The Contract (10 page)

“Right, certainly, because that would be so very funny. Ha ha!” I said sarcastically.   He sat back down, thinking so hard that he almost seemed in a daze. “Callista?” he asked again.

“Yes, my lord. Callista, my cousin. The one who is supposed to leave with her betrothed in three days.”

He shook his head. “You do this so she’ll stay here if Max forces her to wed me,” he stated.

“No, I don’t. And if you don’t believe me then open your eyes and watch her. She is always watching you. She has asked me several times how she can gain your attention, but I’m no good at that sort of thing, so I don’t know what to tell her.”

“She said she’d wed Gregory,” Devlin said.

“What other choice does she have?”

Devlin said, “And you swear to me that you aren’t doing this simply to keep her here at the castle?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” I took a deep breath and tried to calm, finally smiling at him. “She likes you, Devlin. And I like you. There aren’t many men I’d probably think are good enough for my cousin, but you…I think you would make her happy.”

Devlin couldn’t seem to make himself believe it. Perhaps his beliefs about himself were too deeply rooted.

“Look, if you aren’t interested in her, then at least I tried to help her get the man she wants. She wouldn’t want you to take her just because she fancies you if you don’t feel the same.”

Devlin laughed and shook his head again. “This is ridiculous,” he said.

I smiled. “I agree.”

He mumbled something about a beauty and a beast, but I didn’t completely catch it. He reached out and touched the back of my hand. “I don’t quite know whether to thank you or curse you, but you certainly have given me a lot to think about.” He gave me a gentle smile that held sadness. “I don’t know if I can be what you want me to be.”

I nodded. “I’ve done my part. Now it’s up to you.” I rose and was to the door when I stopped, turning back to him. “Devlin, even if it isn’t Callista, don’t just assume that everyone sees you the same way as you apparently see yourself. I see a kind, funny, handsome man who any woman would be lucky to have. Maybe other people see you that way too.” I nodded to him and left.

Both of us forgot that Max didn’t want me to be alone. I was nearly to our room when he caught me.  “Katrina!” he said, exasperation in his voice. He seemed about to speak then threw up his arms in frustration. “Go in the room,” he said.

I bit my lip and went inside. He followed me in and barred the door. “I’ve had your cousin moved down so she is in a more occupied area. She leaves soon anyway, so it didn’t seem worth the effort to repair the door.” He walked around me, shaking his head. “Where were you? I looked for you for a long time.”

“I was with Devlin, my lord, in the greenhouse.“Max stopped in his tracks.

“With Devlin? Why?”

“I needed to ask him something, but we sort of got in an argument, and we both forgot that he was going to escort me here.”

“What would the two of you have to argue about?” Max asked curiously.

I shrugged, uncomfortable now. “We disagreed about something.”

“What?” Max asked, standing closer now.

I looked up at him. “I promised not to tell you,” I said softly.  I’d wanted to lie but nothing else came to me but the truth.

Max’s face slowly darkened. “You promised my brother to keep a secret from me?” With each word he was exponentially angrier.

I bit my lip and nodded, backing away. “Please, Max,” I started, but he wouldn’t listen.

His hands snaked out and took me by the shoulders. “You will tell me,” he said softly, each word menacing.

I looked at him. “Please, my lord, please don’t make me! He said he considers me like his sister! I’ve never had a sibling, and if I tell you…I promised!”

He shook me, but it wasn’t hard. “Damn it, Katrina—” he began.

“Wait!” I said, not wanting him to say another word that would probably spell doom for me. “I can tell you what it was about, just not what it was.”

“You speak in riddles,” Max snapped. “Talk quickly, wife.”

“I asked him to tell me why he won’t wed,” I blurted.

Max frowned. “You did?”

“Yes.” I nodded vigorously. “Have you never asked him?”

Max’s hands dropped from my shoulders. He walked over to the window and looked out at the night. “I don’t know that I’ve ever asked him outright. I’ve attempted to find a lady he would favor, but he would have none of it.” He turned just his head to look at me. “And yet he told you?”

I looked down at my feet. “I had to be quite insistent,” I admitted.

Max gave a short laugh. “I don’t doubt it. One characteristic he and I have in common is our stubbornness.”

I looked up at him and grinned. “That’s what I told him,” I said.

“You told him we shared stubbornness?” Max asked, somewhat amazed.

“I think what I said was he was as damned stubborn as you are.”

Max began to chuckle, then he laughed full out. “You swore at Devlin.” He grinned. “I would have liked to see that.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Everyone loves Devlin. He’s kind to a fault. I think only you would swear at him.”

“Why only me?” I asked.

“Because people treat him differently because he’s a cripple,” Max’s voice had turned hard.

I waved that away. “Everyone has their problems. That’s what Papa used to say. I, for example, tend to shock people with my behavior. You tend to shock them with your temper. If Devlin shocks people by his appearance, how is that any different? Have you seen how most people look at me because of my height?” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, he’s a handsome man.”

Max turned with some menace to look at me. “Is he now?” he asked me.

I backed up shaking my head at his expression. “You know what I mean.”

“Perhaps I do and perhaps not,” he said, still stalking me.

“He’s handsome because he looks somewhat like you!” I said before he grabbed me.

He picked me up in his arms. “That was a good save,” he said to me, a grin on his face. “Handsome, am I?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know you are.” My voice hardened a little as he tossed me on the bed. “Why else would the ladies ‘throw themselves’ at you?”

“Ah, well, there could be many reasons for that,” he said, amused.

I wasn’t very pleased to hear him say that, and I rolled away from him. “Really? Name one,” I challenged.

“My ability to make my wife scream out my name?” he asked innocently, coming around the bed to head me off as I rose on the far side.

“Am I likely to hear someone screaming out your name?” I asked as he caught me again. He tossed me back on the bed and grabbed me before I could escape again. He lay down and used his weight to keep me still.

“What nonsense are you talking now, Katrina?”

“Nothing,” I said, my courage flagging.Max looked down at me, his slate blue eyes piercing.

“I remember being halted this morning in the middle of something,” he said slowly. I looked up at him.“And now that you’ve had the whole day to accustom yourself to the idea, it’s time for action.” Max gave me a promising smile. “Take off your dress, my lady wife. I have an urge to hear my name on your lips.”

Chapter Ten

I woke again before Max the next morning. I lay back and looked at the ceiling. The night before had been incredible. Max had indeed started where he’d been interrupted in the morning. I’d still been unable to completely accept what he was going to do—it was so far out of my belief of what happened between man and woman. So again I’d struggled and tried to talk him out of it. I’d half expected Max to get angry, but he hadn’t. He’d teased me, made me laugh, and gone very slowly. Not surprisingly, he had eventually gotten his way, and I’d been very vocal in my appreciation of that fact. He’d been right. I did like it. A lot.

I think he’d enjoyed my shock over him using his mouth there so much, he’d promised to do something else new tonight. I could feel my stomach tremble now just thinking about it, and he wasn’t even awake. Or, should I say, he wasn’t awake…yet.

As softly as I possibly could, I let my fingers glide down his back where it was turned to me. He sighed, moving slightly. I stopped, waiting until it seemed he was back to sleep. Then I carefully moved the sheet, shifting so I could kneel near him to look my fill. He suddenly turned on his back, his eyes opening. I bit my lip and smiled at him, embarrassed to be found like this.

“Good morning, my lord,” I said, blushing.

“Wife,” he said, stretching. “Why are you poised over me like that?”

I laughed nervously. “I was thinking.”

“Thinking?“I bristled. “Do you believe a woman can’t think?”

Max rubbed his eyes and blinked at me. “Katrina, I’ve been awake nearly a minute now. How is it possible I’ve already managed to upset you?”

I shook my head, feeling ridiculous. “I’m sorry, Max. I just…well, I’m embarrassed. You caught me…thinking.”

Max reached up and pulled me down, so I was lying on his chest. “Wife, if you’re going to do so much blushing this morning, I’d like to give you something to blush about.” He pulled my head down, so he could kiss me.

I felt strange on top of him like this and tried to slide off to the side. He caught my hips and repositioned me back over him. “Where do you go, wife?” he asked with a grin.

Like yesterday, a knock sounded at the door. “My lord? I’m sorry, but during the night—”

Max growled and said, “Hold.” He looked up at me. “We’re going to have to start getting up earlier,” he said ruefully. He set me off him and grabbed his clothes. He looked back at me and shook his head. As he went to the door he chuckled as I dove under the covers, letting only my head peek out.

He opened the door, and I found myself glad that for once that angry face wasn’t looking at me. “What?” he barked.

The man, not Caius this time, stumbled as he tried to get the words out quickly, “A messenger has come from the King. The messenger would only wait until now but demands to see you immediately.”

Max nodded. “Fine, I’ll be there directly.“The man, relieved of his message, nearly ran away down the hall. Max turned and strode back to me. “Wife?” he said as he pulled me up to give me a brief kiss. “I will send someone back here to you
within the hour
. If you aren’t here waiting, I’ll have you whipped in the hall. Do you believe me?”

I looked at him, eyes wide. “Yes, my lord,” I said in a whisper.

“Don’t forget and don’t find someone to rescue.“I nodded again. He kissed me again, more softly. “Thank you.“I gave him a tentative smile back. He kissed me again, gathering me closer. Finally he put me away from him with a groan and stood. He strode to the door and reminded me, “Bar the door.“I nodded again, bemused, as he disappeared from view as he closed the door.

The King
, I mused as I ran across the room to set the heavy bar. I pulled on my clothes and began to pace. Maximus was a Regent, which meant he had taken over several areas that used to belong to various lords. The land used to have several Regents, once as many as five, but now there was just one—Max. The land ruled by the king was large indeed, so large that to travel from one end of it to the other would take weeks, even if many fast horses were used.

The King had been in power for only two years now, having taken over when his brother had died without heirs.  There had been talk when the change had occurred that pointed at the current King for setting an assassin on his brother to succeed him. Nothing was sure, and even if something was sure, it was too late now. The King had been crowned, and he was the ultimate power in the land.  The old King had counted on Maximus to keep the peace here in the land furthest from the capital city where the king resided. While doing this Maximus had obtained a great deal of power, some said almost as much as the King himself. But the old King had appreciated Max’s help and relations between the Regent’s land and the rest of the Kingdom were good, as was the relationship between Max and the King.

Now there was a message of some urgency from the new King, and Max had felt it necessary to have me bar myself in again.  Was that simply because he still felt the castle wasn’t safe after the slaying yesterday?  I railed at myself for perhaps the twentieth time since Max left for not asking him to tell me what had happened.  Max and I didn’t seem to talk much—get us together, and we ended up either arguing or in bed.  Or on a desk, I thought, grinning to myself.

The hour that Max had promised dragged as I waited for him. I was beginning to consider the wisdom of looking out into the hall when a knocking made me run to the door. “It’s me,” Max said. I threw the bar and let him in. He looked at me and said, “Katrina, I’ll take you to get bathed, and then to breakfast. After that, we need to talk.”

“About what?” I asked.

“About your father,” he said, but wouldn’t tell me any more no matter how I pestered him.I bathed and sat at the table with Devlin and Max. Callista came slightly late, her face flushed. “I’m sorry, my lords,” she said. “I was talking with another lady and lost track of the time.” She slid in next to me and gave me a significant look.I tried not to look at Devlin, hoping to spare him any embarrassment if he was trying to watch Callista to see where her feelings lay.

As soon as Max and Devlin were talking, she turned to me. “Kat, did you hear? The King’s messenger came early this morning.”

“Yes, I know,” I said. “What did he want?”

Callista glanced at Max and said quietly, “I don’t know, exactly, but…your husband was not happy at the message, and the messenger was kicked out of the castle without a reply.”

This was not good. The messenger was the King’s man. To insult him was to insult the King. “The King’s messenger was told to leave?”

“From what I heard, he was told to leave in no uncertain terms.” Again she glanced at Max. “The woman I spoke to said the man was lucky to have escaped with his life.”

I looked at Max and Devlin, seeing now that they both looked tense.I finished my meal in silence, my nerves taut, wondering what was going on. There had been talk, Papa had said before he died, that Max was growing too powerful and the royals weren’t pleased. He’d speculated that it could eventually come to war if the royals felt threatened by Max. At the time I’d suggested that the Regent could just break up some of his area and that would make the problem better. Papa had laughed and said that while it would work, certainly, a man like Maximus who had gathered the power over years wouldn’t be likely to simply give it away. Now that I actually knew Max, I had to agree.