Page 101 of The Unwilling Bride
She shrugged off her robe. “Very well…Merrick.”
THEY MADE LOVE SLOWLY, TENDERLY, with soft words and gentle endearments. As if a gate long closed had swung open, Merrick said all the things he’d yearned to for so long. Of Constance’s sweetness. Her gentleness. Her beauty. Her knowledge of healing. Her concern for others.
His admiration. His respect. His desire. His love.
And she, in turn, revealed how he impressed her with his intelligence, his justice, his competence, his skill in bed and out of it.
They spoke until their passion made all words superfluous, for their bodies, their lips, their hands said even more as they touched and kissed and loved.
Yet afterward, although they were exhausted, neither one slept well.
There could be no real rest until the earl of Cornwall knew the truth, and they their fate.
RICHARD OF CORNWALL FROWNED as he looked from Merrick to Constance and back again when they stood before him in the great hall of Tintagel. “You are not the lord of Tregellas but some impostor?” he demanded. “And you’ve pretended to be Lord William’s son for fifteen years?”
“He may not be Lord William’s legitimate son,” Constance declared, determined that Richard understand what was most important, “but he is Lord William’s son. According to the terms of his will, Lord William’s illegitimate son takes precedence over anyone else except his legitimate son, who was killed fifteen years ago.”
The earl regarded Merrick with a steadfast gaze that was not unlike her husband’s. “Then why the ruse?”
“Because I didn’t know the terms of my father’s will and because I was a frightened child when I first lied about who I was. Then I feared it was too late to tell the truth.”
“But now you will?”
“Yes, my lord. Now I will. Now I have. Would you rather I had continued to lie to you?”
The earl leaned back in his chair. “No, I would not, and I must admit I see no reason you would come to me with such a story if it weren’t true. I’ve also heard of Lord William’s…peculiarities…and thus I can well believe he was mad enough to make such a provision in his will. And however skeptical I might be had this story come to me another way, the fact that you’ve come to me yourselves stands in your favor.”
Constance slid a glance at her husband, whose face, not surprisingly, betrayed nothing. The tension in his body and the way he gripped her hand told her another story.
“I’m also well aware of your loyalty to me and to the king, as well as your skill in battle,” the earl continued. “It would be foolish of me to lose such a capable commander, especially if your father’s will is as you say.”
Squeezing Merrick’s hand, Constance started to smile with relief.
“However, I will agree to allow you to remain the overlord of Tregellas on one condition.”
Her smile disappeared as dread replaced relief.
“I would ask that you tell no one else the truth. The kingdom is in enough turmoil, and I need a strong right arm. Besides, you’ve managed to keep this secret for fifteen years. Surely you’re used to it by now.”
Merrick’s expression grew as sternly determined as she had ever seen it. “My lord, I’ve kept that secret for too long as it is. I no longer wish to bear that burden, or force my beloved wife to carry it, as well. And my grandfather yet lives. I’d like him to know me—truly know me—while he can.”
The earl frowned. “You would disobey me in this?”
“If I must.”
Richard rose, and both were reminded that this man, too, was the son of a king. “You would give up Tregellas? You would become nothing more than a nobleman’s bastard?”
“If I must.”
“And what of your wife? Will you condemn her to a life of poverty and uncertainty, too?”
“Whatever my husband’s fate,” Constance said without hesitation, “he already knows I’ll share it, and gladly. But I warn you, my lord, that others know the terms of Lord William’s will. There was a scribe who wrote it and he yet lives. There is Lord William’s steward, Alan de Vern, who witnessed it. If you attempt to give Tregellas to another, I’ll fight you tooth and nail in the courts.”
The earl’s brows rose. “You will?”
She moved closer to her husband. “With my husband’s help, of course. Other nobles who fear that the king is loath to follow the law of his own realm will surely be most interested in the outcome.”
Richard frowned as he studied her. “Is that a threat, my lady?”
