“What of Berthe?She is pretty enough, but she is a maid not a noblewoman.She can give me little but a merry night, and she did not even give me that.Indeed, I have not had a kiss.It was well enough to amuse us both over the lonely winter months, but now there are better prospects.What of Berthe, indeed?”
Berthe gasped that he could be so callous, but neither man heard her for Bayard struck Sir Niall.The other knight swore as blood spurted from his nose then swung at Bayard.Within a moment, they were grappling for supremacy, but when Berthe stepped out of the shadows and cleared her throat, they froze and looked up.
“What a pair of ruffians you are,” she said with disapproval.“Sir Rogue and your even more roguish companion.You ought both to be ashamed of yourselves, fighting like this in Lord Quinn’s abode.”
“Even more roguish,” Sir Niall repeated, obviously affronted.
Bayard cast him aside and stepped forward with a smile.“I take it that you do not approve of rogues,” he said, his voice low and his eyes dark.
If Berthe’s heart had fluttered before, that had been but a precursor to its wild movement now.
“I do not approve of rogues,” she said, bracing her hands upon her hips.“I do not approve of men who make promises they do not intend to keep, and I do not approve of men who take what they desire and grant naught in exchange.”
“I give plenty in exchange,” Sir Niall protested.
“Confide as much in Lady Heloise,” Bayard scoffed.
“I will.”
“Or better yet, to Lord de Tulley,” Berthe added.“He will be most interested in what you intend to grant.The confession might see you hanged.”
“Or gelded,” Bayard added.
Niall had the grace to flush.“You know little of it...”he began but Berthe dismissed him with a wave.
Bayard’s gaze locked with hers at that gesture.He took a step closer and she thought she might die of anticipation.She was vaguely aware that Sir Niall muttered something, then strode back to the hall.
She was keenly aware that Bayard stood before her, that the stars were appearing overhead, and that there was no one else worthy of consideration in the width of Christendom.When he looked at her with such intensity, she would do any deed for him.
“Then what manner of man meets with your approval?”he asked, his low words making her shiver.
“I like a man who is fair to look upon,” she managed to say.“But I like one better who can speak the truth in his heart.”
Bayard stepped closer, his expression filled with a hope that echoed her own.“And?”
“And I like a man who shares a confidence,” she admitted.She pulled his perfume bottle from her purse and his eyes lit.
“You yet have it!”
“I am not such a fool as to discard a prize,” she scoffed, then smiled at him.He closed the distance between them and looked down at her with fire in his eyes.
Berthe’s toes curled.
“I thought you smitten,” he murmured.
Berthe let her smile widen as she tipped back her head to hold his gaze.“You are right.I am utterly smitten, but not with your companion knight.”She reached out and boldly offered her hand.“I know better, sir.”
Bayard smiled as he captured her hand within his own, holding her gaze as he pressed a kiss to her palm.“Be mine?”he asked.“Quinn has offered me a post and a home, either here or at Annossy.If you wed me, Berthe, I vow to do all within my power to bring you happiness.”
“You already have, Sir Rogue,” Berthe had time to confess before Bayard caught her close and granted her a most satisfactory kiss.
Quinn wasglad to leave the hall later that evening, abandoning it for the privacy of the solar.It was past time that he made a sweet confession to Melissande, especially as she had risked her life for him this day.The solar seemed large and cool when they were there alone.
He did not release her hand.“I thank you for your endorsement to Tulley.I did not think he could be swayed in my favor.”
“It is my duty to defend the interests of my lord husband.”
“Is that the sole reason you did it?”
