Claire Delacroix by My Ladys Champion

Author:My Ladys Champion [Champion, My Ladys]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-07-20T08:15:34+00:00

They rode in silence throughout the day, the entire party drawn into an uneasy quietude. The sun was delightfully overwarm for the season and the lack of wind made the ride one that might have been pleasant under other circumstances. The snow that had been thick when Melissande and her party had ridden to Tulley was left only in occasional drifts, the rest of the countryside muddy.

Even the hills around them seemed unusually quiet, as though the countryside took their mood, as well. The sound of trickling water carried to their ears from all sides, muffling the noise of any wild creatures that might be about. In some places, the puddles on the road were enormous, and elsewhere the road was soft from the melted snow.

At dusk, they crested a rise and Melissande wondered whether they should not be drawing close to Sayerne.

“There!” Quinn said with satisfaction. His voice sounded unnaturally loud after their quiet ride.

He glanced back to Melissande as the party halted and she knew she was being invited to look. She swallowed nervously, aware of every eye upon her, and urged her horse forward. She reined in beside Quinn, aware that this was the closest she had been to him all day.

She should endeavor to be the dutiful wife. After all, if Quinn decided to request an end to the marriage from Tulley, she could still lose Annossy.

“Isn’t Sayerne beautiful?” he asked with pride.

Melissande blinked and forced herself to look at the land arrayed before her. Even from here, she could see that the estate was in a shocking state of disrepair. The mud and puddles did the sight no favors.

She deliberately clamped her lips closed so that her expression of dismay could not burst forth. Melissande’s heart twisted at Quinn’s evident pride in the shambles his sire had seen fit to leave him. Her eyes danced professionally over the site.

The land had not been tilled in at least a year, for the winter-deadened remains of weeds were thick where crops or clear soil should have been. The fences were broken, the gates untended.

There were no fresh hoof prints or footprints in the mud and nothing moved in the village ahead. Sayerne was abandoned and she could not help but think that it was rightly so.

Melissande looked again, feeling Quinn waiting for her comment. She did not know whether any amount of work could bring this estate back to profitability again. And should Quinn endeavor to do so, Melissande was afraid he would burden Annossy so heavily with debt that even that estate would lose its solid financial footing.

It was certainly only fair to tell Quinn the truth. After all, he had little experience in such matters.

She cleared her throat carefully and flicked a glance to her spouse. His face was expectant, as a child awaiting approval. Melissande’s heart twisted that it was her approval he so obviously desired.

And she intended to tell him to walk away from Sayerne. It was beyond cruel that she should have to do this.

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