Corisande didn’t know what to say to that, so she simply smiled and lowered her head. The sun was starting to rise, faint rays peeking in through the ventilation holes in the stable that faced east, and Cole managed to tear his gaze away from Corisande long enough to see that his horse had finished his meal and was in the process of tearing up the bucket his food had come in. He had it in his mouth, tossing it around.
Cole stood up and brushed off his breeches.
“Drago, arête,” he commanded quietly, tugging on the bucket until the horse released it. “Jij stoute jongen.”
Corisande was still sitting on the opposite side of the stall wall, unable to see what Cole was doing but grinning because he was talking to his horse as if it could understand him. “What language are you scolding your horse in?” she asked.
Cole laughed softly. “Dutch,” he said. “He was raised in Antwerp, so he only understands the language of his people.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That he is a naughty lad.”
“And he understands you?”
“Of course he does. We have great philosophical discussions, Drago and I.”
He could hear her laugh. Grinning at the horse, he petted the beast on the head affectionately as he tossed the bucket aside, only to notice Essien and Anteaus entering the stable. They were heading for their animals as more sunlight began to stream in through the ventilation holes.
Morning was upon them.
“Where is your brother?” Cole asked Essien. “Is he finished with Lord Alastor yet?”
Essien began to check over his spotted stallion. “Nay,” he replied. “But he should be here soon. By the way, I was just speaking to Anteaus and he was telling me that he fostered at Northwood. I am sure he knows many of the same people you know.”
Cole looked over at Anteaus, whose horse was next to Essien’s. Anteaus de Bourne was young and handsome, but muscular to the point of being bulky. He remembered briefly what Corisande had said about her older brothers siding up against the younger one.
Cole suspected that was an interesting match-up, given Anteaus’ size.
“Is that so?” he said. “When were you there, Anteaus?”
Anteaus picked up a nearby horsehair brush and began brushing the dust from his brown animal. “From the time I was nine years of age until I had seen ten years and eight,” he said. “I was knighted there by the Earl of Teviot and I remember that Northwood was a strong ally of Pelinom and de Velt. We helped your father fend off a couple of raids while I was there.”
“How long ago was that?”
Anteaus cocked his head in thought. “Six years ago was the last time I was there,” he said. “Mayhap eight or ten years ago. That was a period in time when the reivers seemed to be very active. I do not think you were at Pelinom at that time, but I remember your brothers.”
Cole shook his head. “I have spent a good deal of time at Norwich and also Pembroke Castle,” he said. “I only came home to Pelinom a few years ago. Home to stay, that is.”
Anteaus turned back to the horse. “So I heard.”
Cole looked at him curiously. “Heard what?”
Anteaus gestured to Essien with the hand that held the brush. “Essien says you are going to marry Audrie de Longley,” he said. “That will keep you in the north. Her father will not let her out of his sight. He was always very protective over her, you know. Lady Audrie was a sickly child, like her brother. John de Longley is not much of a warrior because of it, but he is a great statesman. I grew up with him.”
Cole was frozen with surprise. He hadn’t expected his association with Audrie de Longley to come out of Anteaus’ mouth. With Corisande sitting on the other side of the stall wall, she must have heard it. He was momentarily speechless, unsure where to go from there, wanting to explain away Anteaus’ comment for Corisande’s benefit but not wanting to make it obvious that he was trying to distance himself.
But he had to say something.
He wanted Corisande to hear him dispute what was more or less the truth.
He’d never in his life been in such a position.
“John is a good man,” he said steadily. “But Lady Audrie and I…”
Corisande was suddenly standing next to him, the sack of food in her hand. “Do not forget this,” she said, all but shoving it at him. “I wish you a pleasant journey, my lord, and Godspeed wherever your path in life takes you.”
She sounded so… hard. Cole took the sack, clutching it against his chest because she’d very nearly threw it at him. Their eyes met and the warmth he’d seen there just a few moments earlier was gone. The pale green eyes weren’t glowing anymore.
They were like stone.
Before he could say anything, Corisande pushed past him, heading from the stable, but Anteaus stopped her.
“Where did you come from?” he asked, surprised. “Why were you hiding?”
Corisande paused. “I was not hiding,” she said, sounding irritated. Hurt. “I brought Sir Cole some food for him and his companions to take on their journey. It is all part of my duties, as a good chatelaine.”
She didn’t really answer his question as to why she had just emerged from a darkened stall, but he didn’t press her. He let her go, turning back to his horse as she headed from the stable.
But Cole couldn’t let her go. God help him, he couldn’t. There was absolutely nothing spoken between them – no implication, no hint, no inferred intentions – but even so, he hadn’t wanted her to hear about Audrie. He kept telling himself there was nothing to hear, that it wasn’t anything of consequence, but the truth was that there was. He knew it. He knew that his family and her family expected them to marry. Everybody but Cole expected them to marry.
But it was quite possible he had other ideas about marriage.
He set the sack down and headed out of the stable.
He could see that Corisande was nearly out of the stable yard by the time he got outside. The sun was just peeking over the eastern horizon and the sky was shades of pink and blue and purple, with puffy gray clouds scattering in the gentle breeze. Cole could see her up ahead and he picked up the pace. He ended up running up behind her and the sound of his rapid footfalls startled her. She turned around with a gasp when she heard the commotion, nearly tripping on her own feet.
“I am sorry,” he said quickly, reaching out to steady her. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
When Corisande realized who it was, she straightened up and pulled her arm from his grasp. “You didn’t,” she lied. Her gaze upon him was guarded. “What do you want? Do you require something else?”
He just looked at her, feeling an odd sense of desperation. He’d never experienced anything like it and he wasn’t quite sure how to answer her. He just ended up staring at her for several long seconds before sighing heavily.
“Aye, I do,” he said. “I require your attention, just for a moment. I am not entirely sure how to say this, or even if it is important to say, but I should like to explain something to you.”
Her brow furrowed, but not from curiosity. She appeared decidedly displeased and it was apparent that her guard was up. “Explain what?”
Cole was trying to think of a pleasant, believable way to explain away what she’d just heard, part of which involved calling Essien a liar, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. As he had told her once, he didn’t lie.
He wasn’t going to start now.
But he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain something that even he didn’t quite understand.
“Just a moment of your time, my lady, and if you do not like what you hear, you are free to walk away,” he said quietly. “I will not stop you. I am not sure where to start, but I will start with what happened yesterday with the Scotsman. I told my men this, but now I shall tell you. The way you handled yourself when he took you hostage greatly impressed me. You showed calm and reason in a situation that would have made most women hysterical. That speaks strongly of your character. And in spea
king with you yesterday and even this morning, I am coming to know a witty, humorous, kind, and caring woman. I was so enchanted by you that I did not sleep last night because I could not stop thinking about you.”
Corisande’s eyes were wide at him. “But… Cole, I…”
He put up a hand to silence her. “Please let me finish,” he said. “If you do not feel the same way, I shall not trouble you further, but I want you to know what is on my mind. I know I am the son of Ajax de Velt and that does not make me a worthy suitor, and I am resigned to that. But you, my lady, are a very special woman and I wanted you to know that. My thoughts and feelings towards you will always be those of the greatest admiration.”
By the time he was finished, Corisande had lost some of the hardness in her expression, but she was looking at him with some doubt. Even so, no amount of doubt could stop the faint flush in her cheeks from his kind words.
“That is… kind of you to say so,” she said. “I have enjoyed coming to know you, also. But since this is a moment for honesty, I will tell you that for a betrothed man, you have been paying me an inordinate amount of attention and I do not appreciate that in the least. It is not fair to me and, most of all, it is not fair to your betrothed. It is…”
Again, he held up a hand, more firmly this time. “Stop right there,” he said. “I am not betrothed. Essien misspoke and your brother misunderstood. But I would be lying if I did not tell you the complete truth – that my family has expected me to marry Lady Audrie de Longley for some time now. I will be further honest with you by telling you that I have considered it, but I am in no hurry to do so. You see, I was married before, but I lost my wife and child a few years ago. Audrie is simply a prospect, I suppose. I am not in love with her, but she is pleasant enough. The marriage would be a political one, mostly, and not a love match.”
Corisande had an expression suggesting sorrow. “I am sorry about your family,” she said softly. “That must be a difficult burden to bear.”
“It was,” he admitted. “But I am moving forward with my life. There is no use dwelling in the past. Audrie has helped me do that in a sense, but then… then, I met you.”
“But we have only just met,” she said, sounding perplexed. “How can you know anything about me?”
He shook his head. “I do not,” he said. “It is a feeling more than anything, an instinct. My lady, I am not a charming man by nature and I certainly do not toy with women’s feelings and emotions, but there is something about you that is different from any woman I have ever met. That is why I told you I would return to visit you. I… I would be honored if you would allow me to get to know you better, Corisande. I could think of no greater privilege.”
Her cheeks were full-blown red by this point, flattered beyond measure by his calm, quiet words. “What about Lady Audrie?”
He lifted his wide shoulders. “We are not betrothed.”
“But was it implied?”
“It was, by everyone else but me.”
Corisande thought on that a moment. Perhaps it was foolish of her, but she believed him. She’d seen enough men, and had been suspicious of them, to suspect when she was being lied to and she didn’t sense it from Cole. She could only sense his sincerity. Even so, the not-so-small issue of Lady Audrie stood between them. She wasn’t going to discount it.
In fact, she felt some pity for Lady Audrie.
“In the spirit of great honesty that seems to have overtaken us both, I would like to get to know you better, too,” she said. “But I want to tell you of something I have not spoken of since it happened. A few years ago, there was a knight from an ally whom I shared a fondness for. He made it clear he was fond of me and, much like you and Lady Audrie, a future betrothal was implied. But before anything could take place, however, he was sent away by his liege to settle a dispute. He was gone for some time and I was eventually told that in order to settle the dispute, he had married the daughter of an enemy. I’ve not thought of him since, nor have I entertained the thought of another suitor. Until you.”
His eyes glittered at her in the early morning light. “And?”
She met his gaze, without reservation. “And I would be very flattered to come to know you better,” she said. “However – you must make it clear to Lady Audrie that there is no betrothal between the two of you. This must be resolved before you and I can keep company. I will not be happy at another’s expense, Cole. Someone did that to me and I will not do that to another.”
Cole gazed at her a moment before a smile spread across his lips. “This is why I admire you so much,” he said. “It takes an extraordinary woman to think of others before herself. I will make things plain to my family, and to Audrie’s, so that they understand a marriage between us is not possible. It would be greatly unfair to her if my thoughts were with another woman.”
“Indeed, it would.”
Corisande’s smile mirrored his. It was an important moment between them, as thoughts as well as intentions were established. It was something Cole had never done with Audrie, but within a day of knowing Corisande, he was doing it with her.
It just felt right.
Reaching out, he took her hand and kissed it gently. He liked it so much that he kissed it again before releasing it.
“I shall return as soon as I can,” he said softly. “Have more of those meat pies waiting for me when I do.”
Corisande burst out in quiet laughter. “A romantic sort, are you?”
He grinned, full-on. “Pies are very romantic,” he said. But his smile faded as he looked at her. “Anything would be romantic with you, I suspect. I am looking forward to discovering that for myself.”
Corisande’s face was so red that she thought it might burst into flames any moment. Cole didn’t think he was very good with women, but the truth was that she was butter and he was the hot knife. All he had to do was look at her and she was melting. After years of closing herself off, it was a wonderful feeling.
“Then I will see you when you return,” she said. “Godspeed on your journey, Cole. And take care.”
Corisande thought she might have seen a little blush in his cheeks, too, before he turned away.
The realization made her laugh.
But, oh… what a joyous laugh!
CHAPTER EIGHT
The village of Otterburn
The Queen’s Head Tavern
It was a loud, boisterous establishment that Cole, Addax, and Essien found themselves in.
Situated in the middle of a bustling village in the wilds of Northumberland, the tavern was the only place in town and given that night had fallen, the place was packed with travelers and diners and those that just wanted to get drunk and have a good time.
The three of them fit into those categories.
They managed to commandeer an excellent table next to the window so that they could watch the comings and goings of the tavern. Cole pushed the table away from the door, angling it so that all three of them could sit with their backs to the wall, facing the entry. No one wanted to sit with his back facing the door, especially on a busy night like tonight.
A group of traveling minstrels were also in the tavern on this night and they sat near the hearth, playing lively tunes as the patrons danced with some of the serving wenches. In fact, a couple of the serving wenches were in high demand as partners, so much so that the owner of the tavern and his wife ended up serving food to some of the tables. Happy patrons were happy spenders, so they let the girls dance.
The weather outside was starting to cloud over and rain could be smelled upon the air, and that meant bodies were crammed into the tavern because no one wanted to stand outside and drink, as they so often did. But Cole, Addax, and Essien had the best seats in the house and when anyone would drift near, they would kick them away. They didn’t want to be crowded on, especially when many of the tavern guests were armed.
And they weren’t all English.
Otterburn was near the Scots border, although that particular stretch o
f the border was somewhat barren. However, there was a major road that ran between England and Scotland nearby, and that meant Scots traveling south. It was fairly common here. When the three of them had entered the tavern, they’d already seen at least two small parties of Scots, men who were keeping to themselves, but they certainly eyed Cole and Addax and Essien as they entered the tavern.
There were suspicious glances all around.
But the truth was that Addax and Essien were used to be stared at, given their family roots were not in the northern hemisphere, so that wasn’t unusual for them. Once the three of them assumed their seats, the staring was interrupted as the owner and his wife brought out beef and ale stew along with warmed wine against the cold night. There was bread, peas, and stewed fruit, and the hungry knights ate their fill with their eyes on the Scots over on the other side of the common room.
Since the inn was so crowded, they were certain there would be no sleeping accommodations, but Cole made the attempt to secure at least one room. The only thing the tavern owner had left was his largest room, and it was costly, but Cole gave him the money without hesitation. There was only one bed, he was told, but the wife went upstairs to fashion two pallets for the floor.
Comfortable beds awaited and, hopefully, a peaceful evening.
“Well, lads,” Addax said. “One night in this ghastly place and we should be at Pelinom by tomorrow evening if the weather holds.”
Essien was elbow-deep in his meat stew. “Did you see the announcement as we came into town?” he said. “The ones that were nailed to the buildings on the outskirts?”
Cole was shoveling stew into his mouth as fast as Essien was. “Don’t even think about it,” he said.
Essien’s head came up from his meal. “Think about what?” he said. “The tournament? And why not?”
Addax looked between the two of them. “What tournament?”
“It was posted on the bills as we entered town,” Cole said, mouth full. “They were huge bills, Ad. You truly did not see them?”
Addax shook his head. “I was looking for the tavern,” he said. “Where is the tournament?”
The Dark Spawn (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 5) Page 13