Warriors In Winter: In the Bleak Midwinter. Michelle Willingham

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СКАЧАТЬ didn’t want her to be afraid of him or to distrust his intentions. Though he wouldn’t mind consoling her, he understood the boundaries. She didn’t want another man to intrude upon the memories of her husband, and he respected that.

      Arturo kept his expression neutral, and nodded in greeting toward the warrior.

      ‘Bevan MacEgan is my name,’ the older man said. The look in his eyes added the warning, Don’t even think about touching my daughter.

      Arturo squared his shoulders and stared back at the man as if to say, Your warning is not needed.

      ‘I thought the four of us could ride together,’ Brianna suggested. ‘My father and Lady Genevieve can answer almost any questions you have.’ She walked forward and took the reins of the mare Arturo had brought. ‘If you don’t mind waiting for their horses.’ She took the small bundle of food and secured it to the saddle. Arturo offered to boost her up, and she accepted his assistance.

      ‘You could go on ahead of us and ride along the coast,’ Genevieve suggested. ‘Show him the island, and we’ll meet you there.’ She turned to Arturo and sent him a wink.

      Already he decided he liked Lady Genevieve. Though there was no need to play the role of matchmaker, she was riling her husband’s temper—and well she knew it.

      ‘They can wait,’ Bevan countered, his eyes hard.

      Arturo lifted his shoulders in a shrug before he swung up on his mount. ‘It is for your daughter to decide.’ He deferred to Brianna, never taking his eyes from the older warrior’s face. He sensed that he was being tested, but there was no reason for it. His intentions toward Brianna were nothing more than friendship.

      It was better this way, he supposed. She could show him Ireland, and when he returned home, there would be nothing binding him here.

      Brianna hesitated, eyeing first Lady Genevieve, then her father. ‘It’s only a short distance to the southern coast,’ she said. ‘I suppose there’s no harm in letting you see the island.’

      She nudged her mare forward through the snow, and Arturo followed until they were outside the gate, moving toward the open expanse of land. In the distance, white-covered hills rose up from the landscape, and a well-worn path led up to a higher peak.

      ‘At the end of harvest, during Lughnasa, we walk up the path leading to the top of the hill and bury ears of corn as an offering to the gods,’ Brianna explained.

      ‘You keep to the old ways?’ He drew his horse up alongside hers, curious, for he’d seen evidence of a church within the castle grounds.

      ‘We’ve always celebrated both. My father and his brothers are superstitious. They’d rather keep everyone happy.’ The slight smile playing at her lips suggested that she humoured them in their beliefs. ‘Besides, it gives us an excuse to eat and drink too much.’

      ‘I don’t suppose there’s harm in that,’ he admitted. ‘I heard them speaking of a celebration at the solstice.’

      ‘Meán Geimhridh, it’s called. My uncle Trahern will tell stories, and we’ll decorate the donjon with greenery. It’s a smaller celebration of the solstice before Christmas.’ Brianna tucked a strand of dark hair behind one ear, and it drew his eyes to the slender line of her jaw. Her lips were full, the pale pink of morning. He found himself noticing the curve of her chin, the hollowed cheeks and the fresh beauty of her face.

      Green eyes stared at his in a moment of confusion, before she quickened the pace of her horse, riding toward the sea. Almost as if she were trying to run away from him.

      Arturo rode behind her, and when they neared the edge, she dismounted, letting the horse graze upon the tall grasses. The sea was grey, the tide swelling in rough waves against the rocks. Across the narrow channel, he saw an island with a wooden fortress and a smaller circle of huts.

      ‘My great-grandsire dwelled on the island Ennisleigh,’ she said. ‘He was a wood carver and later, he founded the MacEgan tribe, in honour of his brother.’

      ‘Who lives there now?’

      ‘Other members of our tribe. Sometimes the king and queen will go off together and spend a few nights alone.’ She glanced down at the ground, as if realising what she was implying.

      He ignored the remark and replied, ‘It’s a strategic location. I imagine it’s useful if enemy ships approach.’

      She nodded, her face flushed. When she started to return to their horses, he stopped her with a hand. ‘Brianna, you needn’t be afraid of me.’

      ‘I’m not.’

      ‘Liar,’ he whispered. Reaching for her cold fingers, he warmed them in his palm. ‘You get nervous every time I look at you.’

      When she said nothing, he drew his thumb over her palm. ‘I admire what I see. You’re a beautiful woman.’ He tilted her chin up to face him. ‘But I also know that you grieve for him.’

      ‘I feel guilty,’ she confessed. ‘And confused.’ She pulled her hand free, letting him glimpse the apprehension in her face. ‘It’s too soon for me.’

      ‘I won’t be here for more than a few weeks,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to return to Navarre and to my father’s lands, where I am guardian.’ His time here would be brief, only long enough to see Adriana settled. ‘But before that, I want to experience this land, which is so different from my own. I would like to see it through your eyes.’

      ‘I am the wrong person to ask,’ she protested.

      ‘You wanted to find a means of using the hours in your day,’ he pointed out. His gaze shifted up, for her parents were approaching. ‘If you want me to hold my distance, I will do so.’

      She let out a slow breath and nodded her assent. Arturo leaned in to murmur against her ear. ‘Or if you want a distraction from your grief, I can grant you that, belleza. No one would begrudge you a winter night spent with me.’

      ‘It would be a betrayal,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I could not do it.’

      ‘The decision is yours. I would never coerce you into anything that would make you uncomfortable.’ He drew back, resting his forehead against hers. ‘But I do know what it’s like, lying awake at night. The loneliness can be unbearable.’

      She could give him no answer at all. But neither did she pull away from him. For a long moment, she leaned against him, the thoughts silent within her. Arturo waited, and then stepped back to regard her.

      He could see the storm of thoughts churning through her. She would think about his offer. But the choice was, and always would be, hers.

      Brianna led the small group toward her father’s castle at Rionallís. Though it was an hour’s journey, she felt a sense of comfort riding through the familiar landscape. It was the only way of steadying the trembling within her. Arturo had cast a spell upon her, until she hardly recognised herself. With the faintest touch of his thumb upon her palm, he’d roused an unexpected response within her. The gentle caress had sent blood coursing through her skin, hardening her breasts and reminding her of the intimacies between a man and a woman.

      He was right. She did miss the closeness СКАЧАТЬ