Page 15 of Bold Angel
“So you worry for Richard, but not for yourself.” He made a harsh sound in his throat. “Richard of Pembroke has sworn his allegiance to me. I did not believe him guilty. You are the one who accomplished the deed, the one who deserves to be punished. What would you have me do?”
“You… you’re asking me?”
One corner of his mouth curved up. “Should the punishment you choose not be fitting, you may be certain that I will choose another.”
Caryn chewed her bottom lip. A beating, she had expected, savagery and cruelty—certainly she had not expected this. “In the convent, the abbess made me scrub the floors with a twig.” She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “I had missed the Mass, you see. It was such a lovely day and—”
“’Tis clear what must have occurred. From what I have seen thus far, ’tis not your wont to follow orders.”
“I would not enjoy a beating, my lord.”
“No, I do not suppose that you would. Though you may not yet believe it, I would not enjoy giving you one.”
“Mayhap I could go for a time without sustenance. ’Twould be fitting, since the outlaws rob others of theirs.”
He shook his head. “I would see a little more meat on your bones. I like my women soft beneath me.”
Caryn flushed to the roots of her hair. She studied a crack between the boards in the floor. “I could work in the kitchens.”
“You will soon be my wife. I would not have it said I have married a scullery maid.”
Ignoring that unwelcome reminder, she started to suggest something else, but he raised his hand to stop her.
“You will remain in your chamber for the balance of the week, inside the keep for a fortnight.” She looked stricken. “Knowing you as I am beginning to, and considering you did not know the truth of the brigands, I believe the punishment severe enough for the crime.”
She glanced around at the drab gray walls, noticing for the first time how dreary the bedchamber was, the castle itself was in fact. “Sweet Jesu,” she grumbled, “I would rather have had the beating.”
Ral’s mouth twitched. “Mayhap you will think next time before you act. You are new here. Your punishment in this has been light, but I will not abide your disloyalty. Remember that, Caryn.” With that he strode from the room.
“Did you beat her?” Odo approached as Ral strode toward the dais. “’Tis a pity, since she is so small. I pray you did her no permanent damage.”
“She thought they were rebels. She has beensheltered these past three years. I have ordered her confined to her chamber.”
Odo’s mouth dropped open. “I was worried you might kill her. Instead you command her to stay in her room? ’Tis not like you, Ral.”
“’Tis not like me to injure a woman—particularly one who is yet no more than a child.”
“A child? Is that what you see when you look at her? I see a woman fully grown. I see a fiery little minx who needs a strong man’s guidance. What your Caryn needs is a good hard taking. Someone to ride her long and well and teach her her place. Should she not belong to you, I would be happy to see it done myself.”
Ral felt a prickle of anger he hadn’t expected. He and Odo had been friends these long years past. The man would not trespass, yet even the notion goaded Ral’s temper. “The woman belongs to me. I will see she learns to obey.”
“And I will take care not to trust her, just as you should do.”
Ral nodded. “You may be certain that I will.” He shrugged. “Once she is wedded and bedded, her loyalty will belong to me. Until then, she is still a Saxon. It is difficult to fault where her loyalties lay.”
Odo scoffed. “Methinks the girl has caught your fancy. I do not believe you would have spared Lynette the beating.”
“Lynette would have acted out of spite. Her concern is always for herself, her needs always selfish. She pleases me in bed or she would not be here.”
“Do not let the little one into your heart,mon ami.It is dangerous for a woman to wield that kind of power.”
Ral bristled. “You speak like a fool,” he snapped. “There is not a woman on earth who could tempt me to that. I have seen what harm can come of it. I have seen men driven to lengths no sane man would consider.”Ral thought of Stephen de Montreale and a talon of ice slid down his spine.
“I am certain you are right,” Odo said. But his eyes said his friend should beware, and Ral would well heed his warning.
***
“Do not fret so, my pet. Tomorrow you will be free to roam the hall.” Marta crossed the barren chamber to where her young charge sat fidgeting on the end of the bed.
