“Perhaps.”Quinn inclined his head to her, then turned Fortitude to gallop past the party and greet his liege lord’s messenger.
Melissande watched him go, thinking of how he had never confessed to tender feelings for her.Surely, he would not insist that they live separately, one at Annossy and one at Sayerne?She had conceived his child and only God knew if it would be a boy.There was naught more she could do until the child was born to secure her husband’s affection and perhaps not even then.
Surely, this would not be the end?
Quinn’sfirst day in residence at Sayerne was a wondrous one.He saw the work begun and aided in many tasks himself, lending a hand to a wagon stuck in the mud, clearing debris from the bailey and carrying wood for the smith to light his fire.He carried seed and even led the ploughhorse for the first furrow, smiling at the cheers of his villeins.It was a long day of hard labor, but he welcomed it.
Meanwhile, Melissande had been busy in the hall with the help of Louis.The place looked a hundred times better than it had earlier that very day, and the change was welcome.The boys had patched the roof and lit fires in the great fireplaces.There were benches and tables set up and a cold meal for all who had accompanied them.There was a barrel of ale from Annossy, as well as bread and bacon and cheese.Quinn was certain no fare had ever tasted so fine.
Afterward, Niall raised his voice and gave them a song, and some of the villeins danced as the others clapped in time.Quinn slept before the fire on a straw pallet, Melissande tightly against his side, with her father’s fur-lined cloak over them both.
No ghosts haunted his dreams that night, but perhaps he was too tired.
At first light, he rose with Niall to ride out to hunt, giving Melissande a kiss farewell.“Remember that Tulley himself comes this day,” he reminded her with a smile.
“How could I forget?”
“We had best ensure a fine meal.”
“He had best bring the wine if he wants it,” she said, kissing him in return.“Good luck this day.”
“And to you.”
Louis arrived then, as crisp and efficient as ever.“Do not forget the small game, my lord,” he said with a smile.“And George is always glad of eggs.”
“Aye, for the meat must be hung and we have need of something for this night,” Quinn replied with a smile.“I will take three of the boys with me in anticipation of success.They can seek nests while Niall and I hunt larger game.”
He left the hall with purpose and a whistle on his lips, savoring his sense that all came together most well.
It waswhen Quinn was saddling Fortitude that Melissande first saw the lone rider.He remained under the cover of trees in the distance, close to the barn on the perimeter of Sayerne.Melissande narrowed her eyes, wondering if she had imagined him.He retreated into the shadow of the forest, disappearing as if he had never been, as Niall and Quinn rode toward the gates, and she feared that the light played tricks upon her.
And then there was too much to be done to think upon it.
Tulley arrived by midday, with more supplies than Melissande might have hoped.He brought a large party of men to rebuild the homes of the villeins and the keep itself, and vowed that there were stone masons en route to repair the walls.The smith fired his forge to see the gates repaired and to make nails for the workers, and seed was unloaded from wagons with much satisfaction.
Melissande saw horses stabled and palettes arranged, a place made for Tulley himself for that night, and an order of precedence established for the work.Quinn had discussed most of it with her, and she followed his instructions.To her delight, Heloise had accompanied her uncle, and was quick to offer her assistance with the kitchen garden of the keep itself.Melissande worked with her there, along with Berthe, to plant the seeds after the earth had been loosened by the villeins.There was so much to be done that no one could be idle—even the Lord de Tulley took a turn at casting seeds into the furrows, much to the delight of the villeins.Lothair was busy tending the inevitable minor injuries.To Melissande’s surprise, Luc and Thierry showed great skill in guiding the ox that pulled the plough.
She even had the opportunity to confer with Tulley, a discussion that seemed to amuse her overlord greatly and one that she feared would yield no result.
Melissande was returning to the keep to confer with Louis and George about the preparations for the evening meal when she chose to climb to the summit of the wall.The stones had tumbled down, making almost a stairway, and she could not resist the impulse to look for Quinn.
What she saw instead was that lone rider again.
In the late afternoon light, she could see him more clearly.His was a fine horse, one richly caparisoned, and large enough to be a destrier.He sat tall in the saddle and she thought the light glinted off chain mail.
A knight.
But who?
She was inclined to alert Lothair, but the fact that the knight was alone gave her pause.He did not lead an army.He did not arrive as a guest, or travel with his entourage.Knights did not ride alone in her experience.It was most curious.From whence had he come and what was his destination?Perhaps he meant to return to some abode, but the day drew to an end and there was little within range.
Melissande could not stifle her dread, or her sense that he looked back at her.He turned the horse, the creature flicking its tail before stepping back into the shadows of the forest.She saw that the caparisons were golden with some black insignia.
Her mouth went dry.
Privas had a gold banner with a black hawk emblazoned on it.
There was only one son remaining of the family of Privas: Arnaud, her former betrothed.
