He smiled at her. “So I saw,” he said. “May we continue?”
She nodded. “Of course,” she started rushing back to the carriage. “I am sorry to have delayed you.”
He took her by the elbow and slowed her pace. “No trouble,” he said. “We should be at our destination within the hour.”
They reached the covered wagon and Devereux shielded her eyes against the sunlight as she gazed towards the south. “Where will we be staying?”
Davyss put his hands around her slender waist and lifted her up into the wagon. Then he wiped at the sweat on his brow, gesturing off in the direction of the city.
“At Wintercroft,” he replied. “It is my family’s townhome. I think you shall like it; there is an expansive garden and a large pond. It is also where Nik and Philip’s wives reside, so you will have ladies in residence to serve you.”
She looked down at him. “They are married?”
“Aye.”
“And the women stay in London while the men are about with you?”
He nodded. “We do not travel with women.”
“And you would have me stay in London while you are traveling, also?”
He could see where this was leading and he grunted, scratching his forehead. This was not one of those “safe” conversations between them.
“I think it is a little premature to discuss that at the moment,” he moved away from the wagon so she couldn’t press him further. “Hold fast, my lady. We will be home soon.”
Devereux watched him mount his charger and plow his way to the head of the column. Her thoughts lingered on the wives that were sequestered while their husbands were out running about. Davyss didn’t give her an answer which made her suspect that he expected her to remain sequestered, too.
Truth was, she wasn’t sure how she was feeling after yesterday. Everything she had initially thought about Davyss de Winter had been dissolved for the most part and she was becoming acquainted with a man who was kind, compassionate, gentle and wildly handsome. He had a quick wit and was humorous, something she found very appealing. But she still wasn’t sure how she felt about being married to the de Winter war machine. Not that she had any choice; she was married, like it or not. She would simply have to deal with it.
The road widened and sturdier buildings began to come into view. They were larger estate homes and she watched with interest as they passed one after another. The homes were well spaced, perhaps a half mile or more in between them, and the area was fairly heavily forested as they began to near the moist air of the river. The land was very green and small ponds littered the area.
They traveled a little further when they came upon a road that branched off to the right from the main road. The column began to turn down this road, moving like an army of ants as they tramped down the moist dirt. Devereux strained to see what was at the end of the road and gradually, the heavily foliaged trees parted and she could see a gray stoned wall come into view. The wall was inordinately high and she could see a massive wood and iron gate cut into the middle of it. The gate was cranking open, allowing the army to enter.
Wintercroft loomed before her; although it was a fortified manor, it looked more like a small castle. It was pale-stoned, bulky and gloomy. The yard was littered with small outbuildings and a fairly large stable block. The house itself was odd; there was a heavy iron door on the first floor but no windows anywhere on the floor. All of the windows were on the second floor but there was also a strange addition that projected off the north side of the house, creating a third and fourth floor. It was like an enormous tower had been added to half of the house.
As the wagon pulled into the yard and drew close to the house, Devereux noticed two women standing by the front door. As she watched, the front portion of the column began to disband and two knights dismounted their steeds and approached the women. Philip pulled off his helm, his fair blonde hair glistening in the weak sunlight as he smiled broadly at his wife and took her in his arms. Nik, nursing a damaged arm from the skirmish in the inn, was less enthusiastic about greeting his wife. He simply kissed her on the cheek and they stood and talked like two acquaintances.
By this time, the wagon had pulled up to the front door and Davyss was suddenly standing next to the wheel. Devereux hadn’t even seen him approach; she had been watching Philip and Nikolas with their wives. He smiled at Devereux and reached up to gently help her from the seat. Once her feet wereon the ground, he claimed her hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow.
“Welcome to Wintercroft,” his hazel eyes moved over the structure affectionately. “My grandfather built this as a present to my grandmother. My father was born here.”
Devereux inspected the odd building. “Is it a castle?”
Davyss shrugged. “Somewhere between a castle and a manor,” he replied. “I think my grandfather wanted a stately manor but ended up adding fortifications for protection. You will find the interior of the keep to be a cross between the two; comfort and functionality. My mother hates the place.”
She looked at him. “Why?”
He gazed down at her, smiling faintly. “She thinks it is ugly.”
Devereux suppressed a grin as her gaze returned to the peculiar structure. “It is… interesting, to be sure. Where does she stay when she comes to London, then?”
“She has her own home in the city called Hollyhock.”
Devereux lifted an eyebrow. “So she leaves the ugly house to her sons?”
“Exactly; what do we care what it looks like?”
Devereux wasn’t sure what more to say, giggling when Davyss lifted his eyebrows at her as if he knew what she was thinking. It really was an ugly place. He patted her hand and fondled her fingers affectionately as they moved to where Philip, Nikolas and their wives were standing. As Davyss approached, the couples broke from their conversation to face de Winter and his new wife.
