Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight by Jenni Fletcher

Author:Jenni Fletcher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-05-06T18:03:07+00:00

* * *

It was late by the time Constance was able to leave the table and retire upstairs. After her conversation with Alan there had been music and dancing, a welcome distraction though nothing that could make her forget what she’d just learned about her husband’s past.

Her husband. She could have laughed at the description. So much for honesty and respect, let alone friendship! She didn’t know him at all and she wasn’t sure what horrified her more, the fact that he’d been in love with someone else when they’d married or that it had been his own stepmother. Now that the initial shock had abated, however, helped along by several cupfuls of spiced wine, she just felt angry. That and a little unsteady, although it wasn’t until she pushed her chair back that she realised quite how much. The floor seemed to tip alarmingly to one side as she stood.

She stalked across to the stairwell anyway, concentrating hard on putting one foot in front of the other. All she wanted was to be alone to think and try to work out what Alan had told her meant for her marriage, but unfortunately Matthew seemed determined to accompany her upstairs.

‘Did you enjoy dinner?’ He opened the door to their chamber ahead of her, sounding ludicrously as if he were trying to make casual conversation.

‘It was bearable, thanks to your brother,’ she answered tersely, tearing her headdress away and hurling it over a coffer.

‘Yes, you seemed to enjoy his company.’

There was an edge to his voice and she whirled around belligerently, then had to grip a chair for support as the floorboards seemed to ripple beneath her feet.

‘Why shouldn’t I? At least he doesn’t drag me down stairwells and then refuse to explain why! He talks to me!’

‘Constance, I told you I’m sorry about this afternoon. It won’t happen again, I swear.’

‘Only you won’t explain it either.’ Not that it mattered any more, she added silently.

‘You’re right, I shouldn’t have walked out on you earlier. I should have explained.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘The truth is that somebody did fall from the roof. It was my stepmother Blanche, the one you asked me about. She fell right in front of my eyes. When I saw you up there today, it reminded me of that. It was a shock and I wasn’t thinking straight, but I was afraid you were in danger, too. I panicked.’

Constance peered closer at him. His expression was as stern as ever, but the look in his eyes was anguished, as if he were telling the truth, as if in the heat of the moment, he’d really been afraid that she’d been going to fall, too, and had genuinely been trying to protect her. Leaving her personal feelings aside for a moment, she almost felt sorry for him. It must have been terrible reliving something so awful. If it hadn’t been for everything else she’d recently learned, she might have been tempted to put her arms around him and offer comfort, but she wasn’t about to forgive quite so easily.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.