There Your Heart Will Be Also (5 page)

Cedric cradled
the lass
.
The helmet
which
was previously crushed to her head was lying against the wall.
Taking a good look at
the woman named
Sarra
,
h
e
noticed
a
r
osy
hue cover
ing
her cheeks.
She was no doubt
embarrassed by
her outburst.
He, however, was quite pleased.

If he could have shared his thoughts
about
her, he would have said she smelled like a field full of the finest Scottish heather and was as beautiful as the moon on a starlit night.
He would have said, quite honestly, that t
he black curly locks of hair gracing her
head
smelled of lilacs
,
and her smile could stop an army.

In truth, t
he lass'
black
hair was
matted
and sweaty.
It
clung
to her neck and Cedric
resisted
smoothing it away.
She
stared at him
with green eyes
, more beautiful than any emerald he'd ever seen.
The corner of her lips
shifted
upward in the barest hint of a smile.
Cedric wondered
w
hat
it
would be like to place his lips
upon
her
s
.

H
er sweet voice
drifted to him
,
“Sir, may I ask your name?”

“Aye.”

When he didn't answer
Sarra
waited, a frown
marking
her brow.
“Well, what is it?”

“What's what?”

“
Your name
,
”
Sarra
repeated
, her
fingers
tapping out a
n irritated
rhythm
upon his chest
.

The lass' frustration caused
Cedric
to
smile.
A petite
hand rested over his heart.
Could she feel the flutter of its wildly erratic beating?

As a flurry of emotions displayed across her face, Cedric realized he'd yet to answer
the
question.
He'd meant to answer
.
B
ut found he'd forgotten
the question
asked
yet again
.
The
beauty
of the lass
was a distraction he'd not anticipated.

When Cedric took too long to speak, Sarra
said
, “
Oh, never mind.
May I sit up please?”

“Aye.”

Cedric
placed Sarra down
again
. He
helped
her
sit up straight
in front of him.
S
he
looked
odd
sitting upon the ground, h
ands fold
ed
demurely in her lap
, while covered in chain mail and dirt
.

Again
she
asked
, “Sir, what is your name?”

“Want to know
,
do ye?”
Cedric held back his smile. The game was proving to be quite enjoyable.

“Aye,”
Sarra
answered
,
rolling her eyes
.
“If I didn't want to know
,
I wouldn't continue to ask you.”

“Verra well.
My name is Cedric MacNeil.”
Good.
He felt much better.
He'd remembered who he was.
Sarra extended her hand in greeting.
“Nice to meet you, Cedric MacNeil.
I'm, I'm—“

“Sarrrrra, aye.
Ye said that.”

“Aye.
Sarra.
Now if you wouldn't mind helping me off the ground.”

“I'd be glad to help ye.
But I think you need to stay off
y
er
foot
.”

“You do?”

“Aye.
I don't see any bruisin'
, b
ut ye did take a tumble.”

“I'll just go home and rest a bit.
I'm sure it will be better
on the morrow
.”

“Can I help ye home?”

“Nay.
But t
hank you
just the same
.”

Sarra gave him a genuine smile
as
Cedric stood and helped
her
to her feet
.
A grin split
his
face as he watched Sarra
hobble
toward
the village
.
He
studied
the sway of her hips as she
moved
.
They had a habit of swooshing back and forth in a most alluring manner.
Aye
,
this maid
Sarra
was a fair woman to look upon.

All things considered
Cedric
wouldn't mind being
this lass'
husband.
But
this
wasn't
why he was here
.
He wasn't here to find just any wench and settle down.
No.
This land belonged to him.
And the only way to stake his claim was to find and marry the mistress.
Nothing could be allowed to distract him from
the
goal.
Not even an emerald
-
eyed beauty.

****

Cedric
walked at a leisurely pace
through the village
,
search
ing
for a place
to
spend the night
.
It would take time to convince
the
Lady
of Greenbriar
he was the best man
for
Laird of her keep.
And he needed a place to stay while doing so.

Cedric e
nter
ed
a hut with an open door
.
Maybe it
was an inn with a
pub
attached
?
Taking
a seat in a dark corner
,
he
watch
ed
and wait
ed
.

Two elderly men sat at a table, mugs of ale in their hand. Ignoring everyone in the room, they spoke loudly to one another.

“Used to be back in my day
,
things were different.”

“How so?”

“Well, Angus, I tell ye
.
I think some of us ol' men should have strayed a bit
farther
from the village to find a woman.”

“I don't think I am gettin' ye?”

“If we
'
d strayed a little
farther
we might have had more of a variety.
As it is, well, Angus, what I mean is
,
these gels we have around here is just plum ugly, that's what I mean.
Our sons ain't goin' have nary
a
choice when it comes to weddin'.
They
'
ll be gettin' an ugly lass and that's that.”

“Well
,
I think I should take offense at
ye
r
statement, with me having a gel and all.
What about m
e
Gertrude?”

“What about ye
r
daughter,
Gertrude?
She ‘appens to be one of the ugliest ones!”
The old man shout
ed
and guffaw
ed
, while striking his thigh
.

“Aye, ye be right.
Me wife makes me say
those things
.
I mean she makes me say Gertrude is pretty.
She
'
s all about making the wee lass feel good about herself.”

“It's like I says, things is different.
Our sons will just have to close their eyes and think of merry ol' England.”

Cedric
head
shook
at the conversation.
A serving girl brought a tankard of ale
to the table
.
He gave her a nod of thanks and pressed a coin onto the table.
She reached for it and stuffed it
down
the front of her gown
.

M
aybe the old men at the other table
had
some eyesight issues or maybe they just hadn't
noticed
the specimen right under their noses
.
H
e could see nothing amiss with this lass.

Cedric
took a deep gulp
of the tepid brew
, still eyeing the girl in front of him.
She gave him a big grin and ale spewed from his mouth clear across the rough wood hewn table.
T
he lass had
but
one tooth in her whole
mouth
!

The old
men
in the room
hee-haw
ed
.
The nameless one
glanced
at Angus
.
“Now ye see what I'm talking about
?
Ugly!”

The waitress slammed their refills down in front of them and stalked off to other waiting customers.

The nameless
patron
directed his gaze toward the newcomer
.
“Ye must be new here.”

“
Aye
.”

“Are ye passing through with the merchants or are ye coming to stay for a wee bit?”

“Ol' man, ye know
it
ain't none of ye business,” replied Angus.

“Angus, if the lad don't want to answer me
,
I reckon he can tell me so
.
I be accepting of it
.
S
hush and give
him
time to answer.”

“I'm hoping to stay a while.”

“Aye, that's good.
We be needing some more men around here.
Most of the single men left when the master died.
Ran out to be somebody
,
ye know?
Have ye found ye a place to stay?”

“Nay.
I was hoping to find an inn.”

“An inn?
This ain't a town
,
lad.
We ain't go
t
no inn.
There is a lady hereabouts has an extra room for the lending
though
.
I
f y
er
interested.”

“Aye.
I am.”

“Just let me finish up here
,
and I'll show ye where to go.”

Cedric lifted
the tankard of
ale in salute.
Not bad for his first day, if he said so himself.

Sarra took a circuitous route back to
the keep
,
t
he whole time
peer
ing
over her shoulder
,
expect
ing
the
newcomer
to follow.
Who was th
at
man?
She'd never seen him before.
Perhaps he was traveling with the merchants, merely passing through.
Whatever the case, her day of training was over.
Her
twisted
ankle throbbed intensely
causing her to
hobble
worse with every step.

When
Sarra
arrived at the keep free from pursuit
,
breath
ing
became a
little easier.
She walked through the doors and
spotted
a
servant
.
The first thing
she did
was ask
for a tub filled with hot water to be sent
directly
to her chambers.
While
said
task
was under way, she sought out Charism.
Her intentions were to
tell her
friend
about the experiences in the lists but Charism spoke first.