Elizabeth Elliott (32 page)

“Did she make you feel like the lowliest snake on the earth,” Fitz Alan asked, “or does that honor belong to me alone?”

Kenric slapped Fitz Alan on the back, his deep laughter reverberating through the room. “Oh, you bear that honor alone, Fitz Alan. I feel no more than a great fool.”

14

“I
am cursed,” Guy announced, when he joined Claudia in his chamber. She found herself in his arms for a quick, hard kiss, then he held her at arm’s length to look at her. She braced her hands against his chest as his heated gaze continued to wander, his voice distracted as he explained what delayed him. “I was almost to our chamber when I received word that the king’s messenger had arrived. ’Twas a six-page missive, and Edward demanded an immediate reply. My God, you look delicious. Where did you find that gown?”

“Lenore,” she explained, taking measured steps away from him. Even the resourceful Lenore had amazed Claudia when she produced the gold-colored kirtle with long, pointed sleeves lined in deep burgundy samite. A fitted bliaut made of burgundy brocade shot with gold thread covered all but the front of the gown. The emerald necklace completed her outfit, and the golden kirtle made the stones glow as if they were on fire, but she wore the necklace only to impress Guy’s family. She would prove to them that she was neither pauper nor liar. The look in Guy’s eyes said he appreciated her efforts to look her best, yet he didn’t have time to be appreciative. “The feast should have started an hour ago. I gave your—” Realization sunk in, and the excuse for his delay made her eyes widen. “The king’s messenger? Is there any word of Dante?”

Guy frowned. “Aye, the king intends to tell him what happened at Lonsdale, and that you are here now and safe. He gave the messenger several days’ head start, and thus me
advance warning, for the king feels certain your brother will soon pay us a visit.”

“This is wonderful!” Claudia clapped her hands together in delight, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. When Guy’s expression remained somber, another thought occurred to her. “This is awful! What if Dante does not realize you truly intend to marry me? He will be furious. He will—”

“Calm yourself,” Guy murmured. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into the palm. “The king will make certain he does nothing rash, but I still intend to be married by the time Dante arrives, so there will be no question about who you belong to.”

“I—I do not think Dante will object to our marriage.” She made the mistake of stroking his cheek and watched passion flare to life again in his eyes. “If he sees you look at me this way, I think he will insist on marriage.”

“We will be married already. There will be no reason for him to insist on a thing already done.” Guy bent down for a kiss, but she leaned away from him.

“There is not time for this, Guy. I gave your steward leave to serve refreshments while everyone awaits our arrival. We will dine with drunkards if we tarry here much longer.”

“They will be in good company, for I am drunk already with desire.” He drew her into his arms and touched the thin, plaited ribbons that crowned her head. “You know it drives me mad to see your hair unbound.”

She turned her head to avoid his lips, but still shivered when she felt his hands stroke over her hair, along her back all the way to the rounded curve of her hips. His need for her seemed insatiable, but was it love that fueled his passions, or simply lust? This was not a time to ponder that question. She heard a frantic edge to her voice. “We cannot keep your people waiting any longer.”

“Aye, we can,” he coaxed. He studied her face for a moment, then released a deep sigh. “But I suppose they
would all guess the reason. Is that why you seem so reluctant?”

She nodded, grateful yet disappointed at the same time. “There will be time for us after the feast.”

“Nay, I think there will be time for us during the feast.” He nuzzled her neck, then playfully bit the lobe of her ear. “The feast will last for hours. Few will notice if we slip away after the first dozen or so courses. There will be entertainments to distract them from our absence.” His mouth found hers for a deep, carnal kiss that ended in less than a heartbeat. He turned her away from him, his hands caressing her bottom even as he gave her a gentle nudge forward. “Do not wander within arm’s reach of me while I change, or our own entertainments will begin sooner than expected.”

Guy strode past her to one of his clothes trunks while she found a seat at the table. As he stripped away his clothing, she debated whether or not to tell him of the encounter with his brothers. He shot her a knowing glance and grinned when he tossed his shirt aside and began to remove his breeks. He had learned already that she liked to watch him undress. She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands to enjoy the deliberate display.

The sight of his powerful body would never fail to capture her attention, and thoughts of his brothers were replaced with memories of what Guy’s body felt like beneath her hands. In her mind she caressed his broad shoulders and chest, then moved lower to his hard thighs, remembering how the coarse sprinkling of hair on his legs tickled her fingers. She moved to the firm, smooth skin of his hips, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Her mouth turned downward into a disappointed pout when he stepped into a pair of dark blue leather breeks.

“Did I whet your appetite, little one?” Whatever he saw in her eyes made him chuckle. He picked up his shirt and slipped it over his head. “Your delightful expression speaks for itself. If you look at me this way throughout the meal, I trow this feast will be the shortest on record.”

She blushed at his words, a little embarrassed at how easily he could arouse her. “I shall endeavor to keep my gaze fastened on the food, my lord. Your people will think I have never tasted such succulent delights. I shall think of you with every delicious bite I take.”

Guy groaned. “My people will think me struck dumb by the sight of you. If you have an ounce of mercy in your heart, you will refrain from licking your fingers. I warn you now, brazen displays of that sort will be dealt with in a swift fashion.”

“Is that a threat?” she asked innocently, “or a request?”

“I shall let you puzzle that out for yourself, my lady.” The exaggerated movement of his brows made his thoughts easy enough to read, his wolfish smile an even surer indication. He shrugged into the same pearl-studded blue tunic he had worn the day they first met, then draped the leopardskin sash over one shoulder and fastened it at his hip. Next he strapped on his sword and dagger, the sheaths of both weapons crusted with sapphires.

“Where did you get a leopardskin?” she asked.

Guy stroked the pelt with the backs of his fingers. “This fellow tried to eat me whole, along with the Berber merchant who thought to make him into a pet. The merchant gave me the sash as a token of appreciation for saving his life. He also told me that any man who owns a leopard, or even its pelt, will be blessed with virility and a whole host of manly attributes.” His grin took on a wicked edge. “You would know best if he told the truth of the matter.”

“Oh, aye,” she breathed, “he did not lie, my lord.”

He extended his hand. “Come, my sweet. The sooner we attend this feast, the sooner I can work on the scores of children promised me.”

Evard met them outside Guy’s chamber with a list of contestants who wished to participate in the tournament that would be held tomorrow between Guy’s men and Kenric’s. As the two men talked, Claudia tried to decide the best way to
tell Guy about her meeting with Kenric and Fitz Alan. She did not want to sound as if she complained of them, but they were sure to mention the conversation to Guy. Her grip on his arm tightened. “There is something I should tell you before—”

The words died in her throat as she caught sight of the great hall. On any day of the week the great hall looked a place fit for kings. Decorated for a feast, the extravagance took Claudia’s breath away. She had known that the steward planned a hunt theme for the feast, but the result of his staff’s work was something straight from a fairy tale. Great leafy branches were fastened to the ribs and crossbeams of the ceiling, every arch and pillar transformed into bushes and trees, and a whole row of slender willows served as a backdrop for the high table. All the linen-draped tables in the hall nearly disappeared beneath fragrant evergreen boughs festooned with gold ribbons. Perched among the greenery overhead were stuffed birds of every sort, most of which Claudia knew were the results of clever reassembly after the cooks harvested what they needed for pies and roasts. There were also stuffed forest animals arranged in lifelike poses, including two deer heads that seemed to peek from a mass of shrubbery at the base of one arch.

The musicians struck up a lively tune on lutes, pipes, and tambours the moment Guy and Claudia stepped into the hall. That only added to the din of laughter and conversation that continued all around them as Kenric’s knights and soldiers renewed acquaintances with their counterparts at Montague. As they made their way to the high table, Guy paused now and then to greet his men or Kenric’s.

Although he seemed to forget her existence as he spoke to his guests, he kept her hand in his and his thumb stroked over her knuckles. He glanced at her only once, when he stopped to greet Thomas and a knight named Haskins. That brief look said he hadn’t forgotten her at all, the expression in his eyes so tender that it made her ache inside. Aye, there were times when she believed that he loved her.

His face became a mask of polite interest as he turned again to the knights, but he squeezed her hand and continued the gentle strokes. That helped calm her, but she couldn’t concentrate on his conversation with Thomas or any others. Her gaze went again and again to Kenric and Fitz Alan, who awaited them on the raised dais. She didn’t want to concentrate on them, either. Instead she started to count leaves.

“You have outdone yourself again,” Fitz Alan said by way of greeting when they reached their table. He and Kenric were also finely dressed, Kenric in all black, Fitz Alan in russet and gold. “I have never feasted in the midst of a forest. Even the servants are dressed as huntsmen and woodland nymphs. You do us great honor, Guy.”

“We hope you will enjoy our meager hospitality,” Guy said, with exaggerated modesty.

Kenric made a guttural sound that Claudia assumed indicated sarcasm. “Your meager hospitality was enough to make my wife plead to take her along on this journey. She happened to be in the midst of birthing my son at the time.” He arched one dark brow in Guy’s direction. “Your message arrived at a most inopportune moment.”

Guy shrugged an apology. “Your lovely wife and children are welcome here anytime, and I look forward to meeting my newest nephew.”

“Tess made me promise another visit when she and the babe are strong enough to travel,” Kenric answered. “You will see them soon enough.”

Claudia tried to picture Kenric’s wife, certain Guy’s reference to her as “lovely” was nothing more than a polite lie. She had to be built on the same massive scale as her husband to survive his children. Then she wondered if Guy’s sister was as tall and solidly built as her brothers. Gesù, she would be made to feel a dwarf in this family.

Guy led her to the seat at his right, while Kenric and Evard sat at his left. They soon had Guy engrossed in a conversation about the latest intrigues at court. Fitz Alan and
Thomas sat at Claudia’s right, but they, too, seemed intent on their own conversation. A group of jugglers entertained the diners, and brightly colored balls seemed to fill the air. Occasionally they threw something more dangerous into the mix, such as daggers or flaming torches. Claudia wasn’t in the mood to be entertained. Guy no longer held her hand, and she didn’t realize how much that small comfort meant until he took it away. Rather than indulge in a childish bout of self-pity, she found the tree she had looked at before they sat down and resumed her count.

“Is that not right, Claudia?”

She gave Guy a baffled look. “My lord?”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What are you counting?

“Counting? I do not know what—” She looked at the skeptical arch of his brow and reconsidered her answer. “Leaves.”

“Leaves?” Kenric echoed. “Why on earth would you count leaves?”

Everyone at the table waited for her answer. Claudia felt her cheeks burn.

“ ’Tis a private matter,” Guy said, rescuing her from the awkward silence. “Forget the leaves, Claudia. I have other numbers to occupy your mind. Kenric has license to crenelate one of his properties, and the builder says there are—”

“Why are you telling her this?” Kenric interrupted. He shot a brief, dismissive scowl in Claudia’s direction. “Tess fell asleep when I told her of Westford. Your lady will find the matter of even less interest.”

Claudia wondered how any woman could sleep in Kenric’s presence, for she still felt a stab of fear each time he looked at her. Still, her mood brightened a little at hearing Kenric refer to her as Guy’s lady. Perhaps they would accept Guy’s choice after all. Not that she had any delusions about them ever liking her.