Page 12 of Sutherland's Secret
Eleanor nodded.
“It belonged to the previous Countess of Dornach.”
Previous? Eleanor’s curiosity was piqued. The previous Countess of Dornach, as in Brice’s mother? Or Brice’s wife?
Cecilia looked at her out of the corner of her eye. “His lordship’s wife,” she said. “She passed. In case ye were wondering.”
Eleanor bit back a smile, warming to Cecilia already despite her firm lecture to herself not to trust anyone at Castle Dornach. She rose so Cecilia could help her don the gown.
“The men are in the great hall breaking their fast,” Cecilia said after dressing Eleanor and before closing the door behind her.
Eleanor stood in the middle of the room, fingering the fine fabric of the dark blue gown and looking at the closed door. Was that an invitation to join the men in breaking fast? Or would Cecilia bring up her food?
Her stomach growled loudly in the quiet room. Eleanor snatched her dagger off the small table and tucked it into the belt at her waist. Cautiously she approached the door and put her hand on the knob. She turned it with her breath held, fully expecting it to be locked, as all the doors had been in the past five months. To her surprise, the knob turned and the door opened.
She peeked into the deserted hall. Sconces lit the darkened pathway at different intervals, guiding her toward the steps she remembered climbing the day before. Slowly she descended, following the quiet roar of many men breaking their fasts.
Her foot left the last step, and she hurriedly stepped to the side to press her back against the wall and into the shadows.
There were dozens of warriors sitting at the tables and talking among themselves while they ate. They were all wearing kilts of blue and green, although the designs differed; they all had their weapons strapped to them. Always at the ready.
She picked out Sutherland right away. He sat among his men, talking to them as he shoveled food in his mouth. Her stomach growled again and she pressed a hand to it, silently bidding it to remain quiet. Although who could hear it over the voices of several dozen men, she didn’t know.
Servants scurried about between tables, carrying trays of food and drink. Suddenly nervous, Eleanor shrank farther into the shadows. The men now seemed sinister, frightening, with their myriad weapons that could so easily cut her down. She fingered the dagger at her waist. So ineffectual against a broadsword or a pistol. Sutherland would have known that when he handed it to her.
She slid along the wall and scurried back up the steps and into the safety of her chamber, where she threw the bar over the door and sank to the floor in front of it, trembling.
Chapter 6
The moment Eleanor entered the great hall, Brice was aware of her presence. He stayed where he was and didn’t go to her, curious to see what she would do. Of course, the rumor of the presence of a strange woman in the castle had spread quickly, but not many saw her hiding in the shadows.
Brice watched her cautiously. He’d held her in his arms all night long, waking only as the sun was beginning to rise. He’d left her bed quietly, assured that she was fast asleep, and gone to the lists to train away his aggression and frustration. He didn’t know what it was about her that caused these strange reactions. He wanted to protect her, but he didn’t allow himself to fully trust her. He still didn’t know if she was English, but he strongly suspected she was, and he always went with his hunches. It was the duality of his thoughts that frustrated him the most.
He noticed the telltale signs of her fear. It had taken courage to enter the great hall among her enemies—if indeed she was English—and he was inordinately proud of that courage. But then she ran back up the steps, tripping on the third one and catching herself.
Hunger had driven her down here, and fear had driven her away.
He rose from the bench and motioned to his men to keep eating. He grabbed a tray from a passing servant and jogged up the steps. He tried to open the door but found it barred.
Irrational anger consumed him. No one barred a door to him in his own home. His wife had done that to him too many times to count, and he’d been furious each time.
He pounded on the door with a fist. “Open the door,” he bellowed. He heard nothing on the other side and his anger grew. “I said, open the door!” Nothing. “Ye don’t want me to force my way in. It will no’ be pretty, I assure ye.”
There was movement on the other side and the sound of the bar being raised. The door slowly opened, but she was not standing there. She had scurried to the other side of the room, on the other side of the bed, where he had found her the night before, hidden in the shadows of the room.
“What is it with ye and the shadows?” he muttered, setting the tray of food on the table by the fire.
She looked at him warily, her dagger clutched in her hand but not pointed at him.
“Ye can put yer weapon away. I’ll no’ hurt ye. Haven’t I promised ye that before?” He knew his voice sounded irritated, but he was irritated, damn it. He waved to the tray. “I brought ye food. I figured ye came to the great hall to eat, and ye left without eating.” Her wary gaze slid from him to the food and back to him. He sighed. “Eat. If ye like, I’ll stand on the other side of the room, far from ye.”
She crept from the shadows toward the table of food and looked down on it. Slowly she drew a chair closer and sat. She picked up the eating utensils and delicately cut a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed. It was a far sight different than the first time he’d seen her eat. She wasn’t shoving food in her mouth; rather, she was eating with all of the manners of one wellborn. Interesting. It matched with the fine fabric of the gown he’d found her in.
She watched as he took the seat opposite her and settled into it. He motioned for her to continue eating. She took another piece of meat and put it in her mouth. He waited while she ate until she pushed the plate away, sat back, and contemplated him.
“We need to talk,” he began.
She put a hand to her throat, alarm crowding her eyes. The gown she wore perfectly matched her deep blue eyes. It was a bit too big and a little too long, but it hugged her curves and accentuated…well, her attributes.
