two men deserve
retribution as much as Armand Chaumont and Reynald de Châtillon.
Both men had been comrades in conquest for over three decades.
They had come to Outremer with King Louis VII in 1148. When Reynald became Lord
of Antioch in 1153 by marrying Princess Alice, Armand became his seneschal. Together,
they had killed, raped, and pillaged from Antioch to Cyprus to beyond the Red
Sea. Gabrielle knew for a certainty that they had destroyed more innocent lives
than simply her own.
When Reynald had been captured by the Saracens and sent to
Aleppo, Armand had taken his wife and infant daughter to Jerusalem and
eventually had become bailli to King Amalric. As a reward for his service, the
king gave Armand a small fief in Oultrejourdan, recently vacated by the death
of Paganus the Butler, Kerak’s builder.
Upon release from an Arab prison, Reynald had immediately
looked up his old friend. The potential wealth he saw in the region prompted
his unholy bargain with Armand. Gabrielle became the prize, and with her
marriage to Reynald, Armand saw Castle Kerak and his fief in Oultrejourdan grow
in size until it was one of the largest, most strategic in the Kingdom of
Jerusalem. As a reward for selling his young daughter, Armand became the very
wealthy seneschal of Montreal, a garrison Reynald captured to the south of
Kerak.
After years of her tortuous marriage to the man known as the
kingmaker, she had fortunately been set aside to live peacefully in Jerusalem.
There she had finally begun to build a worthy life for herself. And now, she
had, by chance, met a man who made her pulse flutter every time she saw him. In
all of her nearly twenty-six years, she had never been attracted to any man.
Maybe her budding interest in Lucien de Aubric was simply a result of
inexperience and naiveté, but it felt like something more; something fateful
and singularly significant.
When he looked at her, it was with warmth, affection, and a
keen interest that was so completely focused on her. She'd received admiring
looks from men before, but they had always been predatory, lustful, and base.
Lucien de Aubric looked beneath the surface; beyond the
exterior appeal. And from the first, she'd felt an indefinable connection
between them; some affinity that seemed quite extraordinary. Maybe she was
simply indulging in ridiculous fantasies, but it was a heady sensation, and,
against all her better judgment, she wanted to explore it. She wanted to see
Lucien de Aubric again.
She wondered if that was why she had asked him to help her
find appropriate homes for the Muslim children at the orphanage? She had been,
afterall, managing to do just that for a couple of years now on her own.
Brother Giles and several other clerics had put her in contact with several
good Muslim families willing to help.
Asking Brother de Aubric for help felt very much like an
excuse to see him again. She wondered with no small measure of embarrassment if
he had seen such a motive in her request.
It was all well and good to seek help wherever she could, but
he was a monk, afterall. She had no business encouraging meetings between them.
Long ago her marriage vows had stopped holding any sanctity for her. While she
had remained faithful to Reynald, it had not been out of respect for him, but
out of respect for herself.
But she could not, in all good conscience, think of Brother
Lucien's vows as anything but sacred and inviolate. She must only think of him
as a friend, the way she thought of Brother Giles and the other clerics she
worked with. No matter that his dark sensual stare felt like a physical caress,
or that his deep husky voice made her shiver. She’d try to ignore that
devilishly charming smile that could melt stone. For his sake and hers, none of
that could matter. The next time she saw him, she would control all those
treacherous responses that had played such havoc with her senses and her
principles from the moment she had met him in the
retribution as much as Armand Chaumont and Reynald de Châtillon.
Both men had been comrades in conquest for over three decades.
They had come to Outremer with King Louis VII in 1148. When Reynald became Lord
of Antioch in 1153 by marrying Princess Alice, Armand became his seneschal. Together,
they had killed, raped, and pillaged from Antioch to Cyprus to beyond the Red
Sea. Gabrielle knew for a certainty that they had destroyed more innocent lives
than simply her own.
When Reynald had been captured by the Saracens and sent to
Aleppo, Armand had taken his wife and infant daughter to Jerusalem and
eventually had become bailli to King Amalric. As a reward for his service, the
king gave Armand a small fief in Oultrejourdan, recently vacated by the death
of Paganus the Butler, Kerak’s builder.
Upon release from an Arab prison, Reynald had immediately
looked up his old friend. The potential wealth he saw in the region prompted
his unholy bargain with Armand. Gabrielle became the prize, and with her
marriage to Reynald, Armand saw Castle Kerak and his fief in Oultrejourdan grow
in size until it was one of the largest, most strategic in the Kingdom of
Jerusalem. As a reward for selling his young daughter, Armand became the very
wealthy seneschal of Montreal, a garrison Reynald captured to the south of
Kerak.
After years of her tortuous marriage to the man known as the
kingmaker, she had fortunately been set aside to live peacefully in Jerusalem.
There she had finally begun to build a worthy life for herself. And now, she
had, by chance, met a man who made her pulse flutter every time she saw him. In
all of her nearly twenty-six years, she had never been attracted to any man.
Maybe her budding interest in Lucien de Aubric was simply a result of
inexperience and naiveté, but it felt like something more; something fateful
and singularly significant.
When he looked at her, it was with warmth, affection, and a
keen interest that was so completely focused on her. She'd received admiring
looks from men before, but they had always been predatory, lustful, and base.
Lucien de Aubric looked beneath the surface; beyond the
exterior appeal. And from the first, she'd felt an indefinable connection
between them; some affinity that seemed quite extraordinary. Maybe she was
simply indulging in ridiculous fantasies, but it was a heady sensation, and,
against all her better judgment, she wanted to explore it. She wanted to see
Lucien de Aubric again.
She wondered if that was why she had asked him to help her
find appropriate homes for the Muslim children at the orphanage? She had been,
afterall, managing to do just that for a couple of years now on her own.
Brother Giles and several other clerics had put her in contact with several
good Muslim families willing to help.
Asking Brother de Aubric for help felt very much like an
excuse to see him again. She wondered with no small measure of embarrassment if
he had seen such a motive in her request.
It was all well and good to seek help wherever she could, but
he was a monk, afterall. She had no business encouraging meetings between them.
Long ago her marriage vows had stopped holding any sanctity for her. While she
had remained faithful to Reynald, it had not been out of respect for him, but
out of respect for herself.
But she could not, in all good conscience, think of Brother
Lucien's vows as anything but sacred and inviolate. She must only think of him
as a friend, the way she thought of Brother Giles and the other clerics she
worked with. No matter that his dark sensual stare felt like a physical caress,
or that his deep husky voice made her shiver. She’d try to ignore that
devilishly charming smile that could melt stone. For his sake and hers, none of
that could matter. The next time she saw him, she would control all those
treacherous responses that had played such havoc with her senses and her
principles from the moment she had met him in the
Similar Books
