Alice nodded, forcing a smile at him. “All will be well,” she murmured. “I love you, my darling. For what you have done for me… I love you with all my heart.”
Hallam smiled weakly, waiting until she headed up the stairs before quitting the keep and heading for the great hall, which was full of soldiers on this freezing night. He took his usual seatat the dais and even asked Marius where his father was. Marius, who was exceedingly drunk, simply shrugged.
Hallam didn’t press him.
As he sat down two chairs down from Marius and began his meal, he started to think that the position with Caius looked better and better.
He had to get out of this place before all hell broke loose.
It wasn’t until the next morning that Covington’s body was discovered.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Whitchurch
By Caius’ bestguess, they had been asleep for nearly twelve hours.
Shocked, he opened his eyes to a dark room and a hearth that was barely flickering. He could hear some bustle on the street outside which told him it was close to dawn. The farmers were up, pulling their wagons into town to sell their wares when the market opened, and Caius rubbed his eyes orienting himself, before looking to the woman burrowed in his arms.
Emelisse was sleeping like the dead, pressed up against him as if she had been sleeping that way her entire life. His arms were around her, as if he, too, had been sleeping that way his entire life.
It was the most natural thing he’d ever experienced.
His gaze drifted over her in the early morning light, and he could see fine details of her features as she slept peacefully. He found himself looking at the shape of her face, the adorable pert curve of her nose, and the way her lush lips were delightfully parted in sleep.
Everything about her was delightful.
And the reality was that she was now Lady d’Avignon.
My wife.
Even as he said it to himself, he could hardly believe it. The events from the day before seemed like a blur but, in the same breath, he could see it all very clearly. He clearly remembered arriving at Hawkstone and discovering that Caspian had died on the same day his father had. He remembered clearly that Emelisse was determined to take her brother’s place and maintain the integrity of the keep until death– hers.
That had distressed him. Women weren’t meant to die a prolonged death like that. Had he proposed marriage simply to get her out of that keep? The truth was that he hadn’t, but the missive from Lady de Wrenville had certainly given him the excuse to get Emelisse out of the keep by proposing marriage.
But he didn’t regret it.
He had slept better last night than he had ever slept in his entire life, wrapped up snugly with Emelisse as if it were always meant to be. It was strange how he couldn’t seem to remember his life before he met her. Oh, there were things he did remember. He had always had a very sharp memory, so he wasn’t literal in the sense that he couldn’t remember his life before her. It was simply that he couldn’t rememberhowhe had ever breathed without her by his side.
A smile came to his lips as he imagined Maxton’s face when he told him all of this. Strangely enough, he wanted to speak of it. He was eager to, happy to. Caius had always scoffed at Maxton and the other close friends who had married for love, and now he seemed to be in that same brotherhood.
… love?
He found himself looking at Emelisse again, wondering if love was what he felt for her. He had only known the woman for just a couple of days, so surely, it was impossible for him to have fallen in love with her.
… wasn’t it?
He simply did not know. All he knew was that he felt warm and happy and fulfilled but, in the same breath, he felt confusion and chagrin and possibly embarrassment. He’d spent so much time laughing at those who succumbed to the weakness of love that he was going to have to swallow his pride and admit that he had probably succumbed, too.
But it was pride that he would gladly swallow.
Lost to his revelry, he had to force himself to focus on the moment at hand. A new day was dawning and they needed to get moving. Very carefully, he disengaged himself from Emelisse and climbed out of the bed. He had no idea what had happened to William, but assumed the young man was somewhere down in the common room, waiting for him. He felt rather bad that he had left the squire to fend for himself and then he looked over at Emelisse.
He didn’t feel too bad.
It was worth it.
He went on the hunt for his clothing, noticing that he had tossed it off in all directions when passion had struck. He found his breaches by the bed, his boots somewhere near the end of the bed, and his tunic against the wall. Over on a small table was a basin of freezing cold water that had been brought up the night before specifically for Emelisse to wash in, but she had never used it. It smelled like roses, but Caius splashed it all over his face and hair, washing his hands in it, before he found his breeches and pulled them on. The tunic and the boots went on, as well.
