The firelight shimmered in her luxurious brown hair. “You’re a lovely woman. I’m sure your father will have no trouble finding you another husband,” Reese said, trying to be reassuring.
She turned to him then, and her blue eyes sparkled like liquid crystal. “Apparently not lovely enough,” she answered, and moved by him.
Reese cringed slightly at her words. She was lovelier than he had imagined. He reached out and clasped her arm, halting her movement. A shock scorched through him at the touch. “You could have been Helen of Troy. It wouldn’t matter. I will not be forced into marriage.” He held her arm a moment longer before releasing her.
Jayce didn’t say a word. Reese only heard the soft padding of her slippered feet as she walked out the door, and out of his life.
Chapter Eight
Reese could not sleep that night, and the next day came all too soon. As the sun climbed into the morning sky, he stood at the window, looking down into the courtyard. He blinked away the sun’s glare and watched as Dylan helped Jayce mount her horse. The young knight and another of Reese’s most trusted men would escort her back to her father. Dylan swung himself up onto his horse, reining the prancing animal in to cast an angry glare up toward Reese.
Reese watched Jayce’s dark hair wave in the breeze as if bidding him a farewell.
Dylan was not talking to him.
Something inside Reese tugged at his heart. He would never know what it felt like to touch her hair.
Nicole was not speaking to him now, either.
He would never know what kind of passion her spirit hid.
Reese clenched his fingers into a fist. If only things had been different between them. He might have courted Jayce. But with the anger and resentment burning in his heart, the poor girl had no chance. This is the best way, he told himself. The only way. I will find the woman I am fated to marry. I will find the woman I am destined to love.
The three horses started forward, moving beneath the portcullis. Reese watched them go until Jayce was just a speck on the horizon. He sighed slightly as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. Then why did he feel as if he had just lost something precious?
“M’lord.”
Reese turned to see James standing in the doorway. He held out a piece of rolled parchment, sealed with a stamp of wax.
“This just arrived,” James told him.
Reese snatched the missive from James’s hand, inspecting the seal. It was the seal of a physician. Reese ripped it open, his eyes scanning the words. A scowl crept over his face. He clenched his jaw, dragging his gaze from the parchment to lock eyes with James.
“Stop her,” Reese ordered. “Don’t let her leave.”
“I’m afraid she’s already gone, sir,” James replied.
“Then saddle my horse. I’m going after her.”
Chapter Nine
Jayce stared down at the pommel she gripped so tightly it made her knuckles turn white. She should have been worrying about how she was going to explain to her father that she had lied to him, that she was still a virgin, that her marriage had not been consummated. Instead, all she could think about was the feeling of betrayal stabbing her heart. Why had Reese turned her out without giving her a chance to prove herself? He had almost been repentant at the hearth the previous night, almost civil. Almost a man she could call husband. She had begun to hope that maybe he wouldn’t return her to her father, that they could try for a life together. But this was not to be.
There was no reason she should feel hurt at his cold dismissal. Reese had not chosen her. He had been tricked, forced into marrying her. Yet, even knowing this, the pain of his rejection would not fade.
She knew she should forget him. She would never see him again. But he haunted her thoughts like a vengeful apparition.
Suddenly, her horse began to slow. She turned her gaze to the two guards before her. They were straining in their saddles, their stares focused on something behind her. She turned her head to see a horse riding toward her down the road, a small cloud of dust trailing behind the animal.
As the rider approached, Jayce saw his dark hair rippling behind him like a banner, announcing his arrival. He was bent low over the pommel, driving the animal hard to overtake them.
She knew instinctively who it was. Unwillingly, her heart beat faster, pounding in her chest with hope.
Reese reined in his horse beside Dylan, announcing with an explosive pant, “She’s returning to the castle.”
Jayce saw the satisfied grin curling Dylan’s lips, but when she turned gladdened eyes to Reese, he would not meet her gaze. Slowly, her happiness faded and apprehension rose inside her. “Why?” she demanded, finally drawing his gaze. “Have you decided to call me wife?”