Page 58 of Wolf's Keep

“I am curious, Mademoiselle Erin,” said the woman again, the clear ringleader of her little posse. “Howdidyou snare a man like Seigneur Gaharet d’Louncrais? Do tell.”

“Manette.” Dame Adeline’s glare cut across the room, resting on the woman. “Manners.”

“Ma Dame Adeline. With all due respect, we are all dying to know. The most eligible man in this county, Seigneur Gaharet could have his pick of wealthy, titled women. He has shown no interest in any of several desirable matches available in this court.” She indicated herself and the other women in the room. “Now he brings to Langeais Keep his betrothed. A woman none of us have ever heard of.”

“Manette,” whispered Kathryn, leaning close. “Married to Monsieur Robert, a man twice her age. Terrible bore, grossly overweight, but very wealthy and influential. A fantastic match considering Manette’s family had a title, but no money. Not as good a prospect as Seigneur Gaharet—wealthy, titledandhandsome.” Kathryn smirked. “Rumor has it she fixed her sights on Seigneur Gaharet, but he showed no inclination toward her. She would kill to change places with you.”

Erin snapped her gaze to Kathryn.She means kill figuratively, right?Erin clenched her fingers around the cloth in her lap. She raised her chin, focusing her attention on Manette.

“It is a matter of an obligation,” she said by way of explanation, echoing the words Gaharet had spoken to Comte Lothair.

All eyes focused on her—needlework forgotten.

“From a long time ago when the d’Louncrais family circumstances were different.”

“How very fortunate to have the d’Louncrais family indebted to you. Would that we all could have a man like Seigneur Gaharet as our betrothed.”

Erin shifted her attention to the woman on Manette’s right.

“Odila,” whispered Kathryn. “Married to Monsieur Jean-Luc—young enough, not unattractive, but mean, with a foul temper and little patience. I have heard he punishes her for the smallest infringement.”

“A man as wealthy as Seigneur Gaharet could easily dissolve a debt with coin. I wonder why he did not?” This from the woman on Manette’s left.

“Ladies, enough.” Dame Adeline’s authoritarian stare moved around the circle of women, lingering on Manette and her cronies. With flushed faces, all eyes snapped back to embroidery. Except for Manette. She tapped her chin, smiling. She’d made her point.

Erin bristled, repressing the urge to cross the room and slap the woman.

“I am very fortunate. Seigneur Gaharet is a very honorable man. He could’ve turned me away when I arrived at his keep with no family to speak of. He could’ve chosen not to marry me, and I would’ve been content with sanctuary in his home.” She gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulder. “Gaharet made the decision, not I.”

Manette’s eyes widened, and another woman stifled a gasp. Erin pursed her lips to prevent smiling. They’d caught her deliberate dropping of Gaharet’s title. Wouldn’t it shock them to hear the things Gaharet had said to her in the corridor?

“Welcome to Langeais Keep, Erin,” said Dame Adeline. “Come now, ladies. Less gossip, more embroidery.”

The women returned to their needles and thread, and Erin let her shoulders relax, turning to Kathryn. “What about you? Were you able to make a good match?”

Kathryn’s hands paused mid-stitch. “Not yet. I am fortunate that my father is consulting me on the choice of my husband. He found happiness with my mother, and I think he would very much like for me to find that, too, but…”

Strange shapes shifted behind Kathryn’s eyes, swirls of darkness flitting in their depths. Erin’s eyes widened, and she peered closer. She shook her head. Looked again. Nothing. Only pretty hazel eyes. A trick of the light.

“But?” Erin prompted.

“It is difficult finding a suitable match.” Kathryn pressed her lips together in a thin line. “And people are beginning to talk. Most women are married and have children at my age.” Leaning over, Kathryn demonstrated how to insert the needle to create a leaf pattern. “Perhaps you can help me?”

“Me?” Erin focused on making a leaf pattern of her own, stabbing the needle through the cloth, grimacing as she pricked her finger on the other side. “How can I be of any help?”

She completed a few more stitches, eyeing her woeful attempt at a leaf. As long as she didn’t have to exhibit her work at the end, it didn’t matter what they looked like, only that she participated.

“Seigneur Gaharet is not the only good marriage prospect. His vassal, Monsieur Aimon…” Kathryn caught her bottom lip between her teeth, her cheeks flushing pink. “All of his vassals are suitable marriage prospects, but the likelihood of me ever being considered as a potential wife for them is negligible. Unfortunately, being accomplished at embroidery is not the only thing I lack.”

She leaned over, showing Erin how to make a violet. “Despite Seigneur Gaharet being family, I do not move in the same society as the d’Louncrais.”

Kathryn and Gaharet are related?Erin stared at her blob of purple stitches masquerading as a violet. “I thought Gaharet was the last of his line?”

“Oh, he is. We are only related by marriage. He is my cousin. His immediate family are all gone. His mother, my aunt, was killed—attacked in the woods. Gruesome thing. Her death shocked us all.”

There, again, those dark swirls dancing within the depths of Kathryn’s irises. And why, as Gaharet’s cousin, did she not move in the same social circles as him? Some scandal, perhaps?

“His father died in battle not long after. Some say he lost his will to live after his wife died. And then his brother died soon after, also in battle.”

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