“You are a baron?” My voice rang with accusation.
He hesitated and then glanced at Bennet as though seeking help in answering the question. Bennet only shook his head, clearly unwilling to answer for his brother.
Aldric lifted his shoulders and chin and stared back at me. “Yes, I’m Lord Windsor, Baron of Hampton.”
“Then why did you lead me to believe you were an untitled knight?”
Bennet’s gaze swung back and forth between the two of us, and he backed away. “I think I’ll go find my wife and allow the two of you some much needed time to talk.”
“Stay,” Aldric ordered in a low voice that made Bennet freeze.
“No,” I contradicted. “You may go.”
Bennet watched us another moment, attempted unsuccessfully to hold back a smile, and then backed away.
Aldric shot him a dark glare as he departed, and Bennet responded with an innocent shrug.
Once Bennet disappeared around the corner, I turned my full attention back upon Aldric.
“You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie,” Aldric responded. “I chose not to reveal my true identity to any of my men so that I could lead them more effectively. Only Lord Pitt was aware of my true status.”
I studied his face, the strong features, the intense expression, the deeply moving eyes. “You could have told me,” I finally replied, the hard edge of my tone softening.
He took a step closer. “Would it have made any difference?” His voice softened too.
“No.”
“I’ll give up my title if you’d prefer.” Another step closed the distance between us so that he was standing in front of me only a breath away. “It means nothing to me.”
I was aware of our close proximity, of the magnitude of his presence, of the broadness of his chest.
“You have proven yourself worthy of your title.” I suspected he’d renounced it along with his home as self-inflicted punishment for his past mistakes with Giselle. But he’d proven time and again that he would face his fears and be stronger for it. “You have learned from your past mistakes and now must stop punishing yourself for them as well.”
His keen eyes seemed to see right through me. For a long moment, he was silent as though contemplating the truth of my statement.
Then he surprised me by lifting his hand to my hair and brushing a long strand off my cheek and tucking it behind my ear. “How did you become so wise, my lady?”
At his merest touch, I melted. I couldn’t stay frustrated with him. Maybe he had withheld an important part of himself from me, but he hadn’t done so maliciously. Because he’d been bold enough to initiate contact with me, I reached up and let my fingers make a trail across his scratchy unshaven cheek.
At my stroke, his dark blue eyes turned a rich hue that somehow warmed me all the way through to a place deep in my soul.
“Have you brought me to your home, my lord?” I used his proper title, but it was a whisper almost as soft as a caress.
“Yes. We’re at Maidstone.” He lifted his other hand, started to reach for a strand of my hair on the opposite cheek, but then hovered just out of reach.
I nearly quivered with the need for him to touch me again. I wanted to lean in to his hand, but I waited breathless for his next move. “Am I your prisoner again?”
“Were you ever my prisoner?” He finally let his hand brush the strand of my hair. His fingers caressed the length of it before he tucked it behind my other ear.
The gentleness of his every move embodied who he was—a man of both tenderness and strength.
“If anyone has been a prisoner, it’s been me,” he said softly. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, you have held me captive.”
“Is that so?” My voice was winded with expectation, and delicious warmth pooled in my belly.
“You know it, my lady.” His hand slid from my hair to my neck.
I nearly gasped at the touch of his fingers upon my throat, against my wildly beating pulse. His hand spanned around to the back of my neck in an almost possessive manner, one that made my anticipation rise.
“You have my heart now,” he whispered. “And it shall be loyal to you forevermore.”
I couldn’t think to respond. So I said the first thing on my mind. “Then if you are mine, I command you to kiss—”
His lips descended upon mine before I could even finish my sentence. His hand positioned already at the back of my neck brought me against him firmly, letting me know that while I might command his heart, he was still very much in charge.
I lifted on my toes to meet his kiss. The danger of the past days, the knowledge that I’d almost lost him, the delight of being together again—the emotions swirled in a passionate dance as my lips moved against his.
The power of the connection overtook me, and my legs gave way. I broke from him with a gasp and nearly collapsed to the floor. He caught me, his brow furrowing.
“You have the power to weaken me, my lord,” I said in an attempt to make light of my weakness.
But he didn’t share my mirth. He swept me up, cradling me in his arms. Then he stalked back into the bedroom and crossed to the bed. He lowered me to the mattress and placed me upon it carefully like a cherished treasure. Then he straightened and glared down at me. “If you don’t stay in bed, I shall chain you there.”
I was breathless and my lips warm from his kiss. I could only stare up at him and smile. “I love you.”
If my words took him by surprise, he didn’t give it away. Instead, he lowered himself to one knee next to the bed and reached for my hand. “I would carry through with our betrothal, my lady, not out of obligation but out of my desire for you and none other.”
My heart pounded a resounding answer. “I would carry through with our betrothal, my lord, not because anyone has forced me to it but because I willingly desire to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Only then did he smile, a slow and devastating grin that lit his eyes and made him irresistibly handsome. His smile matched the joyous one that started in my heart and spread all throughout my body.
When he lifted my hand to his lips and brushed a soft kiss on my knuckles, I gave him my heart too. My loyal heart.
Chapter
26
We stood at the front of Maidstone’s chapel and recited our vows. I smiled up at the man who was now my husband. And I shuddered to imagine my life without him. I’d almost settled for a loveless marriage because I’d thought it would bring me untold gain.
What I hadn’t realized was that a loveless marriage to Lionel Lacy, the next Marquess of Clearwater, might have given me prestige and power and political advantage, but it would have left me empty in the things that really mattered: love, goodness, and integrity.
I’d gained all that and more in Aldric Windsor.
His fingers intertwined with mine as they had many times during the past week while I’d lain abed and he’d sat in the chair by my side recovering from his wounds. Although I’d desired more of his kisses, he’d kept a chaperone in the room with us at all times.
Lady Sabine had kept me company whenever Aldric was absent. I’d taken an immediate liking to the talkative young woman who surprised me with her wealth of knowledge about everything.
I’d also loved Aldric’s mother. She was as beautiful and fair and elegant as her sons were handsome. I could see that she’d been a doting mother and was thrilled that Aldric was back home and no longer grieving over Giselle. She’d confided in me how hard the past few years had been for Aldric and was immensely grateful he’d found me.