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“I wouldnae like tae be in his shoes,” the cook said, frowning. “That tongue o’ hers could cut ye in two!”
Janice’s rage rose as she stamped toward the parlor, and by the time she reached it, she was absolutely fuming. As soon as she saw Bernard’s wide back, broad shoulders, narrow hips, and long legs, she felt like committing murder because, even now, she desired him. He was a loathsome, unprincipled swine, but she still wanted him. What kind of sad person did that make her?
Hearing her footsteps behind him, he turned to greet her, but as soon as he saw her thunderous face, the polite greeting died on his lips.
“I never meant to hurt you, Janice.” It was the first thing that came out of his mouth when he saw her. “I am so sorry. What you heard was William’s idea, and I was just about to strike him in anger when you interrupted us and came to the wrong conclusion.” Then he remembered his reason for arriving on her doorstep uninvited. “I was so sorry to hear about your father. He was a good man.”
Janice was dressed in a garment that could charitably have been described as hideous since it was made of a dull brown linen fabric that was patched in several places and bore many stains of dubious origin. Her face was smeared with mud, as were her hands, but he cared nothing about all of that. She was there, close to him, and to his eyes, she had never looked lovelier.
“Thank you for the condolences,” she said stiffly. “As for the rest, I don’t believe you.” Her voice, hard and flinty, sounded like the clashing of one stone against another, and her brow was drawn down over her eyes like a cloud over the sun. “I heard you and your loathsome friend discussing me. Sleep with you? I would not share my body with you if you were the last man on Earth.”
The unfairness of her statement made his anger rise to meet hers.
“And yet you wanted to before!” he reminded her. “You begged me to take you there in the castle turrets with a cold stone wall behind your back in the most undignified way possible. Do you think I would have refused your offer if I had some kind of nefarious plan?
“I could have taken your virginity right there and then and ruined you. I could even have used our liaison as a tool with which to blackmail you.Istoppedyou,Janice, not the other way round!” He paused for a moment to regain his breath, and when he spoke again, the fury had left his eyes. “I care for you, Janice. I love you, and I could not go on any longer knowing that you thought me a monster. Even if you never return my feelings, I hope I have changed your mind because if I have, I can rest more easily knowing you don’t think badly of me.”
Janice looked at the hurt that was written all over his face and suddenly realized the truth of his words. She had been so focused on her own pain and anger that the memory of him gently pushing her away had not crossed her mind again. She had been fretting, blaming him, cursing him, and wishing him dead when none of her misery was his fault. At the time, she had felt hurt and rejected, but now she could see the wisdom of what he had done. He had acted against his own urges to preserve her maidenhead and her honor. Far from being the villain of her nightmares, he was a good and noble man. How could she ever have thought otherwise?
A wave of shame washed over her, and she put her hands over her face to cover it for a moment before taking a few steps toward him.
“Bernard, I am so sorry. Everything you said is right, but I was so angry that I never thought that way. I was thinking only of myself. Please forgive me, Bernard, because I love you too, and my heart will break if you walk away.”
He stood for a moment, staring at her in disbelief, then his face broke into a wide, glorious grin.
“Oh, God!” he breathed. “You have no idea how long I have waited for you to say that, Janice.”
He covered the distance between them in three long steps and pulled her into his arms, heedless of her dirty dress and the mud on her face and hands.
He smiled as he kissed her because she tasted of the earth that was clinging to her face and lips, and it was the most unusual kiss he had ever shared with any woman. Nevertheless, he put his whole heart into it because he was kissing the woman he loved, the last woman he would ever kiss. Nothing but death would ever part them now.
Janice was in heaven as his lips swooped onto hers, and he thrust his tongue into the sweetness of her mouth, almost devouring her as he strove to be closer to her. He smelled of sweat and leather, an aroma that should have made her pull away from him, but she was so lost in desire that it smelled like the finest of French colognes. It was only at that moment that she realized how much she had missed him.
When they drew apart, she gave voice to the thought. “I have needed you so much,” she murmured, leaning her forehead against his. “I never want to be away from you again, Bernard.”
“You don’t have to be,” he answered firmly, “because I am never letting you go. Never.” He looked down into the slate-grey eyes that were gazing up at him with a world of happiness in them. “Would you like that?”
“I would. Even while I was angry with you, I knew I needed you.” Her voice was husky and loaded with emotion, and her eyes shimmered with tears of joy.
“Will you marry me, Janice?” he asked, then held his breath.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Yet, he was still doubtful. “You realize that you will be the wife of a humble man? Someone who has to work for a living?”
Janice kissed him again. “I already work for a living,” she reminded him. “And we can still live here, or near here. My father did not leave me destitute. He reasoned that despite his only daughter being a hardheaded, stubborn, opinionated woman, she would need a dowry one day. He had more hope than I did.” She chuckled.
“His only daughter,” Bernard said fondly, drawing her close again. “Will we have to ask someone for their blessing? I am only a workman and not a squire or a knight or a laird.”
“Bernard, I have to marry sometime, or so everyone keeps telling me,” she answered, rubbing his bristly cheeks with her hands, making him chuckle. “I am of age, and I do not need anyone’s permission, but if you insist, we can ask the laird if he approves of my choice of husband.”
“And if he does not?” Bernard was still unsure. “What then?”
“I will marry you anyway,” she assured him. “I would rather not have it that way, but I love you, Bernard, and I will spend the rest of my life with you or with no one.”
They shared another heated kiss to celebrate her promise, and this time he cupped her breast with his big hand, squeezing it gently and grinding his stiffening erection against her.
Janice moaned as he ignited her desire once again, then common sense broke through after a moment. They were standing in the middle of a large public room engaged in a very intimate and passionate act, and anyone could walk in at any moment. Besides that, an afternoon spent in the herb garden planting sage and parsley for the kitchen garden had rendered her absolutely filthy.
