Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory Page A

of vision. The saints have mercy, he’d dropped to his knee before her. She could not
     read the deep emotion in his amber eyes, but she could not look away if she tried.
    “I apologize for frightening you last night,” he said, enfolding her clasped hands in his. “I should not have come to you
     drunk… and… in that manner.”
    The apology was so unexpected that she could think of no reply.
    “But you did not need to leave,” he said more forcefully. “You had only to speak to make me stop.” A look of unease flitted
     across his face. “In sooth, you might have had to shout, but I did not intend to hurt you.”
    Unsure what he expected of her, she murmured, “Thank you.”
    “I have come to take you back, but I will give you my promise.” He spoke his next words slowly and deliberately, his eyes
     never leaving her face. “I swear to you, Mary Catherine FitzAlan, I will never harm you.”
    His apology and promise made, he rose to his feet and said, “That is not to say I think you are without fault in this.”
    Catherine felt her face color, thinking of her refusal to come willingly to the marriage bed. “I am most sorry for my failures,
     m’lord husband,” she stammered. “I intended to ask your forgiveness as soon as I came in.”
    “You broke your word to me.” He loomed over her, his fists clenched, his voice sharp with anger. “You agreed to tell no one
     our marriage was not consummated. Now I find you’ve told Abbess Talcott as well as the housekeeper.”
    “I am sorry,” she said, surprised to learn this was what he was most angry about. “In my fright, I forgot my promise.”
    “You may as well have announced it in the hall,” he said, raising his voice and spreading his arms wide. “Everyone you did
     not tell outright will know it when they hear you came here seeking
an annulment
!”
    After a few moments of silence, he took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.
    “We shall return at once,” he said, his voice deadly calm now. “You will not leave Ross Castle without my permission again.”
    She nodded her agreement. Obediently, she took his proffered hand, but he made no move toward the door.
    “You will keep your word to me in the future,” he said, fixing her with a look that was as hard as granite. His words were
     both a demand and a warning. “I cannot abide deceit.”

    Catherine averted her eyes as William marched her past the half-dozen men waiting with their horses in the courtyard. He headed
     straight for Jacob, who stood alone a few yards away from the others.
    “You should not have been party to this foolishness,” William said, tapping a menacing forefinger on Jacob’s chest. “You took
     a great chance with my wife and Jamie, traveling alone at night as you did. You and I shall come to an understanding, or you
     shall not remain in my service. The men at the gate who let you pass shall answer to me as well.”
    Catherine appreciated that William gave the reprimand out of the other men’s hearing. She understood, too, why he said it
     in front of her. It had been reckless of her to travel with only the old man for protection. Old Jacob would do anything she
     asked, and she had taken advantage of that.
    Hearing Jamie’s shout, she turned around to see him break loose from the novice’s hand and run across the courtyard toward
     them. Instead of coming to her, he barreled into William. He shrieked with pleasure as William caught him. Reminded of Abbess
     Talcott’s reproof to be grateful for William’s kindness toward her son, she felt ashamed.
    William put the boy on Jacob’s horse, gruffly telling the old man to take care with him. It was a sign Jacob would be forgiven.
     Catherine made herself turn to acknowledge the other men. None would meet her eyes. Forgiveness would not come so easily for
     her.
    The ride back to Ross Castle was long and silent, broken only by Jamie’s occasional question and Jacob’s murmured reply. After
     a