"Ariane . . ." he whispered, revealing for one unguarded moment the yearning in his soul.I need you.

In poignant response, her lips raised to meet his, offering solace, the same exquisite tenderness he had showered on her a short while earlier, the same hunger.

Ranulf groaned, a sound of passion and surrender, an acknowledgment of his own loneliness. He felt a desperate need to accept her comfort, to bury himself in this woman and forget, just forget everything, save her. Urgently he pressed her down, fitting his naked body to hers.

With a soft gasp at his penetrating thrust, Ariane opened to him, wrapping her legs around his thighs, taking him into her body, drawing him close. He gripped her buttocks fiercely, violent in his need, yet she welcomed his frenzy. She could feel the surging power in his thrusting body, his straining muscles, feel the vulnerability and pain inside him. She held him with a fierce and primitive protectiveness, letting him use her body as a vessel for his release, while his own arched and convulsed around her, within her.

His shudders took a long time calming afterward. Ranulf buried his mouth in her hair, unwilling to face what he had done.

He felt too vulnerable, too raw, to speak. Unaccountably, he had laid his soul bare to this woman who should be his enemy. It disquieted him, the weakness he had shown.

He had meant only to comfort her, not to rail against his fate, not to let her probe his past and the darkness that had claimed his soul. He had not meant to give her such an advantage over him.

And yet, she was stroking his hair now, caressing his nape gently, as if he were a mere babe. As if she knew the devastation within him, understood what drove him.

Still, his weakness dismayed him, as did his lapse of control. Ariane had felt no pleasure in their fierce coupling, he knew. He had used her hard, as if she were no more than his possession.

"We had best return," he muttered tersely, his voice yet hoarse from the wrenching climax he had endured.

At his abrupt change of mood, Ariane's hand stilled in his hair.

Ranulf raised his head, gazing around him, looking anywhere but into her eyes. "I will accompany you here on the morrow, on the pretense of a lover's tryst. Our dalliance will provide a pretext for your venturing here, to visit your lady mother. No one will question it."

Ariane sighed inwardly. Ranulf was once again the cool, remote stranger, a stalwart warrior who had no room for softness. He regretted his gentleness, regretted opening himself to her, she knew.

And yet she took heart, if faintly. He had begun to soften toward her. He was wary of giving his love or trust to any woman, especially to her, but she had made a beginning.

Ariane rubbed the chilled skin of her arms as Ranulf rose to his feet, watching his hard, beautiful, scarred body. He was wrong, she reflected. He did possess a heart, buried somewhere beneath a terrible burden of rage and hatred.

The Black Dragon of Vernay might be a mighty warrior, but he was a lonely and vulnerable man as well . . . a man who needed her, though he did not yet know it.

21.

The interlude in the meadow affected Ranulf more than he cared to admit, for it was then that his doubts began to haunt him: He began to question seriously his belief that Ariane was no better than the faithless, highborn damsels he had always known.

He strove to remain on his guard. His relief that Ariane had not betrayed him was profound, but not so overwhelming that he would forswear his defenses.

And yet, if he had wronged Ariane once, the possibility existed that he might again mistake even her innocent actions for treachery. Admittedly his judgment when it came to ladies of her class was slightly slanted in her disfavor.

Thus, Ranulf watched her closely, noting small things he had refused to acknowledge before. Ariane was demanding but well loved by her people, he admitted reluctantly as he observed their interplay. Their loyalty had been fully earned; her spirit, her wit, her beauty, her caring nature all commanded their allegiance. His squire, Burc, sang her praises for her tender and successful ministering of his wounds. She had even won the respect and admiration of some of his own vassals, most pointedly Payn FitzOsbern, Ranulf remarked with disquiet.

She had courage, certainly. She bore the indignities visited upon her with a regal grace, asking no quarter. Once, when Ranulf caught her gazing out the solar window to the east, her look wistful and poignant, as if longing for happier times, she shrugged off his inquiry with a wry smile and a shake of her lovely head, refusing to dwell on her sadness or bid for his sympathy.

In truth, Ranulf could not find much fault with her demeanor. Her practical, perceptive nature was quite feminine and pleasing, even if her sharp tongue and rash defiance at times infuriated him.

Her physical response to him was pleasing, as well. Incredibly so. He had never had a woman who so completely satisfied his carnal needs. In his bed, the regal maiden turned lusty wench, fulfilling even his most demanding passions, to the point that he no longer desired any other lover.

Yet he could not explain his hunger for her in terms of mere lust. He felt a fierce possessiveness toward Ariane, true, but he could not deny there was something more.

Her presence filled his senses, his every waking thought. He was truly bewitched, Ranulf concluded with dismay. At the most inopportune times, he would find himself thinking of her, remembering the sweetness of her taste, the silky softness of her body: during dull discussions of profits and rents, while settling disputes among his villeins, even in the midst of a mock melee while facing armed opponents- a dangerous moment to be letting his mind wander. He could not explain the soft feeling that would flow through him at odd moments, so unexpectedly that he had no defense against it . . . a new and strange emotion that he refused to examine more closely. A threatening sentiment he knew he needed to fight with all his might. He could not allow Ariane within the barriers he protected himself with.

He could not allow himself to completely dismiss his suspicions, either. For all he knew, she had deliberately set out to ensnare him, wielding her woman's weapons against him with methodical calculation. In truth, she seemed softer, more sweetly responsive toward him, since the day in the meadow-although that could be rationalized by gratitude. He knew his lenience toward her mother had won Ariane's indebtedness, if not her trust.

Her lack of trust annoyed Ranulf. He had shown her mercy in other instances; she should have had more faith in him than to think he would condemn a poor soul to almost certain death. And yet he had to remember how little faithhe had placed inher. He had mistrusted Ariane so greatly as to accuse her of betrayal, when she had only endeavored to protect her beloved mother.

He could recognize and even admire the loyalty Ariane had shown her mother. When it came to those she loved, the vixen reacted with the courage and ferocity of a lioness. If he found himself wishing he could command such devotion for himself, however, Ranulf dismissed the notion as madness. He would never allow himself to lose his heart.

As for Ariane's mother, Ranulf kept his word, escorting her daughter back to the cotter's hut the following day with abundant provender for the afflicted woman. He regretted he could do no more to aid the Lady Constance. Acting on a compassionate impulse, Ranulf dispatched one of his most trusted knights and a contingent of men-at-arms to Vernay in Normandy, with an urgent summons for the Saracen concubine, Layla, who possessed skill in the Eastern healing arts. He said nothing of his plan to Ariane, though, for fear of raising her hopes needlessly.

He also banished the serving wench, Dena, from Claredon, sending her to one of the manor houses to serve. He disliked the spite and deceit Dena had shown, and would not tolerate a serf who held so little loyalty for her mistress.

Ariane's half-brother, Gilbert, Ranulf set free, with an admonition to curb his reckless defiance or face a drubbing again. His sister's release from the dungeon, however, went much further toward curbing the boy's rash outbursts than any threat could have done. When Gilbert earnestly begged her forgiveness for divulging her secret, Ariane even forgave him, Ranulf was aware.

It was two days after his discovery of Lady Constance that he received a missive bearing King Henry's seal.

"A summons?" Payn asked when Ranulf had unrolled the parchment and perused the contents.

"Nay, a mission," he replied almost grimly, handing the sheepskin to his vassal to read. "The Lady Eleanor requires an escort to reach the king's camp at Bridgenorth."

"And she asked for her favored knight as escort," Payn surmised with an edge of amusement.

Ranulf grimaced. "You overstate the case. Far from favoring me, the queen doubtless acts to spite me. She has never forgiven me for spurning one of her ladies at court two winters past, and knows I would far rather be engaged in battle than attend her retinue. But one does not question the king's command. Tell the men we ride for London in three days."

That night Ranulf lay awake long into the night, regretting the distasteful task ahead of him, reminded of what he despised most in noblewomen. Queen Eleanor was a master at ruling men and their desires and compelling them to do her bidding, but her loyalty was to herself. She had contrived an annulment from Louis of France after bearing him two children, and then wed young Henry of Normandy in her search for power. Eleanor had half of the civilized world at her feet, attracting foolish poets and sycophants like flies to honey with her beauty and wit, whichwas extraordinary. Her court was a hive of intrigue and scheming, and the lovely queen not only encouraged it, but led the charge.

He could devise a hundred missions he would prefer over this one, Ranulf reflected. And to his surprise, he begrudged the time he would spend away from Claredon. It would be his first absence of any length since his arrival nearly five weeks ago, his first time away from Ariane.

He did not want to leave her.The thought startled Ranulf.

She murmured a soft protest when he woke her from a deep sleep, but he ignored it, drawing her back against him, nestling her soft buttocks against his throbbing loins. Her breathing quickened when his arm wrapped around her hips, his fingers seeking and massaging the tender bud between her legs to slickness. And when he probed within her, coaxing her body to receive him, she soon was whimpering in pleasure.

His buttocks tightening, he thrust into her sleek hot passage from behind, pushing his burgeoning rod deep, closing his eyes and pretending to ignore the exquisite sense of completion he felt when joined to her, telling himself he needed her merely to slake his lust. She was simply a warm female body, a means to relieve his male ache, to ease the loneliness for a short while.

And if he lied to himself in the panting darkness, if he deceived himself as his shuddering body sought the ecstasy only she could give him, he was not prepared to acknowledge it.

He rose early the following morning, before Ariane awoke, and hastened to the arms field, where he drove himself to the point of physical exhaustion in an effort to obliterate his damnable obsession with the wench. Haplessly, he failed.

After unnecessarily leading a patrol over the demesne for countless hours, Ranulf returned late in the evening to find Ariane awaiting him in the solar while she worked her stitchery, with wine and food to ease his hunger and a warm fire burning in the hearth. At his entrance, she immediately set aside her simples and gave him a soft smile of welcome.

Ranulf stilled at the sight she made. Her pale hair glimmered like molten copper in the firelight, while her ivory skin glowed with an unearthly beauty. She looked for all the world like a mural rendering he had once seen of the Virgin Mary before the birth of her Son.

A dangerous image formed in his mind, a picture of Ariane swollen with his child. It filled him with such longing that he was shaken by it. He had to turn away to keep from betraying his weakness. For all that he had vowed to protect his heart, he felt the formidable shields of ice and steel threatened.

Ariane would not want to bear his child . . . would she? Would she care tenderly for a babe of his, nurturing it with the affection he had craved his life long but never known? He had heard tales of love between noble mother and child, but dismissed them as romantic fantasy, believing only peasants showed their offspring such affection.

And yet Ariane's mother had demonstrated by example that such unselfish love did exist among women of her rank. Lady Constance had risked her very life to nurse her only son. And she had also taken in her lord's bastard, Gilbert, to provide him a better life.

Would Ariane be willing to do the same withhis bastards? Ranulf wondered. Would she raise his children at Claredon if he asked it of her?

Not that he would ask. He would not take his children from their mothers and bring them to a foreign country, exposing them to loneliness and scorn, simply to gratify his own need for their company. They were well provided for now, their futures assured. They would be better off where they lived- "How fared your day, my lord?" Ariane asked softly, interrupting his thoughts as she rose to aid him out of his armor.

Missing his children, reminded of the need to resist the warmth in her gray eyes, Ranulf answered tersely, his tone almost harsh. "Well enough." When he saw the searching look Ariane gave him, he renewed his vow to close his heart and mind against any soft intrusions.

Ariane was forgiving of his foul mood, though. Since her release from fear over her mother's plight, she had been too overwhelmed with gratitude to take umbrage at Ranulf's occasional brusque manner or his usual detachment. And with the freedom from fear came hope. Hope that in time Ranulf would cease regarding her as a bitter adversary and come to look upon her as someone meaningful, even vital, to his happiness.

That day in the meadow, she had been given a glimpse beyond the impregnable barrier he had erected between himself and everyone else. She had touched the vulnerable core of him, the tender center he always kept guarded and remote. He had shown her a gentler side to his nature, baring his mail-armored heart for the fleetest of moments, and she would not rest until she had rent the whole shield. She wanted passionately to free him from his unyielding defenses, to divest him of his protective armor. She wanted Ranulf to reach for her again in tenderness, in trust. To ease this constant ache in her own heart.

It was the following morning, though, when Ariane realized how very far she was from earning Ranulf's trust.

The day began badly, for she had to hear from Payn that Ranulf was being sent on the king's business, and that no less a personage than the new queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, might pay a visit to Claredon.

Disgruntled by Ranulf's lack of consideration, Ariane hastened to inspect the keep-both the tower and the castle grounds, making mental lists of the countless tasks that required attention. She had a thousand and one details to see to, even if Ranulf had forbidden her to take a hand in the running of the castle. Under no circumstances short of imprisonment would she allow the queen of England to see Claredon at less than its very best.

When Ranulf came in for the midday meal, the keep was ahum with activity as the castlefolk prepared for his departure and Lady Eleanor's possible arrival. Ranulf scowled at all the bustle as he ran up the steps to the solar, regretting the nuisance of preparing for royalty, as well as wary of the enormous expense. Royal visits had been known to beggar many a hapless host.

When he entered the solar antechamber, though, he came to an abrupt halt, feeling as if he had taken a blow to his midsection with a lance. Ariane and Payn stood with their heads together before the solar door, both laughing.

The sight of Ariane gazing up so sweetly at his vassal sent a sick stab of jealousy streaking through Ranulf. Her gray eyes were alight with amusement and more: admiration for the tall, handsome knight.

"What find you so humorous?" Ranulf demanded, making them both jump with his harshness.

Sobering, Payn and Ariane glanced briefly at each other.

"It was naught, Ranulf," Payn said evenly. "The Lady Ariane was telling me of the time King Stephen paid a visit to Claredon-"

"Can you not find a more worthwhile occupation than dallying here and listening to tales?"

Stiffening, Payn looked as if he might refute the remark, but he merely gave a brief bow. "As you wish, my lord."

When he had gone, Ranulf turned his attention to Ariane, a muscle in his jaw flexing. "Do not seek to win Payn over with your artifices. You will not succeed."

Her eyes widened at his grim tone and at his implication. Apparently Ranulf had mistaken her growing friendship with Payn FitzOsbern for a flirtation and had reacted with unreasoning jealousy. "We engaged in merely a harmless conversation, my lord, only that-"

Ranulf's regard never wavered. His heart thrummed against his ribs, his chest rioting with the devastating emotions that threatened him. "You belong to me, Ariane," he stated brusquely. "You would do well to accept it."

"I do accept it, Ranulf," she replied with quiet conviction, needing to assuage his doubts, his suspicions. "I want no other man . . . lover or husband."

He gazed at her warily for a long moment, before turning away. For the remainder of the day and afternoon, the unreasonable anger seemed to have left him, but the coldness remained on his features.

It was a strained leave-taking at dawn the following morning, with silence reigning between Ariane and Ranulf. He made love to her once more before calling his squire in to help him dress, and then he spoke to her only to give her his parting orders. He responded with merely a brief nod to her wishes for a safe journey, not entirely trusting that she meant it.

And yet at the last moment he turned back to her, unable to leave without tasting her sweetness once more, without having one final kiss to sustain him on the journey ahead.

Ariane saw the desire in Ranulf's amber eyes as he drew her into his arms, felt the heated need in his powerful body, in his fervent lips. Yet his mask of coolness had descended again when he released her. And he had no kind word of farewell for her, no kind word at all.

Thus it was with a heavy heart that Ariane let him go. She watched from the solar window as Ranulf, clad in full armor, mounted his mighty steed and clattered across the drawbridge at the head of his retinue. Behind him streamed a pennon of crimson silk emblazoned with his feared device, the black dragon rampant.

When they were long out of sight, Ariane let her breath out in a sigh. Infuriatingly, she already missed Ranulf. Illogically, she worried for him. There were countless dangers awaiting unwary travelers- brigands and miscreants, mercenaries and other powerful knights greedy enough to challenge all comers -but it was absurd to worry. Ranulf was a seasoned warrior who had survived nearly two decades of war and strife without her assistance. And it was the time-honored lot of women to await their men when they rode away.

Ariane sighed again. She knew she would count the days till Ranulf returned safely to her. Despite the cold indifference he continued to show her, she still had hopes of someday gentling him to her touch, of somehow overcoming the haunting vulnerability she had seen in his eyes.

22.

The distant blare of the watchman's horn made Ariane tense as she sat embroidering with her ladies in the weaving rooms.Ranulf! Had he returned?

Trying unsuccessfully to quell her excitement, she followed the chattering women to the window to see what had caused the commotion. A single rider approached the castle gates, bearing a pennon with the royal colors of King Henry.

"The queen!" Gleda squealed, voicing the thrill all of them felt.

"No need to screech like an alewife," Maud scolded. "Mayhap 'tis only a messenger."

Yet the rider did appear to be a herald announcing the arrival of the queen's entourage, for he carried his own trumpet, which he sounded long and frequently. The watchman at the gatehouse apparently considered him friend rather than foe, for the screech and clatter of chains soon reverberated throughout the keep as the drawbridge slowly lowered across the moat.

Calling one of her tirewomen to her, Ariane hurried to her own chamber and quickly changed her old brown wool bliaud for a much finer one of red cendal. She had moved her belongings here to her quarters, and Ranulf's as well, so that the solar could be readied for Queen Eleanor and her ladies. Only the best accommodations would serve for so important a personage.

Her stomach felt tied in knots as Ariane smoothed her gown's folds one last time and made her way to the tower entrance. As Ranulf's hostage, she had greatly overstepped her authority in making preparations for the queen's visit, although she had done no more than any chatelaine would have-conferring with the steward and head gamekeeper as well as the kitchen staff; ensuring adequate stocks in the storerooms, pantry, larder, buttery, fishponds, dovecotes, and rabbit warrens; supervising the gathering of herbs from the garden and ordering spices from the spice merchant in the village; instructing the household serfs in matters of service-the myriad details that would help the visit run smoothly.

And Payn had given her a free hand, after all, trusting her judgment in such feminine matters, believing she would do naught to shame Claredon.

Ariane's tension rose as she left the tower to wait with Payn at the head of the outer entrance stairway. The newcomer had indeed been a herald for the queen, and now, beyond the castle walls, Ariane could see an advance guard riding toward the gates, their armor glinting in the late afternoon sun. The bright crimson banner that fluttered at the head of the troop looked to be bearing Ranulf's dragon device.

"'Tis Ranulf, my lady," Payn murmured at her side.

Even as she watched, a single mailed horseman on a black charger broke from the retinue and approached at a canter. Ariane felt fresh anticipation curl within her. Ranulf had been gone more than a week, and she had missed him sorely. She craved his touch and the feel of his fierce embrace, and even the sparks that flew between them when they were at odds, which was nearly always. Their strained parting had left her feeling anxious and disheartened, wondering if he would ever again treat her with the tenderness he had shown her that magical afternoon in the meadow.

She was not surprised to find herself trembling as, with Payn, she descended the long flight of steps to the yard to await the returning lord. In only moments, Ranulf rode briskly into the inner bailey, his destrier's hooves striking a heavy rhythm in tune with Ariane's suddenly thudding pulse.

Drawing his charger to a plunging halt on the hard-packed earth, Ranulf greeted his vassal with an easy informality, which Payn returned while Ariane held her breath. Ranulf's conical helmet with its steel nasal descending almost to his lips hid much of his face, but she could feel his golden gaze shift to her.

His eyes seemed dark and intense as he searched her face. Then he drew off his helm and pushed back his mail coif, to reveal raven hair drenched in sweat and several days' growth of beard stubbling his hard jaw.

Joy flooded her at the sight of those harsh, handsome features. Joy and a fierce surge of heated excitement. Even sweat and dirt could not detract from the aura of a powerful, intensely sexual male animal.