Chapter Eight
That silly dog was following her again.
Dacia had been nearly to the postern gate when the dog came out of nowhere, wagging its tail and licking her hand.
At first, she was greatly annoyed, but that annoyance fled because the dog, for all of his ridiculousness, really was a sweet animal.
Happy, too, especially when he was pushing young women into the river.
Dacia did like dogs, but she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Argos.
He belonged to Cassius, after all.
Still, the dog seemed to like her quite a bit.
He followed her as she passed through the postern gate, which was guarded after last night’s raid. She was in full view of the soldiers who were at the gate as she and the dog headed down to the river’s edge.
It was a bright spring morning, not too cold, and the grass was wet with dew.
She was looking for the tall, slender bushes that grew wild in a land where so many other flowers and grasses grew wild.
Around the River Don, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of heavy foliage of all kinds, and she began to hunt for the dragonwort, pulling apart bushes, looking around the base of the earthworks that formed some of the defenses of Edenthorpe.
The dog wandered around behind her, sniffing around, running over to the river and peering into it.
There were a great deal of water fowl in and around the river and as Dacia finally found what she thought was a small dragonwort bush, Argos managed to catch some kind of small water bird with a great deal of noise and splashing.
When she looked over at him, he had killed it and was already starting to eat it, feathers and all.
But it didn’t take him long and as she pulled out a small knife to cut through the long, slender branches that contained the dragonwort, he wandered over to where she was and plopped down beside her.
She glanced over at the animal in time to see him burp up some black feathers.
“God’s Bones,” she said distastefully, turning back to her task. “You are a brutal and disgusting creature. Do you know that?”
“So I have been told.”
Startled, she turned to see boots next to her, shielding her eyes from the sun and looking up enough to see that Cassius was standing next to her. Quickly, she looked back at her task, a reflex action so he couldn’t see her uncovered face.
It was purely habit.
“I did not mean you,” she said, her heart racing furiously. “I meant your dog. He just ate a bird.”
“That is because he is hungry,” he said. “I went to the stable to find him so I could feed him and was told he had gone with you.”
Dacia shook her head. “He did not go with me,” she said. “I came out here and he simply followed. I have no control over him.”
Cassius put his hands on his hips, looking down at his dog. “Clearly, you do and you do not even realize it,” he said. “He seems to like you a great deal.”
Dacia continued to cut and tug, turning her head slightly and still seeing his boots standing there. As she tried to ignore her wildly thumping heart, she reflected on the evening before and the very reason why she was out here.
Cassius was the reason.
Considering they hadn’t spoken since he’d delivered the fateful compliment that had sent her spiraling into confusion, she was quite aware that she was glad to see him but also terrified at the same time.
Considering the way she’d reacted last night, she was certain he thought her ungrateful and rude.
She didn’t think she’d be seeing him so soon, so she hadn’t had the opportunity to work up her courage to seek him out and apologize for her behavior, but she knew they might not have another perfect opportunity like this one.
They were alone and he would soon be leaving.
There might not be another chance.
“I have forgiven him for pushing me into the river,” she said after a moment. “Mayhap he senses that.”
Argos burped again and stretched out on the grass. Cassius shook his head at his lazy, rude dog.
“Mayhap he does,” he said. “Even so, I will relieve you of his burden. He needs a proper meal and some sleep, as do I.”
He whistled for the dog, who simply raised his head, looked at him, and laid back down again. Cassius frowned as Dacia looked over at the mutt, fighting off a grin.
“He does not obey very well, does he?” she said.
Cassius grunted. “Usually, he does,” he said. “Again, I can only imagine that he has taken a great liking to you and I apologize if he is being an annoyance. I will lock him in my chamber from now on.”
She turned her head slightly again, still keeping her face turned away. “I am sure that is not necessary,” she said. “He is not being an annoyance.”
Cassius wasn’t going to argue with her. “Suit yourself,” he said. “When you tire of him, put him in the stables near my charger. He’ll remain there until I come for him.”
He turned to leave and Dacia summoned her courage. She could see this moment slipping away and she didn’t want it to.
She had something to say.
“Wait,” she said quickly, hearing his footsteps come to a halt. “I… I would like a moment of your time, if you would be so kind.”
She could hear him draw in a long breath, perhaps fortifying himself for another unpleasant conversation like the one last night.
“I am at your service, my lady,” he said neutrally.
Dacia was still cutting on the dragonwort even though she had enough. She simply didn’t want to look up at him.
At least, not yet.
Speaking her mind was harder than she thought.
“I… I wanted to apologize for my manners last night,” she finally said, putting bunches of the dragonwort in a pile next to her. “You were kind and I reacted poorly. I should not have insinuated you were telling me untruths when you… when you spoke of…”
She still couldn’t bring herself to say it. Cassius folded his big arms over his chest.
“When I told you that I thought you were beautiful?”
She nodded quickly. Sighing heavily, she put down the knife and rocked back on her heels.
“It is simply that no one has ever told me that,” she said quietly.
“You must understand, Sir Cassius… the marks on my face developed at a young age. My nurse, Mother Mary, was convinced that a demon was trying to possess me, so I’ve simply learned to cover them.
All I’ve ever done is cover them. I am afraid to let anyone see them because they are so ugly.
That is why when you… said that to me, I have never heard it before and I reacted poorly.
I have often dreamed of being like other women, of having fair skin that is considered beautiful, but I am afraid it is only a dream.
At least, it was until you told me that you thought I was beautiful.
Now I am afraid to believe it, but I thank you just the same for your kindness in saying so. ”
She couldn’t see Cassius’ face as he looked at the back of her head, a faint smile on his lips and his eyes glimmering with warmth.
“Will you do something for me, my lady?” he asked softly.
She nodded. “If I can.”
“I want you to stand up.”
Dacia was puzzled, but she did as he asked, hesitantly.
She was still facing away from him as she heard him come up behind her.
Her heart, which had momentarily calmed, was now thumping so loudly that she could hear it in her ears.
His presence behind her made her feel so giddy that her head was starting to swim.
“Now,” he murmured. “Turn around and look at me.”
She started to move but quickly came to a halt. Her entire body began to tremble. “I… I cannot. I am not covered.”
“I know. Turn around and look at me.”
She wanted to. God knew, she did. But she was terrified.
The tears began to pool.
“I… I cannot.”
Cassius could tell that she was close to weeping. “Please, Dacia,” he whispered. “Turn around and look at me.”
She stood there for a moment. But very slowly, she began to move.
With the pace of a snail, she managed to turn around, all the way around, with her head lowered and tears dripping off her chin.
She couldn’t stop them. Cassius found himself looking at the top of her head, the tip of her nose, and little more.
Reaching out, he tipped her head up until she was looking him fully in the face.
Those magnificent blue eyes, filled with tears, gazed back at him with panic.
He could see how frightened she was, her naked face for all to see.
But he smiled at her to let her know that there was nothing to be frightened of as he reached up, pushing a stray lock of dark hair from her face and wiping the tears that had streaked down her face. It was a sweet and gentle action.
Very closely, he looked at her.
“I see nothing imperfect,” he murmured. “I see a beautiful young woman with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I see smooth, soft skin. I see lovely lips.”
Her lower lip began to tremble and her eyes spilled over again. “But… but the spots…”
His smile grew. “Let me explain something to you,” he said.
“In nature, many creatures have spots. Dogs, cats, birds, even horses. Now, a horse of one color is an unexciting thing. Boring. It’s the horses with spots and blazes that are truly interesting and beautiful.
And flowers; when you see a flower with many colors, does that not make it the most interesting and beautiful of all of God’s creations?
Of course it does. We see plain creatures and flowers every day.
They are nothing special. But when we see creatures with spots and streaks, or flowers with multiple colors, it makes me think that God was in fine form when he created them.
They are his most beautiful of all creatures because he was showing his talent when he made them.
Just like he was showing his talent when he made you, Lady Dacia.
You are one of his magnificent creatures. ”