Chapter Nine
As promised, Wynter didn’t appear for the feast later that night.
She had given her regrets to her mother who, in turn, shared it with Brian.
Gage only knew because he heard Maryann mention it to Brian, who seemed genuinely disappointed.
That disappointment struck a chord in Gage as he remembered what Wynter had told him from their conversation at The Rabbit Burrow.
My father is frantically trying to coerce me into a betrothal with Brian de Luci.
That explained what she was doing at Langley with her mother and sisters.
He understood that their visit was unannounced, so it was probably a rash decision by Lady Ashington to once again bring her eldest daughter and Brian together.
They got more than they bargained for, however, with a mercenary army camping around the castle.
Gage spent the evening putting these pieces of the puzzle together and came up with a couple of conclusions.
The first was that he didn’t like de Luci’s obvious interest in Wynter, which wasn’t reciprocated according to her.
The second was that he didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t supping with him.
He was sitting, quite alone. As he was stewing over that situation, he began to notice Varro and his behavior towards Maryann.
The man with the reptilian green eyes and bright smile had been charming Lady Ashington all evening.
Varro liked women and they liked him, and Maryann seemed to be quite taken with Varro as the man explained his travels to faraway lands.
She was enthralled by his tales, as was Summer.
In fact, Clark didn’t seem to like the fact that Varro was charming two of the de Thorington women but there wasn’t much he could do about it except watch and glare.
Varro charmed, Clark scowled, and the women were oblivious.
Then there was Spring.
Unfortunately for Bull, she’d been his shadow since the feast began.
Bull had moved seats three times and Spring had followed him every time.
The third and final move had him sitting near Autumn, who remembered Bull from six years ago but not very well.
Given what had happened in Durham, she seemed to be leery of men in general, even when Bull tried to engage her in conversation in the hopes of escaping Spring.
It didn’t work.
Gage watched Bull tolerate Spring until he could stand no more and excused himself, only to disappear outside. A half-hour later, he hadn’t returned and Gage suspected that he wouldn’t. That left Spring sitting at the table, quite unhappy and alone, but it also gave Gage a window of opportunity.
He went to sit next to her.
“I am sorry that Lady Wynter is feeling poorly this evening,” he said. “I hope she will recover quickly.”
Spring turned to him. She’d already had too much wine this night and not enough food because she’d been chasing Bull all over the hall. One look at Gage and she rolled her eyes.
“She is not feeling poorly,” she said, unhappy. “If you truly think she’s not come to the hall because she’s feeling poorly, then you do not know women at all. I told you the night we saw you in the inn that my sister still has feelings for you. That’s why she’s not come down.”
Spring had never been one to hold her tongue, which would work to Gage’s advantage. For the first time in his adult life, he wanted to hear all about what Wynter might be feeling for him.
“Is that so?” he said, casually taking a cup of wine that Bull had been nursing. “After six years, I find it astonishing that she would even remember me much less remember feelings from when she was a young girl. Surely she has outgrown any silly infatuation.”
A servant came around with a confection of chopped chestnuts soaked in brandy and honey, and Spring helped herself to them.
“Is that what you really think?” she asked. “Are you just going to laugh at my sister because you think she’s silly and still in love with you?”
“Most assuredly, I am not laughing,” he said. “I’m quite earnest in my questions. I find it astonishing that she’s not forgotten me. I am quite… honored by it.”
“Do you mean it?”
“I do, I swear it.”
Spring shoved a brandy-soaked confection into her mouth and chewed.
“Then I am not certain what more I can tell you,” she said.
“She has not spoken of you in years, but after you left, she cried almost every day for a year. She did not think I knew, but I did. I think others knew, too. Now that you have returned, those feelings she buried long ago have come back.”
“And you are certain of this.”
“Of course I am. You’re the only man she ever… and why can’t you marry her now that you have returned?”
Gage nearly choked on his wine. He sputtered, setting the cup down and wiping his mouth. “That is a fairly blunt question, my lady.”
“It is not a complicated one.”
“Aye, it is,” Gage said. “Marriage is never a simple thing.”
Spring sighed sharply. “Why not?” she demanded. “You marry my sister and you will be the next Earl of Ashington. Don’t you want to be an earl?”
Gage was coming to think that his attempts to probe her were starting to backfire on him as Spring’s questions became aggressive.
“I’ve not thought on it,” he said honestly.
“The earldom does not mean much to me, I suppose. What means something to me is that I marry a woman I like, one that is more valuable to me than any title.”
“Couldn’t Wynter be that?”
He nodded. “I am sure she could, easily,” he said. “But marriage… I am a very busy man, my lady. My life is as you see – I am a knight in a professional army. I enjoy the excitement and adventure of what I do.”
Spring looked at him with great curiosity. “And marrying my sister would not be worth more than that?”
He sighed faintly. “She is the most worthy woman in the world,” he said quietly. “But the truth is that I am not worthy of her in the least. She should have a great and powerful husband, not a knight who serves a mercenary lord. I am not nearly good enough for her. Don’t you understand that?”
Spring shook her head. “Nay, I do not,” she said flatly.
“What does it matter if you are a rich and titled lord or simply a landless knight? You are a good man, Gage. We all know that. Unless you have changed drastically over the past six years, you are worthy enough of her and worthy enough to be the next Earl of Ashington.”
“But…”
“Because if you do not stake your claim, my sister will be forced to marry Brian and she does not want to,” she said, interrupting him as she raised her voice.
“He is the man I wish to marry, Gage. I am in a difficult position, as the next eldest daughter of the Ashington empire, because my sister must marry if I am to accept suitors, but the suitor my parents want for Wynter is the very man I would like to marry. It’s not fair at all. ”
She was starting to tear up, returning her attention to her alcohol-soaked dessert and taking another bite.
Gage watched her carefully as she chewed, pondering what she’d said.
He’d been hoping to hear any private thoughts Wynter might have had of him, but he got more than he bargained for.
In addition to his thoughts of Wynter, now he was feeling some sympathy for Spring.
“Nay, it is not,” he said softly, showing surprising compassion for a man who thought he’d lost that ability long ago. “But life is seldom fair, my lady. Sometimes we simply cannot have what we want.”
Spring was gearing up for more tears when she suddenly stopped and looked at him. “Do you mean Wynter?”
“I do not understand.”
“You said that sometimes we simply cannot have what we want. Did you mean you cannot have Wynter but that you want her?”
It was surprisingly intuitive. He cleared his throat softly. “She will make some man a fine wife,” he said. “As I said, it cannot be me. I am not of her class.”
Spring wasn’t beyond being manipulative and, in this case, her motives weren’t entirely altruistic. If Wynter married Gage, then that would clear a path between her and Brian.
She was well aware of that.
“Then who is?” she said. “Lord Stagshaw? Because I have heard my father speak of a betrothal between your brother and Wynter if Brian grows weary of waiting for her and looks elsewhere. Should my sister marry your brother, then? How worthy of a husband do you think he would be to her?”
It was an utter and complete lie, but she’d said it for a reason. As she’d hoped, mention of his brother seemed to light something in Gage’s eyes. Even speaking the man’s name seemed to darken his expression.
“Your father said that?” he asked.
Of course, he hadn’t, but Spring pushed forward with her lie. “I’ve overheard him speaking,” she said, trying to be vague about it. Specific untruths were never a good thing. “Do you want to see my sister married to your brother?”
Gage’s expression hardened. He had been quite interested in gleaning information from a rather silly young woman but, now, the tables had been completely turned.
He’d heard something he didn’t like, something he’d not expected.
It was an effort to fight down the utter murderous rage in his heart.
Not simply because he couldn’t imagine his brother marrying Wynter.
It was more that he couldn’t imagine anyone marrying Wynter.
“Nay, I do not,” he finally said. “But it is not my decision. Your father must do what he feels is right.”
Spring didn’t want to hear that. “And why not you?” she demanded.
He averted his gaze. “I have told you why,” he said. “I am a mere knight. Not merely a knight, but a paid sword. Men pay me to fight their battles and kill their enemies. That is what I do and that is not the husband your sister deserves. She is an heiress to an earldom.”
“And you are the nephew of a count,” Spring countered. “I heard you say that your uncle is the Count of Viana. That makes you more than worthy, don’t you think?”