The Captive Bride. Susan Paul Spencer

The Captive Bride - Susan Paul Spencer


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just. I fear he will not find Kieran FitzAllen in time. What if Sir Senet should demand that you marry him at once?”

      With a graceful gesture, Katharine turned about and sat in the large, thronelike chair that had served as her father’s seat of judgment. “He may demand as he wishes, but it will avail him nothing. I do not intend to wed him. And I certainly do not intend to cede Lomas to him. At least not forever.”

      She couldn’t lose Lomas. It was all she had, all she’d ever had that truly belonged to her. And she had managed both the land and the castle successfully, putting the full of herself—all of her heart—into the task. Her father had been Lord Lomas in name only, never having much interest in the details involved in maintaining such an estate, preferring instead to busy himself with the grandeur of his title and fortune. She was the one who had labored so hard on Lomas’s behalf. She was the one who had devoted her every waking hour—and hours when she might have been sleeping, too—to the welfare of the people who had lived beneath her father’s hand. She wasn’t going to give over all she’d striven for, or the people she’d striven for, to the son of a traitor.

      The doors to the great hall opened and Sir Senet Gaillard walked through. He was yet dirty and sweat—soaked from the battle, and carried in one hand his sword and in the other his helmet, as if he were still ready to fight. He advanced toward her unsmiling, and Katharine felt a strange, unbidden clutching sensation in her heart, something akin to fear, she thought, although she wasn’t afraid of him in the least. She forced the odd feeling away and made herself meet his gaze directly. Walking behind him were two other men, one as blond and fair as day and the other as dark and formidable as Senet Gaillard was, though far less appealing in face.

      They stopped directly before her. Senet Gaillard alone took one step closer.

      “Lady Katharine,”he said, and again she felt that strange sensation thrumming deep within. “As you have seen fit to ignore the edicts of the king’s regents to receive us peacefully, I have come in the only manner left me. Having taken Castle Lomas by force and possessing it fully, I make my formal claim to the land, the castle and the title, as well as to all those people, moneys and chattel. belonging to them. Including,”he said more slowly, “yourself.”

      What on earth was wrong with her? Katharine wondered. It was impossible that she would be affected simply because a man was so handsome. Indeed, she had known many men who were far fairer to gaze upon than Senet Gaillard, yet not one of them had produced as much as a quickened breath. The sight of Senet Gaillard, the sound of his voice, affected her horribly. Not only was her heart pounding in her chest, but she had somehow suddenly gone dumb. All of the biting words she would have said faded away. She struggled to speak, even to think of how to answer him, and felt utterly foolish.

      He stood where he was, waiting, finally arching one eyebrow upward questioningly.

      “Do you concede, my lady?”

      “In the matter of the castle, I have little choice,”she said at last, striving to make her voice calm and steady. “You have taken it by force, without due consideration for any of my requests for peace. For the time being, I concede it to you. Howbeit, as I have already informed Duke Humphrey, I am betrothed to be married, and will honor the promise I have already given Lord Hanley in the matter of marriage. As I understand that you cannot attain Castle Lomas, the lands or title without a marriage between us, I have faith that you will find your rule here to be of very short duration. If such as that appeals to you, please be content to pursue your pretense until the day of the arrival of my worthy betrothed. After he has come, I pray you will leave Lomas peacefully and with respect for what the law holds as true in these matters.

      “In the meantime, my ladies and I will abide abovestairs, out of your way. I ask that you and your men leave us unmolested, in peace and privacy, as your knightly vows will require of you. I appeal to your knightly status, as well, in your dealings with my people, including the servants of this castle, whom I demand be treated with forbearance and kindness. I will not take it lightly should one of them come to any harm while you play out the farce you have brought upon us. That is all I have to say.” She rose from the chair. “My ladies and I will leave you now to enjoy the temporary victory you have attained.”

      “Nay,”Sir Senet said. “You will not go. I have heard you out, Lady Katharine. You will now allow me the same courtesy.”

      “I allow you nothing,”Katharine told him coldly.

      His somber gaze never wavered. “Then I will force you to it, my lady, if that is your preference.”

      Her eyes narrowed. “You are truly your father’s son, Senet Gaillard. I had heard it was so. Is it your intention to rule Lomas with threats?”

      “It is my intention to be lord here. The manner in which I rule will be determined, in large, by you, Lady Katharine. I have said that you will listen to me, and you will. I would prefer not to use force. Be seated again.”

      Katharine lifted her chin. “Nay, I will stand. Speak what you must.”

      He drew in a long, taut breath. Katharine could see a muscle twitching in the tight set of his beard—stubbled jaw.

      “I would that you sit.”

      Katharine strove to keep from fisting her hands. She was so filled with anger at the beastly man that she felt as if flames must surely be about to spout from the top of her head. How dare he speak to her as if she must obey him! She was the mistress of the castle, and he nothing better than a false usurper.

      “My ears,”she replied tersely, “work just as well whether I sit or stand, Senet Gaillard.”One of his companions, the handsome, blond—headed man, cleared his throat in an obvious effort to keep from laughing. Senet Gaillard gave him a sharp, quelling look. Katharine straightened her shoulders to stand taller. “I am not so poor a maiden as to wilt beneath the force of your words, or those of any man. Speak, and then leave my ladies and me in peace.”

      She thought she heard a weary sigh emanate from his stern mouth. He set the tip of his sword on the edge of his booted foot and relaxed his posture as if he were, indeed, most weary.

      “Very well, Lady Katharine. I’ll speak to you plainly. Lord Hanley has been presumed dead these past two years, and your betrothal to him, in the eyes of the throne, the church and the law, is therefore made void. As the lord of Lomas, I have been commanded to take you as wife to make certain of your future, also to protect and keep you. We will wed on the morrow. I advise you to make yourself ready. The ceremony will be performed after morning mass. Afterward, your men will vow their fealty to me as their lord, and to you as their lord’s wife.”

      Her heart began to beat more painfully in her chest, and Katharine lowered her gaze briefly, struggling to maintain at least an outward composure. The man clearly meant what he said, and looked fully capable of carrying out every word. If she showed the slightest weakness before him now, she’d be finished before she’d even started.

      The doors to the great hall opened and several armed soldiers entered, followed by a tall, slender man whom Katharine had seen only hours before in the company of the king’s regent, Sir William, when he had come to deliver Duke Humphrey’s missive. She had assumed that he was one of Sir William’s men, but it was suddenly clear that he was one of Senet Gaillard’s minions. He approached the dais where Katharine sat, leading on his arm a young, very beautiful woman who appeared to be rather frightened by her surroundings. Senet Gaillard turned at the girl’s approach and reached out a hand to draw her near.

      “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!


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