Chapter 1 #4
“Today,” Tulley agreed. “Might I remind you, Quinn, that you are not invested yet with your estates. Should you not do my bidding, as any obedient vassal should, I will be obliged to find another to whom I might entrust Sayerne.”
Quinn dropped to one knee and bowed his head, but Tulley was not done.
“I have arrived at a solution that will serve the needs of you both. I charge you, Quinn, to eliminate the raids on Annossy as your first responsibility.”
It appeared that Tulley had a list of tasks. Quinn did not argue, but listened. Marriage first, brigands second. He hoped at some point, the seal of Sayerne would land within his grasp.
He bowed over Tulley’s hand. “As this is your condition, my lord, I will make this marriage in good faith.”
The lady hesitated before she spoke. Tulley cleared his throat and she spoke, her tone filled with resignation. “As will I.”
Quinn felt his eyes narrow. He was not that foul a choice of spouse.
Tulley’s gaze flicked between the two of them. “It seems that there is a lack of enthusiasm for this match. Perhaps even now one or both of you harbor plans of annulment.”
No one denied the accusation.
Tulley leaned forward, his manner intent. “Understand me well: there will be no annulment. Do not expect otherwise, for I will demand proof of consummation at first light tomorrow morning.”
“My lord!” the lady protested.
“It is only good sense,” Tulley concluded.
Quinn could not look at the lady after such a deliberate mention of intimate matters. Indeed, he felt a warmth spread through him, and he recalled his first impression of her beauty. It might not be all bad to consummate this match.
Should she allow it. He would not force her, to be sure.
“Perhaps I named the wrong man barbarian,” she muttered, as though she could not restrain herself from comment.
Quinn’s gaze flew to Tulley, certain she would be chastised for her rudeness, but the older man only smiled.
“Since I have known you so long, Melissande, and understand the strain of this situation, I will let your audacity pass.” He stood and brushed at his tabard before smiling at them both. “Shall we say within the hour?”
Quinn nodded. He saw the lady do the same, with reluctance.
Tulley smiled. “I should think that commitment to wed would be sealed with a kiss.”
The lady’s cheeks blazed crimson. Quinn swallowed and felt clumsy. It had been so long since he had touched a woman, and the lady’s manner was less than encouraging.
But Tulley watched and waited. Quinn had little choice.
All hung in the balance.
He would meet her in good faith.
The lady did not aid in the endeavor. She stood motionless, waiting, fists clenched at her sides.
Quinn knew that he would have to initiate this embrace.
He stepped closer and the softness of her scent caught him by surprise.
Did she wear perfume? He had forgotten such feminine charms. Something tightened within him, but she did not so much as meet his gaze.
Curse her! They were both beholden to Tulley and it would be simpler if she met him halfway. Riding into battle was less of a challenge than this. Quinn hoped that she mustered some enthusiasm for his touch by the time they met abed.
In truth, it mattered little.
He would not sacrifice his inheritance.
He took a step closer and heard her catch her breath.
Still, she stared fixedly ahead. He lifted his hand and gently touched two fingers beneath her chin.
She shivered, but did not otherwise move.
He coaxed her chin upward so that he might meet her gaze, but she closed her eyes.
No doubt she wanted to leave him ignorant of her thoughts.
Would she defy him in every matter, every day? He began to suspect as much.
Would she vex him with such vigor for the rest of his life? Quinn already wondered.
But he would not be deterred. Quinn bent and brushed his lips across hers. He felt the lady shiver again, though there was no other change in her posture.
It was after his hand had dropped away that he saw her single tear. It shimmered as it slipped through her lashes then over her cheek and she did not wipe it away.
Quinn felt like a knave, although he did not truly understand her response. Surely one light kiss could not be so burdensome as to cause a tear?
Tulley cleared his throat. By the time Quinn glanced to his overlord and back to the lady, that tear might never have been. Melissande exhaled shakily and opened her eyes.
Still she did not so much as glance at him.
What manner of woman had Quinn agreed to marry?
A maiden of ice or one of unexpected fire?
A woman who dared to challenge him, and to vex him, yet one who stirred his blood as never before.
A woman of keen wits, to be sure, and one with the tongue of a viper; one who believed naught good of him at all.
He wondered how he would survive this match.
He wondered if he could win her, with time.
It would be a challenge, to be sure, but to have this lady fight on his side, by his side, would be an achievement of merit.
It could be the kind of marriage his mother had told him about, when she had shared those old tales of chivalry, the kind she had urged him to seek for himself.
Quinn was skeptical of his success with this lady as his wife, but he was determined to try.
“I would suggest you both summon some enthusiasm in short order,” Tulley said, then left the chamber. His boots sounded in the corridor and Quinn heard him call for his chatelain.
Perhaps in this moment, he and Melissande could reach a detente.