Gazing up into his fierce, handsome face, she felt her insides squeeze. God, she couldn’t let him go. She had to find a way to get through to him. But how?

For Joan’s sake, Alex was trying to keep a rein on his emotions, but it wasn’t easy, damn it. He wanted to rage at the unfairness, lash out at the people who should have protected her, put his head in his hands and sob for the fifteen-year-old girl who’d been so horrifically betrayed, and kill the man who’d done it to her. As he’d already done that, perhaps he should say kill more painfully.

Had he really chastised Raider for his seemingly endless need for vengeance after the rape of his sister? Alex understood only too well the kind of pain and anger that could cause a man to lose sight of anything else. Every fiber of his being burned for vengeance right now.

Fifteen? Christ. How could anyone do that to a young girl? His heart broke for the loss of innocence. Not her virginity—he didn’t give a shite about that—but at what must have been a cruel awakening to the ugly side of men. She’d already gone through so much in her life; the imprisonment of her mother, the loss of her father. To give her heart to a man, and then to have it so cruelly and brutally betrayed must have been a devastating blow.

He didn’t know what he’d expected when she’d started to talk, but it hadn’t been this. Maybe he should have known. In many ways it explained a lot. Her initial reticence with him, her cynicism, her lack of trust, the seeming indifference to her reputation all made more sense now.

But he’d never felt so damned helpless.

He looked down into her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Joan. Christ, I wish there was more that I could say. I wish I could have been there for you.” Had she gone through it alone? Though he suspected he knew the answer, he asked, “Did you ever tell anyone what happened?”

She shook her head. “At first I was too ashamed, and then later there didn’t seem any purpose. Phillip had been sent away, and my wardship was given to Sir Henry not long after. In truth, I just wanted to forget it had ever happened.” She laughed bitterly. “But it wasn’t that easy. My situation didn’t lend itself to meeting many honorable men.”

Alex’s jaw hardened with understanding. Men would have viewed her as ripe fruit from a low-hanging branch—easy pickings.

Bloody hell, where had Despenser and de Beaumont been? They were her guardians, they should have been protecting her.