Claire Delacroix (78 page)

’Twas as if he fled something—or someone.

In the next moment, Alys knew who.

For Aunt’s voice rose behind Alys. “Well! Who is
this
?” The older woman shoved Alys aside without waiting for an answer and strode across the floor, her best smile at the ready.

“Burke!” Aunt cried in honeyed tones. “What a delight to find you returned! And you do us even greater honor in bringing your friends to Kiltorren.” She studied the newly arrived knight openly from head to foot.

Evidently Aunt approved, for her smile broadened.

Burke winked at Alys before he bowed, but Alys did not grant him any victory for his quick progress. She knew her aunt could not be swayed from any objective. And Burke and Malvina were as good as wed to her aunt’s way of thinking.

Indeed, Burke had played no small role in that conclusion.

“Ah, Lady Deirdre, this knight is but an acquaintance met upon the road. When I learned he was without even a betrothed—such a fine knight as this!—I knew he had to come to Kiltorren.”

Aunt’s gaze sharpened, even as Burke touched his own brow. “But where are my manners?” he asked of no one in particular. Alys bit back her smile at his antics. “Lady Deirdre of Kiltorren, might I do the honor of introducing you to Chevalier Talbot d’Annoceaux?”

“Chevalier!” Aunt echoed with delight.

“
Enchanté,
” Talbot murmured, and bent over her hand. “You are most kind to lavish your hospitality upon me.”

Aunt caught her breath, then pivoted to shout. “BRIGID! Get yourself to my side!”

Alys heard her cousin stumbling down the stairs, that girl’s eyes widening when she came to a halt at their foot.

Edana nudged Brigid impatiently from behind. “Go on!”

Brigid took a deep breath and stepped into the hall, then hesitated. Alys wondered whether her cousin felt the same disquietude about this arrival as she.

Cedric trotted down to the hall, bellowed a greeting to Burke, and beamed as he strode across the floor. The Lord of Kiltorren earned himself a sharp glare from his wife when he reached her side. Alys knew ’twas a commentary on the knights’ fine manners—as compared to Cedric’s own—but her uncle blinked in characteristic confusion at what he had done.

“Brigid!” Deirdre snapped. “Get yourself here!”

Malvina burst into the hall. “Mother! Why must you always make such a hue and cry? We are not deaf, as you surely must know …” Malvina shoved past Brigid and Alys, her words faltering to naught as she saw this Talbot standing by her mother’s side.

“Oh! Who is that?” she whispered in evident awe.

Alys nearly laughed aloud to see Burke’s plan showing such promise already. “A knight Burke brought to the keep,” she supplied. “He is Talbot d’Annoceaux.”

“Indeed!” Malvina breathed. “A French knight! He is …
handsome
beyond all.”

Alys’s glance slid to Burke, and she noted how his lips quirked. ’Twas as if he were fully aware not only that he had made one convert to his cause but that he had never doubted the result.

But Talbot, Alys noted with dismay, was staring at
her,
not
Malvina. Alys felt her flesh creep, for she had no doubt this knight had not an honorable thought in his head.

Then Malvina tossed her veil over her shoulders. “If I were not already being so ardently courted, I might grant this one the favor of my attentions.” She scampered to Burke’s side then, laying a proprietary hand upon his arm. “Did you bring me a gift?”

Burke’s grin flashed. “In a way,” he conceded, and Alys bit back her laughter. Oh, he was incorrigible indeed! “Perhaps you would like to be introduced to Kiltorren’s new guest.”

Aunt smiled for Burke alone and laid a hand upon his free arm. “ ’Twould be so inappropriate, Burke, for your betrothed to be the first to greet a knight new to our household.”

Burke’s brows lifted in feigned astonishment. “My betrothed? Truly, Lady Deirdre, you proceed ahead of matters. I have but confessed an interest in Malvina—we have not yet pledged any troth.”

“You would consider wedding
this
woman?” Talbot demanded, then he chuckled. He cast a glance over the hall. “Indeed, I did not know that Burke de Montvieux had been struck blind.”

His rudeness hung in silence for a long moment. Aunt glared at the knight, Cedric cleared his throat in obvious dismay. Burke turned a cold glance on the man.

And Talbot paled.

“Beauty is as beauty does,
chevalier
” Burke said in a chilly tone, “and there is no excuse for a failure to be courteous.”

“Of course!” The other knight inclined his head in acknowledgement, but hostility lingered in his eyes. “My apologies to all.”

Aunt eyed this man assessingly though Alys knew the very moment that her aunt dismissed him from her thoughts.

For Aunt turned a smile upon Burke, her fingers tapping companionably on the arm Malvina had not claimed. “Burke,
you cannot blame me for saving the greater plum for my firstborn. And you, sir, are a rare prize for any maiden.”

Aunt’s manner was flirtatious. Cedric flushed to the roots of his hair, but he did not intervene. “We have all been most dismayed by your absence this week,” Aunt purred. “There is no need for you to be coy about your intentions.”

Talbot looked bored. “Is there any wine in this hall?”

“Ale, sir, we have good Kiltorren ale,” Cedric supplied, as if relieved to have another matter to discuss. “We have a talented alemaster …”

“Ale?” The knight grimaced. “How perfectly common. I believe my father’s serfs content themselves with ale.”

Cedric frowned.

Burke, seemingly oblivious to this exchange, shook a playful finger at Aunt. “With regret, Lady Deirdre, I must confide that you have sorely overestimated my worth.”

Aunt blinked, as did everyone else in the hall.

“Aye, Montvieux is worth several king’s ransoms,” Talbot commented with more than a thread of envy in his tone. “One might easily mistake the precise value of its wealth.”

These bitter words seemed to aid Aunt’s recovery, and she smiled at Burke once again. “You are too modest, sir! After all, you are heir to
Montvieux.
’Tis a fine and prosperous estate, as your friend observes, and one that my Malvina will manage with ease.”

Burke shook his head and Alys had the distinct sense that he was enjoying himself. “Ah! Now, I understand the root of your confusion. ’Tis true that I
was
indeed the heir of Montvieux.”

“Was?” Aunt echoed.

“Was?” Malvina and Talbot echoed simultaneously.

Was
? Alys frowned at this unexpected morsel of news.

Burke’s smile broadened. “My father and I argued six months past. He has disinherited me as a result.” He frowned
slightly, though his eyes twinkled merrily. “Did I neglect to mention that? Surely you have heard of the tale, even here at Kiltorren?”

Aunt’s face went white then it flooded red. She pivoted, glared at Cedric as if the fault was his.

Burke had not confided this critical detail! No wonder he had been so certain he would win their wager.

And he wondered why she could not trust him fully! Alys would not concede victory readily to Burke, there was no doubt of that. She folded her arms across her chest and watched matters unfold precisely as Burke had insisted they would.

Of course. She would have guessed as much as well, had she known the truth. If indeed it
was th
e truth. Had he truly lost Montvieux, or did he simply use this tale to see his will done?

Alys could not even guess and did not like that in the least.

Aunt’s voice was tight and her smile yet tighter. “Surely a man of your success must have other holdings …”

But Burke shrugged. “Not a one. Indeed, I have naught but my steed and my blade,” he confessed. His lips quirked wryly. “What is upon my back and between my ears.”

“But you call yourself ‘de Montvieux’ still.”

“I was born and raised at Montvieux and am of that estate, regardless of my status as its pending lord,” Burke said coldly. “Surely you cannot imagine that after parting ways so decisively with my sire, I would take the appellation Fitzgavin?”

Aunt straightened. “Surely you and your father will reconcile?”

At that suggestion, Burke’s countenance hardened as if ’twas wrought of stone. “Never.” His single word was uttered with such conviction that Alys knew this was the truth. “We shall
never
reconcile.”

Talbot stared at Burke, clearly aghast “You willingly ceded Montvieux?”

Burke did not smile. “Aye.”

Malvina stepped away from Burke as if the touch of him had suddenly become vile and smiled at Talbot. Aunt looked from one knight to the other, then conjured a smile of unbelievable sweetness for Talbot herself. “Malvina,” she said with a snap of her fingers, and that daughter was right beside her.

Talbot became alarmed. “A moment, madame! I am not seeking a bride …”

“Nonsense!” Burke interjected heartily, his good humor apparently restored. “A man of such fine family as yours, Talbot, would do the world injustice by not taking a bride and bringing heirs into the world.”

The knight stepped backward, though he did not manage to summon a protest in time.

Burke had already turned to Aunt, his words falling fast, his tone confidential. “Do you realize, my lady hostess, that the lineage of Theobald d’Annoceaux, that legendary warrior and confidant of kings, courses through this man’s veins? What good fortune to find him on our doorstep! What an honor to have such a man as your guest!”

“But I have come on another quest altogether,” Talbot argued.

Aunt, however, needed no further encouragement to corner her wary prey. “Sir,” she said sweetly, “my eldest daughter, Malvina.”

Malvina flushed and curtsied low, even though her unwilling suitor’s chagrin was more than clear.

“But …”

“But naught, good sir. You may tell us of your desires after we have shown you our hospitality. Malvina would be delighted to share a trencher with you this night.” Aunt flicked her hands toward the table as if she would urge matters onward.

“I could not presume as much …” Talbot looked like a man prepared to chew off his own arm to escape a trap.

“ ’Twould be an honor,” Malvina declared breathlessly.

“Of course, anything for a guest,” Aunt confirmed. “Cronan! See what delays the meal.” She tapped impatiently upon Cedric’s shoulder, her voice dropping to a hiss. “And find some excuse for wine in this place. Our guest prefers
wine.
”

Talbot’s gaze flicked between mother and daughter in panic. He looked to Cedric, who strode to the kitchen without a backward glance. In desperation, Talbot turned to Burke, but to no avail.

“If you will excuse me, I should like a word with Alys,” Burke said smoothly.

Aunt waved her hand dismissively. “Do whatsoever you will. We have matters of import to discuss.” And ’twas clear from her manner that Burke’s marital fortunes were no longer of interest.

Burke winked at Alys and spread his hands, clearly proud of what he had wrought. A glint in his eye warned her that he meant to collect upon his wager, and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation.

Aye, Alys would keep her bargain and grant Burke the hearing he requested—but she would have the truth from this knight.

’Twas time enough he shared the whole of the tale of Montvieux—whatever it was.

he storeroom had seemed like a good idea at the time.

After all, it was the best place to hide away from her family and their newly ensnared guest and still be close to Cook and his helpers. There were sacks of grain stacked around the perimeter, the air was tinged with the scents of peppercorns and cloves locked in the spice box. Overhead there were bundles of herbs dried from last summer—meadowsweet and tansy, dill and chervil—each and every one lending their perfume to the crowded room.

For that was the problem—’twas crowded. ’Twas impossible to share the space with a man of Burke’s height and breadth without touching him in some way.

But there was naught for it. Burke was settling onto a sack of grain and Alys would not protest the intimacy of the place she had chosen. She sat as far from him as she could and spread the napkin deliberately between them. Within it was half a loaf of bread and some cheese.

Burke had a great mug of ale, though Cook had been willing to surrender only one vessel to them. Alys had no doubt the older man was matchmaking, for ’twas clear he favored Burke.

Burke offered her the first sip with a grim gallantry. ’Twould be the next one that would unsettle Alys, the next
one that would either give her the taste of Burke mingled with the ale, or prompt his comment when she avoided the place where his lips had rested.

“Will you tell me of Montvieux?”

Burke turned, challenge bright in his eyes. “Will you believe me if I do?”

Alys managed to find a smile. “I shall try.”

“
Try.
” Burke’s lips tightened and he stared across the room once more. The silence stretched long between them. Alys almost thought he would not speak, but then his voice echoed with low heat in the little room.