AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve behaved rudely towards him. I’ve tried to make myself ugly, unattractive to him.”
“Why not? He abducted you.”
She turned to face him. “Aidan, you’re my twin. I know it’s no use trying to hide anything from you, but you mustn’t tell Father—I was afraid to fall in love with Dieter.”
“By the saints, Blythe,” he retorted angrily. “How could you fall in love with a man who abducted you and kept you against your will for months?”
“I don’t know, but I think I do love him. I didn’t want to because he’s not the kind of man who could ever fall in love, and would probably laugh in my face if I told him I loved him.”
Aidan rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “I’ll never understand women. Has he defiled you?”
He winced when she thumped him hard in the shoulder. “No, he hasn’t! You haven’t listened to anything I’ve said.”
* * *
From the upstairs window Dieter watched the exchange between brother and sister. He saw how comfortable they were with one another, despite the fact they were male and female, and he marveled at the notion of twins. But they were not in agreement about something, and he wondered what it was. Blythe punched her brother’s shoulder and hurried into the house.
However, he did not have time to ponder further. He hastened his pace to the gallery for what he anticipated would be a difficult interview requested by Sir Caedmon.
The knight awaited him, legs braced, arms folded across his chest. Dieter noted he had left his sword in his chamber. That boded well, yet he felt like a naughty boy about to be punished. “Please, sit down, Sir Caedmon.”
“I’ll remain standing.”
For the first time, Dieter noticed something of a Scottish brogue in the knight’s speech. Blythe had shared some of her father’s story, and he was awed that here stood a man who had endured the ill-fated People’s Crusade and returned home a hero. “May I offer you some refreshment?”
Sir Caedmon shifted his weight and moved closer to Dieter. “Let’s not waste time with niceties. You know I want to kill you.”
“Yes, I’m aware you feel that way. I would probably feel the same if I was you.”
Anger blazed in the Englishman’s eyes. “You’ve dishonored my daughter.”
Dieter was outraged. “Sir Caedmon, I give you my word I have not.”
The Englishman stepped closer, fists clenched. “But you’ve compromised her by keeping her here too long. No woman who has spent so much time alone with a man will be accepted back into society in England. Why did you keep her when you failed to take Matilda? Of what use was she to you?”
Dieter could not look into the man’s eyes. “I confess I wish I knew the answer to those questions. I’ve asked them myself many times. I simply couldn’t relinquish her. I had to hold on to her.”
“But you’ve ruined her chances for marriage,” Sir Caedmon shouted.
Incensed by the notion of Blythe with any other man, Dieter yelled back. “I would gladly marry her myself if she didn’t hate me so much.” The vehemence of his own words astounded him.
“What?” the Englishman roared, shock contorting his face.
Unexpectedly, relief washed over Dieter. Having finally admitted the truth of his feelings for Blythe, he filled his lungs to calm his racing heart. “I love your daughter, Sir Caedmon. I realize now I’ve loved her from the first moment I looked into her eyes. You may not be aware we first met in Liège. However, she hates me for what I’ve done to her.”
Sir Caedmon snickered. “I know only too well what gazing into hazel eyes can do to a man. She doesn’t hate you, Count Dieter.”
He glanced up sharply. “What do you mean? How can she not hate me?”
“A woman who hates a man doesn’t look at him the way Blythe looks at you. She doesn’t speak of him in the way Blythe speaks about you. I haven’t seen a woman so much in love with a man since my own sweet Agneta fell head over heels for me.”
Dieter’s heart swelled on hearing Caedmon’s words, but he seemed to have something stuck in his throat. When his voice returned, it sounded like someone else’s. “You believe she’s in love with me?”
“Ask her.”
