Knight of Passion (16 page)

“Your Highness, what is this I hear about you and Owen? I begged you to be cau—”

“Sometimes I despair of you,” Queen Katherine said, rolling her eyes heavenward. “No wasting time with ‘How do you fare, Your
Highness?’ Or, ‘Lovely gown you are wearing today, Your Grace.’ ”

“I am sorry,” Linnet said, knowing the chastisement was just. She often forgot to observe the niceties expected in noble society.
“You do look exquisite today, but I am anxious for you to tell me I’ve no cause to worry.”

“No need to fret,” Queen Katherine said with a sparkle in her eyes. “For ’tis too late for it to do any good.”

“Too late?” Linnet asked, panic rising in her throat. “What can you mean?”

The queen leaned close and whispered next to Linnet’s ear, “I’ve already gone to bed with him.” When Linnet tried to lean
back to stare at her, the queen pulled her close again. “And it was
wonderful
.”

Linnet felt her eyes go wide. Good heavens, what was
she to advise the queen now? “Your Highness, I understand how… overpowering… that can be. It can cloud one’s thinking.”

That was the honest truth.

“I suffer no confusion,” the queen said, smiling at her. “You are infatuated,” Linnet said. “ ’Tis a passing fancy. Nothing
that merits taking a great risk.”

“I am so happy, my dear,” the queen said, taking Linnet’s hands again and squeezing them. “Please try to be pleased for me.”

Heaven help her, this could not be worse. Clearly, her friend could not see sense just now.

“Enjoy him for a time if it pleases you,” Linnet said. “But I beg you, keep it quiet. No one must hear of this.”

“Come, what do you think I have done?” the queen asked with a laugh. “Sent messengers to the four corners of the kingdom to
proclaim the news?”

“If you insist on proceeding with this… this…”—Linnet wanted to say “foolishness,” but thought better of it—“affair, then
it must be done in secret. Your ladies and I can arrange clandestine meetings, if you wish. But you absolutely must not spend
hours behind closed doors with Owen when the entire castle knows he is alone in there with you.”

“Why must I hide my feelings?” her friend said, her eyes growing sad. “I only want what every woman wants.”

Could the queen be thinking of a serious alliance here? An affair with one of her underlings would stir unwanted troubles,
but marriage was utterly impossible.

“Perhaps someday you shall have all you want,” Linnet
said, because this was the only hope she could truthfully give her friend. “But it cannot be now.”

“How long must I wait?” the queen demanded. “When will the men who keep my son judge him old enough that a man who pays court
to me is not a threat to their influence? Can you tell me, Linnet? Will it be ten years? Fifteen?”

What had happened to the meek princess who always did what was expected of her? This woman who leaned forward with her hands
on her hips and anger sparking in her eyes was not the same.

“I cannot give him up,” Queen Katherine said, her voice firm. “I will not.”

“I see,” Linnet said, though she was not certain she did. “If you are set on continuing this dangerous affair, then at least
let me give you herbs to help prevent a pregnancy.”

“But my dear,” the queen said with a soft smile. “I want a child.”

Linnet fell back a step and reached behind her for a chair.

“In sooth, I hope Owen and I will have many children,” the queen said with a faraway look in her eyes.

“Then I shall pray for you, Your Highness.” The fear rising in Linnet’s chest made her voice come out low and choked. “I shall
pray night and day, for the path you are choosing is a perilous one.”

“It is a path I will not walk alone.”

Linnet swallowed. “Tell me. Is Owen worth the risk you are taking?”

The queen met her eyes. “I love him,” she said, as if that answered all.

“But you were married to King Henry. You loved him, did you not?”

“Aye, but in a different way,” Queen Katherine said with a sigh. “Like everyone, I was in awe of him. Henry was a great man,
a king for the ages.”

Linnet had adored King Henry, who was like a king from tales of old. Owen was not a bad sort, but next to King Henry, he seemed
so… ordinary.

“With Henry, everything came before me,” the queen said. “He was always off fighting or occupied with affairs of state. But
Owen wants only to be with me and make me happy.”

“How long can he make you happy?” Linnet asked. “If Gloucester or the council find out, there is no telling what they will
do.”

“They cannot do worse to me than my own mother did in the years of my father’s madness,” the queen said. “She cared more for
her spoiled dogs than for us children.”

It was easy to forget that this delicate French princess had suffered a difficult childhood.

“While she entertained her lovers with lavish feasts on the other side of Paris,” the queen said, her voice bitter, “we nearly
starved because she could not be bothered to pay for our upkeep.”

“I beg your pardon, Your Grace.” Linnet took her friend’s arm and led her to sit on the bench by the windows.

“I will not give him up,” the queen said again.

Her friend seemed to have found her strength at last. “All I ask is that you be cautious,” Linnet said, taking the queen’s
hand in both of hers. “You do understand you must keep your affections a secret?”

After a moment, her friend nodded.

“As you are set on this course, I will do what I can to help you.”

“Thank you,” the queen said. “I hope someday you will understand that true love is worth any risk.”

“Is it worth losing all you hold dear?” Linnet asked, her voice strained. “Your very life?”

“You are braver than I am in so many ways, my friend.” The queen touched her fingers to Linnet’s cheek and gave her a patient
smile. “But you are a coward when it comes to love.”

“H
ave you spoken to Owen again?” Linnet asked.

“Aye.” Jamie kicked a stone out of the path. “And he is every bit as unreasonable as the queen.”

A gust of wind blew cold and damp across the river. Linnet shivered and tightened her hold on Jamie’s arm. Each afternoon,
they walked this path along the Thames where they could speak without risk of being overheard. No one else came out strolling
in this chilly weather.

“I have begged the queen to be discreet,” Linnet said, “but she is poor at hiding her feelings.”

“I am certain no one notices but you,” Jamie said. “Owen’s lowly status is a blessing, for who would believe the queen would
have an affair with her clerk of the wardrobe?”

Linnet rubbed her forehead against a threatening headache. “Until the queen tires of him or comes to her senses, we must help
them keep their affair a secret. I’ve let the queen use my cloak to pretend she is me when she goes to meet him, and—”

Jamie jerked her to a halt and whirled her around to face him. “Linnet, you cannot do this. I forbid it.”

“You forbid it?” she said, arching an eyebrow. “Surely, you did not say that.”

“Listen to me,” he said, fixing eyes as hard as sapphires on her. “You owe the queen your good counsel, and you have given
her that. But you cannot do more. You cannot help her with this deception.”

“Why not?”

“ ’Tis far too dangerous.” He pressed his fingers into her arms. “Can you not see? If their affair becomes known, it will
look as if you promoted it. The council will want to avoid blaming the king’s mother for flouting their will, but they will
be happy to blame you—a foreigner—for encouraging her misdeeds.”

“Let go of me,” she said, but she did not argue.

She had learned through painful experience that she and Jamie held different views on what loyalty required. Discussing this
further would change neither one’s mind. The queen needed her help, and she would give it.

“Don’t be angry with me.” He caught her hand and raised it to his lips. “You know I am right.”

“Ha!” Still, it was hard to stay annoyed with Jamie when he was only trying to protect her—and harder still when he was gazing
at her with that hungry look in his eyes.

“Come,” he said, tugging on her hand. “Let us find somewhere we can be alone and forget about those two for a while.”

She could no more resist him than swim against a strong current. “Do you have a place in mind?”

“I do,” he said with a glint in his eyes that sent a tingle all the way to her toes.

In the fortnight since their return from London, they
had made love in the buttery, the wine cellar, empty storerooms, and even the woods—a feat in late November. She would have
met him in his bedchamber, but Jamie did not want her being seen going and coming from his room. He worried far more than
she did about her reputation.

“I have claimed an empty guestchamber for our use.” He held up a long iron key. “I stole this from the steward’s key ring.”

She laughed. “How did you manage that?”

“I shall never tell, but I expect I’ve committed an offense against the Crown.” He pulled her against him. “For such a risk,
I expect to be rewarded.”

“You shall, I promise,” she said, smiling back at him. He dropped his arms and stepped away from her, as if suddenly recalling
they were within sight of the castle.

“I don’t care who sees us,” she said. “I have no virtue to be ‘tarnished.’ ”

“Don’t speak that way.” Jamie looked past her, his jaw set and his expression grim.

She put her hand on his arm and waited until his gaze returned to her face. “I am glad you found a place for us. Tell me where
it is, and I shall meet you there now.”

When he said nothing, she said, “Please, Jamie.”

Her stomach fluttered as his eyes went dark.

“Aye,” he said, “ ’tis past time I had you in a proper bed again.”

They returned to the castle together, bid each other good-bye in front of several people outside the hall, and then made their
way to the appointed guestchamber by different routes. Following Jamie’s directions, Linnet skirted the Round Tower and entered
the wing across from the royal apartments.

Her steps echoed as she hurried up the stairs to the second floor. At Christmas, this part of the palace would be filled with
guests, but it was empty now.

She hoped the somber mood that had settled over Jamie by the river would not return before she reached the chamber. As soon
as she tapped on the door, though, he pulled her into the room and kissed her with a fierceness that left no doubt of his
passion for her.

How she wanted him! Every moment she was away from him, she ached for him. She leaned her head against the back of the door
and closed her eyes as he pressed hot, wet kisses down her throat.

Strong hands roamed over her body, squeezing, stroking, as his mouth moved along the edge of her bodice.

Then his mouth was on hers, all hunger and want. He pressed his hard shaft against her, making her throb with need between
her legs. When he cupped her bottom and lifted her, she had to tear her mouth away from his because she could not breathe.
He bit her shoulder as he gripped her hips and held her against him.

How could it be like this every time? This mindless, aching need that took over every part of her—every thought, every hope—was
a mystery she could not explain. For five years, she had felt nothing, needed no one. Now, all Jamie had to do was walk into
a room and the pent-up desire of their years apart could knock her to her knees.

“Do you want me?” he asked, his breath hot in her ear. “Oh, aye.” She tried to speak the words but was not sure if she said
them aloud.

He set her on her feet and held her face in his hands. Looking at her with eyes burning like blue fire, he said, “You do not
want me as I want you.”

“I do,” she confessed. “More.”

She heard the ping of buttons popping and hitting the floor as he wrenched her gown open and pulled the bodice below her breasts.
When he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his hips. She clutched his hair in her hands and let her head fall back
as he cupped her breasts and pressed his face between them.

Aye, aye, touch me, touch me.
Sensations ripped through her as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and fingers and planted hot, wet kisses along her
breastbone.

She pulled at her skirts. There were layers and layers of cloth between them. She wanted him now. Right now, inside her.

She tried to speak. “Jamie, I want…”

“Wait,” he said, his voice low and fierce against her ear. “I shall have you in a bed this time.”

She kept her legs wrapped around him as he carried her to the bed.

In a strained voice, he said, “I have not seen you fully naked since we returned from London. I want to. I need to.”

She nodded and released her legs.

“Is this a favorite gown?”

No sooner did she shake her head than he rent her gown in two, top to bottom, with his dagger. The burst of cool air felt
good on her burning skin. He pulled the shreds of the gown off her, and she was naked.

He stood still a moment, his eyes raking over every inch of her. Then he closed the distance between them; his mouth was on
hers, and his hand between her legs.
Aye, aye.
How she needed him.

His tunic felt rough against her breasts. She pulled her mouth away to say, “Your clothes, too.”

He threw the bedclothes back with one hand as he lifted her onto the bed. Before getting in beside her, he shed his own clothes.
How did men undress so quickly? The thought flitted through her mind and was gone before he climbed up the steps of the high
bed. That and every other thought left her as he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

“God in heaven, how I want you, Jamie Rayburn,” she said.

In an instant, his mouth was on hers, and she felt the warmth of his skin against her, head to toe. Their tongues moved against
each other in deep, hungry kisses. His hand was on her breast, and she moaned into his mouth as he took the nipple between
his thumb and finger. When she tore her mouth away, he lowered himself to play with her other nipple with his tongue. She
pounded the bed with her fist because it wasn’t enough.