Page 57 of Sweet Mead for Lady Martine

“Oh, baby Martin,” said David with a smile. “How is the little fellow doing? I’d love to stop in and see him for myself.” He looked back at the door.

“Forget about the baby, you have bigger problems on your hands right now.”

“Oh, yes, I know. I’ve been a fool and I want to apologize to you.”

“What?” she asked, acting as if she couldn’t believe he was saying this right now, when it seemed like a big issue back at the tavern.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “Martine, I am heartily sorry that I didn’t tell you I laid with the whore or that I am betrothed to be married. I know that was wrong. Honestly, once I met you none of that even mattered anymore, so I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring it up.” He lowered his hood and waited.

“Doesn’t matter?” Her face was stone-like, and he couldn’t read her mood.

“Well, yes, it matters, of course, it does,” he said, trying to say what he thought she wanted to hear. “I mean, mayhap it matters. I’m not really sure. I just meant that I– Martine I am smitten with you.”

“Smitten,” she repeated, making him very nervous. Mayhap that wasn’t the best choice of words. After all, they had made love today.

“Do you have to keep repeating what I say?” he asked, pacing back and forth. “I am not good with words and this is hard for me. I want you to know that I am trying to go after what I want, even though what I want is you and it’s terrifying because you’re a noble and I’m a commoner and I don’t know what you want me to say.” He ran it all together, hoping some of this made some sense as to how he felt.

“What I want you to say,” she repeated his words once more.

“Martine, put it this way.” He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, holding up one finger. Then he nodded, believing he finally found the right words to say. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

That shut her up. She backed up and slowly lowered herself atop the bed, holding on to the carved wooden spindle.

“Think?” Once again, she repeated his word.

“Know. I know I am,” he quickly corrected himself, hoping he hadn’t already ruined his only chance to get her back. Once again, he looked up at the ceiling, this time noticing the iron posts and bedcurtains hanging around the humongous bed. “Wow, I just noticed how elegant this room is. The whole castle is bigger and more elaborate than I’d ever dreamed. I’ve never been in here before, you realize. It was only by luck that I heard Lord Rook mention you went to your chamber. I climbed the stairs and thought I saw someone going into this room and hoped to hell it was you.”

“You are lucky not to have knocked on another noble’s door, like my uncle’s,” she told him.

“I take risks. It’s what I do,” he told her, not sure she’d believe it, but after all he’d taken a huge risk in coming here.

“Martine? Are you in there?” A knocking at her door panicked David.

“My father,” whispered Martine, springing up off the bed. “She grabbed David and shoved him into an adjoining room that was filled with clothes. “Stay in the wardrobe and don’t make a sound,” she whispered. “If he finds you here you’ll be thrown in the dungeon and most likely condemned to death.”

“Great,” he mumbled into the hanging clothes. Well, this is what he got for going after what he wanted. He took a risk and now he was about to be sentenced to death for it. Well, at least if he was imprisoned and sentenced to die, it would be for a good cause. Now he wouldn’t die before having told Lady Martine that he loved her.

“Martine?” The door opened and her father’s head peeked around into the room. “Why didn’t you answer me?”

“Father,” said Martine, feeling her heart drumming so loudly in her ears that she wondered if her father could hear it too. No matter what happened, she had to keep David hidden.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“I was just going down to the great hall to see the baby again. We’ll go together,” she told him, meaning to leave the room.

“No need for that.” He opened the door wider and she could see a big group of people standing behind him.

“What’s this?” she asked, seeing all the eyes watching her.

“Hello, Martine,” said Rose, Rook’s wife, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. “Your father told us you seemed a little down and we came up here to cheer you up.”

“How thoughtful of you all.” Martine couldn’t stop thinking of what would happen once they all found David hiding in her wardrobe. It wasn’t going to be good.

“I thought seeing Martin would cheer you up.” Sage walked into the room carrying the baby. Josefina was right behind her.

“I hope you don’t mind that I invited our husbands up here too,” said Josefina.

“Mind? Now why would I?” Martine really wanted to die right now. She also felt so sorry for what was about to happen to David. He came here to tell her he loved her, and this is how he’d be rewarded? Mayhap it would have been better if he’d stayed at the tavern and never tried to tell her at all.