Shadowmoor (de Lohr Dynasty #6) (14 page)

“When I was young, I remember hearing a tale of a Saxon princess who was the fairest woman in all the land,” he said quietly. “It was said that men would come across the sea, lured by her beauty, to bring her something precious, hoping to win her heart. Men would bring gold, or silver, or diamonds and rubies, all of it meant to show the princess just how rich they were and hoping to lure her interest. But then one man came and he was not rich. He brought her a simple box and when she opened it, there was a lock of his hair inside. It was the only thing of value he had to give. It was enough because she immediately fell in love with him and they lived happily forever after.”

By this time, Liselotte’s tears were mostly gone and she turned to Daniel. “I have not heard that tale,” she said. “What was the princess’ name?”

He looked at her. They were standing very close to one another and it was difficult for him to focus on her question. There was something innate within him that simply wanted to kiss her sweet lush lips. Normally, he would have given in to that impulse, but for some reason he didn’t. It seemed to him that if he did, it might forever damage the relationship building between them.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to ruin anything that had to do with a woman.

With Liselotte.

“Ostara,” he said softly. “And the simple man she fell in love with was Wuldor who, as it turned out, was really a great warrior in disguise. He commanded a powerful army.”

Liselotte smiled faintly. “That is a sweet story,” she said. “But why tell me of it?”

Daniel looked back in the mirror, now seeing the profile of her face as she looked up at him. Even her profile was exquisite. It was a struggle to resist the urge to pull her into his arms.

“Because you are the princess,” he admitted. “It matters not what you wear, my lady. What matters is what lies beneath. You are the locket of hair in that plain box; what lies inside the plain clothing is the most valuable thing in the world. Someday you will present yourself, just as you are, to the right man and he will be yours forever.”

With that, he walked away, leaving Liselotte standing there in awe, mulling over the kindest words anyone had ever spoken to her. More and more she was becoming enamored with Daniel and for very good reason; he could make her feel as if she were the most beautiful and important person in the world.

She’d never known anyone like him.

“He is enchanted by you,” Glennie whispered over her shoulder. “Can you not tell?”

Liselotte turned to Glennie in shock. “Nay, he is not,” she insisted, feeling embarrassed. “I… I do not even really know him. I have only just met him. He was of service to our family and continues to be so. It is nothing more than that.”

It was the truth, although she didn’t elaborate on how, exactly, they had met. Something like that was far too shameful to divulge to someone she did not know. But Glennie didn’t seem to care for the details. Her gaze lingered on Daniel as the man stood over the seamstress yet again.

“He is quite handsome,” she said, appraising him. “And he is a de Lohr. Do you know much about the House of de Lohr?”

Liselotte shook her head. “I admit that I do not.”

Glennie began to fuss with the red dress, speaking as she did so. “They are one of the greatest houses in all of England,” she said. “If I understand Daniel’s position in the family correctly, his father is David de Lohr, whose brother is Christopher de Lohr. Christopher de Lohr was the greatest knight in England during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. Daniel is a very important man. And you say you have only just met him?”

Liselotte nodded. “As I said, he has been of service to us.”

Glennie’s gaze moved to Daniel once again. “My father should like to meet him,” she said, sounding rather seductive. “Is he married?”

“Nay.”

Glennie grinned. “Good.”

Liselotte wasn’t sure what Glennie meant by that but she knew, instinctively, that she didn’t like it. She’d never experienced jealousy in her life and had no idea it was
that
particular emotion currently filling her veins. All she knew was that she wanted to throttle Glennie for looking at Daniel so… so
hungrily
. She wasn’t happy about it in the least.

As Glennie bent over to see how much the bottom of the dress needed to be hemmed, Liselotte focused on keeping her irritation with the woman in check. Glennie was trying so hard to be kind that it wouldn’t do for Liselotte to try to gouge the woman’s eyes out in punishment for the way she was looking at Daniel. Not that Liselotte blamed her, of course; he was certainly something spectacular to see.

Coyly, she thought she might take another look at him, too. As she turned to glance at him as he stood over near the entryway to the stall, she caught sight of men and horses on the avenue beyond the window.

Familiar horses and familiar men immediately had her attention, and it took Liselotte a split-second to realize whom, exactly, she was seeing. Panic gripped her and she rushed away from the bronze mirror towards Daniel, her heart in her throat.

“Daniel,” she gasped, grabbing hold of him and pointing to the street. “Those are some of Bramley’s men. They must not see Gunnar!”

Daniel whirled about, seeing what had Liselotte in a panic, and the mood of their happy shopping day abruptly plummeted. It wasn’t unexpected to see Bramley’s men in town, considering what Daniel had been told about how the man covered the roads, but Daniel cursed himself for letting Gunnar out of his sight. That was his fault. Immediately, he sought to make amends.

His knightly training kicked in, as did the cool and collected de Lohr manner. The entire family of men was bred for battle, unafraid to take up arms, unafraid of a fight, and as cool as a snow-frosted night when it came to facing danger. Men like Daniel and his father, uncles, and cousins had all been trained to understand that calm heads prevailed over all, and that strategy usually triumphed over brute strength.

Strategy, of course, was what Daniel did best. He was a hellion in a fight, one of the best swordsmen that England had ever seen, but he was also able to get by on his wits where most men would have been stumped. Now, he was about to put that brilliance to the test.

“Stay here,” he commanded quietly, firmly. “Stay back in this stall so they do not see you. I will go and get Gunnar and bring him back here.”

Liselotte had terror in her eyes, utter terror when she looked at him. He could see that inherent fear that years of Bramley’s aggression had provoked. Gently, he touched her cheek in a comforting gesture before pushing her back to the bronze mirror where Glennie was still standing. It was back in the shadows, away from the entry. Holding up a hand as a silent gesture for her to remain, he bolted from the stall.

It was busier now that the morning had advanced and there were many people on the avenue conducting business. Daniel kept his gaze on the two big knights and three or four men-at-arms that Liselotte had pointed out as Bramley’s men as he crossed the muddy street and rushed onto the livery property. Fortunately, those men were moving away from him, into the center of town, so he was able to move about with relative freedom. But he knew that could change in an instant.

When Daniel finally entered the livery yard, he found Gunnar tucked back towards the barn, with two little goats in his arms. Daniel quickly made his way to the boy.

“Gunnar,” he hissed, grabbing the lad around the waist and heaving him up. “We must go. We will come back for the goats, but right now, we must go.”

Gunnar wasn’t at all happy about being taken away from his new best friends. “Why?” he asked. “Why must we go? You said I could have a goat!”

Daniel was already moving out of the livery yard, heading for the avenue. “You can,” he said, swinging Gunnar up over his shoulder like a sack of grain. “Now, lie still. Hang over my shoulder and do not move. Is that clear?”

Gunnar had no idea what Daniel meant. He tried to get up, to push himself off of Daniel’s shoulder, but Daniel slapped him on the behind with a trencher-sized hand. Gunnar howled.

“Go limp, I say!” Daniel hissed, louder.

Frightened, Gunnar did as he was told, his entire body hanging limp over Daniel’s shoulder. He couldn’t have known that it was Daniel’s plan so the boy wouldn’t be recognized, his upside-down face planted into Daniel’s back. Daniel moved swiftly across the avenue, dodging wagons and people, before finally reaching the seamstress’ stall. Just as he moved for the entry, Glennie was coming out, heading for her guard.

Daniel wasn’t concerned with Glennie in the least and therefore didn’t say a word to the woman as she passed him. He was more concerned with taking Gunnar to safety. He blew into the seamstress’ shop and took Gunnar from his shoulder, setting the boy down next to his apprehensive sister. Liselotte put her arms around the child, greatly relieved.

“Thank God,” she breathed as she hugged Gunnar. Then, she looked at Daniel. “Did the men see you?”

Daniel shook his head. “They did not,” he replied. “Even if they had looked at me, they would not have known me, for I have never seen any of them. It was a simple thing to rescue young Gunnar – again. What were you meant to call me today?”

The question was directed at the boy, who still wasn’t entirely pleased that he’d been pulled away from the goats. He sighed. “O Great One.”

“You say that without enthusiasm.”

“O Great One!”

He shouted and Liselotte grinned, hugging her brother. “You have our thanks,” she said to Daniel. “Two of those men, the knights, are Bramley’s close companions. I am rather surprised to see them here without their liege.”

Daniel pondered that particular bit of information. If what she said was true, then he wondered where, in fact, Bramley was.

“Do they always travel together?” he asked.

She nodded. “When I have seen them, they have been together.”

Daniel glanced over his shoulder at the street beyond, half-expecting Bramley to make an appearance. “Who are those men?” he asked. “Do you know them by name?”

Liselotte nodded. “The blond man is Jules la Londe,” she said. “He is Bramley’s most trusted knight. The other knight, with the darker hair, is Oliver de Witt.”

“And how do you know this?”

“Because they have come to Shadowmoor on more than one occasion, trying to negotiate for me,” she said. “At least, that is what they tried to do in the beginning. They were very polite. We came to know them by name. But when they did not get their way, we saw them for what they truly were. La Londe killed an entire herd of cattle we had. Killed them just because he could. He killed the men tending the herd, too.”

Daniel’s gaze lingered on her as he digested the information. Knights like that were ruthless, indeed, so he made a mental note of what he was up against when it came to Bramley’s stable. He had a feeling he would be seeing them again at some point.

“I have heard the name of la Londe,” he said. “I seem to recall my father telling a story about a la Londe he knew, long ago, but I cannot recall what it was. In any case, we are out of his sight for now. You remain here with Gunnar and I will go and see what those men are up to. We still have business to conduct in town and I do not want to be looking over my shoulder every minute.”

Liselotte agreed, nodding her head firmly. “Be careful,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm. “Those men are not to be crossed.”

Daniel grinned smugly, patting her hand. “Neither am I.”

In spite of her fear, Liselotte returned his smile. She couldn’t help it; he had an infectious smile that invited her humor as well as her trust. It was difficult not to look into that face, that expression, and not believe everything he said. Daniel de Lohr had confidence that bordered on arrogance, but in his case, it was well justified. He meant what he said and he had the skill, and the intelligence, to support it. She was very glad he was on their side.

She was very glad he was on
her
side.

But that adoring moment was cut short when they heard raised voices in the avenue beyond the seamstress’ stall. Both Daniel and Liselotte turned towards the sound to see that not only had Bramley’s men returned, but now they were engaging Glennie in a conversation that had her escort intervening. Simply by the tone of the conversation, the tension was obvious. Something bad was happening.

When the blond knight, still on horseback, made a swipe to get at Glennie by pushing one of her escorts aside, Daniel was on the move.

The situation was about to get interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

Bramley Castle

16 miles south of Shadowmoor

“I
t is not
as if you
need
your property,” Roland was saying. “You have no army to defend it. You have nothing at all by which to hold it. All that Shadowmoor represents to you is a derelict legacy. Why would you hold on to such a thing?”

Brynner was well into his fourth big cup of wine, a very good wine that his host, introduced as Roland Fitzroy, Lord Bramley, had provided. Spanish wine, he’d been told. It was smooth and sweet, and he’d gulped it down. Now, his head was seriously buzzing and the familiar lethargy of drink filled his veins. But knowing who his host was, and what he wanted, Brynner was trying to stay on an even keel. He was deep in the heart of the enemy and trying to keep his head above water. The Spanish wine, however, was making it difficult.