He looked into Catriona's eyes and stated what now seemed obvious. "Through all this farce of his will, Seamus had only one true aim: to ensure your continued safety."
"Hmm." She frowned, then grimaced and looked away.
When she said no more, Richard ruthlessly pressed his point. "By making it widely known he was your guardian, Seamus drew all the approaches to him, leaving you undisturbed. But Jamie is no Seamus-he won't be able to deflect those three from then goal. While Seamus was alive, you were shielded-now he's gone, it'll be open season-on you, and your vale."
She glanced at the letters. "I didn't realize. I didn't know."
"You do know." She looked up; Richard tucked the letters hack in his pocket and trapped her gaze. "You said it the night before last. You need me. You may choose not to acknowledge it consciously but you do know it. You may not accept it but that doesn't alter the reality."
Her eyes flared spitting gold sparks. "You are not my keeper!"
He looked down at her he couldn't help his growl. "Where you're concerned, it the cap fits, I'll wear it."
She glared at him-he gave not an inch. Slowly, her glare faded-she frowned as she studied his eyes.
He studied hers. "Why did you come to my bed?"
Her eyes locked with his, Catriona drew a deep breath. He'd been totally honest-totally open-with her. "Because The Lady willed it."
For one long instant, he stared into her eyes, then his brow rose. "Your Lady told you to come to my bed?"
"Yes." Briefly she explained.
Richard heard her out in silence. In genuine surprise. He'd expected the answer to be loneliness-something he understood, something he'd instinctively recognized in her. Divine intervention was a little harder to assimilate. As was the possessive lust that roared through him at the thought of her heavy with his child.
He was not at all sure how he felt about her reason, but the opportunity was too good not to seize.
"In that case"-he straightened away from the book case-there's obviously no impediment to our marriage on your side."
She frowned at him. "Why do you imagine that?"
Brows high, he met her gaze. "Children. The Lady told you I was to father your children." She stared at him blankly, he elaborated: "Children. Plural. More than one."
She blinked, then her features blanked completely.
"It's a little hard to imagine how you could have a brood of children by me, without the benefit of marriage."
"Twins." She refocused abruptly on his face. "There's twins in your family-Amanda and Amelia."
Richard shook his head. "Their father's a twin, and their mother has twin brothers. Not at all the same as us."
"But…" Catriona stared at him. "The Lady made no mention of marriage."
"The gods don't have such ceremonies-marriage is an institution created by man."
"But…" She'd run out of buts.
He sensed it; he studied her, then said, his voice lower, less forceful-more beguiling: "I meant what I said before-that, if we marry, I won't interfere with your role." He searched her eyes, then his gaze steadied. "I swear always to support you in your position, to defer to you as lady of the vale."
He meant it; it was there in his eyes-a promise of fealty only a warrior could make-and then only to his queen Catriona felt her will swaying, bending… she was losing the battle to remain beyond his reach. And losing it on far too many fronts. More than one part of her mind was urging her to rethink-to accept all he offered.
As perhaps The Lady had intended her to.
Her head, mind and senses were whirling. With an effort, she regrouped-looked down and forced herself to strip aside all the complications of his motives and hers. And get to the heart of the matter.
After a quiet moment, she raised her head and looked him in the eye. "You're not going to let me go, are you?"
He looked straight at her-through blue, blue eyes. "No." She considered him. His face hardened. His gaze locked with hers, he softly added. "And you might like to ponder the fact that if you refuse me and bear my child, I'll have an unassailable legal right to that child."