Seduced (28 page)

"It is when ye canna mistake a plump, brown
bird. Raik always tried to deny it, but then he had a hard time
straining his neck to see his nether cheek," Elyne said.

Letia rocked back and forth, hugging her
sleeping baby to her chest.

"Aubrey is small because he was born ahead of
his time, was he not?" Joneta patted Letia's knee.

Letia nodded, unable to speak past the lump
in her throat.

"All at Hunter know of Raik's time here at
Seton. We thought his tale of what he called the Lady of the Lights
coming to his bed was fevered dreams." Joneta patted her again.
"What led ye to such a deception?"

Letia stared through welling eyes down at her
feet then back up at Joneta.

"Warin was desperate for an heir to Seton. He
feared Julian of Chatton or someone equally unsuitable would seize
the castle when he died.

"When he proposed his plan, he did not go
into it lightly. He knew Raik to be honorable and kind, and they
looked much alike in build and coloring. Too, he had a fondness for
Raik. 'Tis why he was always so careful that no harm came to anyone
on their games of thieving each other's cows."

"Surely if ye had asked him, he would have
helped ye." Elyne said. "He has always been more than happy to jump
betwixt the sheets."

Letia huffed. "With every woman who catches
his fancy. Did you not note the times I visited that he had an
intense dislike for me?"

"Sometimes a man deems a feeling as dislike
but it is a deeper emotion. Mayhap he kept himself from being
attracted to a woman already wed by taking refuge in disapproval?"
Joneta lips tilted in a wry smile.

"Hmm." Elyne cocked her head to the side and
studied Letia. "I ken it is more than one thing. Raik has always
been a protector. Perchance he feels ye dinna need him. Or any
man?"

"Always, I have needed someone." Letia shook
her head as silent tears slipped from her eyes. "Father could not
save us when they raided our castle. When he became ill, there was
no one he trusted but me to hold everything safe until Warin
arrived. Then, in these last years, we had to hide Warin's failing
heart to keep greed-filled neighbors from seizing Seton. I had to
protect all within the curtain walls."

"Aye. But with Raik, ye have someone strong
and able to defend Seton. And ye."

"But will he want to when he finds out how I
deceived him?

"There is that." Elyne bit her lip,
thinking.

"Mayhap he will." Joneta's eyes glistened, as
tears lurked there. "A man should always know when he has fathered
a child, and a child should know who his rightful father is.

Elyne put her arm around her aunt's shoulder
and gave it a quick squeeze.

"From the first, I should not have kept
Raik's birth a secret but kept him with me. Symon de Mortimer would
have taken delight in knowing of his first-born son's
progress."

"Aye, Aunt." Elyne giggled, her eyes alight
with mischief. "What a way for Raik to have met his sire, having
him demand he drop his breeches and show the world his arse. Would
you not have loved to see Raik when he defied his father and
challenged him to do the same?"

"King Stephen's chambers must have rung with
laughter seeing two grown men with their breeches down around their
ankles to eye each other's nether cheeks." Joneta covered her mouth
as she giggled like a young girl.

Letia clutched the baby so close Aubrey
squirmed and mewled. She lightened her grasp and stood to sway back
and forth, comforting him. Freki turned in circles than plopped
down beside her feet.

"Letia, I was not able to mother my son, but
I have learned much of his feelings over the years. He cannot abide
anyone calling him a bastard. He swore he would never sire one. At
Raptor, he was most serious about finding the woman who held him in
such thrall that he spilled his seed on fertile ground. It eats at
him that he may have a child without a father."

"But I fear if Raik finds it was me, he will
lock me in a tower like he threatened this morn." Letia rubbed her
cheek near imagining the blow he'd undoubtedly strike there when he
learned of Aubrey.

"He will be furious, aye. And he may even do
as you fear. But 'tis not in his nature to be cruel. He will
forgive you sooner if you tell him and he does not learn of it by
himself."

"I do not think he will be so easily calmed.
You saw how furious he was because I was overlong training the
children."

"Was it this he was shouting about when we
came up the stairwell?" Joneta's kind eyes studied her face.

"Aye. He forbids me to train them with the
slings. That has always been my special skill. Now he would deprive
our castle folk of learning weapons even women can master."

"Oh, that doesna sound like gentle Raik,"
Elyne said.

"Gentle? He has done naught but issue demands
since he rode up to the gates."

"I wonder why? Uh, could it be because you
peppered him with arrows?" Elyne burst out laughing at the surprise
on Letia's face. "We heard of it from the squires who assisted us
down from the cart."

"Did you really intend to defy him and his
men all by yourself?" Joneta eyes widened.

"It was stupid of me. I panicked when I saw
who came to the gate. I feared that since Raik disliked me so much,
he would send me away and keep me from Aubrey."

"He would never separate a bairn from his
mother." Elyne shook her head.

"He threatens to do just that. He says he
will get a wet nurse then house me in a tower under guard if I do
not stop 'seizing a man's duties' as he calls it."

"Surely someone else can take over training
the slingers until Raik relents?" Elyne's eyes were thoughtful as
she studied Letia.

"Giles aides me. Raik ordered him to give
over my weapons and I have naught to defend myself except my eating
knife."

"Hopefully, you will not need to defend
yourself any longer. You have a young, vital husband to protect you
and Seton Castle."

"I do not know what to do with myself. I have
always led such an active life, even when heavy with child. Now he
expects me to dress in fine clothing and spend my time doing
nothing?"

"You have the keep to manage. If you do not
want a wet-nurse, won't Aubrey take much of your day?"

"Managing the keep has never been a problem.
I have placed Sybilla in charge of the food and cooks, Goda sees to
the linens and clothing repairs, Floria looks after the children of
the keep and Mirabel is an excellent weaver and watches over the
weaver's huts. I order the floors swept each day, see the walls are
washed clear of soot, the gardens and orchards tended and keep a
list handy for peddlers."

"Saints, Letia! How do ye have time to train
anyone in slings or archery?" Elyne asked.

Letia threw up her hands, frustrated. "During
the day, I have ample time to work with them while Aubrey sleeps.
Maud does not leave his side when I am not within the keep."

"Humpf! From now on, ye will be in the keep
more often," Raik's disapproving voice rang out as he entered the
room. "The bairn will not have to cry his tears dry waiting for ye
to nurse him. Even Freki gets fed when he hungers."

Aubrey squirmed and turned his head toward
the sound, his eyes wide as he looked for Raik.

Letia stiffened. "Cook always has a pot of
soup simmering. A meaty bone is sure to be at hand for Freki," she
replied.

"Aye. As ye have milk aplenty that is wasted
when it soaks yer clothing."

"That happens to all mothers, Raik, when near
feeding time for their bairns," Joneta said.

"For truth. Catalin is forever having to
change her bindings, does she not, brother?" Elyne asked as Ranald
followed his cousin into the room.

"Eh, men know nothing of bindings and wasted
milk. But I would not think it the case with twins." The corners of
Ranald's lips twitched.

"I have need of the solar." Raik's voice
softened on seeing Aubrey. "Mayhap you should take the bairn out
into the orchard. 'Tis a rare sunny afternoon and the little mite
should have fresh air."

Raik reached over to cup the babe's head in
the palm of his hand. He hesitated before he eased him gently from
Letia's arms to cradle him in his own. Streaks of fire shot to
Letia's core when the back of his hand brushed against her
breast.

Aubrey looked up at him and made soft sounds
like a morning dove, then waved his fist at Raik's chin. Raik
lowered his head and grinned, seeming engrossed in the babe.
Tenderness filled his expression when the bairn's fist opened and
his fingers scraped at his lips.

"Look. He explores my face." He lowered his
head and pretended to nibble the fingertips.

"We will leave you men to your own devices."
Letia rose and held out her hands for her son. Raik nuzzled the
bairn's hand again then turned the babe to place him against
Letia's shoulder.

o0o

The women had no sooner left the room than
Cormac, Edmund and Leofwan joined Raik and Ranald. Edulf followed
carrying a pewter tray laden with cups and ale. Raik pulled back a
chair and motioned for everyone to take a seat.

Raik told them of his plans for the castle
and its defense. He spread out parchments with precisely drawn
pictures of the castle with the outer walls and the grounds before
it. He had included the smallest details, even as far as the bushes
where Freki had once lurked in the woods at the far side of the
clearing.

Ranald picked up the drawing of the southern
side of the castle and walked over to the window. He leaned out the
opening to study the ground below then returned to the table.

"Here," Ranald placed the drawing back in
place, "is this not the ground below?" He stabbed his finger down
on the image of a sprawling tree standing close to the wall.

"Aye." Raik nodded.

"What is behind it?" Ranald's fingers flew as
he sketched in several trees in the area beyond the wall leading
into the woods.

"Edmund?" Raik looked to him for an
answer.

"The original postern gate stands behind the
tree."

Raik sat up straighter in his chair. "How is
it defended?"

"It's been abandoned for many years," Leofwan
added. "Not visible from outside. The aging of the planks blend in
with the colors of the wall. Whenever there's a threat, Lady Letia
stations slingers all along that wall walk."

"Lady Letia will no longer be putting herself
in danger. Cormac, Piers and Giles are now in charge of the
slingers. Who guards the gate in peaceful times?" Raik's brows
rose.

"At night, two men. One in daytime, since it
is a small section."

The mention of Letia's name made Raik mindful
of the quiet sounds coming from the bedchamber during the
afternoon. Whenever Aubrey cried, he stilled. He relaxed on hearing
the soft murmurs of women talking and laughing. Rare contentment
filled him. Hearing Letia singing a haunting melody surprised him,
for her voice was as soft and sweet as the most gentle of
women.

By the time Raik's meeting ended, he had
chosen Sir William to oversee the young men. Who was better suited
to train them than a man who had made it his life's work? Everard,
who could coax a horse to bow and kneel with a fully equipped
warrior on his back, would take over the men who fought ahorse.

The sun had begun to wane when Edulf
scratched lightly then entered to remind them 'twas time to go
below for the delayed wedding banquet.

As it had always been, the likenesses in the
two cousins struck Letia when Raik and Ranald strode through the
doorway of the great hall. Both men were of the same height, the
same weight. They strolled with the same arrogance. Command oozed
from their very beings.

Where Ranald's hair was black, Raik's was so
deep a brown as to appear black. They would look like brothers were
it not for their eyes. Ranald's deep purple-black; Raik's startling
blue like the brightest spring day.

Ah, but what made them different was their
clothing. Raik's was forever colorful, his garments finely made out
of the best cloths. Were it not for his bearing, a less observant
man might think him, um, unmanly? Ranald's deceased twin brother
had also dressed in the same colorful manner, while Ranald wore
unrelenting black.

Raik's gaze scanned the room. Letia thought
mayhap he searched for Cormac, but his eyes passed his friend by. A
spark streaked between them when his piercing blue gaze found her.
Like a hare pinned by a wolf's gaze, she could not look away.

"Did the bairn enjoy his outing, Lady?" His
eyes narrowed.

Did he try to read her thoughts? "Aye. We
kept within the shade of the orchard."

"You should have seen Aubrey, cousin,"
Elyne's bright voice piped in. "He saw a bird for the first time
and was quite excited. He reached out to try to catch it from the
sky."

"Mayhap one day he will favor hawking." Raik
nodded, pleased.

"He's a precious boy, one who will bring you
much joy," Joneta smiled.

As they talked, they moved across the hall to
the high table. Raik seated his mother to his right with Ranald to
Letia's left. Elyne slipped onto the bench opposite her brother and
Sir William sat across from Joneta while Cormac made haste to take
his place opposite Sybilla. When he winked at her, she blushed and
lowered her chin to her chest.

Each table looked snowy clean with its white
linen and bright vase of flowers from the gardens. Servants had
used the best pewter plates and goblets, their edges or sides
etched with birds, flowers, trees and animals. Large pitchers of
wine stood within easy reach for those at the high table, ale and
cider for the lower tables.

Male servants arrived with platters of pork
flavored with garlic, lamb with mint sprigs sprinkled atop the mint
jelly that covered it along with broiled venison, baked chicken and
roasted geese. Grilled salmon, accompanied with a sauce made of
wine, onion, cinnamon, vinegar and ginger followed.