“Do it, Douglas,” Westley snapped at him. “And stop stepping on my feet!”
In response, Douglas stomped on his foot, throwing Westley off balance. Howling in pain, he stumbled into Andrew, who bumped into Asa. Asa had hold of Melusine, and she went stumbling sideways. Once Asa righted her and made sure she was well, he turned to Douglas and began balling his fists.
“You did that on purpose,” he growled, heading in Douglas’ direction. “I’ll make sure you don’t do it again.”
Myles and Hugo were suddenly between them, pushing them away from one another. “Asa, you must control your temper,” Myles said. “Not everything is an invitation to fight.”
Asa was furious. He’d never been very good at keeping his composure, even as a child. He’d gone from a red-headed hooligan to an auburn-haired warrior who loved a good fight and always wanted to be in the middle of one. But he wasn’t stupid—he knew brawling with a younger de Lohr son wouldn’t exactly be a good thing. He didn’t want to be sent back to Ludlow and to Peter and his sister. He was rather coming to like being at Brython and the excitement of a coveted Welsh castle.
Melusine was an added attraction.
In fact, Melusine went to him and pulled him back over to where they had been dancing as Myles went over to Douglas and Westley.
“If you two shite-brains do not stop acting the fool, Curtis is going to send one of you or both of you back to Papa,” Myles said sternly. “And if he does, Mama will get a hold of you and life as you know it will be at an end. Douglas, stop being so difficult. You are causing problems when there should not be any. Were you this difficult for Summerlin?”
Douglas was frustrated, but he didn’t want to display it too much to Myles or the man might punish him. “Of course not,” he said. “I simply do not want to dance with my brother. Why is that so difficult to believe?”
“Wait,” Elle said, entering the conversation. She held up a hand to Myles to silence him before addressing Douglas directly. “Douglas, you are helping me out of the goodness of your heart. I did not foster in a fine home like you did. I do not know these dances that Myles has been so kind to teach me. Curt has arranged for a great feast in a few days, and I am trying not to look like a fool in front of de Lohr friends and allies. Can you not help me with this? Is it so hard to do your brother’s wife such a great favor?”
Douglas wasn’t exactly contrite. “Nay, Lady Leominster.”
Elle sighed heavily at his reluctant attitude. “Curt is trying to do something good here,” she said. “He is introducing me to your allies, and we are to have a great party with many lovely young women for you to dance with, but I need your help if I am not to look foolish. I have never danced in my life because I did not have the education that you did. Now, when I need your help to make your family proud, all you want to do is complain and step on Westley’s feet. Is that kind of you?”
Douglas shook his head. “It is not.”
“Is it noble of you?”
“Nay.”
“Then if you want to be a noble knight, the beginnings of such a thing start here,” she said. “Be kind to your little brother. You may need him someday.”
Douglas looked at Westley, who simply shrugged, before nodding his head in resignation.
“As you wish, Lady Leominster,” he said. “Do I still have to keep calling you that? Why can’t I call you Ellie?”
“You will call me what I say you’ll call me.”
Douglas rolled his eyes, knowing it was a punishment for the fact that he was being difficult. Elle waved her hand at him.
“Now, back up,” she said. “Get into position. We must do this one more time before I go into the village to collect my new garment and shoes.”
Everyone moved back into position, including Douglas. Myles got out of the way and began clapping again, a steady rhythm, as he alternately sang the tune and called out the movements. Everyone moved to and fro, changing partners at one point, before going back to the original partner and forming a circle. Everyone in the circle held hands, moving one direction and then the other. As Myles shouted at Westley for accidentally tripping Andrew, Elle and Curtis finished their dance quite smoothly. When the dance ended and they bowed and curtsied to one another, Curtis took Elle in his arms and kissed her.
“Well done, my lady,” he said. “You are a natural dancer.”
Elle was flushed with exertion and praise. “I hope so,” she said. “I should like to do it well in front of your friends and allies. I do not want anyone going away saying you married a woman with the grace of a goat.”
Curtis chuckled. “They would never say that,” he said. “They fear me too much.”
“Even if it’s true?”
“Especially if it’s true.”
They shared a laugh as Westley, Douglas, and Andrew approached them. “Can we go into town with you?” Westley asked eagerly. “All of us?”
Curtis looked at the young men gazing back at him in various stages of hopefulness. The past several weeks with the trio had been exhausting, but not in an entirely bad way. Curtis found himself basically raising his younger brothers and cousin, young men who very much wanted to be great knights. Their competitiveness with each other was truly something to behold, and Curtis was starting to think that his father dumped the boys on him, much as he had dumped Amaro, because he simply didn’t want to deal with them. Curtis had the patience of Job, so he was the most likely candidate to deal with women-hungry Douglas and Andrew, and then simply hungry-all-the-time Westley.
The lad ate more than Elle did, and that was saying something.
