Chapter Fifty-Six #3
But Bruce was furious with her behavior. He was embarrassed at the very least. “Sire, I would speak with my granddaughter alone, with your permission,” Lord Bruce said, and got up from his chair.
John put up a hand. “You may speak with her if that is all you truly intend to do,” he said. “I forbid you to lay a hand on her, Bruce. I mean it.”
Bruce flushed red, eyeing Dustin angrily but seeing the situation for what it was. John wanted his granddaughter for himself and he would not be allowed to lay a hand on her, at least until he had grown tired of the game. John did not like damaged goods.
Slowly, he regained his seat and tried to focus on something other than his damaged pride.
Dustin, fully aware of her grandfather’s embarrassment, continued to eat what was in front of her and ignored Bruce completely.
It was strange that she felt safer with John than with her own grandfather.
Yet in truth she felt safe with none of them, and she was hard pressed to decide the lesser of the evils.
“Tell me, my lady, what was it like being married to the two greatest warriors this realm has ever seen?” Sir Dennis asked, his eyes glittering over the top of his bejeweled goblet.
Dustin’s head snapped up; she had expected as much from the man and fought to control her emotions.
“That depends, Sir Dennis,” she said. “They were both kind, noble men.”
“That’s not what he meant,” Ralph quipped snidely. “He wanted to know who is better in bed.”
Dustin cringed inwardly; how could they speak so callously of such a wonderful, loving act? Shocked, she swallowed her mouth of food and prepared to reply when Sir Dennis cut in.
“You always know what I am thinking, do you not?” Dennis laughed. “Let’s make a bet, mon frere. I say the de Lohr is the better lay. What say you?”
Ralph grinned lewdly. “I have heard that Burton is a tiger, but then again, what would I know?” He looked at Dustin. “Here sits his former wife. Why not ask her?”
Dustin stared back, disgusted and sickened at the conversation.
But she could play lewd games with the best of them rather than let them see how badly they had upset her.
Mayhap if they saw she wasn’t the least bit sensitive about her “marriages,” then they might leave well enough alone.
Primly, she folded her hands and collected her thoughts before fixing Sir Dennis in the eye. Let her beat them at their own game.
“They are both men among men, let me assure you,” she said softly with a trace of seduction. “Marcus Burton can bring a scream to my lips within thirty seconds and Christopher de Lohr can play games until the sun rises. Any more questions?”
John paused with a spoon half way to his mouth.
Sir Dennis and Ralph gazed back at Dustin with surprise, glancing at each other after a moment.
They had thoroughly hoped to upset and unbalance Lady Dustin, but instead, she was meeting their challenge.
This small slip of a woman who had managed to snare the love of the greatest knights of their time was holding her own against her formidable rivals and they felt the game slipping away, losing interest. There was no point in playing if she was not going to respond.
“But…who is better?” Sir Dennis tried one last time.
Dustin sat back in her chair, her eyes glittering like storm clouds. “Christopher, without a doubt. Although Marcus is no amateur.” She offered a triumphant little smile to cap off her performance.
John was looking at her with a great deal of amusement. “My, my, you are frank, aren’t you? True ladies do not boast of their conquests, you know.”
“Since when have I been considered a true lady?” Dustin shot back with a smirk. It was becoming easier to play their game as she went along. “With the exception of a few, every woman at Windsor disliked me intensely and I was considered something of a passing fad.”
“Not true,” John returned. “I know you were very popular, for a fact.”
“My husband was very popular, sire,” Dustin corrected.
“Popular with the women. They only wanted me around because I was his wife. I must say, those bitches were a bore.”
John laughed softly and Dustin joined in boisterously, eyeing Ralph and her smile vanished unnaturally fast. “What is it with you, Fitz Walter? Don’t you have a sense of humor?”
Ralph raised a greasy black eyebrow at her. “My lady is…most different without her husband hanging about.”
Dustin threw up her hands. “He is a bore, too. Do not do this, Dustin. Do not sit this way. Do not ride astride.” She mimicked Christopher’s sternness. “The man kept me bridled like a brood mare. Acted like my damn father more than my husband.”
“But you love him,” Ralph stated.
A stab of pain went into Dustin’s heart; Lord, she loved him more than life itself. Her loud demeanor faltered slightly. “Aye, I do. He is a kind man. But I did not say what kind.”
John laughed loudly and slapped his hand against the table, calling for more wine in the process.
“I know what kind,” he said, then eyed Dustin slowly. “You are putting on quite a show for our benefit, my lady.”
Dustin twitched with surprise; mayhap her acting wasn’t all that grand. But she had to pretend they did not frighten her, that she really did not care about Christopher or Marcus. They could not see just how terrified she was.
“ ’Tis no act, I assure you, sire,” she said, lowering her lashes. “Before you is the real Lady Dustin Barringdon de Lohr.”
He raised a questioning eyebrow but said nothing. He wasn’t sure what to think anymore, but he was not so gullible that he sincerely believed her. Mayhap there was part truth to her statement, but he doubted it. In his experience, women were scheming cows.
“Tell me my lady, will you compare me to de Lohr and Burton’s expertise in the bedchamber?” he leaned close to her. “I wonder what you will tell others about me?”
Dustin went white; the fear she was trying desperately to control returned fully. “I will tell…..nothing, of course, sire.”
“Lying wench,” he hissed, moving away and drinking deeply of his goblet.