Chapter One #3
He stepped into the room and froze. His betrothed embraced another man.
Jealousy stunned him with the force it rose.
His angry gaze settled on Anne. Outrage whitened her already chalky face.
The hairs on the back of his neck prickled.
One hand went to the hilt of his sword, while the other hovered near the weapon in his belt.
Anne crept closer to the pair holding each other. Her hand disappeared into her skirts and removed a dagger. She raised her arm, prepared to strike. With lightning quick reflexes, Royce grabbed her wrist, halting her. Anne howled in fury.
Gillian spun about and his gaze flicked between her and the struggling woman he held captive. Air crackled, the tension a net ensnaring everyone. Anne fought against Royce's grip. With ease, he plucked the bejeweled knife from her slender hand and tossed it aside.
"You've gone too far!"
He sensed Gillian's eyes on him, but paid her no mind. His fury with the woman before him consumed every thought.
"You will pay for this treachery. The king himself will judge you."
Anne swung at him with her free hand, but he captured her fist and pinned both behind her back.
"My lord, I merely defended myself!"
Anne's ridiculous claim fueled Royce's already raging anger. It took all of his control to refrain from slaying the woman where she stood.
"Curb your lying tongue. I saw everything."
The ice in his voice brought fear to Anne's eyes.
"You have ruined everything!" Anne shrieked at Gillian. She struggled mightily against Royce's grip, to no avail.
With Anne somewhat subdued, Royce turned his attention to his betrothed, who stood motionless before another man.
One hand on her throat, she backed closer to the bed.
He almost smelled her panic. Good. He glared at the man behind her, whose hands rested possessively on Gillian's shoulders.
Royce fought the urge to release his prisoner and instead slice at the man's hands.
Once more, he focused on his bride. Wariness deepened her eyes to a dark plum.
Or was it guilt? Yet, when her lips parted to take in air, he had to look away to quell the sudden rush of lust. His annoyance that her mere presence could make him so foolish took over at the same moment Anne struggled once more.
Despite her small stature, Royce found it difficult to maintain his grip.
He squeezed hard on her wrists until she stopped squirming, crying in pain.
He called for his men, his gaze once again returning to Gillian. Three soldiers ran into the chamber.
"Take her!"
Two moved forward, each taking one of Anne's arms. She fought against them, until the third gave his assistance.
Outnumbered, unable to break free, she held her head defiantly as she stood before him.
Royce tore a strip from his surcoat and bound her wrists.
She screamed and kicked, but he took her jaw in his hand, squeezing her cheeks with his fingers so she quieted.
"If you continue, I will truss you like a fowl." He released her and turned to Gillian. "Where can she be kept?"
"There are chambers below. The steward has the keys."
"Take her there and lock her in until the king arrives."
Once Anne had been led from the room, Royce turned back to his betrothed. No longer did he bother to hide his anger. He glared at the man behind her as he took several steps closer. "Unhand the lady."
The other man's hesitation almost undid the fury threatening to take control. The red haze clouding his vision cleared when the man did as ordered.
"What is going on here?"
Gillian lifted her chin. "I am clearing the room for you, my lord."
Her voice held the proper tone of respect, yet he detected resentment. He realized they had yet to be introduced, though she clearly realized who he was by now.
"And him?" He jerked his thumb in the other man's direction.
"This is Simon. One of my guards."
The explanation soothed him somewhat, but the affection in Simon's gaze unnerved him. There was more here than a lady and her guard. Or did he overreact to something innocent? Another situation that would require further inspection.
"You are no longer needed here. I can protect my betrothed."
The guard nodded and leaned down to whisper something into Gillian's ear. She nodded and gave him a warm smile before he turned and strode out of the room.
The envy poking his ribs startled Royce.
He shouldn't be jealous, he should be angry at the thought of his wife betraying him.
Before she was even his wife. The possessive feelings were uncomfortable, unfamiliar and most certainly unwanted.
He folded his arms. Despite his anger, he couldn't help being impressed with the way she held her head and back straight, never cowering away from him.
Few dared stand up to him this way. His respect for her strengthened.
"You will no longer need a personal guard once we are wed. I will assign him to other duties."
"Nay, you cannot!"
"Pray tell, my lady, why not?"
"Because... he is more than my guard. He has helped me with the household for a long time."
"You have a steward. You can work with him."
She shook her head, her lips pressed together in a tight line of panicked annoyance.
"'Tis not enough. I need Simon."
He said nothing, imagining all sorts of reasons why his betrothed would need another man. "We wed on the morrow."
She gaped at him, eyes wide. "But I thought we were to wait for the king."
He shook his head. "There is no time, now that your father is... has passed. Though 'tis true I own all of Lyndon, we cannot afford any weakness in the holding. You and I must seal the contract by wedding immediately."
"Have you spoken with Father Anselm yet?"
"Nay, I will see to it during the meal. Finish what you must and join me below stairs."
He turned and strode out of the room, not daring to look in her direction. She stirred things in him he wasn't sure he liked. At the same time, he wanted her, and didn't want to wait more than another night to possess her. His fascination with her could be dangerous if he didn't take care.
Yet, the image of her boldly watching while he subdued her stepmother tormented him.
He still didn't know what he saw in her eyes.
Curiosity or something else? She hadn't reacted to the attempt on her life like the vain, simpering women he knew at court, the women who wanted naught but the riches a man could bring them.
She had watched everything closely, not once screaming or swooning to the floor.
She showed no fear. Until her gaze met his.
A glimmer of satisfaction at alarming her still hovered in his thoughts.
The calculation in her eyes unnerved him.
He shouldn't be surprised; she was a woman, and could surely play the games of manipulation to her advantage.
The reasons why he wanted no wife reminded him to use caution.
Was he trapped to spend his life worrying whether she would turn away from him, longing for only the material possessions and position at court he would bring her?
***
Gillian collapsed onto the bed, her relief at being alone overpowering. She thought about her earlier hopes. They'd been granted. Somehow, those hopes seemed a cruel taunt now.
He'd handled Anne with no care for her comfort. Surely he wouldn't have done so if he'd known of her condition. Gillian's bitter laugh echoed in the chamber. Whether 'twas true or not, the man she was to marry wouldn't have cared at all. Like any other man.
They cared for naught but the alliance of a powerful marriage. The lands and authority 'twould bring. With the exception of her father, she'd yet to meet any man who cared for the woman he wed rather than her lands.
She would not be treated thus. She knew this keep as well as anyone, mayhap even better. No one could protect it as she could. She would show her husband she would not be a wife he could dismiss, perhaps even banishing her to a far estate, while he drove her people and her lands into ruin.
As much as he frightened her, she vowed not to allow him see her fear. The Panther would not take her down.
Still, questions taunted her. How would she survive marriage to such a brutal man?