Estella’s gaze returned to Rose, her heart torn between sympathy for the small girl, and the growing resentment and confusion for her own plight.
CHAPTER 14
Gavin looked up from the parchment that he was studying, and watched as Estella and Rose helped the servants hang evergreen garlands along the edges of the lower tables.
“I have not seen the servants this happy in all my years here at Ashburn,” Gavin murmured to Ulric.
Finished with the tables, Estella moved toward the hall entrance. She gestured to the fitted wooden forms that were wrapped in straw and placed along the recesses of the arched doorway. Half a dozen servants worked at inserting branches of boxwood into the straw to give it more volume and color.
Three servants scurried about the hall, laying down fresh sweet smelling rushes, while another three sat at a nearby trestle table, diligently polishing lady apples and stringing together clusters of hazelnuts.
Ashburn hummed with excited chatter and festive fervor. And Estella was responsible for all of this.
Rose tried to get Estella’s attention and tugged at her arm. She pointed to the juggler practicing his act. The curious hound, which had until now been Rose’s permanent shadow, ventured closer to the juggler, waiting for him to drop a juicy treat. The man, not knowing of the animal’s intentions, tripped over him. He lost his balance and stumbled. A look of horror crossed his face, which quickly turned into a smile when he regained his balance, and continued to toss apples in the air.
Estella and Rose burst out in delighted laughter, and the merry sounds warmed his heart.
“Rose is an altogether different girl from six months ago,” Ulric added.
“Aye,” Gavin said, breathing in the heady scent of fresh pine needles and the pungent smell of boxwood. “‘Tis true. I didn’t think much of it when Lady Estella approached me earlier to decorate the great hall. Usually I would leave the decorating to the servants. Who would have thought that a simple task like this would make a difference in Rose’s demeanor?”
As if she knew she was being discussed, Rose looked over at them and waved. Gavin smiled and lifted a hand, but the hound yanked at her long woolen tunic, redirecting her focus.
Ulric followed his gaze. “When are you going to tell Lady Estella about Rose?” he asked.
“She’s aware that she’ll be Rose’s mother,” Gavin said shortly.
Ulric shifted his weight on the bench. “I know you don’t want to speak about this, but I’ve come to have a great affection for the child.” He paused. “I only want to see her happy.”
Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “Her happiness is my concern too,” he said. Upon seeing the contrite expression stealing over his friend’s face, his irritation began to subside. “Forgive me, Ulric. I know that you have Rose’s best interest at heart.”
A servant arrived and made his presence known by clearing his throat. “I am sorry to interrupt, sires,” he said nervously. “Sir Ulric is needed in the barracks. There is an urgent matter that wants his attention.”
“We shall continue this discussion later,” Ulric got up. “The longer that you wait, the more complicated it will be. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said. “I’ll have to go see what this is all about.”
Gavin nodded, glad that his friend was leaving. He had plans to tell Estella everything. He just hadn’t decided when he was going to do it yet.
He pushed away his parchment, not wanting to work any longer. There were just too many distractions. Or rather there was one distracting woman.
Estella’s glossy red hair and shapely figure was hard to miss. She moved gracefully throughout the hall as if she belonged to his castle. How did he ever think that she was not as attractive as her sisters?
She turned her head in his direction as if sensing his eyes on her. He inhaled sharply at the smile that she cast his way. Nay, she was more than attractive. She was beautiful.
Gavin felt a sense of loss when she turned and placed her attention onto Rose.
She took the excited girl by the hand, and sat her down at one of the trestle tables. He was too far to hear their conversation, but whatever Estella said caused Rose to clap her hands in delight. Estella already won over the servants and it seemed that she won over Rose as well.
He leaned back on his chair. Opening his hands, he stretched them, willing himself to relax. In the background, he could hear the minstrel practicing on his lute for tonight’s performance at supper. The tune the musician played was jaunty and light.
He closed his eyes. Just for a moment he imagined that it was Rose’s mother out in the hall. He could picture her flowing blond hair, her soft blue eyes, and the gentle smile that drew people to her like a bee to a flower. It was cruel how her life had been snuffed so suddenly by a pack of greedy outlaws. The muscles in his jaws tightened.
“Are you all right?” a soft voice said, jolting him out of his dark thoughts.
His eyes flew open. He was surprised to find Estella standing in front of the raised trestle table. “Aye, just fine,” he said. His eyebrows lowered as he glanced over to where Rose sat with her nursemaid. “I thought you were with Rose only a moment ago.”
“You were scowling at the holly wreaths that the servants placed around the sconces,” she said. “At home we use the holly wreaths to remind us and give us hope for the return to life and spring.” She twisted her lips with uncertainty. “However if they displease you, I shall have the decorations replaced with something else.”
His eyes darkened and settled on her lips. “Nay, the decorations pleases me,” he said. His gaze then lowered to her breasts. “They please me very much.”
“I was speaking about the Christmastide decorations, sire,” she said, blushing.
He sat forward in his chair and looked at her innocently. “And so you were. You seem in better spirits,” he said, cocking one thick eyebrow. “I gather that you’ve now come to terms with our pending marriage?”
The smile on her lips faltered. “The wedding is still three days away, sire. I have been too busy to dwell on it,” she said. “I had only thought to decorate the hall for Rose’s benefit, as I understand she enjoys the Christmastide festivities.”
Gavin cursed himself for causing the joy on her face to diminish. He had hoped that she warmed up to the idea by now. Yet it was obvious that she still had reservations about marrying him. That idea left a bitter taste in his mouth. But why did this bother him so much? He only meant to marry her for Rose’s sake, right?
He cleared his throat, and opened his mouth to say something to ease the awkward silence. But then Rose suddenly appeared at her side. She pulled at Estella’s sleeve. “My lady, we need more greenery on the other side of the hall.”
Estella gave him an apologetic look. “I will need to get back,” she said, relief evident in her voice.
“By all means,” he said, gesturing to the hall, “‘Tis a most pressing matter that needs your consideration.”
Rose giggled. “‘Tis very important,” she agreed, and dragged Estella back into the lively chaos.
Unable to resist looking back at Gavin once more, Estella turned her head. Their eyes met. An underlining current seemed to move through her body, its heat slowly building up from within.
A life married to Gavin wouldn’t be too terrible, would it? Perhaps last night at supper she was overcome with exhaustion. That would explain the cause for her sensitivity. It was obvious for all to see that he loved his daughter. And a man who loved his daughter couldn’t be all that bad, would he? And there was no denying that she felt attracted to him. Her wanton behavior earlier clearly demonstrated that. It didn’t take much for her to recall their heated embrace by the stream…
A crash followed by loud curses brought her back to the present. All thoughts of Gavin fled her mind.
A drunken servant had tipped on his own feet. And while trying to break his fall, his arms swept over a large bowl of lady apples that sat at a nearby trestle table. The
buffed fruits scattered onto the ground.
With Rose following close behind her, she rushed over to the fuss. Then in a matter of minutes, Estella contained the mini disaster, and the hall once again returned to its chaotic yet happy hum.
***
Mary walked over to Estella with two sets of linen in her arms, the hound trailing behind her. “What color linen should we throw over the trestle tables, my lady?” she asked. “Should it be red or green?”
Estella brought up a hand and placed it under her chin. “What do you think?”
The hound bit at Mary’s overtunic and made whimpering sounds at the back of his throat.
She handed the linen to Estella. “Any color will do, my lady,” she said, her voice becoming slightly agitated. She pushed the hound away from her. “I do not understand why this creature is following me around. I had thought he was shadowing Rose.”
Estella glanced down at the hound and frowned. Suddenly she grabbed Mary’s arm. “Where is Rose?” she asked.
The blood drained from the old woman’s face. She covered her mouth with one hand just as a look of panic entered into her cloudy eyes. Her hand dropped. “She was with me a moment ago.”
Estella set the linen table cloth aside. “I will look over there,” she said, pointing toward the door that led to the kitchen, “And you look near the front of the hall.”
Mary made a move to go toward the front, but her movements stopped when a commotion ensued at the entrance.
Two servants pushed at each other, their shouts getting louder and angrier by the second.
Gavin had risen from his seat at the high table and was making his way to the fighting servants. The look on his face should have been enough to stop them. But they were locked in a wrestling match and only had eyes for each other.
Estella veered from the direction that she was headed, and quickly made her way toward the scuffle. She had taken only three steps when someone reached out and pulled her behind a column. A large hand pressed against her mouth to muffle her scream.
“Do not give me away, my lady,” a voice said at her ear.
Her mind turned numb when she recognized the familiar voice of her father’s commander. Estella shook her head, and the hand slowly released its grip on her mouth.
“What are you doing here, Sir Etienne?” she whispered.
He looked at her in surprise. “Why to rescue you, of course.”
“I do not need —”
“Estella!”
She spun her head around to the sound of the voice. And her eyes widened to see two familiar hooded figures hovering near the wall. The figures rushed over and hugged her.
“I told you both to wait,” Sir Etienne said, his voice sounding tight with exasperation.
Ignoring the commander, Alys took off her hood and grasped Estella’s cold hands. She leaned back, looking her up and down, trying to assess for clues of abuse and torture. “You look unharmed,” she said, sounding almost disappointed.
“I was never in any danger,” Estella said.
“Well, when you disappeared that night, we became frantic with worry. We had thought that you were captured and held against your will.”
“And possibly facing death,” Marguerite added.
“How is it that both of you are here?” Estella asked. “I find it doubtful that Father would allow you to search from me.”
“We did not give him a choice,” Alys said.
“Aye,” Marguerite cut in. “We disguised ourselves as pages and joined the troop. By the time Father discovered our identities, it was too late for him to take us back home.”
“Do not look so surprised, Estella,” Alys said dryly. “We were only following your example. I know that this is what you would have done had one of us been abducted.”
“And we have missed you so much,” Marguerite added. “We couldn’t let —”
But the rest of Marguerite’s sentence became swallowed by a piercing wail that echoed throughout the four corners of the hall.
Estella whipped her head around to the sound and almost staggered back when she recognized the fighting men. They were not a part of Gavin’s household but of her own.
Gavin not knowing this fell neatly into their trap. He had hurried over to break up the fight, but when he was close enough to stop the skirmish, they abruptly ceased their combat and suddenly turned on him.
Everywhere Estella looked, she saw the familiar faces of the Cedwick garrison. And before Gavin’s men knew what was happening, they were surrounded. The men might have fought back except they were stayed at Gavin’s command.
Another commotion occurred at the hall entrance, and Estella whirled around at the angry shouts coming from that direction.
Two of her father’s men dragged Ulric through the double doors. He had his hands tied behind him, a thunderous expression on his face. The guards pushed past the crowd and shoved him toward Gavin.
A man boldly walked up to Gavin and Ulric and threw off his hood.
Estella sucked in her breath. Father.
She tore away from Sir Etienne, and ran over to the circle of people. Everyone eyed each other with open hostility. All that was needed was a signal from either men and all pandemonium would ensue.
“Bring the girl here,” her father commanded with a wave of his hand. A guard emerged with Rose at his side.
“My lady!” Mary cried, rushing toward the child.
“Hold her,” Lord Cedwick ordered. “I want her to stay where she is.” A knight closest to the nursemaid caught her by the arm.
“Have mercy on the child,” Mary cried, trying to wrench her arm away from the knight.
Rose began to cry harder, her small chest heaving.
Gavin pulled at the hands that trapped his arms behind his back, twisting almost helplessly in an effort to get to the little girl.
Rose stretched out her arms, “Sire,” she sobbed.
“Father,” Estella said, pushing aside the men–at–arms that were in her way. “Let them go.”
“Estella, there you are,” her father said. “You’ve done a fine job in leading us to these criminals. We followed you for several days. And even though you knew we were near, you lulled them into a false sense of security.” He grinned proudly at her. “The great Sir Gavin the Bold and his men were completely caught off guard.”
Gavin ceased his struggle and stared at her.
“I — I was not aware that you were following us,” she said.
“Of course you knew,” her father said. “We deliberately set the hound loose so that you would know that we were close.”
She felt sick to her stomach. The hound. That explained why the hound appeared out of nowhere.
Gavin continued to fix his gaze on her. And when she looked into their blue depths, she thought she saw pain and betrayal reflected there.
“‘Tis not what you think,” Estella stammered.
His shoulders slumped forward, and his head shook from side to side as if he didn’t want to believe what he was hearing. But when he looked up again, his face was cold and unmoving. “I should have known,” he said.
“Please understand I —”
Gavin averted his face from her as if he couldn’t stand to look at her any longer. And that act of rejection went straight to her heart and shattered it into a thousand pieces.
“Release the child to her nursemaid, Lord Cedwick,” he bit out. “If you have a vendetta against me, then direct it at me and not the child.”
“The child will not be harmed. We are merely holding her as a safe guard to ensure that you comply with our wishes.”
Ulric tugged at the men holding his arms, causing one guard to stumble back. “We should have left you for dead when we first heard your cries on the highway,” he said, his voice filled with fury. “In fact if my hands weren’t tied, I would gladly finish you off right now.”
Her father waved his hand to dismiss his words. “There will be none of that,” he said. He beckoned for the sh
eriff to step forward. “Arrest these men,” his eyes narrowed. “They trespassed into my home, and conspired to hold my daughter for ransom. Luckily some villagers witnessed them leaving in the dead of the night and alerted us.”
The sheriff walked over to Gavin and put a firm hand on his arm. “These are serious crimes,” he said in a gruff voice. He looked from Gavin to Ulric. “You will both come with me.”
Rose strained away from her captor. “Do not take Sir Gavin away!” she cried out, her voice rising in distress. And when she realized that it was impossible for her to move out of the guard’s grip, her bottom lip jutted out, quivering. “Sir Gavin said he wouldn’t leave me again. He said he’ll be here with me for Christmas!”
Gavin clenched his jaws as he watched the little girl.
“Lord Cedwick,” he said, his voice echoing throughout the hall. “I’ve made a promise to my niece in which I wholeheartedly intend to keep.”
“Your niece?” Estella cut in, her voice incredulous. “You never told me Rose was your niece.”
Gavin sent an icy glance at her direction before continuing as if she hadn’t interrupted him. “If you release me and my commander from your charges, I’ll forget what happened that day with the outlaws. I’ll also withdraw my claim to your daughter. Will you agree?”
Estella’s father pursed his lips and rubbed at his forehead, trying to decide what he should do. Finally after a long, tense moment, he breathed in deeply. “Agreed,” he said. “With all to witness, my honor is no longer in question.”
“Aye,” Gavin nodded.
Lord Cedwick exhaled; the tension visibly fleeing from his body. “Release the girl,” he said to the guard holding onto Rose.
Estella watched as Rose broke free from the man and ran to Gavin. But the other guards still had restrained Gavin, so he nodded for the nursemaid to get her.
Mary quickly went to the girl, and pulled her to the outskirts of the crowd to where Estella stood.
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