Page 52 of Sweet Mead for Lady Martine

Chapter 12

“Married?” Martine almost choked on her mead when she heard Ava’s reason for coming to the tavern. David ran over to Martine and patted her on the back to stop her from coughing. “I’m fine,” she told him, not sure if she was angry with him or not. What was going on here?

“Martine,” said David. “Mayhap I should have mentioned that Ava and I made a promise a long time ago when we were children to someday be married. To each other.”

“Yes, to each other. I understand that part,” she said through squinted eyes, knowing now why he’d turned so cold when she’d mentioned marriage in the hayloft. “I suppose that would have been a good thing to mention to me before now.”

“I wanted to tell you. Honest, I did,” he said under his breath.

“Did you.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a way for her to tell him she was severely disappointed in him right now. Suddenly, she was starting to have second thoughts about the man. Had he purposely deceived her? Or had he changed his mind about Ava once he met her? Either way, she needed to know, but this wasn’t the right time to ask.

“Our fathers made an agreement that we’d be married when I turned eighteen, and now I am eighteen.” The girl smiled at David as he stood in between them now, acting as if he wasn’t sure which of them to stand by. “We must get married at once, David. I can’t be an old maid. We have to marry right now or why bother?”

Why bother? Martine had just turned twenty and she was still not married. What was this girl’s real rush?

“That’s right,” said her brother, Oldrich. “My sister will be married as soon as our father arrives here next week. David, where is your father?”

“My father died a year ago,” David told them.

“Your father has been dead for that long and you couldn’t send me a missive to tell me?” asked the girl, sounding much too stuffy and haughty for a commoner. This kind of behavior she’d expect from a noble, but not from the daughter of a baker.

“What difference would it have made?” asked David. “He died quickly from a bad heart. There was nothing you or any of us could do.”

“I thought I heard voices out here.” Cecelia came from the kitchen with her sister, Matilda. “Ava Swift, is that you?”

“It is.” Ava ran over to hug both of David’s sisters.

David felt like hiding under a rock and dying right now. He was down on his luck lately but this was something he hadn’t expected to happen. When he’d moved here from up north, he thought he’d never see Ava again. Actually, he’d moved just to get away from her and her demanding ways. True, they’d been friends for a long time, but David never wanted to marry her. He’d only told her he would so she’d stop pestering him. He also hated the silly agreement that her father made with his father. It was a betrothal that had never included his opinion. It was done in spoken words only and nothing had ever been written down. David never intended on keeping his end of the deal, mainly because he’d never wanted to marry the girl to begin with. He also thought since his father was dead, the agreement no longer held up.

“David, is the tavern open already?” His mother came out of the kitchen drying her hands on a cloth. Joe and Dirk were right behind her.

“Hello, Mrs. Stone,” said Ava.

His mother’s mouth fell open. “Ava Swift? Oldrich? What are you two doing here? It’s been so long since we’ve seen you.”

“She’s come to marry David,” Martine spoke up, pushing away her empty goblet. “To keep the agreement David’s father and her father made years ago betrothing them.”

“Oh, well, that was a long time ago.” His mother nervously looked over at David. “Elrod has passed away, so I’m sure that agreement is no longer binding.”

“Our fathers shook on it,” said Oldrich. “Or does that mean nothing to you?”

“Of course it means something.” Cinnamon had been spying on them again and came strutting down the stairs. “It means Lady Martine won’t get David for herself after all.”

“What?” shouted Ava. “David, is there something going on between you and this noblewoman?”

Before he could answer, Martine spoke up. “Mayhap you should ask him if there’s something going on between him and the whore instead.” It shocked David to hear Martine talk this way. Why would she even say it? She got to her feet and walked over to Ava. “Excuse me, but the tavern is not open yet so you and your brother will have to leave.”

“Leave?” Ava’s gaze shot over to David. “David, tell her I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere until Father shows up and this marriage takes place.”

“We’ve just traveled for days to get here,” said her brother. “Since this is an inn, we will take a room.”

“I have a room for you, handsome,” said Cinnamon, focusing in on Oldrich.

“Enough!” shouted Martine. “Now, I’m sorry but the rooms are not yet ready for guests. You’ll have to come back later.”

“Actually, we just cleaned the rooms,” said Matilda. “They are ready.”

“Then I’ll stay here. Oldrich, are you coming?” Ava pushed past the others. Her brother followed her up the stairs.