The Knight Before Christmas: A Knight’s Tale Book 4

by Darcy, Diane

  It was Childermas, which was led by a torch lit procession, after which Father Benedict spoke about King Herod’s failed attempt to murder the infant Jesus by executing all the children in Bethlehem under the age of two.

  Father Benedict gave a rousing presentation, and the choirboys sang, and many women in the audience were crying by the time it was over.

  The torch lit procession led everyone out again, and as they filed back to the keep for a meal, Thomas stayed to watch Father Benedict blessing the children. He placed his hands on their heads, and proclaimed short blessings upon each, to the pleasure of their grateful parents.

  When everyone else headed to the keep, Thomas was slow to follow, congratulating Father Benedict on his rousing presentation as they made their way slowly inside.

  No one was seated yet, and Madison was putting the finishing touches on each table, placing and straightening decorations to her satisfaction, as she instructed several of the servants.

  He followed her with his gaze.

  She fascinated him.

  It was like watching a general with soldiers, as she directed cleaning, decorating, and took no lip from anyone, though she certainly gave enough of it to others, much to their delight.

  She brought beauty and warmth to the place.

  She was a natural leader, and when she was done, she stood back and looked out over everything, pronounced it beautiful, and everyone was finally allowed to sit down.

  Not one person there thought to gainsay her, not even himself, and he found his lips curving into an amused smile.

  She spoke to the musicians, and they took up playing pipes, flutes, and drums. It seemed as if even they wanted to please her.

  One of the clergy blessed the food, and before long, the overlarge crowd was as raucous as usual.

  A talented young lad from the village, skilled in acrobatics, amused the crowd as they ate.

  He looked down the table at Madison, just as she looked up, and their eyes met for a long moment.

  He let his gaze move over the crowd, as if the glance was a casual one, even as he told himself to stop watching her.

  Easier said than done.

  * * *

  It’d been an odd day, so far.

  Madison had woken to slaps on the rump, and greetings of happy Childermas from some of the servants that slept in the room.

  She was startled awake to happy, laughing faces, and a stinging behind, as they ran out of the room.

  As Juliana had gotten the same treatment, Madison’s shock had turned to laughter, as she’d made her friend explain what had just happened.

  “’Tis The Feast of the Holy Innocents Day,” Juliana had replied, looking at her like she was an idiot.

  Madison had looked at her blankly. “And so we got spanked?” This was the weirdest of traditions yet.

  Juliana laughed. “Sometimes you say the most amusing things. Those lazing about in bed on the fourth day of Christmas are awakened with a whipping so that the memory of the innocent children killed by King Herod will stick with you more closely.”

  Madison shot her a look. “Oh, of course.”

  After that, it turned out the children were in charge for the day, and were allowed to boss the adults around, much to the amusement of all.

  And then, there was Thomas.

  The moment she’d decided she could simply have a friendship with him, he’d disappeared.

  After dinner, the storytelling started up, and one of the musicians plucked the strings on a small hand-held harp, the jarring notes used to accompany each story.

  Some things really hadn’t changed over the centuries.

  Thomas was standing off to one side, talking to one of his men, when Madison came up behind him.

  The man on his other side saw her, gave her a short bow, said, “Lady Madison,” and turned and walked away.

  Thomas turned toward her, those dark eyes settling on her and causing her heart to increase its pace.

  “I haven’t seen much of you today,” she said, feeling the slightest bit foolish. In seeking him out, she was flopping hot and cold, and it seemed he was pretty much doing the same.

  First, she wanted to avoid him, and then she wanted to be friends?

  Even she questioned her motivation.

  Why didn’t she just admit that the man drew her like a magnet, and be done with it?

  “Lady Madison,” his deep voice sent a thrill of pleasure through her, letting her know once again, that she was not being honest about her motivation in seeking him out.

  Friends?

  Liar, liar, pants on fire, an internal voice was quick to criticize.

  “I have had much to do this day,” he said, and the friendly man from yesterday was gone. In his place stood a cold and indifferent stranger.

  Flip, flop.

  Wow, she hadn’t expected that. Well, never let it be said she couldn’t take a hint.

  She glanced around, and looked for a quick escape. “All right, then,” she said. “Well, happy Childermas.”

  She went to walk away, and he was quick to stop her, his hand on her elbow. “Lady Madison, wait.”

  “Mistletoe! They are standing under the mistletoe!”

  They both looked up to see the double ring of mistletoe hanging above them.

  Thomas’s head slowly bent and their gazes locked, and she found herself staring into warm brown eyes.

  Others, drunk and encouraging, ordered them to, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

  Her entire body started to tingle, and she quivered as blood rushed through her veins.

  He was her soulmate, and she wasn’t keeping him, but just one kiss? Was that too much to ask?

  Thomas glanced at her lips.

  Just his gaze on her mouth made her yearn for his kiss. Made her knees weak, and her heart pound.

  She could honestly say she’d never reacted to a man like this in her life.

  The crowd wasn’t going to let them get away with it, and Thomas leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips, and then reached up and picked a berry from the mistletoe.

  He held it up to the crowd and smiled at their audience.

  A weird combination of hurt and indignation speared through her. She wasn’t sure why, but the barely-there kiss had hurt her feelings.

  There had been plenty of stolen kisses over the last few days, much to everyone’s amusement, and she got a tight-lipped peck?

  What a jerk.

  Heart pounding, she smiled, gave a quick wave, and said, “Nothing to see here, folks, move along.”

  Everyone erupted with laughter as she and Thomas quickly went their separate ways.

  The guy was supposed to be her soulmate?

  He was the worst kisser ever!

  * * *

  Madison hung around for a while, making sure she stayed on the opposite side of the room from Thomas. When she was near the entrance, she slipped out.

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go upstairs, or outside, and as she stood hesitating, someone called out her name.

  She turned to see Lady Felicia coming toward her.

  Two serving girls came around the corner with platters of food, and they moved out of their way.

  With an impatient sound, Lady Felicia pulled Madison down a long hallway, and into an anteroom where someone had lit a single candle in the tall window.

  After a quick glance around the rounded chamber, as if to assure herself they were alone, Lady Felicia dropped Madison’s arm in a gesture of contempt.

  Madison blinked. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Thomas and Juliana’s courtship began very recently, and I won’t have you complicating matters. Stop making eyes at Lord Thomas. You are a two-face for fanning a friendship with my daughter, even as you try to steal her intended.”

  Madison froze. She’d only been there for three days, and Lady Felicia’s unfriendliness suddenly became clear. “Wait, just a minute. Lord Thomas and Juliana? This is the first I’ve heard about it.”

>   What about the fact that she’d traveled hundreds of years through time to be with her supposed soulmate?

  Her lips parted in dismay.

  And he was going to marry another woman?

  She vaguely remembered Father Cuthbert saying something about collecting her soulmate before he married someone else.

  She’d forgotten all about that, but Thomas and Juliana? “Are you sure about this?” She put a hand to her throat as sudden feelings of vulnerability flooded her. What had all those covert looks and touches been about?

  Was Thomas a cheater like Dean?

  Her lips twisted and she felt sick to her stomach.

  Lady Felicia studied her face and took a step back, her gaze taking in Madison’s every expression.

  “You did not know?”

  Madison shook her head.

  Lady Felicia seemed at a loss for a moment, her expression slackening, before she lifted her chin and tightened her lips. “And, now that you do?”

  Well, she wasn’t going to keep Thomas. She’d known that from the very beginning.

  She liked Lady Juliana, but even if she hadn’t, even if she loathed her, she would never interfere in someone else’s relationship.

  Dean’s new girlfriend had mocked her over text messaging, letting her know about the relationship, sending her pictures, and Madison had been stunned at the betrayal.

  Both by Dean, and by his new girlfriend.

  So much for sisterly solidarity.

  “Now that I do know, I’ll stand aside,” she said, and meant every word of it.

  Lady Felicia must have believed her, because her face softened. “You really did not know?” Her gaze held pity.

  Madison shook her head. “No one said a word. Not even Juliana.”

  Lady Felicia twined an arm through Madison’s, and led her back down the hallway. “Come, dear. Sit with me and the others. Let us enjoy the rest of the day.”

  Feeling heartsick, and angry at herself for it, Madison let herself be led back to the party.

  She just had another week here, and then she could go home.

  She’d been having fun, but suddenly she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

  Thomas was a cheater?

  Again, what a jerk!

  Chapter 16

  THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

  The next day Madison stayed busy looking after everyone.

  There were a lot of people that came and went in the keep, and she’d asked Lady Philippa about it.

  Apparently, during the Twelve Days of Christmas, no one worked, and it was a time of feasting and festivity.

  “What happens afterward?” she wanted to know.

  “The first Monday after Epiphany is Plow Monday, and everyone gets back to work. But we will have St. Valentine’s Day to look forward to.”

  Madison hadn’t realized they’d celebrated St. Valentine’s Day this far back.

  Her lips tightened. Much good a romantic holiday would do her.

  They were having a sing-along, and though she didn’t know the songs, Madison joined in, singing the chorus when she could, and enjoying the company and everyone’s pleasure in it.

  “Lady Madison, do you have a song for us?” The man playing the lute asked the question, and everyone turned to look at her.

  She was at a loss for a moment, and then finally said, “How about The Twelve Days of Christmas?”

  The musician plucked a few chords, and said, “I am not familiar with that. You will have to teach us.”

  They didn’t know The Twelve Days of Christmas song?

  She glanced around at the interested expressions in the faces around her and gulped. Oh, gosh, was she about to introduce a modern-day song?

  She had no idea when it had been written.

  But everyone was looking at her, and she decided it was a matter for Father Cuthbert to deal with at a later time, because he was the one who’d stuck her here without any instructions whatsoever.

  It would probably be lost in the annals of time. Wouldn’t it?

  She sent out a quick apology to its author, gave a quick shrug, and began. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.”

  The musician plucked a few notes, and the other musicians quickly joined in. She had to give them credit, they were good, and knew how to work a crowd.

  She was pulled to stand in front of everyone, and soon, because the song was so easy to catch onto, everyone was singing along.

  This was not her fault! It wasn’t! She sent out a silent prayer of repentance, and then let go of the guilt over the stolen song, and just enjoyed it along with everyone else.

  She saw Thomas come in, with others, drawn by the music.

  She ignored them and taught the audience the next verse.

  Seriously, one of these times she was going to go too far.

  * * *

  Thomas didn’t like that Madison had ignored him the last couple of days.

  For himself, he still had not been able to forget about that kiss.

  Which was ridiculous, as it had not been any more of a kiss than he could have given to his grandmother.

  He wished he’d made the most of it while he’d had the chance.

  He’d even dreamed about it the night before, and in the dreaming he had certainly made a more thorough job of it.

  Thomas tried to keep his expression interested as Father Benedict discussed St. Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered a hundred years ago for challenging the king’s authority over the church.

  It was really interesting, and Father Benedict was very good at telling it, and Thomas usually enjoyed the tale.

  But his gaze kept settling upon Madison, standing not too far in front of him, and he knew for a fact that she had not glanced at him once.

  After the service there was an air of general excitement as everyone was to go fishing.

  Anyone, from the bailiffs to the scullery maids, were allowed to try and catch a fish this day.

  If they did, they got to keep it for their own, or share it with their family, or whoever they deemed worthy.

  It was a good day for it, cold, but sunny, and earlier his men, under his supervision, had cut holes in the ice, though some would fish from the river banks, as well.

  It was always a fun time, and some fish were usually caught.

  He was hoping to get a chance to talk with Madison again today.

  By the time he made it to the pond, some had already cast their lines, breaking through what little ice had refrozen.

  He kept an eye on Madison, but she was never alone, always enclosed in a group of laughing, chattering women. It was apparent that she had quickly become a favorite.

  Even Lady Felicia seemed to have warmed to her.

  He walked over and stood on the outskirts of their group, and was welcomed by Lady Philippa, but Madison still ignored him.

  He was getting frustrated by the lack of attention.

  It was probably for the best, or so he told himself, but even he could not convince himself that he felt that way.

  “Ladies, I trust that you are having a good time?” The question came out rather sharply, and Lady Juliana flinched.

  Madison turned to look at him boldly for a moment, and then turned her attention to those fishing.

  He would give a lot to know what she was thinking just then.

  Lady Felicia gave him a big smile. “My Lord, Juliana was just talking about walking out on the ice. Perhaps you could let her hold onto your arm?”

  Juliana glanced up, startled, and then her gaze quickly dropped.

  It pinched his ego. Was there something wrong with him that the ladies did not wish to spend time in his company?

  He wished there was a way to get out of it gracefully, but there was not, so he offered Lady Juliana his arm.

  She hesitantly took it, barely touching him with her mittened hands.

  He did not have a dread disease, and did not appreciate b
eing made to feel that he did. He took a breath and released it, misting the air, as they took a few steps out onto the pond.

  “Are you having fun this day?”

  Lady Juliana did not look up. “I am.”

  How convincing. “Do you plan to fish?”

  At that she glanced up, green eyes startled. “I do not plan to do so.”

  He watched Madison slide across the pond to chat with some of the fishermen.

  They laughed at something she said, and then one of them handed her his pole.

  “Though, mayhap I will stand with Lady Madison, while she does.”

  Was that a hint that she would be glad to be shed of his company?

  His temper rising, he silently took her to go stand with Lady Madison, and five others, men and women alike.

  Madison was jerking the pull up and down, laughing, and he said, “You will not catch any fish doing that.”

  She turned to look at him, and the smile fell from her face, and her chin rose. She made a scoffing noise, and said, “Never say never. For all you know there is a lovesick trout down there, looking for a big fat worm. Maybe he’s got a family to feed, or a girl he would do anything for.”

  He snorted at the nonsensical story.

  Juliana let go of his arm and carefully slid over to Madison’s side and clung.

  Madison looked away, and he was left wondering if she’d meant something by her comment.

  It seemed where women were concerned, he could not do anything right this day.

  He carefully made his way across the ice, determined not to fall and make himself even more ridiculous than he already felt.

  There was always work to be done, so he’d make himself scarce.

  What else was new?

  * * *

  Later that night, Madison was still upset.

  After she’d been rude to Thomas, and acted dismissively toward him, he had disappeared for most of the day.

  She couldn’t really blame him, but sad to say, she’d missed him; his conversation, his laughter.

  Which left her at odds with herself. She really liked Juliana, and there was no way that she was going to interfere with her future happiness.