Jayce shook her head, scowling. “He didn’t seem sick,” she mused. “I don’t know what happened.”
Nicole patted her hand. “He probably didn’t want you to become alarmed.” Nicole rose and paced to the basin resting on a table. “So he hid whatever illness he had.” She dipped a rag into the water, returned to the bed, and wiped off Jayce’s face.
“Please,” Jayce said, gently removing the rag from her hands. She stared down at it for a long moment. “Did Reese bring me back here?”
“Yes,” Nicole answered. “He carried you into the castle and tucked you in by himself.”
Jayce turned surprised eyes to Nicole. “Really?”
Nicole nodded her head, her beautiful blond hair bouncing.
“Where is he now?” Jayce asked.
“In the great hall, breaking his fast.”
Jayce remembered Reese’s gentle touch and his comforting warmth. She could almost feel his arms around her, holding her tight. “Do you think Reese would mind if I joined him?” Jayce wondered.
Nicole appeared troubled for a moment, then said, “No. I don’t think he’d mind at all.”
***
Jayce entered the great hall with Nicole beside her. Reese was sitting in the middle of the raised table, engaged in animated conversation. Her heart faltered, as did her steps, when he turned his gaze to her. His penetrating blue eyes seared her to the spot. She barely noticed the man with whom he had been speaking lift his dark eyes to her.
Reese stood and moved down the center aisle as she approached. He was coming to meet her. Had something changed inside him? Was he truly going to see her differently? A grin tugged at Jayce’s lips; anticipation burned through her veins.
But Jayce noticed with dismay that his large steps and agitated gait were not those of a happy man. With each step that brought him nearer, Jayce felt an uneasiness spreading through her. Her hopes fell as he stopped just before her. His jaw was clenched, his blue eyes hard with anger. His gaze swept past her to Nicole. “Is this your idea?” he demanded.
“Your wife wished to dine with you,” Nicole answered.
Jayce placed a gentle hand on Nicole’s arm and stepped forward to face Reese. “It was my idea. I thought...” Her voice faded as Reese’s blue eyes snapped back to meet her gaze. They were cold and dark, emotionless. She felt tears of disappointment sting her eyes. Surely she had not imagined his arms around her last night, his tender words in her ear.
“I will have your meal brought to you in my room,” he told her. “Now return there at once.” With that, Reese whirled, presenting her with his back, and moved toward the head table.
Jayce stared slack-jawed at his retreating back. The peasants near her murmured at his curt dismissal of her. The disappointment and crushed feelings were suddenly buried beneath a whirlwind of fierce anger. What right did he have to treat her like… like a common slave?
Jayce’s fists clenched tight, and she marched forward after his retreating form. She would not obey him like some humble lapdog!
He stopped just before the head table and Jayce almost ran into his back. She stepped around him, forcing a false smile to her lips. But she couldn’t quite unclench her teeth as she said, “Thank you for inviting me to dine at your table, m’lord.” She added a mock curtsy for insult and took a seat beside the dark man who sat beside Reese.
She felt Reese’s eyes at her back like daggers, but didn’t turn. Finally, Reese too, took his seat.
A healthy serving of venison was placed on a trencher before her.
The young man seated to Jayce’s left eyed her with curiosity. Jayce beamed him a smile, then took in his wild dark hair and beard, his savage brown eyes. His perusal of her unnerved Jayce, and she pulled away from him.
“Is this the wife you’ve kept hidden from me?” the dark man asked.
Reese grunted, taking a large bite of venison.
“No,” she answered, still stinging from Reese’s curt dismissal. “I am not a wife. No husband would treat his wife the way Lord Reese treats me.”
The dark man scowled. “But were you not married in the chapel? Was it not your virginal blood that stained the sheets?”
Jayce opened her mouth to reply, to deny it all. She cast a quick glance at Reese, looking at his arm, thinking of the cut that lay beneath his tunic. Who would believe Reese had cut himself to avoid bedding her? She dropped her gaze to her clasped hands.
“Tell us, why did you force yourself on Reese?” he challenged. “How dare you so disgrace the Harrington family name?”
Jayce felt embarrassment rise into her cheeks. “I had no part in Nicole’s kidnapping.”