Chapter Four #3
“To the bone,” he whispered, his dark eyes glimmering with mirth. “When I serve, it is to one lord. With my friends, I am loyal to them to the very last drop of my blood. My mother and brother, too. I am loyal to them. To be disloyal to those I respect would be to dishonor myself.”
“That is very noble,” she said, feeling a bit quivery at his close proximity. “But I am not surprised. I am coming to see that you are a noble man.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you tell me of some of your noble adventures?” she asked. “As a knight, I mean. Surely there are many.”
Now that the meal was finished, he burped loudly and collected his cup. “A few.”
“How long have you been a knight?”
“Many, many years.”
She appeared thoughtful. “Did you go on crusade with King Richard?” she said. “I realize that was a long time ago, but mayhap you went as a very young knight.”
He nodded. “I did go, in fact,” he said. “I was newly knighted and went with the Earl of Norfolk’s contingent, from Dartmouth to Calais. From there, we took a land route to Haifa.”
“Is that a city in the holy land?”
“Aye,” he said. “A dusty, dry city of people who wanted to kill us.”
Athdara was growing increasingly interested in his tale. “I’ve never met anyone who went on crusade,” she said. “I heard it was a great and terrible venture.”
“Great and terrible would aptly describe it.”
“Was there nothing redeemable about it?”
He smirked. “It would take all night to tell you what I think,” he said. “I do not speak of it much, but for you, I would make an exception. Mayhap we should save it for the next time we meet.”
Athdara was a little disappointed, but she didn’t press. “If that is your wish,” she said. “When can we meet again?”
His smile turned genuine. “I like that you are eager.”
Her cheeks flushed with some embarrassment. “I do not know if anyone has ever told you this, my lord, but you are fascinating,” she said. “I want to hear stories of places I have never been.”
Reaching out, he took her hand again. “Fascinating, am I?” he said. “That sounds suspiciously like flattery.”
Athdara’s heart was beginning to race again as he fondled her fingers in a very bold move. “It was nothing of the kind,” she insisted weakly. “I simply meant that you have a good deal of experience I find interesting.”
He laughed softly. “How dare you insist that you were not flattering me,” he said. “You have crushed my spirit.”
Thankfully, she could see that he was jesting, and she grinned. “I suspect you will survive.”
“Will you never flatter me again?”
“Probably not.”
His laughter grew, and he lifted her hand to kiss it again before letting it go. “You are a cold woman, Athdara,” he said. “I have practically thrown myself at your feet, and still, you reject me.”
Athdara was feeling giddy. Or at least she thought so. She’d never truly been giddy in her life, so it was difficult to know. All she knew was that his smile made her heart race and his touch made her cheeks grow warm.
A most wonderful warmth.
“I am not rejecting you,” she said. “I told you that we could speak again, did I not? We will see each other again, I am certain.”
His smile faded. “I am glad,” he said. “Mayhap the next time we meet, you will tell me what your business is in Devon.”
“Mayhap you will tell me where you teach.”
“Does it matter?”
She shook her head. “It does not,” she said.
“Nor does it matter what my business is. Somehow… somehow, it is fun to keep the mystery, don’t you think?
The realities of the world are so harsh.
It is enjoyable to have a world where realities do not penetrate.
We can speak of whatever we wish and create any stories we like.
We can create an entire world of dreams that way. ”
He couldn’t disagree with her. The world, as a whole, was a difficult and dangerous thing.
Blackchurch, in fact, was a difficult and dangerous thing where he spent the vast majority of his time.
It was a harsh world. Therefore, he liked the way she was willing to pretend.
Pretend they didn’t have sorrows or responsibilities.
It was a little immature, perhaps, but there was an allure to it.
He could pretend right along with her and perhaps even enjoy himself.
He was willing to try.
“A world of dreams is a rare thing,” he said after a moment. “I think I’ve forgotten all of mine.”
“The horrors of life have a way of doing that to us.”
He nodded. “That is true,” he said. “Strange—I cannot remember when I have dreamed of things that didn’t involve life or death or the world at hand. Things that were reality in my life.”
Athdara shrugged and picked up her cup, draining the last of it. “When you were a small lad, I am sure you had many dreams,” she said, her warm expression fading. “I know I did. But those dreams are… gone.”
Something in the way she said it made Tay suspect she was thinking of her murdered family again. Picking up his cup, he poured a little of what was left into hers.
“Mayhap they will be replaced by new ones,” he said. “I hope you find your dreams, Lady Athdara.”
“I hope you do too.”
With that, they drank the remaining liquid, but their eyes never left one another.
Athdara was about to say something when she caught sight of Marina out in the common room, sporting a massive black eye.
The woman had blood on her face and seemed to be stumbling around, dazed and confused after what was surely a hell of a fight. She clearly needed help.
Athdara put her cup down. “I must go,” she said. “Thank you for a lovely conversation and a lovely meal. I’ve not had a night like this in a very long time. It has done my soul good to know there are still kind people out there.”
He grasped her wrist as she stood up. “Where are you going?” he asked, but when she didn’t answer right away, he waved a hand at her. “My apologies. It is none of my affair. If you must go, then so be it. When can I see you again?”
Athdara wasn’t entirely sure. She started her new training tomorrow and wasn’t exactly sure how she would feel after a day of strict training.
She might not be in any shape to entertain.
She might be missing teeth or have a black eye.
But somehow, she didn’t think even a missing leg would be enough to keep her away.
She craved a new friend because it made her realize just how lonely she had been.
In Tay, she saw a chance to ease that loneliness, even briefly.
“In three days?” she said, thinking to give herself time to recover or at least become accustomed to whatever she was facing. “I will meet you here and we will sup. And mayhap you will tell me about your adventures in the Levant. I should like to hear about your heroics.”
He snorted softly. “I am not sure there were any heroics involved, merely self-preservation,” he said. “But I will be here.”
She smiled at him. He looked eager, but perhaps there was also some wariness there. As if he wasn’t sure he believed she would really come back. Like her, perhaps he believed there were no honorable women left in the world.
Impulsively, she took his face in her hands and kissed him on the cheek.
“So will I,” she said. “Farewell, Tay the teacher. It has been a night to remember.”
With that, she moved away from the table, heading out into the common room.
Tay watched her go, but he lost her when she blended in with the crowd.
He thought he caught a glimpse of her talking to another person, who turned out to be a woman because, when he caught her profile, he could see her breasts.
Somehow, it was a relief to see that Athdara had come with a woman to The Black Cock.
Although she’d told him there was no man in her life, the truth was that he didn’t believe her. He didn’t believe any woman.
But maybe, in some small way, he was starting to.
It had been a night to remember for him, too.