“Do ye think so?”
“I have learned a great deal,” he said. “I learned to speak another language. I learned how men in different cities consider different things a priority or a pleasure.”
“Like what?”
He cocked his head thoughtfully. “In Genoa, money is king,” he said. “Men give it the greatest priority over anything else. And in Saxony, it is the land. Men crave land over all else.”
She was listening intently. “I’ve never been away from my home,” she admitted. “What a wondrous thing it would be to see great buildings and great things. I have always dreamed of it.”
“They why do ye not leave this place?”
She shrugged. “How?” she said. “I have three older sisters. They must be married before I can accept a suitor, and considering ye’ve seen those three, what do ye think their chances will be of marrying anytime soon?”
He grunted. “Ye have a point,” he said, but his gaze remained fixed to her. “Tell me something, Emmie… if ye could leave today, where would ye go?”
She smiled faintly, perhaps a bit bashfully. “Go?” She lifted her shoulders. “Somewhere. Anywhere. To tell ye the truth, I have always wanted to go to a place in Carlisle called the Magna Domum. I heard a man speak of it once. He stayed with us for the night and told stories of the ancients who built the wall to the north. He said they were a great warring tribe and built many great monuments, and there is a house in Carlisle called the Magna Domum where a man can sleep and eat and be tended to his every need.”
He grinned at her sense of wonder. “Ye speak of the Romans,” he said. “I saw their work when I was in Rome.”
Her eyes lit up. “Ye know of them?” she said, more excited than he’d seen her since he’d met her. “Have ye seen their great monuments?”
“I have seen several.”
“Are they grand?”
“As grand as ye can imagine.”
Emerald had the glow of excitement still in her expression as she thought on the things he had seen. “When my sisters and I were younger, my mother took us to St. Michael’s so the priests could teach us the words from the bible,” she said. “My sisters never had much interest in learning to read or write, but I did. I learned a little, just to write my name, when my mother stopped taking us to the church after my father died. She said there was no God if he let Da die.”
River leaned over, lying on his side and propped up by one arm as the fire snapped and popped. “Do ye believe that?”
“Nay,” she said softly, looking around their forest haven. “I believe that God is everywhere. There must be a God if this world is so beautiful. Don’t ye think?”
River nodded faintly. “I do.”
She smiled, perhaps a bit embarrassed. “I suppose that’s a silly question,” she said. “I didn’t mean to sound sacrilegious, but I believe strongly in God even if my mother does not. I want to see all that He has created and things that men may have had divine guidance in building.”
“Like Roman monuments and great houses.”
“Aye. And I want to learn to read and write. Do ye know how?”
He nodded. “I do,” he said. “I can teach ye if ye wish.”
Her expression was one of appreciation. “That is kind of ye.”
“’Tis not a kindness,” he said. “I expect my wife to read and write. How else is she to manage my earldom?”
Emerald giggled softly. “So we’re back on finding ye a wife, are we?” she said. “Did ye not find an eager candidate with my sisters?”
“Eager, aye. Desirable, nay.”
“But ye could be married tonight if ye chose one.”
River shook his head. “And I could kill myself in a moment by dragging a dirk across my throat,” he said, watching her laugh. “Nay, Emmie. I am coming to think that my impulsiveness from this morning was misplaced. Certainly, I want to inherit the earldom, but I do not want to ruin my life in doing so. I hope my brother is discovering the same thing and not risking his life for some foolish lass.”
Emerald stirred the soup one last time, lifting her wooden spoon to taste it. “Have ye eaten?” she said. “I know my mother and sisters would have fed ye.”
He curled a distasteful lip. “They served me things I would not eat, in any case,” he said. “I did not want to be rude, but I do not eat the brains of sheep.”
Emerald pointed to her soup. “I boiled the bones of a rabbit along with its meat,” she said. “There are some carrots and turnips in there, too. Ye’re welcome to what I have.”
“Ye’re a generous lass,” he said. “How is it that ye’re generous when yer family has treated ye so poorly?”
She dipped a small wooden cup into the soup before extending it to him. “Something the priest said to me once, those years ago,” he said. “He told me to pity those who are bitter and unhappy. Deep down, my sisters are unhappy. They know that they shall probably never marry. But, still, each one keeps trying to find that one man who will accept her for who she is. I don’t blame them for pushing me aside. I am not like them, not at all. But I know that I will leave this place, someday. I will see those great monuments and that house in Carlisle. My sisters’ dreams only have to do with them; my dreams have to do with the entire world.”
River was coming to see that Emerald was no ordinary woman. She had a reasonable view of life, a woman with a good head on her shoulders. He was coming to feel rather embarrassed for having demanded marriage from her so rudely. She was far more than a simple shepherdess. Far more than a simple woman.
She was someone who would make an ideal countess.
He had an idea.
“Then let me help ye live yer dreams,” he said. “I have a proposal for ye. I’ll take ye to those places ye want to go – the Roman wall, the Roman house, and I’ll even take ye to York or Edinburgh if ye want to go. I’ll take ye all the way to France. Marry me, Emmie, and I’ll take ye anywhere ye want to go.”
This time when he spoke of marriage, he could see that he had her interest. Perhaps it was because he was offering to fulfill her dreams, but perhaps it was because she saw something in him that she was starting to find attractive. Perhaps this conversation had taken root and she saw him as something more than a madman who went around proposing marriage to strange women.
The light of interest was flickering.
“I don’t know,” she said after a moment. “There are my sisters to consider.”
“The same sisters who banished ye because men look at ye and not them?”
She sighed faintly. “It is not their fault.”
“Were they ever nice to ye?”
“What do ye mean?”
“Just that. Were they ever, at any time in yer life, nice to ye?”
She hesitated several moments before shaking her head. “Not really,” she finally said. “But that is their way. They are not particularly nice to each other, either.”
“And ye want to consider their feelings? Emmie, ye have a noble heart, but in this case, it does ye no good. Come with me. Let’s travel to the places ye want to go. Discover what it is like to have someone be nice to ye for once.”
She looked at him, her gaze somewhat guarded. “Ye?”
“Aye. Me.”
But she was still hesitant. “When I marry, it will not be because a man promises to make me a countess,” she said quietly. “I will marry because he wants me, not because I will give him an earldom.”
She was astute. River had to give her credit. More and more, however, the idea of gaining the earldom was fading in lieu of the idea of marrying Emerald simply for who she was – as she said, she wouldn’t marry him to become a countess. Her biggest ambitions were simple things, things he found admirable. She was a woman of noble character.
He was simply an opportunist.
River didn’t think it was possible that, out in the wilds, he would find a woman he wasn’t particularly worthy of. That was a hell of a concept because River de la Haye was a fi
ne warrior, an heir to an earldom, and a man worthy of any woman in England and Scotland.
Except one.
This morning, he’d thought that if he wasn’t able to find an instant bride, he’d simply press on until he found a woman willing to marry him. Any woman. But time, and the situation as a whole, had caused him to rethink that rash determination.
River was impulsive and reckless at times, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d only been focused on inheriting the earldom and in beating his brother, but that competitive nature would see him make a very bad mistake and ruin his life.
He’d rather not ruin it if he could help it.
“What can I do to prove to ye that I’m sincere?” he asked softly. “I’ll do anything ye ask, Emmie. I’ve already offered to take ye wherever ye want to go. I’m not sure what more I can do. Tell me.”
Emerald was stirring the soup that had been stirred and stirred some more. It didn’t need further stirring, but she was lost in thought, now pondering his question as she seriously considered his offer.
“Ye can tell me what ye expect of a wife,” she said after a moment. “What would ye expect from me?”
He shrugged. “To tend my house, my servants,” he said. “To bear my sons and raise them to be fine and strong. To be a companion to me, be kind when I needed it and, mayhap, scold me on occasion. I am certain that would be warranted at times.”
“Would ye expect me to love ye?”
He appeared thoughtful. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve not thought on it. My parents loved one another and it was something that made my father happy until my mother died. I heard Duchy say that when my mother died, something in my father died as well. I cannot imagine what it would be like to love someone so much.”
“Who is Duchy?”
“My uncle. He is with yer mother and sisters, even now.”
She nodded in understanding. “My mother loved my father, too. I saw what happened to her when he died. I was young, but I still remember the warmth, the fondness between them. I also remember the sorrow when he passed on. Ten years later, she is still in mourning. She always will be, I think.”
“And that frightens ye? Love, I mean. It frightens ye?”
Immediately, she shook her head. “Nay,” she replied. “I believe it would be most wonderful.”
River rather liked that answer. Had he been expecting his wife to fall in love with him? The real question was – why wouldn’t any woman fall in love with him? But perhaps those were exactly the type of women he didn’t need – shallow, throwing their emotions about foolishly.
It was another reason to believe that Emerald was the best choice for him.
Perhaps God had put her here, just for that very reason.
“I think it would, too,” he finally said, his gaze glimmering warmly at her. “What about my proposal, Emmie? Will ye consider it?”
Emerald grinned. “Mayhap,” she said. “But ye may want to reconsider yer offer when I tell ye my secret.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve never been kissed in my life.”
He pretended to be seriously torn by the revelation, his eyes widening in an exaggerated gesture as she laughed softly. But then, he set the soup down that he hadn’t touched yet and held up a finger as if to beg her patience. As Emerald watched, he made his way around the fire and sat down next to her.
His big body planted next to hers should have been a terrifying moment for a young woman who had never been so close to a man, but Emerald met him fearlessly. Considering the toughness he’d seen in her sisters, River really wasn’t surprised that the woman was without fear. She’d faced much greater adversaries than him.
Emerald was looking at him openly, curiously, and he found himself studying the delicate curve of her face. How such a woman could be related to those three cows he’d just come from was beyond his comprehension. Gazing into her eyes, he spoke softly.
“That’s something that can be remedied.”
“I’m sure it can.”
“May I?”
She didn’t back away from him, but she didn’t give her consent, either. At that point, it was kind of a maddening game and all River could think of was his desperate need to kiss her. It washed over him like a wave, consuming him. His hands clasped her face gently, pulling her mouth to his.
River was in for a lovely shock; her lips were more delicious than he could possibly imagine. A sweet kiss that was meant to introduce her into the world of desire suddenly turned overwhelmingly passionate until Emerald was practically crushed in his arms. She gasped softly against his mouth, a sound he hungrily absorbed.
River realized that he needed more from her. His tongue licked her lips indecently, parting her lips, and Emerald opened her mouth to him as if she had been doing it all her life. He growled as his tongue came into her, tasting every bit of this beautiful shepherdess he found in the wilds. She was in his arms and, at that moment, River realized he could never let her go.
Ever.
But that was until the sounds of horses filled their tender world and Emerald yanked her lips away.
“Quickly,” she hissed as the sounds of horses grew closer. “Ye must hide! Take yer horse and go, back through the trees. They will hide ye!”
River didn’t argue with her. Grabbing the reins of his horse, he launched himself onto the animal’s back, charging far back into the trees as Emerald had indicated. There was a good deal of heavy foliage back there and he plunged through a particularly dense cluster several dozen feet away. Emerald lost sight of him just as Sapphire, on her big gray mare, came thundering into the trees.
“Did ye see him, Emmie?” she boomed.
Emerald looked at her in confusion, hoping she was convincing enough. “See who?”
“That man from this morning,” Sapphire said impatiently. “The one who came with the old man. Did he ride by here?”
Emerald pointed off to the east. “I thought I heard a horse heading that way,” she said. “I did not see who it was, but I heard the horse. Why? Did he escape ye?”
Sapphire scowled. “Never ye mind,” she said. “He cannot have gone far.”
“It sounded as if he was riding very fast. Where’s the old man, by the way? Is he a good prospect?”
Sapphire scowled. “He and Mother are getting drunk,” she said. “He’s an old nuisance, he is. It’s the younger one we want.”
“Happy hunting.”
Sapphire took off, heading east as Emerald had indicated. Emerald moved to the edge of the tree line, watching all three sisters tear off to the east. She knew they’d ride for quite some time, looking for their escaped victim, because she’d seen them do it before. If they were on the scent of a man, nothing would stop them.
When the women were finally out of sight, Emerald hurried back in the direction she’d seen River go. The woods were heavier the deeper she went.
“River?” she called. “Come out now. ’Tis safe!”
Immediately, she heard some movement as, off to her right, River emerged from behind a dense cluster of trees. He had the look of a hunted rabbit, perhaps even a little frightened, and Emerald didn’t blame him in the least.
“I heard her,” he said nervously. “And I heard ye. Ye told her to go east.”
“I did.”
“Ye deliberately sent her away.”
“I did, indeed.”
“Why?”
Instinctively, she touched her lips. It had been for such a foolish reason, but it was her reason nonetheless.
“Because,” she said softly. “Ye were the first to kiss me. In a sense, ye belong to me now and I don’t want to share ye with them.”
He grinned, reining his horse over to her. Gazing down at her, he extended his big hand. “Come with me, Emmie,” he said softly. “We’ll be married and travel everywhere ye want to go. I promise ye’ll never want for anything, ever. Will ye come?”
Emerald looked into his handsome face. “Because ye want an earldom?”
“Because I want someone as true as ye. I swear upon my mother’s grave that it’s the truth.”
“Will ye take me to see all of the things I want to see before we return to tell yer father of our marriage?”
River hesitated briefly, knowing that any delay in returning home with a wife might cost him the earldom if his brother was able to make it home first. But as he looked into Emerald’s lovely face, he realized that he really didn’t care. He could see an entire world of adventure in her features, the joy of coming to know a woman who was rational and sensible and true. The delight in coming to teach a wife to read and write, and to know that his impulsive quest had become one that would change his life forever.
Nay, he didn’t care at all that any delay in returning home might cost him the earldom.
It was well worth the price for him to have the most precious jewel in the north instead.
“Aye,” he whispered. “We’ll go see everything ye want to see before we return to tell my father of our marriage.”
“Are ye sure? The only way ye can prove to me that I am more important than an earldom is if ye take me to the places I want to see first.”
“If that is the only way to prove my sincerity, then so be it.”
A smile flickered on Emerald’s lips. Reaching up, she took his hand and he pulled her onto his horse with him. Leaving her fire smoking, her soup burning, and her meager possessions strewn around the fire, River thundered out of the trees, heading up to the road and then taking it in a westerly direction, towards Carlisle.
As they traveled down the road, he could feel Emerald’s arms around his waist, holding fast as they moved swiftly.
The jewel’s embrace, he thought.
It was like no other embrace he’d ever known. Hard-fought, hard-won, but so incredibly worth it. In fact, he didn’t even lament the fact that he wasn’t returning to Drumburgh first. His only thoughts were of finding a priest and marrying the woman.
Even though he’d left his saddlebags back at the old stone cottage, he still had his purse with him, tied to his belt. They had enough money to live on for a while, before necessity saw them return to Drumburgh. But until that time, River’s only thought was of coming to see the world through Emerald’s eyes. For a woman who had never been away from home, he looked forward to introducing her to the world he’d already seen.
The Jewel's Embrace: A Medieval Romance Novella Page 5
