In Bed With A Stranger(87)

“Forgive me, ma’am, but we needs to go now.”

There was a solid ring of duty in his voice that didn’t hint at any argument from her. He reached for her hand and helped her into the cart the man insisted she ride in. Her mare having been denied her the second Helen told all at Sterling that she was with child. Ginny and the others were left to deal with the geese. But for her, she was returned to Sterling in haste. Brodick had kept his promise to have her accompanied anytime she left the imposing walls. They rode through the gate well before the riders reached them. Helen stood on the steps waiting for her.

“There ye be, ma’am.”

“Is it the earl returning?” Her voice was full of anticipation.

Helen shook her head. “The lord doesnae have the bells rung on his return. He claims ’tis an honor he has yet to earn.”

A shiver went down her spine. Her babe kicked hard as she lifted her chin and watched the gate. The riders drew in close enough to see and the banner of Warwickshire flapped boldly in the afternoon sun. Horror flooded her, stealing her breath as they filled the inner yard. But the worst was yet to come. The man leading them yanked his helmet free and shook out his long hair.

It was a face that she wished she might forget.

Cameron Yeoman was an evil man. One of a handful of men Philipa employed to keep the staff in hand at Warwickshire, the man often gained compliance with his brute strength. He flashed a sneer at her, his gaze settling on her distended belly. The tip of his tongue appeared on his lower lip, swiping back and forth across it a few times.

“Good day to you, ma’am. Your Mother, Philipa, sends her greetings.”

Anne paled. She felt the blood draining from her face. Cameron waved a horse forward and she heard a faint tinkling of laughter. Her sister Bonnie rode confidently up beside Philipa’s strong man. Her cheeks were red, a haunted look in her eyes.

“I brought you a letter. The mistress commanded me to bring it to you.”

Anne moved down the steps as fast as possible with her belly so large, unable to see her sweet sister so close to such a monster. More than one maid at Warwickshire had suffered his rape. The man was a monster, often beating a girl even after she bent to his will. Bonnie reached into a leather pouch and pulled a folded parchment out. She shuddered but hid it almost in the same moment that it shook her slight frame.

Anne took the letter, but was more intent on getting her sister away from her escort. Cameron stared at her belly, a twisted smile on his lips.

“Dismount, Bonnie.”

“Hold.” Cameron held up a hand. Bonnie flinched but froze with her hands tight around the saddle horn.

Captain Murry, charged with her protection outside the gates, had shifted away, leaving her at the mercy of her visitors. Work was resuming around them. Even Helen had joined several women working on washing wool. Everyone seemed to be granting her privacy to talk to her guests, thinking it a kindness.

Cameron swung a leg over the head of his horse. He moved close enough to keep his words between them.

“Your sister stays on that mare.” He reached into his leather doublet to pull another letter from it. His smile grew. “This is a proxy marriage, giving me full rights to your sweet sister. You can say anything you wish but no man in this castle will deny me the rights to my wife.”

“No…She’s but fifteen.”

“Aye, you heard correctly. I confess that I like the young ones best.” Depravity danced in his eyes. He licked his lower lip, enjoying the horror the gesture bred in her.

“Find a way to take a ride with me and leave your guardians behind or I’m going to enjoy the trip back to Warwickshire. Your sister won’t.” He sniffed. “But every wench has to learn to take a man inside her at some point.”

“I think I shall just have you thrown out like the filth you are, while keeping my sister safely at my side.”

Cameron raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe you’d better read that letter in your hand before you open your mouth. I really don’t care. Your sister is mine if you choose to stay. You can’t keep me locked away forever, and slapping me in shackles won’t dissolve my marriage. My men are really looking forward to getting to watch me consummate it. I might even share.”

Anne ripped the seal open. She didn’t want to read Philipa’s words, didn’t want to give the woman any of her time ever again. But seeing Bonnie in his care was too much. She could not abandon her to Cameron. He’d do it, all of it and more.

“Your brothers will be sailing for the New World if you don’t return with me.”

That was a death sentence. All of the brave men and women who had set out to found Roanoke had disappeared, their fate unknown in the vast wilderness that was Virginia. But the Privy council was determined to see an English colony in the new world. They sent ships every few years, and few of them returned.