Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (118 page)

If Niall had chased her to Avalon to return
her pendant, using it as an excuse to see her again, if he was
really her one true love and they were destined to be together,
then what did her virginity matter?

Viviane straightened, unable to shake a
portent of dread. “What do you mean?” she asked carefully. “What
does it change?”

Niall shoved a hand through his hair and
paced the width of the room one more time. When he pivoted suddenly
to face her, Viviane had a distinct sense that he had made a
decision.

And judging by his dour expression, it
wasn’t one he liked.

“
We shall have to be wed,”
he declared flatly. “This very day. There is naught else for it,
though indeed the repercussions may be dire.”

It wasn’t what she had expected him to say,
and certainly not the way Viviane had ever expected the man of her
dreams to propose to her. In fact, Niall looked as though he were
doing something particularly distasteful, and that he was doing it
only because he didn’t have a choice.

“
What?” Viviane croaked,
certain she must have misunderstood.

“
We shall be wed,” Niall
affirmed, then nodded briskly as though all was resolved. “There is
no choice.”

Viviane gasped at the lack of romance in his
attitude. This wasn’t how he was supposed to ask for her hand.
“You’re asking me because you have no choice?”

“
Clearly.” Niall frowned as
he thought. “Surely there is a priest to be found in this place? No
doubt the press of coins in his palm will see the matter resolved
before midday.”

Viviane’s mouth fell open and she bounded
from the bed in outrage. “I’m
not
a matter to be resolved!
And I won’t be married by midday, today!”

Niall looked at her then, his gaze
fathomless green. “A man of honor must do what is right, Viviane. I
have taken your virginity and will pay the price, however heavy
that might prove to be.”

And he reached for his clothing, as though
there was nothing more to discuss.

Viviane had a somewhat different view of
things.

“
What are you talking
about? You said you came for me!”

Niall steadily held her gaze, an apology in
the depths of his eyes that Viviane couldn’t understand. “Aye, I
came for you,” he admitted softly, as though he didn’t want to.

“
And you said you wouldn’t
leave without me.”

Shadows dawned in his eyes. “Aye, ’tis true
enough.”

“
Then, what’s the problem?
Why don’t you want to marry me?” Viviane flung her hand out toward
the bed. “You wanted me last night, and again this morning, just as
I wanted you. Why is marriage a price to be paid? And what sort of
dire repercussions could there be?”

“
Viviane!” Niall took a
step toward her, appeal in his gaze. “You must
understand…”

“
I don’t understand!”
Viviane’s tears threatened to choke her. She had practically thrown
herself at Niall, she had been so sure that they were meant to be
together, and he had taken advantage of her offer. She was such a
fool! Oh, she had confused the tales in her imagination with the
truth, she had mingled the hero of her book with a living,
breathing man. “I trusted you. I believed you were my one true
knight. Barb warned me about men of your kind…””

“
Nay, Viviane, ’twas not
thus.” Niall propped his hands on his hips. “Matters are most
simple, if you would but listen to me.”

Viviane folded her arms across her chest and
hoped desperately that he had a good explanation. A convincing one.
Her heart was hammering wildly and she could not steady her
breathing.

How could she have been so wrong about her
knight?

“
I’m listening,” she said
with as much dignity as she could.

“
Your maidenhead is a
treasure destined for the man who takes your hand in marriage,”
Niall said patiently. “’Twas not mine to take, and I apologize for
my failure to recall that in the heat of the moment. Further, I
would make matters come aright, instead of leaving you in
shame.”

“
So now what we have done
is shameful,” Viviane said with disappointment. “As well as an
obligation.”

This was not the way it happened in her
book.

Niall’s lips tightened as though he didn’t
like her tone, though he slanted a very green glance her way. “’Tis
right for a man to bear the consequences of his deeds. I have taken
your maidenhead and will pay the rightful due.”

If he had made some mention of passion, or
even desire, instead of citing responsibilities like a legal clerk,
Viviane’s annoyance might have waned.

Instead, his measured words made her even
more angry.

“
You took
nothing
from me that I wasn’t prepared to give!” Niall seemed momentarily
astonished, but Viviane wasn’t done. “And I’m not going to marry
you just because my virginity is gone!”

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “You care
naught for the shame that will find you on your wedding night?”

“
Maybe I’ll never marry!”
It wasn’t such a long shot, given her disappointment in this
moment.

“
Viviane!” Niall scowled.
“Use the wits with which you were blessed. There could be a child
from this union, one compelled to pay the price of this folly for
all its days.”

Oh, it was
folly
. Better and
better.

Viviane lifted her chin, irked even more
that this practical tack was the only argument Niall thought it
suitable to make. “So there could be. If there is, I’ll manage on
my own. It won’t inconvenience you.”

Niall straightened. “What is
that
to
mean?”

Viviane stared him down, virtually daring
him to show some passion over this. “
I
am the one who will
bear that child, give birth to it and raise it. It has nothing to
do with you.”

Now he was angry.

Niall’s eyes flashed before he jabbed a
finger through the air and roared. “’Tis my obligation to support
any fruit I compel a woman to bear! ’Twill not be said of Niall of
Malloy that he took what was not his due and did not make matters
come right!”

“
And what about me?”
Viviane demanded. “What about what
I
want?”

The annoyance melted from Niall’s eyes, and
his puzzled expression caught at Viviane’s heart. “But what else
could you possibly desire? Viviane, I have seen that you are a
woman of sense - how could you not want a spouse to take
responsibility for your child? How could you believe there to be
merit in raising a babe alone?”

His appeal nearly undermined Viviane’s anger
completely, because she could tell that he couldn’t think of
another thing a woman could want, besides a husband to provide for
her child.

Besides him.

But Viviane wanted more than Niall’s pledge
to wed her. It was time for a little communication. Fortunately,
she was more than prepared to be blunt.

“
What about
love?”

Niall blinked. “Love?”

“
Yes,
love
! I want
love,” Viviane insisted. “And love is the only reason that I’ll
ever marry anyone.”

It would have been nice if Niall seized this
challenge, stepped forward and pledged undying devotion, right then
and there - that’s what would have happened in Viviane’s book! -
but he didn’t.

Actually, he rolled his eyes. “Love!” he
snorted. “Love does not see a babe fed and clothed, love does not
see a roof over that child’s head. Love heats a man’s loins,
compels him to make poor judgments, then flees into the night.”

Viviane gasped. “Is that what this was? A
poor judgment?”

“
It would seem so!” Niall
roared. “Certainly you are not thinking clearly, Viviane! Love is
not to be trusted and no reliable guide for one’s choices. Love is
a whimsy of poets and minstrels and has naught to do with the good
sense of
responsibility
.”

“
Well, responsibility isn’t
a good enough reason to be married!” Viviane shouted back at him.
“Whether it’s for a child or for virginity, it’s not
enough!”

Niall folded his arms across his chest and
glared at her. “Did you find this whimsy in this realm?”

Viviane echoed his gesture and glared right
back. “No. I learned from my mother that the only marriage worth
having was one based on love. That’s what she had and that’s what
she valued, and that’s what I want too.” Niall held her gaze
stubbornly, his thinking clearly unchanged. “I won’t marry you just
because you feel guilty, and that’s all there is to it.”

Niall seemed to have nothing to say to that.
He grimaced and exhaled heavily, shook his head and turned away.
Viviane thought he muttered something about
women
, but she
couldn’t be sure.

She was too busy being disappointed. The man
of her dreams wasn’t supposed to find love a foreign concept.

Well, to live was to learn, as her mother
had often said.

And Viviane was learning a bit more than she
would have preferred. She fingered the pendant Niall had returned
to her and was glad to have that much at least. Viviane was
determined to not cry in his presence, so she blinked back her
tears and turned to pick up her robe.

Once composed, she shot a telling glance
over her shoulder en route to the washroom. “Besides,” she said
archly, “you don’t have a very nice way of
asking
.”

Niall’s head shot up. Viviane held his gaze
for a telling moment, then strode away while she still could, her
nose in the air. She wasn’t entirely sure she’d make it without
Niall chasing her, much less that she could turn him away if he so
much as touched her again.

But she did.

And she didn’t think about exactly who she
was locking the door against. The image of a very nude, very
tanned, very muscular knight - the knight of her dreams, in fact -
staring after her, an unexpected vulnerability in his green eyes,
was one that Viviane knew she wouldn’t easily wash from her
thoughts.

She was less sure that she wanted to. She
leaned back against the door and let her tears of disappointment
rise for only a moment before she straightened and turned on the
shower.

*

Niall opened his mouth and closed it again,
certain he would never understand the thinking of women. He had
thought Viviane different from Majella, a woman of sense, yet she
clung to arguments of passion with the same nonsensical
determination of his sister.

’
Twas not welcome
news.

And just when he thought he had no chance of
salvaging the situation, Viviane threw him a tantalizing comment
like that last one.

He hadn’t asked nicely enough.

There was a sentiment Majella would applaud.
Niall rubbed his brow and decided ’twas an arduous task he had
taken upon himself when he followed Viviane. Indeed, matters grew
more complicated by the moment! She had denied his proposal born of
duty, but in typical female fashion, had left more questions in the
wake of her decision than before. Niall, though, after years of
dealing with Majella, was certain he could think matters
through.

Did Viviane mean she wanted only the
pleasure he could grant her, without any further ties? ’Twas an odd
perspective for a woman so recently a virgin and Niall immediately
dismissed that possibility.

Or did she mean she would never accept his
offer, regardless of what he said or did? Surely Viviane knew that
children had need of hearth and home, of food and security? Aye,
she spoke warmly of her own mother, so clearly knew the value of
family.

And she knew naught of his pledge to return
her to the archbishop - Niall fidgeted with guilt that he had not
confessed the truth to her, though he had come close - so
that
could not be a factor in her refusal of his suit.
Indeed, she seemed to think that Niall had pursued her for her own
company alone, a fact that hinted that she would not be displeased
to find that suspicion proven true.

So, Viviane must have some favorable
inclination toward him, as the last night so amply showed. Did she
mean then that she would entertain the notion of marriage if he
asked
nicely
?

That sounded most womanly, to Niall’s way of
thinking, and suitably incomprehensible. Though, indeed, he
wondered whether Viviane would be any more comprehensible anywhere
he encountered her. He recalled their first meeting in the dungeons
and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The lady had a talent for defying his
expectations, no less for challenging his convictions.

’
Twas what he liked about
her, truth be told.

But a woman’s greatest treasure should be
reserved for the man who took her to wife - Niall had only to look
to the example of his nieces and nephews to see where the opposite
choice left children. Marriage was the only honorable choice, even
though marriage to a woman convicted of witchcraft could only earn
Niall a place alongside Viviane on the executioner’s block.

A man must stand by what he had done, a man
must bear the weight of his responsibilities. Niall’s sense of duty
tolerated no exceptions for challenging circumstance. A lesser man
might have stepped away, relieved that his task was not to be
further complicated.

But Niall was a man of honor and he knew
what was best. They would be wed.

And with all haste.

To have Viviane decline him, for the sake of
that troublemaking folly known as love, did not fit well with
Niall’s view of his responsibilities.

Clearly, she must first be dissuaded of this
foolery that marriage was a matter reserved for those snared in the
false trap of love. Niall did not trust love, as it fell into that
category of unseen intangibles that were not to be relied upon.