Dream of Me/Believe in Me

side passage. He was tall, well built, with dark hair to his shoulders and a narrow face. Despite the warmth of the day, he wore velvet and was adorned with much gaudy gold in the form of a heavy chain around his neck and thick, jewel-studded bands at both his wrists. Seeing her, he stopped abruptly.
    Krysta's heart sank. She recognized him all too well and wondered at the unkind hand of fate that had her not merely lost but face-to-face with Lord Udell.
    “My lady,” he said and bowed mockingly. “What a surprise to find you here. I thought you always at the ear of the queen.”
    Ignoring his provocation, Krysta said, “I was on my way to my quarters and took a wrong turn. If you would excuse me—”
    “Oh, by all means.” He moved just as she did, blocking her way. When she tried to go around him, he moved again with the same result.
    Frustrated, Krysta stopped and shook her head. Udell stood grinning, hands on his hips, waiting to see what she did next. But his smile faded abruptly when she simply turned on her heel and walked away from him. She got so far as to open a door and step out into thecourtyard, but just then he caught up to her and grabbed her arm. As Krysta tried to pull free, he pushed her up against an outer wall of the building and, still keeping hold of her, said, “Even for a Norse, your manners are poor. It isn't done to show your betters disrespect.”
    Krysta bit back the impulse to tell him she saw no betters and instead tried again to twist free. She had not thought he would lay hands on her and was shocked that he had done so. Although there were rooms nearby and people in them, she felt acutely vulnerable alone with him in the courtyard. He loomed very large over her, not so large as Hawk to be sure but threatening nonetheless. His grip on her arm hurt and she suspected he was bruising her.
    Yet she was not so foolish as to let him see her alarm. Calmly, she said, “Why do this, Lord Udell? There is nothing for you to gain.”
    He stared at her in surprise for a moment, then laughed sharply. “Do you always think that way, in terms of gain or loss?”
    She did not, but she kept that to herself. “It is a sensible enough way to think and by all reports you are a sensible man.”
    In fact, she had no idea whether anyone thought Lord Udell even remotely sensible but the notion seemed to please him. He eased his hold on her yet did not let go. “You have been speaking of me?”
    “Your sister speaks of you. She praises your power. And of course it is impossible to be at court even a short time without being aware of your stature.”
    This flattered him greatly. “Perhaps you are not as foolish as I thought if you have wit to perceive that.”
    Deliberately, she looked at his hand still fastened to her arm. “I also have wit to wonder why you do this. Why give the Hawk any excuse to come against you?”
    “Are you so certain that he would? You were not his choice, but rather chosen for him.”
    “It matters not. Would you allow another to take your property simply because you had not selected it for yourself?”
    “No, of course not, but—” He shook his head. “What a hardheaded creature you are, quite unlike most women. I wonder if Hawk has the sense to appreciate that.” Udell moved closer to her, his fingers caressing the skin he had bruised. “You have a wild look to you, that mass of hair I suppose, and those eyes. Is that deceptive? Or is there truly passion in you?” He bent his head, his lips brushing the curve of her cheek.
    Krysta suppressed a shiver of pure revulsion. She turned away, schooling her features to utter calm. To her dismay, Udell chuckled. “A valiant try, my lady.” He laid his hand just below her breast. “But I can feel how frantically your heart beats.”
    That he was so vain as to believe it beat with desire for him astounded Krysta but she took some comfort in knowing he did not sense her fear. That comfort fled in the next instant as Udell said huskily, “You are wasted in Essex. Hawk will never be anything but a mere retainer to the king. Surely, one so practical as yourself”—He lowered his head again and put his mouth to the slender column of her throat—“and so tempting can aspire to something higher.”
    The nausea she had experienced earlier in the day was returning with a vengeance. Krysta fought to contain it and to keep herself safe at the same time. “What is higher than a marriage to bring peace between two