Pausing in the entry door, Thomas nodded. “Aye,” he said. “My father is with Northumbria and Adelaide, while my mother is lying on the bed with Caria as she sleeps. I am not for certain my mother will be joining us in the hall. She and the child are weary from the journey.”
Desmond put a hand on him, turning him around rather firmly. “I hope she can manage to attend,” he said. “My sister has come and it would be good for her to have another woman to speak with at sup. Meanwhile, I am eager to introduce the two of you.”
Thomas allowed the man to push him back inside. He followed Desmond a few short steps to his chamber door, just inside the entry, where Desmond pounded on the door a few times. After several moments, the door slowly creaked open.
It was so dark that Thomas really couldn’t see much, but the one thing he did see was a petite woman emerging from the doorway. As she took a step out into the entry, she held a single tallow taper with her purely for light and, suddenly, Thomas could see her quite clearly.
A wave of surprise washed over him.
“Sir Thomas de Wolfe, this is my sister, Lady Bowlin,” Desmond said, indicating the woman. “Her name is Maitland, but I am sure she would not mind if you called her Mae. Everyone does. Mae, this is Thomas de Wolfe, my liege and my friend. He is one of the finest men you shall ever meet.”
Thomas found himself looking into light brown eyes that had a hint of orange to them. He’d never see that color in his entire life, and they were set within a remarkably beautiful face. Lady Bowlin had long, dark lashes, arched brows, and a sweetly oval face. Her skin was like cream and her lips were rather lush and soft-looking. She wore a wimple around her head, as befitting her widowhood status, but he could see bits of dark hair peekingout. Truly, Thomas was taken aback by what he saw and, for a moment, he simply stared at her.
This is Desmond’s widowed sister?
“My lady,” he said after a moment. “Welcome to Wark Castle. You have a very interesting name.”
The woman smiled, revealing straight teeth that were quite lovely, like the rest of her. “Thank you, my lord,” she said. “It is a family name; my mother’s maiden name, in fact. It is very kind of you to allow my companion and me to stay here for the night on my way to Edenside. I am sure my brother has told you of our destination.”
Thomas nodded; her voice was soft and sweet, melodic. It assaulted his ears in a most pleasurable way.
“He has told me,” he said, suddenly very interested in Desmond’s sister. Those pale brown eyes had his attention. “Surely you are joining us for supper in the hall. I should like to hear about your plans for the charity.”
Maitland nodded eagerly. “I do have plans,” she said. “I hope to make it one of the biggest and best in all the north. From what I understand, it is not a very big one right now, but I hope to change that. Do you get to Kelso very often?”
Thomas nodded as he held out his elbow to her, politely inviting her to take it. “Absolutely,” he lied. He hadn’t been to Kelso in months. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been there before that, but he suddenly saw himself visiting there much more often. “If you are ready to go to sup, I was just heading to the hall myself. I would be honored if you would permit me to escort you.”
Maitland didn’t even hesitate to take his arm. “It is my pleasure, my lord,” she said. “Mayhap we can even discuss my charity, if you are interested. It is my intention to find a great patron for my charity and, mayhap, the House of de Wolfe would consider it. It is a great house with a great reputation.”
Thomas all but shoved Desmond out of the way as he led Maitland from the keep. She was clutching his arm, already talking about money for a charity she wasn’t even in charge of yet, but he didn’t care. A pretty face had a way of making him listen quite attentively.
“You honor me by saying so,” he said unpretentiously, a complete departure from the normally arrogant knight. “My father is a great man, mayhap one of the greatest men who has ever lived, and he has worked hard to establish our family in the north.”
As Thomas lost himself in conversation with Maitland, Desmond watched the pair walk from the keep, listening to Thomas say things he wouldn’t normally say. Had he been to Kelso often? Of course not. And since when did Thomas speak modestly about the greatness of de Wolfe? Something odd was afoot and Desmond found himself shuffling after the couple, listening to Thomas behave in a way that Desmond had seen before. The hard-fighting, hard-living knight with enough pride to sink an island under the sheer weight of his ego was behaving rather charmingly, and that always indicated his intentions.
Not good intentions, either.
Confused, and not at all amused, Desmond was going to have to keep an eye on the man. He’d been with Thomas on too many occasions when the man charmed his way into a woman’s bed. It had, at times, started out like this– flattery, modesty, and charisma. Thomas had a wagonload of it when the mood struck him.
Or a woman appealed to him.
Desmond realized with chagrin that he was going to have to make sure his very own sister didn’t end up in Thomas’ bed this night. But he could already see it was going to be a hard fight. Like any wolf, when the animal was on a scent, it was difficult to shake it.
And Thomas de Wolfe was no different.
*
He had beennothing as she had expected.
In truth, Maitland hadn’t known what to expect from her brother’s liege, and a de Wolfe, but she found Thomas de Wolfe handsome, friendly, and intelligent.
So handsome.
He was a tall man, though she’d seen taller, but he had enormously broad shoulders and the biggest hands she’d ever seen, scarred and battle-worn. Everything about him was muscular and powerful, but it was his appearance that had her notice– he had long, dark hair that went past his shoulders, hair that glistened like a raven’s wing in the light, and eyes that looked like dark, burnished gold. His square jaw was covered by the beginnings of a beard, but when he smiled, she could see an enormous dimple in his left cheek.
She rather liked that dimple.
Truly, he was a specimen the likes of which she’d never seen and although she wasn’t one to become giddy over anyone, within the first few minutes of knowing Thomas, he seemed to have the ability to cause her stomach to quiver. The first time he’d smiled at her, flashing white teeth with big canines, it was enough to send her belly into a bit of a state.
