Praise be to God for that,” Melissande murmured.
“Annelise?”Quinn repeated, unable to contain his incredulous response.“My sister, Annelise, is wedded to Rolfe de Viandin?”
“Aye,” Tulley said easily.“First she intended to return to the convent and Yves was to escort her there before riding to Paris, but evidently, meeting Rolfe aided her in seeing the merit of my scheme.”
“My sister is wedded to Rolfe?”Quinn repeated, his voice rising.
“You know him?”Melissande whispered.
“As the greatest rogue of all,” he replied.“Your maid would not know where to begin, were she to chastise him.”
“Oh!”Melissande replied.
“We should all have the good fortune to be rogues like Rolfe but well-wedded in the end, all the same,” Niall said with merriment.He began to laugh, and his other companions soon followed.
Tulley looked between them all without comprehension.“It is a good match,” he said, his tone insulted.“And I believe she is with child already.”
Melissande leaned on Quinn’s side and gave him a warning glance.Aye, it would not do to insult Tulley in this moment.Quinn bowed.“I thank you, sir, for ensuring my sister’s welfare.”
“I was most glad to do it,” Tulley said.
“And I will kill Rolfe myself if he serves her poorly,” Quinn growled, much to the amusement of his fellow knights.
“Oh, he will not,” Tulley said.“His mother is most fierce in ensuring that women are treated with dignity.”
“And what of my brother, Yves?”Quinn asked.“Do you know his location?”
