ROMANCE: Bear Naked Passion (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 2) (67 page)

“He is only doing what he knows,” her mother whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed.

It was as if her mother could read her mind; it had always been that way with the two of them. They were as close as two women could be and always seemed to know what the other was feeling.

“How can I marry him?” Rowena asked, her eyes filling up with tears.

“My girl, you have so much to learn,” her mother began. “There was a time when your father was not the man that he is now. It takes time and a lot of love.”

“I do not love him,” Rowena pouted. “I never will.”

“You will learn to love him,” her mother stated, confident that her daughter would figure out a way to make it work. “You have to begin by showing him respect so that you can gain his respect. When he loves you, there will nothing that you cannot ask of him,” her mother continued. “It does not matter if you love him or if you think you can love him. Do you think that you can make him love you?”

“I think he loves no one but himself,” Rowena responded.

“Think on what I have said,” her mother replied, placing a gentle kiss on Rowena’s forehead.

As her mother left the room Rowena felt a tear fall down her cheek. She had never felt so alone in her life. She was unsure of how she could make it work, but she resolved to try again the next time that she saw Narien she would do her best to make him love her.

Narien was not sleeping well that evening either. He had never had a woman show him disrespect in all of his life. Anger flowed through his veins like fire as he paced back and forth in front of his bed.

He wanted to grab her and shake her, throw her in the dungeons until she learned some respect, and even then, he wondered if he would let her out. He smiled to himself as he imagined her begging for him to forgive her, then sat on the edge of his bed.

He imagined a future with a woman like her. One where it would make him happier to go to war than it would to come home. He considered calling off the deal, breaking the contract and cutting his losses, but he refused to let a woman beat him. He sent word to his carriage driver to return to Rowena’s the following morning. Narien told the driver to inform her family that the wedding would take place immediately and that she was to bring all of her belongings.

The next morning, the driver did as he was told, and upon arriving at Rowena’s home, he informed her parents of what the Earl had said. Her parents seemed pleased, assuming that she had made a great impression on him and her mother went inside the small shack to inform her of the change in plans.

Rowena’s eyes grew wide as her mother told her what the Earl had decided. She informed her daughter that they would see her soon and that she was to move quickly. Her mother helped her gather her belongings as she spoke and reminded Rowena of the things she had said the night before, making sure that Rowena did whatever it took to make the Earl fall in love with her.

As Rowena climbed into the carriage once again, she bid farewell to her mother. “Farewell, my Lady,” her mother replied, with a smile on her face. Rowena could tell that her mother was happy that she would be married to a Nobleman. It was the first time their family had the chance to be more than they were.

Rowena carefully sat in the carriage with her belongings sitting near her. She did not own a lot of items, but what she did have was more precious than gold to her. The carriage began to move and Rowena took a deep breath, wondering what the Earl had in mind and why he was in such a hurry to wed her.

Rowena’s mind began to wander as she thought about her future and she smiled, imagining what it would be like not to have to worry about where her next meal would come from. Something inside of her suddenly made her feel as if she did not deserve the life that this man was willing to give her and instead of independence she felt humbled. She knew her mother was right when she told her to give Narien another chance. She decided that she would put away all of her preconceived ideas about the Earl and really take the time to get to know him.

As the carriage came to a stop, Rowena’s heartbeat began to quicken. She stepped out of the carriage and was greeted immediately by Narien. “My Lord,” she said, bowing her head.

“My Lady,” the Earl replied gently. “I hope it has not inconvenienced you to join me.”

Rowena was surprised at the way he spoke to her it was as if he were a different man than the one she had seen in the village.

“It has not,” she replied, trying to be as kind as she could to him.

“I believe it is time for us to sit down and discuss the terms of our arrangement,” he said, putting his arm out for her to take. Rowena looked down at the ground. That was the Earl she had seen in the village, one that did not want to get to know her but wanted to discuss their agreement.

“As you wish,” Rowena replied, taking his arm and allowing him to lead her into his home.

Rowena looked around amazed at what was before her. Unlike the shack that she had grown up in, this house had stone walls. There was a roof that was made of stone and it almost reminded her of a castle. The shack her parents had raised her in had dirt floors, wooden walls that contained huge gaps in them and a straw roof. When it was cold outside, the bugs would crawl into the roof and fall on the children as they slept. Her father had created a canopy with a large piece of material he had found along side of the road to ensure his children were protected from the bugs and at night Rowena would hear them falling onto the canopy.

Narien lead Rowena to a large room where several chairs sat in front of a fireplace.

“Sit,” he commanded her. Rowena did not like being told what to do and instead stood by one of the chairs, looking at Narien in defiance. “I request that you sit down,” he said, his voice lower than before.

Rowena tilted her head to the side, then sighed before she sat down. Once she was seated, Narien sat in a chair that was opposite of hers. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. Narien took a deep breath as he looked at the woman he was supposed to marry.

“There are certain things that will be expected of you once our marriage is final,” he began. “You have a few days to get used to the way things will be, but after that, there will be no warnings. You will be punished for disobedience.”

Rowena wrinkled her brow. “I am to be your wife, not your servant,” she snapped at him.

“And my wife you shall be,” he continued. “There will be no disrespect of me or of what I say at any time.”

Rowena leaned back in her chair, not saying anything but simply listening to what was being said to her.

“You will perform your wifely duties whenever I desire and there will be no questions asked,” he continued talking to her as if he were hiring her and not marrying her. “If there is a problem with one of the servants, you need to come to me before any punishment is set forth until you understand how things work. And you will be required to attend all operas, plays and balls while behaving like a civilized person. I will have someone teach you how a Countess should behave, but if you are caught behaving like a peasant, you will be treated as one.”

Rowena’s eyes were wide. She could not believe the way that he spoke to her. “If you wanted to marry someone of noble birth, why did you not? I cannot change who I am, and behave as if I am a Countess if you are going to treat me as if I am a servant.”

Rowena saw the muscles in Narien’s jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth. “Woman, is there anything that I could do that would actually make you happy?” he growled at her.

Rowena looked at the ceiling of the room, she was in awe of how tall it was and wondered how it had been built.

“Treat me as if I am your wife,” she began, looking back at Narien. “Pretend if you have to that you want to marry me and not that you have made a mistake.”

Narien could see tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke and he felt the pain she was feeling in his own heart. He stood up and walked over to her chair, bending down he sat on his knees in front of her.

“Beautiful Rowena,” he said, in a gentle voice. “Do you think that I have picked you randomly out of all of the women in the village?”

Rowena looked up at him, unsure of what he was saying. “The first time I saw you, I wanted nothing more than to talk to you, to get to know you. And that is why I approached your father. I had one of my servant’s follow you home, simply so I would know where you lived.”

Rowena wrinkled her brow, but this time it was because she was thinking about what he was saying. A tear trickled down her cheek as he continued to speak. “You are unlike any other woman. You showed no interest in me and did not throw yourself at me. You refuse to give yourself to me like the others do. You remind me of a warrior who has been through many battles, tough on the outside, but inside as soft as the softest cotton.”

Rowena sat in amazement as he continued to speak. She had never imagined that this man had this gentleness inside of him. “If I had wanted you to be my servant,” Narien continued. “I would have simply approached your father with an offer. Instead, I requested that you be my bride. Even though you are not of noble blood, I know that deep inside of you is a Lady that is more noble than any other Lady that has been or ever will be.”

Rowena looked down at her hands in her lap. She felt nothing but guilt for the way that she had treated him and judged him. Her parents had always taught her to follow God, and judging others was a sin she did not want to commit. She knew all too well what it felt like to be judged, but didn’t think it would hurt someone like Narien, since he did not lack for anything.

Narien sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and placed his hands on her knees. She looked at him through the tears that filled her eyes.

“The first time you met me,” he said, in a calm and quiet voice. “You spoke of the pain and death that I had caused. Rowena, I am not pardoned from the battlefield. The people that I have had to fight in the name of the King and in the name of England, I watched them fall to the ground and breathe their last breath. Their faces haunt me at night, but I have never taken what did not belong to me according to the King and I have never knowingly caused the innocent to die.”

Rowena gently nodded her head as she thought about what he had said to her. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

Narien stood up and walked back to his chair. He sat down and Rowena could suddenly see the sadness in his eyes. She saw how the battles had aged him, suddenly she saw a frail man sitting in front of her.

“I will have someone show you to the room that you will stay in for the night. Your bath should be ready by now.

Rowena nodded her head as Narien stood. Her eyes followed him as he walked out of the room. Within a few seconds, one of his servants walked into the room. She did not say a word but simply nodded to Rowena. Rowena stood and followed the young woman to a room that was off to the back of the house.

The room was very large. A bed sat on one side of the room along with a wardrobe. On the other side of the room was a large bathtub that had recently been filled with hot water. Rowena could see that there was still steam rising from the water and imagined that it had taken a long time for all of the water to be heated and brought to the tub.

As Rowena looked around the room she suddenly became more aware of herself. She looked down at her dress covered in dust and stains. Her feet were covered in dirt and under her nails was as black as night.

Rowena had no idea what Narien saw in her. She was nothing more than a peasant and it was becoming more and more obvious to her by the second. Rowena was afraid to touch anything in the room for fear of soiling it and she began to understand why even Narien’s servants would not look at her. They were dressed better than she and looked like the nobles compared to her.

Rowena lowered her head, feeling humbled by her surroundings. She wished that her mother, father and siblings could be there to experience it all as well, as to remind her that she did have some value.

The sound of approaching steps pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned to see who was behind her. Narien stood looking at her with a gentle expression.

“You will have to undress if you are going to get cleaned up. I have the wardrobe full of new dresses for you to wear,” he said, as gently as he could. He knew how she must have been feeling and unlike many other nobles he did not want her to feel as if she did not belong.

“I will not undress,” she replied, astonished that he would even request such a thing.

“I will leave you to it,” he said. “But will return soon. Nell will help you into your bath.”

Rowena looked across the room at the servant. She had never undressed in front of anyone other than her sisters before and that had only been so that she could bathe in the river.

Narien turned and walked back out of the room, leaving the two women alone. Rowena took a deep breath and walked to the large tub that had been prepared for her. She had never actually bathed in a tub before and was excited to feel the hot water on her skin, but she was afraid of the way Nell would react to her or what she would do to her. Rowena did not feel as if Nell was happy about her being there with Narien, but knew that she must do as her future husband told her to.

As fast as she could, Rowena removed her clothing and dropped them on the floor, then she quickly climbed into the large tub that awaited her. Nell picked up Rowena’s clothing and headed out the door.