“Ariana.”
It was a whisper. A caress.
Her head rose sharply upwards, green eyes shining in the moonlight. A look of alarm settled into something calmer when she recognized him. “Have you followed me out here?”
“Aye.” He nodded in admission. “I wanted to be sure you were safe.”
She paused, still holding his gaze. “Well, now you know it.”
Suspicion flared within him. He stepped closer, disliking her instinctive retreat.
“Are you keen to be rid of me, wife?”
She hugged her arms across her chest, but it was a gesture of defense rather than defiance. “You have made your own feelings clear these last days.”
Otto’s forbearance was at an end. He closed the distance between them and placed a firm hand around her shoulder, not allowing her to shake him off. “You are the one to order sleeping draughts from the physician,” he stated, his words raining down like icicles. His eyes bore into hers, making sure his meaning landed. “And you are the one disinclined to dine with me on more than one occasion. What am I to make of it all?”
Something about the look in Ariana’s fearful eyes tugged at him. There was anger of her own, misplaced for sure, but also doubt and a good deal of confusion. He was not looking into the face of a deceitful bride. More a brave soul who had been through an ordeal and did not know which way to turn. He loosened the grip of his fingers, noticing how the moonlight glinted on the jewels around her neck.
Ariana lifted her chin. “I was under the impression your lordship had finer company to keep.”
He had never been spoken to so impertinently by a woman. Her words were delivered as a slap across the face. Otto recoiled, at first in shock and then with a cold anger. But the anger was not solely directed at Ariana.
“My uncle’s words still trouble you.” He spoke through gritted teeth. It was a statement, not a question.
She looked away. “It is not important.”
“It is important to me.” Gently now, he cupped a hand to her face and tilted it towards him. “Ariana, you have no reason to distrust me.”
Her eyes flared. “We still scarcely know one another.”
A shiver ran through her, visible despite the heavy folds of the gown, but the evening was not cold. Otto raised his eyebrows. What was it that made her tremble so?
“We shall not grow closer while ever you feast alone in your chamber.” He paused, considering his next words. Once said, he could not take them back. But if he retreated from the matter, he would be forever beset by doubt. “Nor if you creep around my castle in disguise.”
She flinched backwards, proving beyond all measure that his suspicions were correct. A knot of despair unfurled in his stomach. He had so hoped to be wrong.
Ariana swallowed and looked down, breaking their gaze. “You recognized me.” It was a statement, not a question. “I knew it.”
At least she had not attempted denial. Otto’s scar throbbed and he clenched his hands together to keep himself from gripping her shoulders and demanding an explanation.
“Will you tell me why?” Despite his best efforts, it came out as a growl. Ariana moved away from him, and he couldn’t help shooting out a hand to hold her in place. “Do not take me for a fool, Ariana.”
“I would never do that,” she breathed, a sob trembling beneath the surface of her words.
He believed her.
He dropped his hand. “You must explain your actions. I command it, not as the Earl of Darkmoor, but as your husband.” His voice softened on the final words.
She was trembling now like a leaf caught up in a storm. Otto was torn between a desire to offer comfort and the urgent need to have her speak the truth.
“I have reason to believe that enemies of Darkmoor may even now be inside the castle walls,” he said suddenly, driven by an impulse to explain. He fastened his gaze on the darkened blooms of his mother’s roses and spoke from his heart. “I need to know that you are not one of them.”
She lifted her face towards him, surprise and sincerity written clearly across it. “I am not your enemy,” she whispered, the breeze fanning through her hair and bringing the pungent scent of rose petals towards them.
Her simple words were like sweet music to his ears, breaking through his barriers of fear and mistrust. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, but too many questions remained.
“Then why?” He opened his arms wide to demonstrate the breadth of his confusion.
