A Knight of Honor (48 page)

“I want nothing from you.
 
I want her,” Richard said dismissively.
 
He turned from Slane and began moving over Anna.

Slane’s hand shot out and grabbed Richard’s arm.
 
“I’ll give you my servitude.
 
I’ll give you my gold.
 
Just let her go.”

“Good Lord, Slane.
 
Get a hold of yourself,” Richard said, attempting to ease his arm free.

But for a long moment, Slane wouldn’t release Richard’s arm.
 
He held it in a tight grip as their gazes locked and clashed.
 
Finally, Slane released his hold.

“This isn’t like you, Slane,” Richard baited him.
 
“Don’t tell me you sullied my bride’s honor while you were supposed to be guarding her for me.”

Slane turned away from his brother.

“She’ll be a dutiful wife, I’m sure,” Richard went on.
 
“She’ll make a fine after-dinner morsel.
 
I’ll train her in the most vigorous of ways.
 
She’ll part those creamy thighs for me.
 
I’ll train her to open her mouth wide –”

Slane whirled on Richard, fury burning in his orbs.
 
He recognized the trap too late.

But Richard simply smiled.
 
“Guard well your lust, dear brother.
 
Willing or not, she is my betrothed.”

Slane’s anger refused to abate.
 
He tightened his fists until his nails bit into his palms.

Anna reached up to pull Richard against her.
 
Richard obliged willingly.

Slane turned and left the room, his fury irrational, his anger fierce.
 
He paced before Richard’s closed door for a long moment, trying to bring this tidal wave of anger under control.
 
Richard had no respect for the unique woman Taylor was.
 
He wanted a dutiful wife, a wife he could cheat on with every woman he could get his hands on while she waited patiently for him in his bedchamber.
 
Well, Taylor would wait for him all right, but it would be with a dagger.

Slane’s jaw clenched.
 
All for his damned dolphin and petty trinkets!

He wanted to cry out at the injustice of it all.
 
He wanted to beat Richard until he freed Taylor.
 
But mostly he wanted to return to Taylor and tell her of his success in talking Richard into freeing her.
 
But he couldn’t.

He leaned against the wall, agony spearing his body like a knife wound.
 
He couldn’t let Richard marry Taylor.
 
But how was he going to stop his brother?

***

Taylor sat forlornly in the dark room.
 
She hadn’t moved from the bed since Slane had left, her hands still clenched in her lap.
 
What a fool I’ve been, she thought for the hundredth time.
 
How could I have trusted him so completely?
 
All he wanted was to get me to Castle Donovan to marry his brother.

And he did anything and everything he could in order to do it.
 
Including making love to me.

Suddenly, the door opened.

Taylor lifted her head in time to see Elizabeth quietly close the door behind her.
 
She was holding a candelabra in her hand.
 
A fierce anger filled Taylor’s body at the sight of Slane’s betrothed.

“Get out,” Taylor snarled.

Elizabeth raised startled eyes to her.

Taylor’s back straightened.
 
“I said get out,” she repeated.

“I’m here to help you,” Elizabeth said, taking a tentative step into the dark room.

“To help me prepare for my marriage to Richard?” Taylor demanded, rising to her feet.
 
“I don’t want your help.”

“I can help you escape.”

Shock rocked Taylor.
 
Escape?
 
She tried to read Elizabeth’s eyes, but they were shadowed in flickering darkness.
 
A choked laugh escaped Taylor’s throat.
 
Another noble to trust.
 
Another noble to deceive her.
 
To lead her to her death.
 
“No, I don’t think so.
 
But thanks anyway.”

“You’re refusing my help to leave this castle?” Elizabeth wondered, aghast.

“I knew you were quick,” Taylor retorted.

Elizabeth raised the candelabra higher, illuminating the surprise on her face.
 
“Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought.”
 
She turned toward the door.

Taylor turned her back on Elizabeth to face the shuttered windows.
 
“You must love him very much.”
 
She was horrified that she had spoken the thought aloud.
 
She didn’t want to hear the answer.
 
She prayed Elizabeth hadn’t heard her.

But Elizabeth had.
 
“Yes, I do.
 
I love him very much.”

“How do you know?” Taylor couldn’t stop herself from asking.

There was a long moment of silence before Elizabeth spoke.
 
“He’s the first person I look for when I walk into a room.”

Taylor’s chest squeezed tight until she could barely breathe.

“His laughter brightens my day,” Elizabeth continued.

Taylor’s eyes stung with tears.

“A mere touch of his hand is heaven.”

Taylor stood rock still as her insides crumbled.
 
She heard the door open and close and knew Elizabeth had left.
 
But not before her words had destroyed her.

S
lane sat in the Great Hall for the remainder of the day, trying to figure out how to help Taylor.
 
But everything he thought of led to a dead end.
 
He thought of petitioning the king on her behalf.
 
But her father had willingly betrothed her, had signed and sealed the official document with his own hand.
 
Slane would stand no chance of winning that battle.
 
He thought of bringing Taylor a weapon and fighting their way out of the castle.
 
But the thought was ludicrous.
 
Innocent men would be killed.

Taylor’s tormented visage continued to materialize before his mind’s eye.
 
Her sagging shoulders, her dull green eyes.
 
He ran a hand through his hair and his own shoulders hung in defeat.
 
He had done it to her.
 
If only he had told her the truth!
 
If only he had given her the option of deciding for herself.
 
But he hadn’t.
 
He had imprisoned her just as surely as Richard was doing now.

“Slane?”

He lifted his head to find Elizabeth standing at his side.

“You look dreadful,” she whispered, bending to kneel at his side.
 
She touched his arm.
 
“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Slane eased his arm from her grip.
 
He began to shake his head, but then lifted his gaze to her thoughtfully.
 
Could she free Taylor? he wondered.

But then he thought of the guards Richard would have posted around Taylor.
 
And he knew there was even less chance of Elizabeth helping Taylor.
 
And he didn’t want her to.
 
He didn’t want to be indebted to her.
 
Slane shook his head.
 
“No.
 
There’s nothing you can do,” he admitted.

Slowly, Elizabeth rose before him.
 
“Very well,” she said.
 
“Will you join me for dinner?”

Slane lifted incredulous eyes to her.
 
Didn’t she hear him when he said he could not marry her?

Elizabeth shifted and glanced down at her folded hands.
 
“We can still be friends,” she said softly.

Slane wanted to kick himself.
 
She was a woman of incredible heart.
 
How could she forgive him after everything he had done to her, everything he had put her through?
 
He stood and took her hands in his.
 
“Of course we can be friends.
 
I would enjoy having dinner with you.” He smiled at her.
 
“Thank you for understanding.”

***

Halfway through the meal, Richard joined them.
 
Every muscle in Slane’s body tensed as his brother took the seat beside him.

“It’s good to see the two of you talking again,” Richard murmured to Slane.
 
“Perhaps there is hope yet”

“Elizabeth and I have come to an understanding,” Slane admitted.

But Richard didn’t hear him.
 
His eyes scanned the back of the room.
 
“Now where could my betrothed be?”

“Perhaps she finds your company... not to her liking,” Slane suggested.

Richard turned dark eyes to his brother.
 
“And pray tell, what do you mean?”

But before Slane could reply, a low murmur reached his ears.
 
It began in the back of the Great Hall and spread like fire.
 
Then the talking and laughter ceased abruptly as all eyes turned to the double doors.

Slane raised his gaze... and found himself breathless.

Taylor approached the head table, flanked by two guards.
 
But Slane didn’t even see the two guards.
 
He was entranced by the vision that Taylor presented in a shimmering deep green velvet dress that conformed to her breasts and hips like a second skin.
 
The dress flared out just below her hips to conceal the long, shapely legs Slane knew were hidden beneath.
 
Her luxurious black hair was combed into soft curls, which hung about her shoulders like dark clouds.

This woman wasn’t the Taylor he knew.
 
She had somehow been transformed into a lady.
 
A lady who would fit into Elizabeth’s world.
 
Doom settled in the deep recesses of Slane’s heart.
 
Had Richard extinguished her fire already?

Slane felt a pushing on his shoulder and realized a second later that it was Richard pushing him back into his seat.
 
Without his realizing it, he had somehow risen from his chair at the sight of Taylor.

“She’s stunning,” Richard murmured as Slane sat.
 
“I never could have imagined it.”

Slane turned burning eyes to Richard.
 
He didn’t like the tone in Richard’s voice.
 
Then he sank deeper into his seat, a hopeless feeling overwhelming him.
 
Richard was to be Taylor’s husband.
 
He had every right to desire her.