Page 89 of Suddenly a Bride
Gwyneth held back her cries, holding Edmund’s body close against her. She took his frustration, his violent need for her inside her, made it a part of her. She wanted him focused on her, not on his quest to destroy Earl Langston.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” she whispered against the damp hair behind his ear.
He slowly lifted his head. “What?”
“I am worried for you.” She pressed kisses to his chin, his cheek, and his lips. “I’m frightened where this villain is leading you.”
“You think I am proving something to you?” he demanded with disbelief.
“Are you not? We can call the constable to deal with the earl and his son.”
“They are trying to destroy what is mine.” Edmund pulled out of her and got up on one knee. “I shall not stand back like a coward.”
A chill of despair and anxiety deepened as she watched him floundering in his anger.
“Do you not understand?” He grabbed up his braies and breeches and pulled them on. “I have to do this alone, I have to prove—”
“To prove what—that you can kill again? That you are still a soldier?”
He froze, his shirt hanging from one hand, his eyes pale blue flame. “I care nothing about that. I have to protect what’s mine. I have to protectyou!”
Stunned, she fell back on her elbows to stare up at him.
“I will not let him destroy everything I’ve worked for, everything I want to leave to my children.”
Her despair deepened into nausea. “Edmund, please—”
He pulled his shirt over his head. “What, Gwyneth? Please what?”
Her tears spilled over. She needed to tell him everything, but how could she say the words that would damn her in his eyes?
Chapter 21
Gwyneth watched Edmund pull his doublet on and stride to the mouth of the cave, keeping his back to her as he looked out at the valley. She dressed herself, unable to stop crying. She couldn’t lie to her husband for another minute. His anger had to be better than this horrible deception that hovered between them like a vulture.
“Edmund!”
He turned to face her as she approached him, holding her gown up at her shoulders, her cloak over her arm. Showing no emotion, he turned her about and laced up the back.
“Edmund.” This time his name was but a whisper. When she looked into his beloved face, it was even harder to admit what she knew she must. “I have to tell you something.”
His narrowed eyes studied her, but he said nothing; instead he drew her out into the sunlight, took the cloak from her hands and wrapped it about her. The valley—their valley—spread out before them. Far in the distance was Castle Wintering, only a speck beside the sparkling river.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to gaze into his eyes. “Ten days ago, someone slid a copy of our marriage contract beneath our chamber door when I was in there alone. I cannot imagine who might have had a copy. I read it, but I still did not understand why someone wanted me to. It wasn’t until I puzzled over the clause about everything reverting to the Langstons should we not have a son, that I began to think. It never occurred to me before I read that contract, that—that there might be something wrong with my family.”
His eyes remained impassive, even as she silently begged him to believe her.
“Only then did it dawn on me that my grandmother never had sons, my mother’s sisters never had sons, and my parents never had a son. I realized that the earl must have figured this out long ago and decided to use it against you. And I felt…terrible.” She rubbed her wet eyes, wishing desperately that he would say something.
“But even though you supposedly trust me, you did not confide in me.”
“I was afraid you would set me aside! You are the most wonderful, gentle man, and I could not bear being parted from you. And I also could not help fearing for my family’s welfare.”
Edmund turned to look out over the valley. “When you discovered the purpose of the clause in our marriage contract, you could have told me immediately and given us both a chance to come up with a solution. Instead, you kept it hidden.”
“But I’m telling you now!” she cried, pulling on his arm until he looked down at her. “I admit it was a mistake, but I was frightened of your reaction. I was worried you would annul our marriage if I couldn’t bear a son. I couldn’t do that to my family or to us. We had discovered something wonderful between us. I was praying every night that I would eventually give you the heir we need.”
“I didn’t want to trust you. I have never trusted many people, because when a hidden truth comes out, it always feels like betrayal.”
