“You should be in bed,” Roger said in a kind voice, a voice Bronwyn had never heard from him before. Roger’s love for this boy was apparent in every word he spoke.
Brian eased himself into a chair. “I was waiting for you to return. I couldn’t even find out where you went. Alice said…” He stopped.
“Did she upset you?” Roger asked earnestly. “If she did—”
“No, of course not,” Brian said. “Alice is an unhappy woman. She is miserable over Edmund’s death.”
“Yes, I’m sure she is,” Roger said sarcastically. He changed the subject. “I visited my other estates to see that the serfs were not robbing us blind.”
“Roger, who is the woman who keeps crying?”
Roger’s head shot up. “I…I don’t know what you mean. There isn’t any woman crying.”
“For three nights now I’ve heard someone crying. Even during the day I catch just a bit of the sound.”
Roger smiled. “Perhaps the house has a ghost. Or maybe Edmund—” He stopped abruptly.
“I know what you mean,” Brian said flatly. “I know more about our elder brother than you think. You were going to say that perhaps the crying is the ghost of one of Edmund’s women. Maybe it was the one who killed herself on the night Edmund was murdered.”
“Brian! How do you hear of these things? It’s late and you ought to be in bed.”
Brian sighed, then allowed Roger to help him out of the chair. “I think I will go to bed. Will I see you in the morning? Alice is so much better when you’re here, and I miss Elizabeth already. Christmas is much too short.”
“Yes, of course, I’ll be here. Good night, little brother. Sleep well.” He stood for a moment after the door closed.
Bronwyn didn’t move as she watched Roger. Roger may be a liar, he might attack a man’s back, but he loved his younger brother.
Roger turned and threw the bed curtains aside. “Did you hope I’d forgotten you?” His voice was cold again.
She held the bedclothes to her neck and backed toward the far edge of the bed. “Who is Elizabeth?”
Roger gave her a smirking look. “Elizabeth is my sister. Now come here.”
“Is she older or younger than Brian?” She was talking rapidly.
“Would you like to see my family tree?” He grabbed her arm, pulled her to him. “Elizabeth is three years younger than Brian.”
“Is she—” Her words stopped as Roger pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her hungrily.
She was quite still as he kissed her. His lips were firm and pleasant, his breath sweet even, but there was no fire. He ran his mouth down her neck as his hands caressed her back. His fingers played down her spine, then gripped her buttocks and pressed her to him. He was fully dressed, and the padded velvet of his clothes felt good against her cool, bare skin.
But aside from a pleasant sensation, there was no fire. She felt like an outsider, as if she observed what was happening rather than experienced it.
“You do not fight me?” Roger asked in a throaty whisper, a hint of humor in his voice.
“No,” she said honestly. “I—”
Again he stopped her words with a kiss. Gently he lay her down in the bed and began to kiss her neck as his hands freely caressed her breasts. His lips followed his hands.
“No, Roger, I don’t fight you,” she said, her voice full of honesty. “Truthfully, I find there is nothing to fight. I must admit I was curious about how I’d react to another man touching me. Stephen says I am after him so often he hasn’t enough time to recover.”
She gave a little laugh, stared at the canopy, and put her hands behind her head. “Not that Stephenalwaystold the truth,” she chuckled. “But I find it’s just not the same. You touch me in the same places Stephen touches me, but with you I feel nothing. Isn’t that odd?”
She looked with innocent eyes at Roger, who was bending over her, his hands still, his eyes wide. “I’m really sorry. I don’t mean to offend you. I’m sure some women like you. I guess I just happen to belong to one man alone.”
Roger raised his hand to strike her, and Bronwyn’s eyes turned cold. “I’ll not fight you nor will I react to your lovemaking. Does it anger you that you aren’t half the man Stephen Montgomery is? Either in bed or out of it?”
“I’ll kill you for that!” Roger growled as he lunged for her.
