Page 29 of Katherine the Vixen

Apparently saving his life has not been enough to gain his trust.

The relief at seeing that Siaspar was alive and well, despite his weakness, had been dizzying. With proper care, she didn’t doubt he would recover in a few days. It would take more than lost blood to bring the strong, indomitable warrior down.

That relief had quickly dissipated at his questions, however. She understood why he would be suspicious but she couldn’t help but deplore it.

“You still don’t trust me,” she mumbled.

He pierced her with a dark stare. “I would not go that far. After what you did, I am forced to re-evaluate my opinion of you. But I think there is something you are not telling me.”

No doubt he was alluding to the fact that she had still not revealed the nature of the hold of Lady Malpas had over her.

But she was now keeping another, even greater secret.

She did not want Siaspar to suspect what she had come to feel. Her reaction when she had understood that he might die had been stronger than it should have been and she was starting to worry that she had developed unwise feelings for him. How could she fall for a man who believed her his enemy, who thought her in league with a wife he hated and who wanted to kill him?

The answer was simple: she could, because his powers of fascination were undeniable.

Siaspar ap Morgan was the most entrancing person she had ever met.

Not only that, but he had possessed her twice, taken her maidenhead, stroked every part of her body, kissed her breasts, made her melt with indescribable pleasure. Right now, he was fixing her with sparkling eyes. How could she not fall for him?

But Siaspar could not be allowed to know about the inappropriate feelings she was developing for him. He would mock her at best, think it another deception at worst.

When he saw that she was not going to offer any explanation, he gave a sigh.

“Rest easy. I will not tell Lady Malpas that someone helped me. We will go along with the pretense that I managed to save myself. Not that anyone will be told what happened. You and Gwyn are the only ones who know I was found in a pool of my own blood. Can you keep that fact a secret?”

“Of course.”

He nodded and Katherine was relieved to see that he seemed to believe her in this at least.

“She will be angry to see that she failed to kill you, I’m afraid,” she couldn’t help but add. Seeing that her plan had failed would enrage and worry Lady Malpas. With reason. Her husband’s revenge was likely to be terrible.

“Oh, I am certain she will be beside herself with fury and disappointment.”

Siaspar sounded delighted by the prospect rather than worried. His wide smile took Katherine’s breath away. How could this man be called an animal?

“But she has only herself to blame. If she really wanted to kill me, she should never have made the mistake of leaving me before ascertaining that I was really dead,” he added harshly, the smile vanishing from his face.

“I… I believe she was shocked by her own actions and scared to see you die under her eyes,” Katherine said, remembering the expression on Lady Malpas’ face when she had seen the blood ooze out of her husband’s wrist. She had looked horrified.

“How very generous of you to say so. For my part, I do not believe the lovely lady who married me capable of such human feelings. Far from being squeamish, I think she was about to slash my other wrist but heard a noise before she had time to go through with it. She only left the room because she was afraid of being found out.”

Katherine had not thought of that.

Indeed, Lady Malpas had looked startled and had fled precipitously, but at the time, Katherine had attributed her flight to the shock of actually doing what she had hitherto only imagined. There had been a glint in her eyes when Siaspar had emptied his wine cup in one gulp, and she had not drunk a single drop of the drink herself. It had all been carefully premeditated, not the gesture of a woman seizing an opportunity presented to her.

Which proved she was truly determined and heartless.

Dangerous.

“Do you think the letter you threw in the fire was sent by your wife?”

Siaspar arched an eyebrow at the question. Katherine reddened, realizing that she had just admitted to having spied on him whilst she was hiding.

“Of course,” he said slowly. “You were there the whole time. You saw everything. But why are you asking?”

“I… I cannot be sure, but I think she might have written the missive herself to justify you killing yourself. She might have thought that the letter found in your room after your death would explain your decision. In which case, what was written on there was probably a lie. As is the news of your foster brother’s death.”