Kathryn Le Veque (7 page)

Alisanne didn’t reply. She was
imprisoned in a world of light and shadow where terror and uncertainty reigned.
But she knew, distinctly, that Roane was her rock at this moment. Everything
had gone horribly wrong and he remained a steady, comforting constant.

“My… my father,” she wept softly.
“I can’t see enough to… I won’t know where or how to….”

He squeezed her to silence her.
“You needn’t worry about your father,” he insisted gently. “I shall make sure
he and John Adam are well, and I shall dispatch Dodge and his band of nitwits.
This I vow on my oath as a knight.”

She rubbed at her eyes again and
he gently pulled her hands away; she was only doing more damage. “I never
thought it would happen like this,” her voice was hoarse. “It had been so
gradual that I hardly noticed it from day to day. I always thought I would have
more… time.”

His guilt was consuming him. He
tried to hold her tighter, as if swallowing her into his big protective body.
“Don’t worry about anything,” he didn’t know what else to say. “I am with you
now. I won’t ever leave you.”

She looked at him, her eyes red
and unclear. “But… you cannot stay. If the Hospitallers find you, they’ll kill
you, and I cannot go with….”

“Why can’t you go with me?”

Her tears were fading as another
serious subject took hold. “Because… well, I just can’t,” she said. “Dodge is.…”

He cut her off. “I’ll kill Dodge
before I’ll let him have you. You once promised me your hand in marriage and
the barony of Craven if I helped you. Well? Have you gone back on your word?”

Through her panic and pain, she
could almost see his face. “No,” she hiccupped. “But why should you want to
marry me? Look at me, Roane; I can hardly
see.
”

“And if I couldn’t hear?” he
fired back gently. “Would that make you… tolerate me any less?”

She thought on that, reluctant to
admit he had a point. “Of course not,” she murmured. “If you were deaf, it
wouldn’t matter at all. I would simply be your ears if you would let me.”

He was touched beyond words. “And
I shall be your eyes if you would let me.

She didn’t know what else to say
but the obvious. “I would let you, Roane. I would.”

Roane’s emotions had the better
of him and he couldn’t control himself. Pinching her chin gently between his
thumb and index finger, he tilted her head as his lips slanted over hers. The
kiss was tender at first, inquisitive, but just as quickly as a harsh north
wind, it became eager and furious.
 
Roane
wound his arms around her and held her so tightly he thought he might crush
her, but Alisanne responded to him without the distress of a compressed
woman.
 
It was heated and passionate and
wonderful, and the world around them faded into oblivion as the embrace
deepened.

He was lost. All he could taste,
feel or see was Alisanne’s sweetness. It had been so long since he had kissed a
woman and, in his opinion, the wait had been well worth the reward. But he
couldn’t ever remember feeling such fire and in a surge of passion, his tongue
pressed into her mouth and he heard her groan but she didn’t back down. She
explored him as he explored her, and when he could stand it no longer, his
mouth moved across her face, kissing and suckling everything in its heated
path.

“You are going to be my wife, Alisanne,”
he breathed.
“To the devil with Dodge.
He is of no
consequence to me.”

She could hardly breathe, but it
was the most wonderful suffocation she had known. “But… but what of the
Hospitallers?”

“The bastards will not have me,”
he said with conviction. “My brother is Baron Coniston, one of the more
powerful northern barons. ‘Tis time we showed each other a measure of family
loyalty.”

He was still kissing her, though
far less lustfully. Every taste was incredibly tender. “But I thought you were
disowned,” she said.

“By my father,” he said. “But he
is dead. My brother and I were always quite close.”

“What are you going to do?”

He stopped kissing her long
enough to look at her. Alisanne could see enough of his face to discern his
determined expression.

“What I should have done years
ago,” he said softly. Before she could question him further, he kissed her on
the nose and spurred the nag forward. “Come on. We have a date at Kinlet
Castle, do we not?”

Alisanne’s expression washed with
trepidation. “I am frightened for you, Roane. What happens if…?”

He kissed her again, this time to
silence her. “You will let me worry about that.”

“I must worry about it too.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course, but…”

He put a large hand on her hand,
pushing it down gently against his shoulder.
“Rest, love.
Ease your eyes.”

He was effectively silencing her
and Alisanne reluctantly complied. She lay back against him but did not close
her eyes; the world was a blurry vision of shapes and lights and hazy features,
and the urge for self-pity was very real. But it wasn’t in her nature to sulk,
especially when there were others in greater danger. Her mind wandered to her
future with Roane, wondering if there would indeed be a future with him. Dodge
was so determined to capture him. And her father; she could only pray that he
and her uncle were still healthy and safe. There was no knowing how Dodge would
treat them after her treachery.

CHAPTER SIX

The road to Kinlet Castle came
into view close to noon. The clouds had lifted somewhat, leaving the ground wet
and green. When the manor itself was in sight, a great stone edifice on the
hazy horizon, Roane reined the horse into the shield of a small glen. It was
dark and cool, shielded by small hills and clusters of oak trees.
 
He kept a sharp eye out to make sure none of
Dodge’s men were on patrol, but so far, he’d seen nothing. It only confirmed
his suspicions that Dodge was waiting for him; he
wanted
Roane to approach Kinlet without hesitation.

Roane wandered about the glen,
formulating his next move. He wasn’t about to go strolling right into Dodge’s
hands, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. Glancing over his shoulder, he
watched the pale form of Alisanne as she sat on a rotted stump, eating a piece
of stale bread he had given her. His heart sank as he watched her; her eyes were
not any better, even after a morning of rest, and his guilt was multiplying. He
still couldn’t believe what he had done, what God had allowed to happen. It
made all of the conflicts with Dodge and his sect pale by comparison.

He walked over to her, kneeling
beside her. “I wish it could be more,” he said, referring to the bread. “It was
all I could scavenge from the barwife. For some reason, she was eager to be rid
of us.”

Alisanne
smiled,
her brilliant green eyes bloodshot and strained. “Probably because we never
paid her a cent,” she quipped.

“My brother will.”

She tried not to look doubtful. “You
are certain of this?”

“Indeed,” he said. “If I was
smart, I’d send word to my brother of my current situation and ask his
assistance. Dodge is no match for Baron Coniston and his mighty army.”

“What about the Hospitallers?”

He shrugged. “Neither are they.”

Alisanne fell silent. “Then if
your sect is no match for your brother, why haven’t you asked for his help
before now? Why haven’t you gone home?”

Roane hung his head for a moment,
thinking of all the reasons he’d never contacted his brother. They seemed so
foolish right now. “I suppose because I was stubborn,” he said quietly. “I was
content on my own. No one bothered me and I had only myself to think of. And
maybe I was punishing him in a sense for not having defended me more forcefully
against our father, but I realize now it was because he had a powerful barony
to consider. But now….”

“Now
what?”

He looked at her, realizing as he
gazed at her beautiful face that his priorities had changed drastically in the
past few days. He was thinking differently, more wholly, than he ever had. “Now
there are you and your father and uncle to contend with,” he said. “There
is
no longer just me. I would be wise not to believe I can
do this alone.”

She smiled, a delicate pink shade
creeping into her cheeks. He was declaring his intentions for her, though he’d
danced around the subject for the better part of a day, more clearly than
before. He was including her, wanting to be a part of her, and she of him.
 
It was as if he was already planning their
lives together.

“What are you going to do now?”
she asked.

He was, in a sense, glad that she
hadn’t pressed him on that subject. The truth was
,
he
wasn’t even sure how to explain the bond he felt with her, or why in fact his
priorities had changed so, only that they had. Standing up, he rested his fists
on his hips as his gaze expertly scanned the area. “I think I shall have a look
around and become familiar with the area.
 
Then I shall approach the castle. Can you tell me about its defenses?”

She nodded. “We have curtain
walls but no moat,” she said.
 
“The walls
are very tall. You won’t be able to get in unless the portcullis is
raised.
 
There’s no secret entrance or
additional gates.”

He grunted unhappily.
“One way in, one way out.”

“Aye.”

“And what structures does it
have?”

“One main building that contains
a great hall, three rooms for my father and
I
to live
in, and a kitchen on the lowest level. There are also stables and soldiers’
residences against the walls and incorporated into the gatehouse.”

“Where is the vault?”

“In the
lower level of the gatehouse.”

He tried to picture it in his
mind, but he needed to see the actual layout. “Thank you,” he said, bending
down to kiss her tenderly on the cheek. “Finish your bread. I shall return.”

She looked up, trying so
desperately to focus on him. “Please be careful, Roane. The country is open and
you’ll be easily seen.”

He kissed her again, this time on
the lips. He had only meant it to be quick and sweet, but she clung to him
feverishly.
 
Lacking any control of his
own, Roane picked her up, holding her tight against him, hungrily devouring her
lips, tongue, cheeks and neck. Alisanne gasped with delighted torment as he
nibbled her shoulder, very aware that her new gown was deliciously low cut and
the swell of her full white breasts were open and exposed. Roane was aware of
it too; soon enough, his furious pace had slowed and his tongue began to move
slowly and sensuously across the top of the rounded flesh.

The sensations were beyond her
wildest imagination. Somehow his chin pushed her neckline down and his face was
between her breasts, suckling and licking. In the heat of their passion, he had
set her to stand on the stump and she could feel his hands pulling at her
bodice, sliding it down over her arms and down her torso until she was naked from
the waist up. Roane’s hands were on her breasts, kneading and exploring as his
mouth took in a tender nipple. Alisanne groaned softly and Roane merely
grinned; he had never tasted anything so utterly wonderful in his entire life
and his joy was without words.

Even so, there wasn’t the luxury
of time for this and he knew he should stop immediately. But he couldn’t seem
to muster the will. She was too fine, too wonderful, and his desire was
overwhelming him.
 
It wasn’t so much that
he hadn’t had a woman in fourteen years; it was the mere fact that Alisanne was
the perfect woman for
him.
The gown
slithered off further and further, and his mouth worked its way down her torso
until it came to the soft fluff of hair between her legs. Alisanne’s grip on
his hair tightened and he paused, looking up at her.

“I’ll stop now if you wish,” he
said hoarsely.

She half-shook her head,
half-shrugged. “I… we probably should, but….”

He suddenly took a look at their
surroundings; here she was, standing naked on a tree stump in the middle of a
glen.
 
Not only had he cursed her sight,
but now he was being an animal and ravaging her in the open for all to see.
Guiltily, he pulled her dress up, modestly covering her.

“I am sorry, love,” he whispered,
kissing her and helping her dress. “I couldn’t stop myself. It seemed the most
natural of things to do.”

She smiled, somewhat nervously.
“To me, too, though I’ve never had
a man touch
me as
you have.”

He lifted her off the stump and
helped her sit. “That is a good thing,” he said. “I’d have to hunt him down and
kill him.”

She giggled, relieving the heat
of the moment. “Have no fear, then.”

He smiled, though she really
couldn’t see it. He did, however, kiss her again, this time on the cheek. “If I
could have my way with you here and now, I most certainly would,” he whispered
against her ear. “But I should not like to explore your beauty for the first
time without proper benefit of a bed and privacy, of which you deserve both.”

She could only touch his cheek in
response, thankful of his chivalry. “Hurry back to me, Roane,” she said softly.

“I will,” he said. He suddenly
thought she looked rather wan. “What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. “There is
nothing,” she said. Then she paused. “’Tis just that… well, I can’t see very
well and if a wild animal comes at me….”

“You don’t want to be left
alone.”

“Not for long.”

He understood completely, cursing
himself that he wasn’t more considerate of her fear. “I know you are
frightened. But I promise I’ll be back as soon as possible. You should be all
right here, for a while.”

He strolled off, his eyes
scanning the ground, the trees as if searching for something. Alisanne could
hear him and see his shape as he moved about. After several moments, she heard
snapping and cracking, the distinct sounds of a tree breaking. When he
returned, he placed a large stick in her hands.

“There,” he said.
“For protection.
Just swing it at anything that moves.”

She felt much better. “I will.”

He kissed her again and was gone.

The day passed with tremendous
slowness after that. Alisanne really had no sense of time, only knowing that Roane’s
absence seemed forever. It was actually a mild day, which was surprising for a
volatile season like spring, so the conditions of her wait were not unpleasant.
In fact, it gave her a good deal of time to think.

A week ago she had been in the
throes of terror as her father and uncle were held hostage and she had been
forced into aiding a band of bounty hunters to capture their quarry.
 
Her only concern had been for her father and
Uncle John Adam, not for a faceless knight named Roane de Garr. Now she was
horribly concerned for all three, terrified that Roane would get himself
captured, or worse. And the most terrible part was that she knew none of this
would have happened if it hadn’t been for her. Roane would still be safe on his
mountain retreat, hidden from the world that wanted to torture him.

She did not regret going to
Church Stretton, however. Had she not gone, she would have never known the most
wonderful man, she was sure, in the world.
 
He had been so standoffish and cruel at first, but he had had every
right to be suspicious of her. Now he was so tender and warm that the very
thought of him was enough to melt her. She thought of the children they would
have, the strong sons that would continue the de Garr lineage. She hoped they
would be comfortable with one another, that he wouldn’t grow tired of her as
the years passed, especially now that her sight was so terrible.

She thought about his reasons for
marrying her. Truthfully, he’d never given her a logical one. His insistence to
marry her even though her sight was gone seemed odd. But mayhap not so odd when
one considered he had been disowned by his father. Alisanne had offered him the
Craven barony once if he would only help her; he had accepted the offer even
after everything that had happened. Mayhap he didn’t want her at all; mayhap it
was only the barony he was interested in now that his father had left him
penniless and titleless.

They were dim, confusing thoughts
in her suddenly dim, confusing world. She didn’t know Roane at all, though she
sensed he was genuine and true. Still, had she given him a golden opportunity
he could not refuse?
 
She truly didn’t
know. And if he was truly so fond of her as he seemed to profess, why hadn’t he
offered to heal her with his magnificent gift? Mayhap he wanted to keep her in
the dark. Mayhap he, like Dodge, was only after one thing.

The sound of an approaching horse
roused her from her thoughts. It was very faint at first but quickly grew in volume.
Alisanne turned in the direction of the sound, seeing nothing but blurry trees.
There was movement among them.

“Roane?” she called, relieved.
“Where have you been?”

There was no reply. Alisanne’s
heart suddenly leapt into her throat.
“Roane?”

The horse was nearly upon her.
Blindly, she stumbled up from the stump, wielding the stick like a weapon. The
person on the horse merely knocked it out of her hand.

“Well, well,” came an unfamiliar
voice. “What have we here?”

He sounded particularly pleased
and Alisanne felt the blood rush from her head.
Oh, no, it can’t be!
She thought wildly.

“Stay away from me!” she cried.

Peale couldn’t believe his luck.
He gazed at the wild-eyed lady and laughed bitterly. “Not bloody likely.
Where’s yer friend?”

She clenched her jaw. “I don’t
know.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I am not,” she practically
shouted. “I don’t know where he is. He went off and left me hours ago.”

She could hear him dismount and
move toward her. “He’ll show himself soon enough now that we have ye. Damn bit
of good fortune, I’d say, comin’ across ye as pretty as a bird waitin’ to be
plucked.”

She backed up, stumbling but
catching herself in time. “How did you find me?”