Chapter Fourteen
Both Gray and Brooke were bent over Geoff when their husbands arrived.
Geoff was starting to cough up blood, never a good sign, and Gray was struggling to figure out where the bleeding was coming from.
Braxton and Dallas watched with mounting concern as Geoff continued to spit up bright red blood.
Braxton finally knelt beside his wife, his gaze fixed on his knight.
“De Aughton should be back before noon, Geoff,” he said quietly. “Lady de Nerra will do all she can until then. You must hold on.”
Geoff was conscious and miserable. He nodded his head, his eyes closed. “I would not want to despoil her efforts, my lord.”
Gray passed a sidelong glance at Braxton, letting him know that she was very concerned for the young knight.
Brooke was mostly hovering aimlessly, not knowing what to do but wanting to help her mother just the same.
When Geoff coughed up more blood and splattered it on her arm, she nearly had heart failure.
Having never been exposed to battle or blood on a serious level, she was unused to the reality of gore.
But she made a brave attempt to wipe it off of Geoff’s mouth, mostly smearing red streaks down his chin. Then she wiped furiously at the blood on her arm, feeling nauseous at the sight. Above her concern for the knight, Gray noticed her daughter’s pale pallor.
“Dallas,” she said softly. “Would you mind taking Brooke to finish packing? Braxton would like to be on the road to Erith before noon and I am sure my daughter has yet to make preparation.”
It was just an excuse to remove Brooke from the tent but Dallas took it.
He was deeply concerned for his friend’s health but reckoned there was nothing he could do about it.
Moreover, he still had a directive from Braxton that he had yet to fulfill.
If ever there was a time to complete his objective and make Brooke his wife in every sense of the word, the time was now while everyone was distracted.
He grasped his young wife by the arm and gently escorted her from the tent.
The day was beginning to warm outside. The grass was cool, the trees green, and nary a cloud in the sky now that the morning mist had burned away. Dallas silently led Brooke over to their tent, holding back the flap as she went inside. He followed her and secured the ties that held closed the flap.
Reluctantly, he eyed her as she went straight for the pile of clothes on the ground that she had created when she had to dig through her satchel for something on the bottom. She began to wad up her meager possessions and shove them back inside. He moved up behind her.
“We shall make a shopping trip into town in the next few days to acquire more material for you,” he said quietly.
She looked up at him. “What for?”
“For clothing. I would like my wife to be well dressed.”
She looked down at what she was wearing; it was a surcoat made from a wool tartan fabric that Braxton had brought them. She had three new surcoats; she’d never had three new of anything in her entire life.
“But I already have this,” she told Dallas. “Do I need more clothing?”
The corners of his mouth twitched with a smile as he crouched beside her. “Wouldn’t you like some?”
She was gazing at him quite openly, her innocence obvious. “I do not know. I already have some new dresses that my mother made me. I am not sure I need more. She told me I was being selfish and petty, after all. If I have more new clothing, she will think I badgered you into it.”
He did laugh, then. “She will know the truth when I tell her I insisted.” His smile faded as he gazed into her big blue eyes. “As I said, I should like my lovely wife to be well dressed. It is a direct reflection on my ability to provide for you as a husband.”
She flushed around the ears at his compliment. Then she shrugged weakly. “If you think it is the right thing to do.”
“I do.”
She didn’t have anything more to say to that.
Cheeks still warm, she returned to her packing as Dallas stood up and began removing pieces of armor.
She could hear him setting the pieces down carefully.
But she was focused on shoving the last of her possessions into her satchel and he startled her when he suddenly sat heavily on the bedroll next to her.
“Brooke?”
She looked at him, her fingers pausing as she tied up her bag. “Aye?”
For the first time since she had known him, Dallas looked uncomfortable.
He sighed heavily, reaching out to take one of the hands that were lingering on the bag.
He stared at her hand a moment and Brooke’s heart thumped loudly against her ribs at the warmth of his touch.
Since last night, the sight or sound of him made her heart do strange things. His touch only increased the effect.
“I have debated how to deal with this situation and I have considered keeping it from you and simply doing as I see best,” he began. “But I feel strongly that if this marriage is to have any chance of surviving, we must be honest with one another. Do you agree?”
Brooke gazed at him. “I… I suppose so.”
“Good,” he said, wondering if he should, indeed, be open with her. She was so very young. “You are aware that you and I were married for a reason, correct?”
She nodded slowly. “Aye.”
“And that reason was to not only provide you with a suitable husband, but to prevent your grandmother from awarding you to the highest bidder. Are you with me so far?”
She nodded again, curiously, and he continued.
“Even though we are married, this union will not be truly binding until we consummate it. I should have done it last night but I felt strongly that it was not the right time. However, with our party returning to Castle Erith, I cannot delay. We already know that de Clare is at Erith at your grandmother’s invitation.
We must make sure that our marriage is secure. ”
By this time, she was looking at him fearfully. “Then we… we must…”
He nodded faintly, looking into her wide blue eyes. “Aye, we must. And I swear to you that I will be as gentle as possible. But it must be done.”
Brooke blinked, averting her gaze as she thought about what was to come.
She was naturally frightened, but she was also naturally curious.
Last night, she had slept next to Dallas and had felt such comfort and security as she had never known.
She was coming to feel comfortable with him as much as their short marriage would allow, but he was still a stranger. Hesitantly, she met his gaze again.
“My mother has explained to me the way of men and women,” she said quietly. “And I have seen animals couple. We had a dog once that had a litter of puppies twice a year. Every time I saw her, she was being mounted by another dog. But as for people coupling….”
He smiled at her innocence; he couldn’t help it. “It is different than dogs.”
She saw his grin and thought he was laughing at her.
“I know that,” she snapped softly, immediately cooling when she realized that he was not mocking her.
Dallas didn’t seem the type. “But… but I have never even had a suitor and the first time a man kissed me was last night when you did. I do not know what to do. What if I do the wrong thing? You will be sorry that you married me.”
His smile grew; fortunately, he had not taken offense to her snappish reply. “I would never be sorry, Brooke. And you cannot possibly do the wrong thing. Just listen to what I tell you and I promise you will gain some enjoyment from it.”
She regarded him carefully. “You have done this before.”
He cleared his throat and averted his gaze a moment, shifting his seat. “I have.”
“With whom?”
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “It does not matter. Suffice it to say that I believe I can navigate my way through this.”
She cocked her head. “But why is it expected that I am a virgin and acceptable that you are not?”
His gaze was steady on her. “Because one of us must know something or both of us will be making fools of ourselves. Therefore, in preparation of this moment, I have had to learn so that I can teach you.”
She cast him a long glance, suggesting that she thought his answer was ridiculous. Then she actually laughed. “You are good at thinking of answers that make sense. But I know it is a preposterous answer you give me.”
“Why?”
“Because it is,” she insisted. “I want to know why I must remain pure, yet you did not have the courtesy to remain pure for me. Well?”
She was a spitfire, spoiled and selfish, but she was also intelligent and quite pretty. He reached out and grasped her face gently with one hand.
“If it is any consolation to you, no one has marked my heart,” he said quietly, watching her fire cool. “That, my lady, I have indeed saved for my wife. For you.”
Her fire banked completely and she took on the wide-eyed innocent look again. “How do you know?”
“How do I know what?”
“That you will give me your heart?”
He wriggled his eyebrows and dropped his hand. But he was smiling. “I do not, for certain. But I can hope.”
Brooke simply nodded. There wasn’t much more to say on the subject.
Now the reality of what they must do began to weigh heavily on her and her cheeks began to grow warm again.
She kept her head down, looking at her bag.
Without another word, Dallas reached over and put a hand on her neck, pulling her to him. He very gently kissed her cheek.
“Trust me, Brooke,” he murmured against her flesh. “I promise I will be gentle.”
She had no choice but to comply, her eyes closing as he kissed her cheek again. His mouth moved across her face, to her chin, before finally claiming her lips.