Gem of Gravane (The Northern Knights) (10 page)

Nearly an hour later, she was
finally done and thankful that the fever had kept the little boy from feeling
her deep ministrations. She shared a prayer with the family over his little
body, and then made ready to leave.

After a list of Danielle’s
instructions for the next coming days, his mother, Livvy now held the wet towel
to his forehead to cool him.

“Thank ye, milady. Thank
ye!”  Livvy called out to her as Danielle moved to exit the hut with the
other woman at her side.

“Just follow my instructions, Livvy
and he will be fine.  Mind you, come straight away if he takes a
turn.” 

“But the mist, milady?” Livvy’s
worried whisper had all eyes turn to her.

Danielle tossed her head and
straightened her shoulders back.  “Little Jacob means more to me than my
fear of Thomas.”  As those words left her lips, her husband’s vow came
back to her. 

Aye, she feared Thomas a little
less now.  She knew first hand that Aric was a force to be reckoned with
and she’d seen the fear on Thomas’s face. 

She exited the tiny hut and saw
Bruce coming out of the mist with her gray mare.  He grunted his thanks as
he helped her mount. Danielle gave a last look over the huts she could see and
a feeling of sadness filled her chest before she turned and disappeared once
again into the thick forest. 

Aric’s rage was not as heavy as
before.  It had abated with what he’d witnessed through the hut’s
window.  Even so, he was still angry that she would ride about unescorted
and under the cover of the night and mist when so much rebellion and Thomas was
afoot.

He rode at a slower pace behind her
as she trotted back to the manor.  Her urgency now over, it seemed. 

He waited until she reached the
stables and watched her tiptoe about before she returned to the manor and
entered through a door, to his surprise hidden under the trellis in the
garden.  His wife was full of secrets and Aric found he was excited by
it. 

What would she say if he confronted
her this night? 

Then his mind went in another
direction as he felt a tightening in his loins as he went around the front and
entered the manor.  She thought her little escapade had gone
undetected.  But he would soon change that
.

Chapter 8

Edie awaited her
in her chamber with a towel to pat her hair dry and quickly helped her change
back into her gown. Danielle was breathless.  “Did he notice I was gone,
Edie?” 

“Nay, milady, he and Balwain were
in deep discussion and drink.”  Edie exhaled in a rush as she bundled up
Danielle’s tunic and breeches and put them in the sack she had tucked under her
arm. 

Danielle could not stop the nervous
smile that came to her lips.  She had felt as though someone had been
behind her the whole time down to the village and back again.  So it had
been her imagination after all, she sighed with relief. 

“Thomas and Rose?”  she
queried and sat impatiently on the stool as Edie saw to her hair. 

Edie scoffed as she finished the
thick plait.  “With a meal coming to the table those two never stray
far. There! You look beautiful, milady.”

Danielle blushed.  “Edie, you
are too kind. Come, I must hurry. Any longer and I’ll draw attention
to my absence.”

“Aye. And Little Jacob,
milady?”  Edie asked, worry lacing her tone as she followed behind her to
the chamber door. 

Danielle fretted but a moment.
 “He will be fine. The little fellow’s fever will break before the
dawn.”  She quickly rushed on with the rest before they exited the
chamber.

Aric stood in the manor foyer with
Balwain listening to the loud sounds coming from the dining hall as his men and
Gravane’s readied and settled for the last meal of the eve.  He wondered
how long Danielle would take before she made her entrance after her little
escapade.  He itched to go to their chamber and catch the maiden. 
But not yet.  He wanted her to continue to think that she was safe with
her secret for now.  Patience.

“Care to share what that smile is
about, milord?” 

 Balwain’s words invaded his
thoughts and Aric’s lips thinned; halting the smile he’d not been aware he’d
been showing.  That woman!  His brows furrowed in
consternation. 

“Nay, friend.”   He
grunted and shot Balwain a dark look.  Balwain guffawed. 

His friend knew him too well and
Aric found himself sharing in the hearty laugh just as Rose and Thomas
sauntered across their path. 

“Lords, pray tell, such hearty
laughter as this is rather infectious and the cause surely should be
shared.  Should it not?”  Rose’s words grated on both men and their
laughter ceased.

Rose released Thomas’s arm and
walked seductively to Aric’s side.  Her red gown, snug and her assets on
display yet again.  Aric and Balwain both looked back to Thomas.  The
peacock was decked out in all his bright and feathered glory.

“Some things cannot be shared in a
Lady’s presence.”  Balwain said all too sweetly.

Aric bit back his chuckle. 
Lady.  Rose was a strumpet that had her eyes set on anything that was
randy and would welcome her.  Her eyes and wet mouth pursed in a way that
turned his stomach as she slid her arm through his and made his skin crawl.

“You men are quite bold. You
have caused this lady to blush.  Milord, would you be so kind as to escort
a lady to her seat?”

Aric wanted to do anything but, yet
his manners kicked in.  Her fingers curled around his forearm, her other
hand joined it and she slid her fingers over his arm in a suggestive manner
with her breast pressed against his bicep.  To think he had been delighted
upon first sight that this woman might have been his now made him sick.

Rose mistook his slight shudder as
a ripple of excitement and pressed harder, if that was at all possible against
him.  Her mind churning with her evil thoughts and lust.  He was
going to be easier than she thought. 

Oh, she couldn’t wait to get him on
his back and have her way with him.  She gushed up at him as heat wet
her thighs.

“Of course.”  Aric finally
responded. “Lady Rose.” 

He gave a last look to Balwain and
Thomas. 

Thomas’s smug look had been
replaced by lust and resentment and he strutted forward.  Aric would not
allow the man to walk at his back.  Thomas turned back, a suspicious
look upon his face and looked to him as they reached the arched doorway of the
hall.

“Is my dear cousin not joining us
this eve, milord?”

Just the mention of Danielle coming
from his mouth had Aric ready to stomp the man where he stood.  The man
was not as simple as he pretended. His eyes remained steady, but it was the
twitch of Thomas’s lips and tone that told Aric the man suspected
something.  The longer he stared at him, the more he was certain of it.

Thomas was either aware of his
wife’s little nightly trips into the village or had stumbled upon something
else. Anger made him want to reach out and strangle the smaller man, but he did
not. Instead, he tamped down his rage.  Patience, he told himself.

“
My wife
will be down
shortly, Thomas.” 

The peacock’s reddening face was
all Aric needed to know the man got the meaning of his cool tone.  Thomas
cleared his throat and walked on ahead into the crowded room. 

Danielle entered just as Aric was
untangling himself from Rose’s viper grip.  Something dark swelled
inside Danielle’s chest and she stopped breathing at the sight of her cousin’s
hands on him.  She was frozen to the spot there in the hall’s
entrance.  Hurt lanced through her heart to see the intimate way their two
heads leaned in to one another.  Doubt reared and crept under her skin.
Danielle lowered her gaze where it fell upon Thomas’s gloating ruddy
face.  She nearly gagged.  His lips twisted in triumph and she saw
his beady eyes bulge with satisfaction as he leered at her. 

Sudden anger drove her into action
that he had been the one to catch her in a vulnerable moment. 

She moved forward just as Aric’s
gaze shot up and met hers.  His dark eyes were devoid of emotion. 
But she held his with her angry gaze as she walked toward the lord’s table with
her head held high.  She felt someone at her side.

“Milady, ‘Twould be my pleasure to
escort you the rest of the way.” 

Danielle took Balwain’s arm. 
His warm smile diffused some of her anger.  He was so pleasant.  Why
could Aric not be more like him she thought as hot tears pricked her
eyes. 

Until that moment, she’d not known
how emotionally wounded she truly was over the image of her husband gazing
appreciatively down into Rose’s décolletage.  Damn her cousin!  Rose
had a beauty she would never own.  Still, she managed a true smile for her
husband’s friend.

“Thank you, Balwain.  But the
pleasure, I must say, is mine.” 

Balwain blushed openly and Danielle
kept her gaze straight ahead.  She would not, could not look at Aric again
for surely her legs would buckle.  Reaching her seat, Balwain took his
just as her husband took his. 

The hall seemed to quiet
immediately.  Balwain ignored his lord’s angry visage.  

Aric drank one goblet of wine down
in one gulp.  The page waiting behind his chair hurried forward and
quickly refilled it.  Balwain kept his gaze averted, hiding his mirth.

“Is everything to your taste this
eve, milady?” Aric’s words were hard, riddled with his barely contained
rage.

She still did not look at him.
Instead her gaze swept over the filled hall. “I am not quite sure how to
answer that, milord.”

Aric heard the confusion in his own
tone as he asked her, “And why might that be?”

Her unique eyes turned to him then
and he saw what he did not want to see. Her hurt and anger. “Is this a
discussion of significance?”

Aric clenched his teeth and let out
a tight breath. He would play her game. “Aye.”

He saw her body go rigid and she
blinked rapidly before turning away from him once again.

“Well then. The meal meets my
tastes.” 

Aric knew she lied. She’d not
touched their platter since the first and only bite she’d taken when he’d
offered it to her.

“I see you made it to your seat
quite easily.”

“Aye. Thanks to Balwain, I did,
milord
.”

Aric did not miss the emphasis on
her words or that she remained looking away from him. Seething, he reached
for his goblet yet again.

“And you, milord? Your entry into
the hall was rather pleasant, was it not?”  Danielle wanted to bite off
her tongue that she had given into the green eyed monster of envy and had just
shown him she was upset by his actions. She couldn’t help it.  She
was ready to rip Rose’s hair out!

Aric choked on the wine and reached
for the cloth the page handed him.  The startled young boy nearly jumped
back as his lord snatched it angrily out of his grasp. 

Aric wiped his mouth and took his
time in answering her. 

So, she was upset about seeing him
with Rose too.  Something warm filled his chest.  She was
jealous!  Good. ‘Twould teach her the like for letting another man
touch her, even if it was his best friend.

“Both your cousins sicken
me.”  He heard her shocked sigh escape.  He continued. “
Never
let me see another man touch you, Danielle. I care not who it might be.” 

Danielle sucked in her breath and
her eyes shot to his.  His dark orbs bore into hers and she saw his anger
and something else lurking there that pulled to her. 

She exhaled and her gaze flickered
over to Balwain.  The man winked at her with a smile before turning away
as Aric’s fist came down hard on top of his hand he had resting on the
table.  Balwain said nothing and picked up his goblet of wine as if nothing
had happened. 

Danielle fought not to smile as she
turned back to her dinner. Her appetite had returned and she began to nibble at
her food.  Aric had shown her something. He was jealous!

The rest of the meal was eaten in
silence. 

Aric kept conversation with
Balwain.  She returned Balwain’s smile and blessed him silently as he
tried throughout the course of the meal to engage her into their conversation,
despite the sour look on Aric’s face.  The young page looked upon her with
his huge sad eyes as he attended them. When later he moved to refill their
goblets, Aric’s raised hand stopped him.
“We are done, lad.”
Danielle said nothing.  The little wine she’d partaken of had already been
enough and her head was reeling slightly. The noise of the hall and her
husband’s men were making her head pound. The men were beginning to get rowdy
with some of the all too happy and eager serving wenches. 
Danielle’s thoughts turned elsewhere. Had it only been just two days? Feeling
out of sorts, she wrung her hands under the table and was so deep in her
thoughts that Aric’s voice startled her with a jump.

“Come, milady, it is time for us to
retire.” He rose and held his arm out to her.  Danielle took it and prayed
he did not feel her hand tremble.

Chapter 9

Danielle did not
want to share the bed with him with such discord between them.  She almost
jumped when he bolted the chamber door behind them.  She was at war within
herself as she much as she was with him.  She did not know what to expect
or do.  So many new emotions and in such a short time.  She needed a
moment alone to compose herself.  Much had happened today and had been
rather taxing. Her nerves were raw.  Aric’s husky voice cut through her
thoughts.

“Come here, Danielle.”
She had been headed to the other side of the bed.  Edie had not
accompanied them for Aric’s nod had halted her maid’s intent at the bottom of
the stairs.  Danielle approached him, reluctantly.  He was looking at
her as if he could see right through her.