Her Lord and Protector (formerly titled On Silent Wings) by Pam Roller

milled about below, talking, removing gear from their horses,
and ambling to the lofts in the barn.
    No shouts of
alarm. No blood-pooled body lay shattered on the cobbled drive or earth packed
yard.
    Alex sucked in
forgotten breath.
    Then, he looked
more closely at the men. Had one of them enticed her to go outside? Would she be
so foolish? He turned to race for the door. Grabbing the candle, he glanced
down at the open pages of her journal. And froze.
    I need to leave
this place. He does not want me here. He holds something against me. Perhaps he
is embarrassed to be seen with me, as was Ellis.
    He will find
someone to marry me, but I wish to marry someone I can love. Someone who will
treat me well .
    Alex stared at
her words in apprehension. She had left him, at night, because of his treatment
of her.
    Then, his eye
caught a thin yellow light along the floor. The closet. He set down the candle,
dashed across the room, and whipped open the door.
    There she lay
near the back, crumpled on her side with her legs drawn up to her chest. With a
harsh cry, Alex went to her and dropped to his knees. He lifted her hand and
saw her raw and bleeding fingers. Gently he touched her warm cheek.
    “My God, what
happened to you?” he whispered.
    To his right, he
caught a glimpse of black hair. Mary stared at him from her portrait a few feet
away, her pale face shimmering in the light of the flickering candles on the
closet shelf. He looked into the startled vacancy of her eyes and felt the
familiar hopelessness of saving her.
    Gathering
Katherine in his arms, he lifted and carried her toward the bed. Her face
turned toward his chest and her loose hair swung over his arm. Her breasts
moved softly beneath the lace of her white nightdress.
    The feel of her
warm, supple body through the gauzy material roused a sudden passion and
tenderness within Alex that he had thought quite dead. Unwilling to let her go,
he stood cradling her to him.
    She was hurt and
in a faint. But he couldn’t stop his body’s craving for her, couldn’t stop
himself from lowering his head and touching her soft lips with his.
    She sighed and stirred,
and then opened eyes cloudy with confusion. Slowly she raised one injured hand
and caressed his cheek with her palm.
    Oh, but to have
her awake and doing this! He stayed perfectly still, waiting, willing his heart
to slow its relentless hammering.
    She sighed again
and lowered her hand. He moved forward and lay her on her bed, and then held
the candle near her hands to inspect them. Her nails were intact, thank God.
The small splinters beneath them could be removed, and her fingertips would
heal.
    As he pulled the
counterpane over her, his fingers unintentionally brushed over her breasts. He
couldn’t stifle the guttural moan that emitted from deep within his chest.
    “Katherine.” His
throat felt full of grit that made his voice rough and unsteady.
    He watched her
eyes flutter, then open fully and focus on him. Distress tightened her features.
She scooted away and seized the counterpane to pull it to her neck. Gasping,
her face contorting in pain, she glanced at her wounded fingers and then darted
confused, frightened eyes at him.
    Alex stepped
back and raised his hands. “All is well, my lady. Do not be alarmed. You fell
while in your closet.”
    She looked
toward the closet. Shame filled her face. She lowered her head but continued to
gaze at him with wide eyes. Wisps of her hair floated over her cheek and he
wanted to brush them away with the gentleness of a lover.
    “No need for
embarrassment. Perhaps you were overtired and went in there by mistake.”
Feeling powerless to help her, Alex glanced around for her slate, and saw it on
her chest of drawers. “Would you like to write? If you can?”
    She shook her
head.
    He considered
pressing her for information. It could wait until morning. With great effort,
he shook off his desire and cloaked himself with habitual indifference. “Good
night, then. I will tell the