The women walked their horses closer, in no rush to encounter the party of rough-looking men.Melissande assumed that the three most heavily armed men must be knights, despite their humble garb, which meant the other five riders were squires.She had no doubt her husband would invite them to Annossy, for truly, they could not be expected to take comfort at Sayerne.
She was reviewing inventories in Annossy’s stores when she reached her husband’s side.Quinn glanced up, his eyes alight with joy such as she had never seen before and she was struck anew by how very handsome he was.
“My lady wife,” he said, gesturing to her as he claimed her palfrey’s reins.“Melissande, I would have you meet three of our comrades.We battled together in the Holy Land and had been journeying home together.”
“Until Amaury took ill in Venice,” a fair-haired rogue said to her with a wicked smile.“He has a feeble constitution for a knight.”He bowed low before her.“Niall MacGillivray, at your humble service, my lady.”He had an accent that compelled Melissande to concentrate in order to understand his French, but his smile was ready.
And he knew well enough that he was handsome, to be sure.
“She ismylady, Niall, and you had best recall as much,” Quinn said and that man grinned.Niall even had the audacity to wink at Melissande and she imagined that he found many a maid to appreciate his charms.Berthe already sat straighter in her saddle, though Bayard glowered at his companion when Niall took note of her.
The next man was dark of hair and blue of eye, a strikingly regal man with a steady gaze.“Amaury de Montvieux,” he said, also bowing low before her.“Who might have imagined that our Quinn would make such a fortunate alliance?”His French was more readily understood.
“It is not the fortune of the alliance that makes it admirable,” Quinn protested gruffly.“But the charm of my lady wife.”
Melissande found herself blushing, but the men nudged each other companionably.Quinn gestured to the third knight in the party, a very tall and blond man with a quelling gaze.“Lothair is a talented healer,” Quinn said.“He remained in Venice to ensure Amaury’s complete recovery.”
Lothair bowed but did not speak.
“As Niall certainly would not,” Amaury said.
“Not if there was any company more interesting than yours,” Niall agreed.
“And there were women aplenty in Venice,” Bayard added.“However did you choose?”
Berthe inhaled sharply at this.
“Choose?Where is it writ that a man must choose only one?”Niall protested.They laughed easily together, obviously at ease with each other’s natures.
Berthe glared at them all.“Sir Rogue, it seems your companions share your views,” she said and the men laughed.
“Sir Rogue,” Niall echoed and his brows rose.“This lady has taken your measure.”
“I have taken no measure of him,” Berthe snapped and Niall was quick to apologize.
Melissande felt the weight of Quinn’s gaze upon her and knew what she had to do.“You must have invited your companions to visit you at Sayerne,” she said quietly to him.
“Aye.We would have arrived together, had Amaury not fallen ill.I could not have known that Sayerne was a ruin, for Tulley did not tell me as such in his missive.”His lips pursed.“It seems that his brevity meant that many details were omitted.”
Melissande prayed silently that there would be enough food in Annossy’s storerooms, but smiled as if unconcerned.Hospitality could not be compromised.Her father had been adamant about that.“Have you invited them to Annossy?”
“I await your blessing, my lady,” he replied, a smile in his eyes.
“You do not need my blessing, sir,” she reminded him gently.
Quinn frowned briefly, but did not avert his gaze.“Yet I still desire it,” he confessed in an undertone.His hand fell to her knee and just the weight of it there made Melissande catch her breath.She stared into his eyes and realized that she would have to welcome him abed this very night, lest his friends suspect the truth, even as she knew in her heart that she did not entirely dread it.
“My home is now yours and you know it well, sir,” she replied.Quinn studied her for a moment, then cleared his throat when she looked away.
“Friends and comrades!”he cried, interrupting their conversation.“I invite you all to Annossy.”
“Annossy?”Niall echoed.“Where is that?”
“Just ahead of us, before Sayerne.It is the ancestral holding of my lady wife.You see the pennant flying from its tower.”
“You are Lord d’Annossy as well?”Lothair demanded, his surprise more than clear.His French was spoken with a clipped accent and Melissande guessed that he hailed from the more eastern territories held by the Emperor.
“Aye, I am,” Quinn admitted.
