“I suppose I could if the baron would have me as his guest the entire time. I wouldn’t want my sister to have to sleep in a tent outside the castle walls like the rest of the visitors.”
“Did you want me to put in a good word for you?” Rook looked up and smiled. Suddenly, Conrad felt as if he’d been had.
“I know that look,” said Conrad. “You’re about to make me some kind of deal that I won’t be able to turn down.”
“You know me too well, Sir Conrad. I figure since you’ll be here waiting for me anyway, you can take me up on my offer to watch over Willow until my return.”
Conrad groaned inwardly. Rook had him over a barrel. How could he turn him down when Rook just offered to be his sister’s guardian? It would solve a lot of problems for Conrad and take the weight off his shoulders. He had no choice but to accept the deal.
“You only want me to keep an eye on Willow, and that’s it?” he asked, making sure he understood what would be required of him.
“Aye. I want you to watch her and keep every man here away from her.”
“What? Wait.” Conrad felt doomed. “I’m sorry, but I’ve heard of your daughter’s reputation. Keeping her away from the men would be like trying to keep a fish alive out of water.”
Rook’s jaw clenched, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “What have you heard about my daughter? And what do you mean by her reputation?”
Conrad regretted speaking so freely now. The last thing he wanted to do was anger Rook. He should have chosen his words more carefully. “I – just meant that I’ve heard she is a beautiful young lady now and all the men are vying for her attention.” He hadn’t really heard that at all. The gossip was that Willow was naught but a flirt and no man seriously looking for a wife would ever consider marrying her. Still, Rook didn’t need to hear that about his only daughter. It would only make him furious. He’d want to kill any man who said it aloud.
Rook’s frown turned into a smile, making Conrad realize he had managed to mend the situation.
“Aye, she is quite a beauty. That is what worries me,” said Rook. “I don’t trust any man around her. I am sure they will all be after her virtue.”
“I’m sure,” said Conrad, thinking this was going to be a long week. “I will do my best to keep her away from the men. I mean, I will keep the men away from her, my lord.”
“Good. Then we have a deal. How much do you want?”
Conrad glanced back at his sister who was motioning for him to join her. It looked like she felt uncomfortable standing there. She had a hard time just talking to his squire since she was a very timid girl. He didn’t know how to help her overcome her shyness as well as her fears. The sooner she was taken into Rook’s care the better. The girl really needed a mother to raise her, not a brother.
“Oh, I couldn’t take money from you.” Conrad waved a hand through the air in a dismissing manner. “Not when you are going to mentor Hazel upon your return.”
“Have it your way.” Rook finished off his ale.
“Hazel needs to be around another woman at her age, and I’m afraid there are things a brother cannot teach her. The sooner your wife takes her under her wing the better. The past few years my mother had been too ill to be of any help with Hazel. So please hurry back, my lord.” He lifted his tankard to his mouth and started to drink.
“Hazel can stay with Willow until my return,” said Rook.
Conrad almost choked on his ale. “With Willow? Nay, that’s not necessary, my lord.” Visions of his sister in a low-cut bodice and three men clinging to her arm flitted through his head. Willow was not at all who he wanted mentoring his little sister.
“Of course,” said Rook. “Willow would be happy to have her. My brother and I are taking her cousins to the Highlands, so I am sure she will be anxious for the company of another girl until her cousins return.”
“We’re ready, Uncle Rook.” Two girls walked up with Rook’s brother, Rowen.
“Hello, Sir Conrad,” said Rowen. “You’ve grown much taller since the last time I saw you.” He reached out and pumped Conrad’s hand.
“Sir Conrad will be watching over Willow while we’re gone, so we are free to leave now,” Rook explained.
“You’re going to be watching over my cousin?” asked the girl with the sword strapped to her back.
“Sir Conrad, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Maira,” said Rowen.
“And I’m her cousin, Morag,” said the other girl.
Conrad thought the girls were attractive and became curious as to what Willow looked like now.
“Sir Conrad, my daughter’s chamber is at the top of the stairs and down at the end of the corridor,” Rook told him. “Please tell her our arrangements. If she has any questions, have her meet me in the stable within the next ten minutes. If not, I’ll be gone.”
With that, Rook, Rowen, and the girls headed away.
“My lord,” said Conrad’s squire, Toby, heading over with Hazel right behind him. “My lord, Lady Hazel doesn’t feel comfortable standing in the great hall, not knowing anyone.”
“Then introduce her to some people.” Conrad shoved his empty tankard into Toby’s hand. “Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I have an errand to run that I am not anticipating is going to go smoothly at all.”
Willow tied the front laces of her bodice as she kept her eyes fastened out the open window. The guests were arriving quickly. She had to hurry and get down to the courtyard to meet the men. If she moved faster, she might get first pick amongst the unmarried lords and knights. Without her sister and cousins here, there shouldn’t be much competition at all.
“My crown,” she said, hurrying over and picking up the jeweled crown on her dressing table, placing it on her head. The late queen had willed crowns to her, Fia, and Maira, as well as heart brooches that depicted them to be members of the secret society of strong women called the Followers of the Secret Heart.
She reached out and picked up her brooch, running a loving hand over it as thoughts of Imanie filled her head. The old woman told them they all had unique skills. Fia’s talent was the power of observation and reading body language. Maira’s skill was her ability to handle weapons.
“What about me?” Willow asked Imanie. “I don’t like to fight, like Maira. What is my strength?”
“She only likes to dress up and bat her eyes at men,” Morag told her, making the rest of the girls laugh.
“Don’t laugh,” scolded Imanie. “Even that can be a strength as well.”
“It can?” asked Willow. “How?”
“It is by the persuasiveness of many strong women in the past that the queen was able to find out secrets that helped the king and his army to be successful.”
“Persuasive? With enemies?” asked Willow’s cousin, Fia.
“Yes, with enemies as well as with friends. Men always seem to hold secrets within them. It is our job as Followers of the Secret Heart to draw those secrets from them to use to our advantage. Willow, you have a special way with words.”
Willow smiled as she pinned the heart on her bodice. She wanted to do something special and important, like Fia. She might not be able to stop a war, but Willow was sure if the time came, she would be able to use her particular skill with people to help her country or someone important in some way. She wished she knew if there were other members of the secret group out there somewhere. If so, she would like to meet them.
Fia had found a member named Lorraine. But now Lorraine was dead. If only they had been able to get more information from her, then possibly they would know where to go to find others who wore the same heart brooch.
A knock on the door dragged her from her thoughts. She figured it was her handmaid, and called out over her shoulder.
“Enter.”
Picking up Imanie’s ring, she slipped it on her finger and then put the bracelet on her wrist as well.
“Lady Willow?” asked a deep voice from behind her.
Willow spun on her heel, her
heart racing at hearing a man’s voice in her room. There in the doorway stood a tall, handsome knight. He gripped the edge of the doorframe with one hand but stayed outside the room. Unless it was her imagination, he was hesitant to enter.
“Aye,” she said, her voice squeaking since she was so mesmerized by the man’s appearance. Hopefully, he was one of the unmarried knights here for the festival. She would like to get to know him. “I am Willow. Lady Willow Douglas.” She reached up and straightened the crown on her head.
“Your father sent me.”
“My father?” She cocked her head, taking two steps toward the man. He looked familiar. Where had she seen his face before? “Who are you, Sir Knight? And why has my father sent you to my door?”
“Willow, it’s me. Conrad,” said the man with a comforting smile.
“Conrad?” Her mouth fell open, and she blinked twice, thinking this was all a dream. “Conrad . . . who?” she asked, just to make sure. After all, this couldn’t possibly be the same lanky boy with the bad skin and the greasy hair that she remembered from childhood. Nay. This man had a broad chest and many muscles in his arms. Shiny oaken hair came to the nape of his neck. And his skin was impeccably smooth like the sand on the beach after a wave washed back out to the sea.
“Sir Conrad Lochwood.” He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. “I thought you’d remember me from my time being mentored by your father at Naward Castle. Of course, that was a long time ago.”
So it was him! God had been kind to the man after all. She would never have dreamed in a million years that Conrad the Cur would be standing in her doorway looking like a handsome man.
“I – I am sorry. It’s been a long time, and I didn’t recognize you.” She smoothed out her gown and sashayed toward him. “Won’t you come in and close the door?”
Almost as if she’d struck him, the man jumped backward, nearly falling over his feet. “Nay,” he said backing out into the corridor. “It wouldn’t be proper. Your father wouldn’t like it.”
“My father told me just today that it doesn’t matter if a man acts properly or not. He won’t care if you come into my chamber. Besides, you told me yourself that he sent you here, so it’s all right to enter.” She moved closer.
“I am here only to tell you that –”
“Stop,” she said, holding up her hand. “I don’t think whatever the message is, that you should be saying it out in the corridor where the servants are listening to every word.” She nodded to a chambermaid passing by, and a page walking the other way. They both moved slowly, and it was apparent they wondered why he was there. So did Willow, although she could guess. The reason was one she thought she’d hate, but now she wasn’t so certain. “At least step into the room and close the door partially, because I don’t want you announcing my father’s business to the entire castle.”
“Oh, I suppose you are right.” He looked over his shoulder and then stepped into the room, closing the door part way behind him.
As handsome as he was, he was still the boy who had yanked her braids, played practical tricks on her, and made her life a living hell before she was sent to be fostered by Lord Beaufort. Her father sent her away from Naward because it was what the late queen wanted. In doing so, he took her away from her mother as well. Willow missed her mother and was only glad she lived with her cousins because it made it easier. They comforted each other often.
“Your father has sent me here because I am to tell you that I will be your guardian until his return.”
“I don’t need a guardian.” She put her hand out and gave the door a shove. It closed with a loud click behind him. “Now, Sir Conrad, tell me how much my father is paying you to do this. Because however much it is, I will pay you twice as much to leave Rothbury now and never look back again.”
Chapter 4
“I’m sorry, my lord, but I’ll be leaving Rothbury anon and won’t be able to look after Willow after all.” Conrad stood in the stable telling Lord Rook, not at all sure why he decided to leave after he’d already accepted the man’s offer. Willow was the one who convinced him to do it. He’d never seen anything like it before. She had an uncanny power of persuasion. Before he knew what happened, she’d gotten him to agree to leave and proceeded to push him out the door.
“She paid you to leave, didn’t she?” asked Rook, peering down at Conrad from atop his horse. He frowned and his eyes narrowed. “How much did she give you?” Rook picked up his pouch and shook the coins inside. Rowen and Willow’s cousins were on the other side of the stable and looked up when they heard the jingling. “I’ll give you more. Price is no object. Just tell me how much you want.”
“Nay, my lord, you don’t understand,” said Conrad, raising his hands in the air. He felt as if he were caught in the middle of a challenging situation.
“Here. Take the whole damned bag of coins; I don’t care. Just please don’t leave her side until I return.” Rook tossed the bag to Conrad who instinctively caught it.
“Father, I came to say goodbye.” Willow’s singsong voice came from the door. Conrad spun on his heel to see her entering the stable. His squire and sister entered right behind her. “What are you doing?” she asked, making him feel like a scolded child. Her tone and the way she scowled at him made him feel as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. He followed her gaze down to his hands only to realize, to his horror, he held Rook’s pouch of coins, and it didn’t look good. “Why are you still here and what is that?” With a snap of her wrist, she pointed at the pouch.
“Lady Willow.” Conrad swallowed the lump in his throat. He couldn’t get over how pretty she was, even when she was angry. Even in childhood, Willow had been adorable. Her heart-shaped face was graced with the biggest, round, brown eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Everything about her was very feminine and perfect, from the way she stood and walked to the tilt of her chin that she raised ever so slightly in an intimidating manner.
“My father paid you to stay, didn’t he?” Willow’s eyes narrowed, just like her father’s.
“Nay, I didn’t take the money, although he offered.” Conrad reached out to hand the pouch back to Rook.
“I’ll not be outbid by my own daughter,” spat Rook. “Take the money, Lochwood. We had a deal.”
“You were supposed to be leaving,” said Willow, putting her hands on her hips.
“I can’t believe you let a woman outbid me,” came Rook’s reply.
“Stop it! All of you,” shouted Conrad. “I didn’t take money from either of you.”
“Conrad, what’s going on?” asked Hazel in a small voice from across the stable.
“Aye,” said Toby, glancing around the area. “Are we leaving or staying? I’m confused.”
Conrad looked first at Willow’s glaring eyes, and next his gaze traveled over to his sister. She seemed so frightened and insecure. Hazel’s grey eyes studied him anxiously. She needed guidance that he couldn’t give her. Then he looked over at Lord Rook who stared down at him from atop his horse. Conrad still held the bag of coins in his hand. He didn’t want the money. What he wanted was Lord Rook to be Hazel’s guardian. Rook’s wife, Calliope, was supposedly a kind-hearted woman who never turned away anyone in need. Yes, she could take his sister under her wing while Conrad looked for a wife and saw to things back in Scarborough.
“What’ll it be, Lochwood?” asked Rowen, leading his horse over to join them. Willow’s cousins were already mounted on their horses and headed over as well.
“Lochwood is staying in Rothbury to watch over Willow until my return,” announced Rook.
“Nay, Father. I will not have him dogging my heels everywhere I go,” complained Willow.
“You could always come with us to see Fia’s baby,” suggested Maira.
“Aye, my sister did request ye to come to the Highlands as well,” added Morag.
Conrad could see by the look on Willow’s face that she struggled with her decision. But if she went with them, the d
eal Lord Rook made with Conrad of being Hazel’s guardian would probably fall through. Hazel needed lots of care and attention. She had problems that Conrad didn’t know how to fix. That would take away from Conrad’s plan to find a wife to bring back to Scarborough. Nay, he couldn’t let Willow go to the Highlands with them. This was an opportunity he had to take.
“I’ll stay here with Willow, but I won’t take your money.” Conrad reached up and gave the pouch of coins back to Rook.
“Good,” said Rook, hooking the pouch at his side. “Willow, you will listen to Sir Conrad, and I don’t want to hear that you gave him any trouble while I was gone.”
“Father! How could you?” asked Willow in a huff.
“Come, girls, we have a long trip ahead of us.” Rook led the way with Rowen, Maira, and Morag following right behind him.
As soon as they left, Conrad turned to Willow. “Lady Willow, I would like you to meet my sister, Hazel.”
“Hello,” said Hazel, shyly, looking up with her eyes but not lifting her head.
“You’re his sister?” Willow looked at Conrad from the corners of her eyes.
“Your father said that Hazel will be sharing your chamber with you.” Conrad watched as Willow’s jaw tightened.
“My bedchamber? I’m to share my bedchamber with her?”
“Aye, it will be nice for both of you,” agreed Toby.
“I don’t share my bedchamber with anyone.”
“Really.” It was only one word, but as soon as Conrad said it, he wished he could take it back. Willow’s eyes lit up with fire.
“Sir Lochwood, I advise you to keep your comments to yourself while at Rothbury,” Willow warned him. “And I also advise you to stay out of my way, or you will be sorry.”
She turned away in a huff and stormed from the stable.
“She doesn’t seem to like me,” said Hazel, lowering her eyes and looking at the ground. Conrad felt angry at Willow for the way she had acted. His sister needed a boost in confidence, not someone to make her feel worse.
Seductive Secrets (Secrets of the Heart Series Book 2) Page 3
