Conquer the Night by Heather Graham Page B

glittering cobalt, touched with anger and no other emotion. He was not about to fall on her with lust or unbridled passion. “Don’t mistake the need for my time elsewhere as a weakness for having mercy toward you, Lady Kyra. I do not intend to offer any. No quarter. Let there be none asked, for none will be given.”
    He turned away from her then and exited the tower room.
    The door slammed in his wake.
    She heard the sliding and grating of the heavy bolt beyond.

CHAPTER THREE
    Jay stood just outside, watching as Arryn slid the bolt on the door. “Arryn, it did not occur to me that she would run. She must have known the castle was filled with our men.”
    â€œLet any treachery occur to you; she is more devious than Darrow himself, and possessed of a greater spirit,” he told his friend and fellow warrior.
    â€œArryn, in all fairness, would ‘devious’ best describe the lady?” Jay asked quietly. “My God, I had not expected such a …”
    â€œMay I suggest the word ‘devious’ once again,” Arryn persisted, aggravated. The lady of Seacairn was not proving to be what he had expected, either. She denied wrongdoing, yet fought like a tigress. She was intelligent, certainly not without courage—and knew how to use arms and armor. It was not unthinkable that she should have known about Kinsey Darrow’s exploits, suggested them, or even helped plan them.
    Jay shook his head. “No, Arryn. I wasn’t about to describe her as devious. ‘Beautiful’ is the word I was seeking.”
    â€œHow can you think such a thing about this woman? Have you forgotten—”
    â€œNo, I’ve forgotten nothing, but then, I’ve never seen the Lady Kyra before. I’d heard the rumor that she was one of the loveliest women on God’s earth, but such rumors regarding beauty and talent do seem to go with riches—with which she is also heavily endowed. But it is more than that! She is passionate, ardent; she is loyal to England’s Edward because she thinks him a great king, because she was taught that he was her king, and it is natural that she honor him”
    â€œThis is Scotland, not England.”
    â€œBorder country.”
    â€œScotland!”
    â€œAye, Scotland, then. But her father was English If you listen to her speak—”
    â€œIf you listen to her speak, you will find yourself a traitor to your own cause!” Arryn warned him. Then he added hoarsely, “My God, Jay, you must remember what was done! And she knows of it; she hasn’t tried telling me she was no part of it, just that the men here are innocent.”
    â€œSweet Jesu, Arryn, I am well aware of the atrocity. How do I forget when my brother perished, when … my sister escaped the manor to tell us what had leveled the house to the ground?”
    â€œAye, it was your sister, Katherine, who related the events that took place. And she would have died with the others were she not so clever and ingenious. And still—you suggest that I forgive this Lady Kyra because rumors of her beauty are true, because she is loyal to the man she considers her king—and because she has the strength of character to fight? ”
    â€œI suggest that you not practice the same cruelties that make a monster of another man, lest you become a monster yourself.”
    â€œI never intended to execute the woman, and you are well aware of that, no matter what my threats.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œBut she will not wed Darrow with her honor and riches intact. I swear that as well!”
    Jay was sorrowful, looking first to the floor, and then to Arryn. “I ride with you, Arryn, because I know you. I know that you will not hesitate to kill in battle, and I know, as well, that you don’t butcher men or women just to prove that you can, or that you are powerful enough to slaughter the innocent. Your strength is in your justice. Whatever you do to