“Themarquéswill be very disappointed to have missed me—” she began.
“Did you write to him to expect you?”
“No, but—”
“Then he’ll have no reason for disappointment.”
Really, there was no cause for such churlishness. He should be grateful to be able to visit amarquésand stay in an ancientcastillo. “Iwill be very disappointed,” she told him.
“You’ll survive it. We’ll stay in the inn at Ayerbe. It’s only a couple of miles farther.”
“But why stay in a village inn when we could stay in a castle?”
He ignored her.
There was no point in arguing. The man was as stubborn as a rock. Bella thumped him crossly instead. He made no sign he’d even noticed.
Feeling the thump between his shoulder blades, Luke smiled to himself. She’d learn.
He had no doubt they’d be welcomed with open arms at Castillo de Rasal, and would be wined and dined in a manner fit for a king, but he was damned if he was going to spend his first night alone with his wife in the home of some doting old man who’d dandled her on his knee as a child.
Luke was going to settle once and for all who wore the breeches in this family, and he wanted no witnesses to the encounter.
A soldier chose his own ground for a confrontation.
Nine
“Abedchamber for me and my wife and a private sitting room.”
Bella swallowed. Luke had barely spoken a word to her for the last half hour. He’d given curt orders to the stableboy at the inn concerning the care of the horses, and now he spoke to the landlord, a tall, strapping fellow with a huge mustache.
“No private sitting rooms,señor. You can eat here.” The landlord gestured to the public dining area. “Or my wife can bring you your supper on a tray.” At his words, the curtain covering the doorway behind him twitched and a round-faced woman with brilliant, almost scarlet hair piled high looked out and scowled.
“No, we’ll eat here,” Luke said without even consulting Bella. He leaned forward and murmured something to the landlord, a question she didn’t catch. In the mood he was in, it would do no good to ask, she was sure.
The man gave him a startled look, glanced at Bella curiously, then nodded. “Sí, señor, I shall arrange it.” He sounded bemused. What had Luke asked of him?
“Good. Now, my wife is waiting for her dinner.”
The landlord bowed and snapped his fingers, and minions went scurrying to clear a table for them—the best table near the fire.
Luke seemed to have that effect on people, Bella thought. An unconscious air of command, coupled with his height and good looks.
The contrast between this and their arrival at the inn last night couldn’t be clearer. Then, Luke had shown deference and concern for her after their long trip. Now, apart from the hand that lightly gripped her elbow, he acted as if he were unaware of her presence.
Her own fault, she acknowledged. Angering her husband was one of the risks she’d considered when she chose to defy him. Whatever happened between them this night, she’d face it with dignity. She hoped.
The relief that he hadn’t beaten her in the road was giving way to thoughts that some men brooded on their wrongs and took their time about revenge. The dish best eaten cold…
She wondered again what he’d asked of the landlord.
He led her to the table, seemingly unaware of the sea of faces watching them with open curiosity. She’d removed her hat, and her coronet of plaited hair made it obvious to all that under the greatcoat, she was a woman. Bella felt the hard male glances slide over her, assessing her femininity. She held her head up and pretended not to notice.
Luke pulled out a chair and seated her with her back to the room, then sat opposite. He called for wine and ordered supper. It was warm in the dining room, and Bella began to unbutton the coat.
“Leave it,” Luke told her.
“But—”
