Alexander could see the contentment in her face as she spoke. There was something about Christin de Lohr that seemed to transcend normal womanhood. Certainly, she was beautiful. Absolutely stunning. But there was steely strength below the surface. She was no simple lady, content with the role society demanded of her.
Quite the contrary.
He rather liked that.
“That is because you are,” he said as the last servant left the chamber, taking the buckets with him. “It is good that you realize that. It means you will never take it for granted. You will always respect the privilege you have been given.”
Christin nodded, grinning bashfully as she realized he understood exactly what she’d been trying to verbalize. She further realized that she had taken enough of the man’s time.
“Forgive me,” she said. “I must sound foolish. A man like you has better things to do than listen to my ramblings.”
“It’s not often I hear ramblings. Coming from you, it’s not so bad.”
Her grin turned into a giggle and she looked away, absolutely mortified that her cheeks were starting to flame again.
“Well,” she said, “you have been kind, anyway. You did not have to give me your time or your attention. I am sure you would rather be with your friends downstairs.”
He shrugged, lifting those big shoulders. “I already know all there is to know about them,” he said. “Since you and I have seen action together twice, I thought I should come to know a little about you, too. If The Marshal permits you to serve him, then clearly, you are extraordinary.”
He was showing interest in her, which was thrilling. She tried not to read too much into it, telling herself that he was only being polite. She couldn’t bring herself to even consider that it might be something more.
“We are to see more action in the coming days at Norwich,” she said, changing the subject because his personal questions had her uncertain. “With the king coming, it should prove… interesting.”
Alexander’s gaze lingered on her for a moment. He couldn’t help but notice she didn’t seem to want to talk about herself more than she already had, which was disappointing. Therefore, he did the polite thing and went with her change of focus.
“Have you been around the king at all?” he asked. “I mean, have you met the man personally?”
She nodded. “When I was young,” she said. “I was with my father when we went to London and I met John then, but I have only seen him occasionally since. We’ve had no contact other than that.”
Alexander sighed faintly. “You know that he has an eye for beautiful women, don’t you?”
“Why should that concern me?”
“Because you are astonishingly beautiful. That will not escape his notice.”
She looked at him in surprise. So the man thought she was beautiful, did he? The entire conversation had been peppered with what could easily be construed as compliments and Christin was genuinely at a loss how to respond. Either Alexander was free with meaningless flattery or he truly meant what he was saying. She hoped it was the latter. Given that she had no idea how to respond, the flush in her cheeks was back with a vengeance.
“I am no one of consequence,” she said. “I do not care what he thinks.”
Alexander looked at her seriously. “You cannot possibly mean that,” he said, his voice low. “Surely you know that if the king sees a woman he fancies, he has been known to claim her. For his bed, I mean. It does not matter if the woman is married to an ally or the daughter of an enemy. If the king demands you warm his bed, there will be trouble.”
Christin had heard that, of course. She knew what Alexander meant from the beginning. But given her status as a Marshal agent, she wasn’t worried about it. Foolishly, she was confident that she would remain untouched and unnoticed.
“He will not touch me,” she said with confidence. “My father will have something to say about that and he does not wish to provoke Christopher de Lohr.”
Alexander lifted his eyebrows. “Mayhap,” he said. “The king has a healthy fear of your father and for good reason, but still… you must take precautions. Try to stay out of his sight and never allow yourself to be alone with him. This is for your safety, my lady. If the king moves for you, there is little the rest of us can do to defend you.”
“I can use a dagger. And I will.”
“On the king?” Alexander shook his head. “William Marshal has spent years keeping that man alive, so you cannot use a dagger on him. You cannot kill him. If you did… the consequences to you and your family would be unfathomable. You would destroy everything your father and uncle have worked so hard for. Do you understand me?”
She looked at him with those pale gray eyes, eyes that could easily bring a man to his knees. Perhaps she knew she had the power; perhaps not. Alexander could feel the power radiating from those eyes as surely as he could breathe air. After a moment, she simply nodded.
“I do,” she said. “But I could not surrender to him, in any case. I would not.”’
Alexander believed her implicitly. “Then that is why you must stay out of his sight,” he said. “We have much to do at the gathering in Norwich and I know you do not wish to be a distraction.”
“Not at all.”
“Good,” he said. Then, it occurred to him that those in the common room would be wondering where he was. He’d been so swept up in the conversation that he’d lost track of time and he quickly stood up. “Forgive me. I have been talking up a storm while you continue to sit in wet clothing. I will take my leave of you now. We will see you on the morrow for another thrilling day of traveling to Norwich. I am purely giddy with the thought.”
His sense of humor was droll, and quite charming, and Christin stood up with a grin on her lips. “As am I,” she said. “More wet roads and rainstorms. I can hardly stand the anticipation.”
Alexander laughed softly. “Then we understand one another.”
“We do. And Sherry?”
He paused by the door. “Aye?”
She scratched her chin nervously. “Since you have given me permission to address you informally, I must reciprocate. Please, call me Christin.”
A smile flickered on his lips. “I am deeply honored,” he said. “But I heard Peter address you as something else.”
Her brow furrowed briefly until she realized what he meant. “Oh,” she said. “That. Growing up, my younger siblings had a difficult time pronouncing Christin, so it came out as Cissy. That is what my family calls me – Cissy.”
“May I?”
The request had her heart fluttering again. “If you wish.”
“I do.”
With that, he quit the chamber and shut the door, leaving Christin standing by the hearth, biting her lip because the smile on her face threatened to split it in two. She hadn’t really been looking forward to the journey back to Norwich, but now she was.
Definitely… she was.
CHAPTER FOUR
He was trying very hard not to look at her.
They were a day out of Norwich on their journey north and Alexander had never wanted a long, insufferable trip to keep going so much in his entire life.
God, he was losing his mind.
Something both frightening and wonderful was happening to him.
Since that night at The Buck and Boar, Alexander looked at Christin differently. Or perhaps it had started even before that, when he’d entered de Vaston’s great solar and saw her covered with blood and a dead woman at her feet. Even then, she’d been as composed as any seasoned knight. Perhaps his notice of a strong young woman had started then.
But now, it was growing stronger.
In order to keep his attention off of her because he was fearful that Peter might catch on to his interest in her, he’d kept away from her after that first night. The trip from London to Norwich was usually a five-day trip, depending on the weather and any number of factors, but they’d made good time in spite of the rain that had come in waves.
Alexander
had ridden at the head of their escort, keeping conversation to a minimum since chatty knights tended to be less in tune with their surroundings and potential threats. Therefore, travel was quiet, with Christin positioned between her brother and Bric, with Kevin watching their backs. Every so often, Alexander would hear Christin and Peter conversing quietly. Then he’d turn around, casually, and glance at the dark-haired beauty. Most of the time, she would smile politely at him. But he wouldn’t smile in return. He would face forward before he’d let a smile play on his lips.
That had been the second day.
They’d spent the night at an inn that wasn’t nearly the glory of The Buck and Boar, traveled all the next day in a driving rainstorm, and then spent that night in the common room of a tavern that was so full, people were sleeping in the kitchens.
It hadn’t been ideal.
Alexander had remained away most of the night while Christin slept and the knights rotated in and out of sleep, keeping vigilant watch until an hour before dawn when Christin awoke and insisted on taking her turn at the watch. Alexander had declined, but she’d pressed, until finally he pretended to sleep simply to please her. She’d spent the time watching the room like a hawk, her bejeweled, sharp dagger in her hand.
He’d spent the time watching her through slit lids.
Now, they would be arriving at Norwich by nightfall and he was sorry to see it end. Once they reached Norwich, his chances to see her or speak with her would be few and far between, although he didn’t know why he was worrying about it considering he’d barely spoken to her since The Buck and Boar.
Now, he was coming to regret that decision in the slightest.
The day, surprisingly, was one without rain. A bright, blue sky reigned overhead with puffy white clouds pushed along by the breeze. There was a chill to the air, however, but there was enough sun and wind to dry out the roads a little, making them somewhat easier to travel on. They’d made good time on this day, coming into the outskirts of Norwich proper as they entered a village without an official name, but the locals called it Stratton.
The daughter of the richest merchant in town had been married earlier in the day and the entire village had been invited to the feast. People were out in droves, drinking and laughing, and as the five of them headed into the heart of the village, they could see that great tables of food and drink had been laid out all over the square.
On a grassy area near the well, they had two giant spits going with two big sides of beef, and an entire area in the center of town was dedicated to barrels upon barrels of ale. The entire town seemed to be wildly drunk, which was quite amusing. They had garlands in their hands of autumn greenery, mostly evergreen branches woven with purple asters. A group of giggling young women handed a garland to Christin, who didn’t look quite sure what to do with it.
“Put it on your head,” Alexander told her. “It is a celebration.”
She looked at him, smiling wanly as she pulled off the hood of her cloak and put the purple flower garland on her head.
Alexander’s willpower to leave her alone fled.
She looked like an angel with the flowers around her dark hair, which was braided and draped over one shoulder. Alexander grinned at her, the first smile in days, and his gaze lingered on her a little longer than it should have. Realizing that he was looking at her like a besotted fool, he quickly shifted his focus and looked to the others in their group.
“Would you turn down free food and drink?” he asked them. “We have made excellent time to Norwich and, even now, the castle is less than an hour away. Mayhap we could all do with some frivolity before the seriousness begins.”
Peter was already sliding off of his horse, followed by Kevin. Bric seemed a little more reluctant because he wasn’t one for frivolity, but free drink was enough of a lure. With a heavy sigh, he dismounted his horse, taking the reins from Peter and Kevin, as they were nearly pawing the ground in their haste to get to the food, women, and drink. Once he took their horses, they ran off into the crowd.
“I will take your horses and sell them,” Bric called after them. When there was literally no response from the overeager knights, Bric shook his head. “Oh, to be young and foolish.”
Alexander dismounted and behind him, so did Christin. “Mayhap,” Alexander said. “I think it is more that there is so little time for merriment given the tasks we undertake that any chance for it has us reliving our youth. There is little time for anything but duty in our lives these days.”
Bric understood that. Given that he served de Winter at Narborough, he had a little more time away from William Marshal than most of them, so he forced himself to be tolerant. The crusty Irishman had that capacity, sometimes. Taking the reins of Alexander’s horse and Christin’s horse, he headed off towards the livery at the edge of the village.
That left Alexander standing with Christin as they watched the party going on around them. He could see her in his periphery, standing there with the garland of purple flowers around her head, and he realized that he wasn’t sorry at all that Peter had run off and left his sister alone.
She wasn’t alone at all, fortunately for him.
He turned to her.
“My lady?” he said, offering her his elbow. “Shall we find the food and drink?”
Christin looked at him with some hesitation, an expression that turned to confusion when he smiled at her encouragingly.
“You… want me to go with you?” she asked.
“And why not?”
Her well-arched eyebrows lifted. “Because…” she began, then trailed off. “My lord, did I do something to anger you?”
He lowered his elbow. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because you spent the past three days ignoring me and behaving as if I had upset you,” she said frankly. “I assume you are speaking to me again? If that is the case, I must apologize for whatever I did.”
He knew exactly what she meant and confusion began to swamp him. He thought he’d been quite neutral in his behavior towards her other than the fact he wouldn’t look at her, but as bright as she was, she noticed. And she’d been thinking about it, concerned that she had angered him somehow. That made him suspect that, perhaps, she might be thinking of him beyond a simple working associate and that’s what he didn’t want.
… but he did.
God help him, he did.
“You have done nothing,” he said quietly, with some resignation. “It is simply that my mind has been… elsewhere. I am sorry if you thought I was angry with you.”
Relief filled her features; he could see it. “I am very glad to hear that,” she said. “I thought I had said something to upset you.”
“You could not upset me, I assure you.”
She nodded her head in the direction of the partygoers. “Then I will find food and drink with you,” she said. “And if you are not upset with me, mayhap you will tell me more of yourself. The last time, we spoke of me. This time, we shall speak of you.”
His lips twisted unhappily. “Must we?”
“Is your life so boring that I will be in tears, begging you to shut your mouth?”
He burst into laughter. The elbow extended again. “We shall find out.”
With a grin, Christin took his elbow, following him into a crowd that was quite drunk. There were big barrels of ale that had been brought out for the occasion and Alexander took two very large cups of ale from the man doling out the drink, handing one over to Christin. She took it, taking a big gulp of it and coughing because it was quite strong. But she took another drink because she was thirsty. Alexander laughed softly at her sputtering reaction to the ale, taking his own swallow and nearly choking on it himself. He made a face but they continued on to the food.
To their right, two dozen villagers were engaging in a dance that had the women in a circle in the middle and the men in a circle on the outside. There was a group of minstrels on instruments that needed to be tuned, but they were playing lively music. Before th
em was one long table comprised of several pushed together, all of the tables filled with food.
There was roast beef, pies with more meat and carrots and apples, stuffed eggs, a variety of breads, and little puddings with honey and butter drizzled on them. They ended up standing at the table and just eating off it rather than grabbing food and going somewhere to share the bounty. Christin was fond of the stuffed eggs while Alexander tore off big hunks of the beef. For every egg she ate, she downed a big swallow of that strong, terrible ale.
“Now that I know you are not angry with me,” she said, mouth full, “will you tell me of Alexander the Great?”
He had to swallow the massive bite in his mouth before he could speak. “Who has called me that?”
“No one. Just me. But based upon your reputation, I am quite certain it is the truth.”
He smirked. “Very funny,” he said. “What do you wish to know?”
Christin took another bite of her egg as she gazed up at him quite openly. “Well,” she said thoughtfully, “where were you born?”
“At a place called Ashdown,” he said. “It is my family’s home.”
“Where is it?”
“Near Warminster,” he said. “My family is a very old one. We were here before the Normans came but I had a very wise ancestor who married his daughter to a Norman lord, so we were able to keep our lands and our homes.”
Christin was listening with great interest. “Does your family still live at Ashdown?”
“Indeed. My father does, anyway.”
“No brothers?”
Alexander nodded. “I had two,” he said. “They were both killed on Richard’s Crusade.”
“I see,” she said, sympathy in her expression. “I am sorry if it is painful to speak of them. I did not mean to bring up sad memories.”
He looked at her, warmth glimmering in his dark eyes. “You did not,” he said. “It is no longer painful to speak of them, though the sorrow for their passing is still there. It will always be there. My father entrusted me to take care of my brothers and I failed, so I have not been home in many years.”
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