Loyal Heart by Anna Markland

Author:Anna Markland
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Medieval
Published: 2016-05-03T04:00:00+00:00

INEVITABLE TRUTH

Brandt saw the uncertainty on Sophia’s face as she stood nervously at the foot of the bed, and he knew. “You’ve spoken with your father.”

She nodded, picking at the linen with one finger, avoiding his gaze. “He thinks there is something you should tell me.”

He inhaled deeply. “He’s a perceptive man.”

She looked up then, anger flashing in the green eyes. “So you lied,” she spat, her lip trembling. “You don’t care for me.”

He leaned forward and held out a hand, the pain in his ribs nothing compared to the ache in his heart. “Don’t be angry with me, Sophia. Come, sit by my side.”

Pouting, she obeyed.

Still holding her hand, he intended to embark on the speech he’d rehearsed over and over. However, certain things had to be made clear first. “Look me in the eye.”

She lifted her indignant gaze.

“I am not a liar,” he said softly.

She frowned slightly.

“You can believe me when I tell you that if I wasn’t injured, you’d be lying beneath me in this bed, naked.” He studied her reddening face. Did she know what he meant? He decided to risk it. “And we’d be making sweet love.”

She pressed her lips together and tried to pull her hand from his, but he held on. “If I could pledge myself to you at this moment, Sophia von Wolfenberg, I would have no hesitation. You are the woman I want.”

He watched her struggle to understand what he had said. Soon her eyes widened, and filled with tears. “But you are betrothed to another,” she murmured.

He clenched his jaw. “Nein. However, there is a woman named Dorothea from Frankfurt. Our parents made an arrangement when we were children. We were supposed to sign the betrothal documents a few days ago, but Duke Conrad despatched me here.”

“Dorothea,” she whispered.

“Dorothea Rittenhuis,” he replied, praying she would understand.

She lay her free hand atop their joined ones. “Do you love her?”

He let out a long slow breath. “She isn’t what I would call lovable. She’s probably haranguing my father and the duke about the postponement.”

“She loves you if she wants so badly to be your wife.”

“Dorothea is in love with the idea of being gräfin.”

Sophia stared at their hands. “Perhaps she’ll be good at it.”

He snorted, then immediately wished he hadn’t when his ribs protested. “You will make a better countess, Sophia,” he rasped.

“Gräfin Rödermark?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye that caused a stir in his loins. But then he sobered. It was cruel to give her false hope. “There are other obstacles,” he reminded her. “Our families are on opposing sides in a conflict between powerful men. I am heir to my father’s title, an obligation I cannot abandon.”

She let go of his hand. “It’s your birthright. I would never expect you to turn your back on it.”

He clenched his jaw, his gut in knots. “And you must remain loyal to your family. I’ll be well enough to ride in a few days. Better we not see each other again.

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