It had been Aaron that had saved her life that day, but in the deep recesses of her mind Anna could not help blaming him and Keira for all that had happened. After all, it was Keira’s rejection of Edmund that had made him focus on Anna. And surely Aaron should have realized her predicament sooner. If he had, she would not have suffered as much. And not just Aaron and Keira. Perhaps if Father had spoken more forcefully against Edmund, once he realized Edmund’s true character, events would have played out differently.
But it was Mother’s actions that hurt the most. Long before he set his sights on Anna, Edmund had attacked Keira, but Mother had clung to the belief that the son of her dead friend was a man worth defending, even when it meant denying her own daughter. Perhaps if Mother had stood by Keira, Edmund would not have persisted in his belief that she belonged to him. And Mother still did not know how evil Edmund truly was. Father had chosen to protect her by keeping her in ignorance of the terrible events that had affected Anna so deeply, and so she knew nothing about Edmund’s plan to kill her daughter. Father knew Mother would be devastated that the son of her closest friend could have done such terrible things. Edmund’s mother had died years earlier, but as she lay on her death bed, Mary had begged Mother to watch over her boys. Anna guessed that if Mother admitted Edmund’s true character, she would feel that she had failed her friend. Her thoughts returned to the attack, and she shivered slightly. Anna could still remember the feeling of helplessness she had felt when Edmund had taken her; the surety that she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. She never wanted to feel that helpless again. Never wanted to find herself at the mercy of a man again.
Anna clenched her teeth, grinding them together in annoyance at where her thoughts were leading her. All this reflective thinking was making her miserable once more, and Anna was sick and tired of feeling miserable. She wanted to leave all of this behind her, but where could she go? She knew she could never go back to life in her little village. She had outgrown it, somehow. The girls she had grown up with seemed silly and immature now, thinking only about boys, marriage, and children.
If she was honest with herself, Anna had to admit that in unguarded moments she wondered what it would be like to be in love. To have a man love you the way Aaron loved Keira. But then she would remember how the actions of a man had made her suffer so much, and she would push the thoughts away. There was no point chasing after a rainbow that only promised an illusion of happiness. She would never be able to trust a man enough to spend the rest of her life with him. She would rather remain a spinster forever. When she had told Keira, her sister was horrified.
“But Anna,” she had remonstrated, “you cannot measure the behavior of all men against that of Edmund. His actions were not the norm, and he received his just desserts for his behavior.”
“Are you so sure?” Anna had retorted. “What about Widower Brown? Some say he murdered his last wife, although I’m not sure how he managed that since he is barely ever sober. And Gwyn’s father beats her mother.”
“Yes, but look at Father,” Keira pointed out. “He has never raised an angry hand to Mother, and Aaron would never hurt me.”
“Two, Keira!” Anna had shot back. “You can only name two worthy men! And Aaron doesn’t count! So one man. That is hardly a glowing recommendation!”
“There are plenty of others, Anna,” Keira had argued, but Anna remained unconvinced.
“Maybe there are, Keira, but I would prefer not to risk my future happiness on that chance.”
Anna shivered again as a slight breeze ruffled her hair. Although it was still early afternoon, the sun was already dropping towards the western horizon, giving way in defeat to the long winter night that followed closely on its heels. Her toes were starting to feel numb through the thick fur-lined boots that wrapped around her feet, and she wiggled them against their confines to get the blood moving once again. Pushing herself up from the bench, she retraced her footsteps, the light glowing in the windows of the castle a beacon that promised a warm fire to chase away the chill.
Chapter 4
It was a clear winter’s day one week later when Keira left the confines of Storbrook, venturing past the castle walls into the snowy landscape beyond. She had convinced Anna to join her as she went in search of boughs of greenery to decorate the castle for the coming season of Christmastide. They were accompanied by Garrick, Cook’s nephew, who lived at Storbrook, helping around in the yard or stable as needed. At sixteen he was a tall lad, but the lack of weight on his gangly frame reminded Keira of an ungainly colt. His sandy hair was cropped short, while his nose and cheeks were scattered with freckles. He didn’t say much, but he had a quick and easy smile that crinkled his blue eyes at the corners.
Garrick walked apace with the two women, guiding the large, bad-tempered mule that pulled a small sleigh behind it. Keira noticed that Garrick often glanced their way, his eyes falling on Anna as she trudged through the snow which reached almost to their knees, sometimes spilling over the tops of their boots as they hitched up their skirts.
They had entered the forest when a flash of red caught Keira’s eye, and she pushed aside some branches to see crimson berries, their color bright against the virgin snow on the ground. Waxy leaves of green protected the berries with sharp thorns, and edging closer through the deep drifts, Keira leaned forward to grab the branch. A tall tree stood sentinel over the holly, its thick branches laden with snow, and as she pushed past a branch that stood between her and her goal, the snow slipped off the needles and landed on Keira’s head, covering her neck and shoulders as it slid beneath the neckline of her gown. She shrieked, jerking around in sudden shock, causing more snow to dislodge and fall over her, where it settled around her legs. Anna let out a whoop of laughter, stumbling backwards when Keira narrowed her eyes. Garrick turned away, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter, as Keira gathered a handful of snow, and pressing it into a ball, threw it at her sister.
The snow splatted against Anna’s chest as Keira lobbed another snowball, this time hitting the unsuspecting Garrick squarely between the shoulders. Keira laughed and he spun around, staring at her in shock; but when another scoop of snow from Keira splattered over his face, he gathered a handful of the white powder, bent on revenge. Laughter rang through the forest as snow sparkled in the air like fairy dust, covering the three players in a fine sprinkling of white that quickly melted into small droplets of water against their hair and cheeks, until finally Keira held her hands up in surrender.
“Stop,” she gasped, “enough.” Another ball of snow thumped her on the shoulder, and she sank to the ground, laughing, and the other two quickly followed suit. A shadow passed overhead, and Keira glanced up to see the form of a dragon high in the sky. As it circled around them, Keira squinted into the sunlight to try and make out the color, but the creature was silhouetted against the light, and she finally gave up the attempt. Her attention was called back to her companions when Anna’s voice broke the silence.
“Careful, you fool! You’re going to do me an injury!”
Keira looked up to see Garrick glaring at Anna, a pair of shears in his hand.
“You shouldn’t have moved,” he said.
“And you should have been more careful!” she retorted.
“Children, please,” Keira said, holding up her hands, grinning when they both turned to glare at her. Garrick quickly dropped his gaze to the ground with a mumbled apology, but Anna continued to glare at her sister for another moment, finally turning away in a half-hearted huff.
“Garrick, can you cut that pine branch?” Keira said, pointing to the once snow laden bough. “And also some branches of holly.” She directed Garrick to the branches and stems she deemed suitable for her purposes, with Anna soon joining in as she added her own opinion on which specimens were the best, and by the time they were done, the sleigh was a jumble of greenery, with crimson berries breaking the sea of green.
“Perfect!” Keira said, surveying Garrick�
��s handiwork, before turning to her sister. Anna’s cheeks were red from cold and laughter, and strands of hair that had worked loose from her braids framed her face. Her eyes were sparkling, and it occurred to Keira that she had not seen her young sister so happy in a long time. She linked her arm into Anna’s, and turned in the direction of Storbrook.
“Are you going to help me decorate?” she asked.
“Definitely not!” Anna replied. “I’m going to go find a warm fire and thaw out my toes.”
“Come on,” Keira coaxed, “it will be fun. You will start to feel warmer as soon as we are back inside.”
“In that heap of stone? The only place that is warm is directly before a fire!”
“I’ll send for a nice, warm cup of mulled wine,” Keira promised.
Anna sighed. “Fine,” she said, “but it better be warm. And one cup might not be enough!”
The three were shivering by the time they reached the gates of Storbrook, their clothes stiff with cold.
“Go change into something warmer,” Keira said to Anna, “and I’ll meet you in the solar.”
Anna nodded as Keira turned to Garrick, instructing him to carry the branches to the hall.
“Yes, Mistress.” Garrick nodded and turned away, leading the mule across the courtyard.
Keira pulled her cloak closer around her as she headed for the doors that led to the low hall, quickly crossing the floor and mounting the stairs that led to the top of the castle and the chambers she shared with her husband. She could hear voices as she passed the second landing, and remembering the dragon she had seen flying overhead, she hurried on, anxious to remove her damp clothes and make herself presentable. She had just finished twisting her hair into a neat braid when a knock sounded on the door, with a message from Aaron to join him in the solar.
When Keira pushed open the door to the private sitting room a short while later, she was not surprised to see a second person in the room with Aaron. The newcomer looked to be in his early twenties, although Keira knew he was at least a dozen years older. Thick, brown hair curled loosely around his face, while dark gray eyes regarded her curiously. Aaron rose to his feet and crossed over to her.
“You’re cold,” he said, rubbing her hands between his heated ones.
“Anna and I were collecting greenery in the woods,” she explained. “If you think my hands are cold, you should feel my feet.”
Aaron grinned and leaned towards her, his mouth close to her ear as he whispered huskily. “I look forward to warming not just your feet, my sweet, but we will have to wait until later. Right now we have a visitor.”
At his words the color sprang into Keira’s cheeks, and she threw a quick glance at their guest – then hurriedly looked away, her heart sinking. The amused grin that he wore confirmed her suspicions that he had heard their exchange.
“Keira, this is Max,” Aaron said, and the man rose to his feet. Gaining mastery over her emotions, Keira turned and met his amused gaze steadily.
“Madame Drake,” Max said, executing a neat bow. “I am glad to make your acquaintance. Please accept my humblest apologies for not attending the celebration of your blood binding, but unfortunately I was detained by, um, unforeseeable events.” Keira glanced at Aaron during this speech, to see him looking at Max with a quizzical expression.
“Very nice, Max,” Aaron said. “Do I dare enquire what, or who, took precedence over your Master?”
Max flashed Aaron a grin. “That would be telling, Master,” he said as Aaron snorted in response. Max turned back to Keira.
“Thank you for inviting me to celebrate the feast of Christmastide with you. I look forward to the pleasure of your company. And,” he threw Aaron a sly look, “Aaron’s too, of course.”
“You are most welcome to Storbrook,” Keira said with a smile, turning to seat herself near the fire. “Was that you I saw earlier on?” she asked as Max took the seat opposite the door.
“When you were playing in the snow?” Max said with a laugh. “Yes, that was me. Who were your companions?”
“My sister Anna and Cook’s nephew, Garrick. We were collecting greenery to decorate the castle.”
“Ah! And your sister is also visiting for the feast?”
“No, she lives here at Storbrook.”
“Oh?” Max threw a surprised look at Aaron.
“Yes, she knows what I am,” Aaron said. “It doesn’t matter how she came by this knowledge, but since then she has been cruelly mistreated by a young man who wanted to harm her. She has lived with us since that time. She is young, just seventeen,” he added, his gaze intent on Max’s face, “so I know you won’t show her the slightest attention beyond that which you would show any young relative.”
“Of course not,” said Max, returning Aaron’s look with a cynical smile. The two men gazed at each for a moment, until Aaron finally nodded.
“Good. Keira, my sweet, will you please pour us some wine?”
Chapter 5
Anna walked quickly along the cold passages of the stone castle, eager to reach her chambers where a fire would be blazing. But despite the cold, she felt more invigorated and alive than she had in a long time. For a moment, all her cares had been forgotten as she rolled clumps of snow in gloved hands and threw them at Keira and Garrick. She had seen the shock in Garrick’s face when Keira threw the first snowball, but it had only taken a moment for him to lose his inhibitions around his Lady, returning as many volleys as he received. Anna had noticed Garrick watching her, and she knew that he liked her. It amused her to think that she had an admirer, although Garrick was just a boy, even younger than herself. Certainly not someone to be mistrustful around, with his boyish looks and ungainly limbs.
Anna pushed open the door to her chambers, grateful to feel the warmth that had spread from the blazing hearth. A fur pelt lay on the floor beside her bed, and pulling off her damp boots and stockings, Anna sunk her toes into the thick pile with a sigh of pleasure. Plucking the ties of her gown free, she slid the wet garment off her shoulders, allowing it to fall in a heap around her ankles. The damp had also soaked through her chemise, and she went to stand in front of the fire, turning slowly in an effort to dry the thin garment. Her hair had started coming loose from her braid, and tugging the ribbons free, she used her fingers as a comb to separate the damp strands, reluctant to leave the warmth of the fire to fetch the hairbrush next to her bed.
She had warmed up slightly when she finally moved away from the flames and headed over to the large chest that stood in the corner of the room, in which her gowns were neatly folded. A pink gown of fine wool lay near the top of the chest, and she pulled it out quickly, before hurrying back to the fire and pulling the garment over her head. The cloth was cold after being in the chest, and she shivered as it settled over her frame. A pair of slippers had been placed near the fire, and she pulled these onto her bare feet, grateful that they were a little warmer than the gown had been. With deft movements she twisted her hair into a braid and secured it once more with a ribbon, before leaving the room and heading in the direction of the solar.
As she neared the room, she could hear Aaron and Keira’s voices through the door, but a third voice made her pause. It was a man’s voice, but not Thomas. A visitor, maybe? The door was slightly ajar, and pushing it open with her hand, she entered the room, pausing once more when she saw the stranger sitting in a chair directly across from the doorway. She barely heard Aaron speaking as she stared at the man slowly rising to his feet, his gaze locked on hers. A slight smile played around his mouth, while his eyes held a challenge that Anna could not decipher. Perhaps it was the bold stare, or the challenging smile, or the graceful way he pulled himself up to his full height, but whatever it was, Anna felt a wave of dislike for this stranger sweep over her. She stared back at him, her eyes narrowing as his smile grew wider, taunting her, as though he were fully aware of the immediate, intense and irrational reaction towards him. The smile was meant just for her, she knew that straight away, a sile
nt communication between them, and she disliked him even more for it. And she knew, with unerring instinct, that despite his appearance of youth, this was no inexperienced boy who could easily be dismissed. This person standing before her was the fulfillment of her deepest fears. A man who could easily gain mastery and control over any woman he chose. This knowledge was based on intuition, rather than rational thought – all she knew in that moment was that she hated him.
As though speaking from far away, Aaron’s voice addressed her.
“Anna, this is Max.”
“Max?” With an effort Anna pulled her gaze away from the man standing before her, but not before she saw his lips twist with arrogant humor.
“Yes. Max Brant. He will be staying at Storbrook as our guest.”
“I see.” Anna nodded as she turned back to the guest. “Max.”
“Anna.” He was still staring at her, and she dragged her eyes away, biting her lip. Her name rolled off his tongue with an air of familiarity which she immediately resented, but before she could think of an adequate retort, he was speaking again. “I saw you playing in the snow earlier today,” he said. His words made her glance back at him. Was he laughing at her?
“Yes,” she said. She sat down on one of the chairs near Keira, who was watching their exchange in silence.
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