He touched her cheek with a fingertip. “What have I done, my lady? Tell me what is amiss.”
“I am astonished that you are here. I expect the guards were instructed to injure you on sight, if not worse.”
“Which was why I remained out of sight.” He kissed her again, lingering over the pleasure.
“How did you get through the gates?”
“Secured in an empty wine cask, hidden amidst the full ones that were being delivered.”
Admiration lit her dark gaze. “But why did you come?”
“To ensure that you were safe and well.”
“But I sent you away.” She shook her head and continued in a heated whisper before he could speak. “I should not have done as much, but my father…”
“Instructed you to do as much, and you obeyed him.”
Isabella sighed. “I thought that if I ceded to him, then he would listen to me. When he was in a temper, he saw every refusal as a criticism.” Amaury waited, sensing that she had more to confess. “He said we could not be wed, not with Denis dead. Mallory suggested that the match could be annulled, but wearewed.” She seized a fistful of his borrowed tabard and shook it. “We are well and truly wed, sworn to each other before God and other witnesses, even if they would deny as much.”
“We are,” Amaury agreed.
“I told him there could be no annulment, as the match is consummated, and he insisted I send you away. I hoped he would listen later, but once you were gone, he said I would be sent to the convent. He meant to cast me away.”
Amaury studied her, wondering how badly she wished to avoid the convent. She had said she had no desire for it – but would she have poisoned her own father to evade that fate? He wished he knew for certain.
“I am sorry I followed his instruction. I am sorry that I sent you away.” Her gaze searched his own. “But how could you have known as much?”
“There was an ostler who speculated on your father’s plans when Philip tended your horse. Philip was adamant that I should not have left you behind, and once he told me what he knew, I had to return. I remembered your confession that you had no desire for the convent.”
“Nay, I would be wedded and have children, and live in the world, not sequestered away.”
“And I can only see that your desire is fulfilled,” he said lightly. “It is my solemn duty.”
Isabella did not smile. “But why?”
“Surely a man owes such consideration to his lady wife?”
“Does he? I have seldom seen a lady granted consideration.”
Amaury leaned closer, letting his gaze bore into hers. “I vow to you, Isabella, that if it is within my power to grant your desire, whatever that desire might be, I will do it.”
Her smile was slow to dawn and all the more wondrous for that. “You mean that vow.”
“I mean all vows that I make. Why else would I swear to them?”
She winced. “To see to your own advantage, of course. I have witnessed it a hundred times.”
Any suspicions Amaury held that his lady had not been treated with honor in her father’s house were confirmed in that moment, in the weariness of her tone and the sadness in her eyes. He touched his lips to hers and entwined their fingers, bracing his weight over her so that their hearts beat against each other. “Put an end to such expectations,” he whispered. “We shall rely each upon the other and build a match that is the envy of all.”
She smiled then pushed him to his back, biting back a laugh at his surprise. They rolled together across the mattress, kissing and conjuring the heat between them, the passion that Amaury was already coming to rely upon.
It was not just the passion that filled him with satisfaction, to be sure. More dawned between them, a trust and a reliance that promised a bright future indeed.
CHAPTER 14
How many ways could a couple make love? Isabella could have sworn that each time was a novelty, a different mood or tempo, and yet at the same time, with each interval of lovemaking, she felt that she knew Amaury a little better than before. Each coupling was a seductive blend of the unexpected and the familiar, and she was impatient to know how much more there was to learn.
On this night, they had been quick and furtive, passionate but quiet. Isabella had drawn the drapes around the bed to muffle any sounds they might make and the darkness had been surprisingly exciting. There had been something thrilling about swallowing the sounds of each other’s pleasure, of fearing discovery from the chamber on one side or the other of the solar. Twice, a sentry paced his way along the corridor and at the sound of his footfalls, they fell silent, Isabella even holding her breath until the sentry had moved on. The keep seemed quieter than ever, as if someone sensed that there was revelry afoot and listened keenly.