William had given the lands adjoining his to Huard de Vassey, one of the duke’s most ruthless men, but one who had supported William from the start in his campaign to control England. Giles had seen the man in battle, and as lord of his lands, and knew that no one enjoyed the suffering and misery of others more. Pray God, Lord Huard would return to Normandy and his seneschal would be more tolerant of the Saxons under his rule.
Pray God!
From what Giles had heard, Huard was beginning as he meant to go on and had already undertaken the complete subjugation of anyone or anything Saxon on his property. Giles suspected that his lands would be the first place anyone running from Huard’s harsh rule would come.
And they must be prepared, for under law a lord had the right to seek and gain back runaway serfs. He could punish them as he saw fit, though leaving them alive enough to work was always a consideration. Since many of those granted lands already held land and titles on the continent, they could call for more labourers and knights from home to help them in England.
Until England was settled and William’s rule uncontested, the Norman lords would be best advised to tread carefully, as William’s man had informed him when he had received his grant. Take the lands, secure the lands, control the people, get heirs and keep the lands. Simple, clear instructions on William’s wishes for his new English subjects, but each lord would decide his manner and methods themselves, leading to many variations, hence the difference between Giles’s way and Huard’s.
Giles emptied two cups of wine before he felt ready to discuss this subject with Brice, for his friend would no doubt face similar challenges. After completing the report to his commanders and hearing theirs, he dismissed them and continued talking to Brice late into the night about his plans to aid any of those who escaped Huard’s cruelty.
Though it was a dangerous endeavor, neither he nor Brice could allow such brutality to go unanswered and unopposed. If his opposition and actions must be done quietly and with little or no notice, so be it. Lord Gautier’s lessons sank deep into his soul and he would keep his honour by carrying out clandestine rescues of those unfortunates trapped in Huard’s power.
It was not until later, as he climbed the stairs to his chambers, that Emma’s words finally struck him—the lady’s courses were upon her. The realisation froze him there as he thought on all that meant to him, to her and to their future.
Fayth did not carry Edmund’s child.
Their link was severed and their paths went in different directions. Anything that had happened between them in the past was simply that—past.
Giles was her future and she would, God willing, bear his children to carry his name. As he waved Emma off to her own pallet and lifted the latch on the door he almost laughed. He knew it would not be as easy as that, but he suspected that once she was with child he could claim her fierce loyalties. Pushing the door open, he moved quietly as he took off his clothing, placed his sword down and climbed into the bed. Or tried to, for the lady now lay sleeping in the very centre.
Easing her onto her side, he slid down next to her. She stirred, but he whispered to her, urging her back to sleep, for Emma had revealed how much work she’d accomplished before taking ill. Her gentle breathing told him she had succumbed, but in her sleep she leaned back against his body and rested there.
After four days on the road, riding and sleeping in the torrential rains, with the cold seeping into his bones, nothing could have felt better than this. Her soft bottom against his groin did not inflame him this once; instead he held her close and breathed in her scent, finding comfort there. The horrors he’d seen and learned of, and his worries for their future, faded away as he lay there with her. Although he thought he would not gain sleep this night, he felt it tugging him down.
In that moment, nothing could feel more right to him.
When he woke and saw the fear back in her eyes, he wondered when things had gone awry.
Chapter Fourteen
Giles woke to find Fayth sitting against the wall staring at him. Her face was pale, but it was the fear in her gaze that drew his attention. Pushing his hair out of his eyes, he leaned up on his elbows and tried to figure out what had happened.
‘I need to use the chamber pot, my lord,’ she said.
Well, that would be one thing he had not considered. He usually left the room as soon as he rose, leaving her to her ablutions in private. This was the first morning since sharing a bed that he had not.
‘You should have woken me,’ he replied as the other reason she needed privacy occurred to him.
Her courses were still upon her.
Grabbing up his clothes and weapons, he opened the door and called for Emma. ‘She will see to your needs, Fayth.’
These female bodily functions were a mystery to him and one he would rather avoid. Though most women he knew dealt with it matter-of-factly, they were not born and raised as noblewomen and how ladies dealt with the whole matter was something he really did not wish to think on.
But think on it Giles did, even as he stopped in the smaller chamber and pulled his braies, shirt and tunic on, tied his stockings up and then his boots. Buckling on his belt and scabbard, he realised that Fayth did not play the high and mighty lady-of-the-manor here. Her role as steward was a temporary thing, and then she would go back to doing whatever ladies did. He slid his sword into its leather carrier and his dagger into his boot.
Whatdidladies do?
Thinking back to his time fostering with his Lord Gautier, he remembered his wife sewing and embroidering, seeing to the state of the keep and those who lived in it, and praying. Lady Constance prayed much. And so did the ladies who attended her. But most importantly, they saw to their lord’s comfort.
He reached the hall and took his place at table, waiting on the light fare they ate in the morn. His men and those who served him entered, ate at the other tables and left to their duties. Giles waited to see if she would come down to eat before seeking out Roger and Brice with orders.
Finally she entered and he watched her every move as she walked from the stairway and made her way along the hall to the front. A soft smile here, a word there, to anyone who met her gaze or offered a greeting. Then he realised what was missing—Fayth had no companions other than her servants. Any other noblewoman he knew of or had seen always had a gaggle of other women around them or were in a gaggle of women around another woman.
Fayth was alone.
At the time of his arrival, he had isolated her on purpose for her safety and his peace of mind. While she had recuperated from her injury and while he had been still not certain of her motives or actions, it had been easier to keep her in her chambers. Once married, he had been unhappy with the thought of her wandering around the manor unescorted and unobserved. When he had assigned Brice to aid her, he had given her need for companionship no thought for he knew that Brice would protect her.
