Page 95 of Bold Angel
“Aye, my wayward little wife, what of Lord Ral?”
Caryn tensed at the sound of her husband’s deep voice coming from the open doorway.
“I-I… I am glad you are here, husband.” One black brow arched up. “You see, ’tis Richard’s fondest wish to marry Lady Ambra. I have told him you will help see it done.”
“Since when did you begin speaking for me?”
Caryn nervously moistened her lips. “I had hoped that you would be pleased, that you would be happy to see Richard wed. Will you help them?”
He surprised her by the faintest of smiles. “’Tis why I have come. I wished to discover if Richard’s intentions were those of an honorable sort.”
“Truly, my lord?”
“Aye.” He turned to his steward, his tunic swirling with the movement. “What say you, Richard? Is the lady to your liking?”
Richard looked even more uneasy. Then he squared his shoulders. “Aye, my lord.”
Ral surveyed him a long moment more, turned and said something to a man who stood behind him. The man nodded briefly and hurried away.
“I have ordered her brought here. We will see what the lady has to say.”
***
Ambra stood in front of Richard’s wide desk. “I think you have all gone completely insane!”
Richard’s hand shot out and caught her arm. He gave it a firm squeeze of warning. “You forget yourself, lady. These people are your friends. They wish only to see you safe.”
“I am sorry, Lord Ral. I did not mean to offend you. ’Tis only that…”
“That what?” Ral pressed. “That you would rathermarry Beltar? If that is the case, ’twill go far easier on the lot of us.”
“I wish to marry no man! I wish to be left on my own as I was before.”
Caryn approached where Ambra stood trembling, a film of tears glistening in her pretty green eyes. “I thought you cared for Richard,” she said. “There was warmth in your gaze whenever you looked at him.”
Ambra stiffened. “That was before I knew the way he felt. Now that I do, I would rather marry Beltar.”
Richard moved closer, his face drawn in tight lines of tension. “You are the one who has gone insane. Did you not tell me the man is an abuser of women? Can you not imagine what he would do to the woman who has caused him to look such a fool?”
Her bottom lip quivered. “I will not marry a man who does not want me.”
Richard swore softly. “What makes you think I do not want you? Even now it is all I can do to keep my hands off you.” As if to prove it, he gripped her shoulders. “Were you my wife, I would carry you into my chamber and make love to you for hours on end.”
“Richard!”
A blush stole over his skin, from his neck to the sandy brown hair above his forehead. “I am sorry. ’Tis only that you make me so angry. For a moment I forgot where we were.”
Ral chuckled softly. “Mayhap ’tis good that you did. What say you now, Lady Ambra? ’Tis obvious my seneschal would be more than pleased to wed you.”
He doesn’t love me,Ambra thought,but I love him. And I desire him just as he desires me.For the present, it would have to do. She looked Richard straight in the eye.
“I am not what you want; I probably never will be. Can you accept me as I am?”
He surveyed her feminine curves, evident even in theloose-fitting rose linen tunic she now wore. “Aye, that I can.”
“Then I will marry you.”
Ral smiled. “So be it. I will speak to Father Burton. Make yourselves ready. The sooner the deed is done, the safer your lady will be.”
