Unending Love (9 page)

He didn’t know if he loved her because he’d
never truly loved anyone in his life, at least in the romantic sense. All he
knew was that the feelings he was developing for her were consuming him and he
couldn’t stomach the thought of her with someone else or, worse, sealed up in a
convent. He wasn’t sure he could explain all of it to her but he was willing to
give it a try. He didn’t have a choice; he’d opened wide the door and now was
the time to step in.

“Addie, I want you to listen to me and listen
closely,” he said in a deep, quiet tone. “I do not do anything out of pity. It
is a weakness and I am not weak. When I saw you for the first time after having
not seen you in many years, I felt as if I was introduced to someone I’d never
before known.  All I could see was a beautiful and brilliant woman with
kindness and fire and intelligence. I could also see why four men in two days
have come vying for your hand; you are truly an astonishing example of
womanhood and you would be a wife a man could be proud of.
I
would be
proud, Addie.  But if you no longer feel as you did those years ago, I
understand. You were a child then with a child’s dreams. Perhaps you have
outgrown me, but I hope not. I could never forgive myself if I did not ask if
you see anything within me that you still find attractive.”

Not only was David’s mouth still hanging open,
but now his eyebrows were lifted and his eyes were bugged.  He stared at Maddoc
as if the man had grown two heads, but Maddoc only had eyes for Adalind.  When David
looked at his granddaughter, he could see that nothing else in the world
existed, either.  Maddoc had all of her attention.

“I… I do not know if I can believe my ears,” she
said, tears fading as she labored to regain her composure. “This... this cannot
be real.”

“It is real.”

“I am not dreaming?”

“Nay.”

She just stared at him, stunned, before wiping
away the last of her tears.  “Do you swear, Maddoc?”

“I swear.”

“You are not jesting?”

He smiled faintly, finding her disbelief
understandable and humorous at the same time. “I would not jest with you on a
subject as important as this.”

Adalind continued to stare at him. Now that the
wave of hysteria had rolled over her, she was strangely calm.  Pensive, even. 
But she still leaned back against the wall for support; she didn’t trust
herself to stand under her own power just yet.

“Maddoc?”

“Aye?”

“Go away and come back later.  Say the same
thing to me at that time and perhaps I will believe you.”

With a twinkle in the bright blue eyes, his gaze
lingered on her a moment before he turned away without another word.  Before he
reached the door, however, he spoke.

“De Burgh is in the bailey, my lord,” he said to
David. “If I am in competition with him for Lady Adalind’s hand, then you will
understand I will do what I must in order to rid myself of my competition.”

David still wasn’t over the scene he had just
witnessed but he forced himself to focus on what Maddoc was saying.

“You may not challenge him, Maddoc,” he said
quietly. “De Burgh must be treated with care.  I would not bring the whole
family down around us.”

“I will not challenge him,” Maddoc turned to
look at him. “But I will not welcome him, either. I ask that you send another
to deal with de Burgh, for I cannot do it. Forgive me.”

David gazed at the man with some astonishment.
He had always known Maddoc to be the most responsible, stable, and wise knight
he’d ever known.  Maddoc had been mature beyond his years at a very young age
and his wisdom and common sense in all things was second to none.  To hear
those words come forth from the man was quite extraordinary. He believed him
implicitly. He took a few steps in Maddoc’s direction.

“Maddoc,” he began, grasping for words. “I must
ask. Are you… are you truly serious about Adalind?”

“I am, my lord.”

“In all the years I have known you and in all of
the years she annoyed you to tears, you have never once expressed any interest
in her. Why the change of heart?”

Maddoc’s gaze was intense. “The woman who came
to Canterbury two days ago is not the Adalind either one of us remembers,” he
said quietly. “She is cultured, poised, wise, humorous, and undeniably
beautiful. She is also vulnerable and sad. I… I cannot explain why my heart has
changed only that it has. You will have to take me at my word.”

David’s gaze was equally intense. “Then if you
are serious about courting her, I will have to treat you like any other
suitor.”

“What do you mean?”

David expression flickered, no longer the liege
of a knight but the grandfather of the woman the knight intended to pursue.  He
wasn’t sure how else to behave but he wanted to make his thoughts clear to
Maddoc.

“As my captain, you have unrestricted access to
the entire family, including Adalind,” he lowered his voice. “If you truly
intend to court her, then your access will be limited. You will be watched when
you are with her. You will no longer be permitted to be alone with her and any
and all requests for her time will have to come through me. Am I making myself
clear?”

Maddoc nodded. “You are, my lord.”

“Do you still intend to pursue her, then?”

“I do.”

David couldn’t help it; he still wasn’t over his
astonishment and slipped. “Do you
really
?”

“Absolutely.”

David took him for his word. He was no longer
astonished because Maddoc seemed very sincere If he thought on it, he was
rather delighted, not only for Adalind’s sake but for his own. He had always
adored Maddoc and to have the man as a son was something of a dream for him as
well. A hint of a smile came to his lips.

“I will say this only once but if you ask me to
repeat it, I will deny ever speaking the words,” he said softly. “I could ask
for no better husband for Adalind.  I have raised her, you know, since her
father died those years ago. She is not only my granddaughter but my child as
well. She deserves every happiness in the world and I know you would be good to
her. But I swear upon all that is holy if you hurt her or mislead her in any
way, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?”

Maddoc knew the threat was sincere. He was
unafraid in his reply. “I do, my lord. Implicitly.”

David’s gaze lingered on him as if to emphasize
his point.  He wanted to make sure Maddoc knew he would slit
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his throat and take great pleasure in it if
Maddoc hurt Adalind in any fashion.  But Maddoc’s gaze held firm, eye to eye,
and they understood each other.  It was an oddly tense moment but a necessary
one.  After a moment, David nodded shortly.

“Very well,” he rumbled. “Go about your duties but
stay away from Adalind. I will greet de Burgh.”

They vacated the room without another word,
leaving Adalind still standing against the wall, wondering what they had been
whispering about. More than that, she was still coming to grips with what had
just happened.  She still couldn’t believe it. Surely she had imagined it. 

Pushing herself off the wall, she collected her
fallen loom, off balance herself as she tried to right it.  It ended up falling
again and she left it, too unsteady to pick it up again. Her mind was elsewhere
as she staggered out of the receiving room and up the spiral stairs to the
third floor where her small chamber was.

Thankfully, Willow wasn’t anywhere to be found
so Adalind had it to herself as she flopped down on her bed and lay there,
staring up at the ceiling, wondering what on earth had just happened.
Maddoc
has offered to marry me
.  Dear God, surely it was still a dream!

She fell into a deep and exhausted sleep for
five straight hours.

***

Adalind woke up to the soft voice of her mother.

“Addie?” Christina was stroking her head gently.
“Addie, wake up.”

Adalind’s eyes popped open to find her mother
gazing down at her, her lovely face softly bathed in firelight.  The small
chamber was dark and warm and Adalind lay there for a moment as she oriented
herself.  The last she recalled, she had been in Emilie’s solar with her
grandfather and Maddoc had come in to….

Maddoc!
Adalind sat bolt upright and nearly smacked her
mother in the process.  Christina had to move swiftly to get out of the way as
Adalind leapt out of the bed.

“Mama!” she exclaimed. “Maddoc told Papa that he
wants to marry me!”

Christina was fighting off a grin. “I know,” she
said. “Everyone knows. Papa told me but Willow heard us speaking, and she quite
happily spread the news until Papa told her to stop.  Unfortunately, she did
not listen so he spanked her. Now she is in my chamber weeping, Grandmother is
with her, and I am here with you. How do you feel?”

It was a concise outline of the past few hours and
it took Adalind a moment to absorb it all. She looked at her mother with wide
eyes, both confused and elated. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure what she
was feeling. Excitement didn’t quite encompass it all.

“I… I am not sure,” she said.  Then, she ran to
her vanity and grabbed the bone comb, running it through her long blond hair
swiftly. “I must find Maddoc and make sure he meant what he said. Perhaps he
was momentarily mad. Perhaps he was under a spell!”

Christina couldn’t help the smile that spread
across her lips. “He was not momentarily mad nor was he bewitched,” she assured
her daughter.  “When Papa told me what had happened, I immediately sought him
out and we had a very long conversation. He meant what he said, Addie. He has
asked permission to court you.”

Adalind looked at her mother with shock. “I do
not believe it,” she hissed, throwing the comb down and snatching the alabaster
pot of beeswax to rub over her lips. “I must speak with him.”

Christina laughed softly. “Papa has forbidden
you from being with Maddoc without a chaperone,” she said. “Please come down to
sup.  You will feel better when you have eaten something.”

Adalind grabbed her woolen cloak, brown and
lined with rabbit fur. “I do not want to eat,” she said. “I cannot. Mama, do
you realize what this means? Maddoc is… he is… merciful heavens, I still cannot
believe it!”

Christina continued to chuckle as Adalind
wrapped up in her cloak and bolted to the door.  She reached out a gentle hand
to stop her daughter.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To find Maddoc,” Adalind said. “I told you,
Mama – I must speak with him. I must understand what has happened.”

“I just told you that Papa does not want you to
be alone with him.  If Maddoc is truly a suitor, then he will be treated like
one.”

Adalind lifted an eyebrow. “You may trust me
that nothing unsavory will occur between us,” she said. “I promise to behave. 
I will not throw myself at the man. Please, Mama…
please
?”

Christina knew better than to try and stop her.  Adalind
had been waiting her entire life for this moment, a moment she never truly
believed would come.  Propriety aside, she couldn’t deny her daughter.  The
glow in Adalind’s face had her relenting.

“I left him in the knight’s quarters,” she said
softly. “Papa and everyone are in the smaller hall where the evening meal is
commencing. I do not know if Maddoc is still where I left him, but you can slip
outside and find him. Oh, and Walter de Burgh will be supping with us tonight.”

Adalind’s features hardened. “Then I will not
eat in the hall. I do not want to see the man.”

“I did not think so,” Christina murmured,
stroking her daughter’s soft hair. “I will tell Papa you are not feeling well.”

Adalind kissed her mother on the cheek,
hurriedly, and slipped from the chamber.  Fortunately, the stairs were out of
sight of the great hall in the keep but the entry door was not. Christina, who
had followed her daughter downstairs, made sure that everyone’s attention was
elsewhere before directing her daughter to quit the keep. 

A fog was rolling in once again from the east as
Adalind entered the bailey.  The air was cold and moist, and the sentries on
the wall with their dogs and torches were eerily shrouded in mist.  She pulled
her cloak tight as she headed for the knight’s house, a small building set
against the massive fortress wall that housed the army commanders.  There were
four good sized rooms and then a bigger common room.  She knocked politely on
the door, her stomach in knots.

After several additional knocks, it was clear
that the quarters were empty.  With a slower pace, she headed back across the
bailey towards the enormous feasting
hall
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that was built all by itself in the southeast
corner of the castle.  It was only used for big events; the rest of the time,
the soldiers tended to gather in it to eat their meals or sleep.  The family
almost always used the smaller, more private hall in the keep. Thinking Maddoc
might be in the bigger hall, she made her way towards it.  She was just into
the shadows of the structure, shielded from most of the bailey, when she heard
a voice from behind.