“I never met your mother,” he said, “nor have I met your brother although I recall McCloud speaking of him on occasion. Where does he serve?”
Vesper quickly realized they were treading into the exact territory she wanted to avoid. Any subject of her brother made her vastly nervous and she struggled not to show it. She silently cursed herself for even bringing him up but the deed was done. She couldn’t take it back. She labored to give him an answer that sounded relatively benign where Mat was concerned.
God help me not to give anything away!
“Mat was born simple,” she said quietly. “He was never capable of serving as a knight should.”
It was a truthful response. Val seemed sympathetic. “I wondered why he did not serve with your father in France,” he said. “He is older than you, is he not?”
She nodded. “He is five years older than I am.”
Val pondered that. “Then I am sure he is proficient at whatever profession he chose,” he said. He came to a halt, looking at the entry door. “It seems we have arrived.”
Vesper was vastly relieved to be off the subject of her brother. She took to the change readily. “Shall we go in?”
Val gave her a half-smile but he didn’t move. “They are expecting us.”
“Are you not hungry?”
He shrugged. “A little. But I was very much enjoying speaking with you.”
The flush in her cheeks returned. “And I, you, my lord.”
“Val.”
“I mean Val.”
His smile grew. “I will not let you starve. Let us go in but do not be surprised if I sit next to you. It is not often I have the opportunity to speak with so lovely and accomplished a lady.”
Vesper simply smiled, that charming gesture she wielded like a shield when she wasn’t sure what to say to him. But that smile seemed to say everything to him, at least everything in his own mind. Who knew what was really in her thoughts? He could dream, couldn’t he? Chuckling at her modesty and liking very much her coy manner, Val escorted her into the great hall.
He hoped it would be an evening to remember for them both.
CHAPTER FOUR
The moment Valand Vesper entered the great hall of Selborne, they were hit in the face by the heat from not one but two blazing hearths.
Given that the night was so mild, the heat was nearly oppressive. Dogs roamed the hall, looking for a handout, as servants bustled about to deliver food to hungry diners. The hall was big enough for a few hundred people and, given that it was where the soldiers usually ate, it was full of men noisily eating and drinking.
The difference, however, was that on this night Lady Margaretha wasn’t dining in the small hall, as was usual, but was sitting at the table reserved only for the family and honored guests. The table was in better repair than the four others in the hall and could seat nearly thirty people at any given time. It was also positioned in its own alcove off the main hall, with its own small hearth, for a measure of peace and privacy.
It was to this table that Val escorted Vesper. Already, Margaretha and McCloud were there, as were Kenan, Mayne, and Calum and his wife, Lady Celesse de Geld de Morville. Calum and Celesse had been married six months and Celessewas already with child, a pregnancy that had caused her great illness. Val was surprised to see her, in fact, as he brought Vesper to the table. Celesse usually didn’t deal well with food. He specifically sat Vesper down next to Celesse so Vesper would have a female at her side to make her more comfortable. He could have sat her next to his mother but he feared that would only terrify the young woman.
“Good men, if you have not yet met this lady, permit me to introduce you to Lady Vesper d’Avignon,” he said as Vesper took her seat on the bench. “Lady Vesper has been a ward of William Eynsford and is now returning home with her father, my dear friend, McCloud. My lady, this is Sir Calum de Morville and his wife, Lady Celesse, and across the table is Sir Kenan and Sir Mayne.”
Vesper smiled politely to those around the table, relieved when Val took up a seat at the end of the table, right next to her. Since he was the only one she knew at the table other than her father, she hadn’t wanted him to go far and was pleased when he didn’t.
“Good evening,” she greeted those at the table.
Immediately, servants appeared with trenchers of boiled pork and cups of tart red wine. The food was quite generous– in addition to the pork, there were boiled apples, carrots, and big hunks of bread. In fact, it was more food than Vesper had seen in a week and her mouth was already watering. When a servant presented a bowl of warmed water with rose petals floating in it so she could wash her hands before eating, she could barely take her eyes off the food to accomplish the task. Wiping her hands on the towel that the servant offered her, she was preparing to rip apart the pork when she heard a soft voice from her left.
“Welcome to Selborne, my lady,” Celesse said. “Your father was just telling us of your trip from Eynsford. He said you passedthrough a town that had a troop of entertainers with trained apes.”
Vesper looked over at the woman. She was pale and willowy, with skinny arms and long fingers. Her enormous blue eyes were looking at Vesper with kind interest.
“That is true,” Vesper said pleasantly. “They were performing in the street for the coinage people would toss them. I saw at least two monkeys and a bear that danced on its hind legs. It was in Guildford, I believe, so it is possible the troop is moving this way. Mayhap you will have the opportunity to see them.”
Celesse’s pale features lit up. “I would like that,” she said. “I have always loved to watch animals perform. Once, a man with trained dogs came to Selborne to stay for the night. He entertained us with his dogs.”
