“Perhaps I do.”
Quinn picked up the seal and offered it to her on the flat of his hand.
Melissande met his gaze in surprise, then went to his side.She took the familiar seal and turned it in her grasp, well aware that Quinn watched her closely.It seemed impossibly intimate to be standing beside him in this chamber, the great bed behind her, the lantern’s light flickering over both of them.The fire crackled in the brazier and she shivered a little at the sound of the wind in the shutters.
“When was that?”he asked in that gentle tone.
“Five years ago.It will be six in the autumn.”Melissande did not look up for she felt her tears rising.“He died at the board, in the middle of his meal.One moment, he was laughing at a jest, and the next, he was dead.”
“It must have been a shock to you.”
“In more ways than one.”She handed him the seal again.
“And your mother?”he asked again.
“When I was nine summers of age.My father had ridden to war and she had administered Annossy in his stead.When he returned, she conceived again.”Melissande shook her head.“They were overjoyed, for they had hoped for years to have a son.”She took a deep breath and nodded toward the bed.“She died there, bringing that boy to light, my father at her side.The babe died two days later.”
“No son.”
“No son.”She looked up at him, and knew the tumult of her emotions showed.“Only me.”
Quinn shook his head.“Do not discount your measure, Melissande.The state of Annossy five years after your father’s passing, after five years of your administration, must be the surest measure of your skills.I am easy to impress in such matters, for I do not share your expertise, but my comrade, Amaury, is awed by your administrative talents.You learned your lessons well.”
Her mouth was dry, her heart full of his praise even as she feared its import.“Thank you, my lord.”
“Will you not call me by my name?”he asked.He gestured.“Especially in this chamber?”
Melissande met his gaze again.She swallowed, then licked her lips.“Quinn,” she whispered and he smiled with pleasure.
His fingertip landed on her lips and she froze, shaken by the tumult of her heart.“I like how you say it,” he murmured, then bent to touch his lips to her cheek.“Will you say it again, my lady?”he whispered in her ear.
“Quinn,” she said with greater confidence, her voice more sure.
“I thank you,” Quinn murmured and touched his lips to her ear, sending shivers over her flesh.
She stepped back and might have turned away, but Quinn caught her hand in his and she froze again.“What do you fear, Melissande?Tell me.”
She swallowed and confessed the truth.“Only one thing.That you truly are your father’s son.”
“Is that all?”
“Is it not sufficient?”she asked, a challenge in her tone and the flash of Quinn’s eyes made her wonder if she knew all of the tale.
Or if the fullness of the truth was even worse than she feared.
“Why did you leave Sayerne?”she asked and he bowed his head.“What drove you away from your home?Why did Tulley see fit to take you beneath his care?”
Chapter 8
Quinn was snared.He wished to confess all to his new wife, but was not at all certain that the truth would gain her support.Filling any gaps in Melissande’s knowledge might cast his own merit in doubt.“What did my father do to make you despise him so?”
“You must know.”
“I have my suspicions.Let us tell each other the truth this night, my lady, and for each day and night after this.”
Their gazes held for a moment and there was uncertainty in her fine eyes.How Quinn wished he could dispel it forever.
Then she took a breath, squaring her shoulders, her stance becoming regal.He already recognized that she stood thus when she felt obliged to do something she would rather not, and he admired her strength of will.
