“Excuse me, my lord.” The innkeeper had returned. “I’ve brought your drink.”
Caius wasn’t at all pleased to see the man, but on the other hand, perhaps it was for the best. Even that short taste of Emelisse had lit him up like a lightning storm and he was beginning to lose himself. He sat back in his chair, his arm still around her, as the innkeeper set a tray down in front of them that contained more than drink.
Emelisse gasped with delight as she looked over the tray. The man had brought a pitcher of wine for Caius, but for her, he’d brought delicacies. He explained to her the soft oatcakes with raisins and nuts, chunks of bread with cinnamon and honey, and cider that had been boiled with spices like cinnamon and cloves.
In all, it was an absolute delight and Emelisse down the cakes and bread, sharing them with Caius, and sipped happily on her cider. It was hot and delicious, and they sat together and ate, speaking more about Richmond Castle and the land around it. Caius spoke of the land he’d purchased from the Crown east of Scarborough, which had a primitive castle on it. He intended to rebuild and fortify the castle, which had been around since the time of the Duke of Normandy.
In speaking of it, he viewed it as a possession and nothing more. Nothing like the love of the land that Emelisse had once spoken to him about. She had tried to explain to him her love for Hawkstone, for the castle as well as the lands, but that was something he could not seem to relate to. Even as he spoke of theland and castle he owned, named Pickering, there was no love for it as his home.
She wondered if he would ever feel for their home, Hawkstone in particular, as she did.
In fact, Emelisse learned quite a bit about her new husband in that short conversation in the crowded, smoky common room. She was coming to see a man who, when he wasn’t being a serious and duty-bound knight, was humorous and animated at times. He flashed that adorable grin quite often, mostly at his own cleverness. Those few short minutes of conversation were the most normal moments they had ever spent together even though they were surrounded by strangers. There was no blood, no death, and no Covington to ruin their moods.
Just them, learning about one another.
Caius, too, learned something about his new wife in those few brief moments. She was very interested in places outside of Hawkstone and Winterhold, as he found out, because she had never traveled anywhere. Other locations fascinated her, and she spoke of stories she had heard about lands across the sea. Evidently, she had been afraid to voice such things to her father, because Rupert felt that one should be satisfied with what he or she had. It seemed that his daughter was a bit of a dreamer, but those dreams had been quashed in the battle between Hawkstone and Winterhold.
Caius hoped he would be able to nurture those dreams.
When her cider was nearly gone and all of the food was eaten, a serving wench came to summon them. Collecting their possessions, they followed the woman up a narrow stairwell to the second floor of the establishment. She took them to the chamber at the corner of the building, overlooking both the church and the intersection of the main road. It had an elevated alcove next to a window overlooking the street that contained atable, two chairs, with all manner of steaming food sitting upon the tabletop.
Emelisse looked at the room with awe as she stepped in. Since she was the first one into the chamber after the wench, Caius had to squeeze around her to get into the room as she stood there, dumbfounded at the size of the chamber. It was big, warm, and very well-appointed for an inn in a small village. Caius set his saddlebags down and began unstrapping his broadsword, grinning at her as she still stood by the door and gaped.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Have you never seen a chamber before?”
When she realized she was standing there like a fool, Emelisse smiled sheepishly and headed in his direction. “It’s quite large,” she said. “And the bed…”
She trailed off and he looked over to see her cheeks were flushing. That bed was where they intended to do their marital duty and she was too embarrassed to speak of it, which had him fighting off laughter.
“It looks warm and comfortable,” he said, looking at the bed with its heavy curtains and embroidered coverlet. “We shall be quite cozy.”
Emelisse merely nodded, setting her satchel down next to his saddlebags, as the wench finished stirring up what had become a roaring blaze in the hearth.
“Would m’lady like a bath?” she asked.
Before Emelisse could answer, Caius spoke up.
“She would,” he said. “Bring her a bath and all of the accoutrements, but bring it in about an hour. We will eat now.”
Emelisse didn’t argue with him. He was a man accustomed to giving orders, so she let him. She had a feeling this was going to be her life from now on, with a man who was used to being in command, but it didn’t bother her. Her father and brother hadbeen the same way. She liked that Caius thought enough of her to do it, but she also knew that she was quite capable of asserting herself when necessary.
She had a feeling he would be more than willing to submit.
Fighting off a smile at the future battle of wills of Lord and Lady d’Avignon, Emelisse removed the gloves Lady de Wrenville had loaned her, and the cloak, and placed them on a stool. Meanwhile, Caius already had his sword off and placed it near the bed, and had pulled off the Richmond tunic he wore– though it was usual for knights to wear the standards of those they served, Richmond had its own special standard and Caius wore the red and blue colors proudly.
After the tunic and sword, Caius nearly bent himself in half and shimmied off the mail coat. It slid off and he lay it on the floor, removing another padded tunic underneath it until he was stripped down to a thin under tunic, breeches, and boots. As Emelisse watched, he went over to the table, sat down, and began pouring the wine.
Emelisse made her way to the table, pulling out a chair to sit down. Caius glanced up, looked at her, and an expression of horror crossed his face.
“Forgive me,” he said, quickly standing up and helping her with her chair. “I should have waited until you… Christ, this is going to take some getting used to. I’ve never had a wife before. I will try to be more considerate.”
She laughed softly as she sat down. “And I’ve never had a husband before,” she said. “Thisisgoing to take some getting used to.”
Caius put wine in front of her but remembered what she’d said about wine, so he went to the door and summoned a wench to bring them more cider. With the door shut and bolted, he returned to the table where Emelisse was putting butter on her bread. He sat down, looking over the food.
There was a big, iron pot with chicken stew in it, lots of fresh bread and butter, and stewed apples with cloves. In spite of having eaten meatballs when they arrived, and bread down in the common room, they cleared the entire table of the stew and bread and apples. True to his word, Caius stuffed Emelisse until she could eat no more, and as she wallowed in gluttonous misery, he cleaned up every last scrap. When that was all finished, he looked at her from across the table.
Now that the meal was over, it came down to the very reason they were in this chamber.
