Susan Paul - The Captive Bride

“Here you are, Clarise. Come. Don’t be afraid.”To Katharine he said, “Lady Katharine, I make known to you Mademoiselle Rouveau, a gentlewoman beneath my care. I desire that she be given an appropriate chamber and a maid to attend her needs. At once.”

Katharine didn’t think she’d ever been so angry in all her life, and trembled with rage.

“How pleasing your proposal is, Senet Gaillard. You speak of marriage in one breath and present your whore to me in the next! Do you dare to bring your leman here and ask me to take care of her? You may take yourself off to the devil, sir! You, your men and your woman with you!”It was bad enough that he had taken her castle by force and meant to take her by the same means, but to so openly humiliate her was beyond belief!

The beast only stood where he was, frowning at her in a calm, albeit bemused, manner.

“She is not my leman,”he said, “but a lady of gentle birth. I will not have her insulted or mistreated, certainly not by my own wife. While she lives beneath my hand, you will treat her with every respect.”

Katharine had had enough. She speared the frightened girl with a look of thorough disgust, almost gratified to see the shaking creature cringe behind Senet Gaillard’s muscular form.

“If I treat her to anything at all, Senet Gaillard, ‘twill be pity, for she appears to be much in need of it. Keep her out of my way if you wish her well.”

“I do not intend to do so,”he told her. “I mean to give her over into your care. You will do as I have said and make her comfortable here. It is your duty as my wife.”

“I am not your wife,”she said from between set teeth. God’s feet, but she hated the man! On the day he was thrown off of her lands she would give the biggest celebration Lomas had ever seen.

At that, he at last began to look aggravated. Lifting the tip of his sword from his boot, he took a step toward her.

“But you will be on the morrow,”he told her softly, for her ears alone. “I had hoped for matters to go well between us, Lady Katharine, to make a friend rather than an enemy of the woman I take to wife. That is still my desire. Is it yours?”

“What I desire,”she began hotly, “above all things, is for you to go to—”

“Because I should very much dislike having to bow you to obedience,”he interrupted smoothly, “and would advise that you instead offer it freely. You will not like the taming to be had at my hands, Lady Katharine. I promise you that. If you make peace with me, however, I equally promise that you shall never come to regret it. I repay honor with honor.”

“And dishonor with dishonor?”she asked tartly.

He inclined his head. “If that is the way you will have it. Either way, you will be my wife, and I will be the lord of Lomas.”

She was silent for a long moment, meeting his gaze fully. At last, her features softened, as did the posture with which she held herself. She lowered her lashes and attempted to look meek, although she was certain she had never felt the emotion before.

“Of course, my lord,”she said finally, keeping her voice low and feminine, purposefully deferential. “It will be as you say. I admit that I do not wish to marry you, or any man who is not of my choosing, but there is clearly no other course for me but to accept the situation. If you will but be patient in allowing me time to become used to the fate that has befallen me, I will consider it a great kindness. I have not been used to living beneath the command of any man.”She lifted her eyes to his. “Including my father. I have ruled here as mistress since I was but fourteen years. It is not my nature to be.obedient.”

He appeared to consider this, and at last gave a slight nod. “I do not desire a dog for a wife, nor a slave, but only for you to know that I will be master here. In every way. So long as you give me no cause to do otherwise, you will be treated by myself and my people with every respect due to the lady of the castle. Indeed, save that you will have a husband to answer to, I do not intend that your life at Lomas should change overmuch. I will be patient with you.”

“You are good, my lord,”she said, trying not to choke on the words. “I am most grateful. Forgive, I pray, the lack of welcome you have received at Lomas. I shall strive to remedy the situation at once. Be pleased to make yourself and your men comfortable.”With a hand she indicated the entire hall, where chairs and tables were available for many. “I shall instruct my captain of arms to answer to you directly.”

“He will answer to me as his lord,”Senet Gaillard stated.

“Yes,”said Katharine. “Of course. And I shall have my servants lay out food and drink sufficient to refresh your forces. As to your own comfort, my lord, a suitable chamber will be prepared.”

“The lord’s chamber will be made ready,”he corrected. “I will abide there.”

Katharine had to draw in a slow breath to maintain her appearance of calm. To think of such a man occupying the chamber next to her own renewed her outrage altogether. But when she spoke, the words were carefully polite and contained.

“It shall be as you have said, my lord. Give me but an hour, and I shall send a servant to escort you there.”

“There is no need.”He sounded almost amused. “I was born at Lomas, and remember very well where my father’s chamber is. Do you abide in the mistress’s chamber that adjoins it, my lady?”

She understood the intent that lay behind the question, and felt her skin heating. “Yes,”she replied tightly.

He regarded her steadily. “It is well. I will leave you now with the request that you see to Mademoiselle Rouveau’s needs directly. Her comfort is to be your utmost concern.”

Katharine’s jaw ached from the force with which she made herself keep silent. The tiny creature who was still cowering behind Senet Gaillard dared to peek up at her, revealing a face that was delicate and beautiful, hair that was the color of dark honey and eyes that were large and blue. Katharine felt like a clumsy, ugly giant before the girl’s dainty perfection.

“Certainly, my lord,”she said at last, even managing to smile at him. “You will be well pleased, I vow. Everything shall be just as you wish.”

He moved even nearer, and Katharine resisted the urge to step back. He was very tall, she noted, as well as muscular. He even made her feel small, which, considering her unfashionable height, was no simple feat.

“We will do well together, Lady Katharine,”he said softly, and she felt again that unbidden sensation deep in her belly. “I shall repay you tenfold for your kindness and obedience. I vow this before God.”Reaching out suddenly, he grasped her hand before she could pull it away. Lifting it slowly to his lips, he gently kissed her fingers, never moving his remarkable blue gaze from her face. “This marriage is not of our choosing, but we can make of it an agreeable union. You’ll never regret being my wife. I’ll make certain of it.”

He released her and turned away, striding out of the hall with his men at his heels, leaving Katharine staring at the place where he at last disappeared. Only the girl remained, standing some feet away and watching the women on the dais with such pathetic trembling that Katharine felt a reluctant leniency toward her.

A hand touched her arm, and Katharine turned. “What was that about?”Ariette whispered as Dorothea and Magan gathered close. “I’ve never seen you act so meek and mild before.”

Katharine smiled. “Pray God you never see such again,”she said in a low voice. “But I’ll do whatever I must to save Lomas, even if it is to act the fool. Don’t forget that it is the man I marry who will gain Lomas, not the man who merely takes it by force. If all goes well, I shall be a wedded woman within the week, but Senet Gaillard, for his every effort, will not be my husband.”