Chapter Seventeen
Five Days Later
“Mother!” Titus bellowed from his open chamber door. “Mother, help!”
He was standing there with a broken tie in his hand, one he’d been trying to fasten on his wife’s dress, and he’d pulled too hard and broken it. Now, Katiana was in a state because the tie was broken, the feast was about to commence, and Titus felt like the biggest dolt in all of England.
“Mother!”
“I’m c-coming, Titus,” Brighton said, coming off the stairs from the upper level where she shared a massive chamber with her husband.
She heard Titus bellowing through stone and floor, just like the old days when he was the loudest child in her brood.
“What on earth is the matter that you’re shouting so? ”
Titus held up the silken tie. “I broke it,” he said, nearly in tears. “Katia is furious with me because the feast is ready to start and she is not there to greet those who are arriving. She is going to throw me out of the window if you do not help me!”
Brighton fought off a smile. “I th-think you can fight her off if she tries,” she said, taking the tie from his hand as she entered the chamber. “N-Now, lass, let me see what he’s done.”
Katiana was standing over near the hearth, in front of a big mirror of polished bronze, resplendent in her party-going clothing. But she was trying desperately not to cry.
“I am so terribly sorry,” she said. “This is your beautiful dress, and I tried to take such good care of it.”
Brighton could see how crushed she was. “Th-There, there, lass,” she said, patting her on the cheek before turning her around to get a look at where the tie was supposed to be. “It wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen.”
Katiana wiped at her eyes, and Titus felt as bad as he possibly could. “A servant came to help her dress, and I sent her away,” he said with great remorse. “I thought I could help her just as well. I tried. But I pulled too hard.”
Brighton could see what had happened—her big, strong son and his big, strong hands had been a little too powerful. “Th-That you did, lad,” she said. “Listen to me—I want you to find Kristiana and tell her I need her sewing kit. H-Hurry, now. There is no time to waste.”
Titus did. Dressed in a pair of fine leather breeches, cleaned-up boots, and a fine tunic made from blue embroidered silk, he was washed and shaved and looked absolutely magnificent.
Magnus, who had delayed returning home to Raechester, had even cut his hair for him, so he looked quite princely. At least, his wife thought so.
She thought he was the most handsome creature she had ever seen.
They could hear Titus running down the hall, calling for his youngest sister, Kristiana.
Meanwhile, Brighton tried to comfort Katiana, who was genuinely distressed about the garment.
Brighton had loaned her the dress, in a shade of blue to match Titus’ tunic, while the youngest de Wolfe sister had styled Katiana’s hair for the big event. She looked absolutely beautiful.
But she was absolutely devastated.
Finally, they could hear Titus coming back down the corridor. Feet were shuffling as people approached. The chamber door swung back on its hinges, and Titus came through, pulling his youngest sister with him.
Kristiana Jordan Mary Joseph de Wolfe had arrived.
Krissie, as the family called her, was something of an anomaly in the world of women in that she was extremely tall for her sex.
All of the Patrick’s children had inherited his extreme height, with the exception of Thora, who was her mother’s petite size.
But Kristiana was tall—very tall—for a woman.
She was almost as tall as Magnus, who, at four inches over six feet, was the shortest brother.
Kristiana came close. A glorious goddess of beauty with long, brilliant blonde hair, her mother’s blue eyes, and a magnificent smile, she was a Valkyrie that had made her Northman grandfather proud.
In fact, she looked more Northman than most Northmen.
Give the lass a sword and a longship and she would look perfectly at home.
And she intimidated the hell out of her English suitors.
But she was sweet and kind and very accomplished with the things fine ladies learned, and that included sewing.
She didn’t take kindly to Titus yanking on her, and she gave her brother a shove when he pulled too hard.
That sent Titus stumbling into the open door panel, slamming it against the wall, as Kristiana went to her mother.
“What happened?” she asked.
Brighton took the sewing kit from her. “T-Titus was helping her dress and tore one of the ties,” she said. “It was an accident.”
As Brighton dug a needle and thread out of the sewing kit, Katiana turned to Kristiana.
“I’m so very sorry,” Katiana said with great regret. “The dress is so beautiful, and you did such lovely work on it so it would fit me.”
Kristiana smiled at the woman whose name was very similar to her own. “Not to worry,” she assured her. “Between my mother and I, we can fix the tie in a hurry. There is nothing to fear.”
Katiana genuinely liked Kristiana. Over the past several days, they’d become fast friends. “You have been so kind,” she said. “Thank you for making me look so beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” Titus said, standing back by the door mostly to stay out of his sister’s way. “Other than my mother and sisters, you will be the most beautiful woman at the feast tonight.”
“She is the most beautiful,” Kristiana insisted. “The bride is always the loveliest. This is her night.”
Titus frowned. “What about me?” he said. “It is my night, too.”
Kristiana frowned at him. “The bride should always be the center of attention,” she said. “Have you not yet learned that?”
“How would you know? You have never been a bride.”
“T-Titus,” Brighton scolded. “That was thoughtless. Be kind.”
It was well known in the family that Kristiana, as beautiful as she was, longed to be a bride, but she’d yet to find a man who wasn’t thoroughly threatened by her height.
That particular fear didn’t apply to Krister, however, who was sweet on her, but Patrick had been trying to discourage the relationship.
Krister was a prince of his people, but Patrick wasn’t so sure he wanted his daughter to marry a Northman and live amongst the savages.
Titus knew that, and he knew the heartache it had caused, so he went over to his sister and pinched her gently on the cheek.
“I did not mean it,” he said. “Any man would be fortunate to have you. We just haven’t found one worthy of you yet.”
Kristiana was trying not to hang her head. “There is a worthy man, but Papa refuses to acknowledge him.”
“I will see what I can do.”
Reluctantly, Kristiana gave him a grin, and he pinched her again, only to dodge a lightning-fast slap. He laughed and went back to the door, out of his sister’s long-armed reach, as Brighton finally threaded the needle and went to work on Katiana’s torn tie.
“It’s a pity Thora could not be here tonight,” Titus said, leaning against the wall as his mother and sister worked on his wife’s dress. “I’ve not seen her in some time.”
He was speaking of his other sister, the one who married Sir Callum de Reyne years ago and went to live on a de Reyne property to the south. For a family who tended to stay together like the de Wolfes did, with generations living at the same location, the loss of one of them was sorely felt by all.
“Y-You travel enough that you should stop and visit her,” Brighton said as she concentrated on the stiches. “You know your sister just had her fourth child, a daughter.”
“Doesn’t that make four girls?”
Brighton nodded. “F-Four little lasses that your father is enamored with,” she said. “Poor Callum says that even the dog they have is female. He’s surrounded by women.”
Titus chuckled. “He was not firm enough with Thora,” he said. “He should have demanded she bear only male children.”
Brighton cast her son a long look. “I-I’ll forget you said that,” she said, returning her focus to the dress. “There—that should do it. What do you think, Krissie?”
Kristiana bent over, peering at her mother’s repair job and tugging at it. “Feels solid enough,” she said. “There you are, my lady. All fixed.”
Katiana was greatly relieved. She let Kristiana finish with the tie, having a much gentler touch than Titus had, and when the tie was secure, she spun a circle for all to see. Brighton and Kristiana beamed at her as Titus came away from the door and inspected the vision before him.
“Stunning,” he said. “Magnificent. I married a goddess.”
Katiana was feeling much better now that the dress was fixed.
She appreciated her husband’s mother and sister so very much, women who had been kind and welcoming from the start.
Never in her life had she felt so comfortable in the presence of other women, discovering a camaraderie with the de Wolfe women that she’d never experienced before.
First Dacia, now Titus’ mother and sister.
It was so very different from her lonely life with Aunt Ethyl.
Now, she had finally found friends.
Family.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely, grasping Brighton’s hand. “I am very grateful.”
Brighton patted her cheek gently. “T-Titus is correct,” she said. “He married a goddess. Now, get down to the hall. The guests will want to see you.”
“Aren’t you coming?” Katiana asked anxiously.
Brighton nodded. “K-Krissie and I will be right behind you,” she said. Then she looked to her son. “Take her and introduce her to the family. They’ll all want to meet her.”
With a grin, Titus held out his hand to Katiana, who took it quickly. As Brighton and Kristiana packed up the sewing kit, Titus led his wife out of the chamber, heading for the enormous great hall of Berwick, where their wedding feast was just beginning.
Little did he know what a night it would be.
*
“Is that him?”