“And a wife in the bargain, never mind one with a prosperous holding.Rolfe is not the sole one of us blessed by Dame Fortune,” Thierry said, toasting Quinn.
“Not necessarily so,” Luc said in a teasing tone.“Is the lady young?Is she a beauty?”
“Aye, she is both.Clever, as well, and well experienced in matters of administration.”Quinn sighed.“I have much to learn from my lady wife.”
The brothers studied him, perhaps hearing more than he confessed.
Quinn forced a smile.“Perhaps that is Tulley’s scheme, for I am not to be granted Sayerne’s seal for a year, and only then if we conceive a son.”He thought of Melissande’s concerns for her own future and wondered yet again how he could reassure her of his intentions.
Not by delaying his return on this day, that was for certain.He frowned, disliking that Tulley again dictated his fate.
“Have you heard tell of the others?”Thierry asked after a moment of silence.
“Aye!Bayard is at Annossy, of course, and Amaury ensures the gates are defended in my absence.Lothair and Niall arrived with Amaury just after me, and they guard the mill, which has been attacked twice.”
“Brigands!What manner of coward attacks those who are not trained in the arts of war?I wager you have need of more men you can trust,” Thierry said, a predictable gleam in his eyes.He never had any sympathy for those who preyed upon the weak.
“I do and I welcome you both, but this night, I am summoned to the board of the Lord de Tulley.”
“Invite us,” Thierry said with a grin, then nudged his brother.“He might grant one of us a bride, as that seems to be his habit.”
“He has a niece close by his side, and I should not be fool enough to smile at her,” Quinn advised and they laughed together.“I will ask him, to be sure,” he vowed and they drank together to the success of that scheme.
’Twas strange tobe without Lord Quinn at Annossy.Berthe felt his absence keenly, though she had met him only a few days before.There was a reassuring effect of his presence that Berthe noticed in his absence.She knew her reaction was naught compared to that of her lady.Though Lady Melissande strove to remain occupied and acted as if she scarce noticed her husband’s absence, Berthe thought her lady too watchful.She jumped if any soul entered the hall and glanced frequently toward the gates.Berthe could fairly see her listening for the sound of a destrier’s hoof beats.
But there was no such sound.The day dragged long, the shadows lengthened in the hall and finally the lanterns were lit.Still, Lord Quinn did not return.The rain drummed in the bailey and on the roof of the keep.The dampness of spring filled the air along with the smell of the thaw.There were already a few trickles of water on the floor of the great hall and the moat was filled high.The guard changed on the curtain wall and in the bailey, and Gaultier came into the hall, his expression sour with disapproval.
Lady Melissande scarcely looked up.She was working upon the accounts for Annossy, having told Louis that very morning that she must ensure they were complete to date before surrendering them to her lord husband.She had labored upon them all the day long, seated by the fire in the great hall.
Berthe shivered, knowing she would find it hard to stay warm on this night, and hoped she could find a second straw pallet to put beneath her own.The very stone emanated a dampness in the spring that she felt more keenly than winter’s chill.She wore a cloak, even though she was in the hall, and went to the kitchen to get a cup of mulled cider for her lady.
She was heating the cider over the fire when the door to the gardens was opened.Bayard entered the kitchen, shaking rain out of his cloak and hood.His eyes glinted when his gaze danced over her, but he did not speak to her.
Berthe straightened and turned her back upon Sir Rogue.
“Is it always so foul here?”he asked the cook.
“Only in the spring,” George said.“You will see.It will rain and rain, until you think we have need of an ark.The snow will melt and the river will over-run its banks.The mud will be plentiful and deep, and just when you think you cannot bear to see another drop of rain, the sun will appear.”He snapped his fingers.
“The air will turn warm, immediately,” Louis confirmed.“The birds will sing and the valley will turn lush and green.”He shook his head.“It seems to change in the blink of an eye, and then there is labor to be done in truth.”
“So either there is rain or work,” Bayard said.“I see little merry in that combination.”
“But then the growing begins,” the cook said with enthusiasm.“I will be very happy to have the first wild leeks of the season, perhaps for the sauce of a venison stew.”
“We are all well and done with potage vegetables by the spring,” Louis agreed.
“Is there any food sweeter than the first berry?”George demanded and soon everyone in the kitchen was talking of summer’s bounty.
Berthe smiled as she listened, and swirled the cider.
A man’s hand appeared in the periphery of her vision and she jumped, colliding with Bayard who stood directly behind her and spilling a measure of cider.“You startled me, Sir Rogue,” she chided, keenly aware of his proximity.“Though I anticipate that was your scheme.”
She halfway expected him to wrap his other arm around her waist or bend down to whisper in her ear—indeed, she hoped for as much, but he stepped back and disappointment made her irritable.Was she not sufficiently desirable for this knight even to flirt with her?
“I wished to ask you something of Annossy,” he said and she glanced his way.“My lord Quinn would know every way in and out of both keep and solar.Do you know of any that are secret?”
Berthe looked down at the cider.“Have you asked my lady?”
