Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

"A re you going down into the hall? Everyone is practically here now."

Brielle de Lohr heard her sister's question, turning to see the woman standing in the doorway of her bower with her infant son in her arms.

With a smirk, Brielle turned back to her polished bronze mirror.

"I will," she said, smoothing some beeswax on her lips for a little shine. "I'll go down when I'm good and ready and not before."

Christin, smirking just like her sister was, came into the chamber. A beautiful woman with dark hair and their mother's gray eyes, her coloring was in distinct contrast to her sister's. While almost all de Lohrs were fair– blonde hair, blue-eyed– Brielle fell into that familial category except she had brown eyes like Peter. Like her sister, she had inherited her mother's petite stature, but oddly enough, the past year had seen her go through a late growth spurt. Not too much, but enough that she was taller than her mother and sister these days.

Tall and elegant.

"I saw Jax arrive," Christin said. "He's with Julian and Cass. Aren't you going to go greet the man? Your future father-in-law?"

Brielle grinned, flashing lovely white teeth. "I told you," she said, sniffing around on the table for the bottle of perfume her mother had given her. "I will go down when I am ready. They can wait. Aren't I worth waiting for?"

Christin snorted. "Cass would wait his entire life for you," she said. "But I do hope you don't intend to make him wait that long."

Brielle found the perfume that smelled of roses and dabbed it on. "Nay," she said. "But I am not going to fall at his feet, either."

Christin rolled her eyes. "God's Blood, Brie," she said. "You've been sweet on Cass since he first came to Lioncross all those years ago. How long do you intend to make that poor man wait?"

Brielle giggled. "It's not my fault," she said, weakly defending herself. "You know that Papa will not even allow Cass to speak to him about marrying me. If you must blame someone, blame Papa."

Christin shook her head at her sister. "If you really wanted to marry him and you begged Papa, you know that he would relent."

Brielle shrugged, now looking at herself in the mirror again to make sure she was entirely presentable. "I've spoken to Mama," she said. "You know I have. Mama says that Papa feels we are entirely too young."

Christin began gently bouncing the baby because he was becoming fussy. "Cassian has seen twenty years and two," she pointed out. "You have seen twenty and one. I was not much older than you when I married Sherry and Papa gave his permission for our marriage."

Brielle turned to her. "But Sherry was much older than you," she said, speaking of Christin's handsome husband, Alexander de Sherrington. "I suppose it is different when both the bride and groom are so young. At least Sherry knew something of the world and could guide you as a husband should. I'm not sure how much of the world Cass really knows."

"Then you do not want to marry him?"

Brielle's face softened. "Of course I do," she said. "I want nothing else. But Papa thinks we are too young right now. Mayhap he is right. Mayhap we are."

"Do you think you are?"

Brielle sighed heavily. "Sometimes I feel like it," she said. "What do I know of the world, of how to please a husband? I have never even had a suitor other than Cass. He is all I have ever known."

"And that is a bad thing?"

Brielle smiled. "Nay," she said. "I suppose not. I suppose we shall both be na?ve together when it comes to marriage. We shall learn as we go."

Christin lifted a dark eyebrow. "But when do you intend you should learn together?" she said. "Cassian de Velt is a handsome man and he comes from a good family. He would make a prize for some greedy young woman if you are not careful."

Brielle was back to smirking. "He would never look at another woman," she said. "He only has eyes for me and I only have eyes for him, so do not try to scare me."

Christin eyed her sister. "I think you are foolish to wait," she said. "You love him, he loves you, and everyone knows you will marry someday, anyway, so why wait?"

"I told you. Because Papa thinks we are too young."

Christin's son was becoming fussier, so she turned for the door. Moreover, continuing this conversation was like banging her head against the wall. Brielle's stubbornness was frustrating.

"Let us go down to the hall," she said. "But wait for me. Let me take the baby to his nurse and I will join you."

Brielle hung back as her sister quit the chamber. She turned to the polished mirror once more and saw a young woman of uncanny beauty gazing back at her. She was dressed in a pale blue gown of silk, one that emphasized her buxom, womanly frame. Her hair was braided, draped over one shoulder, and she had a bejeweled net on the crown of her head, pinned to her hair.

In truth, she was exquisite. But the unfortunate truth was that Brielle never saw herself that way. She was taller than her sister and mother and she felt gangly and self-conscious about it. It was a feeling that hadn't gone away, even with Cassian's attention. He loved her long legs and solid, strong body. That strength had come from her love of riding horses for pleasure.

That was her passion.

But it was also a passion for a man and she knew it. Brielle had tomboyish tendencies and the love of many things that men also loved, both sport and hobby, but that had never mattered to Cassian. In fact, they had bonded over such interests many a time. He'd even given her lessons on how to swing swords and shoot crossbows, and she was extremely good at it. The more he taught her, the more she learned.

And the more he loved her for it.

Then why wouldn't she beg her father to let them marry?

That was a very good question. She loved Cassian, but their relationship had always been him doing the chasing. Sometimes, she let him catch her. But perhaps there was a large part of her that wanted Cassian to do this on his own, to convince Christopher that he would be an excellent husband and provider. Perhaps part of her didn't want to emasculate him by begging her father on his behalf. Cassian was a strong man, a dedicated and honorable one, and perhaps she just wanted to let him do this himself. She wanted Christopher's agreement to be Cassian's accomplishment.

But that just wasn't something she felt that she could explain to her sister.

"Brie?" Christin was suddenly in the open chamber door. "Ready?"

With a nod, Brielle turned away from the mirror and followed her sister down to the warm, smoky, and bustling great hall.