Keeper of the Stone (22 page)

Luke smiled at Nathan’s serious tone and expression of gratitude.  “I was prepared to receive a fist to my face for my interference.”

Nathan shook off his friend’s fear and commented dryly.  “It would be a shame to disfigure such a pretty countenance. Besides, you did me a favor.  You are right.  I have let my fondness for my wife and astonishment at the king’s generosity override my common sense.  I have become lax in my daily routine. That ends now.  Tell me what you know of the Salusians.”

At Luke’s suggestion the two men distanced themselves from the possibility of prying ears while Luke filled Nathan in on his experience with the Salusians.  When he finished Luke asked, “Did you learn anything more from your wife about Stoney Point?”

“No, I was otherwise occupied after we parted last night, but I will send one of my men to bring Rhiann here and you may ask her yourself.”

Luke’s ready grin flashed at his friend’s admission. Nathan ignored it and confided. “Rhiann seemed to accept her brother and sister’s death until her dream a few nights ago.”

“Dream?”

Nathan recounted Rhiann’s dream while Luke listened intently.  Like Nathan, if there was some truth underlying it, Luke hoped the Norman soldiers never caught up with Lady Rhiann’s sister, especially if his brother was among them.

“Where does Stoney Point fit into all of this?”

“I have no idea.  I have not had the opportunity to question my wife more thoroughly.  You may have noticed she tends to fall asleep whenever she is asked a question she doesn’t care to answer. It has proven a rather effective strategy in interrupting my questions about her family and her past.”

Luke laughed.  “Nathan, I know you discount the possibility, but I have seen some very strange happenings and heard of even more incredible events surrounding the Salusian stone.  I am not as willing as you to dismiss your wife’s dream was the stone’s way of trying to reconnect with its rightful keeper.”

“You’re joking.”

Luke shook his head, all amusement absent now.  “Another thing, I hesitated to bring this up in your wife’s presence last night, but I met Michel, years ago when we were both still boys.  He was as wild as the stallion prowling the walls seeking your wife. If he was indeed initiated into the ancient ways of a Salusian warrior, he would not prove an easy man to kill.  I fear you are right, her sister is dead.  There is no way she could survive alone for long in the wild.  Her brother is another matter.  If his body was not recovered, I can understand why your wife clings to the belief her brother might very well still be alive.”

Nathan thrust an impatient hand through his hair.  “Then why was her dream not about Michel instead of her sister?”

Luke’s eyes filled with mocking amusement.  “I am not sure my friend, you are the proper husband for the Salusian heir.  Myself, on the other hand…”

He let his voice trail off at Nathan’s outraged expression and laughed outright.  “As reluctant as I am to leave the company of my good friend without having the opportunity to get to know his lovely wife better, I have to be on my way.  With any luck I will find the bastard alive and return him to the loving, deluded arms of our father and be allowed to return to my own affairs.”

Nathan summoned one of his men to bring Rhiann to him so she could offer some insight into her suggestion that Luke begin his search at Stoney Point.  As they walked back to join Luke’s men where they waited for their lord, Luke asked, “Speaking of your young bride, have you told her about Lady Sara?”

“No.” Nathan’s short answer did not invite further comment.

“The truth about your relationship with Lady Sara would be better coming from you, Nathan, than for your wife to hear of your betrothal to another woman from someone else.  I have a feeling Lady Rhiann might not understand.”

“There is no reason for Rhiann to ever learn about Lady Sara.  And there was no formal betrothal.”

“According to my sources that is only because the war interfered before it was made official and Baron Wright had no wish to have his daughter widowed before she was a bride.” 

“None of that is relevant now.” 

Luke smiled at his friend’s dismissive attitude.  “I am sure you are aware messengers have returned to Normandy with news of the Norman victory and William’s new status as king.”

“No doubt.”  Luke could see his friend was distracted, looking for his wife.  He continued.  “I imagine word has also reached your family of your good fortune.”

Nathan swung back to meet Luke’s smiling glance.  “What of it?”

“No doubt your family will be anxious to offer you their congratulations and might even plan a visit to London to coincide with the king’s coronation.”

“Why would they do that?”  Nathan was appalled at the possibility and decided Luke did not clearly comprehend what it was to be a lesser son of a lesser lord.  His father certainly would not undertake the expense of traveling the considerable distance to London just to congratulate Nathan on his good fortune.  More likely he would send word through one of the many messengers going back and forth between Normandy and Saxony keeping William informed on the happenings in both of his realms.  “I am quite certain you are mistaken.”

Luke apparently was not done prodding him.  “No doubt, Lady Sara, and possibly even her family, upon hearing of your good fortune and the vast improvement in your status and prospects, and therefore her own, might even decide to accompany your family on their journey.”

“Surely not!”  Nathan was horrified at the thought of not only his own family descending without invitation upon him in London, but his former, never officially betrothed’s family as well.

Luke laughed outright. “Surely you realize now that you are an extremely wealthy man your social standing and therefore your social obligations have increased dramatically.”

Nathan’s mind boggled at the thought.  He understood of course there would be some additional social duties to attend to with the change in his status to that of a wealthy landowner, but he figured he would be too busy for the next several months just learning to manage his estates to effectively confront any of them.  Certainly he enjoyed neither the time nor the inclination to have his family thrust themselves upon him at this very inopportune time.

“Fortunately for you your new wife is the daughter of a duke.  Lady Rhiann is most likely well-versed in the social expectations that now rest upon your shoulders.”

“No doubt.” Nathan replied absent-mindedly.  Certainly Rhiann did not seem to feel any hesitation in interacting with the new king or queen, or any of the other nobles for that matter.  It was apparent she was unaware most young maidens her age would be terrified at the prospect of being thrust so prominently into the king’s court.  Rhiann accepted the attention, the servants hurry to see to her comforts, and the monarch’s affection as if it was a completely natural thing for her.  As if she was born to such a life.  Which of course she was.  For all her youth and innocence, there was no doubt she was raised a duke’s daughter and felt quite at home as a guest of the king and queen. 

He caught sight of her now as she hurried towards him, his soldier’s oversized cloak flapping in the breeze behind her. It obviously failed to occur to her the garment would do little to prevent her from catching a chill if she failed to even bother drawing it around in front of her.  She dropped into a deep curtsey before him, shyly lowering her gaze.  Her insistence on treating him as if he were worthy of her reverence was going to take some getting used to.

“You wished to see me, my lord?”  Her voice was a soft whisper along the wind.

“Nathan,” he corrected automatically while he assisted her to her feet. “Yes, I wished to see you.”  He paused in his explanation to reach around her back and gather the ends of his soldier’s cloak to wrap around her.  He understood now why she refrained from fastening the ties at the front.  The garment was large enough to fit several of her within its voluminous folds.  Closing the ties did little to stop the wind from reaching her warm skin.

“Yes Nathan?” Rhiann was regarding him with wide curious eyes.  He was having trouble concentrating.  His wife’s soft skin and heady feminine fragrance kept getting in the way of his concentration.

Luke coughed discreetly from where he waited behind them.  Nathan glared at his friend, then turned his attention back to his wife.  “Rhiann, Luke is leaving this morning to look for his brother.”  He deliberately emphasized the true purpose of Luke’s mission, for all the good it did him, in an attempt to discourage his wife from getting her hopes up.  She was beaming at Luke with a look bordering on adoration.  Nathan found he didn’t like seeing admiration in his wife’s gaze when her focus was on another man, and he tucked her firmly into the curve of his arm, as much to lend her some warmth from his body as well as an instinctive gesture of possessiveness. “He wanted you to explain further about Stoney Point.”

Rhiann nodded eagerly even as she shifted a little closer in her husband’s embrace.  She was freezing even with the soldier’s cloak she dutifully accepted from the young vassal who seemed so eager to please her husband.  She wished she could ask Nathan to send someone to Heaven’s Crest for some of her winter gowns.  She certainly was not about to spend any of her husband’s precious coins for warmer gowns when there were perfectly lovely gowns waiting for her at home.  Her eyes lit with excitement as a thought occurred to her.  “I could show Luke where Stoney Point is.  It is not far from Heaven’s Crest.  We sailed there often as children.”

Nathan thrust a frustrated hand through his hair at the eagerness in his wife’s voice.  “No, wife, you could not.  Luke merely wanted to know why you directed him to begin his search there.”

“But I already explained about my dream, Nathan.  It’s the stone trying to find Melissa.”

Nathan resisted the urge to dampen her enthusiasm.  He supposed eventually his wife would come to terms with her family’s death.  Discouraging her hope now would only put him in the unenviable position of having his point proven when her family never returned to her.  He would rather be the one in a position to comfort her when she finally accepted her loss, rather than being the one to say ‘I told you so.’  “Yes, I remember your dream Rhiann, but you never mentioned anything about Stoney Point.”

“I didn’t remember then.  I knew it looked familiar…the place where my sister was lost on the beach and where I saw the Norman ship.  It is a small cove and would provide natural protection to a ship seeking shelter from a storm at sea, but the waters are shallow and more than one ship has run aground and been broken to pieces when the tide surged in before the crew could free themselves.”

“Why would Melissa have taken that route?”

“Don’t you remember Nathan?  The secret passages from the old keep lead to the sea.  If Melissa was going to search for Michel, she would have taken one of the smaller vessels a single person could handle and head north.  I think she planned to find our grandmother and convince her to send some of her men to look for Michel.  My mother told her she was certain the Salusians were already searching for Michel and there was nothing more Melissa could add to their efforts except to get in their way and slow them down.”

“I’m inclined to agree with your mother.”

“Yes, of course, anyone with sense would agree with my mother.  The Salusians are known for their tracking ability.  While my sister did receive a rather unusual education for a lady in the ways of the world, she is certainly no Salusian tracker. “

“Unusual education?” Nathan was distracted for a moment from the point of their discussion.

Rhiann hesitated, and then confessed. “I told you Michel was a trained warrior.”

“Yes.”

“Michel and Melissa were twins.”

“Yes.”

Rhiann was obviously reluctant to confirm the obvious.  Luke listening in inserted smiling, “Are you saying your sister was trained as a Salusian warrior?”

Rhiann shrugged, her face heating up to a blush.  “Michel was being trained and Melissa was so disappointed when she learned she would be left behind.  So she got to go along with the warriors when they were training Michel.”

“And you didn’t?”  Nathan grinned at her resentful tone.

“No.  They told me I was too little.  It really wasn’t fair, Nathan.”

Her husband’s booming laughter rang out across the courtyard.  “I for one am quite thankful you were too little, wife.  I cannot believe your father would allow your sister to be trained as a tribal warrior.”

Rhiann looked incredulous.  “My father would never have allowed it, nor do I think did he ever learn of it.”

“How is this?”

“We spent our summers with our grandmother.  My father was not particularly thrilled with the practice but he could never bring himself to forbid it either.  It meant so much to my mother that we were schooled in the Salusian ways and that we would not lose our connection with that part of our heritage.”

Nathan could envision his own children riding wild horses and striding around with jeweled daggers strapped to their arms, but he was drawing a firm line at the thought of his daughters being trained as warriors.  He cupped his wife’s chin and waited until she met his stern glance.  “Our daughters are not going to be trained as Salusian warriors.”

“But Nathan…”  She stopped when he merely cocked one eyebrow in her direction and she realized she was challenging him again in front of his friend.  Besides, there would be plenty of time after their daughters were born to convince her husband to change his mind.

Nathan could see the effort it was costing his wife to swallow her instinctive argument and was aware of the wheels already spinning in her busy little mind.  She obviously thought she would be able to get around his prohibition when the time came.  Her confidence worried him a little.  Clearly he was going to have to take a firmer hand.

William was right.  Rhiann’s father was definitely under the spell of his younger daughter, or both daughters likely, if the older one was somehow being trained in the same manner as her twin behind his back.  No matter what Rhiann believed though, Nathan doubted the duke was not aware of exactly what was going on in regards to his children.  By failing to voice his disapproval he granted his tacit permission to his children’s schemes.