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Another coughing fit seized Hugh He reached for his ale, grunting and nearly slopping the liquid everywhere as Jollivet began thu enthusiastically on his back

" &039;Twould appear you are ailing, Hugh," his cousin co, would you? If so, &039;tis terribly kind of you to leave the field clear forthe other man&039;s arms aith his elbow so that he could soothe his throat with the ale "Do that again, and you shall be the one in danger of dying" That coasping for breath by the time it ended

"You really do not sound well, friend" Unlike Jollivet, Lucan actually sounded concerned But Hugh was now feeling too miserable to appreciate it He&039;d had a runny nose and hacking cough all day, but the coughs were growing deeper, stealing more of his breath with each onset Perhaps soht of actually sleeping How long had it been since he&039;d had a full night&039;s rest?

"Perhaps Eada has soh racked with another bout of coughing

Griht of the old witch and her potions, Hugh shook his head and stood "Sleep will set ht"

He went up the stairs without waiting for a response Willa had retired several h had waited so she would have a few moments alone to prepare They were need and hadn&039;t yet enjoyed the intiht She would still be shy around hih had no desire to h had personally questioned everyone with any reason to be near either the kitchens or his bedcha the poison or even seeing it delivered

He also had arranged for Alsneta&039;s nepheain, to act as taster for Willa&039;s food and had set Baldulf and two younger uard her He&039;d sent men out to learn all they could about the name Evelake He&039;d instructed them to find the family, learn its circumstances, and discover Willa&039;s connection to it They also were to discover what possible reason there could be for someone to wish her dead He hoped these inquiries would be more successful than those about the poisoned meade

Hugh also had planned to search his uncle&039;s roo the estate he&039;d inherited He was co a castle than hiring skilled men to do it for you There were several questions he&039;d needed to answer, decisions to be , he thought with a s the hall Still, he really would have to search his uncle&039;s rooet to the bottoer the er her life would be in danger, and Hugh found he didn&039;t like that at all He ht not have wished to marry her initially, but she was his now, and he&039;d be da the state she&039;d been in last night, he felt his teeth grind together She&039;d been pale and tre He&039;d felt sure she would die If she had, it would have been his fault Willa deserved soive it to her Of course, that would have to wait a bit He knew she must be drained and exhausted, as he was But just as soon as they were both rested, he would set to the business ofher happy It was his job He was her husband

Nodding at the uard outside his bedchah paused after taking a single step through the door He had expected the roo eloith light, both fro fire in the hearth, and a dozen candles placed about the chaht Then his gaze landed on the bed His wife sat upright, the linens resting at her waist, revealing the top of a thin chemise a very thin chemise, he realized with dish the cloth A rustle behind hih of the men in the hall and he promptly stepped forward and pushed the door closed

He hesitated ato make his weary brain function and work out what the woh had been quite certain that she would be asleep on his arrival and found it difficult to understand why she wasn&039;t But then it struck hiht he would wish to consue No doubt she had stayed awake to accoh relaxed She would probably be relieved that he didn&039;t intend to bother her this night

Offering a s out the candles one after the other Once the last taper had been doused and the roolow, he approached the bed and began to strip Aware of her steady gaze on hih felt oddly self-conscious as he reaze prompted him to move a little more swiftly than he normally would have; just moments later he slid into bed next to her He hesitated, then offered a gruff "good sleep" before turning on his side away froh settled down to sleep, sure that his ould do the same until the bed shifted and he beca the floor The sound returned a ain Then he felt her lean against his side and there was suddenly bright light shining through his closed eyelids He lay still for a h opened one eye curiously

She was leaning on hiht, a candelabra held bare inches froht of the lit candles

"Wife?" he asked, keeping his tone pleasant

"Aye?" ca?"

"I a?"

"What?" Hugh rolled over abruptly, sending her flying backward Catching Willa&039;s arm before she could tu wildly around Maintaining his hold on her, he twisted to set the candleholder on the chest on his side of the bed, then turned back to glare at her

"You cannot wish to consue now!" he cried with disbelief

"Well, of course I do not wish to!" When Hugh stiffened at the insult, she said, "Eada explained that &039;tis going to be unpleasant and painful the first ti pain However, it onizing over what is to coh So, if you would be so kind, do you think you could plant the twins now?"

Hugh felt hi It hadn&039;t occurred to him that she would be full of worry over the deed to cohted of hi soin, but at least he kneas to co experience for her Of course, she would be anxious A huge yawn escaped hih, and he saw concern enter her eyes It seeh another day of anxiety Weary as he was, he would -suffering sigh

"Oh, thank you, my lord," Willa breathed with relief, then pro the linens up with her She lay with her eyes squeezed shut and the linens clutched tightly to her throat, knuckles grohite with the pressure of her hold She was as taut as a bowstring

Hugh stared at her with pursed lips She looked as if she expected either to be beheaded or raped, he thought with a sigh Then she puckered her lips as if having sucked on a lemon He presumed that was an invitation to kiss her I really don&039;t have the energy for this, he thought miserably, but merely cleared his throat

Her eyes popped open at once, a question in their depths

"The er" He gestured toward the linens she was so desperately clutching and she glanced doith see surprise

"Oh!" She flushed "I suppose we shan&039;t need these" She tossed the linens aside, then hesitated and slid out of bed

"What - ?" Hugh began The question died on his tongue as she bent to grab the heed it upward