She looked at him, but his face was blurred. She triedto speak, but her tongue would not work. The last thing she remembered wasMaude screaming, then blackness.
***
Leila's eyes fluttered open and her vision graduallyfocused.
Where was she? In Westminster Hall? No, surely not. Itwas cool here and there were no bright lights, no smelly foods, no loudmusicor raucous laughter, just that female voice carryingover to her . . .
"We cannot afford to return to Wales with her nowand continue deceiving her while we wait for a better offer, my husband. Onefainting spell does not prove a woman is breeding, but dare we risk losingeverything on the chance she isn't carrying deWarenne'sbastard?"
Leila tensed as she recognized the voice as Maude's.Suddenly her surroundings seemed to snap into sharp relief and she realized shewas in her brother's tent.
She saw them then, sitting together at a trestle tablein the corner not far from her cot. With apprehension filling her heart, sheclosed her eyes and lay very still, listening intently. She started when Rogerbrought his fist down violently on the table, then she froze again, hoping theyhad not seen her movement.
"I should kill Guy for this! You saw how he camerunning after me when I carried Leila from the hall. I've never seen such astricken look on his face, not even for Christine. If that does not prove therehas been something between them, whether Leila shares his fantasy or not—"
"All the more reason why we cannot wait, my lord.Even now he may be considering a suit for her hand. Remember what we saw at thefeast last night. DeWarennehad eyes for no one buther."
"Only over my corpse will he marry her."
"You know the law, husband. If Leila gives herconsent, we will have no choice but to allow such a union."
"So she must never be given the chance to evenentertain the thought."
"Exactly. I say we wed her to that Londonmerchant, Wellesley, who approached you last night after thefeast,and the sooner the better. Tonight, even! If Leila does prove to be breeding,he'll think it's his own brat she carries. So what if he gets a surprise eightmonths later. He won't dare renounce her then, but will accept the child as hisown or forgo the reason he paid so dearly for her in the first place. Having atitled wife is very good for business."
Listening, Leila felt so sick she thought she mightretch, Roger's assurances of the day before shattered into a thousand pieces.
SweetJesu, Guy had beenright about him all along. What a complete fool she had been!
Roger had lied to her. He had no intention of allowingher to return to Damascus. He was going to sell her off in marriage just as Guyhad said he would. Maybe tonight! And all because they thought she might bepregnant with Guy's child—
"Stay here with her, Maude. I'm going back to thehall to find Wellesley. We'll fetch a priest and have done with this marriageby sunset. God, just think of it. No more debts to the king" —his voicegrew bitter— "no more selling myself and my knights out to fight in anybaron's petty war for fear I may lose the land on which I was born. TheGervaisname will be great once again . . . and all becausea soft-hearted whore in Damascus saw fit to bless me with a sister."
Leila was so horrified she could not breathe. Whore!Was that what Roger thought of their mother? Hearing his footsteps approach thecot, she went limp, praying that all her years of observing sick patients wouldenable her to feign unconsciousness.
"This wench is as much a whore as her mother, thatlover of infidels back in Damascus. How could she be anything less? Raised in aharem . . . wanting to return to Syria to marry some bloody heathen physician.It's almost comical."
"What is, my lord?" Maude asked, walking upbeside him.
"The idea of Guy caring for this wench. Knowinghim, I wager he rutted on her the whole way to England and now fancies himselfin love with her. Yet all along she's been saying she wants to go back to Damascus.I hope he's suffering hell's own torments." His voice grew very quiet. "Soonhe'll know exactly how it feels to have a woman stolen right out from underhim. It's been a long, long time in coming."
"But you have me, my lord," Leila heard Maudesay petulantly, accompanied by the rustling of clothing. "You don't needmemories, not when I can do this."
"You're right. I don't," Roger repliedhuskily a few minutes later, groaning deep in his throat. "Lie down."
"Here . . . on the ground?"
"Why not?"
"But what if she should wake?"
Leila knew they were looking right at her. Shecontinued to breathe steadily though her pulse was racing madly.
"She's out cold, Maude. Can't you see that?"
Disgusted, Leila heard his grunt as heknelt,followed by Maude's throaty laughter as he pulled herroughly to the ground and fell on top of her. How she wished she could plug herears against the crude panting and squeals of their lovemaking! From Roger'shard exhalation of breath, she knew he had quickly climaxed, and from Maude'swail of disappointment, she knew her sister-in-law had not.
"Oh, Roger, it was too soon! Too fast!"
