The Welshman's Way. Margaret Moore

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СКАЧАТЬ else he said, she believed this. She saw the truth of it in his eyes and heard the sincerity in his voice, utilizing the several subtle skills developed in the convent, where some tried to gain superiority by claiming extraordinary piety or to gain favor with the Mother Superior. Madeline had learned to detect hypocrisy and deceit. She saw none of that when he said he would not harm her.

      Even more importantly, there was something else in his eyes when he looked at her. Not fear, because she held a sword at his throat, but a kind of grudging respect, all the more rewarding because she suspected he did not give that easily, not to a Norman, and not to a woman, probably, either. “Shall I tell you what I think, David?” she asked, her tone lighter than before although still serious. “I think you are a soldier of some kind, or you were. You are no longer, because of that wound to your shoulder, or else you are traveling in disguise. I also realize that you do not like Normans. So, you are a Welshman who can fight who doesn’t like Normans. Are you, by any chance, a rebel?”

      “If I am,” he said with a mocking smile, “do you think me stupid enough to admit it?”

      She rose, her hands still wrapped around the grip of the sword. He rubbed his throat, watching her. “I am telling you what I suspect to prove a point. I do not care who you really are, or what you may have done. I have no interest in the truth about you beyond its pertinence to my safety.” That was not strictly true, but there was no point in letting him know that she was curious about him. “Nothing about you matters to me, as long as you assist me.”

      “I said I would, but I will not take you to your brother. He hates the Welsh.”

      Madeline did not respond to his blunt observation, because she didn’t know what to say. Unfortunately, she could no longer be sure of anything about her brother. He seemed to have changed very much in the past ten years, and it could be that this fellow understood Roger better than she.

      “And I would not be keen to have my brother see me with a lone Welshman for my escort, if I were you,” he said wryly. “Think of the scandal, my lady.”

      Madeline’s eyes widened and she forgot to hide a smile of sudden excitement. Of all things, she had not considered what might happen if she returned to Roger and let it be known she had spent the night alone with a man. And worse, from Roger’s point of view, at least, a Welshman who might very well be a rebel. A scandal might be the very thing to prevent a wedding.

      Then she frowned. As much as she did not like the idea of marrying Chilcott, she was not certain she was willing to lose her reputation to prevent it. Then she realized the Welshman was smiling at her. “You must have been a very poor soldier, David, to let a woman sneak up on you,” she remarked calmly.

      “Give me the sword before you hurt yourself,” he said, rising.

      “No.”

      As she backed away, still keeping the weapon pointed at him, he suddenly dove for her, knocking the sword from her hand and sending it skittering across the packed earth of the floor. He landed on top of her and knocked the wind out of her.

      “Why didn’t you run when you saw I was asleep, Lady Madeline de Montmorency?” Dafydd asked. He drew back a little and looked at her, aware of her body beneath him and his proximity to her luscious lips.

      “I need an escort and, unfortunately, you are the only one available.”

      “Not much cause to help you, maybe, if you put my sword at my throat,” he noted dryly.

      “I wanted to know who you are.”

      “I am your escort. That will have to do.”

      “I suppose,” she said, pouting. She gave him a sidelong glance that was at once proud and impertinent, questioning and very enticing. “Will you please get off me? You are...”

      “What?” he asked softly, leaning forward so that his lips were close to hers. “What am I, my lady?”

      Gently he kissed her. At first, he simply enjoyed the long-denied sensation of a kiss. And then, miraculously, wonderfully, he realized she was returning his kiss, with a tentative innocence that bespoke passion awakening. The notion that he could inspire such a feeling within her increased his own ardor. His tongue tenderly yet insistently probed her lips, until they parted for him.

      When his tongue thrust slowly inside her mouth, Madeline could scarcely comprehend the host of feelings struggling within her. The foremost was nearly overpowering surprise. Touch of any kind was forbidden in the convent, even to the touch of a hand when passing food. The kiss alone had been intoxicating; this was beyond that, sending her spinning into a realm so exciting that she could barely think beyond the pleasure as his lips moved over hers, delightfully slowly, firm and possessive.

      And if a kiss could make her feel that way, what of the other things some of the other girls had spoken of, secret things, whispered about in the corner of the garden when the holy sisters were not near?

      Heady with the excitement, Madeline clutched his muscular shoulders, his flesh hot beneath her hands, and instinctively began to undulate beneath him.

      He had saved and protected her. He would help her still. He was strong, handsome, virile. A warrior.

      And then she felt his hand upon her breast. Startled, she thrust him back. “Stop!” she cried, surprised and horrified not so much by his unexpected action as by her own lack of self-control. This was too much intimacy, too soon. What she felt must be lust, could only be lust. Blushing with shame, she shoved him away. “Stop that!”

      Indeed, his grin could have been lust personified. “You like being kissed.”

      “No, I do not.” She squirmed beneath him, trying to make him let her up.

      In response, he moved his hips, the slight motion awakening a yearning so strong she could scarcely believe it.

      She lay still, staring up at him, horrified. “I...I want to be a nun!”

      “I thought you were getting married.”

      “Yes. No. Get off me!”

      “Very well.” Mercifully he rolled away. “You want to live among women for the rest of your days?”

      “Yes.”

      “That would be a great waste,” he murmured, smiling at her as he rose slowly and reached for the dalmatica.

      “How dare you!” she cried as she scrambled to her feet. “I am betrothed!”

      He pulled on his garment, then faced her, his expression unreadable. “How dare you?” he asked coolly.

      “Me? It was you! You knocked me down, you—”

      “If you do not wish to be kissed, do not look at a man that way. If you are indeed betrothed, you should act like it.”

      She drew herself up. “What `way’ did I look at you? And I am acting like a betrothed woman! I keep asking you to take me back to my brother.” She had merely regarded him as she would any other man...hadn’t she?

      “Are you trying to say you did not enjoy the kiss?”

      “No, I did not! I could not enjoy the embrace СКАЧАТЬ