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William didn’t answer her. Kieran took Jemma into their bedchamber and closed the door, leaving a bit of privacy for William and Jordan.

William went back over to his wife; he knew what would wake her. He sat down on the bed next to her and instantly she stirred. Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him with a sort of glazed look. He smiled gently.

“You have got to get out of that wet dress,” he said softly.

She blinked and sat up and he could see she was still upset. Silently, she reached around her back and undid her stays, batting his hands away when he attempted to help her. All by herself she moved off the bed and let the dress fall around her ankles, stripping off her soaked undergarments as well until she stood stark naked. She kicked the dress against the wall and moved to the big wardrobe.

“I would not do that if I were you,” William warned, referring to the broken glass on the floor.

She ignored him and retrieved a pretty purple satin robe, wrapping it about her before moving back toward the bed. Surely, on her very last step she came down on a piece of glass and let out a yelp of pain.

William stood up and put her gently on the bed. “Let me see,” he held her foot up in front of his face as she lay back on the bed, still eyeing him with a pout.

“Jordan, quit looking at me like that,” he said, plucking out the piece of glass and then meeting her stare. “I am sorry you are upset, love, but I did not do anything intentionally. You know me better than that.”

She turned away from him. “Aye, I do,” she said in a small voice. Then she looked at him again. “But I also know that I am fat and ugly, and those women are more desirable than I am.”

He snatched her wrists and pulled her up to sit so fast that she was dizzy with the suddenness of the movement. Instantly, he was on his knees in front of her, pushed between her legs and glaring at her with an expression that scared her to death.

“Listen to me well, madam” his voice was low. “There is no one on this earth more desirable than you, and especially not to me. You are neither fat, nor have you ever been even remotely ugly, and I will not listen to you belittle yourself in that manner. I cannot count the times I have told you how beautiful you are or how much I love you and I have no idea where your insecurity is born. But you will cease with it this instant. I have eyes for none other but you, as you well know.”

She stared back at him, wide-eyed, and swallowed hard. “Ye’re hurting my wrists, English,” she whispered.

He slackened his grip but continued to hold onto her, staring hard at her as if to forcibly make her understand his statement. He was sorry he had been so harsh with her, but her ridiculous words infuriated him.

He sighed after a moment, his gaze softening. “Do I have six more months of this paranoia to look forward to?”

Relieved he wasn’t truly angry, she nodded with a smile. “I am afraid so. I nearly drove Paris daft with it.”

He rolled his eye with comical dread, kissing her hands lovingly before releasing her wrists. “This room is destroyed quite thoroughly.”

She sighed wearily and tucked her legs underneath her body, watching her husband pick his way among the mess, righting chairs as he went.

“I will have a lot of cleaning to do tonight,” she agreed, watching his broad back. “I am sorry, English. Sometimes I think I am possessed.”

He smiled, the dimples in his cheeks like deep grooves. “Do not worry about it, love. We are not staying.”

“What do ye mean?” she perked up.

He turned and smiled broadly at her. “My meeting with Henry went well,” he said with satisfaction. “So well, in fact that we leave for Questing on the morrow.”

Her mouth popped open. “What…what do ye mean?”

“You did not give me a chance to tell you, what with all of this fighting and ranting that you have been doing,” he said. “Our king, in his ultimate wisdom, has decided to release me from my obligation as king’s champion and has bade us return to Questing to resume my new post as Warden of the North Border.”

Jordan was stunned. “But Henry was so intent on keeping ye as his champion. What in the world changed his mind?”

William shrugged. “He knew I wasn’t happy here in London,” he said quietly. “Although I did what was asked of me and did it perfectly, Henry knew that my heart was not in it. He was being selfish, of course, as a monarch is allowed to be because he wanted The Wolf as his champion. Even to Henry I bring some sort of prestige. But even he realizes that I served him better in the north.”

“But who will champion him now?” she asked, concerned that if the king didn’t have another champion right away he would change his mind and demand that William stay.

“Captain Steven Brockenhurst,” he told her. “It seems the king was most impressed with his performance in the north against the clans, and with de Troiu gone the opportunity presented itself. I could not be more pleased.”

Jordan rose to her knees on the bed, her expression reflecting the fact that she was coming to understand they were leaving London for good. “Then we are truly leaving this place for home? Our home?”

He loved the look of happiness in her eyes. “Aye, love,” he murmured. “We are going home.”

She began to giggle with joy and he went to her, taking her into his arms and swinging her around gaily. She gasped and laughed, ordering him to stop manhandling her but loving it just the same. He kissed her loudly on the cheek.