Page 51 of Knight of Darkness
“Good!” Richard said with a broad smile. “I am certain Wymar will be just as glad to welcome you to your new home as you have welcomed me to Norwich.”
“D-does he k-know I am to be his b-bride?” she stammered.
“Nay. ’Tis to be a surprise as the Empress instructed,” he replied before giving Ceridwen a low bow. “I will see you at the evening meal. I look forward to seeing what you have made of the place since your father’s passing.”
Ceridwen nodded and returned to her chamber. She twirled around in happiness. She could not wait to see the look on Wymar’s face once she arrived at her new home!
Chapter Thirty-Two
Wymar leaned anelbow upon the blanket as he watched Beatrix and her ladies stroll by the lake. It had been a peaceful day of leisure, allowing Wymar time to contemplate the woman who claimed to have been chosen by the Empress as his bride. The past fortnight had given him plenty of opportunity to watch Beatrix and determine she had told him a falsehood. What he still did not know was why she would lie about something of such import. If he wed Beatrix, contrary to the Empress’s wishes, Wymar would be subject to Empress Matilda’s wrath. His land and title could once more be stripped from him. Beatrix’s falsehood made no sense.
He had always known the younger woman had held a certain amount of affection for him but he had never contemplated that her feelings were this strong. Had he known, he’d have sought a way to gently discourage her. She was Richard’s younger sister, and he would never allow their friendship to be tested by falling for the girl. Besides that, while she was pretty enough, she was too used to getting her way, and her pouting whenever she was thwarted put him more in mind of a child than a woman. She simply did not have the inner strength and maturity to appeal to him.
Nor did she have wisdom enough to see when her advances were unwelcome. He had done his best to maintain distance between them, but she was getting bolder as each day passed into the next. A touch here… a whispered word there… ’Twas as though she wanted to provoke him to pounce on her and ruin her reputation so entirely that he would have no other recourse than to wed her. But he would not be fooled into such a game, and she knew not who she played with when she tried to wrap Wymar around her finger as she did with her parents.
Hence, his insistence on having her ladies with her today on their outing, along with a few of his knights. She had planned this little diversion herself, knowing of this hidden gem on his property from previous visits. What she had not planned was Wymar’s insisting that others attend as well. Her pout would not sway him nor her batting eyelids. He was no fool!
As he sat, his mind wandered to the other question pressing on him. If Beatrix wasn’t his bride, who, then, was? Doubtless, she would be arriving soon, which meant he needed to settle this matter between Beatrix and himself posthaste. ’Twould be a disaster for his true bride to arrive with another woman attempting to claim him as her own.
Reynard concluded a conversation he’d been having with one of Lady Beatrix’s ladies at the water’s edge and came to sit next to him, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face. “She’s a beauty, that one is,” he said nodding to the woman as she waved to him. He returned the gesture and watched her blush. “Pretty as a spring rose.”
Wymar chuckled. “And always looking for a new conquest so be careful with that one, brother,” he warned. “She is searching for a husband, and I am not certain she cares whether you are titled or not.”
Beatrix and the women gathered together, then giggled whilst the men standing behind Wymar began shuffling their feet. “God’s Bones,” one cursed even as the men began muttering with him.
“They care not which one of us shows them attention.”
“My wife would strangle me if she found out another had her eye on me.”
“Do you think one of them would be up to… a…” One of the knight’s words faded away as he apparently contemplated the women before them until another man elbowed him in the gut.
“Shut up, you fool, before they get any more stupid ideas in their pretty little heads.”
Wymar chuckled although the look Beatrix bestowed upon him practically sizzled in the air between them. He gulped, understanding the men’s plight. “Go ready the horses. I think we have had enough for one day. Let us head back to the castle and mayhap spend some time training. ’Twill be far more pleasant than how we have spent the day thus far, doing nothing but gazing at women who have plans I have no intention of partaking in.”
The men took off as though fire had been licking at their boots. Wymar observed his brother’s attention return to the woman with whom he had been speaking before.
“Sheispretty,” Reynard whispered before heaving a sigh.
Wymar gave him a playful nudge. “Better to think with your head instead of what is between your legs, brother,” he teased as he watched his men lead the women to their horses. He stood and picked up the blanket. “I never did ask why the Empress dismissed you. Did you do something wrong?”
A snort escaped Reynard’s lips. “Nothing of the sort. ’Tis only a temporary visit. I am to return to her service after you have wed. I cannot believe she would send Lady Beatrix for your bride. Such an outcome is unsettling,” he said with a frown crinkling his forehead.
“The lady and I must needs have speech together. I cannot believe the Empress has sent Beatrix for my bride. I believe Beatrix has spoken a falsehood. The connection does not make any sense, at least inside my own head.”
“’Tis best you have that conversation soon, Wymar. She is set on having you and has made that perfectly clear to anyone who would care to listen. She even plans the ceremony for two days hence. She acts as though she is already the mistress of Brockenhurst.”
Wymar rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you think I do not already know this? She is getting more demanding with each day that passes into the next. Perchance I best speak with her as soon as we return to the castle.”
“If you ask me, you should have had speech with her the moment she set foot upon the grounds and proclaimed her intentions. You cannot marry her! She is like our sister.”
“I repeat… do you think I do not already know this? There is no way I can take her to wife.” Wymar grumbled a curse beneath his breath. “Let us away. The sooner I get this over with the better.”
Wymar went to his horse, his brother all but forgotten. He flinched when a woman’s gentle touch caressed his back. He did not need to turn around to know who was behind him. “What is it you want, Beatrix? We have had enough of laying around doing nothing and must needs return to the keep.”
She pressed herself into him and Wymar whirled around taking her by the arms and holding her back. Her eyes widened in surprise most likely from the force with which he held her until he gentled his grip. “Whatever is wrong, my love?” Her whisper held a seductive tone as though they had already shared a bed.
“I am not your love,” Wymar muttered returning to checking the leather straps of his saddle.
