“Then you are the most optimistic dreamer that I have ever encountered.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Are you truly willing to chance your whole life on something you do not understand?”
Luhaunt looked at her, watching her closely. His voice went low. “Just because I do not understand it, Brianna, does not mean I do not trust it.”
“And if you are disappointed with what you have married—with what you uncover of me? What then? You will be shackled to a woman you do not care for.”
He smiled, but did not break stride. “I am willing to take that chance.”
~~~
Sebastian walked slowly down the long stone hallway. He had just parted ways with Rowen and Lord Newdale in the study, and hadn’t bothered to bring a candle with him.
He knew the path to his rooms well enough, even if they were set far back in the castle away from all the other guest chambers. He liked the silence in this part of the keep, and Rowen had offered to outfit Sebastian with his own suite of rooms a year ago when the castle was being renovated.
“Wait, Lord Luhaunt, please, a moment.”
Sebastian turned, only to see Brianna’s sister scampering toward him, the lantern in her hand sending swaying shadows on the grey stone.
Of all things, this was one he hadn’t expected. Brianna’s sister had been so enamored with Lord Newdale during the past week—and quite often, foxed—that Sebastian had questioned if she even remembered her sister was getting married the next day.
“Miss Lily, what can I do for you?”
“Forgive the intrusion.” Slightly out of breath, she stopped in front of him, holding the lantern up so she could illuminate his face. She still wore the pretty peach silk dress she had dined in earlier, though the back half of her brown hair had been let down. “I just wanted to ask you a question.”
He offered a nod. “Feel free.”
“It is about Brianna—after you two are wed, you will treat her well?”
Sebastian’s eyebrow arched. “That is what you have come to ask me? Do you not think it a bit too late to be putting forth that question?”
She shook her head, his barb not giving her pause. “No. I do not think so. I think I could go to Brianna right now and tell her she does not have to marry you, and she would be perfectly happy to cry off. It is why I am even here talking to you. I had thought once she got accustomed to the idea, she might grow to like it—even be excited about marrying you. But she is not.”
Sebastian’s head tilted, perplexed. Brianna’s sister was much cannier than he had given her credit for. Apparently, just because Brianna controlled so much of her sister’s life, he had begun to think of Lily as somewhat of a simpleton. Not so.
“I do not think your sister would allow herself to get excited about anything, much less a forced marriage.”
“Maybe not. Not now. But there was a time when she would have.” The shadows played on Lily’s face. “A time when she would have looked upon marriage with happiness and plans of babes.”
“But not now?”
“Not since our father died. Not since then. Not since she has been working to find me a proper match. It has consumed her.” Lily paused, her eyes dropping. “You do not know what she has gone through.”
“So tell me. It has something to do with the man she loved, does it not?”
Lily’s eyes snapped sharply to him. “She told you of him?”
“Only that a past love existed for her. That was all. What happened to him?”
She shook her head, her eyes darting around. “Brianna is the only one that can tell you. I swore to her long ago that I would never speak of that time. It is not my place.”
“She had been treated poorly?”
“I will not answer that. But it is the reason I need to be assured you will treat her well.” Her jaw hard, Lily stepped closer to him, lifting her lantern even higher. “Make no mistake, Lord Luhaunt, if it means my sister’s happiness, I will happily accept the scandal that would ensue were you two not to marry. While I do not wish to lose the possibility of Lord Newdale as a husband—or the other two—I will accept it if my sister’s ultimate happiness is on the line.”
She went to her toes, leaning in even closer, her voice sharp. “So I am asking you, Lord Luhaunt, on your honor, will you treat my sister well?”
Sebastian didn’t think it possible, but he was suddenly the tiniest bit afraid of Brianna’s sprite of a sister. He nodded. “Yes. On that, you do not have to worry.”
“Excellent.” She dropped to flat feet, apparently taking him at his word. “Then I will tell you this. There are those of us that will live with lies—live with not knowing things that might hurt us. But Brianna is not one of them. She needs honesty. Brutal honesty in her life. But she also needs kindness—she needs that more than anyone I know.”
“Thank you. I will remember that.”
“Good. Do not disappoint me, Lord Luhaunt.”
With that, Lily spun from him, her silk slippers silent on the stone as she disappeared down the long dark hallway.
Sebastian stood as still as a rock, watching the light of the lantern until it whittled down to nothingness.
Imagine that. Lily was fiercely loyal to Brianna.
Apparently, Brianna wasn’t the only Silverton sister with hidden layers.
{ Chapter 6 • Earl of Destiny }
Brianna stood naked, or nearly so, with what little bit of modesty the sheer, deep red nightdress draped over her shoulders afforded her. Sleeveless and long, almost to the wooden floorboards, the transparent fabric clasped together between her breasts and down her belly with a row of five thin ribbons.
The wedding had come and gone, the whole day, really, without drama, without crying. Just flat acceptance. She wasn’t about to allow tears to fall over something she had no recourse to change.
Two polite “I dos” and that was it. She was married.
Lily, Wynne—even the duke—had tried to make the occasion as jovial as possible. But Brianna could not even pretend for their sakes.
She had married—something she had promised herself she would never do. Never allow herself to be that vulnerable to a man. To what a man could do to her.
So now she stood, waiting for her new husband to appear, painfully aware that she was now his property. She may have been able to secure the Silverton fortune away from the greedy hands of husbands—but that was all. If only she could have done that with her body as well.
Brianna looked around Luhaunt’s bedroom. A large four-post bed with no canopy centered the room. The bed was set high with a silk grey coverlet draping over plushness. She would have to hop up just to get into the bed. Two matching walnut wardrobes sat on opposite sides of the bed, but Brianna hadn’t bothered to snoop in them. She had also discovered a dressing room through one of the side doors, and a sitting room lined with bookcases through the other.
The drapes open, she looked out through the arched windows that lined the wall across from the fireplace. A long, skinny cloud slid in front of the half moon, tempering most of the light.
The windows faced the forest that led to the stables, surprising, because Brianna’s general sense of direction had gotten twisted as she moved through the castle to Luhaunt’s rooms. They were set far into the keep through a maze of hallways, and Brianna had spent very little time in this area of the castle.
It was quiet—achingly so—compared to the bustle of where her and Lily’s chambers were, and Brianna doubted anyone along these hallways could hear a sound from Luhaunt’s rooms.
Palms rubbing her bare arms, Brianna’s eyes shifted from the moon to the fireplace. She had thought to approach this outright. Put on the nightdress that Wynne had produced for her and just be ready for Lord Luhaunt without preamble. Do what was necessary, and then she could escape back to the comfort of her own room.
But the thought to approach this forthright had only stuck in Brianna’s head for so long before she began to waver.
Walking over to the fireplace in her new husband’s room, she reached for the robe that she had set on the arm of the leather wing chair. Only a small fire blazed, just enough to fight off the chill that had crept in with the setting sun.
Shrugging into the robe, she overlapped the fabric as far as she could across the front of her. Just as she tied the belt snuggly around her belly and pulled her loose hair free from the robe, the door opened behind her.
Brianna spun, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Lord Luhaunt.”
He closed the door as his gaze ran from her toes peeking out from under the cloth of the simple tan robe, up her body until it rested on the point where the cloth ended, just below her chin.
“I must be honest, Brianna, I had hoped for the slightest bit more skin.” He stepped into the room, stopping in front of her, his brown eyes scanning her face. “But if I only have your face to look at, that will do. I do appreciate the lines of it.”
He took a step closer and his hand moved up, fingers entwining along a soft curl of her loose hair. “And this is welcome. I like your hair down. Free.”
Brianna could not help the frown on her face from deepening. “I did dress appropriately. I merely caught a chill.”
His eyebrow arched as his devil smile played on his lips. He continued to play with her hair, wrapping a strand around his forefinger. “Appropriately? Now I am entirely curious as to what is under that robe.”
“As prickly as you may see me, Lord Luhaunt, I am very conscious of appropriate dress for this act.”
His hand instantly dropped from her hair. “You do not need to remind me that you have been another’s, Brianna. I am well aware. And while I am choosing to overlook the fact that another has your heart, I do not wish to be reminded of it at every turn.”
She blinked, stung at his words. She had not even been thinking of the past—she tried very hard to not do so—but memories bubbled from her gut, chasing up her chest to land in a lump in her throat.
Taking a step backward from him, her thighs hit the wingback chair as she unwittingly went rigid. “I…I was not speaking of the past.”
Lord Luhaunt stared at her, flames from the fire flickering in his brown eyes as he watched her intensely.
Brianna’s gaze dropped from him, finding the black marble threshold of the fireplace to concentrate on. What did he want from her? She had been trying. Trying as hard as she was capable of to get through this with the utmost pleasantness. But now. Now with thoughts of Gregory invading her mind…
“Stop.”
The fierceness of the word made her eyes jerk up to him.
He grabbed her left hand, wedging his thumb into her palm and lifting her hand. His voice went low, soft. “Stop thinking. Stop the frown. Stop your nails from attacking your thumb. You are dwelling upon things that hurt you. I can see it.”
Startled, Brianna looked at her hand, now being held still by Lord Luhaunt.
“Wherever you are in your mind, Brianna, you need to stop. You are here with me. And whatever happened in the past is not what is happening here, happening now.”
His other hand came up, his fingers slipping under her hair, curling around her neck. “You were hurt. I can see that. You did not enjoy it.”
He leaned in, his lips by her ear, his voice a smooth rumble. “You will enjoy it with me, Brianna. I will ensure it. My hands on your body. My mouth on yours. You will writhe under me, and your body will arch into everything I have planned for you, Brianna. You just need to let me.”
His words filling her head, he touched his lips to her skin, fire on the spot. Moving down her neck, his tongue trailed along her skin. He dropped her hand, his fingers sliding inward along the edge of her robe, tugging at the fabric to gain access to her skin.
Brianna lost herself in it for a moment, lost herself in the sensation of his mouth adoring her skin, the shivers down her spine, her speeding breath tightening her chest. Heaven. Heaven on her neck, her nerves turned to flame.
The exact thing she felt in the past.
She fell too quickly into it. The exact thing that she had felt years ago, body and soul. The burning in her core. The aching. Her body begging for more.
Lord Luhaunt was wrong in his assumption. So very wrong. She did enjoy it—she had enjoyed it immensely. Too much so.
And it was the exact thing she was betrayed by.
She stiffened under his touch.
The robe slipped off her body, and she froze in place. Unable to respond. To talk. To move. Yet still, Luhaunt continued his assault on her skin.
His lips moved against her collarbone. “You do know, Brianna. You know quite well what to wear.”
His hand went onto the base of her neck, his fingers wrapping into her hair as his mouth dropped further on her body, and he loosened the top tie of ribbon on her sheer nightdress. It dropped open, exposing her left breast.
His mouth descended upon her nipple, sucking, teasing.
She tightened even further, leaning away from him. Leaning away from what her body craved. Away from how she wanted to arch her breast into him.
He was right. He could make her body want it.
And it was exactly what she wasn’t about to let happen.
Brianna closed her eyes, her arms going rigid at her sides.
Luhaunt’s mouth left her nipple. She could feel him straighten in front of her, his breath heavy, the hot air wispy on her cheek.
She cracked her eyes.
He was watching her, his face only a breath away with a speculative look in his eyes. She could see she was a puzzle he was determined to solve.
“I do not want you like this, Brianna.”
Her eyes opened fully to him. “I am trying, Lord Luhaunt. My sister—you—forced me into this marriage. I am doing what is necessary. And I am attempting to do so with the least amount of foolish spectacle.”
“Unacceptable.” He shook his head, sighing, then took a step away from her. “This is not necessary. This cannot be an obligation—a duty, Brianna. I will not accept that from you.”
“But it is what you wanted—the obligation of a wife. That is what you said.”
“I wanted you, Brianna. The wife part was merely the preceding formality.”
“Oh.”
No matter how many times Luhaunt said he wanted her, Brianna could not bring herself to believe him. She doubted she ever would.
“You are not ready. I had hoped the week without seeing me would have helped, but it has not.” He reached forward, grabbing the top ribbon of her nightdress. With more delicacy from his large hands than she would have expected, he retied the ribbon into a perfect bow. “So I give you time.”
He bent to pick up her robe, wrapping it around her shoulders.
“You do?” Brianna eyed him suspiciously.
“Yes. I only ask two things in return.”
Of course. This was when the demands would appear. She pulled her robe tighter around her torso. “Which are?”
“The first thing I ask is that you call me Seb. Or Sebastian. No Lord Luhaunt. It is grating from you. That was my father, not me.”
Brianna’s head tilted, disbelief in her eyes. That request was too easy. “I can do as you ask. What is the second?”
“The second thing—you will sleep in bed with me.” He pointed at his enormous bed. “I will not touch you. Not until you ask me to. But you sleep in my bed with me.”
“Tonight?”
“Every night.”
Brianna glanced across the room at Sebastian’s bed. It was large enough. She could wiggle herself to an edge, and never be anywhere near him.
She looked back to him, meeting his dark brown eyes, knowing she shouldn’t trust him. But these were simple things. Simple things for a husband to request of a wife. She took a deep breath.
“All I have to do is change what I call you and sleep in your bed? And you will not touch me?”
He gave her one nod.
“Before I agree, I have on
e request of you.”
“I would expect no less.”
“May we remain at Notlund throughout the summer? I had meant to ask you before today, but I was holding out hope…” Her voice petered out awkwardly.
“Hope that the marriage would not happen?”
She met his eyes, nodding. “Yes. But it has, so I cannot worry upon that anymore. But I cannot curb my worry over my sister. I do not want her to be left without guidance as she contemplates the worth of her suitors. I need to be here to protect her.”
“She has Rowe and Wynne.”
“Yes. And they are wonderful. But she needs me. She will not make a good decision without me.”
“Are you sure? Your sister seems like an intelligent young lady. One that is perfectly capable of deciding upon a husband.”
“She is not.”
“No?”
“No. So may we stay at Notlund? Just through the summer. Just through the visits from Lord Bepton and Lord Rallager and their respective parties. Lily needs my guidance.”
A half smile crossed Sebastian’s mouth. One Brianna couldn’t quite place.
“I will agree to your request if you will agree to mine,” he said.
Brianna nodded, relieved. “I do.”
It was the second “I do” she said that day, and it struck her that for as much trepidation as had accompanied the first one, the second one had managed to ease much of her anxiety.
Her eyes flickered to her husband.
The man was clever.
Had he planned this as well?
{ Chapter 7 • Earl of Destiny }
Brianna’s eyes opened to see an elaborately carved coffered ceiling. The pre-dawn glow sneaking in from around the heavy draperies sent an orange hue onto the dark mahogany. The ceiling startled her, and for a second, she panicked. But then her mind slowly caught up to all the realities of the day before.
Married. She was married.
Still stunned at the very thought, she noticed the rock in her gut from the night before had only expanded overnight.
Lord of Fates: A Complete Historical Regency Romance Series (3-Book Box Set) Page 35