Hallam’s shadow was moving closer to her. “Had I known of you before this, they would have had another offer,” he said softly. “From me. But God has not been kind to us.”
“Nay,” Lady de Wrenville said, resigned. “Even so, I cannot stand by and watch Marius marry that girl. Knowing what Iknow, I shall intervene if I can. God only knows what Marius will do to her if he becomes her husband.”
Hallam’s voice was gentle. “You have endured a tragic fate, yet you will make sure another does not meet the same fate you have,” he said. “You are noble and kind and true, my lady. Your heart has a great capacity for love.”
Lady de Wrenville stopped pacing. “For you, it does,” she murmured. “I have said it before, Hallam. You are too fine a man to be serving this monster I have married. I wish…”
He shushed her softly. “No more,” he said. “Sir Caius shall be here any moment. If I can convince him to remove Lady Emelisse, I shall. I promise.”
Caius had heard enough. He decided that was the moment to make an appearance and he stomped the last few steps, making his approach obvious as he came to the top of the steps. He appeared in the doorway as Lady de Wrenville and Hallam turned to him, both of them trying not to look as if they’d been caught doing something they perhaps should not have been. Hallam was the first one to speak.
“I wanted to make sure you had Lady de Wrenville’s permission before speaking to Lady Emelisse,” he said. “You may proceed.”
That’s not why you came here, Caius thought, but he didn’t say anything. He was rather interested in the dynamics that were evidently going on here at Winterhold– a woman married because of the army she could provide and her husband’s knight who evidently had feelings for her, and she for him.
Quite interesting, indeed.
But in what he heard, it also told him that Hallam hadn’t been trying to trap him. Whatever the man had told him had been genuine because there was more to the story than he’d initially believed. In truth, this situation was growing by leapsand bounds every minute and his trust for Hallam grew, just a little.
“Thank you,” he said as he headed for the small chamber door. “Lady de Wrenville, has Lady Emelisse supped yet?”
Lady de Wrenville shook her head. “I have just sent for food,” she said. “Why do you ask?”
“Because my meal was interrupted,” he said. “I will eat with the lady, if you would be so kind as to arrange it.”
Lady de Wrenville nodded quickly and headed for the door. She disappeared down the stairs, but Hallam remained. Before Caius knocked on Lady Emelisse’s door, he glanced at the knight.
“You and I will have a discussion when I am finished with Lady Emelisse,” he said. “Do not go far.”
Hallam nodded. “I will be here when you have concluded.
Caius turned to the chamber door, rapping softly. When a voice from the other side demanded his identity, he gave it, and the bolt was promptly thrown.
A well-dressed maid appeared.
“Enter, my lord,” the maid said.
He did. As he proceeded into the chamber, the maid departed, shutting the door quietly behind her. It was a good thing because Caius probably would have forgotten to. The moment he set eyes on Emelisse, every thought in his head seemed to go up like a puff of smoke.
She was sitting on a three-legged stool in front of the blazing hearth, wrapped up in a cloak that was too big for her just like the gown had been. It was cold in the room, in spite of its small size and the lively fire in the hearth. Caius could feel it. In fact, as he stood there, he could feel the icy wind coming through the shutters that were old and tired.
Before he even uttered a word of greeting, he went over to the shutters and inspected them, seeing that they simply weren’tadequate against the storm outside. Returning to the door, he threw it open, startling Hallam. The man was several feet away, whirling to Caius as the door flew open.
“I need a woolen blanket cut into two halves,” Caius told him. “Bring me that and hammer and nails, and quickly.”
Hallam frowned. “What is the matter?”
Caius threw a thumb in the direction of the chamber. “Her shutters are about to collapse under the force of the wind,” he said. “That chamber is completely inadequate in this storm. If I cannot repair the shutters, then we shall have to move the lady or she will freeze to death.”
Hallam wanted to see what he was talking about. He came into the chamber and between him and Caius, they determined that the shutters were indeed inadequate in this storm. As the man headed off in search of items to keep the shutters secure and block out the chill wind, Caius shut the chamber door behind him.
He turned to Emelisse.
“I will apologize for not noticing the inadequacy of these shutters when I was here earlier, my lady,” he said. “If we cannot repair them satisfactorily, then we shall find you more comfortable quarters.”
She stared at him a moment as if surprised by all the fuss. “My lord, I do not expect you to see to my comfort,” she said. “I am a prisoner. Given the circumstances, this is far better than it was earlier in the vault. I am quite satisfied.”
He shook his head. “Even prisoners can expect decent treatment,” he said. “I will insist.”
