Free Knight of Seduction by Cheryl Holt Page A

entered.  Several maids and Father Eustace trailed after her.
    “I never asked for any of this,” Anne blurted out before Blodwin could comment.  “I didn’t ask to wed him.  I didn’t ask for these rooms.  I feel as if a tide has swept me away, and I’m drowning.  Can you save me?”
    Blodwin scoffed, taking Anne’s arm and leading her into the bedchamber.
    “Wait here,” she advised the hovering maids.  “I’ll call for you in a moment.”
    She shut the door in their curious faces, then whipped around to Anne. 
    “I have talked to Lord Hugh,” she said.
    “Yes?”  Anne suffered a brief flurry of excitement, but it was quickly quashed by Blodwin’s dour expression.
    “He will not change his mind about his marriage to you.  He insists we proceed with the bedding.”
    “But I don’t want this, Blodwin!  I didn’t even speak the vows.  His cousin spoke them for me.  How can Hugh get away with it?  There must be some way to stop him.”
    “Stop him?” Blodwin snorted.
    “Yes.  He’s not a god; he can be thwarted.”
    “How?”
    “Help me escape.  Steal me away from Morven.  I swear I’ll never return.”
    “It’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?”
    “It’s never too late.  Sneak me away, and I’ll never look back.  You’ve always wished me gone.  This is your chance.”
    “Hugh will be here shortly.  He expects to find you undressed and on the bed.  If you’re not there, he’ll guess that it was I who aided you, and I refuse to have him vent his wrath on me.  Unlike my stupid, dead husband, I’m rather partial to keeping my head attached to my shoulders.” 
    “We must foil him.”
    “Why are you complaining so much?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean it’s interesting how you’ve managed to snag everything for yourself.  Just as your mother did all those years ago.”
    “I’ve snagged nothing!  I didn’t seek any of this.”
    “Save your excuses for someone who will believe them.  You’re Bedelia’s daughter.  I assumed that her blood ran deep in you, and after this perfidy, my suspicions are confirmed.”
    “I didn’t do this to you, Blodwin.  I didn’t set my cap for Lord Hugh.  Ask Rosamunde.  She’ll tell you.”
    “You bathed him!”
    “He made me.”
    “A likely story—coming as it is from Bedelia’s spawn.”
    “Oh, for pity’s sake.  I was hoping you were here to assist me or to calm my fears.  I’m sufficiently distraught, and you’re making it worse.  Why don’t you go?”
    “I told Lord Hugh that I would prepare you for the bedding.”
    “You’ve failed me in the only way that mattered, so I have no further need of you.”
    “No, I’ll strip you and wash you as is required by my role in this household.”
    “I can wash myself.”
    “I won’t let you.  I choose to stay and watch the consummation as is my right as your stepmother and guardian.  I choose to watch as he holds you down and ruts away between your virginal thighs.”
    Anne wasn’t entirely clear on what would occur when Hugh arrived, but Blodwin’s comment was crude and insulting, and the premier benefit to Anne’s position as Hugh’s wife was that she no longer had to put up with Blodwin.
    She stomped to the door, yanked it open, and shoved Blodwin out.  The group of housemaids had lingered, trying to eavesdrop on their quarrel.
    “All of you are excused,” Anne said.  “Please go, and take Blodwin with you.”
    There were exchanged frowns, then Father Eustace scolded, “You being foolish, child.  As usual.  I must pray with you.  I must bless your womb so that you give Lord Hugh many, many children.”
    “My womb is fine,” Anne snapped.
    A servant, an older woman named Dorag, who’d always been kind to Anne, stepped forward.  “Let us stay, Lady Anne.  How about if it’s simply Megrine and myself?  This can be an upsetting time for a bride.  Let us help you.”
    Megrine added, “Wouldn’t you like to look pretty for