Beguiled (The Fairest Maidens #2) - Jody Hedlund Page 0,68
didn’t let it stray to Mikkel. I didn’t want to see the hurt my words were sure to cause him. “No, I do not love the prince, and I shall not go to Scania with him.”
Chapter
22
Mikkel
Pearl was lying. Wasn’t she?
I tried to finish swallowing the piece of meat, but it stuck in my throat. Maybe my feelings were stronger than hers for me. Maybe she didn’t love me yet. But I hadn’t imagined the attraction that had grown between us, and I knew she liked me.
I dropped my knife and the rest of the mutton to my trencher and swished my fingers in the pewter washing bowl at my place setting. I rinsed them of grease and food, my appetite washing away just as easily. All the while, I studied Pearl’s face, really taking her in for the first time.
Her cheeks were high boned and elegant, her nose a perfect shape, her lips alluring, and her chin delicately rounded. Her flawless creamy skin contrasted with her dark unbound hair cascading in long curls.
Not only was her face breathtakingly beautiful, but her body was too. I’d only seen her in loose-fitting men’s tunics and breeches. And now, her red gown highlighted an alluring womanly form.
Altogether, she was remarkably stunning. What word had the queen used? Beguiling?
I understood why the queen believed Pearl’s beauty had cast a spell over me, making me fall in love with her. Even now, I could see the way Lord Anise and the other young noblemen regarded her with admiration.
Was it possible the queen was jealous of her daughter? Perhaps she didn’t like sharing the attention. Or perhaps she feared Pearl would win over the favor of the citizens. For the queen lacked the one thing Pearl possessed: inner beauty. Pearl’s compassion, benevolence, and solicitude toward others would make her the better queen by far.
Though I didn’t like that Pearl had deceived me about what was behind the veil, I could understand the wisdom of her plan. Knowing the man I’d once been before my Testing, a man who’d valued appearances, I would have focused on her outward beauty and missed the incredible woman she was on the inside.
The fact was, I’d fallen in love with her for who she was and not for what she looked like. And I wasn’t sure that would have happened without the veil.
I dried my hands on my garments, then shifted in my chair so I was face-to-face with her. “I forgive you,” I whispered.
Her long lashes lifted, framing her expressive eyes—eyes I’d grown to love as windows into her soul. And now they filled with both surprise and tenderness. “I am truly sorry. I should have told you sooner—”
I covered her lips with mine, pressing in and claiming her. She was mine. I loved her. And I wanted her to know that no matter what might happen, no matter how much she denied loving me in return, I would never stop loving her.
Her lashes fell, but not before I caught sight of the pleasure in her eyes. And when she arched to meet me, her lips melding against mine with passion, I knew she loved me too, that she’d denied it to protect me.
I didn’t care that every person in the room, including the queen, was watching us. I didn’t care that peril lurked at every move. I loved Pearl more than I’d ever believed possible, and I wanted her to know that.
“Very nice.” The queen’s voice cut into me, and I backed away at the same time Pearl broke our kiss. “The two of you have indeed enlightened me just as I’d hoped you would.”
Her tone contained a hint of threat, one that told me she was playing a deadly game. But even with the queen looking on, I couldn’t tear my attention from Pearl, from her full, rounded lips, from the way she pressed those lips together to resemble a delectable pucker, one that beckoned me to bend in and kiss her again and never stop.
As though sensing the direction of my thoughts, Pearl shifted, letting her hair fall like a veil, blocking her face from my view.
I blinked, then gave myself a mental shake, trying to force myself to think of something else besides Pearl and how much I wanted to draw her into my arms and hold her. Was this the battle I would have fought if she’d revealed herself to me earlier? Focusing too much on the physical attraction to the detriment of everything else?