Victor met his gaze and, after a moment of seeing death and destruction in the man’s dark blue eyes, he shook his head and looked away. He knew this was a battle he could not win.
“You do not,” he said quietly. “But you will promise me something.”
“What?”
“Be good to her,” he said, his eyes welling with tears. “She is stubborn and willful, but she is also the sweetest and most glorious creature that God has ever created.”
Devlin was touched by the man’s obvious adoration for his daughter. Devlin leaned into him so no one else would hear.
“I vow upon my life that I will treat her only with the greatest respect,” he muttered. “And I will love her more than my own life until the day I die. She will be my queen, I swear it.”
“Black Sword’s queen.”
“Aye,” he whispered with a surprising show of reverence. “Black Sword’s queen.”
The English slept in the great hall that night and before sunrise the next morning, they were well on their way to Glenteige.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Glenteige Castle
“Whoisthatold bird?” Merradoc asked. “She has been following us around for days.”
Strolling through Glenteige’s massive bailey, a small party consisting of Emllyn, Elyse, Merradoc, and Christopher Connaught was enjoying the rare afternoon sunshine. The ward was rather large and there were a few things to see, like a gnarled and bushy yew tree with a stone bench next to it that the ladies liked to sit upon. In fact, that was their destination as they headed from the keep.
Merradoc, however, was more concerned about Eefha following them several feet behind, muttering to herself. He was uncomfortable with the shadow of a small, obviously insane woman. As the physic asked the question of Eefha’s identity, Emllyn looked over her shoulder at the old woman and grinned.
“She seems harmless,” she said. “She has appointed herself my personal servant. She helps me wash, helps me dress, and other tasks. I like her.”
Merradoc rolled his eyes. “She is mad, mumbling nonsensical stories. Have you heard her? Things about death and destruction and the birth of the world!”
Emllyn laughed softly. “I find her fascinating.”
“Fascinating until she pulls out a dirk and slits your throat.”
Emllyn frowned at him. “How horrible!” she gasped. “She will do nothing of the kind.”
Merradoc made a face that plainly displayed his disagreement in her statement but he kept silent. He and Emllyn had their arms linked companionably as Elyse and Christopher, walking in front of them, were conspicuously close and giggling to their own private jokes. To anyone looking at them, they looked very much in love.
Emllyn grinned when Connaught stole a kiss, watching Elyse as she fussed about it. It was quite humorous to watch and in spite of Elyse’s declaration that she wished there were other marital prospects at Glenteige, it was obvious that she was quite smitten with Connaught. It was sweet to watch.
“Those two do nasty things late at night when de Noble is asleep,” Merradoc muttered in her ear. “I have been forced to make pessaries for Lady Elyse so she will not conceive a bastard child, but she assures me that it is not possible for her to conceive because whatever Connaught does, he does in her arse.”
Emllyn lifted her eyebrows as she looked at him. “I hope you do not speak so frankly of me as you speak of Elyse,” she said with disapproval. “Although I do not do anything nearly as exciting as she does, do you still tell people of my endless hours of embroidery and make it somehow seem thrilling and deviant?”
Merradoc snorted. “Since your farmer left, there is no such excitement in your bed chamber.”
“Who says there was before?”
Merradoc wriggled his eyebrows, his gaze scanning the ward, noting the usual servants and soldiers. “You could at least be honest with me.”
“And you could at least keep your lips shut.”
Merradoc broke down into laughter. “Good God, girl,” he said. “You pretend to be as pure as new-fallen snow. I know you have secrets. As a friend, you should tell me what they are.”
Emllyn winked at him. “As a friend, you should not ask. You might not like the answer.”
They had reached the yew tree and Connaught had politely helped Elyse to sit upon the stone bench beneath it. Merradoc assisted Emllyn to sit, standing politely beside her but twitching impatiently. The man never easily remained in one place for too long; he was flighty. Eefha was several feet away, now loitering near the well and muttering incoherently. Because Merradoc and Emllyn were looking curiously at the old woman, Elyse and Connaught looked over at her, too.
