“How . . . sorry we will be to see you go,” Blanche said.
“It warms me to hear you say so,” Guy said.
Kassia heard the soft taunt in Blanche’s voice, and something else as well that she couldn’t define. She herself would miss Guy terribly, but of course, she could say nothing, especially in front of Graelam. Her one protector. She shuddered at the thought of the loneliness she would know.
“What ails you?” Graelam asked sharply.
She shook her head.
“Have you eaten?”
“Aye, my lord. If you will excuse me, there is much that needs my attention.”
He nodded, and watched her walk slowly from the hall, her head bent. She is thinking of Guy, he thought, his brow puckering into a frown. She continues to elude me, to treat me as if I were naught but a heavy burden to be borne. He turned and bestowed a wide smile upon Blanche.
The night was dark and mysterious as the depths of a woman, he thought. But still he waited until he knew she would be asleep. Quietly he eased open the door to her small chamber and peered inside. He could hear her gentle breathing and knew she was deep in sleep. A long candle was close to gutting on the small table beside her bed. So she had waited for him. He undressed quickly and leaned over to blow it out.
Blanche lay on her side, one leg drawn up to her chest, her face pillowed by her open hand. She is beautiful, he thought, able at last to make out her outline in the darkness.
He eased beside her, lifted her heavy hair, and began kissing her neck, his hands softly caressing down her back. Blanche stirred, stiffened at first, then smiled.
“I did not think you would come to me,” she murmured softly, parting her lips for his kiss.
“I told you that you would never sleep without me again,” he whispered.
Blanche frowned a moment. Her mind was clear of sleep now and there was no wine to tangle her thoughts. His voice sounded odd. A searing bolt of pleasure spread through her loins, and she sighed and gave herself over to him.
“Allow me to rise,” she said when he was done.
“Nay, love. You will go nowhere.”
“I must!”
He nibbled on her breast, a smile forming on his lips as he realized the reason for her urgency. “Nay, Blanche, my seed will spring to life in your beautiful belly. You will give me sons, many sons.”
She froze at the laughing taunt she heard in his soft voice. “But there is Evian,” she began, only to feel him pushing deeper inside her, holding her still.
She lay exhausted, and still he moved within her. Something wasn’t right, and it nagged at her. He seemed more lean than she remembered. She fell asleep even as her hand roved over his thigh, searching for the long, jagged scar.
Blanche eyed Kassia closely the next day, noting her pallor, the pinched look about her mouth. Graelam has told her, she thought, finally. “You do not look well, Kassia,” she said, staring down at the wan girl.
“I did not sleep well,” Kassia said, not looking at her.
“What you require is some exercise. Since it no longer matters, why do you not go riding?”
What no longer matters? Kassia wondered. She shook off Blanche’s question, and nodded. “Indeed, ’tis what I wish to do. All is ready for the duke.”
Still she hesitated, and Blanche said, “Graelam will not mind, I promise you. Mayhap this time you will not return.”
Kassia looked at her wearily. “You will never tell him the truth, will you?”
“The truth?” Blanche arched a beautifully plucked brow.
“What was his name, Blanche? Not Edmund, I think.”
“You surprise me,” Blanche said. “He is not a gentle man, at least by repute, yet he released you. Certainly it was not because of your womanly endowments.”
“Nay,” Kassia said flatly. “And he was gentle, and quite kind to me. What is his name, Blanche?”