Runaway Lady, Conquering Lord by Carol Townend

Author:Carol Townend [Townend, Carol]
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Romance & Sagas, Historical romance
ISBN: 9780263868159
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon, Limited
Published: 2009-12-15T01:32:02.671000+00:00

Chapter Ten

Something warm and soft was nuzzling Richard awake.

‘Emma.’ Richard’s lips curved, he reached out…. and got an armful of hound and a wet tongue in his eyes.

With a grunt, he sat up and rubbed his face. No Emma, not a trace. The dawn light fell on his cloak. It looked as though the entire garrison had trampled it into the hay. There was Roland, his grey ears twitching over the top of his stall. There was no lantern on the hook; she must have taken it with her.

‘Run off, did she, boy?’ It was only to be expected. That shyness, Richard was certain, was genuine.

Guilt rushed at him, sobering as a pail of cold water.

What had he done? He had bedded Lady Emma of Fulford as though…Lord, this had not been his intention. He had suspected she found their arrangement awkward, embarrassing, but he had decided that a little temporary embarrassment on her part was a small price to pay if it got her out of Winchester and clear of whatever was haunting her. Once they reached Beaumont, Richard had fully intended releasing her from their supposed arrangement. But now…

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Rising, he shook out his cloak with a frown. He had treated her badly and must somehow make amends. Although…his lips formed a smile, she had not seemed to object. Quite the contrary….

His brow cleared. And he had slept last night—how he had slept! He glanced at the indentation their bodies had left in the straw. Lying with Emma of Fulford had given him the soundest night’s sleep in months. If only he could keep her…surely the nightmares would leave him? No, he must be realistic. The reality was that he could not keep her. There was his cousin’s obligation to Lady Aude, which he might have to honour, whatever he might say. Hell. He wanted to keep Emma, he wanted her to be his mistress in truth.

Richard nodded as he caught the eye of a sleepy stable-boy as they crossed on the threshold. ‘Bonjour.’

The boy flattened himself against the door frame. ‘Bonjour, M’sieur Le Comte.’

The yard was lost behind grey swirls—a sea fret. The air was damp with it.

Yes, the best cure for his nightmares would surely be to go on sleeping with Emma of Fulford. Somehow he must arrange it.

And Adam and Cecily? How will you explain it to them?

He would find a way. He had to keep Emma of Fulford. Only the next time they slept together, he would make sure they were in a proper bed. He wanted that rare thing in this world, privacy with a woman. Asa could look after the boy while he and Emma…What did she look like naked? His loins ached.

Lord. Grimacing, Richard adjusted his chausses. The sooner he found a decent bed, the better. She wouldn’t be running away from him so quickly next time, if he had to tie her down to keep her in place.

Emma was in the habit of running away, it seemed. She had run away from marriage with Adam Wymark in 1066.

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