He lightly kissed her then tucked her arm through his. “You must not fret so.”
“I am unused to such high company and so consistently,” she murmured as they made their way out of their chambers towards the great hall. “I have never had to display such fine manners for so long before.” She smiled when Thayer laughed.
“’Tis not for much longer. Soon the plans for me will be made clear. Then I will see you back to Riverfall if you wish, do what the king requires of me, and return to you.” He smiled down at her. “Court life sore tries my temper as well. ’Tis all subterfuge, treachery, and idleness.”
“Mmmmm.” She frowned. “I thought you wished me to stay here?” Suspicion crept into her mind, but she forced it aside. “You said it would be safer.”
“And so it is. Still, I cannot like to see you wearied and unhappy. I know you find little to interest you here.”
“True. At times—at many times actually—I find myself staring empty-eyed at the jongleurs while thinking of all that could be done at Riverfall.”
Thayer laughed softly and nodded. “My thoughts often wander too. I find I rather like being a landholder. There is far more to do than I ever thought. Aye, and at Riverfall the Welsh make just enough trouble to keep me from growing restless and battle hungry.”
“Kind of them,” she drawled, her gaze revealing her laughter as she glanced up at him.
At that moment he led her into the great hall. It was all that kept him from heartily kissing her impishly curved lips. Then the fears came. They swept over him as he watched the way the men looked at Gytha. Too many wanted her, coveted her beauty. All of them were far more handsome and glib than he could ever be. Thayer ached to steal Gytha away from all the temptation laid out before her.
Gytha sighed as she glanced around. There were those looks again. Nothing she did seemed to halt them. It made her not only uncomfortable but angry. She was unmoved by the flattery and flirtatious manners of the young courtiers, yet they continued to plague her. She began to think her aloof air challenged them. However, she had little idea of what to do about it.
Her thoughts quickly changed direction as Lady Elizabeth sidled over to them. Gytha felt a growing tension in Thayer as the woman approached. What concerned her was what caused that tension.
She quickly reminded herself that he spent every night in their bed. He held her close, warm, and secure, even when they did not make love. Surely a man whose heart was elsewhere would not do so. Would a man who contemplated adultery hold his wife so gently through the night? She wanted to believe he would not, but uncertainty stole her confidence. Such reminders did, however, aid her in replying coolly when Lady Elizabeth purred that she had come to escort Thayer to the king.
As if he could not find the king on his own,she mused crossly as she sought a quiet place to wait for Thayer’s return. To her dismay, Lady Elizabeth hurried back to her. Gytha knew this was to be the confrontation she had hoped to avoid. Inwardly, she sighed with resignation and prayed Thayer would return quickly to end it.
“You feel quite secure, do you not, Lady Gytha.”
“And should I not, m’lady?”
“He loved me once.”
“Once.” The woman’s confident chuckle made Gytha eager to slap her face.
“He will again. Have you not seen how he softens towards me? Why, even now, I could snatch him from your hold with ease.”
That was exactly what Gytha feared the most, but she struggled to act unconcerned, drawling, “To what purpose? I know you seek a husband. Thayer is wed already.”
“’Tis true I seek a husband, but while I do so, I must live. Thayer is no longer a poor knight. As a lover, I feel sure he would be most generous. Aye, very generous indeed.”
“I do not believe you will have the opportunity to find out.” Gytha hoped she sounded as confident as she wished to appear.
“Nay? He is such a big, healthy man. Healthy and so lustfully greedy. Ah, how well I recall just how greedy he can be. And how filling. One woman could never satisfy such a man’s needs.”
“One woman has been doing well enough so far.”
“Has she? Mayhap there has simply been no choice offered him. We shall see.”
“Thayer is a man who honors his vows.” Gytha wished to God that she felt the same conviction she weighted her words with.
“Marriage vows?” Lady Elizabeth laughed. “Foolish girl. No man honors those. You reveal your naivete. I will show you, my innocent child, just how easily a man can forget those words muttered before some priest.”
Gytha watched Lady Elizabeth walk away, invitation in the woman’s every step. Elizabeth went straight to where Thayer consulted with the king and began to flirt with a young courtier Gytha recognized, a rather handsome youth named Dennis. But Gytha saw whom Elizabeth’s fine green eyes were directed towards—Thayer. She too watched her husband closely despite wishing she had the strength to walk away, to completely ignore the taunting game Elizabeth played.
Although she loathed the doubts that plagued her, she could do little to halt them. She could not shake the memory of Thayer’s saying he had loved Elizabeth, nor stop remembering that he had never told her that he had ceased to love the woman. Lady Elizabeth was very determined. Gytha feared there was a very real chance that Thayer would succumb to the woman’s lures yet again. She knew that, where the heart was involved, even the wisest of men could be a fool. One of her fears was that her own heart was about to make her one.
When Thayer escorted Lady Elizabeth out of the hall, Gytha felt something within her freeze. Not once did Thayer even glance her way. His gaze was fixed upon the lady’s lovely upturned face. Elizabeth leaned into Thayer and he put his arm about her. They looked like two lovers slipping away for a moment alone. Gytha did not want to believe Thayer would treat her so before so many people. She felt certain every gaze was turned her way.
“Ah, m’lady, come along. Allow me to take you to the gardens,” murmured a soft male voice.
