Dragonblade Trilogy - 02 - Island of Glass (8 page)

She stopped by the hearth,
looking into the hypnotic gyrations of the flame. She didn’t have an answer for
him. The shock of the situation had abated, leaving her disheartened and weary.

“No matter how I resist my
inheritance, I cannot refuse,” she murmured. “It is thrust upon me whether or
not I want it.”

“That is true, my lady.”

She shook her head sadly. “I do
not want this. I have never wanted it.”

He had been standing by the door.
Slowly, he made his way back into the room.  Though he’d never in his life felt
pity, at this moment, he realized that he did. It was an awkward situation in
that he wanted to comfort her, but did not know where to begin.

“I have no words of reassurance
for you, my lady,” he said quietly. “But I can tell you that you have my fealty
and I will assist you however I can, to the best of my abilities.”

She smiled weakly. “From what I
have seen, your abilities are substantial. My uncle obviously placed a good
deal of faith in you.”

The corners of his lips turned
upward as if his mouth possessed a mind of its own. Kenneth wasn’t the smiling
type. It was a strange, warm moment.

“So you do know how to smile,” Aubrielle
observed. “I was sure that your ability had been lost a long time ago.”

Her remark made him
self-conscious, but the warm expression remained on his face.

“So was I,” he admitted.

Her smile broadened, her teeth
white and straight. She had a very lovely smile. “And I am equally certain that
all of this pleasantness between us is placing an undue strain on your senses.”

“Undue strain?”

“Aye. We always seem to be at
each other’s throats. Perhaps all of the nicety will cause you to lose all
consciousness from the shock of it.”

Kenneth did something then that
he hadn’t done in years. He laughed. It was an awkward, short burst, but a
laugh nonetheless. He looked so surprised afterwards that Aubrielle burst into
gales of laughter. She clutched her stomach, struggling to catch her breath.

“That was wonderful,” she gasped.
“I had no idea you were capable of such a thing. You have made me very happy in
a situation where I have not felt much happiness nor hope.”

He watched her, the way she
giggled, the lines of her pretty face.  He felt as he had never felt in his
entire life. It was as if the curtain of gloom that had covered his world since
the dawn of his age suddenly lifted. He could see light on the other side.

“I will be here as you need me,
my lady,” he said. “Until the end of my life, I shall serve you and only you.”

It was a bold statement. He
should have been embarrassed by it, but oddly, he was not. He meant every word.

Aubrielle’s smile faded as the
impact of his declaration sank in. There was something more than simple loyalty
behind it.

“If that is true, then why do you
not agree to marry me? ‘Twould be far easier to serve me until death if you
were my husband.”

A twinkle came to his eye. “That
is true. But did you ever consider that, as your husband, you would be equally
obligated to obey me?”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Leave it
to you to see the negative aspect of the situation.”

“It is not a negative aspect to
me. In fact, the more I think on it, the more appealing it becomes.”

“Then forget my offer. I can see
that you would take far too much delight in commanding me to your will.”

He stroked his chin. “You cannot
take back your offer. I forbid it.”

There was light-hearted humor in
the air. Aubrielle stomped a foot. “You cannot forbid me. I forbid it.”

Kenneth had not felt so much
levity in years. It was a wildly uninhibited sensation, completely foreign,
completely wonderful.

“You have no choice,” he said
pointedly. “You will understand your place or there will be no marriage.”

“Then are you consenting?”

“Only if we have an
understanding, my lady.”

The conversation took a serious
turn. Aubrielle observed Kenneth for a long moment, attempting to determine how
sincere he was. He had refused her moments earlier. Had he so quickly changed
his mind? If so, why?

“My offer is the same as it has
always been,” she said. “Marry me and the earldom is yours. I do not intend to
interfere with your rule or your life.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I will leave Kirk
and continue on my quest. ‘Tis a long way to Glastonbury. You will not be
troubled by me again.”

He rested his big fists on his
hips. “That is something we will make clear here and now. As my wife, you shall
remain with me. You will be involved in my life as I will be in yours, for I do
not intend that our marriage will be in name only. I would be ashamed to have
my wife cavorting across the whole of England unattended. Your behavior would
be a direct reflection on my abilities as a husband and as a man.”

She hadn’t thought of it that
way, as her expression suggested. She also knew from experience that arguing
with him would be to no avail.

“I would not want to bring shame
to you,” she said. “But my mind has not changed. I am going to Glastonbury.”

He, too, knew from experience
that arguing would change nothing. Marriage would not alter her plans. But he
could not have her traipsing about by herself. As a sworn servant, he was not
in a position to forbid her. As her husband, however, he would be in a supreme
position of control. Yet she would fight him and their entire marriage would be
one marathon battle. Perhaps the only way to manage her would be to let her do
what she must and be done with it so they could get on with their lives.

“Then I have a counter proposal
for you, my lady.”

“And that is?”

“I will escort you to Glastonbury
myself. I will give you one month to do what you must, to search however you
must. But at the end of one month, you will return to Kirk, we will marry, and
we shall hear no more of your quest to find the Holy Grail. You will become
Lady St. Héver and accept your destiny.”

It was a fair offer, she knew. He
was giving her the opportunity to fulfill her dream in a logical fashion. It
wasn’t a perfect proposal, for she could see that becoming Lady Wrexham would
offer her little opportunity to pursue other dreams she may entertain in the
future, but she had to be realistic. If she did not agree to compromise, an
offer like this might not ever come again.

“Two months,” she countered. “I
want two months.”

“Agreed,” he said. “And the
rest?”

She sighed heavily. “As you wish.
I will do my best to become a proper lady wife.”

“Do I have your word?”

“Aye.”

Kenneth realized that, with one
simple word, he had become a betrothed man. It wasn’t as dismal a prospect as
he had imagined it would be. In fact, he was strangely looking forward to it.
Without anything more to say, as all had been spoken of, he nodded his head to
silently acknowledge their understanding and turned for the door. Aubrielle’s
voice stopped him.

“Is this how you take your leave,
then?” she demanded. “You simply walk away without a word of farewell to your
intended?”

He looked at her, truly ignorant
of what she meant. “What would you have me do, my lady?”

She put her hands on her hips
angrily. “Good Lord, St. Héver, must I explain everything? I am your betrothed
now. I expect to be treated as such.”

Kenneth came back into the room,
fully intending to right his boorish behavior.  He thought to shake her hand or
salute her, but he reminded himself that it was inappropriate to do either of
those things with a lady.  By the time he reached her, he couldn’t think of
anything other to do than to take her hands.  Bringing them to his lips, he
kissed them both softly. It was an enchanting moment, more than he could have
anticipated.

“Is that sufficient, my lady?”

Aubrielle’s sea-colored eyes
glittered. “That will do, sir knight. That will do.”

He gave her hands another kiss,
gently. He smiled at her, but the truth be known, he didn’t know exactly what
to feel. Events had occurred with blinding rapidity. All he knew was that he
might, quite possibly, feel the most happiness he had ever experienced in his
life and he was at a loss to understand why. The best thing to do at the moment
was for him to leave and collect his thoughts, which he did.  He found he
couldn’t think when she was looking at him.

After he was gone, Aubrielle sat
for a long time staring into the hearth, watching the dance of the fire and
wondering at the path her life had abruptly taken.  More than traveling to
Glastonbury, her thoughts revolved around the man she was to marry. Her mother,
she was sure, would be pleased at the prospect. All Graciela had ever wanted
was for her daughter to marry a strong man, one who could control her. Kenneth
St. Héver was quite capable of that, as he’d proven many a time.  For the first
time in her life, Aubrielle was doing exactly as her mother had wanted and not
displeased about it.

***

“She is in the courtyard, Ken.
She says that she is leaving for Glastonbury today and that you promised to
take her.”

It was well before dawn. Kenneth
rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he leapt out of bed, finding his clothing in
the dark, cold room.  Reid handed him a big leather boot.

“I did promise to take her, but I
did not say when,” he muttered, pulling on his shoes. “So she intends to leave
today, does she?”

Reid had been on night watch when
Lady Aubrielle had appeared in the gloom with her story. He stood back as Kenneth
pulled on a heavy woolen tunic, covering his muscular chest. It was cold
outside, the fog and chill deep before sunrise. They all knew of the impending
marriage, as Lady Aubrielle had informed them last eve at supper.

Their reactions had varied; Everett
had been pleased, Reid and Bradley had dutifully toasted the match, Kenneth
seemed unaffected, and Lucius appeared strangely detached. If the others hadn’t
known better, they thought the man might be jealous. But the lady had explained
her reasoning; that she felt herself unequal to the task of ruling the earldom
and had offered the marriage contract to Sir Kenneth based on his lineage. It
all seemed perfectly logical and sound.

  “I do not envy the task you
have ahead of you, my friend,” he told Kenneth. “She may be a beauty, but she
is as willful as a wild horse.”

Kenneth pushed past him, into the
dark corridor of the knight’s quarters. He would not comment on Reid’s
statement, mostly because the same dilemma had kept him up most of the night. 
His euphoria from their engagement had cooled, leaving him muddled for the rest
of the day. This morning, the situation was not much clearer.

It was misting outside. He could
see Aubrielle standing in the courtyard, wrapped in a heavy cloak with a hood
that concealed her face.  She heard his footfalls as he approached and she
turned to him, her sea-colored eyes luminous. She smiled, completely unsettling
his building annoyance.

“Good morn to you, sir knight,”
she sounded uncommonly congenial. “I am surprised to see that I am ready before
you are.”

“Ready for what, my lady?”

Her smile faded. “To travel to
Glastonbury, of course. Do you mean to say that you have already forgotten our
bargain?”

“I have not forgotten at all. We
do indeed have a bargain. But we did not specify when this trip to Glastonbury
was to take place.”

She gazed at him, the pleasant
twinkle leaving her beautiful eyes. He could see all of the excitement drain
from her. After a moment, she turned away and headed back to the keep. Kenneth
watched her go.

“My lady,” he called to her in a
low voice. “A trip of this magnitude takes some planning. We could perhaps
discuss this after your morning meal.”

“I have already eaten,” she
grumbled.

She continued walking and
Kenneth, though he was loathe to do it, followed. “Then we shall discuss it
now.”

He entered the keep on her heels,
sending a servant for watered ale and bread.  Aubrielle went into the great
hall and removed her heavy cloak. Kenneth stole a glance as she settled into a
chair near the hearth; she had a delightful figure with full breasts and a
slender torso. He went to the fire and stoked the blaze until the flames were
as tall as he was.

“Now,” he leaned the poker
against the stone. “We cannot leave until the earl is in the ground. Did you
not recollect there is a funeral to be had?”

She shrugged. “I thought not to
attend because my darling uncle had washed his hands of me. Why should I pay
respects to his memory when he clearly cared nothing for me or my welfare?”

“Be that as it may, as his heiress,
it is your duty to tend him.”

She looked away from him, having
nothing to say to that. He leaned against the wall, crossing his big arms and
watching her face. She was such a lovely creature who had moments of perfection
in character, but they were infrequent.  He wanted very much to see more of the
sweetness beneath.