“And that alone reassures you? You are a man easily appeased, if a woman’s beauty is enough to satisfy you.”

“I see more than beauty, and I find myself pleased, not appeased, that is all.”

“Aye, the true prize is the land and wealth that go with this marriage. A bride’s beauty is merely a sweetmeat added to a full meal. It is the way with such things, I know. But the favor of a king always has its cost. Do you understand the price of this banquet?”

He understood. But, oddly enough, that was not the part that he had resented. “The duty that Edward gives me is a small cost, and his to demand of me even without the prize.”

“With that duty goes danger.”

“That is also the way with such things.” He stepped closer, and deeply inhaled her spring scent. Rich. Full of sensual fertility and the delicate odors of flowers. It reminded him of carefree days as a child, when the warmth of May promised freedom and play and joy. “It is very sweet of you to warn me, though.” He touched her face, and slowly skimmed his fingertips down the curving line of her heart-shaped face.

Very little space separated them. He could decipher the patterns on her robe now, and their intertwining Celtic lines. She did not retreat from his touch, but merely looked into his eyes. Hers were dark pools glimmering like the pond at their feet. He felt a subtle tremor beneath his fingers, but still she did not pull away.

Something invisible and wordless passed between them. A mutual sharpening of awareness. A recognition, and acceptance, of what was to come. Images of that possession entered his head, and the garden shrank to a very small space fully occupied by a stark intimacy.

“I remind you of the danger for your own sake,” she said. Her words came low and halting, as if she knew that what filled the air made everything else irrelevant. “It would be a pity if the knight standing in front of me died soon.”

He smiled at her warning. Then again, perhaps it was meant as a threat. Right now he didn’t care which it had been. His thoughts were on other things. He rested his entire hand against the warmth of her face. She did not pull away, and a heavy silence beat between them.

His thumb wandered to her lips, and brushed their full, velvet swells. “Why do you dislike that notion? Does the knight please you just as you please him?”

“You appear handsome enough, and not as brutish as I expected.”

“Not brutish at all with you, I promise. Here, I will show you.” He bent and kissed her alluring mouth.

She did not react with shock or surprise, but a small hesitation stiffened her. Then a subtle yielding seemed to sneak out before she could catch it. She might have lost a debate before arguing very far.