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‘Battles will always need to be fought. Your king will demand it.’
‘Halfdan will have to find other men. I intend to hold this piece of land for him.’
She pressed her hands together. ‘We had an agreement. You and I.’
‘If you had succeeded, you would have your reward.’
‘Would have?’ Edith crossed her arms and attempted to control the fury which coursed through her veins. First he misled her about being able to read and now he dared say she remained his concubine despite everything.
‘I wagered your freedom against gold if you unmasked the culprit.’ He tapped his fingers together. ‘I will not ask you for the gold as the culprit has been found.’
‘How very generous of you,’ Edith said through clenched teeth.
‘I thought it was. We have reached an impasse, you and I. No one won in my view.’
‘But I did...or rather I helped.’ Edith tapped out the points on fingers. ‘It was only through my intervention that Godwin spoke up.’
‘It was Godwin who provided the clue and, knowing the boy, I suspect he would have come to me in due course.’ He raised his brow. ‘Are you going to argue with that?’
Edith raised her chin, rather than reeling from the blow. Despite everything, she was to remain his concubine. It was only a matter of time before he discovered how truly unfeminine she was and what then?
‘You mean I am to remain in our present arrangement,’ she said slowly, unable to frame the word—concubine. ‘To sleep in your bed and all it entails.’
‘The idea does not excite you?’
Edith ran her tongue over her parched lips. Excite her? She was terrified of proving less than adequate! But she wanted to taste his mouth again. What did that make her? ‘Not in the slightest.’
She waited for him to call her a liar. He turned the page of the book. ‘A pity that.’
‘Do you truly think?’ She pressed her hands together. ‘I think you only wanted to make a point. I was never supposed to agree and now you are stuck with an arrangement that you do not desire.’
‘You are seeking to put words in my mouth?’
‘Merely to clarify yesterday’s events. It is why you offered to woo me.’
Something flared in his eyes. ‘It might not have happened how you planned it, but Hrearek was discovered before he could truly undermine me.’ He closed the book with a slam. ‘That is worth something. You need to be rewarded.’
‘I don’t have to be your concubine?’ Edith bit her lip. A wild surge of happiness went through her, swiftly followed by a curious depression. She wanted to feel his arms about her and his mouth against hers, particularly after how he’d kissed her early this morning.
‘You may retire to your own bed at night.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘Since I assume you do not wish to go to a convent, consider yourself my adviser...for now. It should make things easier for you.’
Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t sending her to a convent. She was going to remain here as she had wanted. A faint prickling came at the back of her neck. He had not mentioned anything about sharing his bed in the future, but she’d worry about that later. ‘Do you mean that?’
His eyes became the colour of the lake in summer. ‘I do not make the offer lightly.’
‘I understand.’
‘When I have need of you, I expect you to come to me. Day or night.’
Edith gave a little laugh. ‘You can hardly have need of an adviser at night.’
He shrugged. ‘Those are my conditions.’
The back of her neck prickled. He was up to something. But her heart argued that it didn’t matter. It was a small price to pay for the entire issue of her being his concubine to vanish as if it had never been. He never need find out what a failure she was at bed sport.
‘Very well, I accept your conditions.’ Edith held out her hand. ‘I shall sleep in my own chamber rather than waiting on your pleasure.’
He wrapped his warm fingers about hers. The small thrill that always seemed to go through at the slight brush of his hand ricocheted through her again. Edith knew her cheeks burnt and that he was aware of the effect he had on her.
‘I...I will inform Hilda of the new arrangement.’ Her voice appeared to have gone all breathless. She screwed up her nose and tried again. ‘Immediately.’
His smile deepened and he slowly removed his hand, making it seem like a lingering caress. She snatched her hand back and covered her fingers, but all it seemed to do was to make her more aware of his touch.
