The Iron Knight (The De Russe Legacy Book 3) (7 page)

Juno dipped into a practiced curtsy. “I am Lady Juno de Saix and this is my cousin, Aricia.” She indicated the very slim young woman next to her. “I hope it is agreeable with Sir Lucien that my cousin has come with me. She is my maid.”

Colton nodded. “I am sure that Sir Lucien will be quite agreeable,” he said. “Now, I can show you to the hall or, if you prefer, a chamber has been prepared for you and I can take you there to rest, instead. What is your preference, my lady?”

Juno looked at Aricia, who whispered in her ear. Juno nodded before returning her focus to Colton. “I would be very grateful if you could show me to my chamber,” she said. “And… and hot water would be very welcome.”

Colton began walking, motioning her along. “Of course, my lady,” he said. “I will have a bath sent up to you. Follow me, please.”

Juno didn’t need any prompting to follow the man; she rather liked looking at him as he walked, as did her cousin. They made quite an odd pair – while Juno was elegant and stylish in her dress, Aricia was quite different – she had an elaborate hairstyle that also involved a scarf, which she kept wrapped around her neck and the lower portion of her face. It was strategic, to cover her bad skin eruptions, and she was literally covered from head to foot with fabric. Only the eyes shone through – bright blue eyes that were also focused on Colton. In fact, the two ladies exchanged interested glances as they followed the big knight towards the square keep.

Across the bailey they went, passing by soldiers heading to their posts and other inhabitants going about their business. There was even a young boy chasing chickens about, catching them to bring them back into the kitchen yard. Spelthorne, as a whole, seemed very busy and prosperous, which would certainly please Holderness. All the while, however, the ladies were mainly focused on Colton in front of them, watching his gait, which was really more like a swagger. It was most attractive to behold. They were nearly to the entry of the keep when they were met in the doorway by a servant girl.

“Sir Colton,” the pale, young woman said anxiously. “Lady Susanna is asking to see the new lady. Will you present her?”

Colton shook his head. “Not yet,” he said. “Lady Juno wishes to refresh herself after her long journey. Tell Lady Susanna that she will meet the lady once she has rested.”

The servant girl looked at him with fear in her expression. “She will not be pleased,” she whispered loudly, looking at Juno and Aricia fearfully. “Just… just a brief moment? Can you just bring her for a brief moment? It shall not take long.”

Colton sighed heavily. “I will speak with Lady Susanna,” he said, “after I settle Lady Juno and her cousin.”

With that, he pushed past the jittery servant, taking Juno and Aricia into the dark, cool keep. Three stories tall, not including the lower storage level, it had two big rooms on the entry level and a spiral staircase built into the thickness of the wall that connected the living levels.

The second level also had two big chambers while the third level had four small ones. This was the level for guests and their servants, and it was this level that Colton intended for Lady Juno and her cousin. As they were passing the second level on their way to the third, however, they could hear someone shouting from one of the chambers.

“Who is there?” It was a girl’s voice, shouting. “
Tell me who is there
!”

Juno looked at Colton, who soundly ignored the cries. He simply continued up the stairs and they followed, listening to the girl on the second level as she continued to shout. Once on the third level, however, the voice was blocked by the heavy stone walls of the castle. Colton led Juno and Aricia to one of the small chambers and pushed open the door.

“Here you are, my lady,” he said. “The room is small but it is comfortable and well appointed. I will send servants up with water and food and kindling for the fire. If you require anything else, please do not hesitate to ask the servants or send for me. We will make your stay here as comfortable as possible.”

Juno looked around the room. It was tiny, indeed, but it had two lovely windows facing north and west, and a rather large and fluffy bed shoved into a corner. There was a chair, a small table, and a small wardrobe against one wall. The wardrobe was painted with flowers and it was quite lovely. There was also a small modesty screen next to it, painted with the same flowers that were on the wardrobe. She turned to smile at Colton.

“It is all quite lovely and cozy,” she assured him. “Thank you for being so gracious, Sir Colton. We are grateful.”

Colton nodded. “It is my pleasure, my lady,” he said. “I will have your bags sent up shortly.”

Hand on the latch, he started to pull the door shut but Juno stopped him. “My lord,” she said quickly, preventing him from leaving, but the moment he looked at her with polite curiosity, she felt quite foolish. Her cheeks were starting to flush again. “The crying we heard when we came up the stairs… is that someone we should be introduced to? That is to say, is that the Lady Susanna the servant spoke of? I am concerned that she believes me to be quite rude not to come at her bidding.”

Colton shook his head. “I would not worry about it,” he said. “That is Sir Lucien’s young daughter and any introduction should come from Sir Lucien himself. She knows that. Is there anything else, my lady?”

Juno simply shook her head, not wanting to trouble the man further. Colton smiled politely at her before shutting the door, leaving Juno and Aricia to settle in to their small chamber. Once the door closed, however, Aricia turned to Juno excitedly.

“He is
so
handsome!” she exclaimed softly. “ ’Tis a cruel twist of fate that he cannot be your husband.”

Juno’s thoughts lingered on the attractive young knight. “I would be just as averse to marrying him if he were the man I was pledged to,” she said quietly. “His degree of comeliness does not matter to me.”

Aricia’s gaze lingered on her cousin’s dark head. “I know,” she said, her voice considerably softer. “I did not mean it as it sounded. Forgive me.”

Juno knew that. Aricia was very kind, usually very tactful. More than that, she knew what was in Juno’s heart… and it wasn’t fine young knights or even an older, prestigious one.

“There is nothing to forgive,” she said, forcing a smile as she began to remove her delicate doeskin gloves. “Besides… Papa would not dare permit me to marry anyone who was not an earl or better. Nothing but the most prestigious husband in England will do for me and to the devil with my wants. You know this as well as I do. He has never listened to me.”

Aricia nodded faintly and began to remove the scarf from around her face and neck. “I know,” she said. “His wants take precedence over all.”

“That is true.”

“
L’homme est avide et moyenne
,” Aricia hissed. “
Il ne te merite pas
.”

Juno smiled faintly at her cousin. “Ambition has always ruled Papa,” she said, pulling off the second doeskin glove. “It is not a matter of greed. I do not believe he is deliberately cruel. He simply wants the House of de Saix to be more prestigious than anyone else. That is why he sought this marriage with de Russe; regardless of how I felt or who I wanted to marry, he pestered the king and begged until Henry finally relented. I do not know if de Russe knows any of that. Mayhap it is better if he does not. This is all some grand move in Papa’s game of politics.”

Aricia finished pulling the scarf away from her face, revealing badly marred skin with great redness and pustules. It was particularly bad around her mouth and beneath her cheekbones. She was very pale, with pale lashes and eyebrows, and a rather angular face and big jaw. Aricia was from Juno’s mother’s side of the family, and that entire family was from France in the Bordeaux region, very pale and wispy people.

But Juno didn’t share those family traits. Though her hair was dark, her skin was pale and clear, and she was rather pretty. Not wildly beautiful, but she had a pale and lush beauty she very carefully maintained with expensive creams and oils, things she had learned about whilst fostering in some of the country’s finer castles. They were expensive potions but her father bought them without hesitation if he thought it would make her more attractive to a wealthy husband.

Therefore, Juno knew how to make her skin soft and her teeth clean, and she even knew how to use cosmetics, but all she would really use was lip rouge on occasion, just enough to give her pale face some color. With all of her knowledge from the worldly houses she had fostered in, she tried to help Aricia with her terrible skin but that type of skin seemed to be allergic to everything. It was an awful condition that also affected the back and shoulders and chest. White willow powder, when applied, seemed to be the only thing that would calm the flare-ups but, for the most part, Aricia was resigned to a life of covering up. She had quite a lovely collection of scarves and veils to do this with, but Juno felt very sorry for her cousin.

Still, Aricia’s attitude was one of resilience. She hadn’t fostered in the fine houses that her cousin had. In fact, she’d never really fostered at all. She had lived for most of her life in France at her grandmother’s home, raised by women when her father abandoned the family. She had learned to dress finely and cover her skin cleverly. She had also acquired the talents of dressing hair and sewing the latest fashions, and Juno happily allowed her cousin to dress her in every way. Aricia always made her look quite beautiful. They made a companionable pair, the two of them, now in residence at Spelthorne Castle for the inspection of the great Sir Lucien de Russe.

Juno had to admit that she wasn’t looking forward to it.

Lost in thoughts of the coming introduction to her potential husband, Juno set her gloves aside and was preparing to loosen her sleeves when there was a knock at the door. Aricia gasped, as she was without her scarf covering her face, so Juno waited until Aricia was properly covered before opening the door.

Two servants were standing outside, women, and they were carrying food and wine. Juno admitted them and the women rushed it, putting it all upon the small table, before dashing out.

When Juno went to close the door behind them, she could see two more servants, male this time, carrying a big tub between them, so she opened the door wide as the men brought the linen-lined copper tub into the chamber and set it carefully on the floor.

In fact, Juno stood back, and Aricia pressed herself into a corner, as a cavalcade of servants came in and out of the chamber, not only bringing food and tubs, but water and wood as well. People scurried in and out as Juno and Aricia watched it all, watching the efficiency of Spelthorne’s servants. In fact, they moved swifter than any servants they had ever seen, almost a panic to the movements, as if fearful they would not be just as fast and competent as their master wanted them to be.

The man known as The Iron Knight.

As Juno watched the last of the hot water poured into the tub, she was coming to wonder if the nickname of the man she was betrothed to meant more than simply his durability on the field of battle. She wondered if it was in his manner, too. Was he a man so old and battle-hardened that there was a sword where his heart should be and a shield and chain mail where his soul once rested? For servants to be so swift, and so rigidly efficient, surely Sir Lucien de Russe was far more in his manner than simply a man who fought for the king and administered justice in the name of the crown.

Perhaps he had an iron fist, as well.

With that frightening thought, she went about preparing to meet the man with a reputation that was coming to consume her thoughts.

Papa… who is this man you have pledged me to?

*

“It is fortunate
the day is warm,” Lucien said. “I believe our clothing has dried sufficiently. At least, I am no longer dripping.”

He’d meant it as a joke, smiling, because his heart was lighter this day than it had been in a very long while. What had started off as a very bad day had, after a few rough patches, grown into one of the better days of his life.

Spelthorne Castle was in the distance and he had already pointed it out to the ladies, which had conveniently caused him to turn and look at them. Truthfully, he really
wanted
to look at Sophina but he was pretending that every glance in her direction or ever word out of his mouth had some sort of greater purpose. It didn’t. He was just trying to be very casual about speaking with her.

All he wanted to do was speak with her.

As for Sophina, the past two hours had seen her struggling not to warm to the man who had saved her and her daughter. She was, indeed, trying very hard not to but it was oh so difficult.

What wasn’t to like? He was tall, broad, strong, and very handsome, she thought. She liked his long, dark hair with streaks of gray at the temples. She liked his square jaw with the big cleft in the chin, and his eyes… they were an odd color, a sort of muddy brown, but they were beautiful. At least, she thought they were. In fact, there wasn’t one thing about Lucien de Russe that she didn’t find handsome or charming, and it made her sick to her stomach. Why couldn’t her father have pledged her to someone like de Russe? The answer was obvious, of course.