Forever in Your Embrace Read Online Free PDF Page B

has given me. ’Twas only his pride at finally siring a son after a brood of daughters that led him to have me tutored at all. He even tried to take me into his home after his wife died, but my pious little sisters couldn’t abide the idea of having a nameless whelp under the same roof. They chided him continually for bringing shame upon the family until he was forced to send me away. Aye, he saw me tutored with the best of them, but he gave me nothing else, not even a father’s affection.”
    “I’m sure you’ve taken great delight in withholding your regard in return and bringing him a like amount of humiliation by becoming a thieving scoundrel,” Synnovea rejoined bitingly. “ ’Twould even seem you’ve extended your revenge by entrapping others in your devious exploits.”
    “Your imagination is most vivid, Countess. I’m sure you’ll prove entertaining through the long winter nights ahead. But to say that I revel in retribution when I seize treasures as rare as you lends far too much credit to my vindictiveness. I assure you, my lady, I’m not a man to spite myself to gain recompense from an aging cur.”
    Synnovea clenched her fists in the folds of her skirts, refusing to yield this brigand any show of hysteria. “I believe you’re nothing but a coward,” she sneered. “Even with nigh forty men under your command, you made your appearance well after the danger had passed, like some sly weasel fearful of coming out of his hole. Now you make brave noises while your men hold us at gunpoint.”
    Ladislaus shrugged, unaffected by her criticism. “I keep my wits while others lose theirs. I watch until all things are made secure.”
    “You’re nothing but a nameless cur who lurks in obscurity while your pack of wolves strip away the wealth of honest men!”
    “Think what you will, my lady,” he invited, sauntering leisurely around her. “Your opinions are of little concern to me. They’ll change nothing.”
    The lady was indeed one of exceptional beauty, he concluded. Readily visible were the regal looks of the highborn in her delicate features and lofty bearing. The green-lined brim of her hat was pinned to the crown on one side by an emerald-studded clasp and was reminiscent of those worn by foreign cavaliers. Upon her departure from the coach, it had lent her a jaunty appearance, but it now sat ridiculously askew atop her head. Her silky black tresses, once woven into a sedate chignon beneath the hat, had been disturbed by her recent mauling. Feathery wisps now flared outward from her temples, as if set on ends by her rage.
    “Fate has surely been kind to me this eventide, bringing such a beautiful boyarina within my keeping,” he mused aloud. Reaching out a hand, he lightly rubbed his knuckles against a hotly flushed cheek. “I’m indeed honored by your presence, Countess.”
    Synnovea flung off his hand and glared at him with all the defiance she could muster. “I’m sure you’ll understand if I fail to appreciate your sentiments, Rogue, for I most desperately abhor being your captive.”
    “In time you’ll come to appreciate me, my lady. Most women do.”
    “The stars will fall from the heavens before the event of such an occurrence!”
    Ladislaus grinned back at her. Her fiery spirit had whisked away any lingering impression that she was a cold and haughty wench. Not even remotely so, he reflected in growing admiration. “My predictions will come true, Countess. They always do.”
    “You boast absurdities,” Synnovea jeered in disdain. “I’ll never cease to abhor you and your kind! I can only pray that some miracle may spare me and my escort from the evil you and your foul followers plan.”
    “Nothing short of a miracle will save you from what I intend, my lady,” he promised, his voice imbued with a huskiness that evidenced his deepening interest. “As for me, I’m sure I’ll enjoy this night with you as I have no other.”
    Synnovea served quick death to the notion that