The Knight and the Dove (10 page)

Megan never did turn her head, or she would have seen the amusement in Bracken’s eyes. He didn’t want Marigold, not after meeting Megan, but he found a bit of jealousy between sisters to be an entertaining thing. It would be some time before he learned that for Megan, Marigold was no laughing matter.

Bracken lay in bed for nearly an hour that night thinking on the day’s events. He knew that Megan had returned to the bedchamber she’d bathed in and wondered if she was comfortable. He mentally
shrugged. As soon as Aunt Louisa arrived, she would live in the tower apartments with her. After living in an abbey, Megan would certainly forgive him one night in a stark chamber. Bracken fell asleep then, but it seemed only moments instead of hours before Lyndon spoke his name in the dark.

“Bracken.”

“What is it?” A trained warrior, Bracken was instantly awake.

“I think you should come to the hall.”

Bracken rose without question, and after he had joined Lyndon on the stairs, both men stood in awe of the scene below.

Megan sat in a chair by the fire looking into the flames. She wore a borrowed night garment, coarse and many sizes too large for her. Beyond her chair, standing and still fully dressed, was Arik. As Bracken and Lyndon watched, Megan stood and started for the door, but Arik was there ahead of her, preventing her from reaching for the handle.

“No, my lady,” his deep, gravely voice could be heard.

Megan tried to come around him, but he moved to block her. After a moment she returned to the chair, and Bracken walked down the stairs. He stared at Megan as he passed, but went directly to Arik. Before he could question him, Megan was on her feet again. She came to the door. This time Bracken heard her speak.

“I have to go home.”

“No, my lady,” Arik said, holding his body between her and the door. Megan’s hands came out as if to push Arik off but no one had moved to touch her.

“Mother sent me away before my clothes were ready. I have to see Father. I have no brush for my hair.”

Megan tried to get to the door again, but Arik sidestepped and prevented it. At the same time, Bracken reached gently for her hand, enfolding it in his large one. Megan woke with a start. She stared up at Bracken and then at Arik before reclaiming her hand and tightly folding her arms across her chest.

“Did I say anything?” she asked, her voice so vulnerable that Bracken’s heart constricted.

“No,” he lied to her without conscience, knowing that if he told her she would feel shamed.

“Let me see you to your room, Megan,” Bracken offered. The small redhead nodded and preceded him across the hall and up the stairs.
They didn’t speak, and Bracken was glad that Lyndon had made himself scarce. At the same time, another thought occurred to him: The tower apartments were not an option. His intended walked in her sleep. He had never known anyone who did, but a fall down the tower steps could mean her death. Bracken would never take that risk.

Seven

M
EGAN HAD NOT YET MADE
an appearance downstairs when Bracken cornered Arik in the great room the next morning.

“Whether or not you’re in the mood to speak, my great friend, I need to know more about Lady Megan’s actions last night. Did she walk while sleeping in the smithy’s shop?”

“Every night.”

Bracken had not been prepared for that answer. It gave him pause, and he stared at the giant knight without really seeing him. He’d been thinking Megan might walk in her sleep on a rare occasion, but evidently she had done it every night she’d been at Hawkings Crest.

“How did you stop her?”

“I didn’t. I blocked her path.”

“You never woke her?”

Arik’s head moved in denial.

Megan chose that moment to come downstairs, and Bracken moved off after just a few words of instruction to Arik. He met Megan at the bottom of the stairs and noticed immediately that she looked rested but slightly wary.

“Good morning to you, Megan. Come, break the fast with me.”

Megan allowed herself to be led to the head table and took a seat at the top of the long bench. Bracken took the large wooden chair that sat at the head of the table and studied Megan for a few silent moments.

“How did you sleep?”

Megan blushed, her eyes on her hands. “I never remember anything if I walk in my sleep, so until you woke me, I knew nothing.”

“And when you returned to your chambers?”

She now looked at him. “I slept again right away.”

Food was placed before them. For some time they ate in silence. Megan found the fare very appetizing and ate her fill. Bracken was done ahead of her, however, and while she finished, he told her he was working on a change in plans.

“When my Aunt Louisa lives with me, she always occupies the apartments in the tower. I had originally planned for you to live with her. With the long, narrow stairs, that is out of the question. I will have to make other arrangements.”

“Do you mean to suggest that you will send me home?” Megan’s voice was so hopeful that Bracken had to hide a smile.

“I believe your father wished for us to become better acquainted.”

Megan shrugged. “I thought that since we’ve at least met, it might suffice to see one another a few times before we wed. Would that not serve the same purpose?”

They both knew it would not, but Bracken was amazed over the emotions her words evoked. For a man who would have gladly refused the king’s orders, he was certainly working hard to think of ways to keep Megan with him. His pride, however, would not let him admit this to her.

“I’m sorry you do not wish to remain here, Megan, but if you recall, it was not my idea but your father’s and the king’s.”

Megan blushed to the roots of her hair. He must not want this marriage any more than she did. She had no words. She had been adjusting to new situations all of her life, but this was by far the most difficult.

She did not want to be married yet, and having to live with this man who would soon be her husband was the most awkward experience thus far. Every time he looked at her or touched her in any way, Megan felt utterly defenseless. It was not something she enjoyed. For the most part, Megan was used to being in charge of her own wants. Now she had to answer to this man. He did not strike her as being cruel, but she could tell that he liked to have his own way as often as she did herself.

Megan had not come down early that morning. She had been praying—confessing, actually. She had grown angry many times the day before and had not confessed each occurrence to God on the spot. Her sins hung over her when she had wakened, and she knew she could not start the day with such a heart.

Bracken and Megan were still sitting silently in one another’s company when Lyndon joined them. He didn’t sit until Bracken gave him leave, but when he did it was on the end of the other bench, directly opposite Megan.

“Megan, this is Lyndon, a loyal knight of Hawkings Crest. Lyndon, this is my intended, Lady Megan of Stone Lake.”

“Hello, Sir Lyndon.”

“Hello, my lady. May I say that you grace our hall with your beauty.”

Megan smiled at the handsome, blond knight, her first real smile, and Bracken stared at her until Lyndon spoke.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Bracken, but I think you should know of the gossip in the keep.”

“All right.”

“Lady Megan was not disturbed in any way while working with the servants. I know you will be pleased over this fact, but you will not care for the reason. They did not recognize her as a lady in their midst but believed that Arik had claimed her.”

Megan’s face paled, and her eyes slid shut. She thought she might actually hate her mother at that moment. She was to live here and become the mistress of this castle, yet they all thought she had some sort of relationship with Arik. For a moment Megan felt beyond despair, but a sudden resolve stiffened her spine. She had risen to countless occasions in her life; would she now allow this one to rule her?

Both men had been watching her. Bracken was on the verge of speaking when Megan opened her eyes and said, “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen.” She rose gracefully “I feel a need for some air.”

“Where are you going?” Bracken asked but was roundly ignored.

Both men watched Megan walk toward the main entrance, her head high, her face serene. At the door she spoke to a guard. Bracken watched the way the man bowed his head in respect as she walked away. She looked in control, but Bracken was not comfortable. With an easy pace that he didn’t feel within, he followed, Lyndon by his side. He knew no physical harm would come to her, but at the moment he wasn’t certain if she would be attacked verbally or not. Bracken would stand for no such thing.

Megan, no longer in convent dress, her hair shining with cleanliness, drew every eye in the inner bailey. She spoke to several folks as she moved along, to people she recognized and some she didn’t. They all seemed to know her, but she didn’t linger; her goal was the creamery.

Bracken had also come into the courtyard, Lyndon still with him, and in an effort to keep an eye on her and not be too conspicuous, wandered about much as Megan was doing. Things seemed to be going well for the first several minutes, but then he watched as she moved toward the creamery. Bracken’s heart plummeted. Surely she was not going back to work!

“She’s headed for the creamery,” he commented to the man at his side.

“So I see” was all Lyndon said.