Chapter Nine #3
She was also to discover that Christopher had seen to every little detail of the journey.
Things she could have quite easily arranged, he had done.
Two maids were to accompany her, older women who had served her mother and had always made sure Dustin’s clothes were clean.
She never had a maid of her own because she didn’t want or need one, yet in London, she suspected she would need the help.
Young boys, pages or squires that Christopher had brought with him, were dashing about and helping the knights finish with details.
Edward left her standing in the open front door as he went to inform Christopher that Lady de Lohr was ready, and she had a chance to see for herself what a madhouse the bailey had become.
Soldiers, she suspected easily over one hundred, were in loose ranks in the bailey being hounded by the pounding rain.
The big destriers were being brought out by grooms, snorting and dancing and snapping at anything that moved.
Behind them, she could see a groom leading out her lanky warmblood.
She’d never even told her husband that she had a personal horse, he must have suspected.
She wondered with a grin if he had spent his time looking for a little palfrey and not a big-boned gelding.
Her horse, a beautiful rich brown with four white stockings, was named Hercules by her father because the animal was uncannily strong.
But the animal was attached to Dustin and she could handle him better than any other, including the stable master.
Yet he looked as calm and docile as a kitten as the groomsman led him out behind the harried destriers.
Fact was, he could probably hold his own in a fight with a destrier and most likely win.
Someone began shouting orders and she jumped, for the voice was as loud as the thunder overhead.
Her eyes found the source of the shouting and she was not surprised to see Christopher commanding his soldiers to straighten their ranks.
He was walking toward her as he bellowed, moving quite easily in his bulky armor, with David and Leeton making sure his orders were carried out.
She watched him with his men for the first time, pride filling her when she saw how easily he controlled them, and how they obviously respected him.
The presence and power the man radiated was unlike anything she had ever seen.
Her father had been a good soldier, but he was more of a politician than a warrior.
She realized that watching Christopher with his men charged her with a peculiar sort of excitement.
He mounted the steps and she stepped back, rain pouring off of him as he stepped just inside the threshold.
“Edward says you are ready,” he said, his face and body soaked.
“I am, my lord,” she replied. Lord, the man was big and imposing when he was still in his command mode. She’d seen him in full armor many times, but never when he had been directly commanding his men. It was as if there were two different personalities in the same man.
He shook his head, water spatting on the floor. “I think you will ride in the wagon under a tarp for a while, at least until this godforsaken rain lets up.”
“I am not afraid of a little rain, my lord,” she said. “I have ridden through worse.”
“That was not a request, my lady.” He seemed preoccupied and harsh. “You will do as I say,” he turned and shouted to the nearest soldier. “Is the tarpaulin rigged on the large wagon?”
The affirmative reply came and he turned back to his wife. “Very well, then. Let us depart.”
She nodded, putting her hood up to protect herself from the downpour and making sure the heavy cloak was secured.
“Dustin,” he said softly.
Her eyes snapped up to him, aware of his tender tone. She was surprised to see him smiling down at her. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead he bent down and kissed her cheek, his wet helmet dripping water on her woolen hood.
“Come on,” he said hoarsely.
He gathered her up in his arms, groaning aloud with all of the weight she was carrying. “Christ, woman,” he pretended to huff. “You must weigh as much as I do.”
She giggled at his feigned misery, wrapping her thickly-bundled arms around his neck. He winked at her, grunting again as he carried her out into the driving weather.
The back of the wagon was actually arranged nicely.
Soldiers had secured a large oiled tarp over the entire bed and then had spread out a coverlet on the floor of the wagon.
There were even a few pillows, and Christopher deposited her on one of them.
Dustin glanced about, noticing that the two maids were at the far end, surrounded by their belongings.
Dustin turned back to her husband. “This is most comfortable, my lord,” she said. “Did you really go through all this trouble for me? I could have just as easily rode Hercules.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You mean that monstrous horse? We shall discuss him at a later time, wife. I am not at all comfortable with you astride that leggy beast, although the stable master assures me that the animal is as gentle as one of your rabbits when you ride him.”
“He is gentle,” she insisted. “And if you had doubts, why did you bring him along?”
“Because if I did not, you would be arguing with me just as you are now,” he scowled at her, then flipped down his visor. “Make yourself comfortable, lady. ’Twill be a long ride until we stop for the night.”
She fought off a smile. “Christopher,” she beckoned him closer with her cocked finger.
He leaned down again. “What is it?”
Smiling now, she reached up and flipped up his visor, kissing him on the nose and then slamming his visor back down again.
“Nothing.”
Underneath his closed visor, he was smiling broadly. He straightened again and shook his head at her. “Nymph,” he muttered.
Dustin settled against the side of the wagon, feeling warm and dry as the rain poured all around her. Although she could not see him, she could hear Christopher giving orders and she sighed with satisfaction, looking forward to the days ahead.
*
The weather was absolutely hellish. The closer they drew to London, the more thunder and lightning set in.
Dustin alternately dozed and read in the wagon, very dry when the rest of the party was soaked and chilled to their very bones.
A few times, she peered out from underneath the tarp to see if she could catch a glimpse of her husband, but the wagons were positioned midway in the column of soldiers and it was impossible to see the knights at the very front.
Not particularly disturbed, she simply settled in for the ride and tried to keep herself occupied.
It was nearly the middle of the afternoon when the wagons halted and Dustin sat up expectantly, hearing orders echoing in the distance of a voice she knew to be Christopher’s.
She barely realized how excited she was to see him when suddenly he appeared beside her, his visor down on his massive helmet.
“How does my lady fare?” he demanded lightly.
Dustin’s heart warmed. “Well, thank you, but I would like to stretch my legs a bit, if only for a moment.”
“That can be arranged.”
He held out a gloved hand to her and she placed her small hand in his, swinging her legs over the end of the wagon and standing on the mushy road. The other knights, all helmeted and looking quite alike, were suddenly standing around her and Christopher.
“The men are seeking shelter, as ordered,” David said. “Thank God for all of these trees.”
Christopher nodded. “At least it will provide them with some reprieve from the rain as they eat. As it is now, my wife and I will forge ahead and find our own bit of shelter.”
Christopher took a bag from one of the soldiers and moved to pick up Dustin, but she balked. “Can I please walk? I have boots to protect my feet from the water.”
He nodded, taking her hand instead and leading her into a big clump of trees. It was still damp, but they were clear from the driving rain under the heavy canopy.
Dustin stood eagerly while he opened the bag, she was famished. He handed her a wedge of cheese and chunk of bread and she accepted them happily. He watched her as she ate with gusto.
“How do you find the wagon?” he asked.
“Tiresome,” she replied, glancing at him. “Can I please ride with you?”
He pulled off his helmet with a grunt of satisfaction, his blond hair wavy with moisture. “Nay, ’tis too wet still. I would have you ride dry in the wagon.”
Dustin didn’t even know what feminine wiles were, but she had a fierce load of them.
She had seen her mother use soft words and actions to persuade her father, and it almost always worked.
Mayhap if she used the same cunning on her own husband, he would allow her to ride up front with him and his knights. She was bored silly in the wagon.
She moved over and casually brushed up against him. When he looked away from the bread in his hand, she smiled sweetly. “Please, Christopher, allow me to ride with you and your men? I… I miss you.”
He stopped chewing, gazing back into her gray eyes with some surprise.
“You do?” he managed to ask.
“Aye.” She thought about it now, realizing it was true. “Aye, I do. Can I please ride with you?”
He swallowed his bite. He would like nothing better than to have her ride with him, better still, literally ride in front of him. But he was soaked through and he knew she would become, too, if she rode in the open.
“Dustin, ’tis far too wet,” he said gently. “I must insist that you ride in the wagon.”
Miffed, she turned away from him and he was remorseful that he had denied her request. Yet, for her own health, he knew he must.
“Do not move away from me,” he ordered softly. “Come back.”
“Nay,” she snapped. “I will not.”
He reached out a long arm and grabbed her, pulling her back against him. She gasped at the swiftness of his action, her eyes wide and irritated at him. Yet the eyes that gazed back at her were soft and warm. “Tell me you miss me again.”