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.”“What were you doing in our solar?” Saura insisted.“Our solar,” the girl mocked.“Our solar.Aren’t we important? Aren’t we sure of ourselves? Married this very morn an’ already ye own th’ castle.”“What were you doing?”“Puttin’ poison in your wine!” Hawisa exploded.“Ye got rid of me, didn’t ye? Like offal ye toss in th’ dung heap.Lord William’s talkin’ about givin’ me away t’ anyone who’ll take me, but I grew up here, me roots are here.I’ll be leavin’ everythin’ I know.I’ll be at th’ bottom of th’ group wherever he stashes me, an outsider.”Alarmed by the half-hysterical note of violence in her voice, Saura soothed, “I’m sure Lord William will do his best for you.”“He don’t care about me.He only cares for ye.If ye’d never come, I’d not be leavin’.I’d still be top of th’ pile, wi’ them little flunkies t’ wait on me an’ first tastin’s from th’ kitchen an’ me own tap for th’ ale.’Tis all your fault.”As Hawisa’s voice rose, Saura’s cooled and quieted.“Those things are not your right.”“I earned ’em,” the woman shouted.“Til ye came an’ changed th’ lock I had th’ key for th’ wine cellar because I earned it.The cook offered me food because I earned it.”“Earned it?” Saura asked with scorn.“On me back, just like one important lady who earned her husband on her back.Don’t ye know that’s what everyone’s sayin’? Talkin’ about how William follows ye like he’s caught th’ scent of a bitch in heat.Talkin’ about how good ye must be between th’ covers t’ have him marry such a useless, blind—”The heavy pewter pitcher smacked the wall behind Hawisa and water splattered across the room.The woman jumped aside, her shout dying of shock.Trembling, suddenly aware of her great transgression, she whispered, “How’d ye do that? How’d ye see where t’ throw it?”Saura crawled out of the blankets and balanced on all fours on the bed.Her hair curled wildly about her head, her lips drew back in a snarl, her body was magnificently, unconsciously, nude.“I’m not blind, I’ve forsworn myself.I know every nasty move you’ve made.I know every time you dragged one of your paramours to this bed.I know every sneer you’ve directed at me and at William.I’ll keep you here and you’ll never get away and you’ll wish—”The door slammed open and Maud burst in.“M’lady, what—” She gasped at the scene before her eyes.Lady Jane followed, saying, “We heard the shouting,” but her comments faded, too.Hawisa backed toward them, chanting, “She’s witch, she can see, she’s crazy, I’m afraid of her.” Saura raised her hands, formed into claws, and growled, and Hawisa turned and bolted, screaming, “She’s a witch, she can see, she’s a witch.”“What did she do with your silk?” Jane asked, and Saura flew off the bed.“Where is it?” she said fiercely, and the sound of her anger carried clear into the great hall.“What did she do to it? I’ll kill her, that shrew.”“’Tis out of the trunk, M’lady, and the knife….”“I’ll kill her.”Lady Jane slammed the door.“You’ve displayed yourself for everyone, and that should wait for the bedding.” Saura stalked across the room, and Jane caught her arm.“Let your maid look first.” Saura tugged, but Lady Jane gripped her elbow and shook it.“Calm down.Your maid can see what’s been done, and then you can check.”The silk rustled and the bolt thumped, and then Maud reassured them.“She cut a chunk of one end off and she snipped a few threads in a fringe, but the largest portion is intact.’Tis nothing a little creative sewing won’t fix, m’lady.”“Let me see.” Saura jerked away, and this time Jane let her go.Maud guided her hands to the destruction and Saura felt the swell of heat beneath her skin.“That she-wolf,” she hissed.“Thank the Virgin you brought me in to rest when you did, or who knows what she would have done.That half-wit.”Curious and amazed, Jane queried, “What did she say to you?”In her fury, Saura could only remember one thing.“She said the only reason William married me was because I’m good in bed.”“Well!” Humor lit Jane’s voice.“Someone should so insult me.”Saura’s mouth worked until she burst into laughter.“I’m losing my sense of proportion,” she mourned, and then she laughed again.“I’m screeching like a fishwife over her comments when I should be ordering her whipped for destroying property.” She rubbed her forehead with her palm.“I’ll never sleep now.Dress me, Maud, and I’ll prepare for the swearing.”One by one William’s men knelt before him and put their hands between his and gave their oath of loyalty.They had done it before, and it was a reiteration of those oaths, a repetition made poignant by their concern for William.Sir Merwyn had tears running down his wrinkled cheeks as he swore, Sir Raoul grinned the whole time, Sir Egide and Sir Dillan shook with eagerness; but they all spoke their allegiance proudly, so their words were heard in every corner of the giant room.Next, Saura’s men knelt before her.One by one they placed their palms together in her hands and swore before God they would hold her lands for her.Their words, too, were clear and loud, but they didn’t rise when they finished.As the eldest knight, Sir Francis of Wace spoke for them.Seriously, for the matter required much thought and concern, he said, “We give our allegiance to Lady Saura of Roget with pleasure.Still, we have a query we must know the answer to, for our protection and the protection of Lady Saura’s lands.Lord William was blind for an extended time.Will this blindness return?”Saura’s chest filled with a kind of hurt rancor.“Is blindness so important?”William’s hand touched hers.“In a warrior, it is.They must know whether or not I can rescue them in case of siege.”“Aye, my lady, we mean no disrespect, but if Lord William is having lapses in sight or mind we must know,” Sir Denton explained.“I understand,” William reassured them.“I’d think less of you if you feared to ask.But I assure you, my noble knights, I’ve had no problems since Lady Saura rescued me with her healing touch.I’ll prove it to you when we go to subdue Sir Frazer in rebellion.”Sir Francis rose and the others followed, murmuring their approval.“Then we’ll be proud to follow you, my lord.Do we go soon?”Saura ground her teeth at the pleasure in their voices, and even more as William readily agreed.“Very soon.We’d be fools to let him settle in for siege.”The men stepped back and William nudged Saura.“Isn’t it time for supper?”“Oh,” She jumped, her thoughts far away.“Of course, my lord.” A coolness frosted her features as she turned away and ordered the tables put up.William let her go, and had she but known it, he understood her concern.Hadn’t his Anne been the same way about fighting? For some inexplicable reason, women worried about a little bit of weapon wielding stealing their husbands.You’d think they’d worry about all the whores of the world instead.He didn’t understand it, but he no longer tried to explain their foolishness.Instead he braced himself for another assault on his ears.Nicholas, he could see, was consulting a parchment scribbled with notes.’Twas his wedding day, and he deserved a respite from this unrelenting rhyming.He tried to be fair to Nicholas.The man had undoubtedly fallen in love for the first time in his life.He understood, for how could any man not love Saura? But when he heard Nicholas declaring his devotion to Saura, to his wife, to his woman, he wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp.He had trouble remembering friendship and generosity when faced with a poacher on his grounds.In fact, Nicholas’s worship created enough gossip that he considered speaking to the man [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]