Seduced (32 page)

"Nay! You are more than adequate protection.
Far more than at any time Julian appeared."

"If not that, then ye think we canna hold the
castle without ye on the ramparts with yer slingers? Dinna think to
change my mind, wife!"

Hearing Raik's voice rising in anger, Freki
bounded to his feet.

"I did not intend such!" Saints help her. If
he became so angered about his foolish ideas that a capable woman
was more squire than woman, how would he be when he found out the
real reason?

The bed bounced when Freki put his forepaws
on it to stretch his head so close his cold nose nudged her arm.
She startled.

"Shh, Freki. Go back to sleep." Letia patted
his head and gave him a gentle shove. The big beast grumbled but
backed down and found his bedding.

"'Tis best ye both do," Raik grumbled and
thumped his pillow. He turned his back to her and stretched
out.

She kept still as she could and tried to
relax. It was hard, though, for she felt the tenseness of his body
just a handbreadth from her. Being a warrior, he was used to
finding his sleep swiftly when he could, so it did not take long
before she heard his breathing deepen. Only then did she close her
eyes, knowing there was naught she could do tonight but seek her
own rest.

o0o

Satan's Spawn pawed the ground and
sidestepped until Ranald went over to yank his head down and around
to look in the beasts eyes.

"Halt yer prancin' if ye want a good ride
once we leave here, else I'll make ye creep yer way to Hunter."

Ranald's tone was calm, but the horse must
have gotten the meaning behind the words from the energy in the
man's body. The huge horse held still, giving the groom no more
trouble than if it were a sway-backed nag.

Letia waited with the women of the castle who
had gathered to watch the Black Raptor and his men leave. Reluctant
to return Aubrey to Letia, Elyne held him close and kissed his
cheek.

"I will miss snuffling this little-one's
neck. He smells so sweet of milk and pure baby," Elyne said as she
hugged him to her.

"Be sure you tell your father if he wants his
feet to stop swelling, he'd best go lightly on the wine." Joneta
put her arm along Elyne's shoulders and hugged her. "Be careful of
the quarrels you pick with him, dear. He is quick to anger, so
think twice about what you tell him. Some dreams are best kept
secret, for he does not trust their meaning."

"Blech! I know that well. He believes I make
them up to bedevil him."

Elyne's brown eyes danced with humor. When
Ranald cleared his throat reminding her he was already ahorse, she
reluctantly handed Aubrey over to her Aunt Joneta. A groom held her
mount and Giles waited to toss her into the saddle.

She turned to hug Letia, the dawning sun
shining on her hair showing the hidden fire within the dark brown
locks. "Write often and tell me of the fun when my cousin sees the
rest of your surprises."

"Aye, I will. Send me word about your dreams,
as well."

Elyne laughed. "If I can make head or tails
of them. And, Letia? Dinna wait too long afore you tell him
all."

Both women jumped hearing Raik's voice at
their elbow. "Tell who all, cousin? All what?" His eyes narrowed at
Letia, trying to read her face.

"Nothing of import, cousin. It was a dream I
had about you, is all."

Thanks be to the saints, he seemed to be
content with Elyne's answer.

Once Elyne firmly seated herself, Ranald's
squire pulled alongside her to provide extra protection and
company. Though she had ridden in the cart with her Aunt Joneta,
they could travel faster if she was on horseback.

Letia felt a sense of loss seeing her friend
riding through the barbican and over the drawbridge. A cheerful
smile on her face, Elyne turned and waved.

Raik studied his wife. Her eyes had dark
shadows beneath and her lips looked strained. One restless night
had not caused it. For several days now, he had noted the shadows
building there. Too, she did not move with energy and grace, as was
her usual style. Were her efforts to improve the keep too much for
her?

o0o

Raik's English warriors were not as hardy as
the men he brought from Scotland. He paired them up and worked with
them himself, improving their muscles and agility while wielding a
mace. Once they were well into their practice, he returned to the
bailey outside the keep.

The great hall hummed with workers, but above
the talking, he heard his wife's voice directing them. He frowned,
looking for her, but didn't see her. Finally, he realized the voice
came from a scaffold to the left of the fireplace. He hadn't
recognized her. Her brown kirtle was as old and frayed as any
servant's was. Brown and yellow splotches of paint stained it as it
did the old cap tied to control her dark curls. He realized she had
been the brown-clad servant who fled that day. Ranald had
recognized her while her own husband had not.

"Arrange five pikes in a half circle, the
third one being in the center half an arm's length below the
helmet," she ordered, then stepped backward to get a better look at
the results.

Seeing her heel was near overreaching the
scaffolding, Raik silently rushed forward. If she were to move
quickly, she would tumble to the ground. When he was directly
behind her, he took a deep breath.

"Lucifer's pox'd horns, come down from there,
ye foolish woman!"

His bellow caused Letia to do as he
commanded. Not by way of the ladder propped against the scaffold,
though. He expected as much. He'd braced himself in case she fell.
With a high-pitched yelp and a flurry of skirts, she landed in his
arms.

"Ack!" Air exploded from his lips as he
staggered and pulled her tight to his chest. If she'd been any
higher off the ground, she'd have tumbled them both to the
floor.

Knowing she'd been putting herself in danger
behind his back, Raik's heart thudded against his ribs. Surprised
and not liking the fear that had risen in him, he scowled down at
her frightened face.

She grasped him around his neck for support
and stood on her feet. Wrapping an arm around her waist, anchoring
her, he turned to survey the frightened workers who had frozen in
their spots.

"Have not a one of ye brains enough to keep
yer lady from near killing herself?" His shout ruffled the hair
atop Letia's head.

"Milord, how can we give her orders? She
would ignore such insolence," the head carpenter's son spoke
out.

"Never, ever, are ye to allow her to take
such a dangerous undertaking," Raik bellowed. "Ye are men, are ye
not? If she refuses, remove her and come to me. If ye do not, it
will be the last day ye spend at Seton Castle."

He ignored Letia's protests and led her from
the hall, down to the bailey, through the orchard and into the
formal gardens where he could lecture his wife without everyone at
the castle listening in.

Finally, they reached the center of the
gardens where cut pieces of slate formed a circle. A stone statue
of the Virgin Mary stood at its center, her right hand outstretched
with a butterfly perched on her fingertips.

Though Raik had seen the gardens from the
battlements, it was the first time he had visited there. Flowers
surrounded them, perfuming the air from roses of every size and
color, lavender, carnations, honeysuckle, bluebells, violets, iris
and many Raik could not name. Now and then, the breeze teased his
mind. Somewhere in the vast area stood a bed of lilies.

Letia glanced through her lashes and noted
Raik's eyes were near a stormy gray. Huh, if she thought her own
lips were sealed, his pressed together in such a tight line 'twas a
wonder they did not disappear.

"Husband, why are you so angered?"

He didn't reply. He did release her arm so he
could fold his own across his chest and glare down at her.

"Do you believe my directing the workmen was
unwomanly?" Still no answer.

"Who better than I could tell them how to
place the weapons correctly? If I left it up to men, instead of
pleasing patterns on the walls, all the weapons would be stacked in
neat rows along the sides of the room."

"You should have told them from below how you
wanted them done." He scowled and snapped his teeth together.

"I tried. They are not carpenters and
painters used to working inside the keep. They did not understand
what I wanted until I showed them."

Raik's eyes widened looking at her head. He
reached out to tug the cloth cap off, releasing her hair to spill
out over her shoulders. He looked at the paint on the cap then down
at the splatters of yellow and brown on her clothing. His mouth
opened and closed like a fish searching for lost water.

"Ye were there when they painted the
rafters?" His voice rose.

"Of course, I was there. That's how paint
dribbled on my cap."

She did not tell him where she had been at
the time. She feared he would have apoplexy if he knew. But she
hadn't been on the scaffold long. The men had kept her safe by
tying a rope around her waist and holding firmly to it in case she
had a misstep—as like happened today.

"Why cannot ye tend to wifely duties? Giles
can relay your wishes..." His voice sputtered quiet, most likely
remembering he had withdrawn her squire to tend the slingers with
Alfred and Piers. He raked his fingers through his hair as he
heaved a sigh.

"If we are finished here, my lord, I must see
to Aubrey." Letia tugged at the front of her kirtle, anxious to get
to her little one.

"Aye." He fell in step beside her as she
hurried back the way they had come. They found Lady Joneta just
outside the entrance with Maud holding a blanket beside her.

Raik relaxed on seeing his mother holding
Aubrey. Since she had come to Seton, she looked different. Younger.
He studied her face, wondering what changed it. Why, 'twas
happiness, of course. The way she cuddled the little boy to her
chest and smiled at Letia showed it. If she felt such joy in Letia
and Warren's son, how delighted she would be with his own.

"Here is your mother, little one," she
murmured against Aubrey's forehead. She looked at Raik and clucked
her tone. "For shame. Keeping him from his milk, son."

"He seems happy enough now she is here." He
watched as Aubrey waved his arms, trying to reach his mother's
breast. "He has grown much in this last fortnight, do you not
think?"

"He sleeps through the nights, now. His
appetite is hearty, too."

Maud flapped out the blanket and settled it
in the shade, giving care to place it so Letia would have privacy
from the wall walks as she nursed the boy.

Seeing his wife's pale face, he felt a twinge
of guilt knowing she had tried hard to please him while Ranald was
in residence. He softened toward her, too, for the deference she
showed his mother and the loving way she treated her. How long had
she been without her own parent? Mayhap not having her influence as
she turned from girl to woman was the reason she overreached her
duties.

He nodded to the women and made his way back
to the keep. He remembered his thoughts about Leofwan when he first
arrived. With the man's advanced years and his time spent with
Letia, he would have valuable insight on how Raik should treat
her.

That morning, Leofwan and Edmund were to
inspect the guard posts and wall walks around the castle. Likely
they would still be there. Taking two steps at a time, he raced up
the outside stairway to the east walls. Warm gusts of wind blew
through the crenellated battlements and struck his face when he
walked out upon the wall walk.

Raik stretched and rolled his shoulders,
easing away his tension. Across the bailey at the opposite wall, he
saw the two men coming from the weapons tower. No one could mistake
the tall one-armed man who walked with such dignity.

Two fingertips between his lips produced a
shrill whistle loud enough to hear as far as the woodlands. The
well below in the middle bailey was between them, so he pointed to
it letting them know to meet him there.

"What goes on in the weapon's tower?" Raik
asked as soon as they met.

"Now that we have selected the weapons to
adorn the walls below, it was a good time to have an accounting of
all that is stored there," Edmund picked a metal cup with a long
handle, dipped it in a bucket of water and drank it down.

"Ah, so you both had a hand in today's
changes?"

"Aye. Lady Letia asked our help in selecting
weapons that look the most impressive when adorning walls." Edmund
grinned.

"I had not thought she would ask your aid."
It surprised Raik that she had.

"She wished to know which ones she could use
that would not hamper us should we have urgent need of a ready
supply." Leofwan's one eye studied Raik; the brow above arched just
the smallest bit in question.

"While we looked through them, we decided the
oldest weapons that were in good shape for looks but not action
could readily be spared. That way, all that are stored are battle
ready," Edmund said.

"I did not mean to interrupt your work.
Leofwan, I have need of your keen insight, if you don't mind. Come,
the solar should be empty. The women are taking the sun with
Aubrey."

Raik waited patiently while Edulf poured ale
into the two waiting cups and excused him to go about his duties.
Once the door closed, he leaned back in the chair, his hand playing
with his cup.

"As ye have likely guessed by now, my lady
wife proves to be a puzzle to me," Raik blurted out.

Leofwan opened his eye wide, raised his brow
near to his receding hairline and put on a surprised face. "Nay. I
would not have guessed," he said then laughed. "I have found most
women to be puzzles. With one such as our Letia, any man who has
not known her for years would have to have foresight to understand
her."