Page 28 of A Knight in Tarnished Armor

Linnet snorted, then said, "The more men I meet, the more I understand."

Her aunt smiled, then her face grew serious. "I'm most concerned with your happiness."

"I could be happy here." She could be happy here. Someday. If she could forget.

"I think, Linnet, that you could be happy anywhere. And I'd love to have you near me, but then if I let you do this I'd be as guilty of coveting your company as my foolish brother and the Baron Warbrooke."

"But I want to be a nun."

Her aunt gave her a long and assessing look. "Could you spend the rest of your life wedded only to God?"

Linnet's gaze dropped to her hands.

"Devoted to Him with all your heart and soul?"

Her heart belonged to William. She had given it to him on a magical midsummer's eve. She sighed. "No. My heart is no longer mine to give."

Her aunt reached a gentle hand and tilted her head up. "I thought as much. The Baron Warbrooke?"

She nodded.

"Can you not find it in your heart to forgive him?"

"He lied to me and played me for a fool. I loved him." She raised her chin. "I have my pride." She paused, then added, "And there is Grandpapa too. How could he do that to me?"

"Your grandfather has always acted before he thought. Old fool. But he loves you. More than any other member of his family. I think perhaps he only wanted to keep you safe. Did he not tell you of the vow he made to your mother?"

She shook her head.

"He is a prideful old fool," she muttered. "He promised her, when you were born, the day she died, that he would never force you to wed. You see, he had forced her, and for all that she loved your sisters and wanted you, she was never happy. He always blamed himself for your mother's death. I think he tried to protect you."

Linnet thought about how her grandfather would deal with his feelings of guilt. Not very well.

Her aunt rose from her chair and said, "You need some time alone. Search your heart and see if you cannot understand why these men act like such fools. Pray. Ask God to help you, my dear. Ask Him to help you forgive."

11

So you think she truly has given up the idea of joining the convent?"

"Bess seems to think so." The earl of Arden raised his fifth tankard and leveled a stare at William. He drank deeply before he said, "I don't understand why Linnet is so angry."

William frowned into his mug. "Court a woman. God's teeth, I'm a warrior not a courtier." He was quiet, thinking of all he had done wrong. In a weak moment he began to sing Greensleeves.

The earl dropped his ale and slammed his hands over his ears. "Cease, Warbrooke! Bloodying my nose was enough torture for one day!"

"Can't sing," William declared.

The earl shook his head, then pounded the heel of his hand against an ear.

"I should have written poetry for her," William murmured.

The earl was concentrating on pouring another round and spoke as if William hadn't. "I only wanted to keep her safe and happy. Couldn't she see that she would have to bend to a husband's will? I wanted to keep her happy and free. She is my sunlight."

"I don't kill women and eat children. She bloody well knows my feet aren't cloven."

The earl's eyes narrowed. "How does she know that?"

"Don't ask, Arden. You would just try to choke the breath from my lungs again, and I'd have to break your arm this time. God only knows how she would react if I did so."