Claire Delacroix (62 page)

’Twas the lion rampant and three lilies, the same mark of Montvieux that graced Burke’s tabard.

Alys shoved one hand through her unbound hair. The neck of the chemise gaped, the sleeves fell over her hands, and she looked at the garb for the first time.

’Twas a man’s chemise, wrought of linen finer than any she had known.

And Alys knew, without doubt, to whom it belonged. Her eyes widened in dismay. She could not have slumbered with Burke—could she? Alys peeked beneath the fine white chemise and found naught encouraging, for she was as nude as the day she had been born.

Oh, this tale grew less promising with every moment! She
was in Burke’s bed, nude but for his own chemise, and he had not abandoned his quarters.

That she recalled naught of how she had come to be in the man’s bed, or even what had occurred afterward, was far from heartening. Alys felt the residual thickness on her tongue from Cook’s concoction, and tried to clear her thoughts.

Surely she could not already be compromised?

That single thought had Alys scanning the linens in a panic, seeking the evidence that her maidenhead had been lost. The bedding was blissfully unmarred, but Alys was far from reassured.

The man had a scheme, she knew it well.

A merry knock sounded on the door and Alys spun to find Edana peeking around the wood.

Alys did not wait for a greeting. “Edana, you must tell me—what has happened?”

“Oh, Alys, ’twas
wondrous
!” Edana bounced into the room, her gestures broad in her enthusiasm of reliving events. “Cook said you had only just fallen asleep when your knight strode in the kitchens demanding to know of your whereabouts.”

Alys folded her arms across her chest, disliking how her heart stirred to this tale. “He is not my knight, Edana,” she insisted, though the case was difficult to make, kneeling in the man’s bed, garbed in naught but his chemise, her hair spilling loose over her shoulders.

“ ’Tis not what
he
says,” Edana declared. “And ’tis not what Cook says. Your knight fell to his knees beside you, then swept you in his arms. He granted you his chamber, despite her ladyship’s protests, and sat beside you until I came.”

Alys studied the room uneasily. What would Aunt have to say about this? Naught good, she could well imagine.

“He was most concerned for your welfare,” Edana bubbled. “Indeed, he gave me an unguent for your back from his own belongings and insisted you wear his spare chemise, since yours
was in tatters. Oh, you should have seen his eyes!” Edana fairly bounced in her excitement. “ ’Tis like a fine old tale! Alys, are you not the most fortunate woman in Kiltorren?”

Alys was not nearly certain of that. There would be a price to be paid for this, of that she had no doubt. She swallowed the lump in her throat with difficulty. “Where did he sleep, Edana?”

“In the stables.” The goatgirl grinned. “Truly there was never a more gallant man to cross the threshold of Kiltorren. He asked most urgently after your welfare this morn and insisted you be left to sleep undisturbed.”

Alys sat back cautiously. Edana’s version of events did indeed sound like an old tale come to life, but Alys knew ’twas not.

Truly, naught could have painted Burke’s intent more clearly than this! She had been deposited in the man’s own bed, in a chamber he had not abandoned, and he was in haste for her to heal. ’Twas obvious enough that Burke intended to take his pleasure with her. If ever he had spoken of nuptials before, ’twas clear he had no such plan this time.

Despite his fine words, Alys’s suspicions were painfully true.

Then she recalled a deed left undone and was anxious for another cause. “Did you go to Heloise?”

“Yesterday,” Edana confirmed. She sat down beside Alys and bobbed lightly on the mattress, her eyes widening at its softness. “You have slept clear through the night and the morning. Cook says ’tis his brew at work, though on a bed like this, ’tis scarcely any wonder to me that you did not wish to awaken.”

“How was Heloise?”

“Well enough.” Edana wrinkled her nose. “She did not believe my tale, though ’twas close to the truth.”

That was enough to take Alys’s thought from her own troubles once more. “Why? What did you tell her?”

Edana lay back across the mattress and sighed appreciatively. “I could sleep a week in this bed.”

“Edana!” Alys let her frustration slip into her tone. “What did you tell Heloise?”

The goatgirl sat up, her red-gold braid tumbling over her shoulder, her expression unrepentant. “I said that her ladyship had set you at an impossible task and you dared not disappoint.” Edana grimaced. “ ’Twas the wrong tale to tell, for Heloise grew most agitated.”

“Did she fall ill again?” Alys demanded.

Edana shook her head. “Nay, she muttered a great deal and I could not discern her words.” She flicked a glance to Alys. “She told me that she was not addressing me when I asked. In the end, I pledged that you would visit her shortly.”

Alys stretched her shoulders and was surprised to find how much they had already healed. If naught else, Burke’s unguent had aided her, and she grudgingly admitted it had been gracious of him to offer it.

Even if his desire to see her healed had a selfish root.

No doubt Burke would demand a token of her esteem for his thoughtfulness, a kiss that would quickly turn to his advantage. ’Twould be like him to be so incorrigible, so quick to press any advantage in his pursuit. Her pulse leapt, but Alys knew better than to follow its urgings.

She dared not risk meeting him this day.

“I shall go this very day to see Heloise,” Alys declared, and smiled for Edana. “I would not have her worry.”

Edana’s brow puckered with concern. “But are you certain that you should? Cook insisted you should rest, and your knight was most intent that you remain in his bed.”

In
his
bed? Those unwelcome words were all the encouragement Alys needed to get up.

“ ’Twill do me good to be out in the air,” she insisted. She quickly peeled off Burke’s chemise and reached for her own humble undergarment, deliberately ignoring how rough the cloth was in comparison.

Indeed, Alys smiled when she noted it-had been carefully mended already. “Edana! Is this your labor?”

“Your knight wanted me to ensure that you were undisturbed this morn and there was little else to do here. I mended your kirtle as well,” the girl confessed shyly. “Though my stitches are not as fine as yours.”

“ ’Twas most thoughtful of you!” Alys ran her fingertip across the repair. “And all the more appreciated for I know how you dislike a lady maid’s employ.” She gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek and Edana flushed.

“I do this willingly for you,” Edana said with a stubborn set to her chin. “But never for
them.
”

Would that Alys had such a choice. She sighed at the unwitting reminder and donned her garb, determinedly humming Heloise’s tale beneath her breath.

She could not be away from here soon enough.

Alys descended to the hall and, grateful to find it empty, hastened onward to the kitchen. Cook inquired after her sleep and she reassured him with a smile, setting to the task of packing some foodstuffs for Heloise. They argued briefly about Alys’s intention, but Cook quickly resigned himself to the fact that she would go, with or without his endorsement.

“If you must go, then take this treat for Heloise, with my regards.” Cook handed Alys a warm loaf of bread, his manner telling her that ’twas of the finer flour. Alys tucked it into the depths of the basket, then cut a measure of the new wheel of cheese. She worked quickly, determined to be gone before Burke could come upon her.

But Alys was not quick enough to avoid another.

Malvina strode into the kitchen in obviously poor temper, her voice rising in a whine. “Alys, why did you sleep so very late? My favored kirtle is in need of mending and I would have it done before the midday meal.”

Alys did no more than glance up before she continued what she had begun. “I cannot tend to it now, Malvina.”

Her cousin pouted. “Whyever not?”

“Because I am on my way to visit Heloise,” Alys explained patiently. “I shall do the mending when I return.”

“But, Alys! I would wear it for the midday meal!”

“Surely you could don it as it is,” Alys observed. One look confirmed ’twas the kirtle she had mended a week before and Malvina had worn it just once since that time. “It cannot be so badly damaged as that.”

“But I want it
perfect
!” Malvina wailed. “ ’Tis a hue that favors me, you said so yourself, and I want to look my very best for Burke.”

Alys froze, not liking the sound of that. “For Burke?”

Malvina smiled. “Aye! He has been most charming to me these past evenings, telling me tales of his adventures and coaxing my laughter in a most chivalrous manner. And last night, last night, Alys, he kissed my hand with such ardor that I nearly swooned.”

Alys blinked. So much for Edana’s tale that the knight had been consumed with concern for
her
last evening. Clearly his attention was easily won. “Burke kissed you?” she asked woodenly.

Malvina smiled. “Aye! I am certain he would have kissed me fully if Mother had not been hovering so close. The man’s eyes had a gleam in them that made me tingle clear to my toes.”

Oh, Alys knew that gleam, as well as its potency. She had no doubt that Malvina embellished the facts, but still there must be a kernel of truth in her tale.

Malvina was not that imaginative a soul.

“And his touch!” Malvina shivered with the thrill of recollection. “He touched my chin so gently, despite his strength. I could have denied him naught!”

Alys knew that sensation better than she might have preferred
and did not appreciate knowing how broadly the knight spread his charm. She jammed a pair of apples into the basket, her ears ringing with the recollection of Burke’s laughter two nights past.

He had been enjoying Malvina’s company while Alys toiled, which lent credence to her cousin’s tale. And he had not seemed inclined to peel Malvina from his shoulder.

It seemed the man must have every woman panting for him to suit his considerable pride. Alys swallowed and blindly shoved a napkin atop her basket’s contents.

Malvina continued, apparently oblivious to the impact of her words. “Oh, Alys, Mother is certain the knight means to offer for my hand. So you see, I cannot risk looking less than my finest.”

“I cannot do this now, Malvina.”

“Nay?” Malvina leaned closer, her eyes bright. “Alys, I shall tell Mother if you deny me. She would be most vexed with you.”

Alys straightened and held her cousin’s gaze for a telling moment. She was not afraid of her cousin, who did little but whine when her will was not fulfilled.

“What else do you imagine Aunt could do to me?” Alys asked coldly, then hefted her basket, wincing at the pain across her shoulder.

“Alys, are you certain you should go?” Cook asked quickly.

“Of course. Heloise is worried.” Alys forced a smile. “I cannot let her fret, and she will only be reassured by my presence.”

Cook frowned at the truth of that and turned reluctantly back to his onions.

“That is a lie! You only do this to deny me,” Malvina charged.

“I told you that I would repair the kirtle later.”

“You must repair it
now
! Do it first, before you go—that old harridan can wait.”

Alys stiffened at Malvina’s disregard for everyone besides
herself. “Nay, for once in your days,
you
will have to wait.” And she pivoted, heading for the portal with purpose.

“You only want to keep me from charming Burke utterly and completely,” Malvina cried. “But you cannot do so, Alys, ’tis too late for any dreams you might have had of him.”

Alys halted halfway across the floor, unable to keep herself from looking back. “I have no dreams of Burke de Montvieux.”

“That is not what he says! Oh, he told me all about you,” Malvina declared, her tone scathing. “Indeed, we had a fine laugh over the way you so obviously long for his touch. You are a wanton, Alys, and our guest is most embarrassed by your manner.” Malvina flicked the hem of her veil over her shoulders. “In truth, he asked for my aid in dissuading you from your pursuit.”

Alys set the basket down heavily. “I have never pursued him!”

Malvina chuckled. “Truly, Alys, do you believe that no one notes the way you sigh when he looks your way? Your blushes do not go unnoticed, you may be certain of that. Mother even confided that she had forbidden you to see Burke, hoping only to preserve your virtue, but it seems your mother’s taint is overstrong.”

“Nay! That is not true!”

“Alys is the daughter of a whore,” Malvina chanted childishly. “Alys was born to be a whore.”

“Isibeal was no whore,” Cook muttered angrily.

“Aye, she was!” Malvina lifted her chin, her gaze bright. “Even a chivalrous knight is prey to a man’s desires, Alys. You have pushed Burke overmuch, and now he will grant you what you so clearly want.” She smiled, looking very much her mother’s spawn. “Mother says that men are weak when it comes to temptations of the flesh. Surely you cannot make naught of the fact that you slept in his bed?”