“And this,” he said softly, “is for you. I did not want you to be jealous that I gave your daughter a gift and I did not bring one for you.”
Diamantha looked at him, their eyes meeting, and feeling that familiar jolt of excitement. She took the kitten, the sweet little thing, and cuddled it against her breast. “I would not have been jealous,” she said softly, averting her gaze. “But I thank you for the gifts, for both of us.”
Cortez looked at her, then, because she was looking away, down at the kitten in her hands. Over near the hearth, Sophie sat down and put the kitten on the ground between her legs, teasing it with a piece of straw from the broom. As the little girl giggled and played, Cortez focused on Diamantha.
It had been difficult to ride for an entire day away from her, ignoring her for the most part, at least outwardly. But inside, his attention, his focus, was on her as it had never been on anyone in his life. The woman filled his thoughts and mind like nothing he had ever known, and he felt so very badly that things had not gone well between them. He knew he was to blame, at least for most of it, but he was at a loss as to how to handle it. He’d never known animosity like this before with a woman he was fond of. Or, at least, powerfully attracted to. Aye, he was fond of her, too. He’d caught glimpse of much to be fond of.
“Have you been made comfortable?” he asked softly. “Have you eaten?”
Diamantha nodded. “James and Merlin have been very attentive and we have been well taken care of,” she replied. “But we’ve not yet eaten. There is food on the table. We simply haven’t gotten to it yet and I do not know if we ever will. We have been interrupted by the kittens.”
Cortez grinned at her unexpected touch of humor. It gave him hope that perhaps things were not as bad as he thought, that sense of dread in the pit of his stomach that made him wonder if he’d ruined two lives in the course of his impatience. In fact, he sighed heavily, unwilling to continue with the polite but tense conversation. He was a man of many words. If something was wrong, he righted it. He wanted to right this in the worst way.
“My lady, I must say something,” he said quietly. “I realize that the past three days have been quite difficult between us but when the difficulty eased, I saw moments of such brilliance. It was as if the sun had emerged from the clouds, so bright and hopeful this vision. I will take responsibility for much of the animosity between us because I know you believe I have pushed my way into everything. I have been demanding and impatient. But it is only because I believe that what I am doing is right. Robert asked me to take care of you and it took me three months to do it. I did not want to delay any longer.”
Diamantha’s head shot up and she looked at him with big eyes. She opened her mouth to dispute him but thought better of it because she remembered James’ words, he is a good man. Perhaps he was, but she was still uncertain, about everything. She grunted softly and looked away.
“I would like to believe that,” she said quietly. “But I would also believe that there was some selfishness in your actions. You said yourself that you have been widowed these three years. Were you not just the least bit eager to be widowed no longer?”
He knew she was right. He nodded his head after a moment. “Aye,” he said honestly. “You are correct. I wanted a family and I did not want to wait any longer. I am sorry if that caused you to resent me.”
She glanced at him. “I do not resent you,” she said. “In fact, I suppose I should apologize for my demands which you consider unreasonable. I know you believe so, but they are not unreasonable to me.”
Cortez was caught off-guard by the apology. It softened him greatly. All of the resentment he had been feeling since they had departed Corfe seemed to slip away. He didn’t want to stay angry with her; he didn’t want to be bitter. He had a new wife and in spite of everything, he was genuinely thrilled. He just wished she felt the same way. With a sigh, he raked his fingers through his dark hair.
“I know it is because you do not want to be separated from your daughter,” he said softly. “I understand. I am sure there aren’t many young ladies who have traveled the length of England. Sophie will have something to tell her grandchildren about, if she even remembers the journey.”
Diamantha was starting to feel very badly for manipulating the man so. He was being rather acquiescent about the entire circumstance, as if they’d never had bitter words. As she looked at him, she knew that it was time to clear the air between them. She didn’t like unspoken forgiveness, or allowing time to dissolve harsh words spoken in haste. She sighed heavily and looked at him.
“I thank you for understanding my position,” she said, “but there is something more I must say to you. Please understand that I hold nothing against you personally for this marriage. I know you were doing what you told Robert you would do. I suppose my hus… that is, I suppose Robert was really only thinking of me in the end. He wanted to make sure I was taken care of and I will honor his wish. I want you to know that I will try very hard to accept this situation but I am sure there will be times when I falter. You must forgive me for those lapses. My world has changed so drastically over the past few months that I am still overwhelmed by it all.”
He was gazing at her, into those miraculous dual-toned eyes that were so haunting yet so lovely. “I understand,” he said. “And you will forgive me for charging in and creating the chaos of a rutting bull. When one has lived alone as I have for the last three years, one thinks very selfishly.”
Diamantha smiled faintly, stroking her purring kitten. “I have no such excuse for being selfish other than Robert always let me have my way in everything,” she said, shrugging with resignation. “It is what I am used to.”
Cortez grinned. “I will also try to let you have your way in everything, too,” he said. “But there will be times, very few I am sure, when I would like to have my own way. Will you allow this?”
She cast him a long glance, her grin broadening in a rather coy gesture. “It would depend on what it is.”
He laughed softly. “I will plead to your good graces, madam,” he said. “Actually, this is one of those times when I would like to have my own way.”
She looked at him, a smile still playing on her lips. “What would that be?”
His expression sobered as the black eyes grew intense. “I would like for you to call me Cortez,” he said softly. “And mayhap when you are comfortable enough, you will call me ‘husband’. I can think of no greater honor.”
It was a sweet request and one she could hardly refuse. Graciously, she nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “The honor would be mine. You may call me Diamantha if you wish. I will not protest.”
His smile was back. “I would like to, very much,” he said, thrilled the conversation was growing pleasant. He was very curious about her and took the opportunity to find out more about the woman he had married. Pleasant times like this had been very rare. “It is an unusual name. How did your parents come by it?”
Diamantha shrugged. “My sisters all have unusual names,” she said. “I have two older sisters, Leticia and Avocet. My mother’s name is Evanthe. They are all old family names. I am named for a grandmother, generations back, whose name was Diamanda. My father changed it to Diamantha just because he liked it.”
“I like it, too,” Cortez concurred. “Do you have brothers?”
She nodded. “Three older brothers,” she replied. “Tobias, Cace, and Corbin. They are all great knights.”
“And you are the youngest of the family?”
“Aye,” she replied, eyeing him with some curiosity. The conversation was flowing well and just as he had asked about her, she would ask about him. “And you? What of your family? Helene told me once that your mother was Spanish.”
Cortez nodded. “Indeed she was,” he said. “She married my father, Gorsedd, who is from a very old Welsh family. I have a younger brother, Andres. There are just the two of us, as my mother died when Andres was about two years of age. My father never remarried.”
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br /> Diamantha looked at the man with some sympathy. “I am sorry to hear that,” she said. “What was her name?”
His grin broadened. “Allegria de Montoya y la Rosa,” he said in a very fluid Spanish accent. “Her family is very old and very wealthy. I have spent time with my grandfather, her father, in Spain. I fostered for some years in Spain before returning to England. Many years ago, King Edward thought it would be an excellent exchange to send me to foster in the house of my grandfather while my grandfather sent a few of his Spanish grandsons to foster in England. My father, Gorsedd, was a retainer for Edward when he was young. It was Edward who helped broker the marriage between my parents.”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “The king brokered a marriage for a mere knight? That is strange, is it not?”
Cortez shook his head. “My father is related to the ap Gruffydd family,” he said quietly. “We descend from the Princes of Powys, so Edward sought to make an alliance somewhat with the Spanish house of Rosa, hereditary rulers of the ancient Spanish kingdom of Zaragosa. It’s all very complicated, but suffice it to say that it was a political match, although my father did love my mother a great deal. He was devastated to lose her.”
Diamantha was quite fascinated by his family lineage. “How sorrowful,” she said. “Where is your father now?”
“In Shropshire along the Marches,” he replied. “He inherited a castle from the de Bretagne side of the family, Coven Castle, and he has lived there for quite some time. Edward keeps men stationed there and my father keeps peace on that section of the border.”
She cocked her head. “But your father is Welsh.”
Cortez lifted his eyebrows thoughtfully. “He is Welsh on his mother’s side and English on his father’s,” he said. “He is mostly English. The only thing Welsh about him is the name. Edward made sure of that; he has conditioned my father well.”
Diamantha digested the information. “I would say that you have a very complex family history,” she said. “Mine is not so complex. I come from a long line of English, back to the time of the Conqueror. In fact, I just discovered that I am related by blood to your knight, James de Lohr. Our grandparents were siblings, children of the great Christopher de Lohr.”
Cortez bobbed his head with interest. “Is that so?” he said. “He has served me for a couple of years. He lives here with his wife and three small boys.”
Diamantha smiled. “I should like to meet them,” she said. “Mayhap they can be playmates for Sophie.”
Cortez looked over at the little girl playing happily with the kitten. “It is possible,” he said, then turned his attention to Diamantha. “But I plan to leave tomorrow morning for the north. If you want Sophie to come, she will not be here long enough to need playmates. In fact, the first thing I did when we reached Sherborne was hand-pick an escort to accompany us to Falkirk. I cannot make this trip with a big army and it is too dangerous for just the three of us to go, as my wife and daughter must have protection. Therefore, the escort is currently preparing and before dawn tomorrow, we depart. I would suggest that you and your daughter eat and rest as much as possible tonight because it is going to be a very long and very exhausting journey.”
He said it in a way that was rather serious, hoping she might actually back down from wanting to accompany him. He was hoping against hope that, after a day’s long and rainy ride, she might reconsider her desire to ride all the way to Falkirk with her young daughter in tow. The reality of being on the road with a small child was much different than merely talking about it. Practicality might win out. Or, at least he hoped it would.
Unfortunately for him, Diamantha didn’t back down. She didn’t even hint at backing down. Instead, she nodded obediently. “We will get as much rest as we can tonight,” she said. “How many men will be coming with us?”
His lips twisted wryly when he realized she wasn’t going to reconsider her position. Thwarted for the moment, he scratched his head pensively.
“We do not want to be so big that we attract attention,” he said, “but if we encounter trouble, I want to be sure we can defend ourselves. I have selected twenty-five men to accompany us, including a wagon with which to carry Robert’s remains, and four knights including my brother. That should be sufficient. But I may have to arm you as well because the open road can be a deadly place. Dangers abound everywhere. There’s no telling when a crazed assassin might come flying out at you. Can you use a dagger?”
It was a question he once again hoped would deter her. He was trying to make it all sound so terrible. Instead, she nodded bravely. “I can,” she said. “My father taught me.”
He sat back and rolled his eyes, defeated. So much for her changing her mind. After a moment, he nodded in resignation.
“Good,” he muttered. “I will give you a dagger, then. But God help the man who truly tangles with you.”
Diamantha wasn’t quite sure what had him so discouraged, but she thought it was perhaps because it was costing him a great deal of money to make this trek north. It was the only reason she could think of. The quest was turning into a rather large production that would undoubtedly be expensive. All of those men would need to be fed and housed, and their horses fed and housed. Aye, it was coming to be expensive. But no matter; she had some wealth of her own. She would make it up to Cortez somehow. This trip was her idea, after all. She needed to take some financial responsibility for it. She needed to show Cortez that she wasn’t a complete and utter burden, making demands and expecting him to make all of the sacrifices.
“Then Sophie and I should eat and retire,” she said softly. “If you would show us where we are to sleep, I would be grateful.”
Sleep. Cortez looked at her with only one thought on his mind; it is our wedding night, lady. Marrying her was one thing, and that had been difficult enough, but consummating the marriage… he knew she wasn’t ready for that. If he were to try, the consequences could be disastrous. He could take her body, but her mind was something completely different. He didn’t want their first intimate encounter to be wretched and painful for them both. He wanted it to be the most beautiful thing they’d ever experienced.
God, he was so impatient. He didn’t like waiting for anything, and especially not something that rightfully belonged to him. So much of this situation was unpalatable to him and had been from the start. Had he known then what he knew now, he might not have agreed to Robert Edlington’s deathbed plea. He might have told the man to take a flying leap.
But no, he thought to himself. Looking at Diamantha as she turned her kitten over to her daughter, and then watching Sophie’s utter joy, he knew his answer would have still been the same. Once the turbulence settled and once they came to know one another, and became comfortable with one another, the situation would improve. At least, that’s what he hoped for. He had to keep telling himself that, ’else the temptation would have been great for him to march back to St. Edward’s Church and demand an annulment. He had to have faith that this would all work out in the end.
But he was positive the wait was going to kill him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was raining when twenty five men-at-arms, five knights, and two ladies departed a water-logged Sherborne Castle in the early pre-dawn hours. After a night that saw her getting very little sleep, Diamantha was introduced to the knights who would be escorting her north; Sir Andres de Bretagne, Sir James de Lohr, Sir Drake de Winter, and Sir Oliver St. John.
De Winter was a big man with big hands, very handsome, while St. John was tall and sinewy and blond. Andres looked a good deal like his brother except he was taller and thinner, and he seemed to have a perpetual smile on his face. He had winked at her a couple of times, too. He thought he was being quite flirtatious but she thought he was being a fool and already she wasn’t sure if she liked him. She wondered if Cortez had even noticed.
She politely acknowledged these men clad in full armor, with rain dripping off their faces, looking as if they were heading into battle. They were wel
l armed and well supplied with their massive war horses, animals that were muzzled in the bailey because they were so ferocious. Diamantha would learn later that each man personally owned several horses, from palfreys to the more durable coursers or rounceys, but they had, in fact, chosen to take the expensive destriers on the trip north. Being a long and perhaps dangerous journey, they wanted the stability and viciousness of the destriers. Diamantha thought it felt a bit like a battle march.
After Diamantha and Sophie had retired the night before in Cortez’s rather large and comfortable chamber, Cortez had spent most of the night making sure all of the details were settled for their journey on the morrow. Men were prepared, horses were readied, and he had taken a section of one of the provisions wagons and turned it into a comfortable little nest for Sophie. He figured the girl wouldn’t want to ride all of the time, so he and James had fashioned a padded pallet. He had even put some pillows around the sides, pillows that James’ wife had given them.
Suspecting that Sophie might also want to take her kittens along, Cortez confiscated one of the wooden cages in the kitchen yard used for the chicks and put straw at the bottom of it, putting it next to Sophie’s pallet. He made sure to put a small wooden bowl in it for water, and part of an old horse blanket for warmth. When he was finished primping the entire section of the wagon for the child, he had his quartermaster sling oiled cloth over the back of the wagon for protection, making a cozy little hovel. When all was said and done, he was rather proud of it. It was a nice little place for his new daughter.
It was into this warm haven that Cortez deposited Sophie, who was thrilled with her comfortable little space. Bundled up against the weather, she had her two kittens underneath her cloak and happily put them into their little cage. She was also still rather sleepy so after her mother bundled her up in a heavy blanket beneath the oiled tarp, Sophie lay down on her pillows and promptly fell asleep. In the pre-dawn hours, she wasn’t ready yet to face the world.
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