Free Conquering Passion by Anna Markland Page A

I’m only a maidservant but I love milord Rambaud like my own sons and don’t want to see him destroy his prospects of marriage to this intelligent young woman.”
    Bernard nodded. “I’m glad she has you as a confidante, Giselle. My dear wife relied on your good sense, as do I. You’re much more than a maidservant.”
    Giselle inclined her head. “ Merci, milord .”
    Comte Bernard stood, and offered his hand to Giselle to help her out of the chair. “I hope my son will soon understand that love and respect will bind Mabelle to him, not indulgence . She’s the kind of woman whose love and support Ram will need in the turbulent times ahead. You and I won’t always be here to guide them.”
    Giselle indicated her agreement. “Perhaps they’ll one day see how fortunate they are to have each other.”
    He chuckled. “We can but hope, Giselle, we can but hope—and perhaps continue our discreet meddling?”
    The maidservant was about to take her leave, but turned back to face him. “Do you ever get a sense there’s something else between them?”
    Comte Bernard frowned. “Such as?”
    “I’m not sure. I have the feeling something happened on the day they were to wed. Perhaps I’m imagining it.”
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
    On the morrow, as the golden streaks of dawn lit the sky, Mabelle stole down to the stables, saddled her mare quickly, a skill born of necessity and learned early in life, and rode out into the fields.
    “Sibell!” she exclaimed gleefully as the mare tossed her head. Urging the horse to a canter across the meadow, she headed for the apple orchards. The wind caught her hair and ballooned in her cloak. Exhilaration swept over her. She too tossed her head and laughed with joy. “I’ve missed you, Sibell. Let’s gallop until we get to the trees. We can’t allow an overbearing nobleman to come between us and our fun, no matter how preoccupied we are with him.”
    Once in the orchards, she dismounted and led the horse by the reins, inhaling the scents of late spring, remembering ruefully the last time she’d been in the woods beyond the orchards. “I’m confused, Sibell. I can’t get my thoughts off Ram de Montbryce but I’m afraid to trust him with my feelings. I’m nervous whenever I’m with him, I can’t think properly.”
    Sibell whinnied and pricked up her ears. Mabelle looked around nervously. Had the horse sensed someone? Seeing no-one she became calm again. “It’s good to be out of the castle for a while. I feel Ram’s presence everywhere there. He’s a complicated man. Will I ever understand him? Will he ever understand me?”
    ***
    Ram had spent most of the night tossing and turning, the restful sleep he usually enjoyed in his own chamber eluding him yet again. Thoughts of Mabelle’s luscious breasts and beautiful hair kept intruding on his thoughts. If he’d gone ahead with the marriage, he would now be suckling her nipples, wrapping golden tresses around his body, held tight in the grip of those impossibly long legs, as he plunged deep—
    Abandoning any hope of sleep, he rose in the predawn darkness, donned a linen shirt, tied his hair back with a leather thong, and pulled on breeches and boots. He climbed to the battlements as the sun rose, hoping the fresh air would clear his head. Looking out over his family’s demesne gave him a sense of peace. But he tensed as an unknown rider trotted out of the bailey, waving to the guard.
    It can’t be!
    He watched in disbelief as the mare cantered and then broke into a full gallop, heading for the orchards. Mabelle’s cloak ballooned behind her and the wind whipped her wheaten hair like a blazing banner, liberating her long legs from her skirts. He remembered the last time he’d seen her hair streaming behind her, down to her derrière as she fled him at the lake. She looked back over her shoulder for a moment and he saw the naughty grin on her sunlit face. Then she turned back and bent low, one with the horse.
    She looks