Melissande’s gaze flicked across the hall but Gaultier was gone.Had he aspired to claim her hand himself?She had certainly given him no encouragement in that pursuit.
To her surprise, she felt Quinn brush his lips across her knuckles.“I like that you are startled by the notion, my lady,” he murmured.“It reassures me about our shared future.”
“How so, sir?”Although Melissande might have agreed with his conclusion, she had not expected him to utter such words aloud.Truly, this man defied her every expectation.She simply wished she could know that his words were honest.
Jerome had been a polished liar, to be sure.
“You have but one betrothed, not a line of suitors.”
“Surely one betrothed is sufficient.”
“Surely, it is, but you cannot blame me for failing to know what neither you nor Tulley confided in me.”
Melissande could not.She smiled at Quinn and he blinked as if astonished.“You are right, of course.”She bowed her head then, wondering if he wished for her to simply agree with him every time.How dull her life would become!But there were men who believed women had no place beyond the bed chamber.
Quinn leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper.“If you do not wish to invite me on this night, I will stay away.”
Melissande met his gaze with surprise.“Your friends will notice.”
“I can concoct a tale.”
The very fact that he offered to do as much gave Melissande the confidence to make the offer she knew she should.“But I would not have you deceive your comrades on my account.”She took a deep breath to bolster her confidence, then leaned close, touching her lips to his ear.“You are invited to my bed this night, my lord husband.We have but three months to see Tulley’s objective achieved and I would not sacrifice an opportunity.”
Quinn’s pleasure was more than clear.Indeed, his eyes flashed so brightly that Melissande thought he might kiss her senseless before the entire company.“I am at your command, my lady,” he vowed in a heated whisper and kissed her palm, his gaze locked with hers as he folded her hand over the burning imprint of his kiss.
Melissande shivered, right to her marrow, her gaze snared by his own.
Then that treacherous heat unfurled in her belly, filling her thoughts with memories of all they had done the night before.
That was even before the slow smile began to claim Quinn’s lips.She watched, spellbound, and could not even take a breath.
Oh, she was lost for certain.
And already, she cared less than she should.
“And what of your fair sister?”Niall asked when the wine was gone and they were at ease in the hall.The villagers had returned to their homes and many of the torches had been extinguished.The hall was warm and Quinn’s comrades were not only present, but hale and hearty.It was good to be amongst friends again and in such comfort.Melissande remained by his side, and he knew that she was listening to the conversation.
He held the seal of Annossy, a rich prize by any accounting, and had a beautiful clever wife by his side.Annossy’s hall was gracious and the furnishings were fine.The meal had been delicious and the meat plentiful.The ale was good and the wine better, the bread fresh and the villeins of Annossy robust in their welcome.
Even more, his lady had invited him to her bed this night.Quinn’s characteristic optimism was reviving.
Truly, he might make a home here.
“What of her?”Quinn asked.“I have had no chance to learn of her situation.”Indeed, he had been surprised by Tulley’s confession in one missive that he even had a sister.When Quinn had left Sayerne, he had been his father’s only child.He refused to recall his last discussion with his mother, for her refusal to accompany him was still troubling.He could not bear to imagine what had happened to her in his absence.Tulley had only written to tell him of her demise, but had offered no details.
Did Melissande know?
Was that tale at the root of her dislike for Jerome?Quinn could believe as much.He doubted that his mother’s life had ended well.
He turned to Melissande and asked only one of his many questions.“Do you know of my sister Annelise?”
She shook her head.“I heard of her but have never met her.”
“Despite the proximity to Sayerne?”Amaury asked, his surprise clear.
“She did not live there so long as I recall.She was at the convent of Ste.Radegunde from a young age, from the time of the death of Jerome’s lady wife.”
Quinn did not ask how his mother had died.He dared not do so before the company, though he saw that Melissande’s expression was bland.
