Velvet & steel (6 page)

Lynette urged her horse into motion, and Royce stood immobile, watching her until she disappeared from sight.

On her return from her ride, Lynette went directly to the kitchen, where she found Cerise the center of attraction. She had been warmed, not only by the fire but by the attention she had received. She had responded to it like a flower to water.

Lynette worried how the little girl would react if she were forced to go back to Oriel. With her jaw clenched in determination, she decided to take Cerise to her chamber with her. If Oriel wanted the girl, she would have to come and get her, and Lynette would make it as difficult for her as possible.

She was distressed that she no longer ruled in this hall, and that her orders could be countermanded by someone as cruel as Oriel.

Once settled in her chamber, Lynette set about putting Cerise in order. She brushed her long mink-colored hair until it gleamed, then braided it carefully in two long braids. While she did, she listened to the child's chatter.

As the time for the midday meal approached, there was still no sign of Oriel.

"Cerise, would you like to go outside for a while? I could show you where we slide down the hill, and where the ice is on the stream."

"Oh, yes!" Cerise's face lit, and her eyes turned worshipfully toward Lynette.

"Then you must dress very warm, and find your warmest boots. Run back to your chamber and get them."

Cerise sat immobile for a moment, the smile disappearing from her face.

"Cerise, do hurry or we will be called to the midday meal before we get a chance to have any fun."

But still Cerise didn't move. Then she looked up at Lynette again. "If ... if I go back to my chamber, will she be there? She won't let me go."

Lynette stood up resolutely. "Come, I'll go with you. There will be no problem."

But there was no sign of Oriel, and Lynette waited while Cerise put on her warm clothes. The two slipped from the hall like a pair of conspirators. Soon Cerise's laughter filled the air as Lynette displayed how she would take a short run, then slide across the frozen ice of the stream. With flushed face and happy laughter, Cerise played like a child for the first time in her memory.

Within the hall, Royce and Lynette's father were discussing the condition of the manor itself, and the serfs outside it. Eldwyn was relieved that Royce seemed to understand everything and was supplying new ideas for the improvement of the manor. Eldwyn looked on Royce with new eyes. He began to believe that this man could hold his land and care for it as well as he could. Finally Royce brought up a subject he had been skirting: Lynette.

"You have educated your daughter beyond what is usual, Lord Eldwyn."

"Aye," Eldwyn laughed. "But Lynette is a stubborn lass, with a mind quicker than most men's. She was a shadow to her older brothers, following them from their play to their teachers. She was hungry to learn, and neither I nor they saw the harm in it. I am grateful now, for she has been the heart of this place."

"You had three older sons?"

"Aye, but the plague took them from me. Now I have the consolation of Lynfette."

"I am William's man. Since you have no sons, if... when this wedding is over, I will most likely be away much of the time. I will see that you are left well armed, and with men to protect you."

Eldwyn gazed at the younger man thoughtfully. He knew quite well that all here were subject to this man, but he also knew that Royce was as reluctant to go through with this wedding as Lynette.

"Lynette is a woman of great pride. She is not one to be tossed aside when she has served her purpose. Look very closely, and you will see a woman who would make this place a refuge and comfort for you. When I am gone, Lynette will be bereft of family. She is of sensitive nature, Royce. It would go hard with her to be used like a slave."

"Sometimes there are things in life that must be suffered. We all have our duties. Lynette's is to marry and produce a son to rule here. This child will be half Norman, and will one day be master here in William's name."

"And you will steal Lynette's birthright?" Eldwyn said quietly.

"As far as that is concerned, her birthright is already gone. Lynette will be my wife, and you will have to be content to live here under Norman rule."

"I beg you, sir, leave Lynette her pride. You would not want her to consider herself chattel, to be used and discarded like a —"

"As my wife, Lynette will be given all that the lady of this hall is due."

"And she will have to be content with a husband who is more away than present." Eldwyn was angry. "Tell me, Lord, will you come back often enough to keep Lynette with child, or is one heir enough for your king?"

"Hold your tongue," Royce said coldly. "I seek one heir. From that moment on, Lynette will be free to spend her days in contentment here."

"Do you mean"—Eldwyn's face was crimson— "that you think her free to choose a lover?"

"No, I meant no such thing. Lynette will be my wife. She will keep her reputation unsullied."

"Then it is a life of loneliness you condemn her to, not one with a husband to comfort her older years. She will be a shadow of your authority."

Royce felt he was getting himself deeply involved in a subject he had not wanted to discuss in the first place. He was about to put a firm end to the conversation, when Oriel came into the room. Both men looked at her with a sigh of relief.

"Lady Oriel," Royce said as he rose to his feet. It was then he noticed Oriel's flushed face and angry eyes.

"Royce, I warned you the wench was a sneak. She has taken the child and gone."

"Gone?" Royce said blankly. "Gone where?"

"I know not. I only know she came and took the child's warmest clothes, so I believe she intends to travel as far as she can."

Royce cast a quick, angry look at a dumbfounded Eldwyn, and started from the hall.

"Lord?" Oriel spoke as he passed her.

"Yes?"

"I have done the child no harm. I fear you have thought me hard on her, but I have only tried to teach her her place."

"I will find them, Oriel," Royce said grimly.

"And entrust the child to me again?"

Royce looked down into her eyes. "I will do what is best... and my daughter's name is Cerise." He strode away, and Oriel turned a satisfied look on a scowling Eldwyn.

"You may create more of a problem than you are prepared to handle, Lady Oriel. Tread carefully. Those in this hall are not as weak and full of fear as you may believe. Lynette would never steal away from the manor like a thief in the night," Eldwyn said. "Nor would she drag the child away. More likely she has found some entertainment for the little one."

"She is not yet wed to Royce, and it is not her place to entertain his daughter. The child was left in my care."

"Then," Eldwyn said mildly, "it seems your care is inadequate if the child prefers the company of another she hardly knows."

Eldwyn's voice was taunting, and Oriel's face flushed as she turned from him and walked from the room.

When Royce reached the stable, his fear was confirmed. Lynette's mare was gone. He had his horse saddled at once. Did she think it would be a simple thing to take the child and run to... where? Where did she really believe would be safe from his vengeance? If she thought to hold his child as hostage, she would find he did not react mildly to the theft of what was his.

He rode away from the hall, again following the prints of the mare. He held his anger in control. This time he would have to teach her a lesson, and the thought was unsettling.

He crossed the open expanse of ground and entered the woods, and the tracks continued. Before he reached the far edge of the woods, he heard the sound of laughter. It was still at some distance so he continued on.

When he broke from the trees, he drew his destrier to a halt and gazed in both surprise and amusement at the scene that unfolded before him.

Like two children, Lynette and Cerise were taking turns sliding across the ice. They were playing. The thought brought an unwelcome twinge of pain.

He watched them for several minutes, not wanting to disturb their pleasure. He could not turn and leave, and he could not continue on. He was in an emotional dilemma.

Then Cerise saw him. She stopped immediately, drawing Lynette's attention. She, too, stopped and stood still. It was then that it came to her that his searching them out was the best thing that could happen. He spent no time with his daughter, and had put her in the care of a dreadful woman. Now it was time he looked into his daughter's eyes and faced his reluctance to be with her. A reluctance whose cause was still a mystery to Lynette.

"It's Papa." Cerise breathed the words with a kind of awe. This man was only a shadow in her life, and Lynette realized Cerise looked at him as if he were a god who could not be approached.

"Yes," Lynette replied. "Shall we ask him to join us?"

Cerise's gasp of shock only made Lynette more determined. She waved to Royce, knowing he could not ignore them now. She was pleased when the huge horse started slowly in their direction.

When Royce drew his destrier to a stop, he studiously kept his gaze from Cerise, who was watching him with wide eyes and the look of a doe about to flee.

"Lady Lynette, it would be wise to inform us when you decide to leave the hall. You have everyone in a state of confusion. It was thought that you were trying to escape."

"Escape, my lord? To where? Where is there a place of sanctuary that the Sword of William cannot reach? Nay, my lord, I only took the child to play. It seems play has not been part of her life." Lynette turned to Cerise and smiled. She meant to force this tall, formidable man to look his daughter in the eye. "Ask her yourself, my lord. Hear the truth of it from her own lips."

Royce had little choice but to look down into the violet pools of his daughter's eyes. The experience jolted him with a memory of other violet eyes that had looked at him in trust. The jolt was painful, but Lynette's gaze would not let him retreat.

"You are enjoying your play?" he asked Cerise stiffly.

"A-aye ... P-papa."

The soft sound of her hesitant voice calling him Papa hurt like the cut of a broadsword. He was frightening her, and he found that painful as well. "You are not cold?"

"N-n-no, Papa. It is so much fun. Must... must I go back?"

"Do you want to?"

"No."

"Then stay." He knew his words were abrupt and cold, but the glow of Cerise's eyes made it appear as if he had been the best of all fathers.

Lynette saw that he was about to leave, and she could not allow it. Cerise's future was at stake... and his.

"I am afraid it is colder than she believes. It is time to go back and find her something warm to eat." She saw the disappointment in Cerise's eyes, and regretted the necessity of ending their play. "I am afraid it is very difficult for me to manage the child and ride. The ride out was too dangerous. Would you take her in front of you for the ride back?"

He would have crushed the child by his refusal, and Lynette knew he would not do that. "Yes, lift her up to me."

Lynette was so pleased she could have sung, and Cerise was sure her little heart was going to burst with the pleasures this day had brought. Lynette lifted the child, and Royce nestled her comfortably before him, tucking his warm cloak about her. She felt as if she were so high above the ground she could fly, and the strong arm that supported her was... her father's!

Lynette mounted, and the three rode back to the manor in silence. When they arrived, Royce dismounted, bringing Cerise with him with an easy move. He stood her on her feet, and looked at Lynette.

"Take Cerise in and see she is warmed. See to yourself as well, demoiselle. See that the child has a warm meal, then join us for your meal."

They were back to "the child" again, Lynette thought furiously. Royce was not unaware of her fury, either: it was vividly displayed in her smoldering eyes and pink cheeks.

Lynette took care of Cerise's needs, then walked down the stairs to join the group of hungry men at the table. She was dismayed to see Oriel there, too. Would Royce make it clear to all that Oriel was his daughter's guardian?

Oriel gazed at Lynette with a feral gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. Her look promised as much punishment as was in her power to mete out. Lynette was frightened that Cerise would suffer most of her ire.

"I have made several decisions today," Royce announced. "One concerns you, Lady Oriel."

Lynette clenched her hands in her lap. She was not going to let this pass without a battle. Cerise was beginning to trust her, and Lynette felt her trust was not easily gained anymore. She glanced at Oriel only once; she could not bear the look of satisfaction in her eyes.

"Within two weeks, the Lady Lynette and I will be wed. I think it is time the lady began to consider her duties to me, and eventually to this hall." Lynette's cheeks grew pinker. Did he think she would shirk her duties? Was he subtly insulting her? "I think that it is also time she begin her duties as mother to Cerise... my daughter. From this time hence, the child will be in your care, Lady Lynette. Lady Oriel, do not think this is a slight to you. You have done what has been demanded of you with no hesitation. But I believe, if the child is to make this place her home and Lady Lynette her mother, they should spend their days in each other's company."

Lynette smiled at Royce with gratitude in her eyes. She would thank him at the first opportunity, and continue to bring as much happiness to Cerise as she could.

But her euphoria was short-lived, for when they were leaving the table, Royce put out a hand to stop her.

"It is clear the child is developing some fondness for you. I am pleased that it is so. Your father tells me that you are well educated. I would be grateful if you were to educate her to the best of your ability."

"You need not have asked me to do that. I had intended to do my best by the child. Thank you, Royce."

"For what?"

"For believing me," Lynette said softly.

"Do not thank me too soon, demoiselle. It is still my wish that you keep her from under my feet ... in your chambers if possible. Do you understand?"