A cry caused her to turn away from the flames, wiping tears from her face, as Isadora burst into the hall and ran to her sister. The little girl nearly pitched herself into the fire in her haste, prevented from doing so by St. Héver’s quick actions. Courtly and Isadora hugged fiercely.
“You have come back!” Isadora gasped, holding tightly to her sister. But she soon recoiled, wiping off her damp hands. “But you are so wet. You must put on something dry!”
Courtly shook her head, kissing her little sister on the cheek. “I have nothing else,” she said. “Remember that all of our possessions burned. I must dry out what I am wearing.”
Isadora’s attention moved to the garment her sister was wearing, a dress she had never seen before. “Where did you get this?” she asked, fingering the lavender material. “It is so beautiful.”
Courtly wasn’t sure what to tell her sister.My love purchased this for me and it is the last thing I shall ever have to remember him by.But she didn’t voice her thoughts. Isadora didn’t need to know such things. As she prepared a generic reply, Ellice entered the hall.
Courtly’s guard went up, watching her aunt as the woman shook off the wet cloak she was wearing and left it by the entry. As Ellice approached, their gazes locked and something odd filled the air between them. There was understanding andremorse and sorrow there, intangible sensations at best. But, clearly, Courtly felt no hostility from her aunt whatsoever, a rare condition, indeed. Ellice didn’t come any closer than the feasting table and she made no move to embrace her niece as she planted her wide bottom on the bench near Courtly and Isadora. Her dark gaze was on Courtly.
“Why did you come back?” she asked. “You had no call to.”
Courtly wasn’t sure how to answer, unsure how much to say in front of Isadora. “I had to,” she said simply.
“Why?”
Ellice was pushing her. Not wanting to speak of such things in front of her little sister, Courtly put her hand under Isadora’s chin and looked her in the eye.
“Will you go into the kitchen and see if there is warm wine for me?” she asked. “I am in need of something warming.”
St. Héver stood up. “I ordered wine,” he said. “I shall see what is keeping it.”
He walked away, taking with him Courtly’s excuse to remove her sister. Even so, she patted the little girl on the shoulder.
“Go with him,” she said. “You can help him.”
Isadora trailed after St. Héver without an argument. When she and the knight disappeared through the door that led to the kitchen yard, Courtly spoke to her aunt.
“Because I heard what happened her,” she hissed. “I heard that Papa denied Sir Maximus’ marriage proposal and I heard about the fight. I came back to prevent my father from attacking Maximus and his brother. If I am home, there is no reason to attack them. They were very kind to me, Auntie. It would be appalling if Papa attacked them because of me.”
Not strangely, Ellice could see her point. She sighed heavily. “You should not have returned,” she said. “You were with the man who wanted to marry you. What must he think now? That you are a silly fool who has run off?”
Courtly shook her head. “I left him a note,” she said. “He will know that I did this to protect him and his family. Auntie, Papa is a ridiculous fool for behaving the way he does. He has no cause to deny Maximus’ marriage offer and certainly no cause to attack the man.”
“You should not have come back.”
“I am protecting the man I love!”
“Love him, do you?”
Ellice and Courtly turned to see Kellen standing in the entry, dripping from the rain. He didn’t seem drunk in the least. In fact he seemed furious and lucid. He yanked the door shut behind him and stomped into the room, glaring at Courtly as if she were his worst enemy.
“Answer me,” he boomed. “Do you love him?”
Courtly had never heard her father speak to her like that and she had to admit that he was frightening her. He didn’t look like the same father she had known all of these years. He looked different, edgy, like a man possessed. It was a struggle to maintain her courage.
“Aye,” she replied steadily. “I do. He is a kind, generous man and you had no reason to deny him his marriage proposal. Why did you do it?”
Kellen’s teeth were clenched with rage as he faced off against his daughter. “You will not question me,” he snarled. “I will do what is best for you, even if you are too stupid to realize it.”
His fury had Courtly’s dander up. “I am not stupid,” she fired back at him. “You have no earthly reason to deny Maximus’ suit. He is a good man from a good family. What would possess you so? Why would you want to make me lonely and bitter for the rest of my life?”
Kellen’s jaw flexed, indicative of his level of emotion. “You are too stupid to realize when your father is protecting you,” he said. “You have no sense at all, girl. Maximus de Shera hasbewitched you somehow. What else has he done to you? What personal favors have you granted him?”
Courtly wasn’t exactly sure what he was asking but she knew that she didn’t like what he was possibly implying. “What do you mean?”
Kellen took a step towards her, his dark eyes blazing. “Whore favors, girl,” he growled. “What whore favors have you granted him?”
