Page 97 of The Unwilling Bride
“Constance thought you wouldn’t stoop to such an act. Neither do I.”
There was a moment’s silence, and she would have given much to be able to see them instead of only listen.
“Our estates adjoin, Kiernan, and I hope for peace between our families. I know that you care a great deal for Constance, and that she was glad of your friendship. No man knows what the future holds, and she may have need of friends in the days to come. It would do my heart good to think she has one in you.”
“I…my lord…I will always be her friend,” Kiernan stammered, obviously as taken aback as she by Merrick’s words. “If she needs anything…anything at all…she has but to ask.”
What future was Merrick talking about? Why did he think she would need a friend?
“I believe I’ve misjudged you, my lord,” Kiernan said.
“Others have done so before,” her husband answered. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to see my wife.”
BY THE TIME MERRICK CAME into the room, Constance was sitting up in bed, her heart pounding, her curiosity roused to an almost unbearable degree.
Yet even so, as he ran his gaze over her, her body reacted instinctively, as if it were his hands and not his eyes, and she was naked, not clothed in a thin silk shift.
“I hope I haven’t disturbed you,” he said.
“No.”
“Does your head still hurt?”
“No.”
He nodded and started to leave.
“Merrick!”
She scrambled out of bed and reached for her bedrobe, ready to ask about that lie, until he regarded her with those cold, dark eyes.
“Where’s Henry?” she asked, desperately seeking something else to say.
“Now that his injuries have been attended to, he’s in the kitchen, eating.” Merrick hesitated a moment, and his expression clouded as he continued. “It’s been a long time since his last meal.”
“He’s cleared of all suspicion?”
“Yes.”
“He must understand how it looked.”
Merrick didn’t meet her steadfast gaze. “I should never have doubted him.”
She clutched the bedrobe about her. “What of Lord Carrell and your uncle?”
“They are on their way to the Tower, well guarded and in chains.”
“What will happen to Beatrice?”
“Her family is to be stripped of all lands, but she may retain her title, and I’ve asked that she be placed under my protection.”
This unexpected act of generosity only added to the puzzle that was her husband.
What kind of man was he? An evil blackguard guilty of some heinous sin, or a generous nobleman who would take pity on a young woman who might suffer because of someone else’s treason?
She had to find out. She couldn’t live another moment with that question on her mind. “What did youmean in the monastery when you said that you had lied and would release me from our marriage? Have you committed some foul crime?”
She waited, poised between hope that he was innocent of anything terrible and fear that he was not.
