by Ivy Hayes
“It is. This tavern is so much better than the one I worked at in Westhaven, over there, I was constantly on guard.”
Nash emerged from the kitchen carrying my lunch, seeing that Paige and I were talking, he just placed it down in front of me, then winked and walked away.
“Why was it so bad?” I prompted, then took a bite of the bread, not quite ready to try the green creation he placed down.
“I think it is a leadership problem. Here, the lord loves and respects his wife, which everyone knows, over there, lord Westhaven’s wife died years ago and the stories I have heard, their match was out of necessity and neither party was too happy. It sounds silly, but I think the difference comes from how the leaders treat their families, it sets the stage for everyone else.”
“That’s an interesting idea.” I hadn’t been aware Parker’s mother was dead, somehow it makes me understand him a little more. Men without a mother tend to be rough around the edges.
“You should try it,” she points at the pasta, “it is really good, I promise.”
“If you’re sure,” I sound wary, but take a bite anyway. Naturally, it is amazing. “Oh, wow. That is good. Do you think Nash will give me the recipe to share with our cook, Rose?”
“I could ask him.” She heads towards Nash and I dig into the dish, enjoying each bite.
A few more people entered, so it kept Nash and Paige busy until I was just about finished. Nash came up and handed me a piece of paper.
“Here you go, tell Rose I said not to change any of the ingredients.”
“I will try.” I smile, “Thanks, Nash. I’ll see you around.”
“Bye, Gwen.”
I place some coins on the table to pay for my meal then make my way towards home. I am glad I stopped in, if only to learn some tidbits about Parker.
On the walk back, I think of the best way to thank Parker for his gifts. I was already well on my way to forgiving him before his gifts, I was just enjoying watching him squirm. After my initial anger dissipated, it was obvious he did not mean any harm by his comment, he was just ignorant.
His attempts at amends were far more than I ever expected.
But, just because I have forgiven him, doesn’t mean I have to let him off completely. I decide a tad bit of teasing might still be necessary. With a plan coming together, I march back home with an excited hop to my step.
Back in my room, I gladly set down my heavy bag. I am sitting on the edge of my bed massaging my sore shoulder when something on the table near the door catches my attention. It’s a familiar small box, but this time it has a lovely bow. I cross the room to get a closer look and I see another letter in the same cardstock at the one this afternoon. I happily rip it open, inside it is the same neat handwriting and a message that makes me giggle.
Perhaps we can be a little sweeter to each other?
No signature, again, but I know it’s Parker. I open the box and pleased to see my favorite chocolates. I resist the urge to enjoy a heavenly bite, deciding these I would rather share and see if I can discover more as to why he started giving me presents.
TEN – PARKER
It took me a whole extra day to write the response to my father. I am not happy with it, and I know he won’t be either. I know it isn’t nearly enough of the information that he was looking for, but hopefully it will appease him until I can figure something else out.
Letter in hand, I am searching for Lord Cliffden, so he can include it in tomorrow’s mail, but am stopped in my tracks by the sight of Gwen through the open library door. I freeze in the hallway and watch her. She is at the long table near the full-length window, and it is illuminating her in the late afternoon sunlight. In front of her is a spread of books, and I recognize some of them as the ones I gifted to her class.
She flips through one, reads a bit then leaves it open on the table in front of her. I watch her repeat this with all the books, until she starts back at the beginning. It’s fascinating, like she can’t get enough of each, so she is digesting all of them as fast as she can. She is so focused, she does not notice me standing there watching her, even though I have been here for a few minutes.
Warmth swells into my chest, it’s obvious she liked my present. I feel like an idiot, just standing there looking at her, but I can’t decide what to do. I don’t want to push my luck and interrupt her, but I am itching to talk to her. Logic wins this round, things will go much better if she comes to me at her own time.
I look down at the letter in my hand and realize I need to change it. Gwen is the reason. I may have been unsure about the war before, but I still went along with my father’s plan. Now, I find I want to have a chance with her. Perhaps our marriage would bring about peace. With the determination of a new plan, I hurry back to my room and throw the first letter in the fire. I will not tell him any Cliffden secrets, instead I will try and convince him the unnecessariness of his attack.
Father,
The reason I have not sent you any information on Cliffden is because there is nothing to report. The only things I have found is solid proof that they are not planning an attack, our previous intel was incorrect. A war with Cliffden is unnecessary and would waste lives. I urge you to halt the plans. Our ruse for my presence here might be the salvation. I would be willing to marry the girl, if it means peace. I believe our union would be more than enough.
Your son, Parker
I mimicked the style from him letter of short and to the point. I just hope he doesn’t try to read between the lines or ignore my plea all together. I fold this letter up then enclose it in the envelope. It seems to take forever for the wax to melt enough to drip and seal the letter.
This time, I hurry past the library without glancing in, preventing my distraction from Gwen and knock on Lord Cliffden’s door.
“Lord Cliffden, are you in here?”
I hear his voice muffled through the door, “Just a second.” A short time later, the door opened, and he greeted me, “Parker, what can I do for you?”
Inside I see Gregory sitting next to his father’s desk, flipping through some papers. He looks up and gives me a quick greeting, “Hey, Parker.”
I nod to him and he goes back to his readings, answering Lord Cliffden, “I was wondering if you could add this in your pile of outgoing letters?” I raise the letter, so he can see it.
“Sure. The mail boy has already been by today, so it won’t go out until tomorrow.”
“That is fine. I will see you both at dinner.”
I can tell he is eager to get back to whatever him and Gregory were working on, so I make my leave, not bothering them with my attentions. The rest of my day is relatively free, so I head towards my room. I can find something in there to fill the time until the evening meal begins.
As I pass the library this time, I look in and Gwen happens to be looking my way, our eyes meet, and I give her a small smile, but don’t stop walking. I make it a few more feet when I hear the soft tones of her voice coming from behind me.
“You are welcome to join me in here.”
Looking at her, “What?”
“Well, you have walked past a handful of times, I figured you were building the courage to come in.”
“I hadn’t been,” I grin, “I was taking something to your father.”
Gwen’s eyes light with laughter, like she doesn’t quite believe me.
“I see, well, my offer still stands. There is plenty to read in here, you might find something you like.”
“That, I am sure of.” I walk towards her, she turns and heads back to the table she was working on, I walk to a random stack and gaze at the titles. A few minutes pass and I have yet to actually absorb any of the books I have seen, I am too distracted by her presence.
“You must have all the interesting books, Gwen.”
Her head snaps up, “That’s not true, you are standing by one of my favorites.”
She nears me and reaches an arm to the shelf by my shoulder. We are close for a brief second and
I get a tease of a hint at her lavender smell. I itch to pull her in and hold her close.
Gwen hands me a book and smirks, “Give this one a try.”
I read the cover and scratch my beard, trying to decide if she meant to hand me this one. “Midnight Dream? What sort of book is this?”
“It’s a love story.”
“You think I would like this?” I ask, the confusion present in my voice.
She nods, “It is one of the best, it’ll surprise you. Besides, you might learn a thing or two from the main male character.”
“Ha Ha. I don’t think he could teach me anything I don’t already know.”
She moves to take it back from me, but I hold it out of her grip, “What are you doing?”
“Putting it back, I don’t want it to get misplaced.”
“I will put it back after I finish it.”
She laughs, her voice jingling, “You’re actually going to read it? I have to admit, I handed it to you as a joke, men don’t usually like this type of book.”
“You might find I can be atypical. I am going to read it solely because you suggested it to me and you love it.”
She blushes, “Okay. Let me know what you think when you finish.”
“I will. So, what are you reading over there?” I indicate to her overflowing table.
She waves her hands dismissably, “Oh, nothing too interesting, just some learning books that were gifted to my class today. I am familiarizing myself with them.”
“That was nice of someone, do you know who they were from.” I try and hide the eager tone of my voice.
“Nope. The note wasn’t signed. But I have an idea.”
“Oh?” I step towards the table and act at reading over the titles. “These seem like some useful books.”
“They will be. I will have to thank the person who got them for me.”
Gwen placed herself next to me by the table, resting her hip on it so she could look at me instead of the books. While thumbing through them, I ask, “How are you going to do that?”
“I was thinking of visiting his shop and sharing some chocolates with him.”
“What!” My head snaps up, “Who do you think it is?”
“Someone from town, you wouldn’t know him.” Her face is a stone mask of calmness.
I stare at her, unsure what to do next. I thought, for sure, she would have known these were from me. I never suspected she would attribute it to someone else. I have no doubt she could see the shock spread on my face.
Gwen scooted closer to me, wedging herself between myself and the table, “I am kidding, Parker. Thank you, these were very thoughtful.” Her voice was so low, it was nearly a whisper, but I had no trouble hearing each word, given her proximity.
I meet her eyes and they are laughing, “I had to mess with you, at least a little bit.”
I move to place both my arms on the table around her, encircling her, “That was not very funny.”
“It was. You should have seen your face, I thought you were going to be sick.”
I kiss her as she finishes her sentence. This time, she does not push me off, instead she grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me closer. I crash into her and deepen the kiss. Her lips are as softer than I remember them being.
I break the kiss, but stay a breath’s span away from her lips, “Gwen. Does this mean you forgive me?”
“You’ve more than made up for your tasteless comment.” She leans forward and pushes her nose against mine in a playful way.
“I am glad,” and I kiss her again. We continue for a short time, but I stop it as I feel myself growing aroused. Gwen starts to protest as I make space between us, but I don’t let me pull me back in, otherwise we would be in real danger of getting carried away.
We are breathless, staring at each other. Gwen breaks the tension, “Would you like some of my chocolates? There are too many for me to eat myself.”
“I would love some.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon reading our different books and snacking on the salted chocolates I had given her, and I am pleased to say it is the most fun I have had in years. I have spent many hours in libraries before, but those together were a fraction of the fun I had in each separate minute I spent with her.
ELEVEN - PARKER
Today marks day eight since I sent my father the letter, urging him to stop his attack plans, and I still haven’t heard anything back, which I am starting to think could only mean one thing: he ignored it. I have no idea what I will do next. I cannot betray my family and town, but I can’t idly sit by while he attacks. My hesitation comes from more than my growing attraction to Gwen, it is also from my relationship with the entire Cliffden family.
I have already built the relationships with them that would be necessary, going forward, if I can stave off this war.
I am thinking about the future. I don’t understand why my father is not.
Even more troubling, I think my father has a different reason for attacking, one that he did not share with me, or anyone. If it had been solely because he thought Cliffden was a threat, my urgings would have at least opened communications to ceasing, but his ignoring of my letter means the reason must be deeper than that.
I fear, no matter what I say, I will not be able to stop his actions.
A knock at my door and a lovely voice pulls my attention, “Parker, are you ready?”
I cross to the door and open it, smiling when I see Gwen standing there, “Let’s go.” I offer her my arm and shut the door behind me as we make our way downstairs.
Gwen and I made plans to go riding. I haven’t had much opportunity to take Powder out, so when she offered this as an activity for the day, I eagerly jumped on it. Things have been going better between us since she received my gifts. Much to my pleasant surprise, books were the way to her good graces. I would be pleased if they were the key to her heart, but she is not there yet.
Since that day in the library, we have shared every afternoon since in there, reading and spending time together. We have shared a few chaste kisses, but we haven’t had enough privacy to build on what we shared that first day.
It’s killing me.
That is one of the main reasons I am looking forward to our outing today. We will have more privacy and hopefully it will allow us to explore each other a little more. I smile over to her as we walk to the stables, wondering idly if she knows where my thoughts are trailing.
Walking into the stables, I immediately head to my horse.
“Good morning, Powder.” I rub her nose then give her an apple. She munches while I give her a quick brush. I take my time placing the blanket and saddle on her, making sure nothing is digging into her, then check all four hooves. Satisfied that she is ready, I lead her out of the stall and see Gwen is almost done with her horse as well.
I am impressed that she knows how to saddle and care for her horse, herself. They have a stablemaster here, so it is not something she should have had to learn. I wonder if she learned on her own initiative, or if it was something her father pushed her to do.
Her mare is chestnut colored, except for its nose and legs, which are a gradient black. I watch Gwen finish and am pleased to see she takes as much care with her horse and I do with Powder. When she deems everything ready, she leads her horse out of the stall and joins me. We walk next to each other, leading them outside so we can mount.
“You know how to tend your own horse, that’s impressive, Gwen.”
“I had to learn. We rescued Serenity from her abusive owners. They were horrible to her, and that made an impact. She won’t let men ride her, and she rarely lets them get close, so it was up to me to care for her.”
I look warily back, “Am I in danger?”
“No,” she laughs,” just don’t try and get on her. When I am around she does okay around men. She trusts me to keep her safe.”
“I see.”
Giving the girls space, I mount Powder and wait for Gwen to join me. When she is astride
, I notice how regal she looks. Gwen’s red dress perfectly complements Serenity’s and her own colors. Her hair is pleated into a long braid that she drapes over her shoulder and her cheeks are flush with excited color. When she looks at me, it takes my breath away.
“Ready?” She asks.
I nod, and we start trotting off. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise so don’t try and spoil it.”
“Just a hint?”
She laughs, “Patience, Parker.”
I couldn’t tell you how long the ride took, because we spent the length of it next to each other at a leisurely pace, talking. Our conversation flowed in such a way that is only possible with two people who are eager to learn about the other.
We talked about my childhood, what it was like growing up mostly without a mother. She told me about hers, how her parents pushed the children to learn and grow outside their comfort zones. How she never felt like the stifled daughter of a lord, but instead like a young woman with a world of opportunities.
We laughed about embarrassing stories from our youth, about mistakes we made and plans that went astray. I told her about the first girl I had a crush on, and how she pushed me in the mud when I told her. She laughed particularly hard at that and said I probably deserved it. She told me about her first kiss, with a young man from town that turned out to be a giant jerk who told everyone that they kissed as soon as it happened. She got a big lecture from her mother after that.
She told me about her class. I understand why she was do defensive when I made my joke about her teaching curtseying and other lady arts, because that is what everyone thinks she is doing. She allows the public assume that is all she is capable of teaching these young girls, otherwise their parents would likely not let them come. She deals with it, so they will have an opportunity to forge their own paths when they get older.
I am suddenly very glad I gave her school books. She explained to me that she has needed the help they would provide but had no way of obtaining textbooks without arousing suspicion. I offered to pick up some more for her and she beamed at me.
