Chapter 452: The Price of Betrayal
As much as he hated sending her away, at the conclusion of their meal, Jocelynn’s constant shadow since her arrival in Lothian March came to collect her after nearly precisely one hour. The stern-faced Confessor Eleanor gave Owain a stern look that suggested she realized how close he’d come to robbing Jocelynn of her virtue before they could even be publicly betrothed, but she seemed to know her place well enough to keep her lips sealed about anything she witnessed.
"I’ll begin making preparations to visit Baron Hanrahan with you and the Guild Masters, my lord," Jocelynn said with an overly proper curtsey that nonetheless gave Owain a tantalizing view of her pert bosom as she left his dining room. "I look forward to being able to help you more now that I can be at your side while you negotiate with the merchants," she said, smiling warmly at him before schooling her features into an expression more appropriate for a sister-in-law than someone who would soon become his bride.
"We shouldn’t tarry, my lady," the raven-haired confessor said as she stepped smoothly between Owain and her young charge. "Young Lord Owain may be your brother-in-law, but so long as your ’sister’ is in the Summer Villa, idle tongues may give rise to inappropriate rumors if you linger too much."
"Confessor Eleanor is correct as always," Owain said, visibly adjusting himself and giving the clergywoman a polite nod. "I have other business to conclude this evening, Sister-in-law, so I’ll leave you in the Confessor’s capable care rather than walking you back to your chambers myself."
For a moment, Owain stood in the hall, admiring the way the elegant blue dress Jocelynn wore clung to her retreating backside before spilling in waves at her feet as though she were a native goddess returning to the sea from which she came.
"Soon," he muttered under his breath as he returned to his chambers. "But rushing would only spoil the feast before she’s ready to be devoured," he said, shaking his head and walking quickly to a wash basin to douse his head in cool water before he let thoughts of her ripening body drive him to distraction. There was work to be done tonight, and thoughts of women would only distract him from doing what needed to be done as quickly as possible.
Half an hour later, a refreshed Owain Lothian paced in his chambers, awaiting the arrival of two of his knights. While there were many people he trusted to see his will done or even to fight beside him against demons, there were few he could trust to execute his will without questioning his intentions and even fewer that he could trust to keep their mouths shut when it mattered. Whether or not these two truly qualified... well, tonight’s discussion would provide a fitting test to see if they could truly fill the shoes of their predecessors.
Ever since Jocelynn had left, he’d turned things over in his mind again and again as he replayed every word she spoken during their dinner. The more he paced and the more he thought, the more he trembled with the desire to lash out at his traitorous father or his scheming brother.