Gavin followed her gaze, twisting to look behind him, and saw Tricky and Clem entwined in a passionate embrace. He returned to his own love and gave her a rueful smile. "I beg your forgiveness, my lady. . . for doubting the prediction of your maid-it appears that she will have her way and her man. "
He looked at her closely and saw, again, the bruises on her face and the streaks of blood dried on her cheek, and realized what she must have experienced at the hands of the madman. The pace of his heart picked up speed, and a shudder rushed through him. "Madelyne, my love. . . . can you forgive me for letting this happen?"
She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Gavin, love, please do not speak of apologies to me any longer. You have a penchant for speaking them much too oft! Save them for when you neglect the anniversary of our wedding or forget to bring me a new herbal plant when you travel to London. . . But for now, just kiss me. "
Epilogue
A lone knight approached the ivy-covered walls of Lock Rose Abbey.
Dismounting from his horse, he raised a mailed fist to pull on the bell rope, remembering the day over a decade before when he'd done the same. The low, rolling sound of the tolling bell rumbled through the abbey, reverberating through the silent forest.
Moments later, the robed figure of an old woman, stooped and slow, approached the gate. "Yes?"
"I bring word to Anne de Belgrume that her husband is dead. "
There was a pause, then the gate swung open silently, belying its age and the rust-colored bars. "You may wait here. "
He took a seat on the bench in the center of a rose garden, after tying his mount to an oak tree.
When Anne de Belgrume stepped into his line of vision moments later, his heart stopped. She was as beautiful as he remembered-moreso, for the years had been gentle with her. He still could not believe that she was alive. . . having heard the story of her death when Madelyne went to court.
"Anne. " He rose and reached his hands out toward her.
"Seton?" Gladness overwhelmed her voice and she rushed toward him.
Nothing had ever felt so good as when he folded her into his arms, heedless of the chain mail that that pressed into her. "Anne. . . oh, my beautiful one. . . I did not know if I'd ever hold you thus again. "
She pulled back to look up at him. "Is Fantin truly dead? Am I free?"
He nodded. "Aye, struck down by the husband of your daughter. Our daughter. " He looked closely at her. "You did not tell her. "
"Nay. I did not wish to burden her with that knowledge. Mayhap 'twas wrong, but I believed if Fantin should have learned it, he would have killed her. At the least, if he believed she was his daughter, he wouldn't harm her. " She reached to touch his face, and the warmth of her hand stopped his heart.
"Aye. Our child. . . wed with a good man, safe now from your husband. . . and you are set free from this. . . sanctuary. . . should you wish to leave. " His words were a question that he'd waited a lifetime to have answered.
"Leave? With you?" Anne breathed. "Aye, Seton. Always. Forever. "
Read on for a sneak peek of Colleen Gleason's A Whisper of Rosemary,
featuring Bernard's brother Dirick and Lady Maris of Langumont. . .
Lord Merle nodded at his guest, then turned to his daughter. "Maris, will you not show Sir Dirick where the men-at-arms lay their pallets? And any other comforts he may need. "
Maris stood reluctantly, dismay by her father's innocent command. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Sir Dirick. She'd felt his attention returning to her again and again during the evening, and had been unable to ignore the interest in his stare. Try as she might, she'd been unable to keep her mouth closed and her mind on her food-as her mother had admonished her many a time. Nay, if the man was to wed her, he'd know from the beginning that she had her own thoughts and opinions, and an interest in the world beyond Langumont's walls.
"Of course, Papa," she said in a voice that disguised her discomfort.
Obviously, Sir Dirick did not miss her mislike of the situation, for as soon as Merle and Allegra were out of earshot, he said, "Lady Maris, I am perfectly able to find my own pallet. "
"Nay, 'tis my father's wish. I should not put a guest out," she smiled at him, swallowing the resentment she felt for being pressed into a marriage she did not want. In all honesty, it was not this man's fault-and he seemed pleasant enough now that he was not ahorse. "Have you bathed?"
"Nay," he shook his head, surprise flashing in his gray-blue eyes.
"May I offer you a warm bath before I direct you to your pallet?" she asked. "Gustave will bring the water. I won't take long, and you will soon be for bed. "
"You?" Those eyes turned on her with a sudden intensity, and he looked at her for a moment, a very faint smile hovering at the corners of his mouth.
Maris's throat went dry and she nearly stepped away from him and the unexpected stirrings in her middle. The sudden image of this man, devoid of his chausses and tunic, settled into a tub that would hardly fit his large body, filled her mind. His dark hair, which now curled wildly about his face and jaw, would be sleek and dripping, his broad shoulders bare and steam rising from dark skin-