Douglas sighed heavily. “Something tells me that this assignment is not going to be a simple thing.”
“Probably not.”
“I do not want to be here longer than three months, Curt.”
“Understood.”
Curtis sat down behind Lady Isabel’s big table and put his head down on the worn wooden tabletop as Douglas finally laid his head back on his chair again and closed his eyes. It took very little time for their snoring to join those of Grayson and Antoninus, and when Jonathan and Westley returned sometime later bearing food and drink, it was as if they’d walked headlong into a chamber full of thunder. The defense of Axminster Castle was finally over.
Now, the real battle was about to begin.
CHAPTER FOUR
Six Weeks later
“Do you seehim?”
“Who?
“Him!”
There was a good deal of craning necks and gasping and even some shoving as several young women strained to catch a glimpse of something that had their attention.
Someonewho had their attention.
He had since nearly the day he arrived.
It was a bright and sunny day in the middle of August and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as the wards of Lady Isabel strained for a look at their favorite subject. It had been an unusually dry and warm summer, and they were dressed in lighter-weight clothing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t proper or fashionable. Quite the opposite, because Lady Isabel demanded it. Life at Axminster, since the Tatworth siege, had quickly settled down to normal, and even now the gatehouse was open and people were moving in and out as they went about their business. The difference these days was that the gatehouse was heavily manned and anyone coming in and out was thoroughly inspected.
The events from six weeks ago had not been forgotten.
Rickard Tatworth had been sent home shortly after his defeat and his punishment had been that his army was completely disbanded. Grayson had absorbed some of the Tatworth men and so had Hereford, until Tatworth was only left with thirty men to run his rather large castle. In addition, Curtis had ordered his men to search every corner and every chamber at Tatworth Castle, removing any weapons or anything that could be used as a weapon. They even took the knives out of the kitchens so the cook was left with only a couple of very dull knives to use in the course of her duties. All sharpening stones had also been removed, as had farming implements that had any kind of a blade on them. Anything that could be used in a fight had been stripped clean and Curtis had taken it all with him back to Lioncross Abbey Castle, seat of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester.
That left Lord Tatworth with nothing to defend himself with but also nothing to attack anyone with. Grayson had left about thirty of his own soldiers at Tatworth Castle to ensure that weapons were not made on the sly. The smithies were only allowed to shoe horses or help the wheelwrights in repairing wheels or anything else that required metal, but they were not allowed to fashion anything that could be used as armament. Stripped and dishonored, Rickard Tatworth was left a very unhappy man.
But it didn’t end there.
He was disgraced among his allies, who were now ostracizing him. Tatworth had a few allies in the area, including St. Martin, and none of them responded to Rickard’s summons or missives. When Rickard physically rode to a neighboring garrison to find out why, they would not admit him and told him to return home. He still couldn’t get a straight answer as to why he was being treated like a leper, but he found out soon enough that it wasbecause St. Martin had been telling everyone that he had been petty and foolish in his attack against Axminster Castle and Lady Isabel.
The tides had turned dramatically.
That had left Tatworth without support, which worked in Axminster’s favor. It seemed that the man had been completely subdued, punished in a way that Lady Isabel approved of, so life had Axminster continued as it always had. Tradesmen and farmers still did business there, the training of the royal troops continued, and Lady Isabel continued to educate the young women entrusted to her care. Everything was back to normal. Now, it was those young women who were desperate for the sight of the man that had them all swooning since the day he arrived.
Douglas de Lohr.
Each young woman was quite convinced that she was the right match for Douglas. He was kind and chivalrous, and pleasant even when they made fools out of themselves trying to impress him. When he spoke, he had a deep, beautiful voice with a slight lisp that made the young women sigh with joy. At this moment, they were supposed to be praying in the tiny chapel of Axminster, but one of them had seen Douglas walk by on his way to the stable and now all of them were trying to peer through the three lancet windows that faced onto the central bailey, hoping for a glimpse of the knight who looked like a Viking god. The mere mention of his name sent female hearts aflutter.
All but one.
Mira was the only one actually in prayer, as they were all supposed to be. At least, she was kneeling before the small stone altar and trying to concentrate, but the chatter about Douglas had her distracted. Unable to continue her rosary, she sighed heavily and stood up, going to the window and pushing betweena couple of the young women to see if she could possibly see what had them fluttering like birds.
She couldn’t.
The entire situation was ridiculous.
“Do you want me to seek him out and settle this once and for all?” she asked with some sarcasm. “Do you want to know which lady he favors so you will stop this foolish behavior? We have been going through this for months and it is time to end it. Who is brave enough to know the truth?”
Nine hopeful yet fearful faces were gazing back at her. Astoria, Davina, Helen, Ines, Louisa, Marceline, Primrose, and Theodora. All of them from some of the finest families in England, all of them ranging from fourteen years of age to eighteen. Mira was the oldest of the group at twenty years and three, but she was a special case. She wasn’t truly part of them, but then again, she was simply because amongst the throng was where Lady Isabel wanted her. Astoria, Davina, and Helen were the second oldest, all of them having seen eighteen years. They were women grown.
