Radulf stroked his chin, and the red stones in the black ring dazzled in the candlelight. “You see Miles in the role of Anna’s murderer? Would he kill a woman?”
Ivo’s face turned grim, but there was resignation there, too. As if the extent of his brother’s evil was so well known to him, it had ceased to surprise him.
“Miles would cut a woman’s throat as easily as he would snuff a candle, my lord. If she threatened him, or he felt he had made a mistake in joining with her, then he would kill her. If he was tired of her, or she had made him angry, or inadequate in some way, then he would kill her. My lord,” and his voice was so heavy with bitterness that Briar tightened her grip on his hand, “if a woman failed to smile at Miles when he smiled at her, he would kill her.”
“He has caused you great suffering,” Radulf said, and there was understanding in his voice. “ “Tis time you dealt with your brother, Ivo.”
“I know it, lord. That moment is fast approaching, and I think even had I wanted to, I would not be able to avoid it. I must fight him, and this time the fight will end with one of us dying.”
Briar made a little sound, but neither man glanced at her. They were intent upon each other, and the words Ivo had just spoken.
“I think I would prefer it if you lived, Ivo,” Radulf said with grave humor.
“So would I,” Ivo agreed, “but Miles is cunning, and he has no conscience. He has always beaten me before.”
Radulf grew intent. “But not this time. You are ready for him now, Ivo, and you will give no quarter. You will destroy him.”
Ivo nodded, but Briar felt his uncertainty like a dark cloud about him. Jesu, did he really think he would die? Was that why they were here, so that he could give her into Radulf’s keeping? Suddenly she knew it to be true.
“I would ask something of you, my lord,” he was saying now. “I wish to wed the Lady Briar as soon as possible. I need to keep her close, and I can only do that if she is my wife. But if I do wed her, if I show him by doing that how much I treasure her, then Miles will hunt her even harder. And if I am dead, my lord, if I can no longer protect her from him, then I beg that you will take her into your care.”
“Ivo,” Briar whispered, longing for him to stop speaking as if he were already cold and in his grave. It would not happen, it would not! Not if Briar had anything to do with it.
Radulf smiled. “I know that desperate feeling well, de Vessey. Aye, marry her on the morrow. We will have the wedding here, and then we can make a celebration of it. That should show Miles you expect to live a long and happy life, and do not even think of failure. Does that suit you, Lady Briar?”
“I will not wed just to be safe, my lord,” Briar said, her face stiff with the effort not to cry.
“Briar,” Ivo murmured, and turned her to face him, ignoring the interested stares of Radulf’s men. “Miles hates me, and he knows you are my weakness. Wed me, please. Let me protect you and the babe. Let Lord Radulf protect you. I need to know you are safe.”
She gazed unflinchingly into his dark eyes. “Will you tell me what is between you and Miles, if I agree?”
He didn’t want to, she could see he didn’t want to, but he would. Resignation drained his face of emotion. “Aye, demoiselle, I will tell you all. I swear it. I should have trusted you before. Between us there can be no secrets.”
Secrets.
He was right. No secrets. And yet Briar had kept one vital secret from Ivo all this time. Filby. He knew who Filby was, she had told him, but he did not know the whole story. She had not trusted Ivo enough to open up her sore heart to him. Could she really demand honesty from him and not give him the same?
She was a woman despoiled. She must in all honor give him the chance to step away from her, if that was what he wished. Though it broke her heart and made her babe fatherless, she would not wed Ivo if he did not truly want her.
They were all waiting for her to speak, but it was to Radulf she turned.
“I would beg some moments alone with Ivo, my lord, before I answer.”
Radulf nodded. “Very well. There must be a chamber free for your use in this large house. Sometimes it feels very empty to me, but then I miss my wife. Girl!” he called out, impatient with the servants, or himself. A maid came scurrying forward for his instructions.
“These two require privacy, see to it.”
The maidservant had lit a candle, but its yellow light did little to hold back the shadows.
Filby.
Tears filled her eyes. Not for remembered hurt, although that was certainly there. Tears of self-pity, and for what Ivo would think of her. Until now he had thought so well of her, despite her foolish mistake where Miles was concerned. Briar was vain enough not to want his admiration eroded by such a one as Filby.
“Demoiselle.”
That wonderful voice, the heat of him at her back, his strong hands coming to rest upon her waist. Briar had not comprehended how much she had missed his care and concern until he had withdrawn it from her, and now it was back in full force.
Or was he just being kind?
