Confusion tormented her. Despite herself, she had begun to relax with Rolfe, and to enjoy him. That was why she was so devastated when his callousness returned. He did not need to be charming and he knew it, did not have to win his wife to his bed. He needed only to order her there. She had thought she could bear that if she must, but could she, loathing the man? She especially despised his handsomeness, which was like a devil’s beacon, attracting her despite herself.
What hope did she have not to be torn apart by the warring emotions he caused in her?
Chapter 14
IT was late that night when Rolfe returned to Crewel from the siege at Wroth. He had been at Crewel briefly yesterday, after leaving Pershwick, but had stayed only long enough to speak with Lady Amelia.
Now Rolfe did not even want to think about that meeting, which had gone from bad to worse. He had told Amelia that she must return to court and why, but she burst into tears and begged him not to send her away.
Her tears had only annoyed him. After all, there had never been any love professed between them. But he understood her emotional state well enough when she confessed she was pregnant. It was not pleasant news, but Rolfe could do no less than allow her to stay until the child was born. She had agreed she would leave the child with him and go her own way, agreed most happily in fact. She’d promised to stay out of his way, to cause no trouble for him and his wife.
He had wanted her cared for elsewhere during her pregnancy. “It would be better for you to stay at another of my keeps,” he told her. “Axeford is well settled.”
“But why, my lord? Your wife knows nothing about us. She thinks I am your ward.”
“Regardless—”
“Please, do not.” Amelia began to cry again. “I could not bear to be thrust on strangers now. And yourwife will be glad to have me, I swear. Sir Evarard has no wife. There is no other lady here to keep Lady Leonie company. Please, my lord.”
He should have refused, but he did not. He owed it to the woman to see to her comfort during her confinement, and since he could not foresee any real harm in it, he agreed.
Now as he entered the keep, a vague unsettled feeling nagged at him that he could not explain. But it was forgotten when he spied Thorpe sitting alone by the large hearth at the far end of the hall. He had known he would wait up for him.
Not many others were still awake. The male servants had their pallets spread along the walls and most were fast asleep. A few men-at-arms were at the smaller hearth laughing softly. The only sconces still lit were those by the stairways leading to the floor above, and the hall was so big they provided little light. Nor did the two fires offer much light. They were not fed often on warm nights.
Thorpe did not greet Rolfe until he’d settled into the high-backed chair beside him. The eyes the older man fixed on Rolfe might have been staring at a speck of dust for all the interest they revealed. So it was to be that way, was it? Thorpe was never more annoying than when he was savoring a triumph. He did not brag or gloat, but forced comments by his silence.
“I will assume from your silence that you had no trouble following my orders. She is here?”
“She is.”
Rolfe had not realized how tense he’d been until now. “You had no trouble at all?”
“There was a moment when her vassal was ready to draw his sword on us, but—” Thorpe chuckled at Rolfe’s expression.
“Did she—”
“By no means,” Thorpe said quickly. “Her man took exception to the lack of respect we showed his lady. It was a natural mistake. We did not know who she was when she came to us—something I am sure you can appreciate.”
There it was, a not-too-subtle chiding for Rolfe’s not warning them about what they would find. He imagined Thorpe’s surprise on first seeing Lady Leonie. No doubt it had been as great as his own.
“What was her reaction?”
“She did not smile or seem pleased to see us, if that is what you mean. She wanted only confirmation that it was by your order she was to come here. After that, she did not delay at all in readying herself.”
“And here?”
“Be more specific,” Thorpe replied innocently.
“Why? You know my every thought, sometimes even before I have it,” Rolfe countered. “Do not make me hunt for what I wish to know.”
Thorpe chuckled again. “There is very little to tell. I think she expected you to be here when she arrived. When she saw that you were not, she retired to your chamber and has not shown herself since. The two maids she brought with her are also there. So what of Damian? Is he to share your antechamber with her two maids?”
“I left him at Wroth. And no,” Rolfe answered thoughtfully. “I think henceforth I will want no one sleeping so close. There are many places to sleep in this keep.”
Thorpe grinned. “Of course.”
After they had joked for half an hour more, Rolfe started up the narrow curving stairway to his chamber on the second floor. He did indeed find the two maidssleeping in the antechamber. One in fact had put her pallet directly in front of the door, and when he opened it she awoke with a shriek. That woke the other maid as well, and a moment later the inner door to his room was thrown open by his wife, who stood there clutching a hastily donned bedrobe.
