Ophelia greeted the lovely, dark-haired woman sitting next to an enormous man with auburn hair. “A pleasure, my lady,” she said, dipping into a curtsy because of Astria’s royal blood. “I am greatly honored.”
Astria stood up. “Please,” she said, “there is no need for formality. Mayhap we should leave the men alone to drink and celebrate? Come and sit with us. Let us come to know one another. Blackchurch is a small world, and we are more like a family, and we would very much like to welcome you.”
Ophelia let herself be pulled along by Athdara and Astria, toward a small table near the front window of the tavern. Gisele and Elisiana followed, with Elisiana sending one of the serving women for food and drink. Together, the five of them sat down while the trainers at the other table collected their cups to toast the new groom.
“Let the men have their time together,” Athdara said, smiling at the women around the table. “They are closer than brothers, so this moment is special to them.”
Ophelia looked over her shoulder to where Creston was grinning as his friends congratulated him. “They seem to havea bond, that is true,” she said. Then she looked at the women around her. “Truthfully, I’d never even heard of Blackchurch until the betrothal. I do not know much about it.”
“You will learn quickly,” Gisele said in a soft, sweet voice. “The Blackchurch Guild is the most prestigious training ground for warriors in the world, and those men you see, your husband included, are the master knights who train the best of the best. They are legend.”
The serving woman brought them five cups and put a pitcher of wine on the table in front of them. Ophelia felt the woman touch her on the shoulder and looked up to see Greenie.
“I’ve brought the best for ye, my lady,” she said, giving her a wink. “Ye are a beautiful bride.”
Ophelia smiled brightly at the sight of the helpful servant. “My thanks, Greenie,” she said. “You’ve been so kind.”
Greenie winked at her and headed off. As Ophelia turned to the table, she could see curious expressions and hastened to explain.
“When I first arrived, she helped me,” she said. “She was the one who told me about Sir Creston. I knew nothing about him until she spoke well of him.”
Athdara chuckled. “You need not call your own husbandSirCreston,” she said. “But it is difficult, I know. These men demand respect simply from their accomplishments and their manner. It was doubly difficult for me to transition from formality to informality with Tay.”
Ophelia looked at the woman. “Why is that?”
“Because she was one of his recruits,” Gisele said, her dark eyes twinkling at Athdara. “Blackchurch accepts both male and female recruits. As long as they pass the entry tests, they are permitted to train, and Tay was her first trainer. I heard they nearly killed one another at first.”
Athdara laughed softly. “He was my first trainer and it was his duty to try to cause me to fail,” she said. “I clubbed him right between the legs and that nearly ended everything. Fortunately, he was forgiving.”
Ophelia was listening with interest. “He must have been if he married you,” she said, smiling. Then she looked around the table again. “Do you all have such exciting stories of introduction to your husbands?”
The women began laughing. “Not all,” Astria said. “In my case, I was a spoil of war. My husband and I were pushed together by circumstance. Fortunately, we liked one another.”
“And Fox and I have known one another since we were very young,” Gisele said. “I’ve never loved anyone but him, but I suppose that is rare. Where do you hail from, Lady de Royans?”
“Please, call me Ophelia. I will also answer to Lia. If we are to be friends, we must feel like friends, don’t you think?” As the heads around her bobbed, Ophelia continued. “I am from Dorset. I fostered at Okehampton Castle, but I was born in Symondsbury.”
“Where is that?” Astria asked.
“South,” Ophelia said. “Toward Sidmouth on the south side of England. My grandfather is the Earl of Sidbury and I spent a good deal of time at his home of Axen Castle when I was young. It is by the sea, and I do love the sea.”
“Good lass,” Astria said, her eyes lighting up. “I love the sea, also.”
The other wives glanced at one another, smirking, until Athdara spoke up. “You should know that Lady Matheson likes to sail upon the ocean,” she said. “Truthfully, that is putting it mildly. Astria, tell Lady Royans what it is you have done in the past.”
Astria cocked an eyebrow because she didn’t exactly want to confess to a woman she’d only just met that she was, in fact,a lady pirate by trade, and a ruthless one at that. “Must we make all confessions now?” she said. “Lady de Royans will run screaming if we tell her everything. Better to let her come to know us first before we tell her of our tumultuous pasts.”
There were giggles around the table because the truth was that not one of them had had a smooth, uneventful past. Ophelia looked around and figured she had nothing to lose by telling them what she’d recently experienced. She was fairly certain Creston would tell their husbands at some point, and they would tell their wives.
Better it come from the horse’s mouth.
“If you wish to talk past experiences, I’ve got one that might be considered scandalous,” she said, watching all eyes turn to her. “When I was at Okehampton, I met a knight whom I fell in love with. I was certain we were going to spend our lives together. Our wedding was to be two months ago, when he left me standing in the church as he surrendered himself to an abbey to become a priest. He decided that becoming God’s servant was a better use of his life than becoming my husband.”
The humor that had so recently been around the table fled and the women appeared properly horrified.
“I am so sorry, my lady,” Athdara said with sincerity. “He simply… left?”
Ophelia nodded. “He did,” she said. “As I waited for him at the church, his father came to tell me that he would not be marrying me. But the truth is that he was a very pious man. I’d known him a long time and he’d spoken of the priesthood before, but I thought a life with me was more attractive. I was wrong. How can I compete with God?”
