Shadowmoor (de Lohr Dynasty #6) (11 page)

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “It is too formal,” he said. “I do not like to hear it from people I am familiar or friendly with. It is a barrier of formality that I do not like. Therefore, I would ask that you simply call me Daniel.”

Liselotte was surprised at the lack of propriety coming from a knight of his caliber. But the man had been friendly and congenial since the beginning of their association, so she supposed she really shouldn’t have been all that astonished with it. He had so far conveyed a friendly, sometimes humorous personality, unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

“Very well,” she said. “If that is your wish.”

“It is,” Daniel said, looking to Gunnar on the horse beside them. “But you must call me ‘O Great One’. Is that clear?”

Gunnar could sense the humor and he grinned. “Why can’t I call you Daniel, too?”

Daniel pretended to be imperious. “Because I demand respect from those I have saved,” he said with mock severity. “Mayhap tomorrow I will permit you to call me Daniel, but not today. Today, you will call me ‘O Great One’ at all times. Is that clear?”

Gunnar giggled. “It is.”

“It is
what
?”

“O Great One!”

Gunnar was snorting as he said it and Liselotte grinned as well, watching the interaction between her brother and Daniel. God’s Blood, it was good to have her brother back and smiling again. She’d missed him so terribly.

“I will tell you a secret,” she said to Daniel, eyeing Gunnar as she spoke. “He is very ticklish and he hates to have his ears pulled. If he disobeys you, such punishment would torment him.”

Daniel grinned broadly at the boy. “Is that true?” he asked. “Are you really ticklish?”

Gunnar’s eyes flew open wide. “You will never know!”

“You will never know
what
?”

“O Great One!”

Daniel fought off laughter as he turned away from the boy, who was kicking furiously at the old mare, trying to coerce it into moving forward. Daniel made a noise with his tongue, like clucking, and that was enough of a noise to move Ares forward without any kick at all. As the big black horse moved forward, the lazy mare followed.

Peering around Daniel’s big frame, Liselotte could see that they were heading to an area that looked like a livery; there were horses in a small corral, a few sheep, goats, and a barn-like structure. There were people moving in and out of the structure with sacks of grain over their shoulders. It was a busy place.

“Daniel,” Liselotte said quietly. “How much grain do you intend to purchase?”

Christ, he loved hearing his name come out of her mouth, spoken in her sweet and sultry voice. He could have listened to that all day and well into forever. But there wasn’t time for sweetness like that, at least not at the moment. Eyes on the barn-like structure ahead, he spoke.

“I am not entirely sure,” he said. “I would see what the price is first and then we will proceed.”

“You will not buy too much, will you?”

“That is for me to decide.”

It was a rather short reply, as if it weren’t any of her business, so Liselotte didn’t ask any more questions after that because he didn’t seem willing to discuss it. As they reached the livery with its goats and sheep and horses, Gunnar immediately jumped off the mare and ran to see the goats. There were several young kids and he was quite excited about them.

Daniel watched the boy pet and play with the goats, a smile on his face, as he helped Liselotte off of the horse. When her feet hit the ground, he dismounted after her, his gaze seeking out the man in charge. As he hunted for the man, Liselotte spoke.

“Gunnar had a pet goat but we were forced to eat it.”

Her voice was soft and sorrowful. Daniel looked to her, curiously, before turning to see Gunnar sitting on the ground, hugging one of the young kids as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Daniel tried not to let his mood darken as he watched the boy kiss the little goat. A young boy’s pet had been a victim of their poverty, a sorrowful thing, indeed.

“You did what you had to do in order to survive,” he said quietly. “You mustn’t feel guilty over it.”

Liselotte watched her little brother, grief on her features. “He loved that goat,” she said. “He had raised it since it was a kid and it followed him everywhere. He even slept with it. But when it became apparent we would have to eat it, as there was virtually nothing left, he cried for days. I felt so terrible for him but we had no choice.”

Daniel’s gaze lingered on Gunnar as the boy giggled when the little goat began nibbling at his hair. “You did what you had to do,” he repeated. “But you needn’t worry. I will replace the goat.”

Liselotte looked at him sharply. “I did not tell you that so that you would buy him another goat,” she said. “I simply told you that to explain why he ran straight for the goats and why he, even now, wallows in the mud with them.”

Daniel nodded, turning away from her to once again seek out the man in charge. “I know,” he said evenly. “But he seems quite happy with his little friend and after the trials the lad has been forced to endure, mayhap a goat will be just what he needs to regain his humor.”

Liselotte didn’t know what to say to that. She watched as Daniel headed over to a man he thought might be in charge. In truth, she really wasn’t sure what to say any longer to Daniel and his determined ideals. He seemed convinced that he was going to buy them the world and she wasn’t convinced she could discourage him. She’d tried, Etzel had tried, but Daniel was resolute to do what he wanted to do. He was stubborn, that one. Gallant, but stubborn. She had never in her life met anyone like him.

And she rather liked him and his determination.

It was hard to keep the smile off her face now as Daniel and the man in charge of the livery entered intense negotiations about what Daniel needed and just how much he was willing to pay. She pretended to be watching Gunnar but her senses were attuned to Daniel. He had a very congenial manner about him and rather than be firm and stern with the man who owned the livery, he engaged the man in pleasant talk about the weather, the local harvests, and eventually having the man talk about himself to the point where he knew a good deal about the man and it was as if they were friends already. Liselotte could hear them laughing.

Unable to deny her attention any longer, her gaze moved to Daniel and she watched him in animated conversation. There was something very magnetic about him, an attraction she found very hard to resist. But there was no point in dreaming about a man who would never settle down or take a wife. Even if he could, she wasn’t in his class. She had seen his reaction last night to Etzel’s proposal offer and she’d seen the man’s revulsion. At least, that’s what she thought it was and she didn’t blame him. She was sure that Daniel, from the great and powerful de Lohr family and a future earl himself, could have any lady in the entire world. A young woman living in poverty, with no fine clothing or fine education, was of no interest to him.

The smile faded from her face. She couldn’t hold out hope for what could never be. Lowering her gaze, she turned away from Daniel and the livery owner and wandered over to the edge of the livery property overlooking the avenue. While Daniel and the livery owner chatted and Gunnar still played with the goats, Liselotte watched the people on the avenue go by. The sun was higher in the sky now and the day was bright, wind still whipping about, blowing leaves down the street as everyone went about their business. It was actually a lovely day, with everything fresh and clean after the storm, and she felt much as if she’d been asleep for the past year, hidden away from the busy world. So much of the scene before her was new and exciting.

The livery was situated near the center of the commerce district and there were businesses grouped together – spices, wine, and food items were across the street, down to the left, while directly across the street were furs and cloth. Additionally, next to a very large cloth merchant was a seamstress who had all manner of loosely stitched dresses hanging from the top of her stall and in the doorway. It looked to be a thriving business with a good deal of merchandise.

It immediately had her interest. Liselotte could see the surcoats, blouses, and aprons hanging up on display and she was enthralled with the colors and fabrics as they waved about in the breeze. She’d never seen such beautiful things and her feminine heart, the one that loved all things beautiful as most women did, was drawn to the sight. She couldn’t resist. As Daniel conversed and Gunnar played, Liselotte slipped across the street to the beckoning garments.

The very first one in her line of sight was a form-fitting garment with tin buttons down the front, made from a heavy fabric that had been dyed a shade of lavender. The sleeves were long, the neckline high, and it was absolutely magnificent.

Awed, Liselotte reached out to gently touch the fabric. It was soft, like angel’s wings. But then she looked at her own garment, something very old and worn that had belonged to her mother, and she was suddenly very embarrassed at her appearance. She wished she had such a fine gown as the lavender one to wear. But her embarrassment didn’t last long because her attention fell on a very long, billowy, woolen gown dyed an exquisite shade of deep blue. Curiosity and awe took over again. She went to look at the blue garment, inspecting the craftsmanship on it, when she heard a voice behind her.

“You have good taste,” someone said. “I had my eye on that dress, too.”

Startled, Liselotte turned to see a young woman, about her age, standing a few feet away. The young woman was petite, with dark blond hair and blue eyes, and she was very finely dressed. Overwhelmingly self-conscious in the face of such a well-dressed woman, Liselotte let go of the blue dress and stepped away, giving the young woman a wide birth.

“Forgive me,” she said. “I did not mean to… I am sorry that I was in your way.”

The young woman shook her head. “You are not in my way,” she said. “In fact, my father would be glad if you stood between me and that garment. He does not want to buy me anymore dresses but, of course, he cannot deny me.”

She was grinning as she said it but Liselotte was feeling uncertain and awkward. She wasn’t very socially adept outside of Shadowmoor, mostly because she was never really around people that she didn’t know. Shadowmoor was an isolated world, so to speak to those outside of that world was not something that happened very frequently. Liselotte was out of practice.

“It… it will look lovely on you, I am sure,” Liselotte said.

She started to turn away, to make haste back to the livery, but the young woman stopped her. “I have not seen you around here before,” she said. “I come here weekly and know most everyone on the street of merchants, but I’ve not seen you. Do you live nearby?”

Liselotte paused in her flight, turning to the young woman and feeling very nervous. “I… I do not live too far away,” she said. “I… that is to say, I do not come into town very much. I have not been here in a long time.”

The young woman was appraising Liselotte as she spoke, and that meant her clothing. Old, out of date, and repeatedly mended, they were hardly the garments of a well-brought up lady, but the young woman didn’t show any particular reaction to the terrible clothing. In fact, she showed no real reaction at all.

“Then you live locally?” she asked.

“I do.”

The young woman smiled. “My name is Glennie,” she said. “Glennie de Royans. My father is Baron Cononley. We live a few miles away at Netherghyll Castle. What is your name?”

Liselotte dipped into a polite curtsey. “I am Liselotte l’Audacieux,” she said. “I am from Shadowmoor.”

Glennie cocked her head curiously. “Shadowmoor?” she repeated. “Is that not the Saxon settlement?”

Liselotte nodded. “It is,” she said. “You have heard of it?”

Glennie nodded. “I have, indeed,” she said. “I was born at Netherghyll and recently returned home from court, so I know this area well. Shadowmoor always had an eerie, ghostly feel to me. The name evokes images of phantoms and lost loves and moonlit moors. It is very romantic!”

She was giggling as she said it and, in spite of her discomfort, Liselotte couldn’t help but grin. A pleasant conversation with another young woman, seemingly friendly, was difficult to resist.

“It was originally called
Beschattet Erde
a very long time ago,” she said. “That means shadowed earth, or shadowed land. I am not sure when it became Shadowmoor but it has been called that since my father’s grandfather. A long time, indeed.”

Glennie was listening with interest. “Shadowed land,” she murmured as if seeing the romance in such a title. Then, she eyed Liselotte a moment before pushing past her and towards the blue dress Liselotte had been inspecting. “I am happy to know you, Liselotte. Since returning home, I have no friends here at all. If you live at Shadowmoor, then you are not very far from Netherghyll. Mayhap you will come to my home on my invitation and stay for a visit. I should like the companionship. With only my brother and father and nurse as company, I am ready to climb the walls and throw myself from the battlements out of sheer boredom.”

Come to my home
. Liselotte had never had such an invitation; not even a hint of one. She could hardly believe what she was hearing and, truthfully, had no idea how to respond. Was it even possible that this friendly young woman should actually want her company? Dressed as a pauper as she was, she was astounded at the possibility and, that being the case, she was naturally suspicious of the woman’s motives. She tried to remain neutral and noncommittal.

“That is very kind of you, my lady,” she said. “I… I do not have any friends, either. I never leave my home. Today is a rare day because….”

“My lady!” came a shout. “Lady Liselotte!”

A voice came from across the avenue and both Liselotte and Glennie turned to see Daniel heading in their direction with Gunnar trailing after him. Gunnar was skipping and hoping, sliding in the mud, but it was obvious that the lad wasn’t happy. He had no goat in his arms, frowning at Daniel as Daniel focused on Liselotte with great concern.