“I’ll have Henry pack up some food, and we’ll be off.” He turned and left the room before her, and waited out in the corridor. She joined him and closed the door.
“It seems you are embarrassed to be seen with me, my lord.”
“Nay.” He turned around and walked, and she followed several steps behind him. “Why would you think that?” He nodded and greeted a few of his knights and then some of his servants with Muriel following behind him.
“Because you are five paces ahead of me, and I am speaking to your back.”
He stopped and waited for her to catch up. She was right. He was doing exactly as she said. Perhaps her status did bother him more than he thought.
“Walk with me, Muriel,” he said, putting a guiding hand on her elbow to move her along faster.
“My lord, if you’d like me to run to the docks instead of walk, just say so.”
“Nay. Don’t be silly.” He slowed down, feeling all the eyes of each passing soldier and servant upon them as they headed through the courtyard. The nobles looked down their noses at them, and Nicholas stopped making eye contact with anyone on their way to the stable. When, he wondered, would this get any easier?
*
An hour later Muriel stood at the rail of the fishing boat, looking out to sea. It was a gorgeous day, and the sun beat down on her head, and the wind kissed her face as they made their way out into the open waters, away from the rest of the ships at port. The vessel was small, only twenty tuns at most, and had one large square sail – but that was all it needed. They glided over the water, the ship a graceful swan on the open sea. She felt free here, and had always loved being on the sea, though her times had been far too few. Since she’d met Nicholas, she’d spent more time on ships, the docks, and the water than she ever had in her life.
“Do you like this?” Nicholas came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist. She liked the feel of being in his embrace, and leaned back slightly against his body.
“Mmmm, nice,” she said, talking about more than just the weather. He leaned over and nuzzled her ear, sending a jolt of excitement flitting across her sun kissed skin.
“Aren’t you afraid your crew might see us being intimate together?” she asked, eyeing the old man and his two grown sons who sailed the boat today. They didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them.
“Howard and his sons won’t say a word. I pay them well to keep their lips sealed.”
“Really?” She didn’t like the way it sounded. It was almost as if he was so embarrassed to be with her that he didn’t want anyone to know. She was about to confront him on the issue when Nicholas started trailing small kisses down the back of her neck. She held her breath and closed her eyes, willing her attraction for him to go away, but it wouldn’t.
“Have you ever felt anything so freeing?” he asked, and for a moment she thought he was talking about them. “I come to the sea to get away from all my troubles and worries. It gives me peace of mind.”
“And what about when you and your fleet leave to give service to the king? I wouldn’t think that is very freeing.”
“Nay, it’s not. That is tense since it is usually transporting soldiers to campaign across the channel. But we won’t talk of that, because I’m not servicing the king now, am I?”
“No, you are not.” She wanted him to service her instead.
She felt his hands go to her hair, and he removed the ties holding her hair in place, letting it drop down around her shoulders.
“I love your beautiful hair, Muriel. I want to see it flow in the breeze.” The wind took her hair and she lifted her face to the sun and breeze. It did feel freeing. And for a brief moment she felt as if she hadn’t a care in the world. She forgot about her lack of money and the way she’d had almost everything taken away from her. She forgot about her problems with the Clothmaker’s Guild, and even stopped thinking about how much she missed her father. She even forgot all about her worries of how she was going to provide for Isaac and make certain he turned into a man who could take care of himself.
When Nicholas rubbed his hands down her shoulders next, all she could think of was how protected and special she felt when she was in the baron’s embrace. With him, she wouldn’t have to worry how she’d be able to pay her debts or put food on the table. And more than that, she wouldn’t have to wonder if she’d ever meet the man she wanted to marry and spend the rest of her life with – because she already had.
She turned and reached up and put her arms around his shoulders. “Lord Nicholas, thank you for bringing me here today.”
“I want you to call me just Nicholas when we’re alone, Muriel. Today I’m more than just your overlord. Today I’m –”
“Yes?” She looked into his eyes and saw caution overtake him, yet at the same time a yearning – possibly that quest he mentioned. She was sure he was going to say today he was her lover, but he’d stopped himself from finishing his sentence.
“What were you going to say, Just Nicholas?”
That made them both laugh and it cut the tension.
His eyes focused on her mouth, and he leaned forward and brought his lips to meld with hers. Security, serenity, and power was in his kiss, and she found herself wanting even more. She deepened the kiss, and their tongues danced in jubilation, and she felt his arousal poking through his hose against her stomach.
He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and this only excited her more.
“Nicholas,” she said boldly, using his Christian name and not his title. “Since the day we made love, I can seem to think of nothing else.”
“And neither can I.” His hands lowered and rested on her buttocks, and when he tightened his grip and pulled her against his hardened groin, her breath caught in her throat. She was so excited, she didn’t even care that three strangers were on the ship watching their every move.
“Muriel,” he whispered into her ear. “I have been on a quest for a long time looking for someone like you.”
“Well, now that you’ve found me, what will you do about it?”
“Why don’t we go into my private cabin and I’ll show you?”
They kissed again, and emotion welled inside her chest, threatening to burst out in a sensual moan. She could no longer hold in what she was feeling, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out the words, “I love you.”
“What?” His arms stiffened and he stilled.
“I said, I love you, Nicholas.” She looked back up into his eyes, but this time he wasn’t smiling. The look of sensuality was gone, and instead she saw fear and confusion.
“Baron Romney, there seems to be a storm brewing on the horizon,” interrupted the old man at the ship’s rudder. “Shall we turn and head back to port?”
Nicholas slowly released her from his embrace, and with it went all the excitement that had welled up inside her.
He turned to look at the horizon, and the breeze suddenly seemed to turn cold. The sun that had been shining brightly was now hidden behind threatening looking dark clouds.
“Aye, take us home,” he called out,” his words almost like a knife to her heart, as she had hoped they would have had the time to be intimate once again. He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she could have sworn she saw disappointment on his face. But not disappointment from having to sail back to shore – this was directed at her comment, she was sure.
“Did I say something wrong?” She wished now she hadn’t displayed her emotions so freely.
“Nay, not at all. You are welcome to your opinion – when we are alone,” he added, reminding her of her position. “So, Spinster, tell me about the guilds in your town.”
“Spinster?” Her heart dropped to her feet. In one moment they’d gone from calling each other by their first names and almost making love to a cold shoulder and a title she hated to be called.
“Do you think the men in the guilds are trustworthy?” He started firing questions at her left and right, making her head spin. “
Could some of them be smuggling in goods and not paying taxes or prisage to the king?”
She had the sudden thought that perhaps he’d never wanted to be alone with her to spend intimate moments. Mayhap all he’d wanted all along was information. “You sound as if you think I have some inside information. I am sorry, my lord, but I don’t have the answers you seek.”
“Then ask your friends. Mayhap Cecily knows something.”
“My lord?” She felt appalled that he thought she’d do his bidding, even more shocked he’d think she’d turn in one of her own people by betraying them. She didn’t know of anyone doing these things, but then again, if she did – right now she wouldn’t tell him anyway. “Is this the reason you brought me here today? To convince me to spy on the townsfolk and the guilds?” She fastened her hair up atop her head, tying it back from the wind.
“Nay, of course not. We’re here for relaxation and leisure.”
“Then please stop asking me these questions.”
“I am just making conversation. I thought mayhap you’d seen or heard something while working for your father and living in town.”
“Please stop asking me to do your job. I am a townsperson same as the men of the guilds. And if you’re insinuating my father had shady dealings, I assure you it is not true.”
“But he was taking his goods to another town to sell at a lower price when he knew it was against the guild rules,” he pointed out. “That should open your eyes, Muriel, that mayhap he wasn’t such an honorable man after all.”
“Stop it!” she shouted, hugging her arms around herself in an attempt to feel as secure as she once had in the baron’s arms. “My father is dead, killed by bandits and ruffians along the road who stole everything but that ring you wear on your finger and flaunt in my face. He was not a swindler, nor did he cheat you or the king, and I ask you not to say that again.”
Nicholas looked at the ring on his finger, running a thumb over the gold. “Why didn’t they steal this, Muriel? It was probably worth more than most the goods they took instead.”
“My father had it hidden, that’s why. Now please, don’t mention it again.”
The winds picked up, and the ship leaned far over the water – so far the sail almost touched the sea. His arms were around her immediately, protecting her from falling. Just like the mood of their outing together, the sky had suddenly taken a dark and dangerous turn. The sun above their heads as well as his previously sunny disposition was nowhere to be seen. The rain started to come then, and the cold, sharp drops were like arrows to her heart. She thought of the rain as her unshed tears.
“Get inside the cabin until we get back to port,” he commanded. “It looks like this could be nasty.”
“Yes, it’s become very nasty,” she agreed, not meaning the storm at all.
Chapter Sixteen
“So he really said nothing after you told him you loved him?” Cecily stood still as Muriel measured and pinned a dress to her later that day that was being constructed for one of the noblewomen. They were in the Ladies’ Solar, which now was also occupied by her brother on the loom, Lady Constance, and a few other women. Usually men didn’t occupy this chamber, but since Isaac needed to work the loom, he was granted permission to be here. The noblewomen liked Isaac. A lot. He charmed them and they laughed and made sure to have servants bring extra tarts and sweetmeats to the solar for him so he could eat while he was working. The boy was growing into a man fast, and could eat three times the amount of food Muriel ate, and was always hungry.
“Aye, he said nothing,” Muriel said with pins between her lips, using them to pin the hem of the gown. “Then he told me I was welcome to my opinion – but only when we were alone.”
“Oh, Muriel, that is horrible,” said Cecily. “I wonder why he acted that way?”
Muriel took the last pin from between her lips. “Probably because he is embarrassed to be seen with a merchant’s daughter. It’s so below his status that I am sure he would never consider any lasting relationship with me.”
Muriel heard the sound of the pedal being moved up and down from the loom, and glanced over her shoulder to see all the noblewomen gathered around Isaac as he worked. The look on his face was smug and happy, and she hadn’t seen him glow like that in a long time now. Not since before their mother passed away.
“Isaac seems to like it here,” said Cecily. “And he is getting along wonderfully with all the noblewomen, especially some of the younger ones. Is he going to want to go back and live in town after you’ve worked off your debt to the baron?”
“I don’t know,” she said, getting to her feet, and helping Cecily remove the gown. “He is better off at the manor house than living in town, and I think I am going to ask the baron if he can stay here even after our debt is paid.”
“And what about you, Muriel? Don’t you want to stay here too?” Cecily pulled her own gown over her shift.
“I’m not sure,” she said, looking down to the gown in her hand. “I don’t think so – if every time I say I love him, the baron is going to start firing questions at me asking about smuggling, deceit, and treachery amongst the guild members.”
“He did that?” Cecily’s eyes opened wide as she fixed her hair. “So . . . does he think something is amiss?”
“He more or less came right out and accused my father of deceit and smuggling goods from other ports without paying taxes to the king.”
“He didn’t!”
“He did.” Muriel spread the gown out on a table and picked up the scissors. She poked them into the air as she spoke her next words. “And he basically came out and said your stepfather was dishonest as well.”
“What did he mean?” Cecily’s brows furrowed together.
“Well, he asked me why the thieves that killed my father hadn’t taken my mother’s ring since it was worth so much more than the goods he transported.”
“Is he saying my stepfather stole it?”
“I’m not sure what he’s saying. But he did ask me to more or less spy on the guilds because I guess there is some discrepancy in the ledgers.”
The door to the solar opened just then, and she looked up to see the baron standing there with the other two barons in the corridor behind him. “Oh, Cecily,” she whispered. “Please don’t say a word of this in front of the baron. Nor to your stepfather or any of the guild members. I don’t want trouble.”
“Of course not. Muriel, I need to be going now.” She gave Muriel a quick hug and ran to the door, giving the baron a wide berth as she left. She only curtseyed halfway, in a big hurry to leave the room. The barons Conlin and John headed away as well instead of entering the room.
“Ladies, Isaac, I’ve come to inspect your work and to see how the clothes are coming along for the banquet.” Nicholas nodded to the ladies and headed across the room toward them.
Muriel busied herself, not looking up at him. He, on the other hand made the rounds, inspecting the women’s needlework and sewing. She didn’t like the way the women giggled when he spoke to them – especially the ladies who were not married.
Then he went over to Isaac and raved about his work, and the two of them spoke for quite some time about things like weapons and chainmail, and subjects that had nothing to do with making clothes at all.
Finally, he made his way to her, and she was sure he purposely made her wait, wanting to make her feel less important than the rest, or perhaps not worth his time.
“Muriel, how is the dress-making coming along?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t call me Spinster again,” she said, as she pushed her needle through the cloth and pulled the long thread upward. He reached out and stilled her hand, but still she did not look at him.
“Your work is superb, just like your brother’s. Have you started the clothes I will wear yet?”
“I have not, my lord.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll need to get my measurements, won’t you?”
“I suppose.” She continued to sew. Th
en he surprised her when he dismissed the rest of the people from the room.
“You have all worked hard today and I see progress in the attire we will wear for the banquet. You may leave now and go about your own business, thank you.”
The women put away their sewing and embroidery, and headed out the door. Then Isaac jumped up and ran over.
“Muriel, come on. Do you want to go watch the falconer train the new bird?”
“Go on without her, Isaac,” answered the baron, and her eyes darted upward to meet his. “She’ll want to measure me for my tunic, so she will be working for awhile yet.”
“Muriel?” Isaac looked to her in question.
“Go on, Isaac, it’s all right,” she answered with her eyes locked on the baron instead of looking at her brother when she spoke.
Neither she nor the baron said a word until Isaac had left and closed the door.
Finally, he ran a hand over the gown she’d been working on. “Muriel, I want you to make a gown for yourself as well. Use any of the materials you want. I’d like to see you dressed in silk for the banquet.”
“Silk?” She stood at the table. “You want me to wear the cloth that is worn only by nobles?”
“Aye. You deserve it. Pick out some of my finest silk, and make certain it is dyed a bold color.”
“And won’t that make me too noticeable at your banquet, my lord? After all, I thought you’d want to hide me under a table so no one could see me.”
“Nonsense. I’m not sure where you got that idea, but get it out of your head right now.” He guided her over to the trunks that held the silk they’d bought from overseas. “Go ahead. Choose whichever you’d like.” He splayed his hand toward the bolts of cloth.
She looked at them, and her heart beat faster. She liked every one of them, and any of them would make her feel like a queen. But she didn’t want the baron’s things. Not after the way he’d been ignoring and dismissing her lately. And certainly not after he’d ignored her profession of love.
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