Page 166 of Historical Hotties
“I will not let you hang yourself.”
Creed cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. His attention turned back to his cup, toying with it as his mind moved over the myriad of thoughts on his mind. Ryton watched him.
“We have one final worry, you know,” he said softly.
Creed looked at him. “What is that?”
“Jory,” Ryton replied with some disgust in his tone. “He could cause problems. If he catches wind of a romance, he will pounce and you know it.”
Creed lifted an eyebrow, tensing. “If he as much as looks in Cari’s direction, I will kill him. I could not be in any more trouble than I am now.”
Ryton just looked at him; then, he gave him a crooked smile. “Cari, is it?”
Creed met his gaze a moment longer before his façade cracked. He grinned sheepishly, looking back to his cup.
“Aye,” he whispered. “Cari.”
Further conversation was precluded by voices in the entry. Both men turned to see Stanton enter the keep followed by Burle with Carington on his arm. Ryton could not help it; he looked at his brother when the lady entered the hall and the expression that he witnessed did not surprise him. If there had been any momentary doubt in Creed’s statement, it was all dashed at that moment. The man was gazing at her as if the sun, the moon and the stars had just walked into the room.
He was a man in love.
CHAPTER NINE
The surcoat wasa lovely shade of gold with a hint of green in it that picked up the color of her eyes. Carington had changed in to the garment in the town so that the seamstress could alter it on her body. A few stitches here and there and it fit like a glove. A link belt of copper with gold leaf hung about her slender hips and the seamstress had taken her lovely hair and caught it up in a golden net at the nape of her neck. She looked elegant and delightful; absolutely stunning.
Carington headed back to Prudhoe with more new clothes and accessories than she had ever owned at any one time in her life. The seamstress included web-fine veils, hair combs, fragranced oils and a cake of hard white soap all the way from Castille. It smelled of flowers after a rain. Carington was delighted with her booty and very eager to show it to Creed.
Burle and Stanton had proven to be pleasant companions on the ride back to Prudhoe. It was only the second time she had been alone with them and this time the situation had been far more pleasant. Burle had quite a sense of humor whereas all Stanton wanted to speak of was his son. He did, in fact, purchase a toy dog for the boy on their way out of town, but no convincing in the world could coerce Burle into purchasing finery for his daughters. According to him, they had already put him into the poorhouse. He was just waiting for the time when husbands would take them off his hands. Then he tried to talk Stanton into a betrothal contract between his young son and Burle’s youngest daughter who, at twelve years of age, was seven years older thanStanton’s son. Stanton did not believe the marriage to be a good idea.
It was a pleasant trip home, far more pleasant than the trip from Scotland. Carington actually enjoyed herself. But the moment they entered the great outer bailey of Prudhoe, she saw the wagons bearing the seal of the church and was curious. Great yellow crosses decorated the banners. But that curiosity turned to confusion when she saw the expressions on Burle and Stanton’s faces. They were apparently not pleased that someone from the church was in residence but she had no idea why. She was, in truth, only thinking of finding Creed and showing him her new gown.
She found him in the great hall with his brother. She pranced into the room, spinning around a few times so both Ryton and Creed could get a good look at her new clothes. With the first spin, the material clung indecently to her divine figure and all they could see was a body that was more feminine, more curvaceous, than anything either one of them had seen. Ryton lowered his gaze uncomfortably, eyeing his brother as he did so and noting that the man was riveted to her. He did not blame him, though; she was spectacular.
“What do ye think?” Carington stopped spinning long enough to propose the question to Creed. “Rita made this for a lady who never paid her for the work. It fits me perfectly. What do ye think?”
Creed tore his eyes off her figure and fixed her in the eye. He realized that he was well on his way to being drunk from all of the wine he had imbibed. Too much drink usually made him emotional and it was a struggle not to give himself away.
“Who is Rita?” he asked.
She cocked her head, looking positively adorable with the gold netting on her hair. “The seamstress; the woman who put her hands all over me.”
She was waving her hands around for illustration and he nodded in understanding before the sentence was even out of her mouth.
“Of course,” he said quickly. “She is correct; it fits you perfectly. You are a goddess divine.”
Carington grinned happily; she had a beautiful smile, something that Ryton was only now noticing. He’d never really paid any attention before but was now seeing the lady through entirely different eyes. He’d only seen her fighting or weeping one way or the other. It was rare when she was calm, even rarer when she smiled. Looking at her at this moment, with her lovely face alight with a smile, he could hardly remember her any other way. And she had his brother positively captivated.
“She gave me three more gowns,” Carington went on. “A yellow one, a pink one and a blue one with birds on it. And she gave me soap and oils, too.”
Creed was smiling faintly at her. “I am pleased that you are happy.”
Carington threw out her arms and twirled around again. “I canna wait to take a bath with my new soap.” She suddenly came to a halt. “My da would never buy things that we could just as easily make. I have always had to make my own soap. But Rita gave me soap that has come all the way from Spain.”
She made it sound as if the soap had come from the moon. Creed had never seen her so joyful; it made his heart light to watch her, far from the depression of the last several minutes. He was content to forget everything for a few minutes as he watched her dance around.
“We shall buy you soap from all over the world if it pleases you,” he said softly.
Carington giggled and plopped next to him on the bench, taking the wine pitcher and realizing it was empty. Burle sat on her other side as Stanton sent a servant for more wine.Carington set the wine pitcher aside and looked around the table.
