by Darcy, Diane
“Yes, where did you say you came from, again?” Lady Felicia asked.
It took her a moment to remember where her family hailed from. “Wiltshire.”
No one commented “Well, what a sight a tree like that must be,” Lady Philippa finally said, and the ladies agreed.
A platter of food was brought out, meats, fruits, and a bowl of stew. Madison tried not to fall on it like a wild thing.
A cup of wine was set before her, and she’d never been so glad of a beverage in her life. It tasted fruity, potent, and, since everyone else was drinking as well, was probably the reason for the general good mood.
When in Rome, and all that. She took a couple more sips between bites of food.
“Oh! Here are the gentlemen!”
Madison set her cup down, and turned to see Mr. Soulmate, and four other men carrying bundles of fresh greenery. They were laughing, joking, and, like everyone else, seemed to be having a good time.
They set the greenery further down on an empty table, and Lady Philippa lifted a hand. “Thomas, come over here, will you? We have a guest through Twelfth Night!”
Even if it was the alcohol, Madison was glad for the cheerful welcome.
One of the men separated himself from the group, and Madison smiled brightly, ready for the introduction.
She met the gaze of the tall, dark, and handsome man, and her smile faltered.
Oh.
Her world seemed to spin on its axis, and she really wished she could blame the wine for her heart picking up speed, and the breath leaving her body in a rush, but she was pretty sure she knew what was happening.
Mr. Soulmate, now standing in the background, apparently wasn’t her soulmate.
Now that she thought about it, Father Cuthbert had never said he was.
She drew in a breath, let it out slowly, and while oxygen was good, it didn’t help her racing heart.
Because the man coming toward her, staring at her, and uprooting her world was meant for her.
He was hers.
She swallowed.
This actually might be more difficult than she’d thought.
Chapter 8
They’d been gathering greenery when Thomas had seen the carriage both come and go.
Guests arriving at Riverdale wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but a carriage from Durham? Now, that was a surprise.
As was the fact they hadn’t stayed long.
A message would have been sent on horseback. If they were picking something up, he’d have known about it.
So, dropping something off?
His curiosity piqued, they’d finished their task and made good time back to the keep.
Only to find the most unlikely of visitors to ever come from Durham.
He still didn’t know what to think.
The lady’s eyes were the color of the sky on a summer day. He’d lost the breath in his lungs, and felt kicked in the gut when she’d looked at him.
That had never happened before.
Small comfort that the lady had looked as surprised.
And she was to stay through Twelfth Night?
He found he did not mind the idea in the least.
“Lady Madison, this is my grandson, Lord Thomas de Woodville. Thomas, Lady Madison Holland, lately of Durham Cathedral. Her father is from Wiltshire.”
What was a young lady doing at the cathedral?
A mystery for another time.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, with a slight nod of her head.
He was startled by her unusual accent, and paused halfway through his bow before straightening. “You are most welcome here, Lady Madison.”
“Thank you.”
He finally managed to drag his gaze away. He looked at the work the ladies were involved in. “You are doing a fine job here,” he said.
His ridiculous heart was still pounding, he was slightly breathless, and hoped the ladies attributed it to his physical exertion.
“Take off your coat and join us,” his grandmother said with a smile.
Another quick glance at Lady Madison found her concentrating on her work, and he felt a sense of loss. He couldn’t help but notice her unruly braid was thick, and as dark as mink. Lovely. He noticed the food and drink beside her and felt an odd sense of masculine pride at having been the one to provide her sustenance.
He swallowed against the thickness in his throat. His feelings were so out of character.
He hesitated to leave, and that he actually wanted to stay was unusual enough that it jolted him.
His normal desire would be to excuse himself, but he wanted to linger.
He glanced at Lady Juliana, who had not spared him so much as a glance, and his gaze was drawn, once more, to Lady Madison.
“My Lord,” Lady Felicia caught his attention. “How was your outing?”
The question broke whatever spell sought to enthrall him, yet again. “Very well. We accomplished much, and the brisk weather was welcome as we were involved in such physical labor.”
“Lady Madison has suggested bringing a tree inside for Christmas.”
“Did she?” How odd. Why would anyone go to such trouble? He gave a swift bow of his head. “Ladies,” he said, and turned and walked away.
What had just happened to him? Even now, he wasn’t sure, and only knew it left him unsettled.
He didn’t like it.
But even as he walked away, he carried a vision of startled blue eyes, a softly curved cheek, and red lips.
He tried to shove such thoughts away. He was a man of discipline, with much to accomplish.
He did not have time to be thinking of blue eyes.
Chapter 9
Oh, this was just not on.
She saw now why Father Cuthbert had been so positive that she’d want to stay.
He figured she’d meet Thomas, fall in love, and that he could wash his hands of the entire thing.
Good try, but there is no way she was staying here. She knew more about love than most, and that chemical reaction she’d just felt? Oh, she’d felt that before.
Maybe her reaction to her ex-boyfriend, Dean, hadn’t been quite that strong, but whatever it had been, had eventually fizzled away, leaving nothing behind but hurt and betrayal.
Been there, done that, earned the stupid prize. She wasn’t going to fall for it twice.
Especially while she was in another century.
She’d be setting herself up for pain and heart ache. If she thought Dean had derailed her goals, just think what living in the thirteenth century could do for her.
Nothing, that’s what.
Besides, maybe some women were able to keep themselves from changing for a man, but she’d proven that she wasn’t one of them.
She’d been turned into another person completely, someone she didn’t even like, losing herself so she could please her man.
Yuck.
Never, never again.
So, she’d stay away from Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, who was, yes, the most gorgeous thing she’d seen on two legs.
Maybe the fact that he was supposed to be hers, was affecting her?
It didn’t matter.
If she stayed away, she wouldn’t have a problem.
When she glanced up at the ladies surrounding her, more than a few were giving her sly looks.
She supposed it had been too much to hope that her and Thomas staring at each other with their eyeballs on fire had gone unnoticed.
No matter. Her eyeballs were back in her head, and everyone, including herself, could forget the entire incident.
Besides, as upset as she was about her reaction to him, what about his to her?
Wasn’t she supposed to be his soulmate, too? And that was the lukewarm reception she’d received? A few glances, and then he’d walked away?
Forget it.
She wasn’t wasting one more minute of her life on a man, let alone years.
When Father Cuthbert came to collect her, she was out of there.
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A little self-conscious, she picked up a few of the loose branches, lifted them together, reached for some ivy, and wrapped it around the base. Then she tied the ivy into a bow, before using a knife to cut the section.
She straightened the bow, tightened it, and then reached over and grabbed a piece of ribbon and tied it quickly and professionally into a beautiful bow that sat over the top of the one made of Ivy.
“My goodness,” Lady Ormonde said. “How did you do that?”
It took her a moment to realize she’d done something out of the ordinary, as whenever she was near a craft table, she simply did what she liked. She held up the decoration she created and twirled the loopy little thing in a circle. “Do you like that?”
“Yes!” Several of the ladies said at once. “Can you show us how you did it?” Lady Vera asked.
“Mayhap she should help us finish the mistletoe rings so we can hang them properly for the celebration.” Lady Felicia’s tone was condemning and snappish.
Madison wasn’t sure what she’d done to offend, but said, “Of course. Sorry.”
“And then you can show us how you did that,” Lady Philippa said, as everyone but Lady Felicia agreed.
They chatted as they worked, asked more questions about Christmas trees, and Lady Philippa soon decreed, “We will put up a tree. Lady Madison, you can show us how ’tis done.”
Lady Felicia protested again, but Lady Philippa, acting a bit of a dragon, put her in her place quite succinctly. “We will have a tree.”
Apparently, her word was law, as the other lady subsided with a nod.
Madison was glad to have the chore. She was used to being busy, and knew it made time pass quickly.
She had a recipe for salt cookies, very basic, that they could bake and use for decorations. And, from the looks of the place, they had candles galore. They were on all the tables, in sconces on walls, and if placed in the tree, and watched properly, of course, would be gorgeous.
She looked at the huge smoke-blacked fireplace, burning brightly. “You know, if we put a shelf above the fireplace, we could decorate it with greenery and put candles there as well.”
The ladies loved the idea.
Lady Philippa was all smiles. “Then we have much to do to get ready for the celebration tonight.”
That’s right, it was Christmas Day. And though she’d been very interested in the design for the last year, she was about to find out how, exactly, they celebrated medieval style.
Chapter 10
Thomas was roped into building a shelf for the mantle.
He wasn’t quite sure how he’d been talked into doing it, and yet here he was.
Sir Hugh was helping him, but did seem a lot happier about it, joking with the ladies and having a good time.
Now they were talking about having him drag a tree inside.
A tree inside the keep?
He didn’t wish anything to do with it, and had his own projects to take care of. “No tree,” he said, his tone stern.
“Oh, you’re right, ’tis getting late,” Lady Philippa said. “Tomorrow is soon enough.”
There were groans of disappointment, and Thomas actually felt guilty about ruining their fun. Which was ridiculous. The only trees inside were cut up for firewood.
Mayhap by tomorrow they would forget all about it.
Or, so he thought, until they started to discuss what size of tree they would need, where it would go, and how they would decorate it.
They weren’t going to forget about it.
He stayed busy, his back to them as he worked on driving spikes for the shelf to sit upon.
It was Lady Madison they were questioning and, finally, he could no longer keep silent. “What is the purpose of the tree?”
He glanced back in time to see her casual wave. “You’ll see.”
He wasn’t used to being put off, and turned around to glare. “It’s purpose?” His tone was sharp. He did not like to repeat himself.
“I guess you’ll see tomorrow, won’t you?” Lady Madison’s tone was just as sharp, and when her blue eyes lit with fire, he found himself wanting to smile.
He turned away again, not sure where these feelings were coming from, but finding it confusing to say the least.
And, completely out of character.
He went back to work, and with Hugh’s help, settled the plank, a long, rough piece of wood, into place.
He had thought the coarse, unvarnished nature would have disappointed Lady Madison, and that she might change her mind, but she’d adored the irregular piece he’d been saving for another project.
Her enthusiasm did make it less painful to give up, anyway.
She was certainly opinionated. She was also lively, beautiful, and intelligent. He shouldn’t be noticing such things, but it was difficult not to.
“Maybe move it a little more to the left,” Madison said, as he was about to attach the wood with tinned nails.
He couldn’t help it, he chuckled, and then laughed all the harder when she said, “What?”
He could not remember the last time anyone had tried to direct his actions.
“Thomas,” Lady Philippa called out. “I think you need to take Madison when you get the tree tomorrow, as she’s the only one who really knows which one to get.”
“Mayhap Juliana should go as well,” Lady Felicia called out.
He was very aware of the moment that Madison moved away from him to go and discuss the tree once more, and as Thomas tapped some of the nails into place, he could not deny his overwhelming attraction to her.
He could not remember the last time he’d felt this way, or, if he ever had.
He lowered the hammer and glanced back to see that Juliana had come to stand next to her, their backs to him, as they spoke with the ladies at the table.
The comparison was undeniable.
Lady Madison had very slim hips.
He turned away again, and blinked hard. She wasn’t for him, anyway, so what did it matter?
When he’d invited Juliana to sit with him at dinner yesterday, he’d let everyone know he was courting her.
He could not back out of the arrangement without humiliating her, and he would not do that.
He pounded a nail in hard, crossways, so he could bend it around the spike.
Why was he even thinking about this? It was not even an option.
With Sir Hugh’s help, he finished the shelf, and since it was up so high, and the fire still warm, he walked to the table, grabbed an armful of greenery, and placed it upon the shelf in a haphazard manner.
Lady Madison was quick to grab a bunch herself, and hold it out for him, telling him exactly where she wanted it placed.
She retrieved more greenery, trying to get it on the shelf before he’d finished the last bundle, as if she were trying to outwork him.
He bit back another smile, and worked all the faster.
So did she.
She wanted candles placed next, and fussed until they were exactly where she wanted them.
It was soon finished, and he stood back, and had to admit that it looked attractive.
“What do you think?” Lady Madison asked, sharing a look of camaraderie.
“It looks well enough,” he said.
She rolled her eyes, shook her head, and went back to sit with the ladies.
Which was fine by him.
With Sir Hugh’s help, he gathered his tools and left.
Chapter 11
Later that night the great hall was fully decorated, and it looked gorgeous.
They’d worked hard all afternoon, and Madison had to admit, she felt a huge sense of pride.
A banner of colorful triangles of silk, which Lady Philippa had provided the material for, hung from the rafters.
The teenager they’d talked into hanging it, had also placed lit candles along one wooden beam.
They’d arranged holly branches and ribbons into table decorations, and set them around the room to be used the entire
Christmas season.
Servants laid out food along tables, pushed together along one wall, a literal feast to be eaten after the Christmas program.
Candles, the fireplace, and torches were the only lights, and there was such a warm glow about the place, it really did feel like Christmas.
The pièce de résistance was the manger scene. They’d upended benches to form a stable, and Lady Philippa provided the thick white paper they’d made into a star, stuck atop one corner of the nativity scene.
They’d set up a crib for the baby Jesus, brought in bales of hay, and added extra to the manger.
One of the ladies set her newborn inside, and the little darling was sleeping and content.
A stick, with an added piece of curved branch was made into a cane, and leaned against the stable wall.
The ladies loved it, and Father Benedict was so excited about the set-up, he’d about had heart palpitations.
She couldn’t help the warm glow of pride.
Benches had been arranged for the audience, but with the whole crowd filing in, quietly looking around in awe, many would have to stand in the back.
Madison sat on the front row, next to Lady Juliana, and noticed Thomas come in and sit on the front bench further down. As the benches were set in a V shape, they sat on opposite ends, and she had a perfect view of him.
Everyone quieted when Father Benedict came in, leading his merry cast of characters. Many a servant had been roped into playing a part, and the musicians, next to the stable, started playing soft music, as Father Benedict took his place.
“In those days, Caesar Augustus, issued a decree …”
Father Benedict really seemed to enjoy his part, and made the most of it, his voice echoing throughout the great hall as his cast of characters enacted their roles.
Thomas was perfectly highlighted by a torch attached to the wall behind him, his arms crossed, and his masculine, Lord of the Manor demeanor, drawing her gaze.
She needed to stop looking at him. She wasn’t staying.
She was glad when the program ended, and people immediately moved to the tables, using pieces of bread as plates, loading up with different meats, vegetables, and fruits.