Rachel Carrington by Choices

to share the news with the family until I had been examined by the doctor.”
    Marcus waved a hand in dismissal. “That will be too long. Besides, I do not know when we will be back this way again. I would not want my brothers to discover this news down the line. They should hear it from me.”
    “Congratulations,” Carla murmured, trying to ignore the slight twinge of envy. Until now, she’d never wanted the same things that Lara and Elizabeth enjoyed. She felt Sinclair’s eyes on her face once more, but she didn’t look up, concentrating on her clasped hands. “I wish you well.” Damn the man! Couldn’t he focus his attention anywhere else besides her?
    Lara’s hesitant smile appeared. “Thank you. That is very kind.”
    Marcus scooted his chair away from the table and stood, wrapping an arm around his wife’s still slender waist. “I suppose I should be off as well. I cannot let my wife take to the bedchamber alone.” He gave his brothers a wolfish grin.
    Jonathan watched his brother leave and he sighed. “When do you suppose he is going to grow up?”
    Sinclair laughed aloud. “I do not suppose Marcus will ever achieve full maturity. He enjoys being immature too much.” Black eyes fell to Carla’s profile. “Are you feeling ill?”
    That got Carla’s attention and her head lifted. “I’m fine. Just lost in thought.”
    “Would you like to go to bed as well?”
    Carla searched his face for any hidden meanings. When she found none, she shook her head. “I think I would like some fresh air.”
    Jonathan quickly inserted his protest. “It is not safe to walk the grounds alone at night.”
    “I thought the castle was well guarded.”

    “And it is, but even the best of guards can be overpowered. If my family will excuse me, I will join you.”
    Sinclair stood, pulling Carla’s chair away from the table.
    “I don’t want to take you away from your family.” The protest sounded feeble even to her own ears. In all honesty, she liked feeling the heat of Sinclair’s body behind her. He pulled her closer against his tall frame and pushed the chair in with his foot.
    “If all of you will excuse us, we shall take our leave.”
    Carla spared the remaining trio a small smile. “Forgive me for depriving you of your brother’s company.”
    Jonathan waved a hand in dismissal. “I see him more often than Marcus does and he has already deserted us. No worry. We shall see him again, God willing.”
    “Your brothers are very different,” Carla noted when she and Sinclair were alone, walking toward the garden.
    Sinclair, his hand at the small of her back, nodded his agreement. “As different as the towns they serve.”
    “You say serve. I thought they were Dukes as well.”
    “And they are.”
    “But they rule then.”
    Sinclair stopped in the shadows to face her. The slight wind ruffled his hair, pulling several strands loose from the confining piece of leather. With the darkness obscuring his features, he became a shadow holding her captive with his voice. “My brothers feel as I do. We are here to serve our people, not to be served by our people. I have much in my life. I should give some back to the people who do not have as much.”
    Carla blinked up at him in surprise. “Have you worked among them?”
    “The villagers? Of course. They are comfortable with me. I long ago learned that respect is earned not bestowed. That is why my people know that I will help when I can. They are not afraid to come to me.”
    “You have worked in the fields with them?”
    Sinclair’s lips curved into a slight smile as he surely heard the disbelief in her tone. “I have.”
    “That would explain why you are so dark. You’ve been working this summer.”
    “I work with them every summer.” His voice dropped a notch, coated with sadness.
    “When did you start working with them? I mean, have you been doing this all along?”
    With a sudden movement, Sinclair turned away from her, taking a few steps toward the