The Darkland (24 page)

“Kirk,” le Vay came away
from the window, his gaze intense. “Spencer can do this without your help. In
fact, I would prefer if you stayed away from him.”

Kirk knew what he meant.
He waved the man off.  “I will not harass him,” he assured le Vay. “This is
business. I do not mix it with personal feelings.”

Le Vay sighed faintly,
thoughtfully. “I would not presume to question your honor, but I would feel
better if you stayed away until the troops are prepared,” he said. “I am an old
man. I worry. You will do this for me.”

Kirk smiled weakly. “If
I were to swear on my oath, would you believe me?”

“I would. But I still
want you to stay away.”

Kirk simply nodded, not
having the energy to argue with the man.  But there was one more thing on his
mind as he headed to the solar door. 

“My lord, you asked if
there was something more you could do for me,” he paused by the big oak panel,
open to the darkened keep beyond. “I believe there is.”

“Name it.”

Kirk hesitated a moment
before speaking. “Lady Mara,” he said. “I will not be able to return her to
Anchorsholme myself.”

“I will send her with an
escort.”

Kirk was visibly
relieved. “Thank you, my lord. I appreciate it.”

Le Vay’s dark eyes
twinkled. “I will make sure not to send Spencer as her escort.”

Kirk rolled his eyes. “A
wise choice, my lord,” he said. Then, he sobered. “In fact, it would be wise to
keep the man away from her. Permanently.”

Le Vay sobered as well.
“I will make sure he understands that.”

Kirk nodded shortly and
left the room without another word.  Lionel watched him go with a heavy heart,
feeling sad about the circumstances at Wicklow that had robbed Kirk of his
father.  But such was the way of the world. Battles, and death, were part of
the common fabric.  They had all known their fair share of it.

As he turned away from
the door, he noticed Kirk’s missive on the floor and bent over to pick it up. 
As he put it on the table, he noticed the second of the two missives Edmund had
sent him.  He’d only opened the first one because Kirk had been insistent about
it.  Kirk hadn’t known the contents of the second missive so Lionel had set it
aside as the more pressing issues in the first missive had taken over.  In
fact, he’d forgotten about it until now.

Alone in the solar, Lionel
popped the seal on the second missive and read the contents.  He read it again.
  His mouth popped open and his bushy eyebrows lifted.  He read it three more
times before the meaning actually began to sink in.  Even then, he could hardly
believe it.

What he read shocked him
to the bone.

***

Kirk had been summoned
shortly after sunrise by a servant and had left Mara to their cozy bed, warm
and snug.   She drifted in and out of sleep as the sun broke the horizon, her
dreams on Kirk when she slept and her thoughts on him when she was awake. She
could smell him in the bed linens, on her hands, and on her body.  Everything
about the man made her feel deliriously warm and happy and safe. 

But those thoughts ended
when a gull took rest upon the windowsill, squawking.  Mara lifted her head,
eyeing the gull unhappily as it preened its feathers and squawked.  Hanging
over the side of the bed, she grabbed the nearest thing she could grab, her
shoe, and tossed it at the window.   Insulted, the gull flew off as the shoe
clattered to the floor.

The gull reminded her of
the sea, and the sea reminded her of Kirk and his departure for Ireland.  Sadness
swamped her but she fought it, not wanting to be an emotional wreck about it. 
She had been given the chance to rage about it, to beg Kirk not to go, but that
was over with now.  She was coming to see that no amount of pleading would keep
the man from going.  She needed to come to terms with it.  She thought,
perhaps, he would want it that way.  Perhaps she needed to grow up a bit, as
befitting the future wife of a warrior.

There was cold water in
the basin next to the bed and she remembered the bar of soap Lady Lily had
given her.  Rising in the chill of the room, she found the precious soap in her
satchel and used it to wash with, cold water and all.  She hooted as she
splashed the water on her face and swabbed off her body.  The smell of freesia
was heavy and delicious. Having existed for so long with only the bare
necessities of life, something luxurious and feminine was thrilling.  Once she
was washed and moderately dried, she tucked the precious soap away again.

As she pulled her shift
over her head, there was a knock at the door.  Hesitantly, Mara went to open it
a crack, peering out into the darkened landing.

Lady Lily stood in the
weak light, swathed in finery and smiling timidly. “Good morn to you, my lady,”
she said pleasantly. “I… I thought you could use some assistance in dressing
this morning. I have not had much opportunity to properly speak with you and I
should like to remedy that.”

Mara wasn’t quite sure what
to say.  Seeing Lily’s lovely face brought on stabs of jealousy that she
quickly pushed aside.  She remembered how kind and accommodating Lily had been
the night before when Mara had been in a panic about Kirk and Spencer’s
battle.  In fact, Lily had gone out of her way to comfort her, something Mara
didn’t really think about until this very moment. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so
resistant.   She opened the door wider.

“Come in,” she told her.

Lily entered the room,
followed closely by two servants bearing a variety of garments and other
things.  Mara looked at them very curiously.

“What have you brought?”
she asked.

Lily’s smile grew.
“Well,” she began, pulling one of the garments out of the servant’s arms.  “I
truly hope you do not mind, but when I saw you last night, a thought occurred
to me.  You see, my mother died some time ago and I have trunks full of her
garments that I cannot wear simply because I am too tall, so they have been
packed away in storage with no one to wear them. They are too fine to donate to
the poor and no one I know can fit them, so I was hoping to perhaps gift them
to you because you are the perfect size.  Will you at least look?”

Astonished, Mara watched
as Lily held up an exquisite shift made from soft lamb’s wool with tiny gold
thread woven through it.   As Mara reached out to touch the fabric, Lily held
up another garment, a matching surcoat that was layered with golden fabrics and
lined on the edges with white rabbit fur.  It was absolutely exquisite and Mara
couldn’t help her jaw from dropping.

“Me?” she asked,
stunned. “For me?”

Lily could see how
surprised Mara was.  Truthfully, she had come this morning because she felt
guilty for virtually ignoring the lady since her arrival.  She’d had Kirk to
keep her occupied and a host of visiting relatives.  In fact, she had only
gotten a good look at the lady last night as Kirk and Spencer had battled it
out, and she had noticed the worn nature of Mara’s surcoat.  Surely a woman
would have worn her very finest to a feast so if that was Mara’s finest, Lily
came to think that perhaps the woman didn’t have much at all.  As her ladies in
waiting whispered and giggled about Mara’s rags, Lily felt a good deal of
compassion for her.

Although she didn’t know
anything about her other than the fact she was Edmund de Cleveley’s
sister-in-law and that in of itself caused her to feel good deal of pity for
her.   Everyone knew what a horrible place The Darkland was. There was
something about Lady Mara that invited compassion. Moreover, Kirk had spoken so
fondly of the woman at the feast the previous night and she had seen how Kirk
had battled Spencer when the man had gotten too close.  If Mara was worthy of
Kirk’s respect, then Lily wanted very much to know her.

“Try them on,” Lily said
as she tossed them over onto the mussed bed.  Snapping her fingers at the
servants, they began to lay them all out over the enormous bed. “My mother
spared no expense with her wardrobe. I shall be so happy if you feel you can
use it.”

Mara stood rather dumbly
as the activity went on around her.  She wasn’t honestly sure what to do or
say, lured by the beautiful new clothing and Lily’s kind manner.  Lily was
sweet and mothering, and in little time, Mara was dressed in the fine lamb’s
wool shift and the surcoat with the rabbit lining.  One of Lily’s maids was an
excellent seamstress so when the woman was finished taking note of what needed
to be altered, that clothing was pulled off in favor of a red silk.  And then a
green brocade, a yellow silk, and finally a very fine linen that was the color
of a ripe peach.  Mara stood on a stool while all of the frivolous madness went
on around her. She’d never known anything like it.

The last dress to go on
was a magnificent blue that magnified Mara’s eye color. It fit her snuggly on
the torso while draping off her shoulders into sleeves that trailed to the
floor.  A silver ribbon cinched up the front, crisscrossing across her breasts
and making her look absolutely delectable.

Lily and her maids fussed
over Mara and the dress. In fact, it needed very little altering and as the
women tugged here and there, fitting the garment on Mara’s shapely frame, Lilly
began to talk.

“Where were you born,
Lady Mara?” she asked.

Mara watched the maids
work on the hemline of the gown. “Haslingden,” she replied. “It is two days
ride south of Anchorsholme.”

“You have lived there
your entire life?”

“Aye.”

“Where did you foster?”

Mara glanced at the
woman, embarrassed to answer. “Well,” she began reluctantly, “I was sent to
foster when I was seven but I did not stay long. I came home at nine years of
age.”

Lily’s pretty brow
furrowed. “Why so early?”

Mara sighed heavily,
making a face. “I did not like it,” she said. “I lived at Rochdale Castle. Lord
de Worth was an acquaintance of my father and when my father approached him to
ask if my sister and I could foster in his household, he was very gracious. But
we soon found out why; he was a vile old man who preferred young girls. His
wife was an invalid so he did much as he pleased without her knowledge.  He
tried to… well, suffice it to say that when he approached my sister, we paid a
soldier to escort us home.”

Lily’s eyes were wide
with shock and sadness. “How terrible,” she said sincerely. “Yet you remain a
strong and noble young woman. It did not affect you overly.”

It was a kind thing to
say of a shameful situation. The more Mara spent time with Lily, the more her
jealousy faded and the more she came to like the woman.  Truth be told, Mara
had never really spent any time around women other than her sister, so her
experience with friends was limited.  She wasn’t quite sure how to react.

“Where… where did you
foster?” she asked timidly.

“Warwick Castle,” she
replied. “I went there at nine years of age and returned home at sixteen.”

Mara lifted her arms as
the maids began to work on the sleeves. “Did you like it at Warwick?”

Lily nodded, supervising
the maids closely on the sapphire-blue coat. “It was a very big place,” she
said. “Do you know much of Warwick, my lady?”

Mara shook her head. “I
do not,” she admitted.

Lily helped the maid
with the hem of the sleeve as she spoke. “It used to belong to the Earls of
Warwick, but the last one died several years ago,” she said, happy to share her
knowledge. “It belongs to the Crown now and the castellan is Sir Augbert de
Gilles.  Sir Augbert and his wife, the Lady Eve, were my hosts. The Lady Eve
taught me to paint.  She also taught me Latin, Italian, and Portuguese.”

Mara looked at the
woman, feeling utterly inadequate in the presence of such an educated lady. But
Lily didn’t speak boastfully.  Her delivery was easy and almost dismissive. In
fact, Mara found herself quite interested in what the woman was saying.

“You can speak Italian?”
she said with some awe. “I have always wanted to go to Rome. Have you been
there?”

Lily shook her head.
“Nay,” she replied. “But I am to be married soon. Perhaps I can convince my
husband to take me there.”

Mara smiled, a genuine
gesture. “If he does, perhaps… perhaps you will tell me of your travels when
you return.”

Lily was thoughtful.
“Perhaps I will not need to,” she said as if concocting a great plan. “Perhaps
Kirk will marry you soon and you can join us. Would that not be exciting? We
could be traveling companions and spend all of our husbands’ money.”

She giggled and Mara
found herself giggling, too. But it occurred to her that Kirk must have told
Lily about their relationship during all of that time that Lily was
monopolizing his time. 

“Then he told you about…
me?” she asked.

Lily grinned. “Even if
he had not, fighting Spencer to the death would have told me everything I
needed to know,” she replied, her blue eyes twinkling. “He is very fond of you,
is he not?”

Mara flushed furiously,
fighting off a grin. “I believe we are both very fond of each other.”