Trailing along behind the pair, McCloud was embarrassed by the question. He had no money to spend on anything and, therefore, wouldn’t have any idea about the merchants in town. But he would not admit that.
“I have not purchased fabric in many a year, Vesper,” he said, trying to brush off the question as a subject he didn’t care about rather than one didn’t know about. “Not since your mother was alive. You will have to find such a merchant yourself.”
Val wasn’t distressed that he and Vesper had a bit of an adventure ahead of them. Reining his horse over to the side of the avenue, he dismounted his steed and went to help Vesper dismount, his big hands around her slender waist as he lifted her from her horse. She was warm and firm beneath his hands and it was a struggle to let her go once her feet hit the ground. He very much wanted to keep his hands on her. But he forced himself to release her, removing his hands and taking the reins of both horses and handing them over to McCloud.
“Do you mind waiting here for a few moments?” he asked. “I promise I shall not keep your daughter overly long.”
McCloud shook his head. “I shall wait here for you.”
Pleased that the father hadn’t insisted on coming along to chaperone, Val dug into the coin purse at his belt and pressed a silver coin into McCloud’s hand.
“There is a food stall there,” he said, pointing to the next stall over where pies of some kind were sitting out, cooling after having been removed from the fire. “Consider that coin part of your stipend for managing my southern territory. Find something to eat and we shall return.”
McCloud didn’t have the strength to protest. He was hungry and the coin in his hand bespoke of a fully belly, so he simply nodded his head as he watched Val and Vesper head down the avenue. The more time they spent together, the better for the chances of a marriage sooner rather than later, so McCloud was in full support of the pair spending time together. All of this was going better than he had anticipated.
With a lingering glance at Val and Vesper, he turned for the food stall.
With McCloud involving himself in meat pies, Val took Vesper’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow as they headed down the avenue. It was a bright day, a cloudless sky, and people were beginning to wind down their business for the day as the afternoon waned. The weather was still cool, however, in spite of the sunny skies and a cool wind blew off the sea, stirring the drifting leaves.
But to Val, it was the most beautiful day he’d ever known. With Vesper on his arm, he was as proud as a peacock. He glanced at her once, twice, three times, finally meeting her eye. She smiled and so did he.
“I have not had the chance to tell you how beautiful you look today,” he said. “Your gown is most becoming.”
Vesper looked down at the dark yellow garment. “You flatter me, my lord,” she said. “I am pleased that you like it. I made it myself.”
“You are extremely talented.”
Vesper simply grinned, draping her free hand onto his elbow as well, now gripping him with both hands as they made their way down the avenue. They weren’t even really paying attention to the merchant stores; the only had eyes for each other. Val was thinking on paying her yet another compliment because he liked how her dark hair glimmered in the sunlight when the glint of something else caught his eye. He turned to look, seeing that they had ended up in a cluster of jeweler stalls.
These stalls were more fortified than usual merchant stalls because of the value of the contents. Even though they were actual structures, small one-room shops or even two-room shops, the windows and doors were fortified with iron grates. The stall in particular that Val was looking at had two armed men at the door and he could see that there were necklaces being displayed behind the barred windows. Pulling Vesper along, he went straight to the armed men.
“My lady and I wish to inspect the wares,” he said. “Will you admit us?”
The armed men looked him over; Val was wearing full complement of mail protection including his heavy de Nerra tunic, colors of crimson and white with a gold lion stitched on the front that had exaggerated claws. He was also wearing his broadsword, an enormous and very expensive piece of equipment. The men pointed to the broadsword.
“No weapons inside,” one man said. “Leave it with me.”
Val shook his head. “I will not,” he said flatly. “I am the Itinerant Justice for Hampshire and this sword is worth more than what you will make in your entire life, so you will either admit us entrance or I will find another jeweler who will happily take my money. Make your choice.”
The men eyed him, indecisive, but the fact that his sword was, indeed, expensive and fine told them that he was more than likely who he said he was. Begrudgingly, they unbolted the iron gate and admitted him and the lady into the small business. Then they locked the door tightly behind them.
Once they were inside the structure that smelled strongly of dirt, a small man with a strange cap on his head swiftly approached them. “My lord?” he asked. “May I serve you?”
Val nodded. “Something pretty for my lady’s neck,” he said. “I see that you have necklaces you are displaying in your window.”
The old man with the stringy hair nodded eagerly. “Indeed, m’lord,” he said. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“Nay. Just bring what you have.”
The old man turned for the rear of the shop. “Then you will sit. I shall bring you a selection.”
He dashed off, leaving Val and Vesper standing in a rather barren room with a table and a few crude seats around it. As Val led Vesper over to the table, she balked a bit.
“What do you mean to ask for something pretty for my neck?” she asked quietly, concerned. “I thought we were looking for something for your mother?”
He looked at her squarely. “I lied,” he said. “I wanted to purchase something for you because… well, you will not laugh at me, will you?”
“Of course I will not laugh.”
He took a deep breath. “I wanted to get you something that will remind you of me. Something that brings a smile to your lips every time you look at it because you know it is something I gave to you as a token of my esteem for you.”
Vesper fought off a grin. “I already know of your esteem for me,” she said softly, although she was deeply touched. “Just as you know of my esteem for you. I do not need a gift from you to remind me of that.”
He nodded. “Aye, you do,” he insisted. “Although it is my intention to see you a great deal, there may be times when my duties make that impossible. I do not want you to forget me.”
A smile spread across Vesper’s lips as she looked up at him; she’d spent the past six hours with the man, leisurely traveling, speaking on everything from the weather to the new additions to Eynsford Castle. She’d come to know a man of sharp wit and great intellect, but a man who seemed somewhat challenged by the thought of pursuing a woman.
At times, he seemed uncertain about what to say, and how much to say, and Vesper thought that was infinitely charming. He had pride and a grand knightly arrogance when it came to his position as Itinerant Justice. But when it came to his feelings or anything personal, that was where he was most untried.
Truth be told, Vesper was untried, too, so it was a little like the blind leading the blind. All they could do was what came naturally and what propriety allowed. But the more they became acquainted, the more comfortable with each other they became.
The moments, like this, were turning into magic.
“How could I forget you?” she wanted to know. “You took my father and me into your home, fed us, entertained us, and now you are escorting us home because my father has given you permission to keep company with me. Surely, I will never forget you. There is no need to give me a gift to ensure that.”
The corner of Val’s lips twitched. “I cannot be certain that a handsome man on a dashing white horse will not ride up and steal you away.”
Vesper laughed. “If he does, I will
tell him to go away because the Itinerant Justice of Hampshire will run him through if he does not.”
“Would you really tell him that?”
“I swear that I would.”
Val beamed. He took her elbow again, continuing their journey to the table where he pulled out a stool for her to sit upon. “Then I am grateful and honored, my lady,” he said. “Will you still allow me to purchase a small token for you? Not much, but a little something.”
She had to chuckle at him because he looked so sincere. “If you absolutely must.”
“I absolutely must.”
“But what about your mother? Do you truly intend to buy her nothing at all?”
He grunted. “Let McCloud buy her something. He wants to court her, after all. That is his business now.”
Vesper’s smile faded, knowing that her father purchasing something for Margaretha was impossible because of his lack of coinage. She seriously wondered if Val understood that, although he had offered her father a fine job that paid very well. Perhaps, that was his way of ensuring her father had money to spend on his mother or, more than likely, it was because he was a truly generous individual. She sensed that about him.
A fine and generous man who was about to find himself in a family full of vipers.
Vesper had been increasingly wrestling with that thought on the ride from Selborne. It was true that she had vowed not to tell him anything about her father’s conniving and her brother’s murdering, but only because she didn’t want to lose what they were building between them. But the more she came to know him, the more her thoughts began to shift in his direction – was it fair that so fine and true a man unknowingly enter into a deal with such unsavory characters?
As much as a marriage to the man thrilled her, she could only imagine that look of horror on his face when he discovered what her father and brother truly were. Val was too noble, too accomplished to associate with what her father and brother had become. Worse still, would he believe she had lied to him by omitting the truth about her family?
Because that was exactly what she was doing – lying by omission. More and more, she was coming to realize it wasn’t fair to Val.
… but what about her?
Was she not entitled to marry a fine knight with a prestigious post? She’d done nothing wrong. It had only been by misfortune that she’d been born into this family but she certainly had never participated in their deeds.
It was a dilemma that was starting to overwhelm her.
Mulling over thoughts of right versus wrong, Vesper was distracted when the old man with the strange hat emerged from the rear of the stall, bringing forth a wooden box which he laid carefully upon the table. As Vesper and Val watched, the old man unfastened the hinge on the box and carefully opened it.
Vesper couldn’t help but gasp. The case contained several fine necklaces of gold and pearls and colored stones, all of them exquisitely made. She looked up at Val, almost in a panic.
“These are far too expensive,” she whispered. “Please… you do not have to….”
Val ignored her protests. “These are perfect,” he said to the old man. “Do you have more? The lady might not like any one of these.”
The old man nodded eagerly. “Aye, I do,” he said. “Shall I get them?”
Vesper would not be ignored any further. “Nay,” she said loudly, somewhat embarrassed when both Val and the old man looked at her as if surprised she had asserted herself. Val grinned as she appeared contrite for yelling. “I will look at these. I do not need a vast selection.”
Val simply shrugged, pleased he’d forced her to his will, and Vesper bent over the case, not touching anything. But her eye was drawn to a necklace of pearl and a blue stone that flashed red in the light. It was an unusual stone and the old man saw where her attention was.
“A dragon’s fire stone, m’lady,’ he told her in his thin, scratchy voice. “That is called a dragon’s fire.”
Vesper sighed. “It is beautiful,” she said. “Where does the stone come from?”
The old man flashed a toothless smile. “Far to the east, m’lady.”
It was quite exotic sounding. Moving in on to the necklace next to it, Vesper found herself looking at a chain of gold interspersed with beads of a pale green stone. At the end of the chain was an exquisite gold charm shaped like a key and inlaid with pale green and pale purple stones. The stones were so pretty and glittery that it immediately caught her eye and she bent over even further, inspecting it, seeing the craftsmanship. When she reached out to touch it, timidly, Val spoke softly.
“Do you like that one?” he asked. When she looked up at him, he smiled at her expression of awe. “I like it, too. In fact, I believe it is perfect for you.”
Vesper could feel the warmth from his gaze, reaching out to grab her, turning her limbs to mush. The man had a smile that could devastate and eyes that could render one completely helpless. But Vesper didn’t mind; surrendering to her feelings for him was one of the easier things she’d ever done.
“Why?” she murmured.
Val didn’t answer her; he simply smiled, as if he knew something she didn’t. But he tore his eyes from her long enough to look at the old man. “We shall take the key,” he said. “Polish it for her and I shall pay you handsomely.”
Excited at the prospect of a hefty sale, the old man scurried off, leaving Val and Vesper at the table. When they were alone, he answered her question.
“Because it is the key to my heart,” he whispered, reaching down to take her hand. Lifting it to his lips, he kissed it tenderly. “It is symbolic, I know, but so very perfect. Wear it around your neck, always, and think of me.”
Vesper was having difficulty breathing as he kissed her hand again, bolts of excitement shooting through her body, a delicious pleasure-pain sensation. Unconsciously, she licked her lips, wondering what it would be like when he finally kissed her mouth. Would his lips feel as warm and gentle as they did upon her hand? She’d never been kissed by a man, at least not like this, and all she could think of was the sensation of his heated lips. Her trembling body must have given off an invitation to Val because, suddenly, he was pulling Vesper from her stool, his mouth slanting over hers hungrily.
Somehow, she became boneless. Val’s arms went around her and it was as if she had no bones, caving against the man as he squeezed the life from her. His mouth suckled hers, first her lower lip, then her upper lip, and then her tongue when she gasped because he was squeezing her so hard. He was overwhelming her with his power and masculinity, but as quickly as he grabbed her, he was forced to retreat because the old man was returning to the table with the necklace in his hand.
Vesper nearly fell down when Val let her go. She tried to stand up straight but she couldn’t seem to keep her balance. She could feel Val’s hands on her, steadying her, as the old man extended the necklace to her.
“There, m’lady,” he said with satisfaction. “This shall be a necklace you will be proud to wear.”
With trembling hands, Vesper took the necklace, a magnificent piece that she put over her head, watching it settle against her bosom. The key came to rest right between her breasts, a heavy golden piece with the green and purple stones. She lifted it up, looking at glisten in the light.
“It is so beautiful,” she said sincerely. Then, she turned to Val. “I have never in my life had anything so beautiful. Your generosity humbles me, my lord.”
Val touched her cheek affectionately. “You are worth all this and more,” he said, looking to the old man. “What is your price?”
The old man eyed the necklace, seeing how happy the lady was with it. “It is an expensive piece, m’lord, made in France by the finest craftsmen.”
“Aye, it is exquisite. How much?”
“Five pounds, m’lord.”
That was quite a bit of money but Val didn’t hesitate. In fact, he dug into his coin purse and pulled out two gold coins, which was almost twice what the man had asked for the necklace. He want
ed the man to remember him so when he returned again to purchase more jewelry, and perhaps a wedding ring, that the man would show him the very best he had. Putting the coins into the man’s palm and watching the old man’s eye’s bulge, he took Vesper by the hand and led her to the locked door.
The two armed soldiers were there and quickly opened the door for him, having come to realize that the Itinerant Justice of Hampshire was an important and wealthy man. Val took Vesper through the door but she almost tripped because she was looking at her necklace. She couldn’t take her eyes from it. Val kept her from falling to her knees and she smiled gratefully.
“I am sorry,” she said. “It is simply that I cannot take my eyes off of this. I have never seen anything so lovely.”
Val was looking straight at her. “Nor have I.”
At first, she thought he meant the necklace, too, but she soon realized he meant her. Instead of flushing and looking away, which was what she usually did, she met his gaze steadily. She was coming to trust him now and to trust that his compliments weren’t empty ones. That gave her the courage to face him.
“I told you last night that I have never known such flattery,” she said. “At first… at first, I did not believe you were sincere, but now I am coming to think that you might be.”
He laughed softly. “Did it take me buying you an expensive piece of jewelry for you to realize that my words to you are genuine?”
She laughed because he was. “Nay,” she said. “I did not mean that to sound as trite as it did. I simply meant… is this real, Val? Do you truly wish to keep company with me?”
He nodded, slowly, his smile fading. “And with time, more than that, even.”
She knew what he meant. God, she knew and it was like music to her ears. Marriage! Already, she could see a strong son with his father’s handsome features and a daughter with her sensibilities. She could see all of this, already, and the solitary life she’d known all of these years began to seem like hell. Before she realized it, tears filled her eyes.
Noble Line of de Nerra Complete Set: A Medieval Romance Bundle Page 96