Keeper of the Stone (26 page)

“I love you, Rhiann,” he whispered when he lifted his lips from hers.

She burst into tears.  “No Nathan you don’t have to say that.  I promise I will be more grown up about the way things are.  A marriage is a business proposition, right?  Isn’t that what you meant?  There should be no question of love.  I won’t….”

He kissed her again.  Apparently it was the only way he could get his wife to stop uttering such nonsense. “I love you, Rhiann.”  He repeated his declaration when he lifted his lips from hers again.

“You are not just saying that?”

He thought about lecturing her on questioning his solemn declaration, but he doubted his instruction would help his cause any.  “No, Rhiann.  I do not say things I don’t mean.”

“But Nathan, how can you love me? We have only been married such a short time.”

“And yet you claim to love me.”

She pushed forcefully against his chest.  “I do not claim to love you, Nathan.  I do love you.  How dare you imply I would lie about such a thing?”

He merely cocked one brow at her outrage and she sighed ruefully.  “I guess that is what I was doing.”

“Yes, you were.”

“But Nathan you already knew I loved you.  I told you before today.”

“And you think I would lie about my feelings for you because you were upset by what I told you?”

Rhiann considered her husband’s point for a moment, then felt the darkness lift from her heart.  “You wouldn’t lie.”

“No I wouldn’t.”

“You truly love me?”

“Yes. I truly love you, Rhiann.  How could I not?”

“What do you mean?  Are you in the habit of falling in love so easily?”

Nathan laughed at his wife’s pique.  “No wife.  I always assumed I was immune to the condition or that it was a fantasy wealthy men played to make themselves more acceptable to potential …ah...partners.”

He enjoyed watching his wife’s face heat up to a full blush.  “Really, Nathan that is not love.”

“Yes I know.  I have my wife to thank for instructing me in the difference.”

The hesitant glance she raised to his was filled with hope.  “Are you certain you understand the difference now?”

His grin flashed for a moment before his voice took on a serious tone. “You are in my thoughts constantly. I worry about your safety, your happiness, if you’re warm enough, if you’re eating enough, if you are pleased with your husband.  I would willingly lay down my life to keep you safe and would prefer death to a future without you.  Do you think I comprehend the subject clearly enough or do I require further instruction?”

Rhiann smiled at him through her tears.  “Oh Nathan.  I would rather die than live without you, too.  Promise me you will never leave me.  Tell me you will never stop loving me. ”

“I will never leave you, Rhiann.  I will love you until there is no longer breath in my body.”

She hugged him then, holding onto him as if she could pull him into her very heart and make them one.  He held her just as closely until after long moments it was Rhiann who finally pulled away. 
              “We have to go back, don’t we?”

He smiled at her forlorn question.  “I prefer the warmth of our bed to the damp ground, but if you would rather stay here I am certain it would not interfere with the exercise of my husbandly rights.”

Rhiann laughed at his suggestive declaration and gracefully rose from his lap.  The wind was picking up and blew the stray tendrils of her long hair around her face.  The bells woven through both their locks sounded in the breeze. 

“Do I have to be nice to her?”  She asked as he gained his feet and took her hand, striding over to where the two horses grazed.

“Not at all.  You are the daughter of a duke after all and the wife of a wealthy lord.  If it pleases you, there is no need for you to acknowledge her at all.”

His wife’s laughter erupted in true amusement. “Really Nathan I would never be deliberately rude.  Actually, I feel sorry for Lady Sara.  She almost had you for a husband.  I am sure her father will never find anyone as wonderful as you.”

He looked down at his wife to see if she was teasing him.  Her shining gaze was filled with sincerity.  It was a mystery to him how she could look upon him as if he was some hero in her eyes.  He was an ordinary man.  He did not believe he undervalued his worth, but he could not discern any reason for his wife’s love for him.  No matter her assertion to the contrary, he was convinced her father would not be happy at their union. 

For his own part he could only be grateful to his former enemy.  His lands were a booty of war.  Both men understood this.  His daughter, though, was a gift the duke protected all these years for him.  Rhiann was so untouched by the harsh realities of life.  Nathan knew he had the former duke to thank for that particular miracle.  He sent up a silent prayer of thanksgiving and a promise he would continue to protect his daughter with his life.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

They rode back to London in silence, each seemingly consumed with their own thoughts.  They parted with Arden before they reached the gates and Rhiann rode the rest of the way seated in front of her husband.  Nathan was aware of his wife’s rising tension as they approached his tents. She was holding herself so rigidly in front of him he might as well be holding a statue in his arms. 

“Rhiann.  There is absolutely no reason for your anxiety.  My family will likely stay only long enough to witness the king’s coronation and then return to Normandy.  If you wish, there is no reason for us to ever see them again.”

Rhiann turned in the saddle to lift aghast eyes to his face.  “Nathan, you cannot seriously mean to imply I would do anything to come between you and your family.  I want very much for them to like me, but I already have a black mark against me in their eyes and I cannot imagine how I am to overcome it.”

“A black mark?” Nathan did his best to hide his smile at his wife’s wording.  She certainly had a flair for the dramatic whenever she was upset.

“Yes, I stole you away from the woman they chose for you.  Surely they will blame me for the fact you are no longer able to honor your commitment to Lady Sara.”

“There was no commitment, Rhiann,” he reminded her with a drawn out sigh.

“Nevertheless Nathan.  I am not certain your family will agree.  I do not want them to hate me.”

“I cannot imagine it is possible for anyone to hate you, wife.  You seem to possess a knack for charming everyone you meet.  Look at the king and queen.  Matilda is your greatest champion and even William made me promise to treat you kindly before he agreed to our marriage.”

“He did?” Rhiann seemed stunned by Nathan’s disclosure.

“Yes wife, he did.  They are both very fond of you.  So your worries about my family’s feelings about you are clearly unfounded.”

“But perhaps they have already given their loyalty to Lady Sara.  Maybe your parents were already thinking of her as a daughter-in-law.”

Nathan laughed outright, making no attempt to spare his wife’s tender feelings.  At his wife’s doubtful glare he merely grinned down at her.  “Rhiann, I promise you are making too much of this.  My family is not like yours.  They would not have been devastated if I failed to return from the war the way you were over the loss of your family.”

Rhiann was clearly so shocked by his callous declaration she reached up with one hand to prevent any more of what she apparently considered his blasphemous assessment to pass through his lips.  His eyes laughed down into her stunned face.  “Nathan, you cannot be serious.  Your family must love you. They traveled all this way to congratulate you.”

Nathan removed her hand from his lips and briefly kissed her palm before relinquishing it.  “I have already explained their motives in making such a trip, wife.”

“Surely you must be mistaken, Nathan.”

“I think not.  If anyone is mistaken it is you.”  Before his wife could contradict his conclusion with her ridiculously naïve point of view, he added pointedly, “And since we are discussing my family and not yours, you must accept I am better acquainted with them than you are.”

Rhiann very reluctantly conceded his point.  “Fine, but I am still certain you are mistaken.”

He grinned down at her unwillingness to admit he might just possibly know his family better than she did, and then turned his attention to the direction of his tents. He was relieved to see only a single member of his family lingering near the entrance.  His youngest brother, Mark, was watching his approach with something akin to hero worship in his eyes, second only to the confusion Nathan glimpsed in his expression, no doubt due to the sight of the strange woman in his arms. 

His brother’s confusion revealed one of the answers to the questions circulating through Nathan’s thoughts.  Obviously Mark was not aware his older brother was already wed and he was quite unsuccessfully trying to hide his astonishment at seeing Rhiann sharing his mount.  Nathan was forced to stifle a grin at the way his brother’s blue eyes, so like his own, kept darting back and forth between Nathan’s face and where he held Rhiann closely against his chest. Rhiann was seemingly too distracted by her confusion over the apparent lack of affection within his family to notice his younger brother’s frantic attention.

When they approached his tents, Nathan’s squire rushed forward to take the reins from Nathan so he could dismount and assist Rhiann to the ground.  Nathan nodded to where Mark lingered near the entrance to his tent, obviously unsure whether it was appropriate for him to approach his brother while his attention was engaged by a woman other than the one his family assumed was about to become his wife. 

At Nathan’s gesture, Mark hesitantly took a step in their direction. Nathan looked him over.  The last time he saw his younger brother, Mark was a boy.  Now a young man not quite his wife’s age stood before him.  He bowed when he reached where Nathan and Rhiann stood, his face heating up with a blush as he met Rhiann’s glance.

Rhiann, noticing the boy’s embarrassment and his close resemblance to Nathan, lifted an inquiring glance to her husband’s face.

“Rhiann, this is my youngest brother, Mark.”  He turned to his brother and completed the introduction.  “Mark, this is my wife, Rhiann.”

Rhiann smiled warmly at the younger version of her husband and held out her hand to him.  Her lips twitched at the astonished expression Nathan’s brother was desperately trying to conceal from her and the meaningful little glances he kept casting in Nathan’s direction.  His eyes were wide with shock and his face was flushed.  He’d yet to recover from his surprise long enough to offer her his hand so she dropped the one she held out to him back to her side. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mark.”  She offered instead with all sincerity. Rhiann was the youngest in her family and she thought Mark might be even younger than she was.  She could tell he was trying desperately to pretend to be unaffected by Nathan’s stunning declaration and failing miserably.  She was barely able to suppress the urge to laugh at his predicament and bent her head to keep from giving voice to her amusement. 

Nathan, aware of his wife’s struggles and his brother’s astonishment, simply prompted.  “Have you no greeting for my wife, Mark?”

Rhiann glared at her husband for making his young brother even more uncomfortable.  Even now the poor boy was stumbling over his apologies to her.  “Yes, yes of course.  Lady Rhiann.  It is a pleasure to meet you as well.”

The introductions finally completed, Nathan turned to other matters. “Where is our father?”

Nathan found his companions’ reactions to his simple question comical.  He felt his wife stiffen by his side and his brother was back to casting desperate glances in his direction, while at the same time trying not to let Rhiann see his attempts to gain his brother’s attention.

“Our father?” Mark parroted blankly.

“Yes.  Our father.  Is he at the keep?”

“No, no. The keep is quite full.  He set up our tents on the hill to the east.” Mark motioned in the direction where there were now a number of tents set up to house the overflow of the arrivals from Normandy.

“Will you escort my wife to my quarters in the keep?  I will go and greet our father.”

Mark’s eyes widened in panic at his brother’s request.  “Yes, of course.  It will be my honor, but Nathan…” His voice trailed off.  He clearly was uncertain how to continue.

“We will speak later, Mark.  For now my wife is no doubt growing chilled in the cold air.  Please see her to my room.”  Rhiann noticed Nathan appeared to be taking great delight in referring to her as his wife with every breath, which only served to further distress his brother.

She sent her husband a chiding glance to stop teasing his brother then took the arm Mark proffered with a warm smile.

Nathan noticed Mark was back to blushing again.  He guessed he was so distracted earlier by his older brother’s revelation about already possessing a wife, he was only now getting a good look at his new sister-in-law and he was at the age in a young man’s life to be overwhelmed by Rhiann’s stunning beauty.

Rhiann attempted to carry on a conversation with her new brother-in-law on the way back to the keep but was only partially successful.  Mark seemed so distressed over discovering Nathan already had a wife, he was unable to answer her in more than monosyllabic responses.  They were both relieved when they reached Nathan’s rooms.  Mark greeted the guard who opened the door for Rhiann and then was apparently in such a hurry to catch up with his older brother, he forgot to properly take his leave of her.

Mark’s obvious anxiety over his family’s reaction to the news of Nathan’s marriage only made the intervening hours until dinner that much more untenable for Rhiann.  Visions danced through her head about Nathan’s family’s reaction to being introduced to her.  One unpleasant scene after another played itself out in her head until Rhiann was so exhausted she stretched out on their bed and fell asleep almost immediately. 

Later as they made their way to the great hall for the evening meal, Nathan led his reluctant wife along one tiny, frustrating step at a time.  He was aware of her intense anxiety but his reassurances there was nothing to concern herself with failed to have the desired calming effect.  He was at a loss to understand Rhiann’s reaction.  As far as he could see there was little cause for her to be anxious over the coming introduction.  She was the daughter of a duke after all.  If anything, it was his family who should be worried about the prospect of gaining her approval, not the other way around.