Woman Beheld Page 4

  Tears streamed down the girl’s face. “But—but if you go, he’ll stop smiling again.” Turning, she looked toward the door. “He had been unhappy. For as long as I can remember, for as long as my mother and her mother can remember, the defender never smiled unless it was at a child, and even then, a person could tell he was not happy. He is so lonely, My Lady. Please stay. Stay and keep his shadows away.”

  Elle stared at the girl, her mouth open. “I—I can’t promise you that.” How could she? She didn’t even know the man. It didn’t matter that the Fates decreed that she was his long-lost mate. She didn’t know him, she didn’t know this world and, if she were honest with herself, this entire situation scared the hell out of her.

  “At least stay for a while. Get to know him. See him smile. Watch him put so many others before his own needs. You are the one person, the one thing he will ever want for himself, yet he will never force you to stay.” She laced her fingers together in front of her chest. “Please say you’ll stay for at least a little while.”

  “Okay, okay.” Elle put her hands on her hips with a smile. “I’ll stay for a little while. I’ll try to get to know him, but I’m not making any promises.”

  “Give him a chance, My Lady. That’s all I ask. Give him a chance.”

  Yes, Elle. Give him a chance. The man has put other’s lives before his own for nearly millennia. Don’t you think he deserves a shot at happiness?

  Of course he did. Everyone deserved a happy life as long as what made them happy didn’t interfere with the happiness of others. Her parents brought her up that way. As long as what she did harmed no one else, she could do as she pleased. It didn’t mean she didn’t live her life without rules, though.

  “I will,” Elle said as she smiled at the girl. “If you tell me your name, I’ll stay for a little while.”

  Chapter Eight

  Alone in the nursery, Daffyd walked around the large room. He’d already had the men take his childhood bed out and put it into storage in the undercroft. While there, they would clean the cradles and bring them up. There were four cradles altogether. One defender, he believed it was his great-great grandfather, had sired a set of quadruplets. Not one of his ancestors since had a multiple birth. While the infants Elle carried would not be defenders, they would still be his children in every sense of the word.

  Already, he could feel his heart reaching for the little ones inside Elle’s womb. His chest ached with the knowledge that he could have been too late when the Fates sent him to her world. What would he have done if he’d arrived and found her dead? Would he have known she was the one with whom destiny decreed he would spend his life or would he have mourned her loss the same as any other human?

  He looked around the room and wondered if he would ever grow used to the idea that he had a family now.

  The sound of footsteps coming down the hall yanked him from his musings. He moved to the window, wondering if he should put up a safety rail. He frowned at the thick casement and leaned forward to look down into the courtyard. It was a long way down. Most defenders didn’t worry about such things. Their children were born indestructible. However, human children were not.

  “Get the carpenters up here to add a railing to the casement. I wouldn’t want the babes falling to their deaths.” He smiled. Reaching up, he ran his fingers through his hair. “As difficult as it is to believe, I’ve begun to care for them already and I haven’t even seen them yet.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad to hear that you’re looking out for their safety.”

  He spun around at the sound of Elle’s voice. It was a beautiful sound when not laced with pain and exhaustion. She was beautiful standing there in a dress made of blue silk and her hair pulled up into a series of braids on top of her head. “Of course I would worry.” He smiled at her, noting that for the first time in centuries, he felt oddly happy. His smile felt bigger and his cheeks didn’t ache with the effort to hold it in place. “Of course I would care.”

  “Why, because the Fates say you must, or do you really feel something in here.” She touched the center of her chest, drawing his attention to the swell of her bosom in the dress with the high waist cinched just below the enticing swell.

  Daffyd swallowed thickly and turned to face the window once more. “I truly feel something. I don’t know what. I only know that it is in the vicinity of the center of my chest.” He spun around to face her. “I know that I feel happy. For the first time in a long, long time I actually want to smile instead of doing it because that’s what others expect.”

  Lacing his fingers at the small of his back, he leaned back against the wall. It was a position that, over the years, he’d learned left him vulnerable. He wanted to show her she had nothing to fear from him. “For years, I smiled for children because my expression would frighten them if I did not. While my lips curved, my emotions remained the same. I’m certain someone noticed it throughout the years.”

  “Yes. I’m sure they did.” She walked a slow circuit of the room. “This is huge for a nursery.”

  “It will not seem so once all of the toys and books are returned. I had them taken out so the maids could dust and clean them while the men emptied the room and brought the infant furniture back in.”

  “Oh.” She cleared her throat as she continued her stroll around the room. “Where will I sleep?”

  In my bed where you belong. “He pointed to a door to his left. “There is a bedroom just beyond that door.”

  He didn’t tell her that it was an extension of the master suite. It was a room where they both would sleep until the children were over a year old. If they didn’t have another right away, they would move back into the defender’s chamber. It was a room several doors down from this one. The sound of childhood fights and screaming would not reach them there and the children would have their nursemaid to see to their every need while he and Elle would have the peace and quiet one needed to pursue such activities that would bring them a reason to move closer to the nursery once more.

  “Did I ever thank you for rescuing me last night?”

  “Last night?” Her question startled him for a moment. “Oh. Yes, as a matter of fact, you did.” He smiled again. It felt strange. To smile and mean it, that is. “Though, it wasn’t last night.”

  “Excuse me?” A little crease formed between her eyes. Daffyd wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss it away.

  “You’ve been in and out of consciousness for the last three days. Alia said you were exhausted and needed the rest.”

  “But you should have woke me. I need to eat for the babies!”

  Elle appeared frantic. Daffyd could do nothing but hurry to her side and pull her into his arms.

  “Did you think we didn’t feed you?” He shook his head. “Silly woman. Of course we fed you. You even slept through our spooning our thickest broth down your throat. That’s how tired you were.”

  “Oh.” She clutched the skirt of her dress, her knuckles white. “I had no idea I slept for so long.” Her cheeks grew red. “I can’t believe it. You and your people must think me the laziest sort.” She cast her gaze to the floor.

  “I don’t know how they treat pregnant women where you’re from, Elle.” Daffyd moved closer, reached out, and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “But here on Mikkant, we realize that having children is a twenty-four hour a day job from the time a woman gets pregnant until the day the child moves out of its parent’s home. No one here thinks you’re lazy.”

  “I hope not.” She met his gaze head on. “I’ve been working hard since Barry died. As a matter of fact, I just got a job.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “A job that I have lost, if I’ve been here for three days.”

  “Don’t worry yourself. I will care for you. My people and I will see that you never want for anything.”

  “You know…” Pausing, she bit her lip in a nervous habit that he was quickly growing to love. “That sounds great—greater than great, eve
n. But what happens when everyone gets tired of the earthling with two kids who won’t go home?”

  “Listen to me, Elle,” Daffyd said as he grasped her shoulders. “No one is going to get tired of you. I have been waiting lifetimes for someone like you. My people have been waiting. They know the dangers of having a defender who has gone too long without a mate.” He pulled her against him, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I don’t want to go mad. My people don’t want me to destroy our world.

  “When a defender lives too long alone, his mind snaps and he turns bad.”

  “You could turn evil?” Pulling back, she looked up into his face and shook her head. “Uh, uh. I don’t see you doing that.”

  “We don’t necessarily turn evil, but we don’t do our jobs as we should. Our people gave my ancestors this castle. In payment for our housing, our food, the help of those around us, we keep them safe. When natural disasters strike, we’re there helping people, saving lives. When a ship sinks, we bring it up from the bottom of the ocean with the hope that we will find some of the people alive. A defender who has lived too long without a mate no longer does those things. Sometimes, they even stand by, giving hope to those in danger while they watch them die.”

  “If that’s not evil, I don’t know what is.” Elle sighed. “So you’re saying that I’m the one person who can do that for you? What do I get in return besides a room in a beautiful castle and food for me and my children?” She stared up at him, searching his gaze for something. “Not that it isn’t a good deal, but I can work and get the same thing at home and I don’t have to abandon my principals for it.”

  “You still don’t understand, do you?” Daffyd gave her a half smile. “You would be my mate, my wife, and I would love you and every child you bear no matter who fathered it, until I die.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I thought you couldn’t die.” Elle frowned up at Daffyd. She was trying to understand, but was certain that she was missing something.

  The Fates had said she was his mate and he hers, but not once did they say anything about love. As much as she wanted to stay here with him on this perfect world with his seemingly-perfect people, how could she sell herself like that? Staying here and loving him was one thing, but remaining with him just so she would have a roof over her head and food in her belly was another thing entirely.

  “I am invincible, yes.” He nodded. “However, when I find the right woman, I can grow old and die.” He sighed. “You have no idea how tempting a thing that is. I have spent lifetimes alone, watching my friends die around me while I stood by, helpless.” He shifted his gaze to his feet. “I’m tired, Elle. I want to grow old.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “More importantly, I want to grow old with you.”

  “Why me?”

  “The Fates might have made a mistake eons ago, but they know their jobs now. One look at you and I was smitten. One word from your lips and I was lost. One day in your presence and I know I never want to live without you. As impossible as you might think it seems, I love you, Elle, and I will love you until the day I die.”

  Elle’s throat burned and unshed tears stung her eyes as he knelt in front of her and took her hand in his. How many times had she dreamed of such a thing happening back home? Even when Barry had proposed, he did it in the front seat of his car with his hand on her leg inching its way up her skirt.

  “Though we’ve only known each other a short time, I love you more than I can possibly say, Elle.” Daffyd kissed the back of her hand, before he turned it over and kissed her palm. “I have waited years, lifetimes for someone like you—a woman with whom I can share my life. A woman with whom I can grow old and die.” He smiled up at her. “Though, when our life forces are entwined, it will lengthen your lifespan considerably.”

  “I don’t think I want to live forever.” She stared down at him wondering what it was like to live your life knowing that everyone around you would die and you’d have to start all over again with new servants and new friends. Elle was sure she couldn’t do something like that. It would kill her to watch everyone she ever cared about die, again and again.

  Reaching out with her free hand, she cupped the side of his face. Warmth seeped into her fingers. The stubble on his chin pricked her skin and she smiled down at him. “I can’t make any promises, not yet. But I will stay and try—at least for a little while.”

  “That’s all I dare ask of you, Elle. Just try.” Standing, he tucked her hand into his arm and led her around the room. “I have been told that this is where my cradle once stood.” Daffyd gestured an area near a door. “You will be sleeping in the suite on the other side of the door.” He winked at her. “With any luck at all, I will be in there with you, but no pressure.”

  “Right. No pressure.” She laughed. “Just when do you expect this double occupancy?” Her stomach did little flips at the thought of sharing a bed with Daffyd. He was tall, a lot taller than she was. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. She’d always been attracted to tall and dark men. Looks never really mattered much, but Daffyd was rather easy on the eyes. Elle could see that even when she wasn’t looking.

  “Whenever you say. If you say.” He shrugged and steered her toward another corner of the room. “As I said, no pressure.” He glanced at the bare bookshelves. “All of my bedtime stories were stored here.” He reached out, running his hand over the front of a shelf. It came away covered in dust.

  When was the last time anyone cleaned this place?” Elle grimaced. “If you get me a few rags and a bucket of warm, soapy water, I’ll start working on it today.”

  “You will not.” Daffyd stared at her as though her statement appalled him. “Until you accept my proposal, you are a guest in my home. Guests do not work.”

  “But you’re doing this for my children.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Daffyd said with an imperious wave of his arm. “You’re a guest here and everyone will treat you as such.”

  “Yeah. Right up until they realize that I’m the woman that you’ve chosen to grow old with, and then what?” Elle crossed her arms and gave him a level glare. “Do you really expect them not to treat me like one of the family, your family?”

  “That isn’t it at all.” He turned toward her, ran a long finger down her nose, then leaned forward to press a quick kiss on her lips. “I expect them to treat you like a woman who has almost had her babes before their time. Every one of my people know that you almost gave birth to your babes three nights ago. Whether I tell you yea or nay about working in this nursery, they will see to it that you spend your days doing nothing more strenuous then lifting a cup filled with tea.”

  Well, that figured didn’t it? He’d set the entire household to watch over her like some recalcitrant child. “And if I insist?”

  “I have no idea what will happen if you insist,” he said with a smile. “I only know that when my parents grew old, their people wouldn’t allow them to lift a finger beyond doing what they loved best. My mother gardened and my father helped her, because where she was, was the only place he wanted to be.”

  “Did she take his shadows away?” Elle asked, borrowing her maid’s idea.

  Daffyd thought about that for a minute. “I believe she did in her own way, yet there always seemed to be something missing in their relationship.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Yes. Yes it was. I wish they both could have been happier.”

  Elle wished the same thing. She didn’t want to settle. She’d had love the first time around and didn’t want to settle for anything less.

  “Is there anything else I should know about your people?”

  Chapter Ten

  As Daffyd led Elle around the room, he took pride in showing her how her children could live on his world. They would have so much when, according to her, they would have so little back on her home world. They way he saw it, she had more reason to stay here with him than to go back to her old life. Yet, accordin
g to his father’s tales, some women chose a life of hardship over that of a being defender’s mate, though he had no idea why one would do so.

  “Our children will grow up here in this room together until they reach an age where we must give them a room of their own. Usually, it’s around twelve years of age.” His people called it the reckoning. It was the year when the child, or children, decided they wanted privacy more than the company of their siblings. The time varied with each child, though usually, it happened by the time they reached the age of thirteen summers.

  “After that, they will have a room of their own in this castle?”

  “Of course.” He glanced at her with a frown. “Where else would they stay?”

  “Well…” She paused to clear her throat. “Long ago, on my world, they practiced a sort of child exchange called squiring. It usually consisted of sending the child off to another family to train to be a man. I guess it was said that a father would not be as hard on a son, where he would not hesitate to be so on another man’s son.”

  “Never will our children leave home for an extended period of time for something so barbaric as that.” Daffyd couldn’t imagine a man who could send his children to live with strangers based on the fact that someone else would treat them with less compassion. Hers was a barbaric world, indeed.

  “If our children need any training, you can rest assured that the proper tutors will be employed and they will stay right here with us.”

  “That’s good to know.” She smiled. Her expression grew pensive for a moment and she licked her lips. “I do have at least one request before I decide.”

  “What would that be, My Lady?”

  She looked away and laughed. She appeared nervous, as though she didn’t quite know how to ask this of him. “I can’t just decide to marry a man I know nothing about. I know your first name and I know that you’ve told me your last name, though I can’t seem to remember what it is. My main concern is whether we’re compatible.”