Page 10 of Silent Knight: Alexander

Chapter 5

Upon entering the great hall, Alex felt as if he were in a dream world. Being Christmas Eve, the room was packed with people all making merry on this holiday. Alex entered with a heavy heart, never feeling as lonely as he did tonight. He missed his father dearly. And although Lord and Lady Mowbray accepted him into their home with open arms, he still didn’t feel as if he belonged here.

“Alex,” said Lady Summer, waving her hand in the air to call him over. He approached the dais with Charlotte at his side. “Join us on the dais for the feast. I have an extra chair set up for you.” She pointed to the end of the long table atop the raised platform where the nobles ate. Everyone else ate below the salt.

The dais table was decorated ornately for Christmas. A tall salt cellar shaped like a castle was placed in the middle of the table where the lord and lady sat. Salt was expensive and used sparingly during cooking. Only the nobles were allowed to sprinkle extra on their food. He had never known that pleasure. Silver platters lined the table instead of the trenchers, old stale crusts of bread, used as plates by all the others. Each place on the dais even had a chalice for wine that was made of silver. Pine boughs lined the table with small silver bells hanging off the edges. Everything looked surreal and beautiful.

“Thank you, Lady Summer,” he said, feeling very grateful but not at all worthy to join them. “But I am not a noble. I feel I should sit by the fire with the commoners and servants instead.”

“Nonsense,” she told him. “You are the son of a good friend of mine and will eat with us. Didn’t Crandell tell you that he considered me the daughter he never had? He was very special to me.”

Crandell did tell him that. He also told him so much more information that Alex almost wished he hadn’t divulged.

“Thank you just the same, but I think I’ll warm my bones at the fire and eat with the commoners where I belong.”

Alex strolled through the hall toward the fire. The smell of pine and spices filled the air. He stopped under a beam, noticing the girl called Lady Regina smiling at him.

“Hello,” he said. “I am Alex.”

“I am Regina,” said the girl shyly. Then Claire walked up with a goblet of mead in her hand.

“You are standing under the mistletoe,” Claire told him.

Alex looked up to see the ball of greenery with red and white berries swinging from a ribbon over his head. “So, I am,” he said. “It’s stunning.”

“You’re supposed to kiss a girl if you’re standing under the mistletoe,” said Claire. “Go on, Regina, kiss him.” Claire pushed her stepsister toward Alex.

“Nay, I think he should kiss you, Claire,” protested Regina. “After all, you are the one who noticed the mistletoe over his head.”

Alex froze. He couldn’t kiss Regina because she might actually be his half-sister. And he couldn’t kiss Claire either, because she might be his half-sister as well. To walk away and deny them would be rude, and he couldn’t do that either. He saw Lady Charlotte approaching from his side vision, and turned and pulled her into his arms and kissed her instead.

Charlotte walkedup to ask Alex to join them at the dais, and the next thing she knew he pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth against hers in a sensuous kiss. Surprised and shocked, she stood there looking at him with her mouth open.

“You kissed her?” asked Claire in shock. “Well, you’re not a nobleman, so it’s no loss to us. Come on, Regina, let’s go find someone else to kiss.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Alex apologized to Charlotte as soon as the other girls walked away.

“Sorry?” She blinked, trying to figure out why he was apologizing. “Didn’t you mean to kiss me?” The taste of his lips still lingered on her mouth. She had enjoyed the gesture and hoped it had been intentional.

“It’s not like that. I enjoyed the kiss. What I meant was that I couldn’t kiss Regina or Claire and that’s why I pulled you over.”

Her feeling of excitement turned to one of despair. “So, I was just an afterthought?”

“Nay, not at all.”

“Then why couldn’t you kiss them? Do you have certain standards, or are you just frightened of pretty girls?”

“I am not frightened by pretty girls. After all, I kissed you, didn’t I?”

Charlotte perused him, feeling happy that he thought she was pretty. But still, she didn’t understand this man at all. He seemed simple at times and at other times he almost reminded her of a noble. Alexander Masterson was unique. That is what she liked about him.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get some of that spiced mead and warm myself at the fire,” he told her.

“Of course,” she said, going back to the dais but keeping her eyes on him at all times.

When the meal was finished,Alex felt much better. With a full stomach of whiting, rabbit stew, and after his first time having swan, he started to feel sleepy. His leg ached from being on his feet so much today, and all he wanted was some shut-eye and peace of mind.

The musicians in the gallery started playing festive music on their lutes, harps, and even the hurdy-gurdy. The crowd, excited to dance, got up so the servants could clear away the trestle tables and make more room for the activities.