He’d been up all night just like the rest of them.
With Addington’s voice in the background, he headed down the spiral stairs and was fortunate enough to find an exit right away, one that dumped out into the big courtyard. It was fullof men at this time of day, some of them lying along the wall, dozing, while still others were repairing equipment. A wheelwright was among them, fixing the wheel of a small wagon.
It was the usual bustle of a courtyard as he headed to the passageway that led to the exterior of the castle. Both portcullises were up, indicative of people outside the castle finishing the clean up after the battle, and he passed through, ending up on the road that ran alongside the castle walls. The gate to the gardens was open and he passed through, seeing the chopped-up gardens and broken trees, which were mostly cleaned up at this point. Servants were in the gardens, digging, replacing trees and fixing the wooden fences that kept the barn animals out.
The sun overhead was bright, beating down on a bright green world from the rains the night before. Julian came to a small stone wall that separated the fruit trees from the vegetable garden with the vineyard down the hill beyond. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he was on the lookout for Lista, but what he saw going on in the vineyard had him stopping in his tracks.
Stopped dead.
“My lady?”
Lista looked up from a grapevine to see Louis standing a few feet away. He was fully dressed, prepared for travel, and she stood up straight.
“You are leaving already?” she said. “I thought you’d at least sleep for the day.”
Louis smiled weakly. “That is usually true, but I kept hearing my father in my ear,” he said, lifting his hands as if to fend off a ghostly dream. “Get to Kelso, Louis! Stop lounging!”
Lista giggled. “God’s Bones,” she said. “You are not lounging. You are sleeping. You had a very busy night. Surely he would allow for that.”
Louis cocked an eyebrow. “You think so?” he said, grinning. “You do not know my father, my lady. To him, idle hands are susceptible to the devil’s work, so even as children, he made sure we were always busy.”
Lista brushed off her hands. “I suppose there is something to be said for that,” she said. “It’s not as if you want a bunch of children languishing about, getting into trouble. Mayhap you were a troublemaker and he had good reason to pester you?”
Louis laughed. “I can see that someone has told you about me,” he said. “Well? Who was it? Who has spilled all my secrets?”
Lista chuckled. “I will never tell,” she said. “Ask all you wish, but I shall protect my source.”
He shook his head at her. “You are cruel.”
She nodded. “Now you know.”
He laughed again but his smile soon faded. “Truly, I would not believe that about you,” he said. “You have been an excellent hostess and although my acquaintance with Felkington was not ideal, the storm and the Scots brought me to your doorstep and I am grateful for your kind hospitality. I hope you will allow me to reciprocate. Someday, you must come to Herrington.”
Lista smiled. “That is kind of you,” she said. “It is far to the south, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Not too terribly far,” he said. “It is still north of York. Do you travel much?”
She shook her head. “Nay, not much,” she said. “We can conduct business in Berwick or Alnwick or even Newcastle if we must, but we rarely go further south than that.”
He nodded in understanding, his black eyes lingering on her. “I do not blame you,” he said. “Why would you leave Felkington? It is a paradise.”
Lista looked up at the soaring walls. “It is,” she said. “It is my paradise and you are welcome back anytime to visit. It is the least we can do for a man who fought to protect us.”
He lifted his eyebrows at the thought of the Scots. “They were surprisingly aggressive last night,” he said. “Though I must admit, I do not see battle very often, so it was good to hone my skills. But de Velt… he is a man who needs no practice. His talents are beyond compare.”
Lista tore her gaze away from her ancestral home and looked at him. “I do not know much about knights, but I do know that the de Velt men are warlords. We were fortunate he was here last night.”
Louis nodded. “Indeed,” he said. He eyed her for a moment before continuing. “May… may I ask a bold question, my lady?”
Lista lifted a hand, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at him. “Of course.”
“Are you and de Velt betrothed?”
Lista’s cheeks flushed a shade of pink and she lowered her gaze and her hand. “Nay,” she said. “We have only just met, in fact, but he has asked to court me. What I mean is that he has askedonlyme– he’s not yet asked my mother for permission.”
“I see,” Louis said. “Then your aunt’s questions about my being married make some sense. She was seeing if I might be interested.”
Lista immediately lost her humor. “I am very sorry about Flora,” she said. “She had no right to ask you such a thing. It is none of her affair.”
