He eyed her speculatively. “Then you’ve noble blood in you. I thought so.”
“Nay, my lord, you are mistaken. One of my ancestors simply served the nobility. Somewhere along the way he was granted a patch of land to farm. My father farms it to this day.”
“Why did you leave your home, Madeleine?”
A cuckolded husband would never understand why she’d left her own husband. She knew she could never admit the truth to him. Yet she couldn’t bear for him to think ill of her.
“I was to marry a neighbor but he caught the fever and died. I then was promised to his brother, but he, too, became ill and died. The third brother wanted little to do with me but we still became betrothed at the wish of our fathers. He was killed when a mule kicked him in the head.”
She sighed. “People began to say I was cursed. Some called me a witch. Some thought evil would befall any man who came around me. My parents, though they loved me dearly, felt it best that I should leave.”
“And so you chose to go with Farley’s troupe?”
“Yes. They were gathering in London, which is where I was headed when you and I first met. I knew I must reach them before they took off.”
“Your parents actually approved of this plan? Sending you alone on the road to London?”
“Of course not! They wanted me to go and work at the neighboring lord’s estate.” She snorted. “Can you see me milking cows and threshing wheat? I think not. I had my eye set on far better things. I knew I could sing and act as well as those who came through at our local faire each year, so I took off on my own.”
“How did you know of Farley’s troupe? That he was organizing in London at the time?”
Madeleine didn’t miss a beat. “They’d come our way every spring for several years. I’d become friendly with several members, including Gwenith. I knew where they’d be gathering and decided to take my chances with Farley and Elspeth.”
Garrett looked her directly in the eyes. “I don’t believe a word you’ve just told me, Madeleine.”
She bolted upright. “You are no gentleman, sir. How could you doubt a lady?”
“I thought you were a farm girl, Madeleine.”
She blushed, the color rising from her neck to the tip of her head.
“Lie back down,” he said, “and tell me some more about yourself. I always did enjoy a good tale.”
Madeleine didn’t move. She was furious with him for not believing her and angry with herself that she was such a poor liar. Oh, if only they’d met under different circumstances. If only she weren’t destined to leave Stanbury and seek sanctuary in a convent.
“Come, Madeleine,” he commanded. His voice was soft but she recognized the tone, one she was conditioned to obey immediately.
She eased back onto the rock, her body stiff, her mouth set. Returning her hands behind her head, she acted as if she had not a care in the world. She stared straight ahead, though she did not see the stars above. Her mind was filled with Garrett, while she could feel the heat he radiated. He smelled of leather. He smelled male. It drove her to distraction—and it made her mad. At him. At herself.
He eased closer to her. Her eyes remained fixed on the heavens above. He reached out and tilted her chin so she faced him. Her bottom lip trembled slightly at his touch. After a moment’s hesitation, he lowered his head to hers until their lips met. He brushed them softly and slowly against hers. His hand slipped from her chin and he stroked her jaw gently.
Lazily, he ran his tongue over her lower lip. She found her lips parting without thought and he eased his tongue into her mouth.
He deepened the kiss and she shifted her arms from behind her head and wrapped them around his neck, urging him closer. Madeleine ran her fingers through his hair, wanting him to touch her everywhere as his tongue mated with hers. Sensations unknown to her rippled through her limbs. An ache began between her legs as a fierce longing swept through her. He feasted on her mouth as she sprang to life.
He broke the kiss, his lips trailing along her jaw and to her throat, where he licked and nipped. His hand covered her breast, gently squeezing it.
Suddenly, she shoved him back. “Married!” she gasped. “’Tis a sin!”