Daughters of the Dagger 03 - Amber (24 page)

Amber and Lucas were married a sennight later in the Canterbury Cathedral by the archbishop himself. Amber’s father and sisters and their husbands had come to Canterbury for the wedding and they all celebrated now in the great hall of Canterbury Castle.

Amber had made sure to invite all the nuns and monks from St. Ermengild
’s, as well as Mirabelle who had come back to Canterbury Castle with all her things. It seems Sir Romney had taken such a liking to her that he asked her to stay with him. And he was staying at the castle as well by invitation of the new Lord of Canterbury – Lucas.

“I still can’t believe that the archbishop gave me the castle and lands to go with it,” said Lucas, as they all celebrated in the great hall.

“You deserve it, husband.” Amber reached up and kissed him on the lips.

“Don’t step on your train,” her twin sister, Amethyst reminded her, acting as her maid of honor and pulling the edge of her gown from under her feet. Amber
wore a gold gown made of the softest silk, with long tippets made of lace trailing from her elbows all the way to the floor. Her hair was loose and held down by a circlet of fresh flowers entwined with colorful ribbons that trailed down her back. And around her waist was a gold belt that held her special amber dagger.

“You look so beautiful, my wife, that I can hardly wait until we share our wedding bed,” Lucas whispered into her ear.

“Do you mean there is something else you need to teach me?” she asked. “I can’t even imagine more.”

“Have you made love atop a horse yet?” asked Mirabelle, overhearing their conversation. The Winchester Goose hung on
to the arm of Sir Romney who proudly displayed her to the rest of the castle – in a gown meant for a lady instead of a whore.

“Mirabelle, please,” sa
id Amber, feeling embarrassed by the suggestion. But when she looked up to Lucas, he was grinning devilishly.

“I’ve alw
ays wanted to try that,” he admitted in a low voice.

She drank in his manly beauty, as he’d donned
special clothes for the wedding as well. He was dressed all in pale blue, as he refused to wear dark clothes, saying he wanted to get away from his devil image. His hair flowed down around his shoulders like a golden halo of an angel. And his piercing iridescent blue eyes made her feel as if he were undressing her right there in front of her family, causing her face to blush.

“Amber
, I am so happy for you.” Her eldest sister, Ruby walked up and leaned over and gave her a kiss. Her sister’s husband, Lord Nyle Sheffield was right next to her. Ruby held their young son, Tibbar in her arms and when she leaned over, he grabbed the ribbons of Amber’s headpiece.

“Let go of that, you little rabbit,” said Nyle,
taking the boy from her arms. “Ruby, did you tell your sister the good news yet?”

“What news?” Amber looked at her sister. Ruby’s long blond hair
was so light it almost seemed white. It was in a long braid down her back and Tibbar leaned over trying to tug it from his position in Nyle’s arms. He giggled as he did it.

Ruby just smiled and nodded with her head to her stomach. Amber’s eyes went downward, and she realized she’d been so busy with the wedding that she hadn’t even noticed the new bulge.

“You are having another baby?” she asked. Amber knew how hard this must be for Ruby as she had birthed a stillborn baby boy with her first pregnancy not that long ago. It reminded them all of what happened to their mother and they’d been worried that Ruby could have lost her life in the process. But having Tibbar had helped her through the hard times, but still, she knew Ruby was feeling the need to birth a child of her own.

“We are,” said Ruby, smiling up at her husband.

“Oh, Ruby, I am so happy for you, and I am sure this time things will be just fine.”

“I hope so,” she answered, “as little Tibbar needs a playmate.”

“I hope it’s a girl so she’ll be able to play with Mirabelle,” said her sister Sapphire, coming to join them with her newborn baby girl in her arms. Her husband, Lord Roe Sexton walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around his family. Amber had been so happy to see the baby when they’d arrived, as it was a newborn and she was surprised they’d traveled with it. But her sister Sapphire said she wouldn’t have missed Amber’s wedding for anything in the world.

“Your baby has my name,” stated Mirabelle happily
. She looked up to Sir Romney and smiled.

“She was named after our mother,” Sapphire told her.

“Congratulations to all of you,” said Lucas. “I hope someday we’ll be able to join you in having children of our own.”

“Do you really mean that, Lucas?” Amber looked up to him, feeling v
ery excited. When her sisters had arrived in Canterbury for the wedding, Amber had told Lucas she wanted children too, but he had never responded. “You know, I want lots of children, just like my sister Sapphire desires as well,” she warned him.

“I know,” he said. “Mother, will you join us please?” he called across the hall.

His mother was talking with Amber’s father, Earl Talbot of Blackpool, and they both came to join them.

“Son,” she said, “I have had the
nicest conversation with Amber’s father.”

“As well as I have had with your mother, Lucas.” Amber’s father guided Lady Veronica with her hand on his arm and Amber smiled to herself wondering if some r
omance was blooming between them. They were both unmarried and lonely, and she thought this might be beneficial for the two of them.

“Mother, Amber t
ells me she wants many children,” said Lucas. “We may need help in watching all of them and I’d like to know if you would stay at Canterbury Castle to help us raise them?”

Tears welled in Lady Veron
ica’s eyes and she threw her arms around him in a hug. “I missed out on your childhood, Lucas and I vow I will not miss out on the childhood of my grandchildren. You will not be able to get rid of me if you try.”

Amber smiled at the new relationship that was forming between a mother and a son
, and knew this was the best gift he could ever give his mother. To be here to be a part of their children’s lives. And to be able to love and help raise the babies to make up for what she’d missed out on when she’d had to give up Lucas years ago.

Ever since the day they’d buried Lucas’
s father – on unconsecrated ground, she had seen a closeness developing between the two of them. Lucas was warming up to his mother, though Amber knew it would take him some time to overcome the abandonment that affected him for his entire life. But she knew because of what Lucas had lived through, he was going to be the best father to their children that there ever was.

“Congratulations, Lady Amber,” said Helen, walking up to greet her with
Amber’s friend from the monastery, Sister Ursula at her side.

“Thank you, Lady Helen, and I wanted to say I know how hard this must be for you
since you were once lady of this castle.”

“It was at first,” she said. “But since talking with Sister Ursula, I’ve decided to jo
in the Sisters of St. Ermengild.”

“Really?” asked Amber, very surprised by the announcement.

“That’s right,” said Sister Ursula with a giggle. “She’s going to be taking your place, Amber. And I am happy to be gaining another friend at the abbey.”

“Are you sure about this?” Amber asked her. “You know there is no going back if you change your mind.”

“Unless you’re a novice with a man determined to make you forget your vows,” added Lucas with a smile.

“Lucas, please,” she said, looking up for her father’s reaction but he was busy staring at Lady Veronica
and hadn’t heard him, to her relief.

“I lost my husband and without him I feel an emptiness that I think will be filled by my dedication to the church and God,” said Helen.

“Then I wish you the best,” said Amber.

“Sister Ursula,” called the abbess from across the room. “Bring the new novice here so I can instruct her.”

“Watch out for her,” Amber said with a chuckle.

“And whatever you do,
don’t pull off her wimple, or you’ll be shocked for the rest of your life,” warned Lucas, causing them both to laugh.

“What?” asked Helen
, not understanding their private jest, as Sister Ursula pulled her away across the hall.

“He just means, congrat
ulations on your decision,” called out Amber, looking over to Lucas with a smile.

“Lucas,” said Amber’s sister Sapphire, “would you like to hold the baby and practice?” She looked up to him wit
h a playful smile, her blue eyes sparkling and her long mahogany hair pulled up and twisted into a knot atop her head, making her look very regal.

“I think I’ll wait,” he said, pulling Amber into his arms. “I’m still getting used to being married. One step at a time.”

“I’d like to hold her,” said Lady Veronica anxiously. And with that, Sapphire and her husband as well as Lady Veronica walked away to talk. Lucas’s mother cradled the baby gently in her arms, smiling all the while.

“Amethyst, you are so quiet,” said Amber. “You do realize you are the only sister not married now
, don’t you?”

“That’s right,” broke in her sister Ruby. “I think mayhap it’s time for you to find a husband as well.”

“I have other plans,” she told them. “I want to travel first, the way I did with Uncle Clement when I was growing up.”

“He never settles
down,” Ruby reminded her. “He is a Master Mason. You don’t want a life like that.”

“I would love to build a castle,” Amethyst told her.

“Then you’d better find a rich man to marry,” said Amber.

“Nay, that’s not what I mean. I want to actually … build a castle, t
he way Uncle Clement does for the king and the rich barons and earls.”

“What do you know about that?” asked Ruby.

“I learned a lot by watching him,” Amethyst said. “And I asked lots of questions. We write each other all the time, and I know everything he’s doing.”

“That is a man’s trade,” Lucas reminded her. “You’d be better off sticking to something more suited for a lady.”

“Lucas and Amber,” broke in Sir Romney, “my uncle, I mean, the archbishop is headed over to congratulate you as well.”

The archbishop walked ove
r with his long robes sweeping the floor.

“Congratulations once again,” the holy man said. “And Lucas, I will expect you to take good care of Canterbury Castle.”

“Thank you for your generosity,” said Lucas. “I will do my best.”

“There is one more thing I’ve yet to do. If you are to be lord of the castle, you must also be a knight. Now bow before me and hand me your sword.”

Lucas quickly handed him the sword at his waist and knelt before the bishop with his head bowed.

“Do you promise to uphold the standards of a kni
ght and put God before all else?”

“I do,” said Lucas.

“And do you vow to protect the weak and respect all women, as well as fight for the welfare of your king and your country?” asked the archbishop.

“I do,” answered Lucas reverently.

“Then by the power invested in me as archbishop of Canterbury, I dub you, Sir Lucas.” The bishop touched the sword to each of Lucas’s shoulders, then reached out and blessed him with a hand atop his head.

Everyone clapped and crowded around them and when Lucas got to his feet and collected his sword, Amber saw the tears in his eyes.

“You are a knight now,” said Sir Romney. “Mayhap we’ll have to go over the Code of Conduct one more time.”

“Aye, both of us,” he said with a laugh, watching Mirabelle as she ran her hand up and down the man’s arm.

“Archbishop,” said Amethyst. “I was mesmerized by the beauty of Canterbury Cathedral. I have always been interested in the construction of a church or castle and would love to explore it more and perhaps tour the cathedral at your side.”

“I would be happy to show you the
cathedral as well as the grounds. You and your whole family,” he said with a wave of his hand to include everyone.

“Thank you,” she answered with a huge smile.

“My twin sister has always been fascinated by castles and their construction,” said Amber. “She never misses a chance to travel and see as many as she possibly can. She even traveled with our uncle for a year, as he is a Master Mason.”

“I know how to build a castle,” Amethyst told him
eagerly. “I’ve helped him often at his side and have learned much about the trade.”

“What is his name?” asked the archbishop.

“He is Clement Mason,” said Amethyst. “He is my late mother’s brother.”

“Of course,” said the bishop. “He is working as we speak
, on a castle in the far north just on the border of Northumberland.”

“That’s right,” said Amethyst excitedly. “He sends me m
issives often, telling me of his progress. He wants me to come visit him, and I am considering it.”