Knight of Her Heart (Conquering the Heart) Read online

  Smoke filled his lungs, making his head spin with dizziness.

  Nay, he would not be overcome. Her life depended on him.

  With everything he had, he gritted his teeth, held his breath and prayed for strength as he struggled to haul the massive beam up and off Lisette. The muscles in his arms bulged and burnt. Every tendon in his wrists stretched as he tried to support the weight as it lifted. His shoulders and the muscles in his legs screamed in protest, yet he must move that beam away. His body’s protests had to be ignored. He could do this...he must do this. ’Twas his wife who lay there.

  Rowan couldn’t hold his breath any longer. The smoke-filled air he breathed in irritated his lungs and hampered his strength rather than helping him. Steadying himself, he willed his feet not to lose grip as he took a step away from Lisette’s prone form. The last thing he needed now was to stumble and drop the beam back onto her body. Another step. One more. Sweat trickled from his brow. The pressure built up in his chest from the sheer effort of holding the beam. A cough threatened to erupt from his lungs, but he couldn’t let that happen. ’Twas essential to keep bearing this weight. Two more steps. Aye. He judged the distance and dropped the beam safely to the ground.

  Deep coughs followed, for ’twas impossible to hold them at bay. Light-headed, he realised ’twould not be long before the smoke overwhelmed him. Focussing upon Lisette he forced his legs to move toward her. After having hefted the great weight of the beam away from her, she was weightless in his arms as he bent down and scooped her up.

  I’ve got you, Lisette. Now he had to get both of them out of there.

  Rowan was more than a little disoriented in the thick smoke. He strained to see where he was going. The doorway must surely be close. He needed to keep the flames behind him.

  “Lord Rowan!”

  “Keep talking!” Rowan ordered.

  Bradford’s voice rang clear above the raging of the fire and was exactly the guide Rowan needed to find his way to safety. Forcing one foot in front of another, he shifted Lisette so her face was turned into his chest. He prayed to God that he wasn’t imagining the slight rise and fall of her breasts and that she was alive with no lasting damage done to her or her babe.

  In reality ’twasn’t more than a dozen steps before he stumbled out to safety on the village street, but it felt as though he was walking to London.

  Bradford steadied him. “Let me take the countess, my lord,” his captain offered.

  “Nay.” Rowan held Lisette tight while great wracking coughs shook him. His head ached so badly it made thinking difficult, but he would not surrender the care of his wife to another. Lisette was his to have and to hold...to love and to cherish...

  “Bring water,” Bradford commanded as he steered Rowan to sit on the back of a wagon.

  Rowan sat gratefully, his legs like lead weights. He wiped the stinging tears away and breathed in air that was less thick with smoke. “Lisette,” he rasped through his dry throat. She was still out cold and he could not rouse her. His fingers pressed into her wrist. “Praise God.” Her pulse was weak, but steady. “Summon the physician.”

  “He’ll be here directly, my lord. Will is safe. The physician is tending his wound.”

  “Good,” Rowan acknowledged.

  “The countess rescued Elizabeth and her baby,” Sir Bradford informed him. “She insisted Elizabeth take the infant to safety and was about to try to save Will when part of the roof collapsed.”

  Rowan looked down at his beautiful wife. Far from being dutiful and obedient she was wilful, reckless, infuriatingly defiant...and brave. She was also very lucky to have survived. Now he prayed that she had no serious injuries from the knock she’d received, for surely such an ordeal could cause her to miscarry.

  Bradford passed a pail of water to him.

  Shifting so that Lisette was still secure against him, Rowan cupped his hands and scooped some water to wash her face.

  The slight moan from her was a good sign, but she did not rally to drink.

  Fear for her health made his jaw tighten. She was still unconscious, probably having inhaled too much smoke.

  For all her bravery, Lisette may yet pay a high price. By disobeying his command to stay at the castle, she’d jeopardised her pregnancy and put her life in danger.

  Damn the arsonists to Hell! Whoever was responsible for the fire must be found.

  Frowning, he told his captain, “Search the area. Find some proof of who caused this fire.”

  “Aye, my lord. If there is any evidence left, ’twill be found,” Sir Bradford told him as he departed to follow his orders.

  The deep breath Rowan needed abraded his throat and lungs and his coughing started again. He took one gulp of cool water and the dryness of his throat eased. The tightness in the region of his chest remained as he regarded Lisette’s soot-smudged cheeks and nose. The thought of just how close he had come to losing her made something in his gut twist. He ran one hand under the hood that covered her hair and stilled. Lifting her head carefully but urgently, he drew the hood back. The fabric stuck to her hair slightly and he saw ’twas sticky with blood. Calling himself all manner of names for not having examined her fully when he first brought her out to safety, he realised his sleeve was also wet with the blood from his wife’s head wound.

  “Get the physician at once,” he directed urgently to a squire. “My lady has a wound to her head.” She’d been knocked insensible.

  “My lord!” One of his recent recruits ran toward him carrying a somewhat tattered cloth of blue and yellow. “One of the children found this in a tree on the southern road out of the village.”

  Rowan’s jaw clenched as the knight unfurled a banner. There was no mistaking the identity of the blue and yellow colours and the heraldic symbols. It belonged to the house of Winchester! Rowan felt as if he had just taken a massive blow to the solar plexus.

  “One of the villagers swears that he saw an archer shooting flaming arrows at the buildings. The man claims the archer wore a tunic of the same blue. It bore the same yellow symbols, with red diamonds set in the yellow.”

  Sharp blades of disbelief stung Rowan as he sought to make sense of this information. This evidence suggested his true father had made this unprovoked attack on Romsey, but there could surely be no motivation for such a crime. The man had ignored Rowan for his entire life. Surely the Duke of Winchester bore no ill-will against him? Rowan posed no threat to him.

  “Take the banner to the castle and see to it the man who saw the archer is available so I can question him.” Working out just how the Duke of Winchester’s banner came to be in Romsey was a problem for later. Now his first concern was Lisette and, despite his other responsibilities, he could think of naught else but her well-being. “And find the physician and bring him here at once.”

  On cue, the squire ran back with the physician close behind him.

  “Take care of my wife and our unborn child,” Rowan instructed the physician. “They mean everything to me.”

  The words struck Rowan like a bolt of lightning. ’Twas true. That Lisette should survive her injuries unscathed was more important to him than all else at that moment. Frowning, Rowan closed the door on that thought, refusing to analyse it.

  Chapter 11

  “Where in God’s name do you think you are going?”

  Lisette spun around so quickly at the sound of her husband’s outraged words, her head hurt even more. “My lord?” Lisette had been told Rowan had rescued her from the burning barn and had stayed at her bedside for hours. Her maid had said that the Earl of Romsey had been beside himself with worry for his countess and that all knew that he adored her. She’d said that he’d been most reluctant to leave, but had needed to go to Romsey village to inspect the damage and see to his people.

  He certainly wasn’t adoring her now or beside himself with worry! And, her servant had failed to mention that the Earl of Romsey was in a devilishly foul mood.

  Lips in a tight line, Rowan continued to a
dvance purposefully down the corridor toward her.

  “Lord Rowan?” Lisette tilted her head slightly to one side in enquiry and frowned. He moved as though he was about to cannon straight into her.

  Seconds later she let out a startled cry as she was swung up into his arms. It may have been a gesture she enjoyed except for the fact that her head pounded and his set expression told her the exercise was meant merely to dominate her. “Rowan! Put me down.”

  “Wife, do you deliberately disobey directions?” he asked her as he strode back toward their chamber. “Were you not with child you would be heaved, none-too-gently, up and over my shoulder like a sack of wheat.”

  “I can walk.” Every bit of the frustration she had at being man-handled was in her fists as she began thumping ineffectually against his broad body. She stopped the useless attack against him almost as soon as she started, for her shoulder hurt way too much to keep striking him and hitting him merely made her head hurt more. “My head is throbbing and being carried is not helping.”

  “Which is exactly why you should not be walking around the castle,” he told her in clipped tones. “Put your arms around my neck else I may drop you.”

  Resentfully she did as he bade.

  One of his arms was under the backs of her knees. He used the other hand to open the door. Mercifully, he finally lowered her to her feet. Her head swam as she tried to steady herself and she thought she might faint.

  “Bed,” he said firmly. When she hesitated his voice grew more authoritative. “Now, Lisette!”

  The widening of her eyes made her vision strained. “You want to bed me now?”

  A sound of pure frustration growled low and guttural from his throat. “You, lady wife, sorely try my patience with your unknowing insults. What sort of beast do you think I am? Did your maid not tell you the physician has ordered you not to leave your bed for at least two days?”

  “Aye. But—”

  “But you decided to ignore the advice.” Hands on his hips, he glowered at her. “I suppose I should take comfort that it’s not just my orders you refuse to obey!”

  “Rowan...”

  He turned and walked away, but when she thought he was leaving the room, he merely closed the door firmly behind him. At that moment the room seemed to shrink due to his larger-than-life presence and the anger that emanated from him in tidal waves. The air must surely have become thinner. Each breath was more difficult than the last while Rowan imprisoned her with his gaze.

  “You are fortunate to have escaped not only with your life, but with your babe unharmed. However, you must rest. ’Tis best for you and the child you carry!”

  “Oh!” One hand flew to cover her abdomen in a protective gesture. “I...It’s just that I feel fine...apart from my head and shoulder.”

  “Saints in Heaven! Are you capable of getting into the bed or do you need me to put you there?”

  Each word was a threat she knew he was more than able of carrying out, but she refused to be daunted by him. “I’m capable of far more than you give me credit for.”

  “Aye. You’ve been capable of being far more trouble than I would have credited,” he retaliated tightly.

  Lisette glared back at him determined to ignore her pain and make him listen. “Trouble am I?” Her left hand went to her hip as her right index finger pointed at him accusingly. “I don’t think Elizabeth, Will or John would agree!” The maid had given her a quick recap of the events of the fire and Lisette was relieved to learn all the family had survived. The younger woman had gushed and proclaimed Lisette a true heroine.

  “You had no business being in the village when I expressly told you to remain in our chamber.” His jaw firmed stubbornly. “You put yourself at risk.” He paced away from her then swung back. “In saving you, I was also at risk.”

  Her mouth fell open with sheer incredulity at his accusation. “No more than you were at risk when you raced through a curtain of flames to rescue old Charles,” she shot back. Her blood chilled again as she thought of Rowan running into the blazing building. The seconds seemed to lengthen into hours when it had taken so long for him to emerge.

  “Is that what inspired you to your act of madness?”

  “I was inspired to help when Elizabeth called out to me to catch her baby. I don’t understand what you are so upset about. Had I not been there they may have all perished in the fire.”

  He raised his open palm to his forehead and shook his head. “Did it ever occur to you that in saving Elizabeth and John, you placed your own life, and that of your babe, at risk?”

  Her heart tightened into a great fist of tension at the realisation that she had placed her own child at risk.

  “I...I saw only that they were in trouble. I was the only one who heard their cries for help. ’Twas merely human decency to aid them as I did. I would hope another would do the same for me if I found myself in a similar situation.”

  Some of the tension left Rowan’s shoulders. His exhalation was audible and he rubbed his hands over his eyes which she now noticed were sore and bloodshot.

  “You saved their lives, ’tis true,” he said. “Your intention was noble, but when I tell you to stay in the castle that is exactly what I expect you to do. Each time you think you must shoulder responsibilities by yourself you only create situations which make matters worse.”

  A twist of remorse knotted in her chest for she knew he was referring to the fact that she’d deliberately set out to become pregnant before her marriage.

  “This tendency of yours to act first and reap the consequences later, must stop,” he continued. “You are married now and I will take care of you. You are my responsibility.”

  Remorse was short-lived as anger sparked anew. He hadn’t been thinking of his responsibility to her when he’d raced into a burning building.

  “You are pig-headed and hypocritical, my lord, when you think it is alright for you to go charging into flames but too dangerous for me to do the same! I would have needed to take care of myself had you been incinerated. Besides, when Elizabeth called out there was nobody else around and no time for me to stop and think. ’Tis not in my nature to sit back and do nothing when I can help others.”

  “Lisette—”

  “I am not one of your knights to whom you can issue your commands and expect your word to be followed meekly.”

  “There is nothing meek about my knights, but I should be able to use that description for you. You are my wife. A lady. Remember your vow before God to obey me.”

  “Obedience doesn’t have to be blind and you will never find me meek.”

  He crossed his arms, his stance uncompromising. “You are surely the most wilful woman I have ever met, but the worst thing is that you lied to me, Lisette.”

  “That’s not—”

  “You promised me you would stay at the castle.”

  “I did not.” Dizziness washed over her and she took a step backwards so she could lean against the bed post. “I told you I wouldn’t argue with you about going back to bed and I didn’t argue—I just didn’t do it.”

  He shook his head. Disapproval was chiselled into each line around his mouth. “Do not argue semantics with me. You knew full well I thought you to be abed when I set out to the village.”

  She bowed her head slightly for she could not disagree with that point.

  “Do I need to keep you under lock and key?” he demanded.

  She shook her head then needed to reach behind her and grab the bed post to steady herself as the room tilted. Still, as physically incapacitated as she was, she would not back down. “You would rather I had let three people perish in a fire?”

  “I would rather have a wife whom I can trust and one who doesn’t go running around the countryside dressed in my clothing.”

  “Male attire is much more practical,” she argued. The lightness in her head grew. The effort of being out of bed and of standing up to Rowan was costing her dearly. “Braies and hose give much more freedom and should be
worn by all women!”

  The sound he made was one of sheer exasperation. “You, my lady, are truly outrageous.”

  “Nay,” she said weakly. “What I am is truly overcome by dizziness and nausea.”

  The second she swayed, Rowan was at her side, supporting her.

  “Little fool!” he chastised as he scooped her up in his arms and walked around to the side of the bed. Lying her down on the mattress, he pressed a kiss to her temple. The affectionate gesture registered as being completely contrary to the heated accusation in his words. “When will you realise that I will always make decisions in your best interests?”

  The room began to spin and she reached for the security of his hand and gripped tight. “I do feel ill,” she admitted quietly. Rolling waves of nausea buffeted her stomach and she fought to keep them down.

  “You were hit on the head, your shoulder is badly bruised from being pinned under a beam and you inhaled a lot of smoke. You are lucky to have escaped with so little damage.”

  Her eyelids fluttered. She wanted to look at him, but she struggled with weariness.

  “You want to sleep?” he asked.

  “Mm.”

  “Good. Listen to what your body is telling you. This exertion has been too much for you. Heed the advice of the physician and give your body time to heal.”

  “Stay with me, Rowan?”

  “For a short time.” He sat down next to her on their bed. His palm soothed along her forehead and down her cheek. “I’m needed back in the village as soon as possible.”

  She frowned. “Of course. You...must go.” ’Twas getting harder to speak. Harder to stay awake.

  “Promise me this time you will not leave this bed until the physician says you are fit enough to do so.”

  Forcing her eyelids open, she met his serious green eyes. “You have my solemn promise, my lord.”

  The curving of his sensuous lips into a smile made her pulse quicken. “Aye, Lisette. I believe you, but hope that I shall not have to extract a solemn promise from you every time I require you to do my bidding.”