Page 31 of The Rogue’s Embrace

There was an eerie silence as Diego led his men inside the central courtyard of Castle Villabona sometime later that afternoon. The last horse in the group had Wicker's body draped and tied over it.

Maria, who was seated behind her brother on his horse, sensed something terrible had happened.

Servants silently took a hold of the reins of the horse and Diego jumped down. He turned and lifted Maria, setting her onto the ground. She swayed unsteadily on her feet and accepted his arm as support.

I am home. But what have I come home to? Please lord let it not be bittersweet grief.

"There were times when I thought I would never see this place again,"

she whispered.

Diego blinked away tears. "As did we,"

he said, his voice breaking.

The peculiar hush followed them upstairs and into the main chamber. Where usually there was a host of servants and family gathered, there was just her father waiting.

At the sight of him, she dashed across the floor and into his embrace. Strong arms enveloped her and held on tight.

"My sweet daughter. Oh, Maria, I feared we had lost you," he said.

His hand stroked her hair as he rocked back and forth. From his lips came a prayer of thanks. "Gracias, Dios, por todas tus bendiciones. Gracias. Gracias."

She drew back, a sheen of tears blurring her vision. The worry of not knowing his daughter's fate was visibility etched in her father's face. He had aged years in the months since she had last seen him.

He smiled at her. "And to think we have the Duke of Tolosa to thank for your safe return."

Maria couldn't help herself any longer. "Where is Lisandro?"

His tepid smile grew wider. "Outside on the terrace with your mother. Last night, when we found out that you were still alive and close to home, she went to our private family chapel and took up an all-night vigil. It was the only place she felt she could go and stay away from Se?or Perez."

Diego came to her side. "Mamá was worried that if she saw him, she wouldn't be able to control herself. She was all for running him through with a sword."

"After Don de Aguirre revealed where you were, Perez went straight to the Englishman and told him. You should have seen his face when upon his return, the guards seized him and threw him into the same cell that the Duke of Tolosa had so recently vacated,"

said her father.

Maria held her hands together. Lisandro had been right. He had baited the trap, and the traitorous Perez had walked straight into it. "I still find it hard to believe that he would betray us. What will happen to him?"

"He will receive justice. I will ask for the Holy Hermandad to intercede on my behalf. They will interrogate Perez and then put him on trial. If King Ferdinand is indeed behind your abduction, he will surely distance himself from such a heinous crime. I expect Perez will see out the last of his days in Puerta de Toledo prison."

Her heart went out to her father. To discover that his long-serving faithful servant had turned against him and betrayed the Elizondo family must have been devastating. Se?or Perez had chosen money and power over loyalty.

She turned to Diego. For all his bravery, Diego still appeared badly shaken by what he had done. Taking the life of a man was no small matter.

"After what happened at the convent, perhaps you and Papá might need some time alone. I shall leave you and go to find Mamá."

Slow, purposeful steps marked her progress as Maria made her way out to the terrace. She wore a veneer of calm, but inside she was shaking.

The instant she stepped into the mid-afternoon sunshine and caught sight of her mother's beloved rose garden, long-suppressed emotions rose like a tidal wave and washed over her. With a keen born of heartache, Maria dropped to her knees, hugging herself tight. She wept unconsolably.

"Maria!"

There was a scurry of feet, and soon, arms enfolded her. Her senses were filled with the familiar scent of her mother's perfume. The notes of rose, orange blossom, and jasmine were all that she needed to finally know that she was truly home.

Home.

It took a long time to summon the strength to lift her head and gaze upon her mother's face. In those early dark days when she'd been in the hands of her kidnappers, the promise she had made to her mother had been Maria's rock. The thought of seeing her again had been her greatest source of hope.

"Mamá,"

she whispered, her voice breaking.

"Mi ni?a hermosa."

Maria smiled. She might be a grown woman, but to her mother she would always be her beautiful girl.

"You made a promise to come back to your family. That promise is now fulfilled,"

said Lisandro.

Maria glanced up as he came to stand beside them. Her barely abated tears quickly started again. "Yes, and you were the one who helped bring me home."

Miracles were something she had been raised to believe in, and now she had several of her own. She was home, back with her family. And the man she loved was here.

"Mamá, I see you have met Lisandro," she said.

Her mother nodded. "Yes. Though I still cannot believe that it was the Duke of Tolosa who went all the way to England to rescue you."

Lisandro held out a hand and helped the duchess to stand. He then took a step back and grinned at Maria. "Do you require my assistance or is this another one of those moments when you tell me that you have been leaping to your feet since you were a child?"

he teased.

Her mother's mouth opened on a small O, but Maria simply laughed.

"You are never going to allow me to forget that remark about the Andalusians, are you?"

She accepted his outstretched hand, then fell into his arms as soon as she was upright. He didn't protest when she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. The sooner her family understood the true nature of her and Lisandro's relationship the better.

To her mother's questioning look, she nodded. "I have agreed to marry Lisandro."

A red-faced Lisandro cleared his throat. "I hadn't quite got to that part yet. I'd thought it better to wait until you and Diego had returned before broaching the subject."

She gifted him with a second kiss, this time on the lips. Little more than an hour ago, she had seen a man die; and after all she had been through, Maria was determined that life was for living. She wasn't going to waste another minute waiting to begin a new one as Lisandro's wife.

The duchess clasped her hands together. On her lips sat a small smile, but her eyes glinted with joy. "Well then, Don de Aguirre, may I suggest you go and speak to my husband. Because if you plan to ask for our daughter's hand in marriage, you might want to first do something about putting an end to the feud between our families."

Maria and Lisandro exchanged a smile. Hand in hand, they followed the duchess back into the castle. It was time to settle the long-standing argument which had begun over a pair of goats.