A Knight of Passion(20)

“How dare you?” She tried to twist free, but he tightened his fingers on her shoulders.

“The moment you rode through the gates of the prison, your life was forfeit.”

She gave a morbid laugh. “My life was forfeit the moment I entered Arundel.”

“Think,” he said. “I can protect you, dower your sister, even break down every brick of the prison to rescue Glen for you.”

She stared. “You are indeed mad if you expect me to believe this fantasy.”

“Is it so impossible to believe a man could want you?”

A rush of memory assaulted her—Stuart’s smile when he had asked for her hand in marriage, the gentle way his fingers caressed her sex that day in the field, his lingering kiss the day he had left. She choked back a sob.

“Riana.”

Sir Bryant’s face snapped into focus.

She pulled free of his hold. “You cannot prevail against the duchess.”

“Indeed?” The steel in his voice sent a chill down her back.

“How can you possibly wrest my sister from the duke?” Riana demanded.

“Once we are married, I will bring her under my protection.”

“My stepfather will never take her from the duke. Even if he did, the duke will already have f*cked her until she bleeds.” Her stomach roiled. “I will kill him first.” She realised her words and swung her gaze to the priest. “Save your admonitions, Father. I know my thoughts condemn me to hell. But I will not recant.”

A gentle smile moved across his face. “It takes courage to risk the fires of hell for someone you love. God does not abandon a courageous woman.”

“God cares nothing for courage.”

“Open your eyes,” Father Vaughn said. “Who else but God could orchestrate such a miracle?”

“Why do you think the duchess wanted me dead?”

Riana startled at the sound of Sir Dunbar's voice, and the question. She shrugged. “Either you offended her, or have something she wants.”

"She wants me dead so one of her favourites can seize control of my army. That alone would be worth murdering me. If he takes my land, the assassin may command his own price.”

Riana didn’t flinch from his gaze. They believed she had been going to truly murder him. And why not? They couldn’t know the truth.

“Yet she found an assassin who cost her not a single piece of silver,” she said.

To her surprise, his eyes softened. “I suspect the cost would have been greater than she expected.”

Riana blinked, unable to think of a response.

“My army and Sir Bryant’s are allied,” he went on. “To declare war on one is to declare war on the other. That is no small threat.”

Riana frowned. “You would battle the duke for me? Why?”

Sir Dunbar laughed. “Because it would please me to bring his wife to her knees.” He turned his grin on Sir Bryant. “I would pay half my gold to see that.”

Sir Bryant nodded, then said to Riana, “I will not let the duke harm Siusan.” He surprised her with a grin she felt clear to her toes, and added, “It would not be the first battle waged over a woman.”

Riana couldn’t prevent a hoarse laugh, but the amusement was gone as quickly as it had come. “We may already be too late.”

“The duchess is no fool,” he said. “She will not make a move until she is sure of the outcome. But we cannot delay.”

He was right. Time had run out. The duchess knew that Riana wasn’t the malleable servant she’d thought her to be just a few hours ago. Her life was forfeit—and Siusan would now take her place. Riana’s pulse skipped a beat. Was there a chance they might escape this fate?

Warmth flushed through her at memory of Sir Bryant’s hands on her as he eased his cock into her channel, his moist mouth on her nipples, his sure finger inside her slick heat. She knew what sort of lover he was. What sort of husband would he be?

She locked gazes with him. “If you fail to rescue my sister, I will kill the duke and you will be wed to a murderess.”

“If I fail, I will kill the duke.” He pulled her to his side and faced the priest. “Be quick about it, Father. There is no time to waste.”

For the second time in her life, Riana stood in front of a chapel and pledged her body and goods to a man. Her stomach did a somersault when she agreed to be loyal to him and him alone. The possibility of giving her body to only one man for the rest of her life was a dream she hadn’t dared allow herself to contemplate.