He’d managed to keep his promise to Miri, avert any sort of tragic outcome this time. But neither her friends nor her family would willingly surrender her to a bastard like him and after all he’d done, why should they? The next time someone came after her, matters might not reach such a bloodless resolution. If it was the sorcerer, Renard—
Simon clenched his jaw, not even wanting to think about that. It was far better if Miri left with Wolf right now. This sweet interlude they had shared would come to an abrupt end, far sooner than Simon had expected. He had thought they would have more time . . .
But time for what? To make their inevitable parting more painful? As Simon watched Miri with Wolf, their intimacy was obvious despite their quarrel. Simon didn’t know how it could hurt any worse than this.
———
MARTIN CLASPED Miri by the shoulders, his green eyes roiling with anger, hurt, and outrage. “Damn it, Miri. What were you thinking of, going off with that treacherous miscreant? How could you do this to me, to your family? And what the devil did you mean by apologizing to that bastard?”
Torn between her own anger and guilt, Miri glowered at him. “Someone needed to do it and it was obvious you weren’t going to. At least you should have told Yves you were sorry. How could you manhandle him that way? Despite his great size, couldn’t you tell what a gentle soul he is, little more than a child?”
Martin flushed, looking ashamed and uncomfortable. “I realize that now and I am sorry. I never meant to—” He released her, flinging up his hands in a frustrated gesture. “Damnation! When did I become the villain of this piece?”
“When you came swaggering onto Simon’s land, ranting and raving like—like some performer overacting in a bad farce.”
“Overacting,” Martin repeated in strangled tones. “Mon dieu, woman! Do you have any idea what I have been through these past weeks, tracking you the length and breadth of France, pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion, mad with worrying about you in the clutches of that witch-hunter. When Marie told me—”
“I can’t believe she did that,” Miri interrupted. “She promised me faithfully she would tell no one.”
“What did you expect the poor woman to do after you took off on some demented mission to battle an evil sorceress and seeking out the help of that snake in the grass? When I arrived on Faire Isle, she was practically hysterical.”
Miri cast him an impatient glance. “Marie has never been hysterical a day in her life and well you know it, Martin. I am sorry if I have worried her. Marie, at least, understood why I had to go. I had no other choice.”
“Yes you did.” Martin struck his fist against his chest. “You could have sent for me.”
“Even if I’d had time to do that, where in God’s name would I have found you? When I lived in Pau with my sister, I scarce knew where you were half the time. You were always off on some quest or another mad adventure for the king of Navarre.”
“Mad adventure? You dare to speak to me of mad adventures?” Martin demanded, furiously wagging his finger in her face. When she struck his hand aside, he paced off a few steps, flinging up his arms and crying, “This—this is unbelievable. We are having a lovers’ quarrel and we have never even truly been lovers. All this time I have adored you, respected you so much I have scarce dared to kiss the hem of your gown. Then I arrive here and find you with Aristide half naked and your laces all undone.”
“We had just delivered a calf, Martin!”
“Oh, is that what they call it out here in the country? We had a far different term for it on the streets of Paris.”
Miri flushed hotly. “My virtue is still intact if that is what’s worrying you.”
“What worries me is that that bastard had his hands all over you, seducing you—”
“He wasn’t seducing me. I was seducing him. I love him.” The words came out more bluntly than she had ever intended. She added in a quieter tone, “I always have.”
Martin paled, but he shook his head in the familiar denial. “N-no, you don’t. You are just confused, that’s all. He has always been able to do that to you, damn the man. He might well be some God-cursed sorcerer himself the way he has bewitched you. But you can’t possibly be in love with him, not after all the terrible things he has done to your family, the way he has betrayed you time and again.”
“Simon has changed—”
“The devil he has. Once a villain, always a villain.” Martin folded his arms across his chest, but beneath his anger, Miri could see the full depth of the wound she had dealt him.
She rested her hand gently on his shoulder, her eyes burning with tears of regret. “The only villain here is me. You have every right to be angry and upset with me. I—I never meant to hurt you, but I did betray you.”
Martin gave her a stricken glance. “You said nothing happened back there in the stables. That he didn’t . . . you didn’t . . . you are still a maid.”
“I am not talking about tonight. The day I betrayed you was when I let you fasten that locket around my neck, permitted you to hope—”
“Don’t say that, Miri.” He stopped, his breath hitching. He brushed her hair back from her throat. “My locket . . . you—you are not wearing it.”
Miri found it hard to meet his wounded gaze. “No, but I have it safe. I meant to give it back to you the next time we met.”
“I won’t take it,” he said fiercely. He swallowed thickly, attempting to smile. “What, my Lady of the Moon? After stealing my heart, do you mean to try to rob me of all my hopes and dreams as well?”
“My dearest friend.” Miri laid her hand alongside his cheek. “I should have known years ago that I could never be what you want me to be. But I was so lonely, so unhappy, and I needed your friendship so much, but that’s no excuse. I should never have allowed you to hope for more than that. I have done you the greatest wrong.”
“Never!” he insisted, capturing her hand, planting a kiss on her palm. “This is not the best time for us to be discussing this. We are both tired and distressed, saying what we don’t mean.
“You were right about me always being off on some wild adventure. But—but I’ll change, become more settled, I swear it. I am sure the king esteems me enough to offer me a position in his household and we could take up residence in the palace. Or a fine house in Nerac.”
“Oh, Martin!” Miri groaned. He still refused to heed anything she was telling him.
He rushed on, “We don’t have to decide anything right now. The important thing is to get you away from this wretched place.”
Taking hold of her wrist, he tugged her toward his horse as though he intended to swoop her up and ride off with her in typical impulsive Martin fashion. It would never occur to the man that she left her own horse and belongings behind until they were several miles down the road. He didn’t even notice her trying to protest or pull free of his grip.
“It’s not that far to Paris. We could be there before morning. There is a banker I need to consult anyway, about some funds that are going to be secretly diverted to Navarre. Then I’ll be free to make arrangements for our journey back to Pau.”
Miri dug in her heels. “I have no intention of going anywhere. Have you forgotten why I joined forces with Simon in the first place? There is still the matter of the Silver Rose to be settled.”
“Let the witch-hunter deal with the evil sorceress. That’s his duty, isn’t it? And maybe if we are lucky, they’ll finish each other off.”
“Martin!” Miri wrenched her hand free. “It’s my duty as well. Have you forgotten who I am?”
“You are the lady I adore, my best and brightest reason for living.”
Miri vented an impatient sigh. “I also happen to be a daughter of the earth and one of the Cheney sisters of Faire Isle. In Ariane’s absence, it is my responsibility to find this Silver Rose and prevent her from doing any more harm.”
“All right. All right. I’ll take care of the witch after I send you home.”
“Do
you ever listen to anything I say?” Miri demanded indignantly. “You are not sending me anywhere. You are the one who need not become involved in this. You should continue on to Paris and take care of your business for the king—”
“And leave you here alone with a man I don’t like and don’t trust? A man who has displayed to me that he has a disturbing penchant for—for delivering cows? I don’t think so, my sweet.”
They glared at each other, their eyes locked in a contest of wills, but for once Martin appeared to recognize the full measure of her resolve.
“Fine!” He rolled his eyes, flinging up his hands in a dramatic gesture of surrender. “If you want to hunt witches, we’ll hunt witches.”
His mouth twisted ruefully. “I don’t suppose I can persuade you that we can manage the business ourselves and dispense with the services of Monsieur Cyclops.”
Miri frowned, drawing in a sharp breath, but he flung up one hand to forestall her.
“Never mind. It was just a suggestion. A completely sensible and delightful one, I thought, but I can tell you are not as enamored of the idea as I am.”
She squeezed his hand and said earnestly, “My dear friend, you are a very clever and brave man, one of the bravest I have ever known. But I doubt Simon will ever agree to you joining us. Not after that scene in the stables. And frankly I could not bear it myself, having you two constantly at daggers drawn.”
“It would not be like that, I swear to you. If he can restrain himself, I certainly can,” Martin protested with a look of injured innocence. “You know me, Miri. I obey your slightest wish. If my Lady of the Moon commands me thus, I will treat that miserable deceitful varlet as though he were my brother. We’ll be just like—like Cain and Abel.”
———
MIRI TRUDGED back to the stable, rubbing her brow. Her head throbbed from her efforts to persuade Martin it would be best for him to leave. She had forgotten how hardheaded her friend could be. He had insisted that whether Simon gave him permission to remain or not, Wolf was staying, even if he had to erect a tent on the doorstep.
He was perfectly capable of carrying out such a threat and Miri’s stomach knotted at the prospect of another confrontation between the two men. Although Simon had behaved with a forbearance that had astonished her, Miri quailed at the prospect of his patience being put to the test again.
She stole inside the stables to find it much quieter than when she had left. Yves and the grooms were gone, leaving only Simon. He was in the stall with Elle, bending down to check the mare’s forelegs. Fearing that the mare had injured herself when she had thrashed about in her stall, Miri rushed toward them, exclaiming, “Simon, what is it? Is Elle hurt?”
Although Simon tensed at her approach, he didn’t so much as glance up at her. Finishing his inspection of Elle’s other leg, he said curtly, “No, she appears to be fine.”
“And Yves?”
“He’s all right. I sent him off to his mother.”
“And—and you?”
“I’m fine as well.”
As Simon slowly straightened, Miri thought he looked anything but fine. She hadn’t expected him to be pleased about Martin’s arrival. She had even anticipated he might still be angry. She would have preferred that to the way he did look, closed off and distant. His lip was split and swollen where Martin had hit him, but when Miri tried to examine his injury, he shied away from her.
“You need to let me put some salve on that.”
“I can tend to it myself.”
“I am sure you can, but—” Miri faltered, dismayed by his forbidding expression. Considering the way she had been locked in his embrace before Martin had arrived, the contrast in Simon’s manner was painful. Elle was far more welcoming, blowing out a soft breath and nudging Miri with her head.
As Miri stroked the mare’s velvety nose, she said, “Simon, I am so sorry for what happened. I—I had no idea Martin would turn up here, behaving so badly. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for not accepting his challenge.”
“I told you I’d never put you in such a painful position again,” he said tersely. “After all the times I’ve lied to you, it was high time I kept at least one of my promises, don’t you think?”
“All the same, I realize how hard it must have been for you to keep your temper when Martin was being so provoking. It meant more to me than I can possibly tell you.” She moistened her lips nervously and continued, “I daresay Martin would apologize to you too, if—if he wasn’t so blasted proud and stubborn. He would like to—to—”
“Rescue you from my clutches? That’s what I expected, that he’s come to fetch you back home, but it’s getting too late for you to set out now. The morning will be soon enough. I can contrive to tolerate your betrothed for that long.”
Simon stepped out of the stall and strode off as though the matter were settled. Momentarily stunned, Miri hastened after him. “I am not betrothed to Martin and I have no intention of being. If I was, do you think I would ever have kissed and caressed you that way? What sort of woman do you think I am?”
“A very inexperienced one when it comes to passion. I should have stopped you before we got caught up in the heat of the moment. You were confused—”
To his surprise, Miri’s eyes flashed with anger. “The next man who tells me how confused I am is going to get his ears boxed. I know what my own heart tells me, Simon.”
“What it is telling you is wrong. We shared a few heated kisses, that was all. It’s just as well that le Loup arrived to take you away—”
“I am not going anywhere until we have defeated the Silver Rose and I am sick to death of being told what I should do, what I am supposed to feel.” Miri spun on her heel, storming toward the stable door. She paused to fling back at him over her shoulder. “Oh, and don’t be alarmed, Simon. I won’t throw myself at you again. Nor do I have any intention of marrying Martin. All men are more trouble than they are worth. When all this is over, I am going home to my cat.”
———
THE HOUR WAS LATE, the moon had risen. Miri sat on the wooden bench at the edge of the pond, her skirts hiked up to reveal her shapely legs as she dangled her feet in the water, her hair shimmering down her back.
Simon watched from a stand of trees. He should have insisted she return to the house. It was damned reckless for her to be out alone at night, even on his land. But he understood what had caused her to do so. She was hurt by his rejection and troubled by the tension between him and le Loup. It had driven Miri out here to the water and the soft night breezes to recover her sense of harmony.
Le Loup was a romantic idiot, but Simon could see why he called her the Lady of the Moon. There was something ethereal about Miri, but there was also a passion and strength in her that the other man entirely failed to recognize.
“Perhaps you’d like to train that hot gaze of yours elsewhere, witch-hunter. Before you lose your other eye.”
Simon started at the silken voice hissing at him. He whirled around to find Wolf behind him, his fingers clenched on the hilt of his sword.
“Mon dieu, would I love to run you through right here and now.”
“So why don’t you?” Simon demanded.
Wolf glowered in frustration, allowing his hand to fall back to his side. “Because I’m afraid she’d never forgive me if I did.”
“Beyond the pale of Miri’s forgiveness is a desolate, cold place. You’d be wise to avoid it. Believe me, I know,” Simon replied wearily. “I didn’t follow her out here tonight with any lust-filled purpose in mind. It’s not safe for her to be out here alone.”
“Looking after Miri is my job, not yours. I am the one who has been her most ardent and devoted adorer for years.”
“Instead of looking after her, maybe you should try really looking at her for a change,” Simon said. “She is not some goddess, some Lady of the Moon to be worshipped from afar. She is only a woman, albeit a most remarkable one, with a woman’s needs—”
“I hardly need
the likes of you telling me anything about my lady,” Wolf snarled.
“No? Do you really think she’ll be happy imprisoned in some palace apartments, shut off from the open fields and woods?”
“She’d be a damned sight happier with me than she would with you on this wretched farm. At least she’d still have her family. You tore her life apart on Faire Isle once. Would you now seek to separate her from her sisters forever? I may not be worthy of my lovely Lady of the Moon, but you certainly are not.”
“Don’t you think I already know that?” Simon asked dully. Pivoting on his heel, he strode away, saying, “Watch out for her. Make sure she gets safely back to the house.”
As Martin watched his enemy vanish into the darkness, he frowned. This was hardly the tame response he had expected from the ruthless Aristide. For a moment, it had actually sounded as though the bastard did care about Miri.
But Aristide had always been a good liar, abusing Miri’s trust and innocence, betraying her. Except that the witch-hunter wasn’t the only one, Martin thought uneasily. The sin lay heavy on his soul, no matter how hard he tried to forget it, shove it back onto the darkest, deepest shelf of his conscience.
His love for Miri had scarce been days old that night ten years ago in Paris, the night that he had let himself be lured into the bed of a witch . . .
Chapter Sixteen
MEGAERA HUDDLED IN THE CENTER OF HER MASSIVE BED, her body curled up tight as though warding off a blow. Exhausted from her labors with the Book of Shadows, she slept deeply, unaware of the silent figure of her mother hovering over her.
Cassandra groped until she found the coverlet, tucking it over her daughter’s frail shoulders with a rare gentleness. Megaera stirred restively on her pillow as Cassandra brushed her cold fingers over the child’s cheek. Even in her sleep, Megaera sought to draw away from her.