A Knight's Honor [NOOK Book]

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A Knight's Honor

Dorchester Publishing

Chapter One

Mariah of Mildenhall entered her husband's bedchamber, pleased to find him awake. He appeared in better spirits than she had seen him in several days.

"Mariah, my dear, come sit beside me," Edmond said, making room on the edge of the bed for her.

"You seem in good spirits today, husband. Are you feeling better?"

Edmond of Mildenhall, a gaunt, elderly man with kind eyes, sighed. "We both know I am nearing the end of my life."

Mariah grasped his hand, her voice fraught with concern. "You cannot give up, Edmond. You must live. What will I do without you?"

"Think you I don't know what my death will do to you? I am an old man, Mariah, a very sick one. I would have died long ago if you had not come into my life. You were but a child placed under my guardianship when I was already an old man."

A tear slipped down Mariah's cheek. "I love you, Edmond."

"I know you do, but as a father." She shook her head, refusing to look at him. He held up a hand. "Nay, do not deny it. I wed you to save you from being given to a cruel man the king had chosen for you. I knew the man and his reputation well, and could not bear to see you abused. You were but fourteen when we wed, still a child."

"Now that I am one and twenty, I still love you."

Edmond reached out a bony hand and caressed her satiny-smooth cheek. "Thank you for that, little one. But we have more practical things to talk about. The last physician I consulted gave me two years at most before my heart gives out, if I spend most of my days in bed. Edwina, the healer you put such store in, agrees with him. Lying in bed is not something I enjoy."

"What do you wish to talk about?" Mariah asked, though she had a good idea. Her future looked bleak indeed.

"My brother Osgood has his sights set on Mildenhall. Since I have no heir, he will claim it once I have drawn my last breath. I do not want that to happen. Mildenhall is your home, the only one you have known since your parents' death from fever that swept through England when you were a wee lass of seven."

Mariah stared at her hands.

"I know what you are thinking, Mariah. The times I bedded you during our seven year marriage could be counted on one hand. I knew I needed an heir to keep Mildenhall out of my brother's hands, but each time I bedded you I felt as if I was committing a mortal sin. You were more a daughter to me than wife."

"Do not worry about me, Edmond. Concentrate on getting well. I will still have a widow's portion."

"'Tis not enough. You would have to leave Mildenhall, perhaps find another husband; losing your home would be tragic. But my worst fear is that Osgood will try to force you to wed his son."

Mariah blanched. "I would never wed that despicable lecher."

"He could petition the king for approval, and then you would have no choice. Henry V is known as the warrior king; he might look favorably upon Osgood's request because of my brother's reputation as a fierce knight and defender of England."

"You're frightening me, Edmond. I am but a woman, forced to yield to laws made by man. I am neither weak nor bird-brained, yet I am not allowed to inherit my home unless I have a male heir. 'Tis unfair."

"Life is unfair, my dear, especially so for a woman. There is only one solution. I waited until I felt strong enough to speak to you about this. You must present me with an heir."

Mariah looked at her frail husband, a man who rarely left his bed, a kind man who would do nothing to hurt her; a man who considered her the daughter he never had. She wondered how he expected to accomplish the miracle of producing a child.

"Do not look at me so, Mariah. You know I am incapable of bedding you."

"Then how?"

"Listen to me, sweet child, listen carefully. I would find no fault with you if you found an honorable man to give you a child. There must be someone in Mildenhall you fancy."

"Edmond! How could you suggest such a thing?"

"After I am gone, you will have no one to protect you. A son will secure Mildenhall for you. No one, not even Osgood or the king can force you to leave, or wed his son."

She shrank away from him. "I cannot."

He grasped her hands. "Do you love me, Mariah?"

"You know I do."

"Then take a lover and give me a son."

"I cannot," she repeated.

Edmond sank into the mattress and closed his eyes, weary unto death. But he couldn't die and leave Mariah just yet. Poor Mariah. A woman as young, as beautiful and full of life as his wife deserved better than the hand fate had dealt her. She had taken an old man as husband, and though he'd tried to be a true husband to her, he had always thought of her as a daughter.

But for a few brief couplings he'd managed once she had reached seventeen, he hadn't touched her despite his need for an heir. Over the years, Mariah had become his beloved daughter, one who had never known desire or experienced passion with a virile man.

"You didn't answer my question, Mariah. Is there no man among Mildenhall's knights you fancy?"

Mariah shook her dark head. "I took vows, Edmond. Sacred vows."

"The sin is not yours when a husband cannot function as a man, and hasn't for many years. Do not naysay me until you have considered my proposal. A male heir would solve both our problems."

Mariah watched Edmond wither before her eyes. How she loved this dear old man. She would do anything for him. Anything except betray him. Even if she did as he asked and took a lover from among the castle's knights, her sin wouldn't remain a secret for long. People tend to gossip, and Osgood would have reason to doubt his brother's ability to sire an heir. Osgood was a cruel man; he wouldn't rest until he ferreted out the truth.

"All this talk has tired you," Mariah said, pressing a kiss on his papery cheek. "We will discuss this later."

"Please think about what I just said," Edmond rasped as Mariah let herself out of the chamber.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Knight's Honor by Connie Mason Copyright © 2004 by Dorchester Publishing. Excerpted by permission.
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