‘Ah.’ He dropped his hands from her arms. ‘You are right.’
He did not seem particularly angry as he walked the short distance to her bed and sat down. The heavy brocade fell open, revealing the broad planes of his chest, lightly furred with hair, and the slight ridges of his stomach. If nothing else, he was an attractive man. A surprising urge to press her hand to his chest came over her. Would the hair there be coarse or soft? To stifle it, she made a fist and shoved her hands behind her back.
‘If it is a separation of duties you want, then I will require supervision of the warriors and their training.’
Though Wilfrid and Cedric both had seen she was trained in the use of weapons, she claimed no knowledge of warfare. ‘Of course. Cedric has always had that responsibility. I am certain he intends you to have a place there.’
‘And you will have the run of our home?’
Her heart fell. This was sounding more and more like the type of arrangement she had expected. ‘That is typically the case with the lady of the house.’
His eyes sharpened as he picked up on her dissatisfaction. ‘What is it that you want?’
‘I want to have an equal say. I want to be part of solving the problems that face Glannoventa. Every week Wilfrid sat for meetings with the farmers and villagers, but it is something he has not done for a while, so I have continued that.’
‘Then I have no issue with you continuing.’
It seemed too easy. ‘Truly?’
‘I am a man of action. My father had days like that back home and I despised the sitting and endless negotiating of grievances and disputes. He would often send me and one of my brothers out to some of the far settlements in his place. It was a task that I detested. I would prefer not to deal with those, unless, of course, I am needed.’
She had not once allowed herself to imagine that he would not fight her on this. ‘Then you will leave the smaller disputes to me?’
‘All of them, unless you need to discuss them with me.’
‘What of the larger decisions that affect Glannoventa? What if the crops fail one season, or once, years ago, there was a red tide and the fishing did not recover for two years, what happens—’
He rose and walked over to her. This time his hands fell on to her shoulders and he squeezed gently. ‘From what I have seen today, Annis, you have done an admirable job in the years you have taken over for Wilfrid. I have no wish to take anything away from you. I would be a fool not to see the benefit you bring here and I assure you that I am no fool. We will face those decisions together.’
She smiled as the full weight of her fear of the future lifted. She had allowed her fear of marriage to colour her perception of this man. Despite the fact that he had been her prisoner for most of their acquaintance, he had proven his honour and goodness. He was a man of his word and she felt shame that she had ever convinced herself that he could be otherwise.
Of course, that did not address her immediate fear of the coming night.
His large palm cupped her cheek, while the other smoothed down her arm, leaving her skin to prickle in pleasure. ‘I told you a bit about my father. There were many things I admired about him, but I do not wish to repeat the mistakes he made with my mother or his own wife. I want us to agree now that we will work to make this a true marriage.’
‘A true marriage?’ She was struck speechless so that she could only echo his words.
He nodded and his thumb stroked over her cheekbone. She could not quite explain how, but she felt an echo of his touch deep in her womb. ‘It seems to me that a man and a woman can come together in marriage and still like and respect one another. I admit that the how of that is a mystery to me, but I can promise you honesty.’
‘And that you will not take a concubine?’
He grinned at the reminder of their earlier conversation in his bed. ‘I will not seduce another woman.’
She found herself smiling back until she remembered that she could not be honest with him in return. Turning away from him lest he see the guilt in her eyes, she remembered Cedric’s words to her. He had begged her to stay silent, but didn’t Rurik deserve the whole truth? He would not take out his wrath on the whole of Glannoventa now, would he?
‘There is something you must know.’
Taking her by the shoulders again, he pulled her back against him. She did not even realise she had closed her eyes until the hard length of him nudged the small of her back and her eyelids shot open in surprise. His hands began a slow and delicious descent down her body, skimming past her breasts to settle on her hips where he held her against him.
‘Do you not want the same thing?’ he whispered, his breath touching her ear and making her skin prickle with gooseflesh all over.
‘Of course I do.’
‘Do you promise not to take another man aside from me?’
‘Of course.’
His hands found her waist and he turned her in his arms. ‘Then no more talk tonight. No more negotiating.’ He leaned down until his mouth was only a breath above hers.
‘There are things you must know.’ Her voice was a whisper because she did not seem capable of more. She was trembling inside, so she set her hands to his shoulders to hold herself steady. They were so hard and powerful beneath her palms that she squeezed a little. ‘Things that might change how you feel.’
‘Then I will know them later. There are things I have to say to you that cannot be said
