Page 71 of A Knight’s Reward

Her lips formed a sad smile. “He was jealous.”

Dominic frowned. “Of the child?”

“Aye. Of the affection I showed Ewan. Of the wonderful, pure love… from which he was conceived.”

Her soft voice and the shadowed atmosphere tugged him into the realm of long ago. He forced the recollections away, saying, “There were difficulties in your marriage, then, after you gave birth to Ewan.”

Her expression hardened. “There were difficulties before. Ryle. He…” Her lips pressed together, suggesting her next words were difficult.

“’Tis all right. You can tell me,” Dominic coaxed.

“He was…”

“A monster,” Dominic said.

She nodded, strands of her hair catching in the bark and glinting in a stream of sunlight. “He also was… impotent.”

Dominic’s hand, half-raised to tug her tresses free, froze. “Impotent.”

Her eyes wet with tears, she nodded again.

Dominic’s frown intensified. How could her husband be impotent? He got her with child. She’d birthed his son. Mayhap she mistook the word “impotent” for another, such as “intolerant” or “impatient”? “Gisela,” he said most gently, “impotent means he could not…”—he cleared the awkward catch from his throat—“sire a child.”

“I know.” She blinked, her long lashes sweeping down over her eyes before their brilliant blue held his gaze again.

How intently she stared at him—a look that implied her words had monumental significance. An odd sensation tingled through Dominic, an inkling that she kept knowledge just beyond his comprehension.

He exhaled an unsteady breath. “Let me be certain I understand. Your former husband could not… You and he did not⁠—”

“Couple,” she said.

“Not once?” he blurted, before he could stop himself.

A flush stained her face. “Not once.”

“Not even on your wedding night?”

“Not even then,” she said quietly. “He tried.” A shudder racked her, before she stared down at the ground. “He could not manage to… That is, his manhood would not…”

“Swell?” Dominic said.

Her face turned scarlet. “Not like yours.”

Not like yours. Heat flamed in his groin while his delighted mind registered what she’d revealed in those three words. She remembered his body. Recalled the pleasure between them, and the intensity of his desire for her.

He cleared his throat again. “Ah.” When had his wits evaporated like a puddle on a summer’s day? She seduced him with memories, but she still hadn’t provided him with answers. Giving himself a strong mental shake, he said, “’Tis still not clear to me, Gisela. If your husband did not couple with you, how did you get with child?”

He waited for her response, tension cresting inside him. Gisela had become pregnant by having an affair. Married to a man who couldn’t pleasure her, she’d deceived him, which would explain his vicious treatment of her.

A tiny smile curved her mouth. Her expression seemed to say, Still, Dominic, you cannot guess? The answer is very simple.

Suddenly, the answer materialized in his mind. The shock of it slammed through him, seemed to shake the roots beneath his feet.

“Ewan—” he said hoarsely.

“Aye, Dominic. He is your son.”

CHAPTER 13