DeliveredIntoHisHands by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

maintaining peace in a household.” She brushed at her skirt. “Which
leads me to my next question.”
    “All right.”
    “My daughter is afraid of the Changing.”
    “There is no reason for her to be,” he said
quietly. “I will not hurt her. She won’t even be aware of what is happening.”
    “That is good to know but what of after?”
    He frowned. “After?”
    “She has never been off our world, milord.
Neither has she touched or been touched by a male other than her father and
uncle—and then only when she was very young. She has no experience with what is
beyond Castle Blackthorn. To take her away from all that is familiar will no
doubt cause great stress. To be that far from all she loves…”
    “I hope she will grow to love me,” he said.
    “I am sure she will, but the shock of being
torn from her family…” She shrugged. “Surely you can see it would be a great
strain on her.”
    “Women do it all the time, milady,” he
reminded her. “They are expected to cleave to their husbands so they may be one
flesh. Is it not written in The Book that this is so?”
    “That is correct.”
    He gave her a long, steady look. “You don’t
want me to take her from Volakis.”
    “When—if—you legally Join with our
daughter, you will become our son. Since we have no male heir, Castle
Blackthorn will become Antonia’s upon our deaths. The dower keep—my ancestral
home of LeVey Manse—will become the property of our youngest daughter, Ashlyn.”
    “If I legally Join with her?” he echoed.
“There is no doubt of that, Your Grace.”
    “Yet you have not asked her,” Lady Maripose
reproached.
    “Perhaps I have been lax in doing that but
such will be remedied this very night,” he said. “I will leave no doubt in her
mind or yours.”
    “That is a relief but it does not address
the issue of where Antonia will live.”
    “You know war between Modartha and Volakis
will come,” he said. “When it does, I will be commanding the forces here. Do
you not want your daughter kept safe? Away from the fighting?”
    “My daughter will want to be with her
husband,” Lady Maripose said. “She was raised to cleave to her husband as you
stated.”
    “And to submit to his wishes?” he prodded.
“His authority?”
    “That too, but I must tell you, milord.
Antonia is a headstrong girl with a mind of her own. If you think to browbeat…”
    “That is not my intention.”
    “Bully or intimidate her, you will lose
her. She will never respect a man who raises his hand—verbally or physically—to
her.”
    “You want her to stay here,” he said. “At
Castle Blackthorn.”
    “I want you to stay here with her,” she
answered. “As our son.”
    “You think she needs protection from me,”
he said, narrowing his eyes. “So you think if she is here I would be less
likely to hurt her.”
    “Would you hurt her?” she asked, searching
his eyes.
    “Never,” he answered. “It is my intention
to cherish her, to love her, to do everything within my power to make her
happy.”
    “Then let her stay in her home,” Lady
Maripose said. “Let her stay here.”
    For a long time he said nothing. He simply
looked at the older woman then finally turned his head and gazed at the fire
crackling in the hearth. He watched the flames for a few moments more then
released a long breath. He returned his regard to her.
    “If that is what she wants, then that is
how it will be,” he said.
    “You will stay here?” she pressed. “With
us?”
    “Aye,” he said. “If it is what Antonia
wants, I will remain here at Castle Blackthorn.”
    “Then she is in the solar if you wish to
speak with her.”
     

Chapter Four
     
    “Milady?”
    Antonia shivered slightly at the sound of
his voice. It wasn’t that he had frightened her. She had been expecting him to
join her. Neither was it the sight of him standing in the doorway that frazzled
her nerves. It was that soft, accented voice that sent ripples
of—what?—skittering along