“About what?” she asked breathlessly.
“It was as good as I remembered.”
As she grinned, he kissed her again, so passionately that it made her head swim. He seemed to take great delight in suckling her tender lips before moving to her face, kissing her cheeks, nose and eyes gently. All the while, Toby simply held on to him and struggled not to fall. She had no sense of time or balance; she was lost in the man’s embrace.
“As much as I would like to do this all night, it is important that you rest,” he finally said, his voice husky. “I will therefore leave you to your bath and to sleep. I will leave a soldier out in the hall should you require anything.”
Toby simply nodded her head, sighing raggedly when he kissed her soft lips again and released her. Taking both of her hands, he kissed them, too.
“Good sleep, sweetheart,” he murmured.
Toby stood in the middle of the room where he had released her, watching him walk to the door. He smiled at her as he opened it, issuing another soft good night before closing it quietly. Still, she stood there like an idiot, hardly able to think much less move. But the smell of the soap reminded her that her bath waited and she began to remove her surcoat with unsteady hands. Without someone to help her unlace the stays, it took longer than usual but eventually she managed to get it off. The shift followed, as did the pantalets, hose and shoes. She untied the scarf around her head, allowing her dirty golden-brown hairto go free. Climbing into the pot, it was a tight fit but suited her wonderfully.
Picking up the lavender-lemon soap, she went to work.
CHAPTER TEN
The following day,they buried Ailsa.
Stephen made the recommendation to Tate at dawn; having just come from the coffin of the young girl, her body was rapidly deteriorating and it was important they get her it in the ground before she putrefy further. Stephen made the suggestion purely based on how Toby would react to her sister’s decaying corpse and Tate was forced to agree.
The air between the two knights was strained but professional. Tate hadn’t told Stephen that he and Toby were betrothed, mostly because it wasn’t any of the man’s business. Although he was certain of Stephen’s interest in Toby, the man had yet to make any inappropriate moves. When, and if, it came to that, Tate was prepared to act. It was a bizarre situation that Tate could never have imagined they would face. Kenneth just tried to stay out of it.
Tate extricated a couple of men from the army of soldiers digging a mass grave for the victims of yesterday’s battle and put them to digging a grave in the floor of Harbottle’s small chapel. As the sun began to rise, he was reluctant to wake Toby with news that they had to bury her sister right away but he knew that he had little choice. Stephen and a few men were bringingthe coffin up from the store room and the day was already busy. Shortly after sunrise, Tate went up to her chamber.
Knocking on the door softly, he was surprised when she immediately responded. The door was unlocked, too. Opening the door, he should not have been surprised to already find her awake and dressed. Clad in a muted red surcoat and off-white linen shift, she was clean and washed and looked positively radiant. She also had the room in complete disarray. She smiled at Tate as he entered the room.
“Good morn to you,” she said. “I hope you slept well last night.”
He couldn’t help but smile in return; every time he saw the woman, he felt his heart soften just a little more.
“I was going to ask you the same question,” he made his way towards her. “But my next question would be why you seem to be tearing the room apart.”
Her smile broadened as she looked about. “Well,” she began, “it seems to me that I will be spending some time in this chamber. It needs to be cleaned and I need to see what, exactly, you brought from Forestburn so I can begin to calculate what was saved against what was lost. There seems to be a good deal to do and I am at a loss as to where to start, so I thought I would begin here.”
He was standing next to her, watching the way her mouth curved when she spoke. “This can wait, sweetheart. You do not have to do everything in one day.”
“But I must see what I have lost so I will know what I must purchase to replace it.”
He put his hands on her upper arms and pulled her head to his lips for a sweet kiss. “I will buy you whatever you need to replace what has been lost,” he said. “You need not worry about money.”
She closed her eyes as he kissed her temple again, relishing the feel of him and thrilled that everything that had transpired between them yesterday had not been a dream. When she had awoken this morning, she almost wasn’t sure what was real.
“I am not worried about money,” she said with a furrowed brow. “But I will be honest when I say that I am worried over many things.”
“Like what?”
“The people of Cartingdon, for example. I really must return to Forestburn as soon as possible to ease their minds.” She fidgeted with the edge of the bed. “And then there are my parents… and Ailsa….”
She hung her head, biting her lip to keep from bursting into tears. Tate could see the mood darkening and he collected her in his arms, taking her over to the bed and pulling her onto his enormous thighs as he sat. It was a tender moment, full of the warmth of discovery. She was soft and sweet upon him. He held her tightly, his face against the side of her head.
“We must speak of your sister,” he murmured. “I realize how difficult this is for you, but we must bury Ailsa this morning. Stephen has already moved her coffin to the chapel in preparation for doing so.”
The tears came then and she wiped at them, missing a few that fell silently to her lap. Tate gave her a squeeze, kissing her on the side of the head and wishing he could give her more comfort.
“I know she must be buried,” she whispered. “But it is difficult to think of putting my little sister in the ground when she was alive and well only two days ago. I simply cannot believe that she has passed.”
He kissed her cheek. “I know,” he muttered, “for I have been in your shoes. I understand completely.”
