Gem of Gravane (The Northern Knights) (3 page)

Aric, his ire quickly forgotten,
felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.  They had not lied.
 One would be hard pressed not to describe her beauty without lust in the
description.  He’d his share of comely wenches aplenty during his twenty
seven years, but this one…Only one word came to him.

Enchantress.

She was unquestionably
beautiful. A delicate circlet covered most of her hair and kept it away
from her unmarred and pale face. He saw his men perk to attention as they too
gazed admiringly upon the blonde in the emerald gown. 

Aric’s smile slipped
from his face as the group drew nearer and he got a closer
look.  Something was not quite right. 

Her gown looked uncomfortably snug
and her bosom threatened to spill over. The color of it did not flatter
her skin in the slightest.  Her cheeks suddenly too flushed and her red
lips pinched in what seemed to him, an almost painful grimace instead of a
pout.

He pasted what he hoped was a smile
on his lips and cast his desires aside. Well, one could not expect everything
to be perfect. He sighed and rose as did Balwain.   

Aric scarcely
spared a glance to the top of the other woman’s head adorned with a
flowery headdress trailing behind the two.  The peacock reached the head
of the trestle table first.

Thomas wanted to pull out his
handkerchief and wipe the drool he knew surely was dribbling down his chin.
 A stunning God stood before him.   He had to tamp down his
urges as he drank in the sight of the tall, dark, handsome Norman warrior. Eyes
almost black as night, and the black tunic near his face gave him the look of
the devil.  Lust almost paralyzed him with discomfort and he was glad the
table stood in front of him.  He cleared his throat.
“B-aron
 Aric, Thomas Balfour at your service.”  Thomas bowed
enthusiastically and produced Rose, whose mouth stood agape.  He gave her
a little nudge.  She shut her mouth.  “May I present to you, my
sister, Lady Rose.”

Rose wanted to scream.  What
were the odds that fat sow would gain a prize such as this!  With a
body like his he could surely pleasure a woman ten times better than that
clumsy stable master, Harvey.  She suppressed the urge to lick her lips
from the look he seared her with. It took a second for her to realize that
Thomas had just introduced her.   

Aric greeted his hosts with a
mixture of emotions.  What game was this?  He knew the name of his
betrothed.  The gorgeous blonde was not his intended and to his surprise,
upon closer inspection and after hearing her voice, was shocked to find that a
part of him was glad she was not.

So then, where was his betrothed?
  If she looked anything like this one, he could only hope that she
possess an improved disposition.  For this Rose, just in that brief
greeting told him that she was incapable of running such a vast demesne like
Gravane. 

He must have observed his
expression of displeasure, for quickly, the peacock beckoned frantically to the
tall woman who stood behind them. 

Aric had not spared her a second
glance after seeing the blonde, but now, he felt as if a mace had just slammed
into his gut.

Thomas drawled on in that
irritating nasal tone Aric was fast coming to dislike. “Milord.” 

Aric glimpsed the cruelty in the
man’s eyes. The bloody peacock was enjoying this way too much.

“Your betrothed, my cousin, the
Lady Danielle Ann Gravane.” Thomas finished.

Danielle had paid little attention
to her surroundings once they had entered the hall.   She’d locked
herself away, ever losing hope for a new start with each step they had taken
toward what she viewed as her final demise. 

She was jostled out of her place of
security by Thomas’s mumbling and his nails digging painfully into her
wrist. Her anger almost made her reach out and kick him. But instead,
she stepped forward, making it a point to stomp down hard with her foot on top
of his toes. Thomas forgot himself as the pain reddened his face and dragged
her forward forcefully. He presented her as though she were a dish ready
to be slaughtered.   

The Norman stared at her. 

Danielle swallowed as her eyes
traveled up the massive chest in front of her, covered in a black tunic. 

A very wet tunic, that clung to his
body.  Up his strong neck, dark beard, his full lips set firmly, a
long nose, and hair black as a raven’s breast slicked back on his head and
disappeared below his shoulders.  But it was the black orbs that met hers,
that seemed to bore right through her that caused her knees to shake.  

He was quite handsome. 

Something flitted quickly in that
hard glare and was replaced by a fierce dark scowl that stilled her
tongue.  The scowl only seemed to further pronounce his handsome features
and she noted the small scar above his furrowed brows.  He did not look
pleased in the least that she was his betrothed and he was not trying to hide
his displeasure either with that look of fury on his face.  

Thomas shook her.
“Danielle!” His snarl filled her ear.  

“Remove your hands from her
now.”  The cold, deep voice reverberated throughout the hall and all
sound ceased. 

Thomas dropped Danielle’s arm as
if it burned him, his cheeks flushed even deeper. 

Danielle had to keep her neck bent
back to look up at this huge man who would be her husband on the morrow.
 He was a giant and the man beside him was almost just as large.  The
breadth of her betrothed shoulders were almost as wide as the high back chair
he’d been sitting in. 

He held her gaze and suddenly,
Danielle wanted to turn and run, but she stood there, trapped. 

She wanted to look away, but could
not. 

She’d known the moment he’d noticed
her.  His mouth had thinned. Danielle felt a rush of tears burn the
back of her lids. His voice had gone through her right down to her toes.
 His disgust and anger was evident in that single command. 

She had believed she had resigned
herself to her fate, to this union. But she was wrong. 

The fear and hurt she had felt
those many months ago when he failed to show, now came back full force. 

She had recognized unknown faces
about the manor and known they were not of Gravane.  These men had
obviously gone back and reported to him what he was getting.  Deep down
inside she had known that was the cause of what had delayed him in coming to
claim her.  She had been this way for so long, ignored it most of the
time, but for some reason, this time she cursed the Gods for having so forsaken
her. Rose’s words had come true. She swallowed the deep sadness. There
was nothing to do about it now.

He had come. 

He had seen.  
    

And by the look of fury blazing in
his eyes, he must have realized too he’d no choice. All hopes that he might be
the answer to their salvation left her with that one look.

She had indeed gone from one hell
and into another.  But this one for some reason cut through her
deeply.  

“Milord,” she said as loudly as she
could muster and moved into a curtsey, glad to have a moment to drop her gaze
so she could compose herself and blink back the stinging tears.  

Aric’s gruff voice came out harsher
than intended for he was still seething from the sudden rage that had engulfed
him when the peacock had handled her so roughly.    

“Milady. Come, sit here.” 
Aric waved a hand to the chair on his right and Danielle stepped forward and
suddenly found herself falling hard against his chest. 

The unexpected movement caught them
both off guard and Aric’s arms instantly went around her soft middle to steady
her. Her fall had not budged him.  He shot a menacing glare over her
head to Rose. The wench wore a triumphant smile on her face and the
spitefulness shone brightly in her eyes.  The wench had tripped her
apurpose. 

Aric moved Danielle back, his large
hands on her full hips.  “Milady, do you not feel well?”  

The last thing he wanted was to
cause more humiliation for her than she’d already suffered.  It was the
sheen of her tears she had tried to hide in those dark blue, almost grey eyes
that stopped him from cutting her two cousins down where they stood. Those
stunning and unique eyes. 

Her top lip bigger than her bottom.
She was blessed with full high cheekbones, pinked even more now and a dark mole
sat above the right corner of her mouth.   

The deep purple of her gown drew
out the sparkle in her mesmerizing eyes. Aric felt the light shudder run
through her frame.  He could not wait to deal with her cousins later. His
quick glare over her head to them made that known as the two swallowed their
anxiety loudly. 

Danielle found her
voice.  His hands, burned her skin, surely his mark would be left
upon her flesh.  She was surprised at that sudden thought and warm tingles
pooled in her belly. 

“Pardon me, mi-milord, I am fine.”
She pressed a hand to her flushed cheek. “Just a bit of nerves, I am sure.”

His brows dipped with his frown.
Danielle kept her gaze on him and was pleased when he seemed to read the plea
in her eyes. Although he looked ready to protest, he nodded. She was thankful,
although now she wished he would remove his hands from her hips. Those tingling
sensations moved lower to pool between her legs. She flushed deeper. 

Aric dropped his hands quickly and
immediately wished he had not, for the pain that sprung forth in those lovely
eyes.  The look was gone as quickly as it had appeared.  He
assisted her to her seat.

Introduction to Balwain brought
forth a glowing smile from her and Aric found himself stunned and slightly
perturbed. When his friend’s eyes lit up and Balwain returned the lady’s smile
with the widest grin Aric had ever seen him give another he grunted and sat
down hard.  

His betrothed said very little and
ate next to nothing throughout the feast, whilst her peacock cousin and his
sister devoured everything that was set in front of them like pigs.  

Aric shared a look with Balwain as
they watched the two.  

Balwain leaned near him and spoke
behind his chalice of wine. “Tomorrow does not come soon enough for those two,
milord.”

Aric watched the two
siblings. “Nay, it does not.  But, patience, my dear friend.
Patience.” He would indeed have to watch these two long after tomorrow
night. As soon as he and his betrothed vows were complete he would quickly
start on the plan he had in motion. William had been right, this cousin was
foul, but he played an important role in a matter Aric had still to
confirm. Something was definitely not right under this roof.

Even though he was aware of
everything around him, his hooded gaze never left the sight of the lady of
Gravane for too long.

Balwain had drawn the lady into a
conversation over the tasteful décor of the hall. Aric watched her eyes
light up with joy as she spoke of her home.

He expelled a breath as he’d done
several times since he’d laid eyes upon her.  She came just to his chest
and her body…that body. Aric shifted his legs at the twinge to his
loins. That body was encased in a free flowing kirtle, not hugging her as
tight as Rose’s, nor was the material as fine as it should have been for the
lady of the manor. But, it mattered not; he thought and swallowed, for her full
stature was visible enough.

He let his gaze follow her side
profile. The gown fit easily over her ample bosom and the belt slung low around
those full hips, pronounced her curves even more.  When she had
fallen into his arms, her soft curves had pressed into his, intimately. 
Immediately he’d been engulfed in heat.  The feel of her full breasts, the
slight curve of her belly had caused an instant wave of lust to wash over
him.   When he’d met her gaze, he’d grown fully erect.  Surprised
by the reaction she’d stirred in him, he’d immediately dropped his hands from
her softness.  Now he itched to touch the skin below her neck.  He
watched her take a small bite of the pheasant and lick her lips.  He
shifted again.

She did not possess the
breathtaking beauty that was wasted on Rose, Aric would admit. But she was
comely enough if not more so by her demeanor.  Something he could not just
yet put his finger on lurked beneath the surface of those luminous and large
eyes.

Aye, defiance. He almost smiled as
it came to him. Survival and kindness too, that Aric found intrigued him
so.  Her lashes were long and plenty.  He felt he could stare into
them all night.  Her flowery headdress accentuated her dark skin against
the purple gown.  Her skin was almost as dark as his.  She must spend
a lot of time out of doors, he suspected.

He felt another smile tug at his
lips and he stopped it before it formed.  She had a sprinkle of freckles
across the bridge of her small nose.   Aric could not take his eyes from
her. 

When their hands nearly collided in
reaching for their cups, he noticed the roughened calluses on her hands.
 He knew she had noticed he’d taken note, for although she did not look at
him; she slid both of her hands beneath the linen covering the table, out of
sight and kept them there for the remainder of the evening.   

Aric’s eyes fell upon her cousin
and he was not surprised to find Thomas’s eyes on him.  Men like Thomas
put him ill at ease and that was hard to do. Men like this peacock were forever
conniving and most of all unpredictable.  He already knew in the hour
that he had been in their presence that he could never like the man. Yet,
all the same, Aric nodded, his face set in stone and Thomas smiled, lust
shooting from those beady eyes. Aric could not wait for the day he would be
able to cut that look from the man’s ruddy face.

Chapter 3
 

Danielle fidgeted
again as Edie tried to wrap a fat braid near her ear.