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Chapter Five

I n the morning, it rained so much that Sian had no choice but to wait and hope the weather would clear in the afternoon.

It did, but then there was another unexpected delay.

As her horse was being readied for her, her father and younger siblings arrived with their retinue of men-at-arms. Suddenly, there could be no question of leaving.

“Sian!” Seren and Rhys threw themselves into her arms at the same time while Gwenllian hugged Jane and their parents exchanged a passionate kiss.

“I’ve missed you, my love,” she heard her father murmur in her mother’s ear.

“It’s been little over a week, you know.”

“I know. An eternity.”

“Yes. An eternity. I’ve missed you too.”

Sian’s heart constricted. Growing up with such parents, how could she not aspire to have her own happy marriage someday?

Christopher, who had not known love and security as a child, was understandably in no hurry to wed.

But she, who had seen how fulfilled a loving union could make a person, could not wait.

“Is everything all right here?” Connor asked, straightening up to look around.

“Yes,” Esyllt answered. “Come. You must all be in need of a drink.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a boisterous reunion.

Though they had been apart for only ten days, there seemed to be a number of things the members of the family wanted to tell one another.

Looking around the table where more than a dozen people were chattering happily, Sian did her best not to picture Christopher at Throckmorton, staring at an empty hall, a glass of ale in his hand, alone, as always.

Did he even have a dog to keep him company?

She gave the puppy settled on her lap a rub behind the ears and sighed.

It was high time he had the family he craved, the family she wanted to give him.

Shortly after the sweetmeats had been consumed, their father pretexted his fatigue from the travel to retire to his bed early.

She and Jane exchanged an amused glance when their mother followed him without a word of apology.

Who were they trying to fool? Riding in the company of children would have taxed Connor as much as lacing his shoes did.

He was not tired; he simply wanted the warmth of his wife’s arms, and who could blame him?

The next morning, shortly after dawn, Sian set off for Throckmorton. Heavy clouds threatened, but she did not let that deter her. She would not be denied a conversation with Christopher a second time.

As she drew close to the castle, she saw a familiar shape in the distance.

Christopher on Warrior. He was trotting back home, looking as relaxed as always.

For a moment, she enjoyed watching him move as one with his horse, then she waved her arm to signal her presence.

As she was wearing white, it didn’t take him long to spot her.

In the next heartbeat, he launched his mount into a full gallop to reach her.

A moment later, he was by her side.

“Little Lamb. What brings you here?”

Angel was tall for a mare and Warrior had been bred more for strength than height, which meant that, for once, she was able to look Christopher in the eye. It made the encounter more thrilling—and even more daunting.

“I …”

“Is aught amiss?” Christopher asked when Sian’s words dried on her lips.

She had gone the color of her cream dress, a most unusual attitude for her, and worry spiked through him.

She had never come to see him before, which was no wonder, as they barely knew one another.

So why was she here? Was she in trouble? “Please, tell me how I can help.”

“I came to say … Well, I just wanted to say that I believe you. About Elsie. About you n-not being the father of her child, I mean …” She was stammering dreadfully, something that was quite unusual for her, and from pale a moment ago, her cheeks had gone a bright shade of pink.

“Even if no one else believes you, I do. If you say you cannot be the babe’s father, then you are not, and that’s all there is to it. ”

For a long moment, Christopher simply stared at her.

This declaration would have been unexpected had it not come from her.

But by now, he knew the little Welsh woman was capable of the most surprising reactions.

And … undeniably, her support was welcome.

All the more so because she had every reason to doubt him, as she knew he had bedded the maid last summer.

He had told her as much himself. Christopher’s insides roiled at the thought.

Dear God, had he really boasted to her about having left Elsie to recover from his lovemaking alone in the hay?

Yes, he had, because it had amused him to shock Perfect Little Jane Hunter’s sister, who he had assumed to be a proper, na?ve, predictable lady. Was it any wonder people thought him the worst kind of rogue when he behaved in that way? No, it was not.

And yet little Sian had come all the way to Throckmorton, presumably behind her family’s back, to tell him she did not believe him to be as callous as to abandon a child he had fathered.

She could not know he always took care to spill outside his lover’s body, and she had no reason to trust his word that he had not bedded the maid in over a year, but, despite all that, she believed him.

Her trust touched him.

“Thank you.” To hide the extent of his emotion, he nudged Warrior into a walk. “You believing me means a lot. People are not usually prepared to give me the benefit of the doubt.”

It had never been an issue before. He was used to dealing with people’s indifference or contempt. He had never, however, been considered an honorable man who had been wronged and could feel hurt as a consequence.

“Is it any wonder people distrust you when you behave the way you do?”

Well, damn him if the little lamb wasn’t blunt under all her feminine loveliness.

She had dared call him out on his behavior.

He was amazed and delighted in equal measure.

“No. Perhaps not. But I’ll tell you a secret.

The ‘way I behave,’ as you call it, is only an unfortunate consequence of my family’s neglect.

Had I been raised in a more loving home, I think I would have ended up a very different man. ”

“How do you mean?”

“I told you that, growing up, no one paid attention to me.” She nodded, unusually earnest. He could see that the notion if him being neglected bothered her.

“Well, once I was old enough to do something about their indifference, I made sure the people I met noticed me. Being quiet and unassuming is not the way to do it, though there are some notable exceptions.”

Would she guess he was talking about her?

He wasn’t sure, but in her own quiet, unassuming way, the little lamb was the most intriguing person he’d ever met.

Admittedly, if what she had told him was true, he had not noticed her the first two times they had spoken, but he’d soon rectified the mistake, so much so that he was starting to wonder if he was not a little bit obsessed with her.

What was certain was that he spent more time thinking about her than all his other acquaintances combined.

The frown on her face cleared up, as if she’d just understood something. “And when you saw women were taking an interest in you, you could not resist the temptation of seducing them because you felt you had been seen at last.”

She sounded relieved to hear there had been a reason other than lust for his going from conquest to conquest. Christopher could have been his usual shocking self and pointed out that he was like any young man, in need of physical release and keen to get pleasure in women’s arms, but she was right.

He was not governed only by his urges. What he could not resist was the notion that he’d been seen, been noticed—and wanted.

“I suppose.”

“It is lucky you grew up to be so tall and handsome, then. It would have been a lot more difficult to be noticed otherwise.”

A smile tugged at his lips. Did she realize what she had just said? Perhaps not. She was just being her usual honest self.

“You think me handsome, Little Lamb?” That was good to know.

So far, she had seemed interested in what he had to say, and it had been a welcome change.

But he could not deny he liked to hear she was not immune to his charm.

Christopher was not such a worthy man that he did not have a penchant for vanity, and he knew he was better-looking than most. It was time she had noticed.

“Of course. I would be mad not to think so.” The flush on her cheeks was highly becoming.

“Oh, you’re anything but mad. We both know that.”

With those words, he jumped down from the saddle and went to her. To his delight, Sian obeyed his silent command to lean into him so he could lift her off her horse. His hands closed about her waist, and her scent wrapped around him. A moment later, she was in his arms.

“So tell me,” he said, keeping her close, with her toes barely touching the ground.

He was enjoying their closeness a little too much, if truth be told.

But how could he not? The feel of her petite body so tight against his was surprisingly erotic.

Usually, when he got so close to a woman, it was because he was about to make love to her.

This time, it was different. It would lead nowhere, so he was able to enjoy the intimate embrace for what it was, as he knew it was all he would be allowed to have.

“What would you like me to tell you?” Sian’s voice was hoarse. He guessed that she’d rarely, if ever, been held so intimately, and she’d just told him she thought him handsome. It thrilled him to be the first man to unsettle her so.

“I know you like my mismatched eyes.” Of all things, she liked the one aspect of him that was not perfect. It seemed very significant somehow. “What else do you like about me?”