The water was cold, but it was also sweetly clean and refreshing. Gisele sat on the softly grassed bank of the small pond and washed herself off, relieved to bathe away the dirt from a long day of riding. She looked around the spot Nigel had chosen for their campsite, and was moved by its beauty.
Tall, lush trees surrounded the clearing, sheltering them from the heat and from the sight of their enemies. The late spring wildflowers were all abloom, scattered thickly around the glade, adding color and a soft scent. It was so lovely, so peaceful yet filled with the sounds of birds and small animals, that Gisele felt as if her very spirit was being soothed. She could not believe that any harm could come to her in such a tranquil place although she knew it would be foolish to let the place lull her into believing she was safe. Gisele sighed as she bent over the water and, using her cupped hands to scoop up water, rinsed the dust from her hair. If she and Nigel could find this beautiful glade, then so could the DeVeaux.
She hastily rubbed her hair dry, straightened her clothing, and went to build the campfire. If she kept herself busy, she might not do so much thinking. Thinking too much only left her upset, uneasy, and, sometimes, even afraid.
Once the fire was started, Gisele sat down beside it and looked around. The soft, golden light of the setting sun made the glade even more beautiful. This was not a place to allow dark thoughts, worries, and fears intrude upon its peace, she mused. She breathed deeply, savoring the quiet, then cursed when her thoughts turned to Nigel. Why would her mind not obey her wish for peace?
Now that she was not running for her life, now that Nigel had evaded the DeVeaux for a while, it was hard not to think about what had happened between them at the inn. She was still not sure she understood what he had done to her, or why. No one had ever made her feel such things, certainly not her husband. Gisele suspected she should be outraged, perhaps even a little afraid, but found that she was mostly curious.
Was that what all the minstrels sang about? It was a glorious feeling, and instinct told her that it would probably be even better if shared. That a man with a gentle, skilled touch could stir such feeling in a woman also explained why some women took lovers. After enduring her husband’s brutal attacks, Gisele had often wondered how any woman could willingly go to any man, and had been struck dumb to realize that some women embraced more than one. Now she began to understand.
Nigel had surprised her this morning, seduced her while she was more asleep than awake. Gisele supposed she ought to be furious, appalled, and offended, but no matter how deep she looked within herself she was none of those things. He had warned her that he planned to seduce her, and she had not firmly told him that she would not allow it. In a way, she had accepted the challenge. Neither had he used any tactics that were cruel or dishonorable. Gisele knew that some of her ease with his attempts to seduce her came from the surety that Nigel Murray would always heed a no.
She had not said no this morning, she thought with a grimace and a flush of embarrassment. She had been most willing, so willing she may well have shouted yes at the top of her voice.Another weakness, she mused, and shook her head. She was uncovering a great many of those.
One thing she did know for certain was that she had to make some decision about Nigel. There was passion between them. She could no longer deny or ignore it. And after this morning she could no longer just leave Nigel to play his game, a game she was certain he would now play much more seriously. He knew he could win, now. Before they bedded down for the night she had to decide if she were going to allow him to win or put a firm end to it now, and perhaps, forever.
Gisele gasped in surprise when Nigel suddenly appeared at her side, proudly displaying a quail ready for cooking. She felt unsettled by his abrupt arrival, since she had been thinking about him, and prayed that the shadows of sunset hid her blushes. Hoping he would think her unease was due to his habit of sneaking up on her, Gisele returned his smile.
“So, we will feast tonight,” she murmured as he put the bird on a spit and sat down across from her.
“One should enjoy God’s bounty when one can,” he said. “It makes the leaner times a little easier to bear.”
“Does it? I would have thought it would make those times harder to endure because one would more easily recall all one once had.”
“Such a dour eye ye set upon the world.” He laughed softly and shook his head. “Ye are one of those who prepare for the great deluge the priests speak of when it rains for several days in a row, arenae ye?”
She had to smile at his gentle teasing, and at herself, for there was some truth to his words. From the moment she was old enough to form an opinion on anything, she had always formed a solemn one. If there was a choice of fates, she had always selected the most dire. Marriage to DeVeau had not inspired her to change.
“There is no harm in being prepared for the worst, Sir Murray.”
“Nay, there isnae,” he agreed. “Howbeit, one doesnae want to see only the worst, expect only disaster and death. It can breed a darkness in the soul.”
“My Nana used to tell me that.”
“A wise woman.”
“Because she agreed with you?”
“Aye,” he said, and grinned when she giggled, but a moment later he became serious. “There is truth in what I, and your Nana, say. If one sets one’s eyes only on the dark and the evil, soon ’tis all one sees, and all one expects from others. ’Tisnae a good path to be walking on.”
“I know. Truly,” she reassured him. “If I were going to turn into such a woman, I believe my marriage would have done it.”
“And it hasnae?” he asked, watching her closely as he waited for her reply. Nigel was still not sure that Gisele trusted him, and searched for some clue to tell him if she ever would.
“Not completely,” she answered, then grimaced. “I have not had much cause or time to see the good in people in these last months, or to have much hope. I have not lost the ability to recognize and enjoy beauty, however. I realized that when I saw this place. Nor have I lost the craving for peace, or the wish to trust in people again. When I am free again I believe I will cease to be such a morbid soul.”
Nigel smiled as he turned the bird on the spit so that it could cook more evenly. Gisele moved to get the two metal plates Nigel carried in his saddlepacks, as well as the bread and the wineskin. She hungered for the food he prepared, and as she sat back down she hoped she had the patience to wait for it to be properly cooked.
She had to smile when she realized she was leaning toward the fire, breathing deeply of the delicious aroma of the roasting bird. In the last few days her appetite had grown tenfold. Gisele knew it was because she was working so hard just to stay alive, to avoid capture by her enemies. Her grandmother would be pleased, she thought, and smiled a little wider.
“What has ye looking so happy?” asked Nigel as he unsheathed his dagger, cut the bird into equal parts, and handed Gisele her share.
“I was just thinking how pleased my Nana would be to see me eating like this,” Gisele replied. “She was ever putting food in front of me and trying to coax me to eat more.”
Nigel chuckled. “’Tis a common urging of one’s elders. And, ye are a wee lass. I can easily see how ye would inspire such coddling and coaxing.”
Gisele was barely able to smile in response. She was too busy eating. For the next several moments eating was all she and Nigel did, pausing only to pass the wineskin back and forth. Gisele was not surprised when there was nothing left to set aside for another meal. It had been a small bird, and they had clearly been very hungry. It might not have been wise to indulge in such gluttony, but Gisele decided that it had certainly been very satisfying.
