Haunted Knights (Montbryce~The Next Generation Historical Romance) (10 page)

Adam chafed that he was neglecting his responsibilities to his father. He had undertaken to visit Antoine’s ten manor houses in Sussex, yet had been incapable of summoning the will to leave East Preston for three sennights.

He had informed Belisle of the fire at Kingston Gorse by way of the pigeon relay used for more than thirty years. The message had explained that no tithes could be expected from Kingston Gorse for some time to come, given the tragic circumstances of the Lallements’ deaths.

No mention was made of his and Denis’ presence in the house at the time of the fire; their mother would fret over it.

It was impossible to explain the existence of Rosamunda and Paulina in a short missive. How to describe what he was beginning to feel for Rosamunda? She was full of life, determined to explore the house and grounds, asking a thousand questions about it and the other manor houses the Montbryces had been granted.

What had Antoine done to deserve such a gift from the Conqueror? How many manors in total? Were they all two stories? All made of wood?

She rushed into the house one day, her joy evident at having discovered rosemary growing in the herb garden.

She wanted to learn how to ride. When she discovered the weaving shed, she begged to be taught how to weave.

She haunted the kitchens, never making a nuisance of herself, simply watching wide eyed.

She could not speak, but Adam was learning to understand her. His deafness had no bearing on their conversations. She seemed to be unaware he could not hear.

She refused to do any embroidery or needlework, swearing an oath to never take up a needle again. She wanted to hear of Antoine’s bravery at Hastings over and over. He told her the tale of his
oncle
Hugh and
tante
Devona and she was enthralled by details her brothers had not been aware of.

She wept at the story of his father taking his mother prisoner during a siege. She shuddered when he told of Denis’ birth and the mob out for his blood, making him wish he had not mentioned it. It was perhaps too akin to her family’s history.

She put both hands over her heart. “Love? Your parents.”

Adam chuckled. “Passionately.”

A tear trickled down her cheek. “My mother—no love.” She grimaced. “Only hate.”

His heart went out to this young woman. He wanted to enfold her in his arms and protect her from being hurt ever again. But he was not the man to fulfill all her needs. He might bring her pleasure, but could not plant the seed of a child in her belly.

It saddened him immensely. He loved spending time with her, but keeping his hands off her body was proving increasingly difficult.

The maidservants quickly fashioned chemises, nightshifts and
bliauts
for the Lallement women to replace the borrowed raiment. Paulina was particularly grateful, having been reduced to wearing clothing of the children of servants who were not as well endowed above the waist as she.

Denis seemingly could not take his eyes off the tiny woman. “What a pair we are, brother,” he remarked one day after they had been practising swordplay in the courtyard. “God brings us two beautiful women and we have no idea what to do with them.”

Leaning his hip against the wall of the well, Adam took a gulp of water from the dipper, then wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his sweat soaked shirt. “I know what I’d love to do with Rosamunda, but that is impossible.”

Denis accepted the dipper Adam had refilled from the bucket. “But think on it.” He pointed to Adam’s ears. “You are deaf, and we stumble into a girl who is
muette
.” He touched his lips, then thumped his chest. “I am a dwarf and your
muette’s
sister is the smallest woman I have ever seen. Surely the fine hand of destiny is at work somewhere here?”

Adam groaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. He understood the gist of what Denis was trying to say, but—

“My inadequacies go deeper than my deafness. Rosamunda will want children.”

“Have you asked her?”

Adam brought his fist down on the stone wall and threw the bucket back into the well. The windlass squealed as the rope unwound, until they heard a soft splash. “
Non
! I do not intend to reveal my problem to her. You are the only one who knows, and it must stay that way.”

“She’s drawn to you. Perhaps it—”

Gooseflesh marched up Adam’s neck. “
Non
! She will find someone else and forget me. I will speak to her brothers. Perhaps at one of father’s other manors there exists a worthy knight who would make her a good husband.”

Denis looked at him sadly. “The same will not likely hold true for her sister.
Dieu!
I want that woman.”

Adam put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Then woo her.”

~~~

Denis inhaled deeply, wishing he had never met Paulina Lallement. The ugliness he had striven his whole life to overcome stood in sharp contrast to her beauty. “Have you seen the way she looks at me, Adam? She may be small, but she is not an aberration like me.”

“She is afraid, Denis. Rosamunda confided to me that her sister did not long for freedom as she did. She has been afraid for a long time. She considers she is a freak of nature.”

Denis raked his hands through his hair. “But she is stunningly beautiful.”

“She does not see it. She sees only her size.”

Denis snorted. “I know the feeling!”

“She needs your strength.”

Denis held his arms wide, palms towards his body. “Look at me. Why would a beautiful woman want to bed this?”

Adam poked him in the chest. “Don’t give me those excuses. You have never wallowed in self pity. Don’t start now. You have much to offer a woman. You are one of the finest men I know.”

Denis gazed into the well. “You’re right, but the possibility of her rejecting me is more than I can bear. I’ve never risked my heart before.”

~~~

Watching from windows was the habit of a lifetime for Rosamunda. Paulina had at first resisted her suggestion that they both watch Adam and Denis practice swordplay with their men-at-arms in the courtyard. However, curiosity got the better of her. She had brought over a stool and the two sisters had gaped transfixed at the scene.

Most of the combatants were stripped to the waist. Rosamunda barely noticed them, her eyes fixed on Adam’s white linen shirt moulded to his broad chest and shoulders. He was a capable swordsman, easily disarming any of the men who challenged him. His long legs gave him a distinct advantage. She grew hot at the thought of kneading his strong thighs with her fingers.

It was not the first time this idea had crossed her mind. Each day in the Hall, she sat next to him at meal times, feeling the heat from those powerful thighs. But he was careful to leave space between them.

Did he judge her unattractive, or was there something else? Something she could not put her finger on.

After their exercise, Adam cranked up the bucket from the well. The brothers shared a drink as they talked.

“Perplexed,” she mouthed to Paulina.

Receiving no response, she poked her sister’s shoulder, startled to see drool trickling down her chin. She traced a line from the corner of her mouth. “Drooling.”

Paulina looked up at her sharply, hastily wiping her mouth. “I am not.”

Rosamunda shrugged. “What are they discussing?”

Red faced, Paulina got down off the stool and left the window. “Who knows?”

Rosamunda squinted, trying to watch Adam’s lips, but he was too far away. It was curious how he bent his head and stared at the dwarf when he spoke, as if the smaller man was too far away to hear!

Ridiculous! Just because he’s short—

She slapped her forehead with her palm. How had she not seen the truth?

Adam cannot hear.

It explained the sullen anger he often exhibited, the constant frown as he strained to understand what people said. She guessed he had not been deaf long. Her brothers had hinted at some recent change in him. What could render a man deaf? An accident? A malady?

Adam had watched her lips carefully, not because he liked her mouth, or was truly interested in what she had to say, but because he was deaf. Her muteness was of no consequence.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

That she was mute did not matter.

~~~

Paulina was mortified. Imagine drooling at the thought of untying the leather thong that bound Sancerre’s thick curly hair. What would it feel like to run her fingers through it?

If only she could let go of her fear and respond to his kindness, instead of behaving like a shrew. Perhaps she was more like her mother than she wanted to admit.

It was true he was not a handsome man, but he was strong and surprisingly agile for one with such a tortured physique. He had confided in her as they sat at table in the Hall that he was a better cavalry man than a foot soldier, but he had held his own in the bouts of swordplay.

She looked forward to his conversations at meal times. He was educated, well travelled, honourable. He had saved her life.

But his green eyes filled with longing when he looked at her, and the intensity of his gaze stole away her wits. Her body had developed tinglings in surprising places. One morning she had awakened with her hand clamped firmly where it should not have been. Her already large breasts protested against the fabric of her gown whenever Denis walked into her presence. Her throat constricted and she might have been the mute sister for all she could think to say. Perhaps the smoke had made her ill.

Adam’s first official visit as his father’s representative would be to the manor at Poling. The estate had changed hands several times over the years, and his father had mentioned that the current Norman family were relatively recent occupants. Cormant had vetted them and arranged everything, but a visit from the overlord’s son would not go amiss. He had delayed too long already.

He questioned his Steward. “It’s a Norman family, I assume?”

Cormant spread out the pertinent documents on the trestle table in the tiny Map Room. “
Oui
, Alphonse Revandel is the name. Recently retired from some prestigious position at Court, apparently with a generous purse from His Majesty. His references were impeccable.”

Adam traced a finger over the royal seal. “Hard to fault a King.”

Cormant chuckled. “Indeed!”

“Children?”

Cormant held up three fingers. “Three, I believe. A widower with two sons and a daughter.”

Adam brushed his knuckles back and forth against his cheek. “I have spoken to Vincent Lallement. He agrees we should seek a suitable husband for Rosamunda. I will ask her to accompany me. Are the Revandel sons of marriageable age?”

Cormant talked on, but Adam did not make the effort to understand. The thought of Rosamunda in another man’s bed churned his gut.

~~~

Rosamunda held the reins as she had been shown. The sweet palfrey Adam had given her followed Nox out of the courtyard. Since Nox was named for the night, she deemed it clever to christen her steed Lux—light. Adam had rolled his eyes!

She loved riding. Adam had declared her a born horsewoman.

Paulina refused to leave East Preston, and Denis opted to stay with her.

Accompanying Adam to Poling was an adventure Rosamunda relished, thrilled he had asked her. She filled her lungs with fresh air, trying to put a name to the scents. There was a hint of the sea that lessened as they rode north. From time to time she caught the aroma of a certain tree, or wildflower. How to learn their names? Denis seemed to be knowledgeable on many subjects. She would consult him.

Then there was Adam’s scent, one she recognised every time he entered a room. Clean, wholesome, minty. She suspected that, like her brothers, he was in the habit of chewing spearmint leaves.

She was afraid she had annoyed him with endless questions about the family they were on their way to visit. Vincent and Lucien had never mentioned them. She resolved not to badger him further. It must be difficult to ride and concentrate on her lips at the same time.

They continued on for a while in silence, before Adam glanced over at her. “You are too quiet, miss.”

His face reddened when it dawned on him what he had said.

She shrugged, drawing a finger across her lips.

He frowned. “Why?”

Her heart raced. Dare she reveal she had guessed his secret? She pointed one finger at him, then two to her eyes, then to the road ahead. “Watch the road.”

He shifted his weight in the saddle. “It’s an easy path, completely flat. The only turn we make is west at Angmering. The manor house there is one of
oncle
Hugh’s.”

The uncomfortable silence continued. The mention of her hero’s name gave her courage. She touched Adam’s arm, wanting him to look her in the face. He turned his head quickly, his eyes narrowed. She swallowed hard, pointed to him, then covered her ears, shaking her head. “You cannot hear.”

She had trusted it would be a relief to him that she knew, and that it mattered not a whit, but he clenched his jaw and scowled. “You have guessed correctly. I am deaf.”

He urged Nox forward to ride ahead, ending their conversation.

~~~

Adam took several deep breaths in an effort to drown out the thudding in his ears. What irony that a deaf man heard his own heartbeat!

A cruel fate had brought him Rosamunda, the one woman who cared naught that he was deaf. And for her, who better to take as husband than a man unable to hear?

It would appear they were destined to be together. She no doubt believed it. There was an undeniable attraction between them. She made no secret of her affection for him, and he loved her smile, her curiosity, her untamed hair, her body, though he was incapable of fulfilling a woman’s deepest physical need.

His throat tightened as the wind carried her perfume to his nostrils, the elusive scent that was pure Rosamunda. It reminded him of something, but what? He felt her eyes on his back, angry he had turned away. She probably believed her revelation had caused his rude reaction.

He toyed with the notion of returning to East Preston. He had not informed the Revandel family of his visit, preferring to make an unannounced inspection. But he dreaded the moment when the astute Rosamunda would inevitably deduce that the journey was in part to ascertain if either Revandel son might make her a suitable husband.

She would believe he disdained her. Nothing was further from the truth. The love he felt was pure, from the heart.

~~~

Rosamunda had trusted freedom would bring her nothing but joy, but now she felt slightly faint and nauseous after Adam’s rejection. Revealing what was in one’s heart was evidently not the best course of action in the real world.

She had assumed he would be relieved. But then why had he not told her he was deaf? The thought must have occurred to him that his affliction would not lessen her regard, might indeed bring them closer.

She suddenly felt more alone and isolated than she had ever been during her confinement. She wished she had not accompanied Adam—though he had been somewhat insistent. Better to have stayed with Paulina. Perhaps her sister had the right of it. She would have to guard her feelings more carefully.

She had fancied Adam was attracted to her—how foolish. He was from a rich and powerful family, a strikingly handsome man any woman would want, despite his deafness. She had quickly forgotten that her own mother had rejected her because of her muteness. Why would Adam de Montbryce feel any differently?

The sooner Kingston Gorse was rebuilt, the faster she and Paulina might return to the only home they had ever known. Vincent would protect them.