“You,” she snapped. “Get out. I do not want to see your face again.”
The woman looked shocked, then angry, but quickly she did as she was told. Seeing the wench vacate gave Devereux the excuse she had been looking for; to get rid of the half-dozen women who were circling their section of the table like vultures. All of them were trying their hardest to gain Davyss’ attention. Another woman bearing empty cups came near and she snapped at that woman also.
“And you,” she growled. “Get out of my sight. Take the other whores with you. If I see another wench within the walls of this hall, you will not like my reaction. Consider yourself warned.”
By this time, Davyss was watching his wife with interest. He saw the return of the woman he had met on their wedding day, full of strength and fury and indignation. She was truly a force to be reckoned with when roused. This time, however, it did not distress him. He found it comical and he was oddly proud. The wenches that crawled the hall of Wintercroft promptly vanished as word of an angry Lady de Winter spread. Across the table, Lollardly was watching the scene also with growing amusement.
“Here, here, Lady de Winter,” the priest banged his dented pewter cup against the table. “You have done what could not be done. You emptied the hall of the rubbish that plagues it.”
Devereux turned to the priest; he was drunk but not out of his senses. Davyss answered the old man before his wife could.
“Untrue,” he reminded him. “My mother has done the same thing, although with less authority than Lady de Winter shows. Mother simply trips them with her cane or smacks them on the behind until they steer clear of her.”
Devereux looked down at him. “She does?” she struggled not to smile. “Apparently the wenches need to be whacked with the cane, not tripped by it.”
Davyss smiled up at her, tugging gently on her arm until she sat. “Reclaim your seat and have no worries,” he put an arm around her shoulders and pressed his face into the side of her blonde head. “I know what is occurring. But rest assured that I have eyes only for you.”
Devereux felt shivers run up her spine at his hot breath. “Is this a normal happening?” she asked frankly.
He paused as he kissed her head. She heard him sigh faintly. “Aye,” he whispered.
“Am I to assume you took advantage of this?”
He didn’t reply. He continued to hold her, his big arm around her shoulders, his face in her hair. She finally turned to look at him; due to his proximity, their faces were very close. Hazel eyes met with brilliant gray.
“What would you have me say?” he murmured. “I have already admitted my shortcomings.”
She digested his statement carefully. “Then it would be fair to say that you have bedded every woman at Wintercroft?”
“Not every woman.”
“I meant every young female servant.”
He lowered his gaze. “It is possible.”
Devereux fell silent and Davyss dared to look at her. She was staring off into space as if lost in thought. He began to feel an odd sense of desperation, fearful for the first time in his life that his rutting behavior may have cost him dearly. Up until now, he’d never cared. He had taken what he believed his right. Nowhe was coming to wish that perhaps he had shown more self-control. It had never occurred to him that someone else might be offended by his behavior. Someone he was very much coming to care about.
“What would you have me do?” he whispered, almost pleadingly. “Tell me what you want me to do and I shall do it.”
She looked at him. “Do? Do what?”
He shook his head, growing frustrated. “I do not know,” his brow furrowed as he grasped for words. “Repent, beg forgiveness, and seek atonement. This is not the first time you will be reminded of my past behavior and I do not want it to constantly break apart what I am trying to build up.”
She lifted an eyebrow, curious. “What are you trying to build up?”
He lifted his enormous shoulders weakly. “Us.”
She could see how frustrated he was, perhaps embarrassed. But he could not undo the past. She also sensed his sincerity and it softened any annoyance or shame she was feeling.
“Very well,” she responded quietly. “You may do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Dismiss every female servant at Wintercroft. I want every one of these women gone, women who sampled my husband before I have. I will be greatly shamed if they stay as constant reminders.”
He nodded without hesitation. “It shall be done.”
“Before sunrise.”
