Chapter 1
Dartmoor, England
The hawk traced an invisible circle in a sunless sky. No movement from its wings, the bird rode unseen currents. Juliana held her face upturned, wondering how something moving so little did not plummet to the ground. The horse beneath her stumbled forward over the broken ground. The rain, which had been light and misty earlier, now hit her skin like thousands of stinging insects. She drew her hood around her face.
Shielding her eyes with her hand, she scanned the area. From the top of a rise, she saw her destination below. Her destination. Her destiny. Never had she been less sure of what fate had in store for her. A chill went through her body to rival the icy raindrops lashing her skin. She took in a sharp breath and pulled up behind a copse of dwarfed trees, deformed and gnarled by the incessant wind. Behind cover, she studied the figures below among the ancient ruin.
Three men sheltered near a massive slab which was supported by two other flat stones laid on their sides. The man in the middle stood taller than the other two, who were pulled in on themselves against the cold. Not he, though. The knight held himself straight, unflinching. Even from this distance, she saw he rested both hands on the pommel of a great sword hanging from his belt, point on the ground. She knew he couldn’t see her, yet his sight seemed trained on her.
A shiver ran down her spine. She reached inside the folds of her cloak and found the dagger stuck in her belt, assuring it was within easy reach.
She nudged her horse onward, stumbling down the rocky slope, moving into the valley below. Above her, the hawk continued its slow circle. Now she was out in the open, all three men turned to face her as she made her slow descent. No turning back now.
Movement in the sky caught in her peripheral vision. A small, swift bird darting across the sky. The hawk dropped out of its pattern and snatched its prey out of the air. Juliana imagined the explosion of feathers and the frantic beating of a small heart before death silenced it forever.
She blinked rapidly and swallowed through a tightened throat. She’d reached the flat floor of the valley and the party watching her—waiting for her—came into detail. The tall knight stood as if risen from the ground as much a part of the landscape as the slabs of stone. He squared his shoulders, while his cloak whipped about his body. Long locks of hair caught in the wind, blowing back over his shoulders. Amazing hair, all shades of gold. The other two men wore caps which tied under their chins. So, here is Sir William, the Persistent, as she dubbed him. He, with all his messages.
“Leave us.” His deep-voiced command carried on the wind, and the men with caps dissolved into the background. Now, the knight alone faced her. He was broad across the shoulders with a handsome, strong face. His brow was high and wide, in perfect balance with a square jawline. Younger than she expected.
The rain changed to snow. As she neared, he made a move as if to help her dismount, but Juliana jumped to the ground before he could put a hand on her.
He spread his arms in greeting and gave a small bow, fixing startling blue eyes on her. “Juliana Basset! At long last. You have been evading me.” He broke into a wide grin, exposing straight, white teeth. His smile—too easy, too warm—put her on edge.
“’Twas evident you would not leave me be. I thought it time to have it out.”
“Now, you see sense at last. You set me on a chase, which I do appreciate from time to time with a lady.” He crinkled his eyes. “But not in this case, as I’m anxious to be away from this ungodly place.”
She tilted her chin up. “I see no sense in this meeting at all. Don’t tarry here on my account. I don’t know what importance the daughter of a merchant can be to you.”
A fat snowflake lodged on his cheek above his close-shaven beard. He didn’t move to brush it away, and she watched as the fragile thing melted of its own accord and rolled off his face. She tried not to flinch under the scrutiny of his piercing eyes. She noticed now what made his eyes so startling: The irises were a light, bright blue surrounded by dark blue rings.
“Do you not? Methinks this is the moment you’ve lived in anticipation of these last six years.” He tutted to himself. “Keeping a secret is such a burden.”
“I have no secrets, Sir William.”
He jabbed a finger at her. “Lie!” he shouted, but still with a smile on his face.
Juliana jumped back. “I do not know what stories you’ve been hearing—”
“Listen, here, my lady…” He stepped closer, and she pushed back her hood to throw him a look of contempt she’d seen her father use to put men in their place. His jaw slackened. “Yes, well...these stories...have put you in danger.” His voice faltered now.
Seeing his guard down, she stepped forward and looked him in the eye. He understood now she wasn’t one to be trifled with. “The only danger I see stands before me.” She pushed aside her cloak and rested her hand on the handle of the dagger. His gaze followed her hand.
That blasted grin came back to his face. “Nay, I am here to offer you protection. Or mayhap I chose the wrong words. To say I offer you protection implies you have a choice in the matter.” His smile widened with warmth, but his eyes fixed her with such a hard glare, she felt her knees weaken. “You don’t.”
• ♥ •
Will had to remind himself to breathe. When she threw off her hood, he felt as winded for a moment as if he took a crushing blow to the chest. If her sister had been only a fraction as beautiful as this one, he could see how such a girl had been the cause of so much trouble. Hair the color of honey, heavy-lidded eyes like she’d just rolled out of bed, and full lips designed for kissing—not frowning, as they were now. He pulled his sights away from the swell of her breasts, rising and falling in indignation. Everything about this girl put him in mind of the bedchamber, and such thoughts would not serve him well with what he had to do.
“I don’t need protection!”
He let out a loud groan. “I do not have time for games. You’re lucky I got here before others did. Understand me? There is turmoil across the land. You will be much sought after in such a climate of discord. Let me cut to the heart of the matter. Your sister married the king in a secret ceremony.”
“My sister is dead, Sir William. There is no place for her in your story.”
He held up a finger. “What month did she die?”
She looked wary. He could almost see the calculations playing out in her head. “She died six years ago.”
He sighed, impatient with her. “What month, I asked?”
“March.”
“You lie easily. I will make note of that. Your sister, may God rest her soul, died in November, so others say.”
She looked away, her chin trembling, snowflakes clinging to her hair. “I don’t really remember. I was young. Her death is mixed up in my mind with other events at the time. What’s the significance of what month she died?”
“My dear, you could not have been that young. Forgive me, but without meaning to offend you, I’d guess you were old enough to remember perfectly well.”
“Still an early indiscretion, with one party no longer a threat—”
“Ah, but here is the thing which is so very interesting to many: Your sister died in November, but the king married the queen the previous August. The queen by whom he has children would not be his legal wife, which would make the heir to the throne a… Well, you can see why people are interested. But mayhap ’twas not a legitimate marriage? I imagine in their haste things were not done properly. People will do things to satisfy their desires…”
She had been swallowing hard and staring at the ground with a wide-eyed gaze, but her face shot up then. “’Twas legitimate!”
“As you well know, because you were a witness—which makes you key to this tale.”
He could see surrender in her eyes now. “Not the only one.”
“Yes, there was a second witness. Sir Roger Bonneville. He’s dead now.”
A line creased the skin between her brows. “When?”
“Recently. As is the priest who performed the ceremony.” No need to tell her there was nothing suspicious about their deaths if thinking differently would persuade her to come with him.
He looked past her to the storm advancing on them. Her lips were twitching as if she were trying to work out more questions for him. It would be far easier to knock her over the head and spirit her away. He was not a patient man, and he did not care for this place with this otherworldly monument. Why had she chosen this meeting place?
“Why am I in danger now? After all this time?”
“There are barons who are moving to challenge the king.”
She raised her chin and studied him. “Which side are you on?”
“The king’s side, of course.”
“And, you act under his orders?” She took a step backward. He could see suspicion dawning on her anew.
“Someone close to him.”
“I would think it would be in the king’s interest most of all to see me dead.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his men rounding behind her in the distance. One gesture from him and they’d set upon her if she tried to flee. “Ah, now, that’s not true. If he wanted you dead, he wouldn’t have waited this long. Again, I am here to protect you, not to harm you. If you will allow me—”
“How long do you mean to stand guard? How will I explain your presence to my father?”
“Oh, you misunderstand me. I’m not going to guard you here. I’m taking you away. To someplace safe.”
She puffed up with indignation. “I do not think so! I cannot leave my father.”
“And put him in danger, as well?”
He watched uncertainty play across her features. At the same moment, he watched the sun sink lower in the sky. They had to leave soon if they wanted to find a safe shelter for the night. He held out his hand to her, offering it, but really ready to grab her if she continued to resist.
He put on his most winning smile. “Trust me.”
“How long will I be away?”
“Only until things have settled down again. It won’t be long. You’ll be home before Yuletide.”
“When would we leave?”
He raised his eyebrows at her. “This instant, of course.”
She shook her head. “Oh, nay. I will not leave my father like that! I must say goodbye and assure him I’ll be back. It would break his heart if he thought something happened to me. And, I am not prepared for a journey. I need to gather my things—things I cannot be without.”
Will looked up at the advancing storm and the setting sun. He couldn’t entertain this dialogue any longer. “We leave now. I have with me all you will need. The sooner you learn I’m in charge, the better we’ll be. I have the final say. That’s how we shall proceed.”