“It evidently belonged to a young woman who took the veil,” he said. “Her father gave her that to commemorate the moment, but she couldn’t take it with her, so the merchant purchased it.”
“Charming,” Jonathan said, handing it back to him. “What are you going to do with it?”
“Give it to Lady Mira.”
Jonathan looked at him then. There was a scowl on his brow. “I heard about the spectacle yesterday,” he said. “When you knelt before her and declared your undying love.”
Douglas fought off a grin. “Is that what I did?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Nay,” he said. “Not at all. It was a ruse to keep all of those silly women off my trail. If they know their quarry has been captured by someone else, then they should leave me alone. At least, that was the hope. Unfortunately, they’ve been making Mira’s life miserable because of it. Jealous, petty women.”
“So you’re going to give the necklace to Mira and make it worse?”
Douglas shrugged. “I’ve decided that Iwillmarry her,” he said, looking at Jonathan’s surprised expression. “I’m serious. I must marry, Wolfie. My mother has been harping on it for years, and I’ve finally found someone I can imagine spending my life with. Mira’s a good lass. Beautiful, intelligent. My choice.”
He was holding up the necklace as he said it, and Jonathan wasn’t any less surprised by the declaration. In fact, he was a little apprehensive about it.
“Careful,” he murmured. “An entanglement with a woman is how I ended up here, at Axminster. You must be careful how you handle this, Douglas.”
“What do you mean?” Douglas said. “What does this have to do with you?”
Jonathan took a thoughtful breath. “Surely you have been wondering why de Winter ordered me to remain here.”
“I assumed you would tell me when you were ready.”
They’d reached the horses by this point. Davyss was already mounted, as were most of the soldiers, and the others were just now coming down the road in their direction, having seen off the Tatworth men. Jonathan took the reins of his horse before turning to Douglas.
“Lady Elizabeth Bigod is the niece of Roger, my liege,” he said quietly. “I will not bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that Libby and I loved one another. But she was pledged to a Flemish warlord, an old bastard with more money than God and a big army. I will admit that we were planning on running off together to be married, far away where her uncle could not find us, but she was betrayed by one of her maids and our plans were discovered. Bigod put her on a ship to Flanders and that was the last I saw of her. He sent me to de Winter because he feels that he can no longer trust me, which is true. I did betray his trust, at least where Libby was concerned. All this to say that you must be careful when it comes to a woman. Sometimes… sometimes the unexpected happens. People get very odd when it comes to love.”
Douglas was genuinely saddened to hear the tale. “I am sorry for you, lad,” he said. “Why not go after her? If I loved a woman, nothing could stop me.”
Jonathan was trying to be brave about a very touchy subject. “You’d think so,” he said. “You’d be wrong. She is already married, and even I cannot come between a husband and wife. Even if the wife should have been mine.”
Douglas couldn’t say much to that, mostly because he knew the man was right. “Then what will you do once we leave Axminster?” he asked. “Return to Grayson?”
Jonathan nodded. “Probably,” he said. “I thought to return to my brother, too. Although Robert and I are like oil and water together, I know he will accept my fealty, so it is not as if I havenowhere to go. But I will admit that it has been a difficult few months.”
He was smiling weakly, but Douglas could see the pain in his eyes. “I can only imagine, my friend,” he said softly. “Why not come to Lioncross with me? My father would kill for the services of a knight like you. We could keep you very busy on the marches.”
Jonathan’s smile turned genuine. “I was thinking about that, to be truthful,” he said. “It might be better than returning to Warstone, where Robert and I will butt heads over every little thing.”
A smile crossed Douglas’ lips. “Think about it, then,” he said. “We’ll speak more when you’ve had a chance to ponder it.”
“I will do that.”
By this time, the soldiers from the Tatworth departure had finally joined them and everyone mounted up. In short order, they were heading back to Axminster, tearing down the road as the sun began to wane. It had been an eventful day already and they were eager to return home.
None more eager than Douglas.
He had a certain young lady to see.
CHAPTER TEN
Axminster Castle
“Sorry to appearuninvited or unannounced, Lady Isabel, but I assumed that you would agree to entertain us for the night since my son fostered her a few years ago.”
