Chapter 13 #3
“No. Everyone was under strict instructions not to mention her until I could tell you myself. I wanted to be the one to do so.”
He had wanted to see the expression on her face, witness the pleasure it gave her to be reunited with her horse.
And he hadn’t been disappointed. This, more than anything else, told him that he was starting to feel dangerous things for her.
And, undeniably, it worried him. That he desired her was understandable; she was just too damn alluring for any man to resist. That he wanted to please her just for the pleasure of seeing the wonder on her face was less justifiable.
Alexander swallowed. Was he really losing his mind over this woman he could never have?
It was not just his decision never to marry that stood in his way, it was her conviction that she would live in Wales in her brother’s castle.
Whatever future they might have had been doomed from the start.
For a wild moment, overcome by his joy at seeing her again, at giving her her horse back, he had forgotten all those barriers.
It was time he remembered them.
“Where was she?” Gwenllian asked, giving her mare another caress. Mercifully, she seemed oblivious to his musings.
“I had left instructions, as you know, for my men to investigate and recover her while we went to Scotland. They found her in the stables of a local lord named Sir Roland Pomeroy. He had only just bought her from a villager.”
“So, your men found my attackers?”
His face darkened. “Alas, they did not. Believe me, I would have liked nothing more than to see them punished, but the man Sir Roland had purchased the mare from was a young lad who could barely string two words together. It was obvious he did not know what he was doing or that the horse had been stolen. My guess is that the bastards who took Gwlithyn sent him to do the dirty work so as to avoid punishment. They were right to be wary, as simple villagers being in possession of such a horse would have raised suspicion and questions would have been asked.”
Gwenllian nodded slowly. “In any case, I suppose you bought her? Sir Roland would hardly have given her back to you just for the asking.”
Indeed, Alexander had given instructions that no expenses should be spared if the men did locate the horse, which was fortunate, because Sir Roland had seized this opportunity to ensure he was well compensated for the inconvenience of having to find another mount for his daughter.
The sum he had named had been exorbitant, no doubt more than twice the price he had paid the poor lad.
Still, Master Simon, the steward, had agreed without comment, knowing Alexander would have paid three times that amount to see the lady reunited with her mare.
“Yes,” he told Gwenllian. “But ’tis no—”
“It is. I will repay you. For her and for the new saddle I see you had made for her, and the new shoes,” she added, nodding to Gwlithyn’s hooves.
Alexander arched a brow. My, but the lady had a sharp eye.
“Very well,” he agreed, already deciding that he would give a plausible but lower price than what Master Simon had actually paid. He understood that she didn’t want to be in his debt, but she had already repaid him tenfold. Money he had, the joy she gave him he had rarely, if ever, experienced.
“I have something else to show you. Or rather, someone else. The new farrier. He is the one who took care of her hooves. He did such an excellent job that we offered him a place to stay here.”
Gwenllian did not comment, but she wondered what made Alexander think she would be interested in meeting Audley’s new farrier, even if he had done an excellent job of shoeing Gwlithyn.
Still, she was pleased that he thought she would, because it meant that he was not only interested in the pleasure her body could give him, but also in her as a person.
He wanted to share more than a purely physical release with her.
And to her surprise, when he pointed at a man in the distance, by the barbican, she did find that she was interested.
Because the farrier turned out to be none other than John, the old man who’d mistaken her for his wife that day in the forest, the one Alexander had promised to look after. Apparently, he had more than fulfilled his promise, since he had offered him a job as well as shelter.
“You mean, he now lives at Audley?”
She was awed by his generosity. After an attack on their person, many a man would have washed their hands of the person responsible, albeit indirectly, for the humiliation.
It had impressed her to see him accept her request that they take care of the old man, but this was beyond what she had even imagined.
“Yes. I’m told he struck an immediate friendship with Peter’s father when he arrived, and when it was discovered that he was a skilled farrier, Master Simon, the steward, asked him if he would consider staying and taking care of our horses.
As it happens, we had shared our concern with the work of the farrier we use in town many times.
He’s quite good when he puts his mind to it, but he will rush and make mistakes when he argues with his wife, which happens a lot more often than one would expect.
Before I left, he had caused one of our geldings to go limp.
That is not acceptable. I’m hoping that with John around, the animals will not suffer anymore. ”
“He agreed to stay at Audley, I take it?” This was not a real question. Mere weeks after his arrival, the man appeared at home.
Alexander chuckled, the sound charming her ear. “He did. He would have, I believe, even if he hadn’t met Master Simon’s sister, a widow who’s recently come to live at Audley herself. As soon as John saw her, he fell in love. Again.”
“Again?” Gwenllian’s heart skipped a beat. “You mean…”
“Yes. He thought he’d found his lost love, like he did with you that day by the river.
” Alexander clenched his jaw as if he didn’t like thinking of that moment.
She didn’t either. “Only, because his son was not here to make a mess of it this time, he actually started to woo the woman, thinking in his confusion that she hadn’t died but left him because he was not attentive enough to her needs.
The woman, who had come to live here because she was convinced she would never marry again at her age, let herself be convinced and fell for the man’s charm.
His sincere admiration won her over. Last night they asked for my permission to get married, which I readily gave. ”
“Oh, this is perfect. I’m so happy for them.” Gwenllian was moved to tears by the story. “What’s her name?”
“Have a guess.”
No? Surely not? “Isobel?”
“Isobel,” Alexander confirmed with a smile. “And you know, she does look a lot like you, even if she is older. I understand now why poor Old John would have confused you with his late wife as she would have appeared in her youth.”
“I’m pleased to see that you don’t think him complicit in his son’s schemes any longer.”
“No. I don’t. It was an honest mistake. And with hope, he will now be able to live a more peaceful life.”
Gwenllian fell into deep musings.
A blonde woman who had come to live with her brother because she thought she would end her life alone and who had fallen in love with a man living at Audley Castle.
That sounded very familiar. She wondered if Alexander had seen the similarities between Isobel and herself.
Perhaps not. And why would he? She was not a widow.
And she had not fallen in love with him… had she?
No.
Though she could still feel deep inside her the last vestiges of the pleasure he had given her in the forest, she knew it was not love that had sent her into his arms. It was lust, nothing more.
Wanting to rut with someone you found desirable was not the same as being in love with them, everyone knew that.
Just then, John, who had vanished from view while they talked, appeared by their side. Before she could think, she turned to face him.
Gwenllian braced herself. Had it been a mistake to show her face?
Perhaps, but she had been taken by surprise, and it was too late to hide now.
How would he react? Would he fall into her arms again?
For a long moment, he didn’t move, then he blinked.
Finally, he dropped her a deep curtsy, looking startled rather than confused.
“John, this is Lady Gwenllian Hunter,” Alexander said, helping to smooth over the moment. “She is one of our neighbors’ daughters.”
“My lady. Forgive me for staring. Only, for a moment I thought you were my wife, Isobel,” he finished simply. “Not that she wears such finery, of course, but you look like you could be her, or her daughter at least.”
Gwenllian could not help but beam at him. It would seem that coming to Audley and meeting his new wife had changed the man. “I thank you. I’m sure it is a compliment.”
“Indeed. She is the most beautiful and the most remarkable woman.”
By the time he’d disappeared through the door of the barbican, Gwenllian was fighting tears.
Now that he was happy with a woman he loved, John only saw a resemblance between her and his wife, like people sometimes did, nothing more.
The similarities between the two of them would not be cause for confusion or grief for anyone.
Not that it mattered much. She had no intention of coming to live here…did she?