He looked at her curiously. “Did you not drink wine…where you come from?”
William stretched his legs out in front of him. The kitchen was warm. He could hear sounds of the men moving around in the hall, the guards calling out as they changed shifts. A comforting scene. All that was missing were children running around. He hadn’t thought he would ever have children. Not after Georgina.
“At home we drink water and tea. And a most wondrous drink called Pepsi.” A look of bliss spread across her face. For a moment William found himself jealous of a drink. “Y’all don’t drink water often?”
“In some places the water is bad. The well here is deep, the water clear and sweet. My men and I drink it. But usually people drink wine or ale. Even small children drink watered-down ale with meals.”
“Water is good for you.”
He pondered this.
Wymund came into the kitchen. “My lord? A word?”
William stood, hauled Lucy across the table and kissed her. He found whenever he was around her he wanted to kiss her senseless. Make her his own.
“I am in debt to you for all you have done.” William gestured around the room, meaning the castle in general. “Bertram is content ordering the men around.”
“Don’t we all like to order others around?” Lucy said. And Wymund chuckled.
“You can order me about, lead me around by my nose and whisper sweet words to me. Just don’t tell the men.” William kissed her again, gratified to hear her feminine laugh.
Wymund made a face as they walked out of the kitchen. “You must tell her before she hears the story from someone in the village.”
William chose to ignore his captain. After hearing her tale about the man she called Simon, if he told her about Georgina, she would run as fast as far as she could. Just like all the others.
In his chamber, William paced back and forth in front of the fire. She’d been sleeping in his bed. While grateful to have his room back, he wondered what it would be like to share a chamber with Lucy.
The changes she’d made in his absence suited Blackford. From the chairs in front of the fire in the hall to the tapestries on the walls and fresh-smelling herbs scattered amongst the rushes on the floor. He admired the womanly touches, even the flowers. There were flowers in a mug on the table in the hall, on the worktable in the kitchen and in his room. He’d even found flowers in a mug in his solar and garderobe this morn.
He could get used to having her around. William shut the door behind him and went down to the solar to go over the ledgers with Clement.
When he walked in, the man sat in his chair, feet propped up on the desk.
“William. I hear you were attacked on the road home.”
For the first time in his life, William felt suspicion take root as Clement spoke.
“I am unharmed. The ruffian’s dead.” He stood looking at his friend, who reluctantly vacated the seat and moved to take a chair next to the desk. William sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“We caught one of the men.” Was it a look of fear that crossed Clement’s face? “The man said he was hired to kill me. And my men. There is a traitor amongst us. What have you heard?”
Clement sat up straight. “Aye, there is a traitor. The mistress Lucy.”
“You no longer call her witch?”
Clement should have known William well enough by now to hear the anger in his voice. He didn’t meet William’s gaze. “No. I have come to my senses. She is not a witch. But we know nothing of her. Her strange manner of speech. I have sent inquiries. No one knows her. She has no kin. Therefore she arrived to cause trouble. To turn you against me. My days are consumed with doing what is best for Blackford, my lord.”
“If she is the one causing the trouble then why would someone try to harm her?”
Clement looked innocent. “What do you mean, my lord?”
William noticed Clement only called him “my lord” when he wanted to seem as if he was a servant. But he heard the disdain in the tone for the first time.
“Someone pushed her in the market. A stone almost landed on her. If it wasn’t for Albin, the lady would likely be dead. I do not believe she is the one causing trouble. Someone else wishes her ill.” William looked at Clement until the man looked away first.
“I will find out who means the lady harm. Whoever is harming her harms me. She is under my protection. I will see them dead.”
Clement then spoke of the estate and matters requiring his attention. “Did you know the lady wants women to work in the castle? She wants them to live here,” his steward said, incredulity filling his voice.
More likely, Clement wanted to pick them. He liked plump, lazy wenches, and Lucy would want women who would work as hard as she.
“I have decided to allow women in the castle.” William held up his hand. “Not wenches. You can go to the village to meet your needs. But women to work. There is much to be done. A lady such as Lucy should not be cooking and cleaning.”
It saddened William to think his childhood friend had turned against him. He would not act until he had proof the man he thought of as brother would commit such treachery.
Chapter Twenty-One
While the gingerbread candy cooled in the kitchen, Lucy relaxed in the tiny tower room and crocheted. She warned the men not to sneak any of the dessert. And if they did they wouldn’t get any for a week. In fact, she told them she would give it all to Penelope, her favorite cow. She smiled remembering the looks of horror crossing their faces.
She picked a ball of yarn in a dark shade of brown. It would make the perfect scarf for Norbert. To repay him for making her the hook. The wood had a nice weight and was smooth in her hand. Since the yarn was chunky it should work up quickly and make a nice scarf. She’d chained one hundred and fifty stitches. It looked wide enough. She started to half double crochet when the door opened, making her jump. William ducked under the entrance, deftly scooping up the ball of yarn that went rolling across the floor. As he walked, he wound the yarn around the ball and handed it to her, leaning down for a quick kiss.
“You startled me. Is Thomas with you?”
Albin followed, coming over to touch the yarn in the basket. “He is in your room guarding the door, mistress.”
“Albin and I have spent the morn exploring some of the passages. ’Tis easy for one to move through the castle unseen. There are spy holes in several of the rooms. Two of the men are sealing them up.”
“Just be careful. Somebody has obviously been using the passages.” She looked at Albin. “I would hate for anything to happen to you. Either of you.”
He started to protest, and she raised a hand. “I know. You are a man and I should not worry. But I am a mere woman, therefore I worry over you.” She caught the smile twitching at the corner of William’s mouth.
Just then he seemed to notice the chaise she was stretched out on. He bent down, examining the cushion and the frame. “A reclining chair?”
“Yep. I call it a chaise.” She stood up. “Try it.”
William gingerly sat down in the chair then stretched out, sighing as he leaned back. “’Tis most comfortable.”
“Oh, no you don’t. That’s my chair. I’ll have Norbert make one for you.”
“The carpenter fashioned this?”
“He did. And a girl from the village made the cushions.” She held up her crochet hook. “He also made me this.”
William took the hook from her. “This is the tool you use to fashion your gifts?”
Albin jumped up and down. “It’s called a crochet hook. The lady made me a scarf. You wrap it around your neck to keep you warm in the winter. She’s making this one for Norbert. Then Thomas, and then I guess she’ll make you a present. If you’re very nice to her.”
William smiled at the boy, and Lucy laughed. “I would like to learn how to spin wool. Do you think one of the girls from the village could do it here? I was thinking we could have some of the girls clean, help in the kitc
hens, wash and other things as needed. Maybe one more to help me in the garden?”
William reluctantly gave her back the comfortable chair. “’Tis very soft.”
“It’s stuffed with goose feathers.”
He looked thoughtful. “We should have geese.”
As he opened the door to leave, he turned back. His look promised more kisses later when Albin wasn’t around. “It’s time to allow women in the castle. You are a lady. You should not be doing such chores. Send for whatever help you need.”
The next morning Lucy busied herself making omelets and French toast. The men had told William about their new favorite breakfast. He wanted to try the dish. She would have to make sure to teach the girls how to cook her new dishes.
As she sent the last serving boy out with the platters of food, Albin crept into the kitchen.
Lucy covered her nose. “Oh my stars, what is that stench?”
Albin looked dejected. He was covered in some kind of brown sludge, and the smell wafted off him. She covered her nose, trying to breeze through her mouth.
“Mistress, it’s shite.”
“So early in the morning?” She wrinkled her nose. “How on earth did you end up covered in poop?”
He stood dripping on the floor as Lucy called for two of the men to fill up the bathtub in the small room off the kitchen.
“The boy who empties the barrels under the chutes…”
“What chutes?” Lucy was confused. What was he talking about?
Albin reached out to take her hand, seemed to think better of it and let the hand drop by his side, droplets of poop splattering onto the floor.
“If you’ll follow me, mistress. I’ll show you.”
Lucy wanted to get outside and breathe in the fresh sea air, so she followed the boy out and around the corner of the castle. She hadn’t been to this far corner before, and as they got closer, she smelled a terrible stench. Like sewage.
She could see a barrel and, as she looked up, a hole in the stone.
Albin pointed to the hole. “That’s one of the garderobes. When you go, it comes out here.” He pointed to the barrel.
“How utterly disgusting.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at him. “You dripped poop all over my clean kitchen floor. If I hadn’t already asked the men to fill the tub, I’d send you down to the water to bathe.”
“I can’t swim.”
“It’s probably too cold to go swimming anyway. When it’s warm next summer, I’ll teach you how to swim.” She was talking as if she’d be here then—and then realized. She wanted to be here. Lucy thought of Blackford Castle as home. She loved Albin as she would a brother.
And William. They’d done nothing more than kiss. The relationship with him was the slowest she’d ever taken things, and it felt right to go slow. Get to really know someone before you created false intimacy by jumping in the sack.
Oh heavens. She was falling hard for her knight in tarnished armor. She only hoped he would turn out to be the man she thought he was. For if he wasn’t, this time her heart would break into a million pieces and never recover.
She clapped her hands together. “Inside. And into the tub.”
“I hate to bathe.”
“Do you want a piece of ginger candy?”
The boy’s shoulders slumped as he dragged his feet, slowly making his way into the kitchen as if he were marching to his death. Lucy tried not to laugh, she really did, but a single giggle escaped. Then another and then she couldn’t stop.
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’ve never seen someone covered in poop before. It’s exactly as I would have imagined.”
He gave her a baleful look and stomped into the room off the kitchen.
“Leave your icky clothes in a pile by the tub. You’re going to wash them after you’re done. I’m not touching them.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t start it,” Albin said from the other room.
“I don’t care who started it. When you see the boy next, tell him to come see me.” Little boys liked to talk trash to each other. Lucy figured it would work itself out. But as the men were treating her as lady of the castle whether she wanted it or not, she decided she better hand out some kind of punishment. William would likely spank the boys, and that would humiliate them.
Though in her mind it was punishment enough having to empty barrels full of pee and poop. Yuck.
A few days later an assortment of girls and women stood in front of her. William insisted she add a lady’s maid to the growing list of workers. With signs pointing to a rough winter, people wanted to be here. The castle would provide steady food and shelter.
She saw the men and several of the women eyeing each other. With a smile, she thought there would be several weddings taking place soon enough.
As she set the girls to their duties, she thought about her conversation with William. A guard of her own. Thomas would be her captain and Albin would serve her as well. William told her they would answer to her and her alone. Of course, he said, they all answered to him. To which she’d retorted, “Oh yes, great Lord Blackford.” At that he threw back his head and laughed.
“Arrogant much?”
To which he only laughed louder.
“My lady?”
One of the girls in the kitchen held a jar in her hand. Mary was her name. She was going to show Lucy how to make homemade toothpaste. She’d been using a twig to scrub her teeth, but they always felt kind of scummy. And now that a certain handsome and sometimes cranky lord was kissing her, she wanted to make sure she didn’t have bad breath.
The girl looked through the supplies in the kitchen and placed flour, honey, something called alum and mint on the table. She showed Lucy how she mixed everything together then put it in a small pot.
“Dip the twig in the mixture and scrub your teeth with it, my lady.”
“Thank you so much for showing me how to make the tooth powder.”
The girl blushed, looking down at her feet before shyly looking up at Lucy. “I have heard the men talking about your ginger candy. Would you show me how to make it?”
“I’d love to. The men have developed quite a taste for the stuff.” She leaned toward the girl and said in a mock whisper, “If you want them to do something for you, simply tell them you won’t give them any unless they do what you ask.” The girl looked full of wonder with possibility and then grinned. Lucy wondered if she had her eye on Thomas. He’d be a good catch. Now she was happy she wanted everyone paired off.
Clement lounged in the third-best chamber in the hall and sulked. He spent the day inspecting the work as it progressed on the castle. The masons and carpenter were making good progress. When Blackford was his he would be a good and fair ruler.
Clement patted the dog sleeping next to his feet. “All the scraps you can eat, boy.”
He checked to make sure the bar was secure across the door and the passage leading out of his room was empty. That runt of a boy, Albin, liked to lurk about. To be safe, he left the door to the passage cracked open so he would hear anyone sneaking about.
The passages had served him well. One night soon after his arrival he was in his cups. Making his way to the chamber, he fell against the wall and was shocked when it opened and he fell down a few steps into a dusty corridor.
Clement cursed. Now William knew about the passages. He and the men were busy exploring. Though he hadn’t found them all. Clement snorted. If only he’d found the one leading down to the wine cellar. His time in exile at Blackford would have been much more pleasant.
The fire provided enough light for him to write a letter. A forged letter from William to Robert the Bruce. In the letter William said the new king was weak. He would not support a weak king. He expressed his wishes to change sides and support the Bruce. Provide gold to support his efforts to win Scotland’s independence.
Satisfied with the letter, he sat back and envisioned all the changes he would make when the castle was his. Clement would send a m
essenger to the king with the letter. The messenger would say the letter had been discovered by Clement. And William would be tried for treason. The king would show his gratitude and award Clement Blackford Castle, the title and William’s substantial gold.
Satisfied with the plan, Clement called to his man outside the door.
“Send for a messenger. ’Tis urgent.”
Clement drank his ale and thought about his childhood friend. All their lives William was the favorite. Better with sword, faster on a horse and more skilled in battle.
Once he was thrown in the tower awaiting execution, Clement would tell him who he really was. What they were to each other.
Mayhap he would take Lucy for his bride. Though he would need to beat her every day. She had a sharp tongue when she was displeased. He would enjoy beating her. And getting her a fat belly. A babe of his own. He would love the child, make sure everyone knew the babe was his. His son would never feel unwanted or unloved. Happy thoughts filling his mind, he fell asleep in front of the fire.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Albin hopped up and down. “Come, mistress.”
“Where are we going?”
Lucy finished showing two of the girls how to make French toast. She wiped her hands on her apron and sent up a word of thanks to the seamstress. Pockets were so practical. She’d never given them a second thought in her own time. Taken them for granted. She’d taken a lot for granted.
Like having clean clothes that fit. The dress she wore was a dark brown with embroidery around the hem and sleeves. The flowers stitched in gold. The cream-colored apron made a nice contrast, and she’d put her hair in a bun, using the beautiful jeweled pins William gave her as a gift.
Albin reached under the worktable for a large basket. “We’re going down to the cove. You said we could eat lunch outside.” He looked around the kitchen, grabbing a wheel of cheese.
“You go ahead. I’ll pack our lunch and be along shortly.”
A Knight to Remember: Merriweather Sisters Time Travel (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 1) Page 15
