Lindsey, Johanna - Prisoner Of My Desire Read online

  PRISONER OF MY DESIRE

  JOHANNA LINDSEY

  Chapter 1

  England, 1152

  The lady was small and fragile, but with the tall knight standing before her,

  her frailty was much more apparent. Her blond head reached no higher than his

  broad shoulders. And when his open palm cracked across her cheek, her thin body

  jerked to the side with the force of it. A blow like that would have easily sent

  her to the floor if she were not supported. But she was supported, by two of the

  knight?s men at arms. They stood well behind her, her arms twisted just so to

  thrust her forward so they would not take a blow meant for her. This kept her

  upright when she might have buckled, kept her there to receive another blow, and

  still another.

  Across the small chamber, Rowena Belleme watched. She also was being held fast

  by two men at arms, the same two who had dragged her into this chamber to

  witness her stepbrother?s brutality. Blood trickled down the center of her chin

  from biting her lips to keep from screaming. Tears fell copiously over ashen

  cheeks. But she had not been struck herself. Like as not it would come to that

  if she did not give in to her stepbrother?s demands after this demonstration of

  his seriousness, but while his patience held, he did not want to blacken her

  with bruises that would elicit comment at her wedding.

  Gilbert d?Ambray had no such qualms regarding his stepmother, however. Lady Anne

  Bellemenay, she was Anne d?Ambray now and once again a widow, now that Gilbert?s

  father was deadwas of little use to him except as as hostage to Rowena?s

  behavior. And there was not much that Rowena would not do for her mother. But

  what Gilbert wanted of her now?

  Anne turned to look at her daughter. Her cheeks were blotched a fiery red with

  the imprints of Gilbert?s heavy hand, yet she had shed not a tear, nor made a

  single sound. Her expression, so eloquent, wrung more tears from Rowena. It said

  plainly, This has been done to me so often, ?tis naught. Ignore it, daughter. Do

  not give the cur what he wants.

  Rowena did not want to. Lord God wine Lyons, the man Gilbert had found to marry

  her, was old enough to be her grandfather, in truth, her great grandfather. And

  her mother had only confirmed the rumors she had heard of this old lord when

  Gilbert had demanded that Anne convince Rowena to comply with his wishes.

  ?I know Lyons, and he is not for an heiress of Rowena?s stature. Even if his age

  were not an issue, the man has scandals of perversion attached to his name.

  Never would I condone such a match.?

  ?He is the only man willing to fight to regain her properties,? Gilbert had

  pointed out.

  ?Properties your father lost through his greed.?

  ?Nay, it is every man?s right?

  ?To encroach on his neighbor?? Anne cut in with a full measure of the contempt

  she felt for her stepson, which was not even a quarter of what she had felt for

  his brutish father.

  ?To raid and make war without recourse? To steal and force women into marriage

  before their husbands are even buried! Such rights only came to men since that

  weakling Stephen was made king.?

  Gilbert had actually flushed, but more likely with anger than in embarrassment

  for what his father had done to Anne. In truth, he was a product of the times.

  He had been only a child of eight when Stephen had stolen the crown from Matilda

  after old King Henry died. The kingdom had split apart then, half the barons

  refusing to accept a woman as their ruler, the other half holding by their oaths

  to Matilda, and now her son Henry of Aquitaine. Hugo d?Ambray was one of the

  barons who had then sworn to Stephen, and so he had felt justified in killing

  Rowena?s father, who was Henry?s vassal, and then forcing Walter Belleme?s widow

  to marry him, thereby gaining control of all of Walter?s lands, which Rowena as

  his only child inherited, as well as Anne?s dower lands. And neither Anne nor

  Rowena had any recourse for this injustice, certainly not from a king who had

  thrown the realm into anarchy.

  Unlike his father, who had had a streak of malevolence to complement his

  brutishness, Gilbert was like most men of his day, respectful when necessary,

  churlish when not, and intent on filling his coffers with the fruits of other

  men?s labors. But because he had lived seventeen years with anarchy, his

  policies were no different from any other baron?s. Most of them might bemoan

  having such a weak king that the land was rife with lawlessness, but then most

  of them took advantage and contributed to that lawlessness.

  Actually, in the three years that Gilbert had been Rowena?s stepbrother, he had

  never said a harsh word to her, nor laid a hand to her in anger as his father

  had occasionally done. As a knight, Gilbert was well skilled and courageous. As

  a man, he was actually very handsome, with black hair and dark brown eyes that

  gave unease for their watchfulness. Until today, Rowena had hated him only

  because he was his father?s son. For their own benefit and their petty wars with

  their neighbors, they had stripped her lands bare and taken everything of value

  that she and her mother had ever owned. They had broken the betrothal contract

  her father had made for her, keeping her unwed strictly for their own profit, so

  they could continue to draw what they could from her serfs labors, and demand

  war service from her vassals each year.?

  But last year Hugo d?Ambray had thoughtlessly decided to take Dyrwood keep,

  which sat between one of Rowena?s properties and one of his own. That was

  tantamount to stirring up a hornef?s nest, for Dyrwood belonged to one of the

  greater warlords of the north shires, the Lord of Fulkhurst, who not only came

  to the aid of his vassal at Dyrwood, routing the besiegers and sending them back

  to their own borders, but then systematically set out to destroy the man who had

  dared try to steal from him.

  Unfortunately, not only Hugo?s properties became this warmonger?s targets, but

  also those that Hugo had control of through wardship. And he found out how

  helpful a weak king was when Stephen refused to come to his aid, too busy with

  his own problems. But even though Hugo had been killed two months ago in this

  war that his greed had started, Fulkhurst was not satisfied. Gilbert was finding

  out that this particular warlord thrived on vengeance.

  Gilbert had sued for peace and been refused, which had enraged him and made him

  determined to win back the d?Ambray lands at any cost. But the cost he had

  decided on was to sacrifice Rowena to the marriage bed of an old lecher. He had

  even told her it would not be for long, that he would soon have her back under

  his guardianship, for the man was two steps from the grave. But as long as she

  was wed to the old goat, Gilbert wanted to see a child come from the union. He

  had made that perfectly clear,
for only in that way would he have her and her

  lands back, as well as Lyons? land and wealth through her child. Thusly he would

  obtain the resources to win back the d?Ambray properties that were now in

  Fulkhurst?s hands.

  Twas a fine plan as far as Gilbert was concerned. It truly cost him nothing, but

  would gain him all that he soughtincluding, at long last, Rowena in his own bed.

  This above all else was at the heart of his plan, for he was halfway obsessed

  with the little flaxen haired beauty who was his stepsister.

  He had wanted her from the first day he had seen her, when she was only fifteen.

  But his father had refused to let him have her, pointing out that her value

  would be considerably decreased without her maidenhead, even though he had had

  no intention of marrying her off. But Hugo d?Ambray could not live forever, and

  Gilbert was intelligent enough to see that the damned maidenhead was not for him,

  and patient enough to wait until it was no longer an issue, bestowed on some

  future husband.

  This was why Gilbert had treated her well, not wanting her to be aware of the

  streak of ruthlessness ingrained in him by his father. He wanted Rowena to want

  him as well when he finally took her to his bed. He wanted her enough that he

  would even have married her himself if there had been any profit in it. But

  since the d?Ambrays already controlled her lands, there was not. As soon as she

  conceived, he intended to have her, and to continue having her, even though he

  had every intention of marrying her off again for further gain at some future

  time. Getting rid of her husbands would be the easy part. Getting Rowena to

  develop a passion for him would not be so easy.

  Unaccountably, to his way of thinking, wedding her to Lyons without her consent,

  which would be an easy thing to do, would set her against him. He did not see

  forcing her consent by beating her mother as a worse offense. Far from it. He

  was so used to seeing his father beat the Lady Anne, it was as if it were

  nothing. He did not take into consideration that Rowena, kept at Kernel keep

  these three years instead of with her mother at Ambray Castle, had not witnessed

  the same and so had grown indifferent to it, as he was. He was so certain that

  she would never hold ill usage of her mother against him that he was not very

  sure that his rough treatment of the Lady Anne would even work to sway Rowena.

  Twas merely the least of the things he could do to get her to agree to the

  marriage, and so had been the first he had sought to try when reasoning and

  pointing out the benefits had failed.

  Gilbert?s first mistake was in assuming that Rowena felt for her mother what he

  had felt for his, which was next to nothing. His second was in not expecting any

  kind of reaction from Rowena this soon, so he had not even looked toward her

  since he had begun striking her mother a few moments ago. But when he saw Anne

  look toward her daughter with such steady courage, he also glanced behind him,

  then stiffened in anger, seeing his mistakes clearly now. The girl did care for

  her mother, too much. Her large sapphire eyes were awash with tears. She was

  hurting herself to keep from begging him to stop, and that only because her

  mother had stated plainly that she did not condone the marriage to Lyons.

  Better he had drugged her, married her to Lyons, and got even the bedding over

  with before she had regained consciousness, a fait accompli. Now those lovely

  blue eyes gazed on him with such loathing, he knew she would never desire him as

  he had hoped. So be it. He would still have her, and soon, but he was so enraged

  that it would not be as he had imagined it, his fingers closed into a fist and

  slammed into the side of Anne?s head. She crumbled instantly, without a sound.

  Rowena made the sound, a choked whimper, before she whispered ?Nay. No more.?

  He left the mother hanging between his men and moved to stand before the

  daughter. He still seethed over what his assumptions had cost him in personal

  gain. Twas there in his eyes, in his expression, and he lifted Rowena?s face in

  his hand, forcing her to see it. But it was a measure of his feelings for her

  that his hand was not rough, even in his present anger. Unwittingly, he even

  gently wiped the tears away from one cheek.

  His voice, however, was harsh in questioning ?Will you wed Lord God wine??

  ?I will.?

  ?Will you do so with good cheer??

  Rowena stared at him blankly for a moment before she burst out ?You ask too much?

  ?Nay. What will a smile cost you when it will ensure his speedy compliance with

  the marriage contract??

  ?Is his compliance in doubt??

  ?Nay, but there is no time to lose. Fulkhurst is now inactive, but only because

  he has just defeated Tures.?

  Rowena blanched at this information. She had known that two of her keeps near

  Dyrwood had been taken, one without even a fight, but Tures Castle had been the

  largest of her father?s properties, his stronghold, and was much farther north.

  She had grown up in Tures. All that she knew of love and happiness she had

  learned there, inside those stone walls. Now an enemy warlord held itnay,

  enemies had held it these past three years, so what difference to her, one or

  another? She certainly had not held it, nor did she ever expect to. Even if Lord

  Godwine could win it back for her, it would be hers in name only.

  Gilbert mistook her expression and thought to reassure her.

  ?Do not despair, Rowena. Lyons has become rich in bleeding his town merchants

  these past twenty years that he has held Kirkburough. The mercenaries his wealth

  will buy will quickly defeat Fulkhurst and send him back to his own domain. You

  will have Tures back within the month.?

  Rowena did not answer. She had already been told that the marriage contract had

  been worded to her benefit; that her properties, once they were won back, would

  be hers, not her husband?s, which meant nothing to her in this day and age when

  law and justice were ignored, but would mean everything if only Henry would come

  to rule. Lyons no doubt thought to have full use of her properties. Gilbert

  obviously thought to have them back in his control, which to her mind meant that

  if Lyons did not die soon enough of his old age and ailments, Gilbert would help

  him along to that end. But Gilbert wanted her to bear Lyons a child first. As

  she had done every day these past three years, Rowena shuddered and prayed for

  Henry of Aquitaine to win the throne of England. Her father had been Henry?s

  vassal, and Rowena would swear herself to him quicker than she could blink. Then

  and only then might she escape Gilbert d?Ambray?s control.

  Instead of remarking what was in her mind, she asked Gilbert ?Does that mean my

  vassals will be brought to swear to me this time, or will they again be too busy

  fighting in your wars??

  Color stole into his cheeks. This was yet another way his father had ignored the

  letter of the law, for when the Belleme properties had changed ownership at her

  father?s death, his nine vassals should have come to pay Rowena homage for the

  properties they now held through her, yet she had not seen one of those knights

  in these three yea
rs she had been kept isolated at one of Hugo?s smaller keeps.

  Each time she had ever mentioned it, she had been fobbed off with excuses that

  her knights were besieged, or in the middle of a campaign, or some other such

  thing. Like as not her men thought her dead. That would have been the easiest

  way for Hugo to have gained their service without having to answer their concern

  for her welfare.

  Gilbert said now in a hard tone that discouraged further comment ?Five of your

  vassals have died fighting Fulkhurst, and whether Sir Gerard lives or not is

  undetermined, as he had been made castellan of Tures. Likely that monster

  butchered him, as he has done to my own knights.?

  He ended with a shrug that stated clearly he did not particularly care whether

  Gerard had been spared or not.

  What color had returned to Rowena?s cheeks left again. She did not question

  further, but only because she dreaded to know which knights still lived and

  which did not. Who should she blame for their deaths, Fulkhurst for striking the

  killing blow, or Gilbert and his father for gaining Fulkhurst?s ire? God?s mercy,

  when would this land be returned to peace?

  Quietly, she asked Gilbert to have her released. At his nod to his men, she was

  immediately let go and started toward her mother. Gilbert?s hand caught her arm

  and steered her instead toward the door.

  She pulled away from him, but his hold was firm.

  ?Let me go to her.?

  ?Nay, her women will attend her anon.?

  ?I have not seen her in three years, Gilbert,? she reminded him, but should have

  known it would not make a difference.

  ?When you get yourself with Lyons child to secure his lands will be soon enough

  for you to see her.?

  More manipulations and coercions. She could not be silent any longer, but

  released her feelings in a hate filled hiss.

  ?You are despicable, worse even than your father. At least he was honest in his

  cruelty!?

  His hand tightened on her arm, the only indication that her words affected him.

  ?I have only your best interests at?

  ?Liar! I will do what you want, but if you tell me once more that I am to

  benefit by it, I will scream.?

  He did not argue with her. What he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and

  kiss her, for the fire of her fury stirred his desire for her even more than her