the bright red heating his cheeks.
“My lord, milady, sir Guy Alan Holton is on his way.”
Marianne’s breath stopped in her throat. Her father? Here? To what purpose? She had all but assumed she had been disowned by the man when he left the wedding celebration without so much as bidding her farewell. Now he was unexpectedly on his way. When she remembered to suck air into her tightening lungs her heart thrashed in her chest.
William came into the light. “When is he expected?”
A loud whinny answered his question and Archer and several other grooms ran to pull the doors open wider for the animals.
Three horses, old, thin, and panting for breath trotted into the stables with two mules pulling a rickety cart with few items tied to it.
Despite her humiliation and his previous angry words at their last meeting, she could not help the excitement building in her chest, or the way her hands clasped each other tightly when the horses stopped just in front of her and William.
Holton looked down at her, found her eyes and smiled the warmest smile he had ever given her.
Clovis, one of the men she had hired to help her abduct William, hopped down from his own tired horse and bowed low to them, keeping his face pointed at his feet. He did not straighten his back. “Milord, Milady.”
William’s smug smile told her that he recognized Clovis, and he delayed permission for the man to stand.
Marianne imagined he played out the irony of the switch in their positions now that William was no longer being held at his mercy in a church.
William stood rocking from heal to toe, scratching his chin as though thinking of the most proper greeting to fit the circumstances.
The grin did not leave his lips or eyes. Marianne cleared her throat. He had enough fun torturing the poor man.
William eyed her as though he very nearly forgot her presence. With a slight roll of his eyes, he spoke.
“Stand straighter.”
Clovis’s neck rolled as he swallowed deeply before doing as he bid, and William, having decided he was not finished with the man, smirked again.
“Greetings, my old, buck-toothed friend.”
Clovis paled and averted his eyes. Marianne cast him a sympathetic glance but he would not look at her either.
Marianne stood closer to William and took his wrist without thinking.
“Remember your promise.” She was nearly ashamed of how desperate she sounded to her own ears.
“I have not forgotten it.” He replied without looking at her.
Despite his reassurance she did not feel any better.
Sir Holton, seemingly tired of being ignored, stepped down from his horse. He stretched, popping bones in his back and appeared nowhere near as surly as when she had last seen him. He wore clothing that was badly aged and frayed near his underarms.
She puzzled over why he would wear such faded garments when he loudly insisted on dressing in the finest robes they owned on the day they were to formally present themselves to William.
He dusted himself, though he had no dust on him, and came with his arms outstretched and embraced her tightly, the first time in years.
“‘Tis a blessing to see your lovely face again, my sweet child.”
Marianne froze, not just due to his strange words but also his touch. Uncertainty ran through her veins. She felt William’s eyes on the back of her head, silently demanding answers she was unable to give.
Her father stood silent for less than a moment before he squeezed her. “Do I need to coax my own daughter into holding me back?”
The question was so light hearted and wonderful that she did just that and nearly burst into tears.
“You are not angry with me?”
He stroked her back with tender affection. “No, dearest. I was a fool, and I have missed you.” He held her at arm’s length. “You look so like your mother, I can tell I left you in good hands. I hope to stay so that I might make it up to you.”
William spoke up. “Stay?”
Marianne did not hear him. “Of course you may stay, for however long you may need.”
“For how long?” William demanded.
Sir Holton grinned broadly and held his daughter close. “Do not fret, milord, I will not be intruding on you for long.”
***
William’s eyes slid shut and he suppressed a defeated moan. The man had answered his question without answering it. And he could not voice his suspicions on Holton now with Marianne looking so delighted at the prospect of having her father stay. He would have to wait