Ivy’s jaw ticked stubbornly. “I am going for a walk first. With Ali.”
Peyton gazed at her sister as if the woman had lost her mind. “You have indeed accepted him, then. Listen to yourself, Ivy. You might not have admitted your approval in words, but undoubtedly in action. How could you do this? He is not like us, darling, not at all. He…. he is a different. A barbarian.”
Ivy’s face went from a dull red to a sickly white. “If you refer to him in that term again, I shall kill you. I swear it, Peyton, with every breath in my body. He is nothing of the kind.”
Peyton was struck by Ivy’s defense of the man. She’d never seen her sister look so absolutely serious. Ivy’s sincerity unearthed a chord of remorse for referring to Ali in a derogatory term. When Ivy had referred to him in the same manner, Peyton had been deeply embarrassed. Now, out of frustration and fear, she had done the very same thing and she was appalled at her hypocrisy.
But her stubborn nature prevented her from apologizing. She sighed heavily, unable to match her sister’s intense gaze. “Mayhap I simply do not know you as I thought I did, Ivy.”
Ivy mulled over the muttered words, sensing the confusion within them. Since her private conversation with Ali and thejourney to Blackstone, her confusion towards the dark soldier was fading and she wished she could tell her sister the fear, the excitement, the wonder she was experiencing. But gazing into Peyton’s sapphire orbs, she could see that now was not the time.
When Ivy spoke, it was in a hushed whisper. “Nay, darling, I do not suppose you do.”
Stung and disoriented, Peyton turned away and moved to the windows at the opposite end of the room. The pleasant July evening filled the air, the scents of blossoms and the smell of hay wafting on the breeze as she tried to orient herself after a shocking conversation. A situation that had been unpleasant from the onset had suddenly become worse, and she had no concept of where it would end. Her future, her life, was careening out of control and there was no way to stop it.
She did not realize she was wiping at her eyes as she stood by the window deep in thought. She wanted to return home, tired of the disorientation she was feeling. But she was resigned to remaining at Blackstone, in a keep full of strangers, including her sister.
“Are you feeling poorly, dear?” Lady Celine was beside her, her lovely face concerned. “It has been a trying day. Mayhap you should retire early.”
She straightened respectfully as Alec’s mother addressed her. Thinking on the woman’s perceptive statement, she realized her head was aching and her stomach hurt terribly. The thought of a soft, cool bed sounded wonderful.
“I haven’t slept since yesterday, my lady,” she replied softly. In spite of Lady Celine’s somewhat harsh personality, Peyton could honestly admit that she found the woman comforting. Having never truly known a mother’s love, she found it very easy to succumb to Celine’s motherly attentions.
“Poor dear,” Celine’s arm went about her shoulders and she turned to her husband. “My lord, Lady Peyton is most fatigued. She shall retire for the evening, with your permission.”
Brian and Alec, standing together in conversation, looked at Peyton closely and Brian nodded firmly. “Absolutely,” he said. “Good eve to you, my lady. And welcome to our family.”
“Thank you, my lord,” she said softly, feeling her exhaustion a good deal more with Lady Celine’s consoling manner. The more the woman hugged and patted, the more Peyton’s strength waned. Eyeing Ivy across the room, she knew that Lady Celine was her only friend in the world. Selfish pity bloomed.
“I shall take her, mother,” Alec said quietly, setting his chalice to the table.
“You will not,” Lady Celine rejected her son’s offer. “I am quite capable of caring for your betrothed. You may stay and enjoy your wine.”
Peyton could see by Alec’s expression that he was reluctant to do as he was told, but he obediently offered his future wife a good night and lifted her white hand to his lips for a chaste kiss. Peyton felt the kiss like a scalding iron, matching the look in his eyes. Her cheeks flushing a dull red, she lowered her gaze and allowed Lady Celine to lead her from the room.
*
After Peyton hadretired for the evening, Ali excused he and Ivy from Brian’s gathering. He had promised the lady a leisurely stroll about the grounds, and stroll they would. As they were becoming increasingly comfortable with one another, he was desperate to know her further.
Ivy was silent and distracted as he led her out into the moonlit July eve, gazing up at the brilliant display in theheavens. He was acutely aware of Ivy’s soft footfalls beside him, crunching softly against the hard-packed earth of the bailey.
“I cannot remember such a beautiful night,” Ali said softly, making idle conversation as he glanced at her lowered head.
Ivy’s blue eyes turned upward, staring at the diamond sky above. “One can see the North Star most clearly.”
He nodded, still studying the sky. After a moment, he sighed. “I find it fascinating to imagine that the great masters, Socrates, Homer, Euclid and the like, have seen the same stars as I have. They have gazed upon the same moon, or been burnt by the same sun. An engrossing concept, really.”
He cast Ivy another sidelong glance and was surprised to find her focused on him. He smiled faintly, moving beyond the trivial discourse he was attempting. “What is it, demoiselle? You seem distant.”
She held his gaze a moment. Then she looked away. “’Tis nothing,” she said softly.
He stopped; so did she. Raising a black eyebrow, he clasped his hands behind his back. “Nothing indeed. You have been unusually quiet. Is there something the matter?”
“No, truly,” she repeated, but there was uncertainty in her eyes. She was confused and he knew it.
“You are looking at me strangely,” he said.
“Was I? I did not mean to.”
