Gar was genuinely uncomfortable. “I am going to step on you, I know it,” he said, sounding nervous. “I would much rather watch you dance than do this with you.”
“Nonsense,” Mattie said, smiling at him. The movement in the dance came when they were to hold hands and dance in a circle, so she took both of his hands and began to move to her left. “Follow me this way. You can do it. I have faith in you.”
She was being sweet and encouraging, but Gar wanted to run. He’d done everything he could for this marriage already—he’d come under his own power. He’d relented to his father and gone through with it. But there was nothing in the laws, by God or by king, that said he had to dance with his new wife. Hewas about to feign a twisted ankle when Maksim and Andreas suddenly appeared on either side of him.
“Bess the Bold, the whore foretold, had hips that told a tale,
Of princes charmed and pirates fooled and pleasure bought with ale!
She found a knight, a handsome lad, and whispered in his ear—
‘I’ve the sheath, my love, to bury your sword, and you’ll none find better than here!’”
Gar burst out laughing as Maksim handed him another cup of wine. He was still holding on to Mattie with one hand, but he took the cup and downed it in one swallow. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a neat man and the last few drops of it ended up splashing on Mattie.
Right on that beautiful blue silk.
Gar lost his humor in an instant.
“God’s Bones,” he said. “I am so terribly sorry. Please forgive me. It was an accident.”
He was genuinely contrite and Mattie looked down at the bodice. It was barely speckled with two tiny drops of wine. Before she could reply, however, Julia was there, inspecting the damage. She was certain her mother was going to explode at both Gar and Maksim, but surprisingly, she didn’t. She took her daughter by the hand and began to lead her away.
“Come with me,” she said. “We will change you out of the garment so I can have the laundress look at it. We will find you something else to wear so you that you may return to the feast.”
Mattie looked at Gar, who still seemed horrified by what he’d done. But her mother was tugging her away, so there was nothing she could do about it. She wanted to stay, to continuedancing with her husband, and perhaps he sensed that because he began to follow.
“Empress?” he said. “May I come?”
Julia glanced over her shoulder, seeing the big knight following. He had clearly decided to call her what he deemed an appropriate name for his wife’s mother and, thinking it rather charming, she didn’t correct him.
“It is not necessary, Gar,” she said. “I will return her shortly.”
But Gar didn’t back off. He continued to follow them out into the night, into the bailey, with the big keep to their right. Julia and Mattie were about halfway to the keep entry when Gar caught up to them.
“Wait, please,” he said, watching the women pause to look at him. “The hour grows late and I am not entirely sure I want to return to the feast because Maks will force more wine down my throat and my father will threaten to monopolize all of my attention because he will want to discuss family business, so if you are agreeable, I would like to take Lady de Wolfe to our chamber for the night.”
Lady de Wolfe.
That was the first time Mattie had heard herself referred to as such and it made her feel rather warm and giddy inside. She looked at her mother, seeing that Julia didn’t seem troubled by the suggestion. In fact, she nodded.
“That seems wise,” she said. “It is growing late, as you said, and the men will only become more drunk. It will cease to become a wedding celebration at some point. Very well, then—you and my daughter may retreat to her chamber. I have had it prepared. I will go back into the hall and find Agnes and send her to bed. She does not need to be in the hall as the lone female among wolves.”
With that, she kissed her daughter on the cheek, looking at her as if she wanted to say something more, but refraining.Her warm expression said everything words could not. Mattie watched her mother retreat toward the great hall, hearing a soft voice beside her.
“Come along, my queen,” Gar said. “It has been a long day.”
Mattie turned to him, smiling. “I’m your queen, am I?” she said. “Mother is the empress and I am the queen.”
He nodded, taking her by the hand. “I may not know anything about marriage, or women in general, but I do know one thing,” he said. “Women are the queen wherever they live and breathe. I’ve watched my mother and grandmother enough to know that. And every wife should be treated like a queen. My father has set that example.”
Mattie giggled softly. “Good,” she said. “Then hehastaught you something about marriage.”
They began to walk, heading up the steps toward the keep entry. “He hasn’t so much taught me as I have simply observed,” Gar said, politely taking her elbow. “The women in my family are revered. That is simply the way of things.”
“Tell me about your mother,” Mattie said, interest in her tone. “Why didn’t she come with you to Hensingham?”
“Because my brother’s wife just had a child,” he said. “The child is not thriving and my mother thought it would be best if she remained with my brother and his wife, simply to help out. If the child did not survive, she did not want to be away.”
