His gaze returned to the blonde.
“Your companion is correct, my lady,” he said. “It was bold of me to ask. Forgive me.”
The blonde was looking at him, a smile playing on her lips. “Mayhap another time, Sir Kress,” she said. “I am in town every week, where I attend mass with my lady. Mayhap she will introduce me to you should we meet again.”
Kress grinned. “Then I shall have to return to Lynn and discover the identity of a beautiful young woman,” he said. “And have no doubt that Iwillreturn.”
She smiled, the dimples deep in her cheeks. “Until then.”
“Until then.” Kress lifted a gloved hand, pointing to the coins in her hand. “Are you going to count the coins and tell me what I owe you?”
She shrugged, rather carelessly. “If I tell you now, you will have no excuse to return.”
His grin broadened. “You are quite correct,” he said. “How foolish of me not to think of that.”
Tipping his head at the lady in a gallant gesture, he deftly mounted his horse and gathered the reins, but the entire time his focus was on the lady. He was quite intrigued by her and knew that when his task was finished, he would most definitely return to Lynn in search of the lovely young woman with the pearl ribbons in her hair.
There was something about her that had his attention.
As he directed his horse past her and her companions, the young woman suddenly yanked the card out of her friend’s hand and rushed to him, handing him the card as he passed by. Kress smiled as he took it, depositing a sweet kiss on it to show her that he treasured the gift and the gesture. He kept turning to look at her, as much as he could with the full protection he was wearing, until they turned the corner and she faded from sight.
It had been a most unexpected, and impressive, encounter.
Thoughts of the blonde beauty lingered on his mind, so much so that Bric had to ask him what was on the card. Almost as if he’d forgotten about it, Kress held it up to read it, seeing the lovely scrollwork before he even got to the words. It certainly looked like a prayer card. But once he read the lewd poem on it, he was shocked to realize that it wasn’t. The card made it to Bric, Achilles, and finally Alexander, all of them greatly surprised by a prayer card that mentioned a man’s lips against a woman’s nipple.
No wonder the women in town had been swooning.
Alexander laughed so hard at the poem that he nearly fell from his horse.
CHAPTER FOUR
Castle Rising
Massive earthwork moundscovered by growth and grass signaled that the four men from William Marshal’s stable had arrived at the legendary Castle Rising.
But it wasn’t just the massive earthworks and moat that surrounded three separate baileys that made it highly impressive; it was the elaborate entry system to actually make it into the inner bailey, which was reached via a gatehouse and a path that traveled along the crest of the earthworks.
The entire complex was a veritable maze of hills and paths, of gatehouses and guards. Once the knights passed through two gatehouses, there was an intersection– to the left was the outer bailey with its big troop house, stables, and outbuildings, and to the right was another gatehouse and bridge that spanned the moat. Beyond that, the sanctum of the inner bailey.
In truth, Castle Rising was a masterpiece of engineering and there were, indeed, walls built on top of the massive earthworks for additional protection. But the true jewel of Castle Rising was the gorgeous keep in the inner bailey, a stunning exampleof Norman architecture. Built from gray stone with elaborate Gothic arches and windows, and an enormous forebuilding built over mural stairs that led to a forebuilding on the first level, it was a most impressive sight.
“God, I’d forgotten how big this place is,” Achilles muttered, looking at the soaring keep. “Considering it is in the wilds of Norfolk, I’ve always wondered why they built such a big place out here in the middle of nothing.”
The men were dismounting their steeds and gathering saddlebags as servants rushed forward to collect the animals. Bric, loosening his heavy gloves, glanced up at the elaborate building.
“De Winter told me it was a hunting lodge a hundred years ago,” he said. “D’Aubigney’s ancestors made a working castle out of the place. There is still a hunting park nearby.”
Achilles looked at him. “Is that so?” he said with interest. “It has been years since I have hunted. What do they hunt in the area?”
Bric shrugged. “Deer and boar, mostly,” he said, spying a little old man, well-dressed, emerging from the forebuilding and coming towards them. “Look, now; here comes Summerlin’s majordomo.”
The three men turned to see the figure approach across the dusty, rocky bailey. The old man had a halo of springy, gray hair, and he appeared rather frail, but his expression was pleasant enough.
“My lords,” he greeted. “Will you kindly state your business, please?”
It was Kress who answered. “We have been sent by William Marshal,” he said. “We seek your worthy lord.”
The majordomo looked at him, the light of understanding in his eyes. “Ah,” he said. “We were told to expect you. You have come for Lady Cadie.”
