Distracted, Thomas leaned over to see that Caria did, indeed, have gravy all over her face, so he took the sleeve of her shift and wiped her face with it, causing her to howl. Now she was dirty, she cried, and she slithered off his lap and ran around the table to Jordan, who soothed her angry tears. Thomas simply shook his head at the fickle child, glancing over at Maitland only to see that she was grinning at him. He lifted his big shoulders.
“I wipe my face on my sleeves,” he said. “What is wrong with that?”
Maitland started laughing. “Nothing if you are a man,” she said. “But young ladies in pretty dresses do not like to get them dirty. Do you know nothing?”
Thomas was properly contrite. “Evidently not,” he said. “It shall not happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.”
He grinned at her. He liked a lady who could verbally match him, and since meeting Maitland de Ryes Bowlin, Thomas was coming to see that there was nothing about her that he didn’t like. Everything out of her mouth was a brilliant revelation from the mind of a woman who was clearly as sharp as she was beautiful. All he could think of was that it was a damned waste that she had chosen a life of religious servitude. A woman likethat was a hell of a prize, for any man. She had been a pleasant surprise, and a welcome one, from the moment they’d been introduced.
The attraction he had for her was turning into something else.
Interest.
Thomas was rather startled to realize that. Certainly, he’d been attracted to women since Tacey’s death, but only on a superficial level. What he was feeling at the moment seemed to go beyond that. He always thought that he’d never overcome Tacey’s death, or the sadness of it, but at the moment, he wasn’t quite so sure. He remembered his mother telling him, once, that the right lady could change his mind, but he’d never believed her. Until now.
Lady Bowlin might have just altered that belief.
Pondering that very strange turn of events, Thomas was about to continue the conversation, to explore whatever it was that Maitland seemed to stir in him, when the entry doors to the hall opened and two figures entered the dark, smoky hall.
Adelaide and her father had arrived.
CHAPTER FOUR
Caria wasn’t payingany attention to the lady who had just entered the hall.
She knew who Adelaide was, at least distantly, because she had seen her in the past when she’d come to visit Thomas. But her glimpses of the lady had been brief, as Lady Adelaide didn’t like children and made no attempt to speak with the child. Whenever Caria had come to Wark, Adelaide always made herself scarce.
Therefore, Caria didn’t know the woman and didn’t really care that she didn’t know her. Now that Jordan had cleaned up the sleeve that Thomas had so grievously dirtied, the child was happy once more and darting back around the table to sit with Thomas. In doing so, however, she cut right in front of Adelaide as the woman made her grand entrance into the feast. Amidst the layer of smoke in the hall, the stale warmth, and the heady smells of steaming beef, Adelaide presented herself as a proper, demure lady until a child dashed in front of her and made her trip on the hem of her gown.
Then, the real Adelaide made a swift return.
“God’s Teeth,” she hissed, grabbing hold of her father to prevent herself from falling. “There are wild animals loose in the hall this night. Who is that little beast?”
As Jordan and William cringed, Thomas was on his feet. Caria came right up to him and he put his hands protectively on the child’s shoulders as he faced Adelaide.
“This is my sister, Caria,” he growled. “If you’d taken the time to come to know her, you might recognize her. As it is, you will not call her a beast again or my displeasure shall be known. Is this in any way unclear?”
Adelaide’s eyes were wide as her father, Edmund, cleared his throat loudly to cover for his daughter’s faux pas.
“It is dark enough in the hall that she might not have recognized her even if she knew her,” he said, which wasn’t much of an apology. “It is dangerous for children to run about. Dangerous for the child, I mean.”
Thomas looked at Edmund. He was a tall man who had been muscular in his youth, but now he’d gone completely to fat. He was bald for the most part, with what hair he had long past his shoulders and gathered at the nape of his neck in a stringy tail. As Thomas knew when the betrothal to Adelaide had been broached, Edmund de Vauden, Earl of Northumbria, was a cousin to the king, descended from Robert Curthose, but that impressive lineage had worn thin the moment Thomas became acquainted with Adelaide. No lineage in the world could make up for what she lacked.
“This is a de Wolfe hall and as long as it is a de Wolfe hall, my sister may run about as she pleases,” Thomas said. “She is welcome here and welcome to do anything she wishes.”
William, seeing that Thomas was verging on serious disrespect for Northumbria, stood up and went to Edmund and his daughter.
“No harm done,” he said, diverting Northumbria’s attention. “Caria is well, Adelaide is well. Come, let us sit and feast. Sit next to me, Edmund, so that we may converse. Your lady daughter may sit on Thomas’ right hand.”
Thomas could have killed his father for that direction but, in truth, it was Adelaide’s proper place at his table, as his betrothed. Without another word, he sat down, pulling Caria onto his lap as Adelaide came to sit next to him. He made no move to help her by pulling out her seat; he simply focused on Caria as the child reached for a bowl of fruit. Incensed that she was being ignored for a mere child, Adelaide sat down without any attention whatsoever from her intended.
And that set the mood for the rest of the meal.
Servants emerged from the shadows, bringing Adelaide a trencher of beef and vegetables. There was fresh bread and butter on the table, along with stewed apricots and other smaller dishes to choose from. Usually, it was both polite and customary for a man to serve a woman food at his table, especially if they were betrothed, but Thomas completely ignored Adelaide in favor of Caria, who was starting to chatter about the dogs that were milling around the hall and wanting to know if there were any puppies she could play with.
Unwilling to give Adelaide any attention, Thomas used Caria’s dog-chatter as an excuse to leave the table. He stood up with the child and led her away from the table, over towards the hearth in search of puppies, leaving an open seat between Adelaide and Maitland.
