The Rose Red Bride JK2 (45 page)
“Tell us who you flee and why,” Isabella said, always one unafraid of such details.
The woman paused, seemingly tempted. “How do I know that I can trust you?”
“Who else can you trust?” Madeline asked. “You have not so much as a steed, let alone a maid, to accompany you. I would wager that you cannot run much farther than you already have. I would further wager that you are in peril. We offer aid to you.”
The woman’s strength seemed to falter then, and she looked at the stone floor. Madeline stretched a consoling hand toward her, but then the stranger straightened and tossed back her hood.
She spoke with a regal resolve. “My tale is not that uncommon. My father wed me to a man of his choice, a man far far older than myself. When I was widowed some years later, my father wed me to another man.”
“Who also died,” Vivienne said, guessing the next part of the story as she was inclined to do.
“But not before my father himself died. I have no other kin than my husband’s family: my mother died long ago and neither of my husbands granted me a child.”
“Surely your dowry once again becomes your own?” Isabella asked.
The woman’s smile was wry. “Surely not.” Something flashed in her eyes then, a determination that was greater than any fear, and Madeline guessed that the woman did not like her husband’s kin. Her dislike must have been potent for her to abandon her dowry.
“It has long been said that a woman weds once for duty and once for love,” Vivienne said. “To be wed twice for duty is beyond expectation.”
“And against my every desire!” the woman said, her eyes flashing. “I have done all that I can to avoid such a fate. I have left my old abode with only the garb upon my back, I have abandoned what should be my own, but it is not sufficient for them. They pursue me, like hounds at the hunt. Indeed, I dare not confess the name of that holding to any soul lest they find me again.” Her lips tightened with a quiver that rent Madeline’s heart.
“You have need of protection, not further flight,” Madeline said.
“Who would be so fool as to protect me?”
“A new husband would defend you,” Vivienne said.
“One of your own choice!” Elizabeth interjected.
“Impossible.” The woman shook her head. “I am sorry. I should not have burdened you with my woes.”
“But where will you go?” Elizabeth asked.
“As far as I must,” she said, and gathered her cloak about herself as she hastened down the aisle. “I dare not linger here longer. Only as far as Kinfairlie,” she whispered, almost to herself. “They will be fast behind me.” She drew up her hood and reached for the handle upon the heavy wood door.
“We cannot let her go,” Madeline said and her sisters nodded agreement. “She will never flee further than they can follow.”
“Surely her fears are overwrought,” Vivienne said. “Her husband’s kin might have threatened her, and they might even follow her, but as soon as she wed another man, they would abandon the chase. It would not be reasonable to do otherwise, especially if they already hold her dowry.”
“Doubtless she has had little chance to muster her thoughts,” Madeline mused, feeling sympathy for the woman. “I wonder when last she ate a meal.”
“Or slept, without fearing that her avaricious kin would pounce upon her in the night.” Vivienne shivered at the prospect.
“She has need of a stalwart defender,” Elizabeth said with gusto. “Like a valiant knight in an old tale, one who will vanquish all of her enemies.”
“It will be a rare and honorable man who takes her cause,” Annelise agreed.
“It will be a bold man, unafraid to face any foe to see his lady’s safety assured,” Elizabeth said, her love of tales evident. “He will slaughter dragons for her, and send evil flying from the gates!”
“There are no dragons to be bested,” Isabella said wryly. “Only greedy kin.”
Madeline exchanged a smile with Vivienne as an idea apparently came to them both of one accord. “Hmmm,” Madeline mused. “A brave knight, unwed but in possession of his inheritance so entitled to wed.”
“A man with a reputation for ensuring justice is served,” Vivienne said as her smile broadened.
“A man who would court the lady’s favor, and treat her with the honor she is due,” Annelise contributed, as she clearly discerned Madeline’s thoughts.
“Would it not be perfect if we knew such a man?” Madeline said.
“Especially if the nuptial vows of such a man would ensure that his debt against his own sisters is paid in full?” Vivienne said.
Elizabeth began to laugh, though Isabella still appeared to be confused.
“Alexander found husbands for us when we had no desire of them,” Madeline explained. “I say we return the favor, and aid this beleaguered noblewoman at the same time.”
“It would serve Alexander well to taste his own dish,” Elizabeth said with some heat. “Though I think her too fine for him.”
“The lady herself must agree,” Vivienne said, ignoring this. Elizabeth had become quite vexed with Alexander of late, and was increasingly inclined to voice her unflattering opinion of him.
“Lady!” Madeline cried and the sisters gave chase as one. “Stay your flight!”
They burst out of the chapel in pursuit. The woman paused in the bailey, the fresh snow as high as her ankles. She glanced back, as if afraid to hope that any soul might assist her.
“My brother, Laird of Kinfairlie, has need of a bride,” Madeline said. The sisters surrounded the woman once again, their eyes alight with the perfection of their scheme.
“He is a man of honor,” Vivienne said, “and one who will see you protected. He is not so hard upon the eyes, and can be charming.”
“He is a bit mischievous,” Isabella felt obliged to warn the woman.
“But he takes his responsibilities most seriously and serves Kinfairlie well as its laird,” Annelise said.
“But you cannot expect him to wed me. You scarce know me and he does not know me at all.”
“Marriages are arranged all the time,” Vivienne said with a smile and Elizabeth laughed. The woman looked between them, not understanding the reference. Vivienne stepped forward and looped her arm through the other woman’s elbow. “Come and look upon him. If he meets with your favor and wedding him seems to you a suitable scheme...”
Madeline took the woman’s other arm. “Then you may rely upon us to arrange the details.”
“There will be guests aplenty in the hall this night,” Vivienne said. “No one will note another, and if you decide against this course, you can travel onward on the morrow.”
The stranger nodded at this plan, but Madeline was not fooled by her apparent reserve. There was new vigor in her step, just for having a choice, and Madeline knew that Alexander would be at his amiable best this night. Her brother might try to delay his duty to wed, he might even protest the sisters’ interference, but once this beauty was in his bed, once he had a child to bounce upon his own knee, he would thank her and Vivienne for their aid in finding him such a bride.
Madeline was certain of it.
* * *
Bestselling author Claire Delacroix sold her first romance novel in 1992 – that medieval romance,
The Romance of the Rose
, was published by Harlequin Historicals in 1993. Since then, she has published more than forty romance novels and numerous novellas.
The Beauty
by Claire Delacroix, part of her successful Bride Quest series, was her first novel to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. In 2009, she was the writer in residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time they have hosted a residency focused on the romance genre.
Claire has also written time travels and contemporary romances as Claire Cross. She currently writes the
Dragonfire
series of contemporary paranormal romances which feature dragon shape shifter heroes, as well as a linked paranormal YA series called
The Dragon Diaries
. Both dragon series are published under the name Deborah Cooke.
In May 2012, Claire will return to Ravensmuir and Kinfairlie with the release of a new Scottish medieval romance.
The Renegade’s Heart
is the first in a new series called The True Love Brides, and features Isabella’s quest for love and happiness.
Learn more about Claire’s books at her websites:
She posts most weekdays on her blog, Alive & Knitting, at
www.delacroix.net/blog
You can also subscribe to her monthly reader newsletter on YahooGroups, called “Chestwick”:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chestwick/
Catch the latest news and reviews on her Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/AuthorClaireDelacroix
* * *
Books by Claire Delacroix
Time Travels:
ONCE UPON A KISS
THE LAST HIGHLANDER
LOVE POTION #9
THE MOONSTONE
Medieval Romances:
ROMANCE OF THE ROSE
HONEYED LIES
UNICORN BRIDE
THE SORCERESS
ROARKE’S FOLLY
PEARL BEYOND PRICE
THE MAGICIAN’S QUEST
UNICORN VENGEANCE
MY LADY’S CHAMPION
ENCHANTED
MY LADY’S DESIRE
The Bride Quest:
THE PRINCESS
THE DAMSEL
THE HEIRESS
THE COUNTESS
THE BEAUTY
THE TEMPTRESS
The Rogues of Ravensmuir:
THE ROGUE
THE SCOUNDREL
THE WARRIOR
The Jewels of Kinfairlie:
THE BEAUTY BRIDE
THE ROSE RED BRIDE
THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE
“The Ballad of Rosamunde”
The True Love Brides
THE RENEGADE’S HEART
Apocalyptic Romances:
The Prometheus Project:
FALLEN
GUARDIAN
REBEL
* * *
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