“That the clothes belong to my pretty new slave,” Royce replied without taking his eyes from Kristen.
“Come now, you cannot really think so!” Alden scoffed. “’Twould mean she is no common wench, to own such rich apparel. Not even Queen Ealhswith has aught so fine as that green velvet. And the pearls alone are worth a fortune.”
Royce glanced back at Alden, his expression not as intense, but still thoughtful. “I suppose ’tis unlikely, but I will find out for certain before this day is through.”
“How? Asking if the clothes are hers will not suffice. She will tell you aye, whether ’tis true or not, for what woman would not claim such fine garb, when there is no one to deny the claim?”
“We shall see.”
Royce said this so ominously that Alden spared a moment’s pity for the Viking wench, wondering in what dire manner his cousin was planning to get at the truth. He did not care to know himself.
Chapter Seventeen
The work was done for the day, and Kristen was ready to drop gratefully onto her pallet. The sweltering heat had worn her ragged today, and there had been the added warmth of the hearth, near which she was chained, and no breeze to take some of its heat away.
She could have kissed Eda when she bent down to remove the new chain that Kristen was made to wear now, but she restrained herself. Eda was still sulking over Kristen’s sharpness with her the other day. Kristen had apologized later that same day, but it had not gone far toward appeasing the older woman. And her sulking added to Kristen’s burden, for Eda was the only one she felt free to talk to. With the old woman’s cold silence, Kristen’s day was dreary indeed.
Eda led Kristen away, but not to the stairs to retire. She was told curtly that she was to have a bath. As tired as she was, Kristen could not complain about that. It would be only her second bath since she was brought into the hall. She knew Darrelle bathed often through the week, as did Royce, but the servants rarely. As accustomed to cleanliness as she was herself, the small container of water she was given daily to sponge herself with was just not adequate.
Simply the thought of being completely clean again perked up her spirits. Yet she was not to have a leisurely bath, for other servants were waiting to make use of the same water. She was first into the tub, however, which made all the difference. The water was warm this time, and clean, and only Eda remained in the small room with her.
While Kristen bathed and quickly washed her hair, Eda scrubbed her only set of clothes. She was given a tentlike robe of coarse, thin wool to wear for the night, while her clothes dried. It was simply a long rectangle of gray cloth, with a circle cut out in the center for her head to slip through. Wrapped around her sides and belted, it sufficed, though typically it fell short on her. But she was naked underneath, and felt naked underneath. The only reason she didn’t balk at wearing a garment without sewn side seams was that she was going straight to her chamber.
But Kristen was not going straight to her chamber as she had supposed. Upstairs, Eda pushed her past her door near the stairs and did not stop until the end of the corridor was reached, where the lord’s chamber was. Kristen backed away warily.
“Why?” she demanded as Eda knocked on the door.
Eda did not bother to look at her, but Kristen saw her shrug. “I do what I am told. The reasons are not explained to me.”
“He said he wanted to see me?”
“He told me to bring you here. And here you are.”
Eda opened the door and waited for Kristen to enter. Kristen hesitated, but only for a moment. She was not afraid, but she couldn’t think of a reason why she would be brought here at night. If Royce wanted to question her again, he would have done so during the day, wouldn’t he?
She stepped into the room, habit making her take small steps, even though Eda had not put her shackles back on after the bath. As the last time she was brought here after her bath, Eda carried the shackles, and as the last time, she placed them on Royce’s table and then left the room, closing the door behind her.
He stood by one of the open windows in front of her, facing her. She was familiar with this room now, so did not glance about it, but looked directly at Royce, waiting to learn what she was doing here. She felt self-conscious in the robe now. She should have balked at wearing it. If the belt loosened, she would be rendered practically naked. That was no way to appear in the presence of this man. A few days ago she might have considered such a tactic to break his control, but now she wasn’t sure she still wanted him. No, that wasn’t true. She still wanted him. What she wasn’t sure of was if it was such a good idea to get what she wanted.
“It has come to my attention that the clothes given to you do not fit you very well.”
This was the last thing Kristen expected to hear him say. That he was thinking of her clothes, when she had just been thinking of her clothes, gave her an impulse to giggle. She restrained herself.
“Did you only just notice?”
Royce frowned at her sarcasm. “There is a gown on my bed. See if it fits you.”
“You want me to try it on now?”
“Aye.”
“Do you leave, or will you stay to watch?”
Royce tensed at her taunting question. Of course she would not care if he watched or not. She was no doubt immune to having men see her naked. He felt his temper rising, and could not seem to stop it.
His tone was caustic when he replied. “I have no wish to see you disrobe, wench. I will give you my back until you have the gown on.”
Coward, she said to herself. To him she retorted, “How very noble of you.”
