|
|
|
|
|
|
been well schooled never to say to a man that an action was dangerous, at least not that it would be dangerous to him personally. However, it was too late. Although she had not said the words, what she meant was clear enough. But Walter was far more interested in the evidence her distress gave of her concern for him than with any challenge to his competence in protecting himself. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Her loveliness filled his eyes, the rich orange tawny of her velvet overdress seeming to raise a reflection in her netted mass of hair, the gold silk of her underdress, and the topazes that circled her throat, matching the gold of her eyes. Her lips and cheeks were still reddened by her morning's exercise in the cold, but her elegant nose was now properly a match for her mat cream skin. Walter took a small step closer to her and seized the hand she had half raised in protest. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Sybelle, why do you tease me with a denial of my right to love you?" he asked softly. "I see you care for me, and you know I want you for my wife. I do not wish to pretend we are betrothed. I wish to be so in truth and to set an early date for our wedding. Will you not say you will have me and allow me to settle the business?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Will you stay with me if I say yes?" Sybelle whispered, forgetting everything she had ever been told about men because of her fear for him and her desire to keep him safe. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
He pulled her even closer and bent his head above hers. "You know I cannot," he murmured. "My dear love, even if I were to write to Knight's Tower instead of going, as you desire, I would soon have to go with Richard. You would not have me be an oath-breaker, would you?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sybelle lifted her head, and their faces were now so close that no more than an inch or two was between their lips. The temptation was irresistible. Walter lowered his head a little farther and kissed her. Almost immediately both realized that they were not yet betrothed and were in publicand they stiffened. Still, their lips did not part instantaneously; there was a lingering. But then the music stopped. Sybelle turned her head a trifle. Walter lifted his and stepped back. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I would rather have you an oath-breaker than dead," Sybelle said rebelliously, but then she laughed and shook her head. "No, I know it is not right to ask such things. You must do what you think is best. I do not like it. I confess that. I think it foolish, as there is so little chance of a happy |
|
|
|
|
|