Claire Delacroix (86 page)

“Maidenhead?” Talbot sat up, shoving a hand through his
hair. What vestige of color remained left his face. “You cannot do that! You cannot force me to wed you!”

“I can do anything. You have erred, sir, and I shall see that you pay the debt due.” She stood and shook out her hair, arranging it over her shoulders to look even more dishevelled than it had. As the knight watched in dawning horror, Malvina tore her own chemise, baring her breast.

“Mother!” she cried with feigned dismay. She flung open the door to ensure her voice carried. “Your guest has compromised me!”

“God’s blood!” Talbot buried his face in his hands.

Truth to be told, he was rather appealing when he looked so woebegone. Malvina decided that she would ensure he oft felt out of control of his circumstance.

Deirdre, as might have been expected, was quick to reappear. She gasped when she spied her daughter, her eyes rounded with horror in a most satisfying way. “CEDRIC!” she shouted. “Get yourself here!”

Talbot groaned pitifully. Malvina lifted her chin and managed to summon a tear that she hoped was compelling.

“And what precisely has happened here?” Deirdre demanded.

Malvina decided ’twould be a good opportunity to weep. Truly, she doubted that Talbot would correct her version of events.

Indeed, he would not be believed if he did.

“Oh, Mother! I came to the hall to fetch a sip of water and this knave forced himself upon me!” Malvina sobbed as if horrified by all that had transpired.

The knight shook his head. “I cannot believe this.”

“What is this?” Deirdre demanded. “He kissed you? He touched you? Tell me the fullness of his familiarity, Malvina!”

“Oh, Mother, the shame of it all.”

“Shame?” Deirdre’s tone sharpened. “What shame?”

Malvina threw herself weeping into her mother’s arms, noting the timely arrival of her father. Perfect. “He stole my maidenhead!” She wailed. “He dragged me to this room and
ravished
me! He took my greatest treasure and now no man will wed me!”

Her parents stiffened. Malvina caught the glance they exchanged, then Cedric strode closer. “Nonsense, my dear.
This
man shall wed you.” And both parents turned to glare at the knight in question.

Malvina smiled against her mother’s shoulder and sniffled.

But Talbot bounded to his feet. “This is madness! I cannot wed this woman! I
will
not wed this woman!” He pointed an accusing finger at Malvina. “She came to
me,
with her bodice undone and her hair loose! She seduced
me
! She has wrought this situation!”

“Lies!” Deirdre charged before Malvina could.

“ ’Tis an abomination that a knight should stoop so low as to blame a lady for his own crimes.” Cedric turned a glance of paternal indulgence upon Malvina. “Are you certain that you want such a man as your own, child?”

Malvina wiped at her damp cheeks, surveyed the knight, and let new tears well. “I do not believe there is any choice, Father.” Her lower lip trembled in a manner she hoped was convincing. “Indeed, who else would have me?”

And she let a new volley of tears fall, ensuring that she sobbed noisily. Talbot’s lips tightened in a way that made him look most beleaguered. The very sight made Malvina’s blood quicken.

“Indeed. The man must make rights of his transgression,” Deirdre said crisply. “We shall plan the nuptials for a fortnight hence.”

Talbot glanced about the kitchen as if seeking an escape. “I cannot be wed in a fortnight. I cannot be wed at all!”

“You should have thought of that before you shamed my daughter,” Cedric declared.

“But I cannot take a bride!” Talbot argued. “I have no holding, I have no inheritance.” He turned an appealing glance upon Cedric. “Surely you cannot wish to consign your daughter to such an uncertain fate?”

“There is no uncertainty.” Cedric was unusually decisive, his tone one that brooked no argument. “Kiltorren has need of a lord to follow me, and a man such as yourself will suit the task well.”

“Kiltorren!” Talbot echoed in ill-disguised horror. “I cannot be consigned to this hovel forever!”

“Indeed, you may have new ideas for this holding to improve its lot, for there is always much to be learned from the French.” Cedric fixed the knight with a stern glare. “You shall become Lord of Kiltorren, and Malvina its Lady.”

“But, but, but you cannot do this!”

“I
can
do this,” Cedric retorted. “I am Lord of Kiltorren. You stand in the hall of my holding—indeed, you claimed my daughter’s maidenhead within my abode. And you, sir, will not leave Kiltorren without taking a nuptial pledge.”

Malvina’s mother caught her breath. “Cedric! I have never seen you so …
masterful
?”

“ ’Tis not a trifling matter, my dear. We cannot allow a guest to bring shame upon our house.”

“But I have a quest!” Talbot cried, clearly less content with matters than the other occupants of the hall. “I have a quest that I must fulfill for my uncle.”

“Then you may certainly do so,” Cedric said calmly. “In a fortnight.
After
your wedding.”

“What is this fixation of knights upon quests?” Deirdre demanded. “We are only rid of Burke de Montvieux and his quest …”

Talbot’s head shot up. “Burke is gone?”

“Aye,” Deirdre supplied. “Gone with Alys and half the household on some fool quest to see Brigid wed.”

A lump worked in Talbot’s throat. He stepped forward in evident dismay. “Alys is
gone
?”

“Aye, should Dame Fortune smile upon us for a change, we shall never see any of them again.”

If Talbot was agitated before, that was as naught to his current state. “But nay, this cannot be! She cannot be gone!” He snatched up his belt and scabbard, fastening it about his waist with shaking hands. “Nay, I must find her, I must lend chase!”

“You cannot leave before your nuptials!” Deirdre declared.

“You cannot abandon my daughter in shame!” Cedric chimed in.

“I cannot remain. My quest …”

But Talbot got no further before Malvina launched herself out of her mother’s embrace. She caught the surprised knight by the shoulders and forced him back against the wall.

His repudiation of her followed by his determination to see Alys was too much to be endured. ’Twas too close to Burke’s choice for comfort, but this time Malvina had more at stake.

And she was furiously angry that this man cared more for pursuing Alys than he did for her honor.

“I will hear no more about Alys!” she cried. “Do you think I did not note how you asked after her? Do you think I did not see your gaze follow her, that I did not see she was of greater interest to you than I?”

“Well, I …”

Malvina gave him a shake. “How do you think that made me feel, when I was trying to win just a modicum of your attention?”

“I cannot …” Talbot had that cornered look that tore at Malvina’s heartstrings.

“How do you think it feels to always be the unwanted one? To always be second best? To always be the plain one, the plump one, the unattractive one, the burden upon everyone?”

“I find you neither plump nor plain,” Talbot dared to suggest, but Malvina was not prepared to listen to him.

“You wanted me this day,” she insisted in a choked voice. “I saw it in your eyes and could not resist it. ’Twas the sweetest gift that ever I have been granted.”

“Well, I …” Talbot colored.

“How much of a burden do you think it is to know that no one wants you, that no one finds you pleasing, that no one desires you for yourself? To watch every man’s glance slide over you to linger on a poor cousin?” Malvina caught her breath and felt genuine tears gather. “To know that you will
never
be good enough, that you will
never
measure up to expectation?”

Talbot blinked. He seemed to consider this, then he looked at Malvina, truly
looked
at her for the first time. His gaze danced over her features and, to her astonishment, he smiled ever so slightly, as if what he saw was pleasing.

“I think,” he said carefully, “that I know the weight of that burden quite well.”

Malvina stared back at the knight, stunned that they might hold something in common. Indeed, Talbot also looked surprised. He smiled sheepishly and Malvina barely noticed her father send a runner to ensure that Godfrey kept the gates barred.

f Alys feared for the endurance of her appeal, leaving Kiltorren provided ample fodder for her doubts.

Indeed, Ireland was populated with the most beauteous women she had ever seen. Each village, each keep, each marketplace teemed with flashing eyes and sparkling smiles. Femininity greeted her gaze at every turn, and Alys only began to realize the fullness of the assault Burke faced.

For each and every woman acknowledged him in one way or another. Some shy ones merely glanced his way; the more bold women smiled directly at him, flicked their skirts or toyed with the drawstring of their chemises. He was granted many a sensual invitation even in her presence.

What man could withstand such an assault of temptation, however noble his intent?

Burke, though, seemed almost unaware of the women. His gaze slid over them, and to Alys’s surprise, he appeared deafened to their offers. He smiled only for Alys. He was always ready to offer his hand to her, always by her side to explain the wonders of what she saw for the first time.

Alys kept her hood resolutely drawn over her face, consigning the purple majesty that had erupted around her eye to the shadows, and fretted.

Their lack of coin was an issue in the harbor, for every ship
wanted payment for passage, particularly since their party was comparatively large. But Burke would not accept defeat. He scoured the harbor, walked the docks, and inquired in the taverns long after the others might have lost hope.

On their second morning in Cork, the Templars sailed into port. ’Twas unusual for the warrior monks to visit into this harbor, and it almost seemed to Alys that Burke’s incredible determination summoned them there.

Already the comparatively new order of knights was known for its wealth, and their ship was larger than most in the harbor. They held lands across all of Christendom, and free of ecclesiastical and secular tithes, their prosperity seemed to know no bounds.

They were gathering wool from their scattered estates, wool they would carry to Flanders to be woven into cloth, then sell throughout Christendom. They owned ships, estates in many cases, mills in Flanders, and they commandeered a formidable share of the wool trade.

And ’twas that wool which earned Alys’s party their departure. Several of the men on board had been struck ill, and the Templars were short of hands to load the bales. Burke quickly struck a deal with the Templar sergeant commanding the ship. Kerwyn, Beauregard, and Burke would labor for their passage. Burke’s last silver denier would combine with that toil to assure the passage of the women and Moonshadow.

Kerwyn immediately set to the labor at hand. He was strong despite his lean build, and the sergeant supervising the loading grunted with satisfaction. Edana watched with such open-mouthed wonder that Alys had to pull the girl away.

Burke saw to the settling of the women before taking up his own task, and Alys knew he intended to assure himself that all was adequate. He offered Alys his hand and, not for the first time, she felt his searching glance upon her hood.

“ ’Twill be an arduous journey,” he admitted in an undertone. “We halt in virtually every port known en route. But we
depart with three damsels and, in the company of men sworn to God’s service, we shall arrive with three damsels. ’Tis more than I could be certain of upon any other ship.”

Beauregard raised his brows and interjected a gruff comment. “One can only hope these Templars adhere to their pledge of chastity more than to their vow of poverty.”

“Ah, but, Beauregard,” Burke mused, “I do not believe any of them would be fool enough to challenge both you and me in this.”

The cook grinned, then strode off to join Kerwyn.

“Where do we land?” Edana asked. Brigid had already paled, just the rocking of the gangplank clearly unsettling her stomach.

“Le Havre, eventually,” Burke supplied. “At least it has the advantage of being closer to our destination.”

Alys leaned closer to him that the others did not hear. “That was your last coin, was it not?”

“Aye. I had only two,” Burke admitted. “ ’Twould have been enough to ensure the arrival of you and me at the tourneys, but I had not planned on a retinue.”

“Nor on Beauregard. You did a fine deed there.”

Burke squeezed her fingers. “No man with a heart could have abandoned him. And he has long been good to you—’tis important for kindness to know a reward.”

“But how shall we travel from Le Havre? Moonshadow cannot bear all six of us!”

“Do not fear, Alys.” Burke grinned. “We shall find a way. Indeed, I imagine that you and I shall become quite adept at wringing more from less.”

He flicked a glance her way so quickly that Alys barely managed to avert her face in time. His thumb moved across her hand with that leisure that melted her bones and his voice dropped low. “Does the prospect trouble you overmuch?”