"I see." Her eyes lowered as Signi spoke up.
"I doubt if Thorn is all that interested Felicity and I do not mean to be cruel by telling you so. It is a well-known fact that what my brother wants he takes. It will be the same when it comes to choosing a wife. You will see I am right when it happens." Signi passed on a little well meaning, albeit, unwanted advice.
"I know. I think I have known right from the start." Felicity admitted with a deep sigh, "I had to try anyway."
"We know, and we understand Felicity, but it is just not meant to be." Signi then struck a spark in her interest by remarking. "I think Vernon seeks to match the Lord Alex to the Lady Aura. It will be interesting to see who has the stronger will, Vernon or Alex. Of course, if Alex has no reason to believe you might return his feeling, he probably will fall in with Vernon's plans. Aura, I am sure would consider herself lucky to be his wife. Not only is he quite well stationed but he is a very good-looking man. Yes," she mused, "it looks like it could be an interesting summer."
It was a speech meant to make the Lord Alex irresistible to Felicity, and as Aura watched, Felicity’s eyes flickered from Alex to Signi then back to Alex again. Aura smiled a small secret message to Signi then she excused herself from the duo. Shortly after, she left.
CHAPTER XIII
Lady Signi had noticed Aura slip almost virtually unseen out of the room and understood her reasons or at least she thought she did. Aura had looked and acted as if she was very tired and considering that she had just arrived after a long ride this very day, she could well understand. She was of the opinion that Aura could use a friend. Vernon believed that she needed a husband and a protector, which she also agreed with. Why the girl would soon be too old for any man to consider her as his wife.
It was unfortunate that Aura herself did not seem to share their opinion. She gave Signi the impression that she was going to be a challenge. Yet, there was something vulnerable about the girl and Signi was more than half afraid that Vernon might force her to marry the wrong man, out of sheer desperation.
Soon after she got up the next morning, Signi met the maid assigned to Aura as she headed towards Aura's room.
"Has the Lady Aura risen yet?"
"The Lady Aura has been up for hours Lady Signi. One of the children had a nasty fall earlier and she heard his screams from her balcony. She went to tend to the injury, and is now surrounded by a crowd of the local children." The girl gave a wide, pleased grin.
"Thank you Lydia." Signi replied courteously. She had always found that treating the servants in a friendly manner often got her extra information or favors.
"You will find her in the very center of the village." Lydia directed her.
Signi nodded then went off to find Aura.
Aura was indeed surrounded by most of the children in the village as she held the injured lad on her knee. She was busy getting the other children to join along in a singsong. The children looked as if they were enjoying themselves in a way they had never done before. As Signi looked about she noticed several adults watching the group as well. Everyone seemed to be drawn to the lighthearted gathering and all seemed pleased by the pure sweet voice that wafted over the crowd.
Signi looked a little further afield to see just how far reaching her influence was and her eyes fell on the figure of her oldest brother.
"Thorn!" Signi whispered and with quick silent moves, she made her way over to his side. He had been totally involved with watching Aura, which Signi found very interesting. She had never seen such a look on her brother's face, almost as if he had never seen a woman before, and the hunger in his eyes could almost be felt. Signi's mind clicked into action as she noted all this and she smiled in glee.
Thorn. Her brother. He would be a perfect match for Aura, and here he was, watching the lady like a cat stalking a mouse. Something told her that this was going to be very interesting.
"Glad you could make it Thorn." Signi greeted her brother as she walked up to the side of his charger.
Thorn acknowledged her presence with a nod, while he settled his horse with subtle pressures of his knees, to make sure he remained calm. During all that his eyes never once left Aura. "Vernon has a new toy I see." He noted with a grim twist of his lips.
"That is a matter of opinion. She is a toy he has great plans for." Signi spoke to both wet her brother’s interest as well as gauge it. "The plans, however, have nothing to do with himself."
"So what has he in mind for her then?" Thorn's mind digested all Signi implanted, while still studying his quarry.
"He would like to keep her close at hand, so he seeks to match her with the Lord Allen." Signi informed him.
"She will never wed the Lord Allen." Thorn dismissed the possibility.
Signi noted the flint like glint in Thorn's eyes as he spoke and she was hard pressed not to smile. So he was touchy about the girl was he? Signi's mind danced at the prospects this tidbit of information brought to mind and she added, for his information.
"She says the same thing. So, to get out of the proposed match, she has talked me into introducing her to Arabella, who she seeks to match to Lord Allen."
"Sounds feasible. Lord Allen has an eye for beauty. But that will not stop Vernon from matching her to another of his favorites." Thorn spoke from experience.
"She is aware of that. So she seeks to match the Lord Alex to the Lady Felicity. It is much to Alex's approval."
"Good, and I especially wish her the best of luck. That would take Felicity off of my back." Thorn was especially pleased with that idea, though he didn’t show it.
"Are you on your way to see Vernon by any chance Thorn?" Signi let the question slip innocently.
"I was, but now I am not so sure. You know how I hate to fit into court entertainments. I will be with my troops if you wish to visit, out in the North field." Thorn could almost taste the intrigue. He wanted nothing to do with it and could almost feel sorry for the young girl who was the center of Vernon’s attention.
"You are wrong in your assumption that Vernon might even consider matching you with her Thorn. He wants her here, where he can keep an eye on her. You live too far away and you prefer life on your own land to that of life at court."
Thorn smiled as he replied. "So I do."
At that remark Signi thought to plant another seed in his head, to see later if it took root. "The way you were looking at the lady a while ago, I could have sworn you were interested in her for yourself."
"No," Thorn denied a little too quickly to convince his sister. "I was just watching her because she reminds me of a girl I met a while back.”
It was a lame excuse in Signi's estimation and she smiled as she noted. "That girl must have made quite an impression to have you remember her this long. I think it would be quite exciting to find that she was that same person."
"It is unlikely. That person is probably dead by now. I doubt whether she was prepared to live the life she was about to face." Though, he thought to himself, she did seem resourceful enough. It was a dangerous thought and he pushed it aside. It was much easier for him to deal with the thought that she was dead, that way he was not tempted to ride up to this woman, pull her onto his horse before him and ride away.
"Did you love her Thorn?" Signi asked, digging further as she dredged up further memories.
It was too close to the truth for him to face fully at the moment, everything before him was too new yet and the facts too old.
To cover his thoughts he spoke with a trace of his usual arrogance and disregard for females in general. "She was a woman and could have been mine if I would have wished. For some reason, I refrained from taking her. That is all there is to it sister, so I would suggest you leave it at that." Thorn then turned his horse around and rode towards his camp.
Signi watched her brother ride off with a pleased, pensive smile. Something told her that things were not quite the way her brother had told her. Could it be that Aura actually was the mystery girl in his past? She wondered
how they had met and what had happened, for Aura had definitely made an impression on her here-to-fore invulnerable brother. She skipped happily and walked on, wondering as she did just what type of effect Thorn had managed to have on Aura. It was time, she decided, to set ALL plans into action, and she headed out to find Arabella.
As luck would have it Arabella was easy to find and not too far away, as she was amongst the crowd watching Aura. Signi saw her and made a beeline straight for her.
"Arabella, just who I was looking for. The Lady Aura and I were planning a bit of a surprise tonight and would like you to join us. Would you like to join our party?" Signi invited.
"I would love to, but are you sure the Lady Aura meant me? I do not even know her." Arabella was unsure whether to agree or to protest. She had never been put in such a position before. Most women never invited her to any of their functions. They tended to avoid her and she often found herself alone.
"Of course Aura meant you. It was she who suggested you specifically. Well, we will expect you at Vernon's tonight. I believe you know the way and the routine."
Arabella nodded with obvious enthusiasm then made an exclamation of disappointment when Aura got up and left. She would have liked to got to know more about the mysterious lady. Signi seemed to know her well enough and appeared to be more than happy to introduce them. It seemed as if Aura had other plans. She wondered what Aura would say if she followed her with the idea of introducing herself to her. She quickly decided it was a poor idea. She didn’t want to insinuate herself into a friendship that might never exist, it might harm her chances for later. She would wait.
Aura went to her room, where she changed into her riding clothes. She then went to the stables to get her horse, and rode off to her bathing spot. Wolf was already there, waiting for her with great impatience. She watched as he ran around in excitement. He was beside himself, jumping on her to lick her face in greeting and knocking her over. He wiggled as he whined, then ran back and forth between her and the river. She feared he was starting to get a little wild and she decided it was time to take him home with her. He would not be so alone at her side. Nor, in fact, would she. Wolf ran around confident that they were alone and Aura no longer cared if they were anymore or not. When their play time was over Wolf was only too happy to trot along at her side as she rode into the town and anyone who came across them immediately got out of the way. A wolf was a dangerous animal.
When she got back to her room, she changed and went down for the evening meal. Wolf went with her. No one challenged the decision. Vernon thought the incident amusing and for that reason alone, Chatelaine allowed it. She had to admit it had amused her as well. Her guests, although appearing shocked for some time, also thought it was a great lark, as the wolf proved to be quite a show off.
Signi and Aura's campaign to match the people about them, to benefit themselves, was a total success and at the end of two weeks, before Vernon's victory banquet, the girls were smiling at each other in smug satisfaction. Lord Alex, with support from Aura, talked the Lady Felicity into giving up her childish fantasies about the Lord Thorn, whom Aura had yet to meet, and into accepting his proposal. Signi managed to convince the Lord Allen that his desires towards the Lady Arabella should not be denied.
Aura was more than pleased with their results, as she had no more suitors to dodge, despite the swelling numbers about Vernon's palace. Vernon's warlords were beginning to congregate in anticipation of the upcoming celebration. Aura felt freer than she had since she had met her host. She came and went as she felt the urge, spending her afternoons with her wolf, swimming and sunning herself and left the others to their own devices.
Signi, whenever she got the chance, went off to spend some time with her brothers. Edwin, more often that not, was off with some of the younger warlords like himself, but Thorn proved to be a very ardent listener. He was both impressed and amused by the tales his sister brought to him about her new friend. Yet, he was reluctant to break his self-imposed exile, despite knowing that he was bound to do so sooner or later. He told himself that he stayed in his camp because he wanted to remain out of Vernon's matchmaking reach. In truth, he was finding the memory of the girl he had known at the cave, pressing on him. There were too many things about her that still haunted him, the feel of her lips under his and her body pressed up against him, to name but a few. Still he held the reigns firm on his control. Signi saw through it all and she still brought him news, all the while withholding two pertinent pieces of information, the woman’s name and any mention of her pet.
It was not long before Vernon figured out how he had been outmaneuvered and in his anger he vowed to even the score. He felt that he had been made to look the fool and he did not like it. He announced the time of the festival then decided that he would throw caution to the wind, and offer the Lady Aura to whoever would accept her. Then, he smugly thought to himself, he would see if she still thought herself so smart crossing him.
Signi, as she watched Vernon's mood swings, sensed something was amiss. She turned to her brother with her suspicions. Thorn, upon hearing Signi’s concerns, decided it was past time to make his presence known and went to see Vernon. He would soon find out what was going through their leader’s mind.
"So you finally arrive to join your troops Thorn?" Vernon greeted his old friend with open arms. Nobody had told him that the Lord Thorn had been camped on his very doorstep for the last two weeks. He escorted him into one of his private rooms where they could speak in relative comfort. "That must have been some persistent raider to keep you away so long." It had been a while since they had spent any amount of time together and he was happy to see his favorite warlord.
"All in your service my Duke." Thorn teased back.
"You got him?" Vernon was serious for a moment as he asked.
"I got him," Thorn replied with equal firmness then changed the subject. "Signi tells me there have been a rash of marriages and engagements this year. You must have been busier than ever."
"Yes, well, I must admit they are all not to my liking." Vernon relayed with a frown. "There have been other hands which have been at play here."
"You have any idea who that might be?" Thorn probed with a smile.
"It could only be one person, the Lady Aura. I would have had her wed to one of the men at court, but she would have none of it." Vernon sounded his annoyance.
"Perhaps she did not suit the men you chose for her?" Thorn replied carelessly.
"More likely she wanted nothing to do with them and I know through many sources that it was she who had masterminded several of the newest unions. Just so that she could remain single."
"Ah Vernon, you just do not like being beaten at your own games, do you?" Thorn teased as he took a drink and sat in a chair, leaning it back on two legs to put his feet up on Vernon's desk as he did.
"Well I am taking steps to make sure that she will never interfere like that again. I am going to offer the Lady Aura to anyone who will take her and that blasted wolf of hers can go with her."
"Wolf?" Thorn asked as he looked at Vernon with renewed interest. This was something that Signi had neglected to mention. Thorn put his feet back down on the floor as he sat upright, not even trying to hide his eagerness to hear more.
"Yes, wolf." Vernon was so agitated he neglected to pay Thorn's reaction any attention. "She says she raised him from a pup. Stupid animal will do anything she tells it to do. I must admit though, he is an amusing scrap of fur and he does love her."
"Where did you find them Vernon?" Thorn pressed. "This sounds like a story that needs telling."
"You are right, it does." And saying this Vernon proceeded to tell his story. Nor did he have to deal with any interruptions.
"And now you seek to marry the girl off against her wishes? No wonder she does what she can to thwart your plans." Thorn stated drily.
"You know as well as I Thorn that the girl needs a protector in this world. Who better than a husband to fit that role? She will come a
round, you will see."
Thorn yawned and changed the subject before Vernon could sense the deep interest he was trying to hide. "I have been petitioned for the hand of my sister Signi and I fear you will be losing her this time. She has told me that the match is to her liking, so I have told the young man that they have my blessings. They have decided to wed in late spring."
"Young man! You make yourself sound ancient Thorn, that when you are no more than twenty-six. Also in late spring Thorn? Why so long?"
"It suits them both and I am pleased." Thorn answered.
"I am pleased for your sister as well. It is not often that a woman gets the chance of a love match. Not all arranged marriages are as happy as Chatelaine's and mine. We have been very lucky indeed." Vernon was smug as he relayed his pleasure at how well his own marriage was turning out.
"That is why I have been so lenient with her. That and the fact that she has a level head, even in matters of love." Thorn was very happy with his sister, she had never given him reason to question any of her decisions. He also loved her very much.
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