Gem of Gravane (The Northern Knights) (14 page)

He looked even less pleased and the
scar above his brow whitened.  “And look how well that worked out for you
in the past. Do not be ridiculous. Do you think these people are your family,
Danielle?”

Oh, he was back to Danielle, was
he?  She crossed her arms.  His tone was condescending and she did
not like it.  “They are my family. The only family I’ve truly ever
had. We all work together here at Gravane.” 

“You lie for these people that
showed you no respect when you needed it most. They are not your family. Nay.
As of today, you will cease doing the work of peasants.”  Aric’s words
were a near growl.  How dare she cross her arms?  He saw the defiance
and something more.  As he’d known, she was still angry over the
guests.  He watched her mouth open and close. 

Then she said.  
“Milord. These peasants as you so kindly wish to call them, have been the
backbone of Gravane since before I was born and their family before
that. I have worked and toiled alongside them with everything inside and
outside of these walls. What is so wrong with me continuing to do so
now?  ‘Tis not hurting anyone and it just might mend what was
broken.”   What did he want from her?  And to be so high and
mighty about it and look down his long nose at these hardworking people. 
True, there were those that did not respect her, but the ones with her now,
mending the gap this way was a start. His behavior was no better than Thomas’
and he was looking at her in that same way.

“You are my wife now, Danielle and
as the lady of the manor, you will not do the work of peasants or”   he
waved his hand in the direction of the room they’d just left, “your
family
any longer.”

Danielle quickly retorted. 
“Because I’m your wife!? All of a sudden you remember that now, do
you?
”  Blast
his hide that he should come in here and charge at her over some silly chore
when it was he that had done something far worse!  

 And to still not mention
anything about it to boot.  She fumed, continuing, “I do not think I
am better than anyone, milord.” She gave him a look of reproach.
 “What am I to do if not help them? There is no harm in helping them
with the daily chores or whatever it may be. I’ve always done it, besides,
my father let me.”  She faltered on the latter. It was another
lie and she knew he knew it with the raise of one dark brow.   Her
father hadn’t cared what she did as long as she was out of sight and out of
mind.   

 Aric stepped closer to her.
 “You are a poor, liar, Danielle. You are my wife. A baroness and you will
act as one. Especially when we have guests under our roof. ”

Hurt wrenched her heart.  “I
have never been a baroness before so I may be rusty at it. And pardon me, but
you have guests, not I!”  She threw back at him.

 She went to move past him,
but he stopped her by stepping in front of her.  She glared at him and
could not help but add.  “And what about you, Baron? You are a
husband
and should act like one.” 

Aric ignored her retort but could
not stop himself from wanting to reach out to her at the sadness blazing in her
eyes.  He inhaled and released a slow breath. He did not want to deal with
her emotions now. 

So he didn’t and instead responded
coolly.  “You were schooled well, Danielle and are no simpleton. You know
what is expected of you on both. This is simply the way of it. You are my
wife and you will do as I request. Now, I have others matters to attend and do
not have time to argue over such trivial matters. I have spoken. “

Fire did erupt in her then and she
let loose with a string of curses that caused Aric to raise both brows. 
She had such a dirty little mouth. 

Danielle had had enough. So she had
not only married an unfeeling clout, she’d married an arrogant arse too! 

“You said all manor concerns were
not to be discussed with me. Yet, ‘twas I who had to see that
your
guests were fed and bed properly. I am done accepting your
‘that is simply
the way of it’! 
You do not own me. Two men have already tried
and believed it. One is now dead. The other is too stupid to know the
difference and may wind up dead too. 
What is supposed to happen to
you then, milord?” Danielle wanted to take the words back as soon as they left
her mouth.

He snatched her elbow hard and with
a sharp jerk, he had her pulled against his chest.  “Enough! I do own you,
Danielle. Yester eve confirms that. You will do as I have spoken or
you will find yourself over my knee if you cannot follow my orders. If you
ever so much as threaten me again, I swear to you.  You will regret
it.” 

Danielle felt a split second of
fear then by the dark look shooting from his black orbs.  She didn’t care
though; she was too incensed and distraught by his hardheartedness.  She
tried to pull out of his grasp, but he only tightened his hold. 

She met his gaze again and
muttered.  “As you wish,
milord
.”    

 She did not know this man at
all.  His words meant naught. He had said he’d never raise a hand to
her and he just threatened to.  Just like Thomas had so often done. 

 Then again he’d said he’d be
faithful too.  Her eyes were opening to many things about him and she
cared not for what she saw.  His triumphant tone cut deeply through
her and Danielle wanted to slap his handsome face.  But she just stood
there staring up at him.

 Aric frowned after a moment.
 He’d seen her stricken look which he believed came from his threat to
bend her over his knee. But he would never strike her.  She stood
there waiting, trembling with fury, her hands fisted at her sides.  Anger
blazed in those large depths along with something else.   Aric was
still struggling not only with his desire, but the sudden flair of anger and
jealousy that had shot through him when all eyes in the hall had espied her
bosom.  He cleared his throat and waved his hand in the direction across
the hall.

“As you see fit to ready this
study, please assure that no other rooms are forgotten by the servants.” 
He did not wait a reply but stalked out of the room where Balwain joined him
and they went out through the manor doors. 

Danielle let out the shaky breath
she’d been holding and blinked back her tears. There was no time for her
hurt feelings now. She went back to join her servants and instructed them on
what she wanted and still defied her husband by working alongside them. 
Sadness and anger tightened her chest as her thoughts assailed her. This
marriage was a mistake. 

Chapter 14

Aric
breathed heavily as sweat poured down the middle of his naked chest.  He
threw the long sword onto the pile of other weapons and the worn, exhausted
knights and squires on the practice field sighed heavily with
relief.  Training, their first since arrival at their new home had
been quite strenuous this afternoon.  Balwain had been his usual
driven self but he too had called out a blessed word of caution for the young
squires, all of whom were no older than fourteen or fifteen summers by
whispering to his lord, without getting his own head cleaved in two.

“Milord!”  Balwain had to call
but thrice to get Aric’s attention who looked full on attack and ready for
battle.

Aric gave him a dark look midway
through a heavy downward swing on the shield of which a petrified squire,
trembled beneath, yet held onto to show his bravery.  Aric caught himself
in time and pulled back with his bare chest heaving.  The muscles rippled
with his strength as he added another weapon, a spiked mace, to the pile of
training weapons.

“That is all for
today.”  

Collective sighs of relief and
groans of exhaustion filled the field. Squires hurried to gather up the weapons
with their aching bodies and others limped off the field of combat. 
 

Aric quit the field with Balwain on
his heels.

“Seems marriage suits you well
after all, my friend.” 

They entered the manor. 
Aric’s men held their guard, but Gravane’s men and servants quickly hurried and
scattered out of his way. 

“Continue with words like that and
we’ll be back out on the combat field. Is that what you seek, Balwain?” 
Aric threw over his shoulder as they walked into the hall. 

Balwain suppressed his
guffaw. “If fight is still in you, milord, it probably has more to do with
what is in the bedchamber than what is on the field.”  He veered off to
the left just as Aric’s heavily muscled arm swung in his direction. 
Aric’s fist grazed his friend’s shoulder and still it sent Balwain into a light
stumble.  Balwain lumbered off with a grin as Edie came around the bend to
greet him with a warm smile.  The pretty maid blushed at the second-in-command. 

Aric called out to her. 
“Edie, see to it that a bath is readied in my chambers”

Edie averted her gaze from the near
naked lord.  He was larger than his friend and taller by a foot or so if
that was at all possible.  “A bath has already been prepared, milord.” 

Aric halted at the bottom of the
stairs, a brow arched in question.  

Edie forced a smile.  “Milady
had it taken care of, milord.”

“And just where is milady, Edie?”

“Above stairs in the chamber,
milord.”

Aric nodded and ascended the
stairs.

The chamber door was open and a
tall male servant was just exiting with the last of two buckets of water as
Aric stepped inside.  The bath sat by the window and light steam still
rose from the filled tub.  Just the sight of it caused some of the tightness,
tension to leave his frame until he spied Danielle across their chamber seated
on a stool, with what looked like one of his tunics in her hands, sewing. 
Her eyes met his.  They held for what seemed an eternity.  He broke
the moment first.

“Danielle.” 

His gruffness raked over her like
teeth and she rose from the stool.  She tried to stop looking at that wall
span of naked chest and his fitted braies over those bulging thighs, but she
was finding it difficult to tear her gaze away. 

She’d just watched him moments ago
from the window out there on the field.  His skill was evident.  But
she’d thought of not much more when he’d stripped off his top and bared his
thick chest.  Swallowing hard she clenched the material of his tunic she
now held in her grasp as she approached the tub.

 She did not want to want
him. 

He wanted her to behave in that
simply the way of it way
then she had resolved to give him just that and
naught more.  He would eat his words soon enough, she wanted to
believe. 

“Your bath waits.”

“Thank you.”  He did not
move.  He just stood there staring at her. 

Danielle was
frozen where she stood, a breath of space between them.  “The noonday meal
has passed and a tray awaits you there." She pointed to a small table
beneath the window, continuing, “The manor rooms have all been seen to and if I
have your permission, milord…Oh, we’re in the chamber. I mean, Aric. I would
like to go see to preparing the servants for tomorrow’s chores, so that I can
order them about without haste so they may be able to attend to your guests.”
  

Aric caught the upset in her tone
along with her anger.   She was sore yet.

He knew what had happened earlier
outside the study was not the only cause for the look in her eyes, it was
because he’d yet to speak about his mistress to her and it hurt him.  The
shock and revelation of that feeling irritated him. He truly did not have to
tell her anything, but he felt he should.  Yet, he could not and turned
his back to her.

Danielle’s heart ached like never
before and her vulnerability laid bare burned deep inside
her.   Nonetheless, she sniffed and shrugged off the
dismissal. 

At the door she turned and found
him already in the bath.  He did not have his squire attending him tonight
nor did he request that she remain.  She was glad for she was shaking so
badly she probably would not have been able to attend him. 

Clearing her throat she called
out. “Aric, is there aught else?” 

His answer was so long in coming
she did not think at first that he would respond, but he did without looking in
her direction.
“Nay.”

She waited.  He said no
more.  Danielle clutched his tunic harder to her breast and quit the
chamber before she drowned him.
***

The week
went by excruciatingly slow and painful for Danielle. She had taken to having
her meals in their chamber and it cut her more that Aric said nothing about
it. 

She had not seen much of Lady Ella
and Lord Jamison on the few occasions she ventured out of their chamber for
some small matter that her husband did not wish to handle regarding the manor.

She did hear from Edie, who had
failed to coax her from the chamber, that the pair walked about the manor
freely. And why shouldn’t they? Danielle thought.

Her husband had all but handed the
manor over to them whilst he was about doing his manor business.

Danielle knew she sulked like a
child in her own misery. But she would not bend on it. He wanted to run the
manor, let him. Isn’t that what she’d prayed for before he’d arrived? From what
she’d heard about and seen thus far, things were changing for the better
somewhat. The servants were afraid of him as they had been under Thomas. 

Nay, that was not true. He did not
strike any and all were being fed within.

The one good thing of limiting
herself to their chamber was Thomas and Rose were out of her sight, except for
the time she caught them seated at the table with Lord Jamison and Lady Ella.

Danielle bit her lip in that her
plan had not gone as she hoped. Aric acted as if he did not care she remained
out of sight.

He came to their bed late and
roused her from her sleep to do his duty.  He made sure she was pleased
and she found how she looked forward to their only time of communication, the
whispers of sweet words he spoke in her ears during their lovemaking.  But
nothing more.  Danielle knew that his goal was to get her with child, his
heir.