“Again, you are correct, my lady.”
“Then someone should tell your knight not to blame women for the failure of men under his command.”
The enormous knight didn’t say anything for a moment, perhaps sizing her up behind that face plate. Lista couldn’t see his eyes, but she could only imagine what he was thinking. She thought perhaps she might have said too much but, on the other hand, the sight of her mother being pushed around had inflamed her.
The big knight cleared his throat quietly.
“I have introduced myself,” he said. “It would be polite for you to tell me your name, also.”
He was right, which meant she couldn’t be so self-righteous any longer. She’d had a failure in manners, too.
“I am Lady Lista de la Mere of Felkington Castle,” she said. “This is my mother, Lady Felkington, and my aunt, Ladyd’Orbec. If… if they got in your man’s way, then I apologize, but it was unintentional.”
That was as much of an apology as they were going to get from her. Her gaze moved to the soldier who had shoved her mother and then to the knight who had defended him. His helm was turned in her direction so she was positive he was looking at her. One wrong word from him and she could quite possibly take a stick to him. The commander of Berwick must have sensed that, so he tried to distract her.
“Felkington?” he repeated. “That is to the south, is it not?”
Not wanting to be rude to the man who had tried to ease the situation, Lista returned her focus to him.
“Aye, my lord,” she said. “To the southwest.”
“And your father? His name?”
“Edmund de la Mere, Lord Felkington. The castle was named for the title,” Lista said. “I also had a brother, Simon, who perished two years ago. I believe you knew him.”
That brought pause from the knight. “I did,” he said, surprised. “Dead, you say? What happened?”
“He was murdered in London.”
The knight’s head bobbed up and down in understanding. “You have my sympathies,” he said. “I did not know your brother well, but I met him on a few occasions.”
“He thought well of you, my lord.”
“Then I am pleased,” the knight said. “And your father is dead also?”
“He is, my lord.”
The knight nodded as if satisfied by the answers but before he could continue, the door to the carriage lurched open and a woman in a tight wimple stepped forth. She was an older woman, though quite lovely, and after her came a younger woman with long, dark hair, stylishly arranged.
“We may as well get out,” the older woman said, pushing between the soldiers until she came to the knights and Lista in a strange sort of standoff. Her gaze fixed on Lista curiously. “Ah. I see why we have stopped. A social visit, is it?”
Lista had no idea who the woman was, though she seemed pleasant enough. Reaching up, the big knight removed his helm, revealing a handsome man with shoulder-length, dark blond hair and striking eyes that were two different colors.
“Nay, this is not a social visit,” he said. “This is Lady Lista de la Mere. We’ve had a bit of a… misunderstanding, but I have made our apologies.”
The woman in the wimple approached Lista, focusing on her intently. She was a beautiful woman for her age, fair-skinned, with brown eyes.
“De la Mere,” she repeated. “Edmund de la Mere?”
Lista nodded. “He was my father, my lady.”
That brought a smile to the woman’s lips. “Your mother is Meadow?”
Lista was surprised. “Aye, my lady,” she said. “Meadow is indeed my mother. Do you know her?”
The woman nodded. “I did, long ago,” she said, looking around. “Is your mother here?”
Lista thought she was. She thought her mother and Flora were right behind her, but a quick perusal of the area failed to turn them up. She was about to shout her mother’s name until she heard some bickering going on in the apothecary shop behind them.
