Chapter Twelve
Lista’s strange aunt had been at the door.
Pounding on it, really. Julian had been dead asleep when the rattling of the door had him bolting out of bed.
He was a heavy sleeper, anyway, but he was also one of those men who was instantly awake, moving before he even realized he was moving.
He was halfway to the door before he realized he was nude, so he had to take the time to put on a pair of linen braies, something he always carried with him.
It was enough to cover him up, anyway.
He went to the door and opened it.
“Sir Julian?”
He found himself looking at Lista’s haggard aunt.
“My lady?” he asked politely.
Flora smiled, revealing yellowed and brittle teeth. “Lista has asked me to fetch you,” she said. “She is in the vineyard and asked that you join her.”
Julian rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up a little more. “Has something happened?”
Flora shook her head. “Happened?” she repeated. “Nay, nothing has happened. She has simply sent word for you to join her. You will join her, will you not?”
Julian nodded wearily. “If she wishes it.”
“Good,” Flora said, a bright smile looking oddly out of place on her face. “Hurry, now. There is no time to waste.”
Julian simply nodded his head and shut the door.
Yawning, he went to collect his clothing, which he had neatly laid out so it could air out.
The braies came off and the leather breeches went on, followed by a clean tunic from his saddlebags.
He pulled his boots on and secured them, debating about strapping on his broadsword but thinking better of it.
He was fairly certain he wouldn’t need it.
He wanted to find out what Lista wanted and then perhaps return to the great hall for some food and drink with Lista by his side.
The thought of her made him smile.
Running his fingers through his hair as he headed to the door, he realized that he missed her.
He’d been asleep for a few hours and, already, he missed the woman.
He missed her smile, her wit, her tender heart.
She had such a tender heart. He still couldn’t believe a woman as magnificent as Lista de la Mere found something agreeable in him. Agreeable enough to let him court her.
He’d never looked forward so much to anything in his life.
He wasn’t exactly familiar with Felkington, so he headed for the stairs he did know.
He intended to go through the great hall to the mural stairs on the north side, but as he reached the south entrance, he caught sight of a spiral staircase in the wall that led to the lower level.
He turned for the stairs just as he heard Addington’s voice in the hall as she helped tend the wounded.
Ashton was nowhere to be found so he assumed the man was sleeping, too.
He’d been up all night just like the rest of them.
With Addington’s voice in the background, he headed down the spiral stairs and was fortunate enough to find an exit right away, one that dumped out into the big courtyard.
It was full of men at this time of day, some of them lying along the wall, dozing, while still others were repairing equipment.
A wheelwright was among them, fixing the wheel of a small wagon.
It was the usual bustle of a courtyard as he headed to the passageway that led to the exterior of the castle.
Both portcullises were up, indicative of people outside the castle finishing the clean up after the battle, and he passed through, ending up on the road that ran alongside the castle walls.
The gate to the gardens was open and he passed through, seeing the chopped-up gardens and broken trees, which were mostly cleaned up at this point.
Servants were in the gardens, digging, replacing trees and fixing the wooden fences that kept the barn animals out.
The sun overhead was bright, beating down on a bright green world from the rains the night before.
Julian came to a small stone wall that separated the fruit trees from the vegetable garden with the vineyard down the hill beyond.
Shielding his eyes from the sun, he was on the lookout for Lista, but what he saw going on in the vineyard had him stopping in his tracks.
Stopped dead.
“My lady?”
Lista looked up from a grapevine to see Louis standing a few feet away. He was fully dressed, prepared for travel, and she stood up straight.
“You are leaving already?” she said. “I thought you’d at least sleep for the day.”
Louis smiled weakly. “That is usually true, but I kept hearing my father in my ear,” he said, lifting his hands as if to fend off a ghostly dream. “Get to Kelso, Louis! Stop lounging!”
Lista giggled. “God’s Bones,” she said. “You are not lounging. You are sleeping. You had a very busy night. Surely he would allow for that.”
Louis cocked an eyebrow. “You think so?” he said, grinning. “You do not know my father, my lady. To him, idle hands are susceptible to the devil’s work, so even as children, he made sure we were always busy.”
Lista brushed off her hands. “I suppose there is something to be said for that,” she said. “It’s not as if you want a bunch of children languishing about, getting into trouble. Mayhap you were a troublemaker and he had good reason to pester you?”
Louis laughed. “I can see that someone has told you about me,” he said. “Well? Who was it? Who has spilled all my secrets?”
Lista chuckled. “I will never tell,” she said. “Ask all you wish, but I shall protect my source.”
He shook his head at her. “You are cruel.”
She nodded. “Now you know.”
He laughed again but his smile soon faded.
“Truly, I would not believe that about you,” he said.
“You have been an excellent hostess and although my acquaintance with Felkington was not ideal, the storm and the Scots brought me to your doorstep and I am grateful for your kind hospitality. I hope you will allow me to reciprocate. Someday, you must come to Herrington.”
Lista smiled. “That is kind of you,” she said. “It is far to the south, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Not too terribly far,” he said. “It is still north of York. Do you travel much?”
She shook her head. “Nay, not much,” she said. “We can conduct business in Berwick or Alnwick or even Newcastle if we must, but we rarely go further south than that.”
He nodded in understanding, his black eyes lingering on her. “I do not blame you,” he said. “Why would you leave Felkington? It is a paradise.”
Lista looked up at the soaring walls. “It is,” she said. “It is my paradise and you are welcome back anytime to visit. It is the least we can do for a man who fought to protect us.”
He lifted his eyebrows at the thought of the Scots. “They were surprisingly aggressive last night,” he said. “Though I must admit, I do not see battle very often, so it was good to hone my skills. But de Velt… he is a man who needs no practice. His talents are beyond compare.”
Lista tore her gaze away from her ancestral home and looked at him. “I do not know much about knights, but I do know that the de Velt men are warlords. We were fortunate he was here last night.”
Louis nodded. “Indeed,” he said. He eyed her for a moment before continuing. “May… may I ask a bold question, my lady?”
Lista lifted a hand, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at him. “Of course.”
“Are you and de Velt betrothed?”
Lista’s cheeks flushed a shade of pink and she lowered her gaze and her hand. “Nay,” she said. “We have only just met, in fact, but he has asked to court me. What I mean is that he has asked only me – he’s not yet asked my mother for permission.”
“I see,” Louis said. “Then your aunt’s questions about my being married make some sense. She was seeing if I might be interested.”
Lista immediately lost her humor. “I am very sorry about Flora,” she said. “She had no right to ask you such a thing. It is none of her affair.”
Louis held up a hand. “I am not offended, I assure you,” he said. “But it seems to me that she is trying to find you a husband. Or maybe a candidate or two?”
Lista could only shrug. “With Flora, one never knows,” she said.
“You should know that my aunt is a drunkard and so is my mother, so all is not as it seems here. It is a paradise to look at, but beneath the surface, we have our share of problems, just like everyone else. If my aunt ever says anything odd or offensive to you again, now you know why.”
He shrugged, fidgeting with the mud beneath his feet. “As I said, I was not offended,” he said. “May I say something else?”
“Speak freely, my lord.”
He held up a hand. “First of all, call me Louis,” he said. “I do not like being addressed formally. What I was going to say is that if you were not already spoken for, I might return to Felkington sooner than you think.”
Lista smiled modestly. “That is flattering, thank you,” she said. “Although I’m not spoken for I hope to be soon.”
“I suspect you do not mean me.”
Her grin broadened. “Nay.”
“Then you clearly must mean de Velt.”
“I do, indeed.”
Louis’ dark eyes twinkled. “That is what I need to hear,” he said. “I will not interfere.”
She smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “You are a man of honor.”
He grunted, looking up at the castle, the sky, the land. “Honor, aye,” he said. “But unlucky in this case. Julian is a fortunate man.”
“I feel as if I am the fortunate one.”
He snorted. “He is the fortunate one,” he insisted. “If anything happens and he runs away with a Scottish princess or a pirate queen, you will let me know, won’t you?”
Lista laughed softly. “I will let you know so that you can defend my honor.”
“That is not what I meant.”
They both started laughing. “I know what you meant,” Lista said. “As I said, I am deeply honored, but my heart is no longer mine to give. It belongs to another.”
He shrugged. “For your sake, I am glad,” he said. “Every young woman – and man – should give their heart away at some point. I’ve yet to have the privilege.”
“You will someday, I am certain.”