“Then mayhap it is for the best, if only for a short time,” she said. “I agree with your lady, Valor– mayhap some time apart will help you see things more clearly.”
Val’s thoughts were on Vesper, of the last time he saw her in the early morning light. “Did you hear me?” he asked. “I still intend to court her.”
“I heard you.”
“But you do not agree?”
“It does not matter if I do or not. You will do as you wish.”
That was true. Val was grateful that at least she wasn’t arguing with him. She had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout his sordid tale but he took that as a blessing. He wasn’t sure he could have handled anything else other than an ear to listen.
“She is a good woman, Mother,” he said quietly. “I do not want the actions of her father and brother to mar your opinion of her. She had not seen them for years prior to this incident and knew nothing.”
“I understand.”
He didn’t like the way she said it. There was judgement in her tone in spite of her words. He turned to look at her as she went to summon a servant, no doubt for food. “Shall I have Lady Eynsford come and tell you of the Vesper she knows? Lady Eynsford is quite fond of her.”
Margaretha sent the servant to the kitchens and turned to her son. “Mayhap in time,” she said. “But there is no need at this moment. Let us eat and then you shall sleep. You need rest.”
He did. In fact, he was too tired to argue with her about anything. He’d told her what he needed to say and now there was an odd sense of emptiness because of it, emptiness because his usually controlled world had veered out of control. The excitement he’d built up over the past few days about Vesper hadtaken an unhappy turn. Perhaps when he’d eaten and slept, his mother could help him sift through the situation for a resolution. Wearily, he stood up from the table.
“Then I shall change my clothes and wash,” he said. “As I recall, I am not allowed to eat at your table looking like a filthy animal.”
“I will make you eat in the stables if that is the case.”
That brought a grin to his weary lips. “I do adore you, you cruel woman,” he said. “I will return shortly.”
He was barely to the chamber door when he saw Calum enter the keep, heading in his direction. Calum was moving very swiftly.
“Val,” he said, both relief and a sense of urgency in his tone. “I was just told that you had returned.”
Val came to a pause, weaving about in his exhaustion. “Aye,” he said. “I am going to eat sup and go to bed. I did not sleep last night.”
Calum shook his head. “I must speak with you before you do,” he said. “Did your mother tell you that Hugh came this morning?”
Val frowned. “Hugh?” he repeated, surprised. “Your brother?”
“Aye.”
“Where in the hell has he been?”
Calum could see that Margaretha had not told her son anything and he was frustrated. Although he had not told Margaretha the contents of the missive, still, she knew that Henry had sent her son a message. Calum thought the lady might have placed some importance on that.
“He came with a missive of great importance to you from the king,” he said. “It is in your solar.”
That seemed to snap Val out of some of his weariness. “Henry has sent me a missive?” he said, suddenly agitated. “Well,Christ– why didn’t anyone tell me?”
He spun on his heel, heading back into the solar where his mother still lingered. He looked at her accusingly.
“Why did you not tell me I received a missive from Henry?” he asked.
Margaretha looked straight at Calum. “Because it has not yet come up,” she said, her anger at Calum obvious. “Clearly, you have returned home with much on your mind and Hugh’s visit this morning was not a priority. I was going to tell you once you’d had a chance to wash and eat something. Whatever Henry has sent you can wait, Valor. You cannot do anything about it tonight.”
Calum, surprisingly, didn’t back away. “It is imperative, Lady de Nerra,” he said as if to remind her. Then, he looked at Val. “In your solar, Val. I have much to tell you.”
Leaving Margaretha irritated that Calum would agitate her exhausted son, the knights quickly moved past the woman and into the short corridor that led to Val’s solar. The chamber was dimly lit, only by embers from the dying fire, and Calum went to light a bank of tallow tapers as Val headed straight to the table.
“That one,” Calum pointed out the one that was unrolled, right in front of him. “See Henry’s seal on the bottom?”
