He motioned Robert to return to the dais with him, where his friend greeted Aldred.
“Good to see you up and about, my lord. I’m sure ‘tis a clucking hen Elizabeth has been over you.”
Aldred raised the walking stick. “And my thanks to you, Robert. This new walking stick was just what I needed. If Elizabeth becomes too dictatorial, I shall conk her on the head with it—and then run like the Devil.”
Both men laughed at his words. “I’d pay good money to see that, my lord,” Robert said. He turned back to Gavin. “Have you met Elizabeth yet?”
“Just for a moment,” he replied. His eyes skimmed the Great Hall, finding her. Gavin saw how she assured the people. How self-possessed she was. She was in total control of the room, giving orders to clear space, commanding musicians to play while trestle tables were being set up.
The men spoke for a few minutes before she returned to greet Robert and fuss over Aldred again. Gavin saw how much she cared for the old man. A pang of jealousy shot through him. He had no one left to care so for him, now that his beloved mother was dead.
“Would you care to be seated, Lord Gavin?”
Elizabeth’s voice, polite yet cool, brought him from his reverie. He glanced about, seeing things well in place for the feast about to begin.
“Of course,” he answered. “I thank you for so graciously inviting me to your banquet.”
“If my Lord Aldred is happy to see you,” she said carefully, “then so am I. Please, sit here. Share a trencher with him. I’m sure you have much to speak about to one another.”
She indicated her place beside her husband. He tried to protest, but Robert cut him off.
“Give into her, Gavin. ‘Tis much easier and takes far less time than fighting with her. Elizabeth always gets her way. Besides,” he grinned, “that means she’ll share her trencher with me. I know she’ll eat far less than you would if we were to be paired together. I might actually have a fighting chance to gobble up most of the many delicacies without coming to blows.”
He inclined his head to Elizabeth and took the seat next to Aldred, glad that his good ear faced his friend. A serving maid placed a trencher before them, and Gavin sliced it in two, giving Aldred his half. A chaplain appeared to bless the meal, followed by the steward and his staff pouring out the wine, mixed with honey and ale.
Then the feasting began in earnest. He thought back to the days of celebration in his youth while he fostered at Kentwood. This meal rivaled any from the past. Stork and peacock, haddock and cod, were followed by venison, mutton, and pork. Then more pastries than he’d imagined while imprisoned in France made their way to the trestle tables.
Throughout the meal, though, Aldred ate sparingly of the small, bite-sized pieces placed before him. Gavin watched him closely. The nobleman seemed in good spirits and spoke with true happiness shining from his eyes, helping his guest to relax somewhat.
By the sweets course, Gavin’s stomach protested at the great amount he’d already consumed. He hadn’t eaten so much at one sitting since he’d last left England. His parents held a banquet in his honor that night. It all seemed so long ago.
“Cheese, my lord? Or mayhap you would prefer a small cake? Our cook bakes the finest sweets in the land.”
He turned to Elizabeth. “You are a charming hostess, my lady, but I must pass. I fear I have eaten far more than my share.”
Robert laughed. “From the looks of it, you haven’t eaten quite enough, Gavin. In truth, you are thin as a stork’s leg. Let our Elizabeth fatten you up.”
She eyed him with interest. “If you’d like, I can have a tray of assorted goods sent to your room. That way if you wish to try some later, they would be available to you.”
“You are most gracious, my lady.”
“My lord,” Robert addressed Aldred, “might I steal Gavin away from you for a few minutes before the song begins? I would love to converse with my old friend.”
Aldred snorted. “More than likely you seek to point out all the beautiful, unattached women in the room, Robert.” He stood. “I think I shall retire, so you are welcomed to speak to him to your heart’s content.”
Elizabeth joined her husband. “Are you very tired, my lord?” A shadow crossed her face. “I so wanted you to hear this new troubadour sing your praises.”
Aldred cupped her cheek with his hand. “Mayhap another time. I am certain you engaged him for a fortnight or longer.”
Elizabeth blushed a pretty pink. “I may have, now that you mention it. But let me see you settled.”
Aldred held out a hand to her. “Nay. Simon will see to my needs. Stay and entertain our guests.” He signaled the servant over. “Good eve to you, gentlemen. I look forward to speaking more to you on the morrow, Gavin. I am afraid I talked your ear off tonight.”
Gavin bowed. “’Twas talk I was so inclined to hear, my lord. I thank you for sheltering me for the night.”
Aldred clasped his hand. “For this night and as long as you wish to stay, my boy. You are always welcome at Kentwood. Simon?”
“My lord?” The servant stepped up and allowed Aldred to lean upon him. Gavin was drawn to watching Elizabeth as she herself watched her husband escorted from the room.
“I must excuse myself,” she said. “I would speak to the troubadour. He sings tonight of Aldred and his many victories in battle. I would have that saved for another time when my lord husband can hear and enjoy.”
She curtsied and moved across the room. He followed her progress as she stopped and talked to one group then the next. She seemed to know everyone by name and exhibit a genuine care for all.
Soon the strains of a psalterian began. He caught sight of the singer as he brought the zither close to his chest and began plucking at its strings. He sang of the glory of England and of both Edward and the Black Prince’s mastery over France. Robert must have sensed Gavin was in no mood to speak seriously, for he kept their conversation light.
Then the troubadour began to sing of Elizabeth, weaving tales of her generosity and kind spirit.
“Men compose songs about her?” he asked Robert.
“Of course. Elizabeth is a celebrated beauty of some renown in these parts. She numbers even King Edward as a devoted follower. He claims to enjoy visiting Kentwood more for Elizabeth’s company than Aldred’s.” Robert chuckled.
“And how long have she and Lord Aldred been married?”
Robert thought a moment. “’Tis been a good one and ten years, I think, since she came to Kentwood to wed. Her sire brought her himself. Fayne of Aldwyn. I gather she was quite a handful as a child, and he escorted her here so that there would be no chance of her running away.”
“But her beauty and dowry overcame those shortcomings?” he asked. “As if Aldred needed her money.”
Robert grew quiet. “There was a time the dowry price came in handy, Gavin. Things were not flourishing at Kentwood after we returned from Crecy.”
“Was it plague?”
“Nay, not for awhile. It did rage in London and finally arrived in the south, but I speak of other things. Harvests gone bad. Tenants mishandled in Aldred’s absence. Almost an indifference that had cropped up in the years Aldred spent at war.”
“I see he’s turned it around, though. Leave it to Aldred to manage in a crisis.” He reached for his honeyed wine.
“Nay, ‘twas not Aldred’s doing. ‘Twas all Elizabeth.”
He froze in mid-air, his cup not yet to his lips. “Elizabeth? A woman? Surely things were not as bad as you make them seem, my friend.” He took a swig from the silver goblet.
“You are wrong, Gavin. Where servants were listless and inactive, she swept them into action. She visited tenants and had roofs repaired. Went into the fields and talked to the peasants about the best way to grow crops. She did a thousand th
ings, both large and small, to get Kentwood back on track.”
He followed Robert’s gaze as he spoke Elizabeth’s praises. It lay on the lady herself.
“There is nothing she cannot do, Gavin. Nothing.”
“You seem to admire her quite a bit.”
Robert flushed. In that moment, Gavin realized his friend had deep feelings.
For another man’s wife.
CHAPTER 11
Aldred awakened, refreshed by his night’s restful sleep. He was glad the cold had started to recede, though his old bones never seemed to warm completely anymore. At least spring would soon make her annual appearance. He wondered idly if he would be here to see spring’s birth this time next year and decided he would not. His time on earth drew near. Yet he was fortunate. He’d lived the life he’d wished to, on his own terms, and he wouldn’t change a thing about it. He would end his days happily, spending what little time remained with those he loved.
And how he loved Elizabeth. She would be by shortly, having attended mass, broken her fast, and issued orders for the day to their staff. Pride filled him at all she accomplished on a daily basis, far more than any woman of his acquaintance. Theirs was not a physical love, one of grand passion. No, it favored affection, tender feelings, and good will. She was friend, daughter, and wife all captured in one.
He hoped arranging for her betrothal to Robert would please her after he was gone. Robert was a good man, and he was more than a little fond of Elizabeth, despite his protests to the contrary.
Aldred pushed himself up, propping pillows behind his back and smoothing his hair down. He looked forward to a visit from Gavin this morning. The boy worried him, a former shell of the man he’d been when Aldred last saw him. Obviously, the war in France had not been kind to Gavin.
He was troubled, too. Aldred sensed it in Gavin’s wary gaze, in the cock of his head. If not the war, ‘twould mean only one thing amiss.
Berwyn.
Aldred cursed the day Berwyn arrived upon his property. Physically gifted, he was a good soldier—when he bothered to listen. He had peas for brains, though. A good estate manager and sweet wife, along with years of decent weather, had allowed Berwyn’s estate to prosper.
What bothered Aldred was the man’s loose morals. He found neither honor nor loyalty in Berwyn of Ashgrove. Oh, the nobleman was sure he said the right things when certain ears were present, yet he was quick to speak ill of someone the minute that man’s back was turned. Only as a favor to Gillian had Aldred decided to take Gavin on to foster, hoping his influence on the boy might override that of his worthless father.
That proved to be a blessing in disguise. Gavin’s talents were limitless. Skilled at war games and a keen hunter, the young boy also showed unswerving fidelity to his liege and his friends. Guilt racked Aldred when Gavin had fostered at Kentwood because he’d grown to love the boy more than his own kin.
A knock sounded at the door, and Elizabeth poked her head in. She smiled as she brought him a tray of food.
“I trust you had a good night, my lord?” She opened all sides of the bed curtains and put the tray down upon his lap before going to feed fresh wood into the fire.
He immediately felt the warmth of the fire’s blaze and sighed in contentment. “Did you know you please me in every way, Wife?” he asked.
She laughed. “I would love to record your words, Aldred, for I fear you are most forgetful. I remember times when you have cautioned me for being too headstrong, too stubborn, blind to the—”
“Enough,” he protested, cutting her off as he pulled a piece of bread apart. “Mayhap there has been a time or two that you distressed me. Overall, though, you are tolerable. I suppose.” He grinned mischievously at her.
A knock at the open door interrupted their playful banter. He looked up and saw Gavin standing there hesitantly.
“Come in, Gavin, come in. I hope all is well? You are pleased with your room? Your bed?”
“Yes, my lord. Though I would have been happy with a pallet on the floor of the Great Hall, the luxury of a room has me feeling as if I were royalty. Everything is most splendid.”
Aldred watched Gavin step through the portal. He eyed Elizabeth unsurely and then turned his attention back to Aldred.
For his part, Aldred was amused. Elizabeth intimidated many a man. For all her youth and beauty, she was quite in charge of things. He sensed Gavin had discovered this and didn’t know what to make of her just yet.
“Come closer, Gavin. Closer,” he instructed. “I can’t hear quite as well as I once did.”
“At least that’s what he claims,” Elizabeth chimed in. “Although this hearing loss only seems to come about whenever I ask him to do something he wishes to avoid.”
Aldred chuckled. “She has found me out,” he whispered in Gavin’s direction before taking his wife’s hand and smiling benignly at her.
She dropped his hand. “You, my lord, are impossible. Now break your fast and stop all this quibbling. I have much work to do.”
Elizabeth turned to Gavin. “See that he eats, and please do not tire him.” She gave a mock glare to Aldred and left the room.
“See what I must put up with?” he asked and sighed. “Now pull up a chair, Gavin. We have much to discuss.”
“As long as you eat what ‘tis before you,” Gavin said as he brought a chair beside the bed. “I would not want your wife to think less of me than she does.”
“Elizabeth? Oh, she’ll adore you once she gets to know you. You did not meet under ideal circumstances. She is rather like a mama bear protecting her fragile cub, as far as I am concerned. But ‘tis neither here nor there.”
He picked up a slice of cheese to nibble on. “So now, my friend. What brings you to Kentwood? Your countenance is a troubled one. You are as thin as a lad of four and ten. What ails you, Gavin? ‘Tis it the war in France? Or has Berwyn been up to no good?”
Gavin visibly shuddered at the mention of his father’s name. So he’d been right in thinking this unease that sat upon the lad’s shoulders had to do with that fool Berwyn.
The knight pushed his hands through his hair, frustrated at where to begin. He sat back in his chair and fidgeted as a boy might. Then the little cat that seemed to be a part of him peeked its head from within the sack it rode in. It used its claws to scamper up Gavin’s chest and placed both paws on its master’s shoulders.
Aldred heard a loud purr as it licked Gavin’s chin and proceeded to bump its nose against Gavin’s own nose. With a fond smile, he unhooked the cat’s claws from his clothing and settled the gray fur ball against him, stroking it as he began to speak.
“I’ve come to you in need of a favor, my lord,” he began.
“’Tis yours to ask, Gavin. You know I shall grant you anything within my power.”
“I am at a crossroads in my life. War no longer appeals to me.” A dark shadow crossed his face. Aldred’s stomach tightened in response.
“What happened in France, my boy?” he asked softly.
Gavin recounted his and Robert’s capture and their first weeks in confinement. Aldred had heard all this before from Robert himself but chose to keep silent, wishing to hear the tale from Gavin’s lips. Nothing varied from the account Robert gave when he returned from being ransomed.
“And after Robert left?” Aldred prodded. “I know word reached Baywith first, and he immediately sent the ransom for his son’s release. How long before the French received Berwyn’s response?”
Gavin’s face grew colorless as he spoke. “A fortnight after Robert’s release, I received a letter with my . . . with Berwyn’s seal upon it. In it, he refused to pay the ransom. He wrote . . . ”
Gavin’s voice faltered, and he rested his head in his hands. The cat jumped to the floor and curled up at its master’s feet. Aldred waited, knowing
what Gavin would say must be painful indeed.
“It said to do with the prisoner as they liked.” His head rose, and he met Aldred’s eyes with all the bleakness of a winter’s day.
Yet the shock of his words weren’t nearly as strong as what Aldred saw in an instant. He’d never been one for vanity and rarely gave his looks a second thought for a majority of his life. He did know women often spent time fussing over their appearance so he’d gifted Elizabeth with a mirror, which seemed to please her.
But he himself eventually became fascinated with the image it displayed. As time passed, he looked often into this mirror, studying what he saw before him. He wondered why men followed him, did whatever he asked without question. He’d wanted to see what was in his face that would cause a man to place himself in peril at the mere request of another man.
A Bit of Heaven on Earth Page 9
