Free Diana Cosby by His Seduction Page A

father anything?”
    Her father nodded. “’Tis his right as your husband.”
    “A temporary fate,” she replied.
    “Lass, always will you be my daughter,” her da said, his voice rough with emotion. “But with your words spoken yesterday at Dunadd Castle, you are now Lady Monceaux. That I willna change.”
    Rois floundered for a reply.
    “Worry not, Lord Brom. I will keep your daughter safe. If necessary, with my life.”
    Were they both insane? Rois shook her head. “’Tis lunacy.”
    The Englishman’s face hardened. “If you want your father protected,” Lord Monceaux warned, his words hard with authority, “you will remain with me—a bed you made.”
    Her heart pounded. She shot a glance at her father. “Da?”
    “Lord Monceaux, I am retreating to my private chamber. Once you finish speaking with your wife, please have a servant bring you to my quarters. There are a few issues I would like to discuss with you in private.”
    Her father was leaving them alone?
    “My thanks, Lord Brom.”
    A wizened face she so loved softened. “I love you, Rois. Never forget that.” With a gentle smile, he departed.
    The soft click of the door echoed like a crack of thunder.
    Alone.
    With the enemy.
    Trembling, Rois stepped back. “Leave me.” At her soft command, his jaw tightened.
    “We will come to an agreement first.”
    “Go to Hades.” His soft laugh grated on her temper. “I find nothing amusing about the situation.”
    His smile fell away. “I assure you, my lady, neither do I. But for now, ’tis what fate, or rather you , have created.”
    “’Twas not I who proposed marriage.”
    “No,” he replied, his words soft with a hint of anger, “but ’twas you who claimed I left you with a babe.”
    “I thought you a threat to my father—a belief that hasna changed.”
    “And what part did the red-haired Scot who stood near you play?” Lord Monceaux asked. “He looked none too pleased by your false claim.”
    Sir Lochlann. “He is a friend.”
    A muscle worked in the baron’s jaw. “A friend?”
    Sir Lochlann wanted more than friendship, an aspiration she didna share. A fact she’d nae tell this Englishman.
    At her silence, he nodded. “While we are wed, you will meet with no man without me or proper escort present.”
    “How dare you dictate my actions!”
    “I dare much.” Hazel eyes darkened with warning. “Until our union is disengaged, you will heed my commands.”
    “I will nae spend my time with you.”
    “You will. Nor will you cause me grief—your father’s life depends on it.”
    “A threat?”
    “An assurance.”
    “Bastard.”
    “At times.”
    “And others?” she flung out, her words reckless with fear.
    “A trusted friend.” God’s teeth, why had he said that? Never would he and Rois be friends. Once Angus returned, he would convince the man of the folly of allowing his and Rois’s marriage to continue. But he would keep watch over Rois in the meantime, and for the sake of his sanity, he would negotiate a fragile peace.
    Griffin nodded. “Please, use my name.”
    Green eyes he could drown in watched him with distrust, but he also caught the fear. There was so much she didn’t understand, nor ever could.
    “Why should I?” she asked.
    He drew in a slow breath, reminded himself of all of the reasons it was best to find common ground. “’Tis my name.”
    “You know little about me.”
    Tired of her assumptions that had landed them both in this bloody mess, he caught her wrist. “On this you are wrong. From our time last eve, I know parts of you very well.” Beneath his thumb, her pulse sped up. Good, let her be nervous. Never would he harm her, but he’d not tell her that. “I have given my word to your father to protect you until his return.”
    “Why did you agree to watch over me?”
    The soft incredulity surprised him. He expected another blast of anger, but not confusion, or a sincere desire to understand. “Because I am a man of