Chapter Thirteen #4
A sweet, beautiful woman without ambition?
Garret could hardly believe it. That wasn’t the world he came from and he was certain that wasn’t the world she came from, either.
To be unaffected by such things was rare, indeed, and her words touched him.
Leaning forward, he kissed her sweetly on the lips. He simply couldn’t help it.
But it had been a mistake. Instantly, he was drunk with the taste of her and he pulled her up against him as his lips slanted over hers.
Here, in the middle of a common room with the rabble and rubbish of London as witnesses, he’d made their first kiss a spectacle for them to see.
But he hardly cared; all he cared about was the feel and taste of Lyssa up against him.
Never in his life had he been so intoxicated with the first taste of anything… or anyone.
But somewhere, somehow, his common sense gained control from his lust and he forced himself to pull away from her with a groan.
“God’s Bones,” he muttered. “I am sorry if that was an unwelcome advance. I do not know what came over me… nay, that is not true. I do know what has come over me. You have come over me. And I shall do that again if the opportunity presents itself, so consider yourself warned.”
Lyssa looking at him with a mixture of surprise and lust. “You have my permission to do so, any time.”
The catch in her voice was gone again. Or was it? Garret still wasn’t sure if he was imagining such a thing, but he hardly cared. In moments of extreme warmth, or affection, she seemed to lose it. Or maybe he just stopped hearing it. He smiled faintly at her.
“Then I shall kiss you, whenever and wherever I can,” he murmured. “However, there is a problem.”
“What?”
“I promised your aunt that I would behave. It seems that I have gone back on my promise. Furthermore, she threatened me if I should forget my promise. Now, I fear for my life.”
Lyssa laughed softly. “I-I will not tell her, I swear it.”
He grinned because she was. But quickly, his smile faded. “Lyssa….”
He trailed off and she looked at him, expectantly. “W-What is it?”
He sighed heavily. “I… I have a confession,” he said. “I do not know if I can take you to Lioncross Abbey. The more I think on it, the more reluctant I am to do it. I do not know if I can stand being away from you for so long.”
Her smile faded also and he could see some fear in her eyes.
“N-Nor I,” she whispered. “I-I have been thinking the same thing. I-I said something about it earlier – how we would not know each other when next we saw one another and… o-oh, Garret, must I truly go? W-Why can I not stay here, with you?”
He pursed his lips, rather sadly, and sat back in his chair. “You could not stay with me if we were not married,” he said. “Your aunt would cut off my… well, let us say that she would cut off something that we both need if we are going to have twelve sons.”
Lyssa knew what he meant and her smile was back, embarrassing though it might have been. “S-She would not have reason to if we were married,” she said hesitantly. “I-I know it is foolish and forward to even say such a thing, but….”
He cut her off. “You are not alone in your thinking, sweetheart. I have been thinking the same thing. But to marry after having known each other for three days… it will appear foolish and rushed. People would talk.”
Lyssa shook her head. “L-Let them,” she said.
“T-They will, anyway. T-They will speak of Westminster’s captain marrying a foolish lass with a catch in her speech, but I do not care what they say.
W-We know this is not a foolish or rushed endeavor.
I-If it is right in our hearts and if we feel strongly about it, then it surely cannot be wrong. ”
She made a good deal of sense but Garret was torn. He was afraid he was being susceptible to silly romantic whims and afraid that he was thinking with his heart and not his head. Or, his loins in this case. He was afraid he was thinking with everything else but the great wisdom he was known for.
Still… he knew he wanted to marry Lyssa.
He had from the start. He would only wait months or even years for propriety’s sake, not because he wasn’t certain of his feelings for her.
Those wouldn’t change, not ever. If he married her now or in a year, he would still feel the same for her. Probably more so.
So… what was he afraid of?
More than likely, how it would look for Lyssa. Men would say terrible things about a woman who married a man after only having known him a few days. But he knew the truth, and so would she, so they shouldn’t care what men said of either of them.
If ever there was a time for him to display his bravery in a matter, it would be now.
“Is that what you want, then?” he finally asked. “To marry me now?”
Lyssa wasn’t sure if he was agreeable to the idea. He sounded hesitant. “N-Not if you do not wish to,” she said hurried. “I-It is not my intention to suggest anything you do not wish to do, but….”
He interrupted her. “That was not the question. Do you want to marry me now?”
She was looking at him fearfully, afraid of giving him the wrong answer. “N-Not if you do not….”
He stopped her again. “Let me rephrase the question,” he said. “Lyssa, will you marry me now? Would you be agreeable?”
She was coming to see what he meant and a spark of warmth, of understanding, glimmered in her eyes. “A-Aye,” she said. “I-If you are, then I am.”
He smiled, a gesture that ended up overtaking his entire face.
He pulled her into his embrace, squeezing her tightly, as men at the table next to them suddenly began throwing punches.
Bumped from behind, Garret released Lyssa, stood up, and promptly dropped all three men who had started a fistfight.
All three fools fell victim to his big fists, one after another, and Garret didn’t even raise a sweat.
As the men wallowed on the floor, the crowd took notice and began to cheer Garret.
But it turned into something of a spectacle.
Men began running at Garret, daring him to drop them with one punch while still others were willing to make bets about it.
Dismayed, Lyssa could not believe the disrespect and foolery she was seeing.
Garret tried to take his seat next to her again but drunken men would not allow it, instead, trying to pull him into some kind of fighting game.
He was annoyed, she could see that, but she also suspected he was trying to contain his impatience because he didn’t want to start a massive brawl in front of her.
As this was going on, their food arrived and, in the midst of the chaos, Lyssa stood up and barked.
“Stop!” she snapped. All of the men near the table, including Garret, turned to look at her with surprise but Lyssa wouldn’t back down.
She pointed at the men who were trying to goad Garret.
“Y-You; get away from him this instant. D-Do you not know who he is? H-He is a champion for King Richard and far beyond your childish fighting games. B-Be gone with you, idiots. I-I will not tell you again!”
In that instant, Garret could see that whatever commanding presence Rose had, Lyssa had it, too.
She had a firm no-nonsense manner that was vastly surprising, one that made both men and women instantly inclined to do her bidding.
Truth was, Garret had no idea she could summon such a presence and as he grinned, the men trying to bait him into a punching game slinked away, unwilling to take on the angry lady.
Lyssa followed them somewhat, jabbing a finger at one man who tried to turn around, perhaps to plead one last time with the big knight.
But his lady was having no part of it, so he ducked his head and scampered away like the rest of them.
When Lyssa was certain they would not try to come at Garret again, she turned to him.
“T-There,” she said, brushing off her hands. “N-Now they will leave you in peace. I-I am famished.”
Garret was grinning wide enough to split his face in two. He grasped her by the arm, gently, before she could take her seat.
“That was a remarkable thing to witness, my lady,” he said. “No one can get the better of you, can they?”
She returned his smile, sheepishly. “Y-You may as well know that I am quick to temper sometimes,” she said. “F-Foolishness always angers me.”
“I would like to think that you were defending me.”
“I-I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you or make a fool of you, Garret. A-As long as there was breath in my body, I would not allow it.”
Garret’s heart melted away, like butter on a hot pan. He’d never in his life had anyone think so well of him, or at least someone he thought well of in return.
“Your chivalry is without compare, my lady, and I am deeply grateful. I also think we do not want to tempt fate in case those men you chased away try to return.” He suddenly looked to the two serving wenches who were setting the food out on their table.
“My lady and I do not wish to eat down here with all of this noise and madness. Are there any private rooms available in the tavern?”
The older wench with the bushy red hair pointed to the level above them. “Only sleeping rooms, m’lord,” she said. “There’s no place private for you to eat.”
“Then we shall take a sleeping room for the evening,” he said, motioning to the food on the table. “Take all of this up to one of your rooms. That is where the lady and I shall eat.”
Quickly, the food was gathered up and Garret took Lyssa by the hand, leading her through the riff-raff that was crammed into the common room of the tavern.
He suddenly remembered the trunk under the table.
He paused to grab the trunk and then led Lyssa up the narrow stairs that led to a second floor above.