Page 69 of Historical Hotties
He tugged on her gently, pulling her closer. “Itwaswrong,” he said. “If your cousin told you that you were ugly, then she was lying. Ask Rhori or Bose. Ask any man who has not livedand served at Doncaster and has been poisoned by these lies. They will tell you that you are quite beautiful, but you’ve been surrounded by idiots who look at your freckles and think the devil is trying to mark you. Those are ridiculous, lying fools. And I think your cousin told you all of those things because she was jealous of you. She didn’t want the competition.”
Dacia smiled timidly. “That is why you are my dear friend,” she said. “You make me believe that mayhap I am not as bad as everyone says I am.”
Cassius rolled his eyes before tugging on her a final time so she was sitting on the bed next to him. She was sitting on his wounded side and when she accidentally bumped into his left arm, jostling the shoulder, she quickly put her hands on him in an apologetic gesture. But to Cassius, her touch was worth a thousand such jostles. He held her hand against his chest, tightly.
“Dacia, I want you to listen to me and listen carefully,” he said. “What I am about to say may mean something to you, or it may not. Only you can be the judge. But I think it is important.”
He sounded serious and she nodded. “Of course, Cassius,” she said. “What is it?”
He gazed up into her magnificent eyes. “Would you say that I am a comely man?”
She nodded without hesitation. “The most handsome man I have ever seen,” she said. “In fact, my maids have been buzzing about it. Evidently, every woman at Edenthorpe thinks the same thing.”
He gave her a look that suggested he was quite pleased and also not surprised, which caused her to chuckle. But he reached up, capturing her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him.
“This is going to sound quite arrogant of me, but it is the truth,” he said. “They are not alone. When I said I had armiesof women following me around, it was the truth. The king has long suspected that he will not die in battle, but trampled by a stampede of women in their haste to get to me. It is, therefore, fair to say that I have seen many, many beautiful women.”
Her smile faded. “And you’ve not yet found a wife in that horde?”
He shook his head, releasing her chin but reclaiming her hand. “Nay,” he said. “Not to say that there haven’t been a few viable candidates but, in the end, it would be unfair to take a wife because of my position with the king. I would be with him more than I would ever be with my wife and that is not fair to her.”
Her smile vanished completely at that point. “That is understandable,” she said. “No one would blame you.”
His big fingers began to caress her soft flesh. “You are the only female who sees it that way,” he said. “I have been sent gifts, expensive gifts, and plied with money and wine from rich women who thought I would drop everything to lay down by their side.”
“But you did not?”
“I did not.”
She cocked her head in a gesture of understanding. “I do not blame you,” she said. “You have a great position that is very important to you. You should not give it up for a woman.”
He cleared his throat softly. “That is where you would be wrong,” he said. “Thereisa woman I am considering giving it up for.”
She looked at him and he could see the light go out of her eyes. All of the warmth she had in her face was gone, replaced by something cold and sorrowful as much as she tried to hide it.
“I… I am happy for you, then,” she said, averting her gaze and pretending to focus on his shoulder wound. “I shall do my best to heal you so that you may return to her. Would you like me tosend her a missive telling her of your injury? Mayhap she would like to come to Edenthorpe and tend you herself.”
He was back to rolling his eyes. “Christ,” he muttered. “You do not understand, do you?”
“Understand what?”
He fixed on her. “Dacia, what I was trying to tell you, though not so eloquently, was that I have seen many women in my life,” he said. “Too many women to count, so I know a beautiful woman when I see one. I also know a good heart when I see one, but it is rare to find both a beautiful woman and a good heart together. I’d have better luck looking for a unicorn. But I have found one such woman, the rarest find of all. I have found you.”
She was still puzzled; he could see it. “But what about the woman you are considering giving everything up for? Surely she is beautiful with a good heart.”
He groaned, putting a hand up to cup her face. “Are you truly so dense?” he said. “Youarethe woman I am considering giving everything up for, silly wench.”
Dacia stared at him. For a long, uncertain moment, she simply looked at him. Then, she bolted off the bed, bewildered and overwhelmed, and ended up sitting in a chair over against the wall. About as far away from him as she could get. She sat there, staring at him as he gazed back steadily.
“Can you hear me from over there?” he asked, touched and amused by her response.
She nodded stiffly. He chuckled.
“Are youhappysitting over there?” he asked wryly.
Again, she nodded. He tried to shift his body so he could get a better look at her.
“Dacia, this is not helping my pride,” he said. “I have just bared my soul to you. The least you could do is say something. Tell me you feel the same way. Or tell me to go outside and throw myself into the river. Say what you will, but saysomething.”
