A Dishonorable Knight (34 page)

Once outside, Elena clasped the book
tightly to her breast. "I want to stop by the seamstress shop and see how
my new dress is coming along."

"What new dress?"

"Gareth bought me fabric for a
new dress and chemise. We took it to a seamstress yesterday morning and she
said she would have it done by the time we returned to England."

"Gareth bought you fabric?"
Elena had never heard Bryant speak so sharply or bitterly, and she looked at
him quickly to determine what had upset him. All she saw was a moody frown.

"Is there something wrong with
that?"

"No, of course not," he
said abruptly. Seemingly forcing himself out of his foul mood, he smiled tautly
and said, "Do you remember where the shop is?"

Elena blinked. "I have no idea.
Don't you know where they are? There are three of them on the same street. Once
we reach the street, I'll remember which one it is."

"This is my first time in
Aberstwyth. Let me ask the bookseller." Bryant ran back to the small shop.
While she waited for him, Elena rubbed her neck, which was stiff from crouching
over books all day. Looking up at the late afternoon sky, she felt a sense of
peace come over her and she wished unselfconsciously that Gareth were here with
her. There was a silence over the town that only occurs on such perfect late
summer evenings. The sky was a rich lapis blue, the low-hung clouds impossibly
white. Inhaling deeply, she smelled the wetness of the nearby sea as a cooling
breeze kissed her face. Truly, Gareth should be here, she thought. He is the
one who helped me appreciate such simple pleasures.

Alone with her thoughts since she
first awoke, Elena wondered again why Gareth had not come to her room last
night. Surely after the previous night and all of yesterday spent together, he
did not think she loathed his company. Elena's feminine pride rebelled at the
thought that he might have simply not wanted to come to her. A delicious tingle
ran down her spine as she remembered their night spent together. No, he had
been well pleased. He must have been unable to join her without arousing
suspicion. There could be no other answer. Or, rather, she would allow no other
answer.

Within minutes, Bryant had returned
to her and they quickly found their way through the maze of narrow alleys to
the correct street.

"Let me think," Elena said
as she gazed at the identical shops that lined the street. "I know it was
on this side. There was a baker's shop nearby...Ah, there it is."

"Are you sure?" Bryant
asked as they approached it. "There isn't a sign and the inside looks
empty."

"That's how I know this is the
right place." Elena pushed opened the door and called out for Annie. The
five-year-old boy came tumbling down the staircase to answer their call.

"Mama says you is to come
dupstairs," he said importantly.

They followed the young messenger to
the spotless room upstairs. Nothing had changed except that the mound of cloth
burying the large table was now cranberry-colored instead of blue, as it had
been the day before. Annie was sitting at the table, crouched over a seam.

"If you'll just give me a
moment, ma'am, I'll have it ready for you to try on."

"Ready to try on? How have you
managed to get so much done?" Elena asked, amazed at the woman's speed.

Breaking the thread with her teeth,
Annie stood and shook out the dress. "You said you needed it ready by day
after tomorrow. I worked on it all yesterday and today. I still have to put the
collar on and hem it, but otherwise 'tis done."

Elena took the gown from Annie, her
eyes glowing with pleasure. "It is beautiful." Holding it up to
herself, Elena flared the skirt out. "Where can I try it on?"

"Oengus, take this gentleman
downstairs until I call for you."

The child, obviously remembering the
game from yesterday, immediately took Bryant's hand in his own and pulled him
down the stairs. As soon as Annie closed the door, Elena began working herself
out of her dusty cotehardie. "I will be glad when I can see the end of
this gown."

"Tis beautifully made, my
lady," Annie said.

"That may be, but I cannot stand
the sight of it after wearing it for the last month straight!" Elena
pulled the new dress over her head and held her hair out of the way while Annie
quickly laced it up the back. "Oh it fits wonderfully!" Elena
exclaimed. She craned her neck to see the dress from every angle. "Leave
the hem long in the back." Spinning around crazily like a child, she
laughed in delight. "I can't believe I'm so excited over such a simple
dress!"

Annie's smile disappeared.
"Should I change it, milady?"

Elena stared at Annie, perplexed. Why
in the world should Annie want to change the dress? Belatedly, she realized
that Annie
may
have taken her exclamation over the
simple dress in the wrong light. "No, of course not, it's perfect. What I
meant was, I'm so used to having beautiful dresses..." That wasn't
helping, Elena thought. Oh curse Gareth for making her worry what miserable
servants thought! "What I meant was," Elena began again, "I'm
used to wearing beautiful dresses and this one is the most beautiful I've ever
worn."

Annie's eyes widened. "Oh, do
you mean it, my lady?" She clasped Elena's hands in her own work-roughened
ones.

"Well of course I do. You have
done an admirable job on this gown. I can't wait until it's finished."

"Oh it will be finished
tomorrow, my lady. Even if I have to stay up all night working on it!"
Annie vowed.

Elena smiled and disengaged herself
from Annie's grip. "I'm sure you will." Turning so the seamstress
could unlace her, Elena said, "Sir Gareth and I will be by in the
afternoon to pick it up. Will that be late enough.
"

"Oh yes, my lady."

Downstairs, Elena found a
distressed-looking Bryant holding a sleeping Oengus. With obvious relief, he
relinquished his armload to its mother and took Elena's arm. Once outside,
Elena had to figure out which direction they needed to travel. After a false
start down a dead end, she remembered where they needed to go in order to reach
Samuel's shop. Consumed in her thoughts of her new dress and new book, not to
mention Gareth, Elena did not hear Bryant when he first spoke to her.

"My lady?" he repeated.

"Oh, yes?"

Bryant cleared his throat and tugged
on the neck of his brown tunic. "About Gareth..."

"Yes? What about him?"

"Please do not misunderstand.
Gareth is one of my best friends, along with Cynan. We grew up together and I
think of him as a brother."

Elena waited for him to continue, but
when he merely looked uncomfortable, she prodded him. "And?"

"Well, for all that I care for
him and admire him, sometimes he forgets himself."

"Forgets himself? What do you
mean, Bryant?" Elena was quickly growing weary of Bryant's meanderings,
but since he always treated her with the utmost respect, she tried to be
patient.

Bryant must have sensed her
impatience, however, because he said in one quick rush, "Sometimes he
forgets who he is and where he comes from. Sometimes he forgets what his father
taught him and what he should know as a knight about treating ladies with
respect."

"I agree completely," Elena
said, ruefully thinking of Gareth's mockery of her position in court.
"Wait until we return to England and he tries to call me 'Elena' or speak
to me like I'm his horse. Richard will have his head!" She finished with a
laugh.

"That wasn't exactly what I
meant."

Elena looked at Bryant, surprised to
see him flushing furiously.

"What I meant was that he seems
to forget sometimes that there are...women...with whom a man may be
more—uh--forward. But a lady such as yourself should never be treated in
the same manner."

Elena quickly looked back to their
path, wondering uncomfortably how much Bryant knew of Gareth's and her new
relationship.

"You certainly deserve to have a
beautiful new dress, my lady, don't misunderstand me. But I would caution you
that Gareth may have forgotten himself when he purchased the fabric and he may
forget himself even more when it is finished and you are thankful to him for
his generosity."

"What exactly are you saying,
Bryant?"

From the corner of her eye, Elena
could see Bryant flush more brilliantly red than he had been moments before.

Bryant came to a stop and Elena
turned to face him. "I'm afraid he may put undue pressure on you to share
your favors with him in an unseemly fashion."

Elena wanted to shriek with laughter.
If Bryant only knew that it had been she who had forgotten herself and forced
her favors on him in a most unseemly fashion!

"Please know, my lady, that you
owe nothing to Gareth, or any of us for that matter. If you should ever feel
that anyone is acting the least bit unchivalrously towards you, you have only
to call and I will come at once to defend you and your honor."

Elena had heard many a flowery speech
from a lovesick man, but Bryant's struck her as being truly sincere and
heartfelt. Making a point not to smile, lest he think she was making fun of
him, she said as sincerely as she could, "I thank you, Bryant. I will rest
assured that you will do everything in your power to see to my well
being."

Bryant took her hand and kissed it
lightly. "I have only the most honorable intentions toward you, Lady
Elena."

"I'm sure you do, Bryant."

To her great relief, Bryant seemed
content to drop the subject for the rest of the short journey back to Samuel's
shop. Once inside the back living quarters, Elena forgot Bryant's declaration
in the noisy cheerfulness of the roomful of men preparing to eat a hearty
feast. The kitchen table had been dragged into the main room so everyone could
fit around it. Thick wooden plates lined both sides of the table and a huge
basket of bread crowned the center. Morgan entered the room with a thick
crockery flagon.

"Ah, Lady Elena, Bryant! You're
back just in time. Tell me, Lady Elena, have you ever tasted Welsh mead?"

"Never."

"Then you are in for a treat
tonight! Sit right here," he said, indicating the cushioned seat at the
head of the table. "As our only lady at dinner tonight, you hold the seat
of honor. Now sit and relax while we bring in a feast sure to rival any you've
had at court."

Oddly at ease with the rough group of
men, Elena sat as instructed and watched as they scrambled about bringing stew,
roasted meat, and cooked vegetables to the table. Within minutes, the large
table was lined with all of the men who had stayed with Samuel for the meeting
two days before. A quick blessing on the meal was followed by sheer chaos as
hungry men passed around food. Despite their hunger and perhaps uncourtly
manners, they made sure Elena was always served first and always received the
best of each portion. And true to Morgan's word, the Welsh mead was a treat,
just sweet and smooth enough that Elena was on her second mugful before she
realized that she was very warm and seemed to find everything highly amusing.

Though she allowed herself only one
more mug of the tasty mead, the pleasant mood remained with her
all evening
as the laughter and conversation grew louder.

"Be honest now, good lady,"
called out one of the men. "Who are more handsome: Welsh men or
English."

Elena pretended to think hard on the
subject which
made the men laugh, but her response stunned
them. "I'd say
,
English men have the more
beautiful faces." Elena smothered a laugh, struggling valiantly not to
smile as she said, "But what woman wants a face more beautiful than her
own staring back at her over the covers? I'll take a manly Welshman any
day!" A small sober part of her brain shrieked when she blatantly looked
to Gareth, but she was having too much fun to pay any attention to it.

Much hooting and slamming of mugs
against the table followed and the man sitting to her left pounded her
encouragingly on the shoulder, nearly sending her out of her chair. This
brought on more laughter, which continued over the next hour. When the mead was
dispensed and nothing but crumbs remained of the feast, the men slowly and
drunkenly made their way to their respective beds. Gareth disappeared outdoors
and Elena wished her legs did not feel so wobbly so that she could follow him.
She found walking was not as difficult as she had imagined and in fact, she
felt better once she had made her way to the cool quiet of her room. A large
drink of cool water further helped her regain some of her composure before she
struggled out of her gown. She braided her hair and climbed into bed,
forgetting to extinguish the candle once again before slipping into slumber.

***

Gareth breathed the cool,
ocean-scented night air that smelled so differently from the mountain air of
Eyri Keep. He had missed Elena sorely this day, finding it difficult to keep
his mind on his father's words, so consumed was he with wondering where Elena
was and what she must be doing. He smiled as he thought of her quip earlier
about taking a Welshman but that smile faded with wonder as he thought of how
she had looked straight at him. What had she meant by that look? Surely she
would not have made such a bold statement had she not intended for him to
derive some meaning from it. Surely it could not have been merely the mead
speaking. Gareth allowed his mind to wander to their passionate night together.
Never had he known such pleasure with a woman. And that pleasure had continued
out of bed, he realized.