Page 57 of The Raven and the Rose
“Roseanna, the King didn’t give a damn if his best friend was innocent or guilty. The woman was unfaithful and got what she deserved, or so most men would think.”
Roseanna shuddered. She had given herself up totally to Ravenspur in the night, to do with as he willed! She blocked the dark memories and looked around to see if they were observed. What she was doing now with Sir Bryan could be construed as faithlessness by tale-carriers.
Bryan touched her hand tenderly, “Best go now, Roseanna. I won’t approach you again unless we are chaperoned.”
Bless him,she thought.He knows exactly what danger he puts me in and would protect me
That night as she lay in bed, she worried that her dreams would be filled with unspeakable horrors because of what Sir Bryan had told her. But as she hovered on the brink of sleep, a deep longing began, a need to be enfolded and held by a pair of incredibly strong arms. Then as she slipped into sleep, she felt her husband’s big body cover hers. He filled her with his long, thick manroot and covered her with kisses until she almost drowned in his overpowering love.
When Roseanna awoke, she lay in her lonely bed, and Sir Bryan’s accusations washed over her. Damn it, she’d not let her mind go over and over it, filling her with sick dread.
She threw back the covers, dressed quickly, and sought out Mr. Burke. Although the hour was early, he had been about his duties since dawn. She found him in the small room he called the steward’s office. She closed the door quietly and sat facing him across his desk.
“Mr. Burke, I beg you to answer my questions. No one else can help me.”
Instinctively he knew what was coming, and knew he would not resist her appeal.
“Ravenspur’s wife Janet was murdered. Is it true she had been raped with a knife?”
He nodded slowly. “She was mutilated. The knife was found beside her body.”
“Ravenspur’s knife?” she pressed.
He nodded again.
“He was arrested for the murder?” she asked.
Mr. Burke said quickly, “The verdict was not guilty!”
She looked deeply into his eyes and asked softly, “Mr. Burke, was he guilty? I need the truth. Tell me what you know.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ve told no one this—you are the first and the last. I caught a glimpse of a man leaving her chamber late that night, before I went in and found her. I do not know who it was. It could have been Roger, or it could have been Tristan. If it was Tristan, what could have been his motive? I’ve asked myself a thousand times.” He shook his head and said low, “And if it was Roger, I prefer to think he found her like that and delivered a merciful coup de grace.”
“You truly cannot be sure of the identity?”
He shook his head. “He was tall and dark and coming from her private chamber.”
She shuddered. “Thank you, Mr. Burke. I appreciate your confidence, especially since I know that your loyalty to Ravenspur rules your life.”
Suddenly she had to get outside into the cool fresh air or faint. She went blindly down the main staircase, past the great dining hall, out into the courtyard. Pigeons and dogs scattered before her as she sought a place where she could be alone to sort out her thoughts. One voice inside her head screamed that the man they had bonded her to for a lifetime could not be a vicious murderer.Why not? Why not?another voice mocked.You know nothing of him!
She had not noticed that it had begun to snow. All at once she looked down at her hand and saw very clearly one perfect snowflake. Then as surely and as clearly as she saw its perfection, it came to her that she knew everything there was to know of this man Roger Montford, Baron of Ravenspur. His touch had told her that her body was precious to him. He had truly honored her with his body, as he had pledged in his marriage vows. His body was strong and powerful, but there was no cruelty in him, no evil. For the first time in the clear light of day, she allowed herself to relive their nights of love together, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that those loving hands could be trusted with a woman’s body. Not with just her body but with any woman’s body; she would stake her life on it.
A weight was suddenly lifted from her heart. She was no longer afraid of him, and it was a wonderful feeling. They could fight and argue, have totally conflicting views, and drive each other to madness with their willful pride, but she knew she had nothing to fear from him— except that he might be able to make her love him. She pushed the thought away, regained her composure, and returned to the castle.
Two hours later, Roseanna was surprised to see a small troop of half a dozen men ride in. But when she saw that their leader was her brother Jeffrey, she was overjoyed. His arrival would dispel her somber thoughts. As he greeted her with a hug and a kiss, she marveled, “Jeffrey, you must have a crystal ball. Ravenspur left for the coast only yesterday, and today you turn up as if by magic!”
“Wonderful!” He grinned. “Now you will be able to be with Bryan openly while I am here to chaperone you.”
She blushed and felt a pang of guilt. It was almost as if the whole thing had been planned. “I hope your men have been well taken care of.”
“You have a most worthy steward who has extended the famous Ravenspur hospitality.”
“Come, we will find you a comfortable chamber,” she urged.
“That shouldn’t prove too difficult. By the looks of the place Ravenspur lives quite splendidly, doesn’t he? I wonder if his other castles are as richly appointed as this.”
“I’m led to believe that this is a barren pile of rocks compared with Ravenspur Castle.” She grinned as she threw open the door to a very masculine room with black oak furnishings and mulberry velvet hangings. Jeffrey couldn’t conceal his envy; for a fleeting moment she wondered if it was Ravenspur he envied or her, because it had all been bestowed upon her.
