Rise of the Defender (14 page)

     “Tell me, then,” he said. “With all of the
suitors, she was not interested in any of them? I find that hard to believe.”

     Jeffrey smiled, a real one. “You do not
know your wife very well,” he said. “She would rather tend a garden than recite
poetry, or ride a horse rather than sit quietly and embroider. Men are of no
interest to her, and I cannot count the times when I have had to pull her off
of some hapless fool because he tried to hold her hand or steal a kiss. She is
completely unaware of her beauty and her femininity, my lord, I assure you.”

     Christopher listened to him, absorbing his
words. Jeffrey was right; he did not know his wife at all. The big German
knight could see the uncertainty in Christopher’s eyes.

     “Tell me,” Jeffrey said softly. “What do
you intend to do with her? What I mean is that if you do not want her, and you
obviously do not, would you deny her happiness?”

     Christopher turned his full attention to
the man, studying him. “If you are asking if I would allow her to take a lover
simply because you believe I don t want her, the answer is nay.  She is my wife
and she will not commit adultery.”

     “But you will give her no affection.”
Jeffrey said sharply. “The only thing that holds your interest is this damn
keep. Your eyes graze over it as if it were the most beautiful woman in the
world and, for that fact, you have already taken a mistress. Lioncross.”

     Christopher stiffened. “She is my wife,
Jeffrey. No amount of pleading and reasoning will change that fact.”

     Jeffrey’s jaw ticked, forcing himself to
calm, but there was not the same hatred in his eyes as had been earlier. He was
in a no-win situation and he knew it. He was not daft and knew there was
nothing more to say.

     “Then I will take my leave, my lord,” he
said quietly. “But before I go, I would ask a favor of you. Treat Lady Dustin
with respect, please. I would be indebted to you for the kindness.”

     Christopher gazed back at the man, seeing
no malice or ulterior motives in the statement. He could see that Jeffrey truly
loved his wife, and he suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the man.

     “She is most stubborn and abrasive,”
Christopher replied grimly. “May I at least spank her on occasion, should she
warrant it?”

     Jeffrey smiled faintly. “Yah, I have wanted
to do the same at times.”

     Christopher nodded, his gaze impassive. He
began to think his harsh stance on banishing the man now that he understood
why.  He felt there was an understanding between them now, and given Jeffrey’s
experience with Lioncross and the land, he did not want to rid himself so
quickly of his valuable knowledge because of a jealous whim.  Perhaps it would
be better to allow him to remain.

     He paused before speaking. “If you wish to
stay, I will not oppose you.”

     Jeffrey s eyes widened. “But you said, I
mean, yah, my lord, I would serve you well.”

     Christopher cocked a stern eyebrow. “Yet
there are two conditions. My brother, David, is now captain of the troops.”

     Jeffrey nodded. “Yah, my lord. He is a fine
soldier.”

     “And you will bank the fever you have for
my wife,” Christopher finished in a low voice.

     Jeffrey cleared his throat, though his gaze
never wavered. “With all of my strength, my lord, I swear it.”

     “You had better,” Christopher said, moving
past him.

     The men proceeded into the great hall,
Christopher confident he had acquired another fine knight and pleased with the
turn of events. Now that he understood Jeffrey, his mind was a bit more at
ease. Yet that strange feeling of jealousy still filled him every time he
thought of the man's admission, but he shrugged it off. He had no idea how to
deal with it.

     Jeffrey exited the castle with a slight
bow, leaving the wide open front doors and crossing the compound to disappear
into a wall turret. Christopher stood at the entrance to the castle for a
moment, running his fingers through his thick blond hair, his thoughts turning
back to Dustin and wondering where she was.

     He did not have to wait long. A familiar
figure suddenly appeared, walking across the drawbridge and through the front
gates. Not far behind was a big man on a destrier, plodding along. Relieved she
had returned, he wondered if he should go and greet her or if he should simply
go along his way now that he knew she was back, safe. He decided on the latter
until he saw Dustin wipe at her eyes, a clear sign that she was crying.

     He could not stop himself, he went to her.

     “What ails you, my lady?” he asked
impassively.

     Dustin looked up at him quickly and then
immediately lowered her head. Her lovely face was smeared with dirt and tears
and Christopher looked up at Leeton in confusion. His friend merely shrugged
back.

     “Dustin, what is wrong?” he asked again.

     She shook her head, quickening her pace for
the castle. He followed, catching up with her just as she entered the dim
interior. He reached out and gently grasped her arm.

     “Tell me what the matter is. Mayhap I can
help,” he said softly.

     She stopped but pulled her arm from his
grip. She fully intended to answer him calmly, but when she opened her mouth,
she began blubbering again. “Nothing,” she bawled.

     Concerned, he reached out before he could
stop himself and put a comforting arm around her. When he realized what he was
doing, he quickly removed his arm and stepped back, putting a hand underneath
her chin and forcing her to look at him.

     “Stop this now,” he ordered gently. “Stop
crying and tell me what’s wrong.”

     She sniffled, wiping her eyes and pulling
free of his grasp again. “My….my cat,” she sniffed and coughed. “Caesar is gone.”

     “Gone?” Christopher repeated.

     She nodded firmly. “He sleeps with me. He’s
always slept with me, and this morning he was nowhere to be found.” She wiped her
eyes again. “He has never left before I have woken up, since he was a kitten.
He always waits for his cream but this morning I awoke and he was gone. I have
looked everywhere for him, all of his usual places.”

     She was starting to cry again and he put
both hands on her face, gazing down into her beauty. “He is not gone,” he
insisted quietly, wanting her to stop crying. “I know where he is.”

     As he hoped, she stopped immediately. “You
do?” she gasped. “Where?”

     He gave her a little smile and took her
hand in his big one. “Come on.”

     He took her up to his chamber, hoping the
cat was still there, and pleased to see the fat animal had not left his
comfortable spot. He pointed to the bed. “There.”

     Dustin’s jaw opened as she rushed to the
bed. Caesar opened his eyes and stretched contently, purring loudly for his mistress.
She gazed at the cat and looked to Christopher, puzzled.

     “What is he doing here?” she asked.

     Christopher shrugged. “He came to me last
night,” he said. “I tried to toss him out, but he bit me and refused to leave.
So I allowed him to stay, just this once.”

     Dustin's face suddenly took on a look of
utter hurt and jealousy. Then her pretty eyebrows drew together. “Why would he
do this? Why would he come to you?”

     “I do not know, my lady,” he answered.

     Caesar stood up and tried to rub against
Dustin's hand, but she jumped back and pointed accusingly at the animal.

     “Don’t you dare try to make up for your
disloyalty, Caesar Augustus.” she said. “You unfaithful creature. You are
hereby banished from my bed, do you hear me? If you want to sleep with the
baron, then he can have you. After everything I have done for you, you have the
gall to seek him out.”

     She flew out of the room in a rage, leaving
the cat licking his chops, staring at the open door and Christopher somewhat
amused that she should talk to her cat as if it was a person. Hell, he didn’t
want the hairy beast. He turned a reproving glance to the cat.

     “You have been branded a traitor,” he said.
“’Tis only right that you prostrate yourself at your mistress's feet and beg
for mercy.”

     The cat looked at him, blinking lazily and
licking his chops again. Christopher went over and picked the cat up. “However,
since you have a speech impediment, I will do the talking for you. Come on.”

     Dustin, laying on her bed and allowing hot,
angry tears to drip onto her coverlet, heard the knock at the door.

     “Go away.” she yelled.

     Christopher opened the door and entered. “My
lady, I have come to speak on the accused’s behalf,” he said solemnly.

     She ignored him and he came around the side
of the bed, looking down at her with Caesar clutched against his chest. She
looked so entirely miserable and hurt that he was truly touched. She cared a
great deal for this animal and was quite miffed by the rejection. He didn’t know
why the cat had come to him, but he could certainly think of something, could
not he?

     “I lured him,” he said after a moment. “Caesar
came to me because I lured him with cheese.”

     She sniffed, her lower lip stuck out in a
pout. “He doesn't like cheese.”

     “A cat that doesn’t like cheese? Well,
nonetheless, I lured him, and I apologize,” he said. “I do not know why I did
it. You had gone to sleep and mayhap I needed someone to talk to.”

     She eyed him suspiciously. “You have David
and Edward and the others to talk to,” she said, looking at the cat. “Caesar is
all I have left. You would take him, too?”

     His amusement was gone and he felt like a
heel. “Dustin, I didn’t take your cat,” he set the animal down next to her.
Caesar bumped against her a couple of times before she reached out to stroke him.

     Christopher eased himself down on the edge
of the bed, watching the two of them, watching Caesar stick his nose against her
lips for a kiss. He agreed with the cat, her lips were entirely kissable.

     “Do you feel so alone?” he asked after a
few moments. “You aren’t, you know.”

     She looked up at him, still petting the
cat. “My mother is gone and my father is gone,” she said. “I have no family
left.”

     “But I am your husband,” Christopher
reached up to scratch Caesar’s nose as the cat came close to him. “Does that
not make me your family also?”

     She gazed back at him a moment and he could
see the thoughts rolling through the gray eyes.
Arthur's eyes
, he
thought.

     “Aye, it does,” she said softly. “But I do
not know you, my lord. You are a stranger to me.”

     He wasn’t looking at her, instead, watching
the cat absently. “Would it be so terrible to know me?”

     She sat up, swinging her legs over the side
of the bed. He gazed up at her then, noticing the peasant dress she wore, her
beautiful hair flowing free. She didn’t answer for a while.

     “I don t know,” she whispered, her head
lowered.

     He drew in a long breath, rising from the
bed and moving to the window. The sun was well up now and the courtyard was
busy and alive below.

     “I suppose what I am trying to say, my lady,
is that I understand how you feel being left alone in the world, yet at least I
had David,” he said. “’Tis a terrible thing to be alone.”

     Dustin stood up and went over to him,
timidly. She was studying him openly, touched at his words and comforted by his
tone. His voice had a tremendously soothing quality, and she found it amazing
that the same voice could bark orders so harshly that it could chip mortar from
stone.

     He caught her from the corner of his eye
and turned to look down at her. Her expression was so unguarded and guileless
that he could not help but match her gaze. Christ, those gray eyes seemed to
reach out and touch him. Even when she lowered her gaze, he could not take his
eyes from her.

     “We are family now, my lord,” she said
softly. “We are not alone anymore.”

     He cracked a smile. “That is true,” he
replied. “I have something now I never thought to have - a wife.”

     Her head came up and she saw his smile and
responded hesitantly. She had a beautiful smile.

     “And I hoped I would never have a husband.”
she said.

     He smiled wider. “Is that so? And why not?”

     She turned away from him in a coy move. “Because,”
she replied evasively.

     He leaned against the window, crossing his
huge arms. “Because why?”

     She sat back on the bed and teased the cat.
“Because….because husbands are only good for one thing.”

     “And that is?” he snorted, wondering if she
was going to say something rather titillating.

     She looked at him, still smiling. “Giving
orders.”

     Relieved her thoughts were as innocent as
the rest of her, he snickered and nodded. “I see. And you do not like orders.”