There Your Heart Will Be Also (12 page)

****

Sarra's eyes narrow
ed
as she stared at Cedric.
Gasping with shock,
she asked,
“What are you doing here?”

“Savin' ye
r
ungrateful hide.”

“I didn't need your help
,
”
she answered indignantly.

“That's not what it looked like to me.”

Sarra had collapsed onto the dry, dusty ground
,
chest heav
ing
with exertion from
the
swim.
Cedric had fallen down beside her.
His frame stretched out next to her
s
as he leaned up on one elbow and stared at her face.
Tiny lines surrounded his eyes as if he
were
laughing.

“Why are you smiling?”

Cedric used his
finger
to
lift a strand of wet black hair, placing it behind her ear.
His lips twitched and a grin spread across his visage.
“Ye are verra beautiful.”

Sarra gulped.
He looked
directly at
her body.
A flush crept up her skin from her toes to the top of her head.
The heat from his gaze seared her flesh.
Struggling to maintain control, she said, “Thank you.
Would you retrieve the boat?”

A frown
wrinkled
his forehead.
“Are ye trying to distract me?”

How did he know?
“Of course not.
But I can't leave the boat out there.
And as you can see
,
I'm in no condition to retrieve it myself.”

Those words opened her up to more scrutiny as he
searched
for reasons why she couldn't go.
While
Cedric's hands never touched her, Sarra's skin
still
tingled and burned.
Did he know what he was doing to her?

When
Sarra
could stand it no longer, and she was ready to throw herself into his arms, he said,
“I don't know.
Why should I?”

“Because I asked you to
.
”
Her
response
was no more than
a hoarse whisper.

Sarra listened to his humph of dissatisfaction as he
stood and
dove back into the tepid water
to
retrieve the small bobbing vessel.

What had possessed her to fall in?
Countless times she'd spent in her boat
, paddling to the middle of the pond standing up to allow the sun to warm her face and the breeze to ruffle her hair,
and never had it flipped with her.
Until now.
And how had Cedric been so close by?
Was he following her?
To what purpose would he do such a thing?

When the boat was secured back to its post, Cedric
returned
and flopped down beside
her again
.
In a seated position he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.

“Thank you.”

Over his shoulder, he looked at her, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes when he replied.
“Y
e a
re welcome.
Is there anything else I might do for ye while we're here?
Do ye need ye
r
horse's hooves re-shod
?
What about ye
r
dress mended?”

Lips pursed together
, as she rose to a sitting position
with her
hands placed behind her to brace herself, she said,
“Hmm, you are attempting to be humorous.
Again thank you for retrieving the boat.
As I
said
it would be quite impossible for me to do so at the moment and if I wa
i
ted
too
long and left the boat on the water I might never be able to retrieve it.”

“Important to ye, is it?”
he said, eyes looking out over the rippling water.

“You could say
so, aye
.
My father gave it to me.
We used to go out on the water together and study scripture.”

With those words he looked back at her. An eyebrow rose,
“Scripture?”

“Yes.
The Bible.
God's word.”

“
Oh
.”

Sitting up straighter,
she used a
finger
to
twirl her hair, as she asked, “Didn't you study God's word with your family?”

“Nay,” Cedric replied with eyes downcast.

Should she ask?
Maybe there was a way to help him feel more comfortable with the subject of faith.
A fleeting
thought
raced across her mind.
Sarra pushed herself up
to a standing position,
a little
unbalanced
in her heavy clothing
,
leaning
sideways.

Cedric
had followed suit
taking her hand in his.
Where his palm rested
,
a
burn
ing sensation cut
through the sleeve of her gown.

Sarra
suddenly
found it difficult to breath
e
.
She needed to get away from Cedric.

St
raightening
, she
g
ather
ed
up her skirts and shuffl
ed
forward toward her waiting
horse
.
In just their brief time by the water's edge,
Cedric had gone from shameless observer to playful friend.

Turning her back to him she asked,
“Will you be attending the festivities tonight?”

“Of course
.
The whole village has been invited.
And I wouldn't want to miss a good party.”

H
esitantly
Sarra
added, “Do you dance?”

“Dance?”

“Aye, dance.
You know
,
move to music, mostly while holding a woman or facing a woman.”

“I dance a little, aye.”

“Will you dance with me?”

Cedric's eyebrow rose in question.
Perhaps it was a tad forward on her part.
But he had kissed her.
She thought
it gave her the
right to ask for a dance
if nothing else
.

Clearing his throat, he said,
“Now ye know
it
is for me to ask ye
.
N
ot for ye to ask me.”

“I know
.
I just wanted to put in my request before
, you know, we were there and everyone else asked you and you had no time
.
”
Sarra could hear the childish sound coming from her voice.

“
Why of course, I can save ye one dance.
Wouldn't be right to deny
a
lass her one wish.”
Cedric grinned wide, showing a row of perfectly white teeth.

Sarra picked up her soaked skirts, preparing to stalk away as she answered,
“Don't flatter yourself.
This is definitely not my one wish.
I just thought
—
well, it doesn't matter.
You will dance with me if you like or dance with another
.
I
t doesn't make a difference.”

Did
Cedric kn
o
w she was lying
?
Of course, it made a difference to her!
He was the only man who had ever kissed her.
No other's lips had touched her own.
A
connection
had begun
between them.
At least she thought so.

As Sarra waited
,
Cedric
placed his hand under her chin and raised her head so she could look him in the eye
.
“Sarra, look at me.”

“Aye?”

“
Ye should go back to the keep
and
take a hot bath.
I'm sure the mistress will be needin' ye before the party.
”

“Aye, I think
it
is a most excellent idea.”
S
arra
flashed a winsome smile
at Cedric and waited for him to move.
He mounted his horse and pulled on the reins
,
waiting on her to do the same.

As t
hey rode back along the trail to the keep together
, Sarra
n
oted the way Cedric sat upon his horse. The steed was an older animal, one which many would have put out to pasture long ago.
M
ost people left the beast to eat hay in the stable rather than be frustrated by its meandering ways, but Cedric patted the animal. Why
,
Sarra believed he even whispered words of encouragement to the beast.

Not only had he saved her from drowning, but he'd retrieved the boat as well. The kindness he exhibited caused a feeling of happiness to swell in her breast. Unbidden
,
a smile rose to her face.

Cedric glanced up and caught her looking at him.
His e
yes brightened as he sent her a knowing smile.

Sarra ordered a bath and
waited in the bedroom
.
Lying
across
the
bed
and
looking up at the ceiling
, worries assailed her.
The party was for her birthday and everyone would be there.

The q
uestion was
,
could they remain silent about her identity? And w
hat was she going to do?
Cedric thought her a simple maid
. H
e didn't yet know she was the mistress
.
She was sure this
misconception
was
why he was
giving her
so much
attention.
She was a passing fancy, nothing more than a dalliance before he went upon his way. But the fact was
she
enjoyed
th
e
a
ttention
.

As
Sarra
lay
back down
,
she
relive
d
the kiss.
Cedric
had stirred up a passion in her
which
she
had
not expected.
She possessed
such a longing to be loved, one she
hadn't been
aware existed.
She was so a
bsorbed in thought
,
the
knock
upon
the door
startled her
.

“
Aye
?”

“Mistress, we have the water for ye.”

“Oh, come in.”

Several men brought in the huge metal tub, followed by
a group of
women with hot water jugs.
When
they were
all finished, one of the maids offered to stay and help Sarra get ready for
the
party.
She thought of declining but decided against it.
I
t might be nice to have the company.

After her bath,
Ella
helped her pick a gown of
deep purple
.
The maid
piled Sarra's
black
hair high atop her head and weaved a strand of little white pearls through the curls.
Next, she picked out a set of pearl ear bobs.
“I think this would match quite nicely, my lady.”

Sarra reached around and patted the young lady's hand.
“I worried all day about what I would wear tonight, and you have done a lovely job putting me together.
I don't know how to thank you.”

“Well,
yer
thanks be enough, me lady.
Ye be mighty deserving of the festivities.
And I am mighty pleased to help ye look ye
r
best.”

Just as the maid was finishing, another knock sounded.

“Who is it?”
Sarra called.

“It's me, lass,” came Charism
's
aged voice
from the other side of the door
.

The maid answered the door, giving Charism room to enter.
“Do ye need anything more
,
me lady?”

“No, Ella.
You may go.
Thank you.”

Ella bowed as she walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

“Are ye ready, lass?”

“Aye.
As ready as I'll ever be.
Charism, do forgive me if this sounds terribly rude.
But I can't go to the party.”

“What?”
Charism asked with a raised eyebrow.

Standing, Sarra paced.
Her hands fluttered about her as she tried to explain her situation.
“Charism, I've met someone.”

Charism
appeared
shocked but didn't speak.
Sighing deeply, Sarra continued.
“He's not from here.
He's a Scot.
And I'm afraid he doesn't know I'm the mistress of the keep.”

“I see.”

“Aye.
He thinks I'm the mistress' maid.
What am I going to do?
I thought I would never say these words, but I like him.
And I
wish
he would like me.
But not for the land.
Not for Greenbriar.
But for me.”
Throwing up her hands, she added, “Oh, this is a disaster.
Everyone at the party knows who I am.
What am I to do to hide my identity
?
!”

“Why not tell him the truth?”

“What?
Nay.
I cannot.
Not yet.
Perhaps another time.
Right now I need to be maid Sarra.
Can't you help me?”

Charism
studied
her.
Sarra
peered
down at
the
dress and realized how overdone
the
outfit
was
for
a
mere
maid.

Groaning inwardly, Sarra placed a hand on
the
gown
,
po
i
sed to
rip
off the
clothing and put on a dress of rough
-
hewn wool
—
a
nything to keep Cedric in the dark until he discovered he could love her.

Love?
How had she jumped from like to love?
No matter,
just
now she had to find a way to hide her identity.

“I have an idea.
But I don't know if it will work.”

“Please do tell me.”

Charism
began to speak.