“You think that Bramley will have his men sitting on Shadowmoor again?”
Etzel nodded. “It is possible.”
Daniel thought very seriously about that. It wouldn’t do any good for him to purchase supplies in town and hire a wagon to bring them back to Shadowmoor only to have to fight off Bramley’s men, who could quite possibly be lying in wait for them. Nay, he didn’t like those odds at all. He had to have men to protect the supplies as well as the l’Audacieux offspring. Liselotte. God’s Bones, he would feel horrible if his lack of foresight caused her to fall into Bramley’s hands. And with that, he began to cook up a plan.
It was necessary.
“When we leave, you will lock these gates and remain inside, no matter what,” Daniel told Etzel. “I will return as soon as I can, but you will lock up Shadowmoor and stay here until I return. Is that clear?”
Etzel nodded. “That is a normal way of life for us, my lord. You need not stress the obvious.”
Daniel nodded, satisfied. “Good,” he said, watching as the big iron gates began to slowly crank open. “If we do not return tonight, do not be afraid. I am not sure how long it is going to take us to conduct business so do not be concerned if we do not return right away. I have missives to send and other business to conduct. It will take time.”
Etzel nodded, wondering if he was doing the right thing by allowing two of his children to leave with a man he’d only met the day before. Was he being foolish? Was it possible that Bramley had even hired this man who called himself de Lohr, a man who had pushed his way into Shadowmoor and demanded the trust of the occupants? Etzel’s determination that Daniel should be the answer to prayer began to waver a bit, but he fought it. He was fairly certain that Bramley hadn’t sent him, especially based on what Gunnar had told him. Still, it was difficult for him to watch his children go with a man he’d only just met, one who promised to help him. What was it he had said to his daughter the previous night?
We have no alternative but to go on faith.
That was a true statement. Still, it was very hard to watch his children ride out with the knight. Even after the gates closed behind them, Etzel climbed to the battlements and watched the big black horse and the little brown mare travel down through the green and brown moors until they were out of sight.
Then, the real worrying began.
CHAPTER FOUR
The town.
Liselotte wasn’t used to seeing so many people. So many well-fed, busy people. It was something of a shock as they entered the outskirts of Siglesdene a little over three hours after leaving Shadowmoor. The sun was up and, on this day in mid-March, it seemed as if every farmer in a twenty-mile radius had turned up with produce and animals to sell. Liselotte had never seen so much merchandise – from cabbage to fruit to bees – and she was shocked.
Shocked… and disheartened.
Was it true that life went on like this, lively and busy and full, while she and her family were trapped in their bastion on the hill by a greedy lord? Was it really true that life went on around them and people were actually happy? She couldn’t honestly remember the last time she had ventured into a town because Bramley had kept her so bottled in. It was safer not to try. But riding with Daniel on his fat black horse, she felt safe as she had never felt safe in her life. It was difficult to describe but she knew that she liked it. She was both thrilled and relieved and, truth be told, rather giddy about it. But it didn’t take her long to realize that the true source of her giddiness wasn’t just the town.
It was the knight.
He was a very big man with big arms and hands, and she rather liked riding behind him, politely holding on to him so she wouldn’t fall off with the horse’s bouncy, prancing gait, but it was a fact that she had never been this close to a man who wasn’t a relative. Even before the event of Bramley, Etzel had kept her fairly sequestered from men, so this situation was quite new to her. The fact that she was here bespoke of Etzel’s utter trust in Daniel de Lohr, as if the man’s rescue of Gunnar gave Etzel complete faith to trust him, alone, with his precious daughter. Etzel had spent four years protecting her from Lord Bramley but de Lohr had managed to dissolve that inherent protectiveness, from father to daughter, in one heroic move.
And Liselotte wasn’t the least bit upset about it.
Truthfully, she was glad her father had permitted her to go to town with Sir Daniel, even if he had allowed Gunnar to come along as a kind of juvenile chaperone. Surely Daniel wouldn’t do anything unseemly with a child about. But the mere fact that Gunnar was along so soon after returning home after his abduction told Liselotte that Etzel was truly insane with trust over Daniel. There was no other explanation.
We have no alternative but to go on faith.
That was what her father had told her the previous night and it was clear he had meant what he’d said. So Liselotte held tight to Daniel as they entered the outskirts of the town, bustling with activity. Peasants were moving stock in and out of the town and there were innumerable vegetable carts. Children ran about with dogs chasing after them, barking, and as the three of them pushed towards the heart of the town, they entered the merchant’s part of the village. Near the center of town, and the well that provided water for a goodly portion of the village, the merchants of Siglesdene were deep in the heat of their business for the day.
Liselotte looked at all of the bustle around her, of the amounts of food, and she felt rather sick. It was so very clear that life outside of Shadowmoor was prosperous. She was sick on behalf of her family, who had to scrape by on wild grains and the occasional animal that was caught and killed, while others in Yorkshire didn’t seem to have that same level of hardship. Of course, it was March, and the produce wasn’t as fresh or plentiful as it would become in the summer months, but the vegetables and other foodstuffs she was seeing were those that had been stored away. Farmers still had to make their living and people still had to eat, even when crops weren’t abundantly producing. As she looked on, Daniel startled her from her thoughts.
“May I make a suggestion, my lady, on where to start?” he asked. “If I may be so bold, it seems to me that we should find the grain merchant first and purchase what we can from him. Grain is the most precious of commodities in this season. We should get it before others do.”
Liselotte could only see his profile as he turned his head to talk to her. It was such a handsome profile and she almost lost sight of his initial question as she studied it.
“Aye,” she said quickly, trying not to sound as if she were daydreaming about the man’s comely looks. “Grains will be a popular purchase. Uh… Sir Daniel?”
His head was still turned, looking at her from the corner of his eye. “My lady, I would be honored if you would simply call me Daniel,” he said. “No one calls me ‘Sir’.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “It is too formal,” he said. “I do not like to hear it from people I am familiar or friendly with. It is a barrier of formality that I do not like. Therefore, I would ask that you simply call me Daniel.”
Liselotte was surprised at the lack of propriety coming from a knight of his caliber. But the man had been friendly and congenial since the beginning of their association, so she supposed she really shouldn’t have been all that astonished with it. He had so far conveyed a friendly, sometimes humorous personality, unlike anything she’d ever seen before.
“Very well,” she said. “If that is your wish.”
“It is,” Daniel said, looking to Gunnar on the horse beside them. “But you must call me ‘O Great One’. Is that clear?”
Gunnar could sense the humor and he grinned. “Why can’t I call you Daniel, too?”
Daniel pretended to be imperious. “Because I demand respect from those I have saved,” he said with mock severity. “Mayhap tomorrow I will permit you to call me Daniel, but not today. Today, you will call me ‘O Great One’ at all times. Is that clear?”
Gunnar giggled. “It is.”
“It is what?”
“O Great One!”
Gunnar was snorting as he said it and Liselotte grinned as well, watching the interaction between her brother and Daniel. God’s Blood, it was good to have her brother back and smiling again. She’d missed him so terribly.
“I will tell you a secret,” she said to Daniel, eyeing Gunnar as she spoke. “He is very ticklish and he hates to have his ears pulled. If he disobeys you, such punishment would torment him.”
Daniel grinned broadly at the boy. “Is that true?” he asked. “Are you really ticklish?”
Gunnar’s eyes flew open wide. “You will never know!”
“You will never know what?”
“O Great One!”
Daniel fought off laughter as he turned away from the boy, who was kicking furiously at the old mare, trying to coerce it into moving forward. Daniel made a noise with his tongue, like clucking, and that was enough of a noise to move Ares forward without any kick at all. As the big black horse moved forward, the lazy mare followed.
Peering around Daniel’s big frame, Liselotte could see that they were heading to an area that looked like a livery; there were horses in a small corral, a few sheep, goats, and a barn-like structure. There were people moving in and out of the structure with sacks of grain over their shoulders. It was a busy place.
“Daniel,” Liselotte said quietly. “How much grain do you intend to purchase?”
Christ, he loved hearing his name come out of her mouth, spoken in her sweet and sultry voice. He could have listened to that all day and well into forever. But there wasn’t time for sweetness like that, at least not at the moment. Eyes on the barn-like structure ahead, he spoke.
“I am not entirely sure,” he said. “I would see what the price is first and then we will proceed.”
“You will not buy too much, will you?”
“That is for me to decide.”
It was a rather short reply, as if it weren’t any of her business, so Liselotte didn’t ask any more questions after that because he didn’t seem willing to discuss it. As they reached the livery with its goats and sheep and horses, Gunnar immediately jumped off the mare and ran to see the goats. There were several young kids and he was quite excited about them.
Daniel watched the boy pet and play with the goats, a smile on his face, as he helped Liselotte off of the horse. When her feet hit the ground, he dismounted after her, his gaze seeking out the man in charge. As he hunted for the man, Liselotte spoke.
“Gunnar had a pet goat but we were forced to eat it.”
Her voice was soft and sorrowful. Daniel looked to her, curiously, before turning to see Gunnar sitting on the ground, hugging one of the young kids as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Daniel tried not to let his mood darken as he watched the boy kiss the little goat. A young boy’s pet had been a victim of their poverty, a sorrowful thing, indeed.
“You did what you had to do in order to survive,” he said quietly. “You mustn’t feel guilty over it.”
Liselotte watched her little brother, grief on her features. “He loved that goat,” she said. “He had raised it since it was a kid and it followed him everywhere. He even slept with it. But when it became apparent we would have to eat it, as there was virtually nothing left, he cried for days. I felt so terrible for him but we had no choice.”
Daniel’s gaze lingered on Gunnar as the boy giggled when the little goat began nibbling at his hair. “You did what you had to do,” he repeated. “But you needn’t worry. I will replace the goat.”
Liselotte looked at him sharply. “I did not tell you that so that you would buy him another goat,” she said. “I simply told you that to explain why he ran straight for the goats and why he, even now, wallows in the mud with them.”
Daniel nodded, turning away from her to once again seek out the man in charge. “I know,” he said evenly. “But he seems quite happy with his little friend and after the trials the lad has been forced to endure, mayhap a goat will be just what he needs to regain his humor.”
Liselotte didn’t know what to say to that. She watched as Daniel headed over to a man he thought might be in charge. In truth, she really wasn’t sure what to say any longer to Daniel and his determined ideals. He seemed convinced that he was going to buy them the world and she wasn’t convinced she could discourage him. She’d tried, Etzel had tried, but Daniel was resolute to do what he wanted to do. He was stubborn, that one. Gallant, but stubborn. She had never in her life met anyone like him.
And she rather liked him and his determination.
It was hard to keep the smile off her face now as Daniel and the man in charge of the livery entered intense negotiations about what Daniel needed and just how much he was willing to pay. She pretended to be watching Gunnar but her senses were attuned to Daniel. He had a very congenial manner about him and rather than be firm and stern with the man who owned the livery, he engaged the man in pleasant talk about the weather, the local harvests, and eventually having the man talk about himself to the point where he knew a good deal about the man and it was as if they were friends already. Liselotte could hear them laughing.
Unable to deny her attention any longer, her gaze moved to Daniel and she watched him in animated conversation. There was something very magnetic about him, an attraction she found very hard to resist. But there was no point in dreaming about a man who would never settle down or take a wife. Even if he could, she wasn’t in his class. She had seen his reaction last night to Etzel’s proposal offer and she’d seen the man’s revulsion. At least, that’s what she thought it was and she didn’t blame him. She was sure that Daniel, from the great and powerful de Lohr family and a future earl himself, could have any lady in the entire world. A young woman living in poverty, with no fine clothing or fine education, was of no interest to him.
The smile faded from her face. She couldn’t hold out hope for what could never be. Lowering her gaze, she turned away from Daniel and the livery owner and wandered over to the edge of the livery property overlooking the avenue. While Daniel and the livery owner chatted and Gunnar still played with the goats, Liselotte watched the people on the avenue go by. The sun was higher in the sky now and the day was bright, wind still whipping about, blowing leaves down the street as everyone went about their business. It was actually a lovely day, with everything fresh and clean after the storm, and she felt much as if she’d been asleep for the past year, hidden away from the busy world. So much of the scene before her was new and exciting.
The livery was situated near the center of the commerce district and there were businesses grouped together – spices, wine, and food items were across the street, down to the left, while directly across the street were furs and cloth. Additionally, next to a very large cloth merchant was a seamstress who had all manner of loosely stitched dresses hanging from the top of her stall and in the doorway. It looked to be a thriving business with a good deal of merchandise.
It immediately had her interest. Liselotte could see the surcoats, blouses, and aprons hanging up on display and she was enthralled with the colors and fabrics as they waved about in the breeze. She’d never seen such beautiful things and her feminine heart, the one that loved all things beautiful as most women did, was drawn to the sight. She couldn’t resist. As Daniel conversed and Gunnar played, Liselotte slipped across the street to the beckoning garments.
The very first one in her line of sight was a form-fitting garment with tin buttons down the front, made from a heavy fabric that had been dyed a shade of lavender. The sleeves were long, the neckline high, and it was absolutely magnificent.
Awed, Liselotte reached out to gently touch the fabric. It was soft, like angel’s wings. But then she looked at her own garment, something very old and worn that had belonged to her mother, and she was suddenly very embarrassed at her appearance. She wished she had such a fine gown as the lavender one to wear. But her embarrassment didn’t last long because her attention fell on a very long, billowy, woolen gow
n dyed an exquisite shade of deep blue. Curiosity and awe took over again. She went to look at the blue garment, inspecting the craftsmanship on it, when she heard a voice behind her.
“You have good taste,” someone said. “I had my eye on that dress, too.”
Startled, Liselotte turned to see a young woman, about her age, standing a few feet away. The young woman was petite, with dark blond hair and blue eyes, and she was very finely dressed. Overwhelmingly self-conscious in the face of such a well-dressed woman, Liselotte let go of the blue dress and stepped away, giving the young woman a wide birth.
“Forgive me,” she said. “I did not mean to… I am sorry that I was in your way.”
The young woman shook her head. “You are not in my way,” she said. “In fact, my father would be glad if you stood between me and that garment. He does not want to buy me anymore dresses but, of course, he cannot deny me.”
She was grinning as she said it but Liselotte was feeling uncertain and awkward. She wasn’t very socially adept outside of Shadowmoor, mostly because she was never really around people that she didn’t know. Shadowmoor was an isolated world, so to speak to those outside of that world was not something that happened very frequently. Liselotte was out of practice.
“It… it will look lovely on you, I am sure,” Liselotte said.
She started to turn away, to make haste back to the livery, but the young woman stopped her. “I have not seen you around here before,” she said. “I come here weekly and know most everyone on the street of merchants, but I’ve not seen you. Do you live nearby?”
Liselotte paused in her flight, turning to the young woman and feeling very nervous. “I… I do not live too far away,” she said. “I… that is to say, I do not come into town very much. I have not been here in a long time.”
The de Lohr Dynasty Page 166