Page 11 of Hers To Command
After the priest left the dais, Henry decided he might as well retire. “I should sleep, too, my lady.”Or try to.“It’s been a long and rather unusual day.”
A rush light in her hand, that pretty maidservant appeared at once, as if she’d been waiting for just this moment. “I’ll light his way, my lady.”
Lady Mathilde reached for the rush light. “You should help in the kitchen, Faiga.Ishall show Sir Henry to his chamber. If you will follow me, Sir Henry.”
She briskly set off for the curved staircase, leaving Henry to trail after her as the priest had. While Henry obediently complied, he was more amused than annoyed by her proprietary attitude. Perhaps she thought Faiga required protection from the handsome young guest, although he doubted Faiga would agree. Or maybe she thought Faiga had been too forward.
Whatever Lady Mathilde thought about the servant or her behavior, Faiga slid from Henry’s mind as they went up the steps. Instead, he found himself hard pressed not to stare at Lady Mathilde’s rather attractive backside, her slim hips and rounded buttocks swaying with every step. He smiled as he thought of her happiness when she introduced him to the priest, and the way she accepted the clergyman’s preference to live among those most in need.
When they reached the second floor, Lady Mathilde stopped at the first door. “This will be your chamber while you are here. It was my father’s, so it is the largest. I hope it’s to your liking.”
Her tone made it clear she was sure he would.
“Considering some of the places I’ve had to lay my head,” he honestly replied, “I’m sure it will be.”
She made no answer as she opened the door and preceded him inside. The flickering light of the rush illuminated the large chamber, although the corners were still in shadow. A bed dominated the room, its curtains dark and thick, probably made of heavy velvet. A table with a silver ewer and basin and clean linen stood beside the door, and a chair and trestle table were near the window, where the sunlight would fall upon the surface during the day. He could smell the scent of lavender, either from the bedding or the lump of soap by the basin. Wherever it came from, it was welcome, reminding him of more pleasant times before he had been accused of treason and betrayal.
Outside, rain lashed against the walls and the wind moaned about the battlements. He didn’t envy the men on watch tonight, provided thereweremen on watch. Given what he’d already observed, he wouldn’t be surprised to discover that they deserted their posts in bad weather.
Lady Mathilde lit the thick yellow beeswax candle in the holder there. Another larger stand with several thinner candles stood in the corner.
For a moment, he thought her hands trembled, but she tucked them in the cuffs of her simple gown before he could be sure.
Why should her hands shake? Surely she wasn’t afraid of him.
“Your baggage,” she said, nodding at a familiar bundle in the corner near the bed.
“Thank you,” he replied with a reassuring smile. “This room is most comfortable.”
He thought she might go then, but she didn’t move.
Why not? What was she waiting for, especially if she was uncomfortable in his presence? And surely it was unseemly for her to linger here, alone with him.
Unless what she was feeling was not fear, but something else that could make a woman quiver. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one having lustful thoughts. “Is there something more you wish of me, my lady?” he asked, keeping his tone carefully neutral in case he was wrong.
Her gaze met his, steady and determined. “I should warn you, Sir Henry, that if you think to seduce my sister, you should think again.”
He was so shocked, he actually took a step back. Seduction was not his aim, butperhapsmarriage, if he and the lady suited, yet Lady Mathilde made him sound like some kind of disgusting scoundrel. “My lady, I play the game of seduction only with those willing to be seduced,” he replied. “If a woman isn’t interested, I don’t pursue her, no matter how beautiful she may be.”
“I am not blind, Sir Henry,” Lady Mathilde replied, crossing her arms over her breasts. “I watched you trying to charm her. And I do not say mere seduction is your plan. After all, Giselle is an heiress, and the man who marries her will be rich.”
His pride urged him to refute that mercenary motive, but since he honestly couldn’t, he didn’t. “Do you forbid me to speak to her?”
Lady Mathilde gave him a pitying look, as if she thought him stupid but was too polite to say so. “Not at all. You have offered to help us against Roald, and you are our guest.”
“Yet you accuse me of plotting to seduce your younger sister.”
“Not plotting, precisely. Hoping to marry her for her dowry, perhaps, and so I seek to save you a useless effort. Giselle may be beautiful, but she is not a fool. I assure you, she will not succumb to any honeyed words or meaningless promises. And Giselle is not the younger sister.Iam.”
Given Lady Mathilde’s command of the household, he had assumed she must be the eldest. She certainly behaved as if she were.
Recovering as quickly as he could, he said, “If I were to make an offer for your sister, it would be because I love her. I have promised myself I will be in love with my bride when I wed.”
Lady Mathilde’s expression betrayed her skepticism.
“Believe it or not as you will,” he said with a shrug, “but I would have a marriage such as that of my brother and my sister, who care deeply for their spouses. They are very happy together. Why should I settle for less?”
Lady Mathilde’s shrewd eyes narrowed as she studied him. “You seem to be a most unusual nobleman.”
