Page 104 of The Saxon Lord's Unwanted Bride
It was Edwin.
“I must protest!” Agatha cried. “You’ll distress her by forcing yourself on her in this manner!”
He held up his hands in supplication. “Eloise, I must speak with you,” he said.
“Leave us, Agatha,” Eloise said. “Edwin won’t harm me.”
After the nuns withdrew, he remained where he stood and lowered his gaze, as if waiting for permission to come closer.
“Edwin?”
He knelt before her and took her hands. His own were soft and warm—so unlike his brother’s. But he would not meet her gaze.
Resisting her body’s urge to withdraw, she curled her fingers round his.
“Why have you come?” she asked.
“To give you a message—from Harald.”
She had been right. He no longer wished to see her.
“He does not come himself?”
“My brother is with the king,” he said, “and you’re to come with me.”
“For what purpose?”
“Harald has bequeathed Wildstorm to you, to hold until your child is born after which he—or she—will inherit.”
“To me? Won’t he be returning himself?”
“He will never return to Wildstorm.”
A cold hand gripped her heart, crushing her hopes. Harald cared for her enough to want her to return to Wildstorm—but she disgusted him so much that he’d rather stay away from his beloved home than live in it with her.
“I cannot let him do this, Edwin,” she said. “Wildstorm is his home. If he cannot bear to live there with me, then I shall remain here.”
He shook his head. “No, you misunderstand me…”
“No,” she said. “I understand all. You see me as he does—a sinner, a murderess—who’ll never be free from evil.”
“No, Eloise, you’re wrong.”
“Am I?” she whispered. “You cannot even bear to look at me.”
He lifted his eyes to meet hers—soft, brown eyes, so much lighter than Harald’s—eyes filled with shame.
“Shall I tell you why I cannot look at you?” he asked. “’Tis because I’m not worthy to look upon one I have wronged. My brother may have mistreated you, but he’s the warrior. I’m the scholar—supposed to be a man of understanding and compassion. Unlike my brother, I suspected Beauvisage of treachery—but I did nothing to stop him.”
Beauvisage—would she never be free of him, even in death?
“My brother cares for you, Eloise,” Edwin said. “His absence is not through want of feeling.”
“Then tell me why he’s not here.”
Edwin shook his head “I vowed not to.”
“You owe me the truth,” she said. “I’ve weathered much these past months—do you think the reason Harald’s absence now, could pain me more than anything I have endured?”
