Chapter 8
H unter stood in the ladies solar the next morning while Regina’s Uncle William measured Luke to make him noble clothing.
“Can I go now?” Luke said with a puff of air from his mouth. “Fred is going to introduce me to his friends today. They all want to meet Inky.”
“Yes, go,” said Hunter, not wanting a confrontation with the boy in front of so many people. Lady Sage as well as the ladies Penelope and Jean were stitching. The old woman Lady Gertrude was there as well, smiling and winking at him every time he looked her way.
“Come on, Inky,” said Luke, pulling the cat out of William’s sewing box where she was tangled up in all the thread. Luke held the cat up to his face and gave her a quick kiss. Damn, the boy was getting too attached to the animal and it was going to be harder than ever for Hunter to tell Luke he couldn’t keep the cat.
“That sure looks like my missing cat,” said William, eyeing up the animal. “She has been missing for a few days now. Where did you get her?”
Luke pulled Inky closer to his chest and frowned. “She is my cat,” he answered. “Fred and I found her in the stables and she’s a stray.” He then took the cat and darted to the door, leaving as quickly as possible.
“Why would you think that is your cat, William?” asked Hunter as William started measuring him next. “After all, you live in town and Luke found her here at the castle.”
“I know,” said William. “But my daughter gave us a cat to help catch mice around the shop. It was black with a small white spot on her front left paw. Just like the cat Luke has.”
Hunter got a bad feeling in his gut hearing this. Luke had been acting odd lately. It was a little suspicious that the boy had been saying he wanted a black cat and suddenly as soon as they got here he found a stray one. Still, Hunter needed to give his nephew the benefit of the doubt.
“I suppose it is just a coincidence,” said Hunter. “After all, a lot of cats look alike.”
“I suppose,” said William. “However, it is odd that both cats would have a white spot on their paw.”
“I’ve seen crazier things than that.” Hunter realized it was strange indeed. Still, he needed to trust Luke.
“I have a tunic here that I think will fit you. Take off yours and try it on.” William held up a gray tunic with ornate embroidery around the sleeves. It was obviously made for a nobleman.
“Sure,” said Hunter, reaching behind his neck and pulling his tunic up and over his head. He thought he heard a gasp and then a giggle. He looked back to the women and they were all on the edge of their chairs gawking at him. “Oh, great,” he mumbled.
Just then the door to the solar opened and in walked Regina. She carried a basket of stitching. She stopped when she saw Hunter’s bare chest and all the ladies gawking at him. Her mouth dropped open and her basket fell to the floor, sending the contents scattering everywhere.
“I’ll get that, Lady Regina.” Hunter dashed across the room, hunkering down at Regina’s feet. He quickly scooped up the thread, cloth and needles and stuffed everything back into the sewing basket. Standing back up, he held it out to her. “Here you are, my lady. I hope nothing was ruined.”
Hunter noticed her looking behind him.Turning his head slightly he saw all the ladies watching his every move. Suddenly, he felt very naked. He also realized the only thing that might have been ruined was Regina’s reputation since he’d run to her side to help her. Once again, being half naked. Already kicking himself for his mistake, he shoved the basket into Regina’s hands and spun around, hurrying back to William.
“Give me that,” Hunter told William, snatching the tunic away from the man and hurriedly pulling it over his head.
“Hold still, I need to alter it.” William stuck a pin between his lips while his lithe fingers pulled at the tunic in a few places. Heat engulfed Hunter since he knew without having to even turn around that every one of the ladies was staring at him. “All right, that should do it,” said William, placing the last pin. It should be good now as soon as I make a few adjustments. Take it off.”
“Really,” Hunter muttered, cringing at the thought but did so anyway.
“I need to measure you for a pair of breeches now.” William brought his measuring string over to Hunter. The man got down on his knees at Hunter’s feet. Then he reached out and put one end of the string at Hunter’s waist and let it trail down to his foot. “All right. Now I need to measure the length to the crotch.”
“Nay! That’s good enough.” Hunter grasped his own tunic, pulling it quickly over his head. When he turned around Regina was standing there with her arms crossed.
“Why are you doing that here in the ladies solar?” she asked. “You should be elsewhere. This room is for ladies. To sew.”
“I’m afraid that is my fault,” William spoke up. “I thought it would be easier to just measure Hunter and the boy here since this is where I’ll be constructing their garments during my stay.”
There came a few more giggles from behind them. William looked up, realizing this was a huge mistake. “I’m so sorry, my lady.”
“Do your measuring in the privacy of Hunter’s chamber from now on please,” said Regina with a stiff upper lip.
“I think I’ve got more than enough measurements.” William busied himself, fussing with things in his sewing box.
“Good, because I’m here to tell Hunter that his presence is needed in the mews at once.”
“It is?” This confused Hunter. “Why?” he asked. “I thought I wasn’t to have any more training with the birds.”
“Well, I’ve decided differently,” said Regina. “Now put your boots back on and follow me please. It is getting late and there is much to do.”
“Of course, my lady.” Hunter didn’t understand what was going on, but decided just to follow orders and not even ask right now. He shoved his feet back into his boots.
“I will have your garments as well as the boy’s ready for you later today,” William called out to him.“You can try them on in your chamber later for a last fitting.”
“Thank you,” said Hunter, whisking past the ladies, following Regina to the door. When he got in front of Lady Gertrude, he felt a sharp prick on his behind. “Ouch!” He jumped and held his hand to his buttocks. Turning around, he saw all three ladies looking like lionesses on the hunt, wanting to eat him.
“Oops. So sorry about that, Lord Hunter,” said Lady Gertrude. “I lost control of my needle.” She held up the needle and grinned.
“Ladies, back to work,” called out Sage. “Please leave Lord Hunter alone.”
“Yes, please do,” he mumbled hurrying out the door and pulling it closed behind him.
Regina stood there trying to hold back a laugh if he wasn’t mistaken.
“Those ladies are hyenas,” he told her, still rubbing the sting on his ass.
“Well, what did you expect? They’ve all heard that you like to be naked and wanted to see more. I am sure they enjoyed the show you put on for them.”
He groaned again. “Well, I promise that from now on the only woman I get naked in front of is you.”
It was his turn to hold back his laughter as he walked away leaving Regina with her mouth hanging open.
“Well, why did you call me here?” asked Hunter, following Regina into the mews. “It sounded important.”
“It is,” she said, looking around the mews and calling out. “Cassian? Roger? Are you here?” When there came no answer, she released the breath she’d been holding. Thankfully, neither Cassian or Roger were here at the moment and that was exactly what she wanted. She needed to be alone with Hunter to tell him she had feelings for him. This was her perfect opportunity to do so.
“Go on,” he said.
She turned to face him. “I wanted to add to our conversation from yesterday.”
“Our…conversation?”
“Yes. The one we had while on our outing.”
“Add to it? I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“You said you had feelings for me.”
“Oh, that. I’d rather not revisit that conversation again, my lady, since we both know it is naught but a dead end.”
She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t a dead end. That she reciprocated the feelings too. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t care that he was a commoner because she had never felt so strongly attracted to any man before in her life. But then her thoughts seemed to get muddled in her head. Her tongue suddenly felt three sizes too big for her mouth. Regina was about to express her affection to a man she barely knew and it was making her so hot and heady that she wanted to rip her clothes off just to cool down and not combust.
“Oh, here comes Roger now across the courtyard,” he said, stretching his neck to see out the door from their position in the mews.
“What?” She looked up to see it was true. Damn. This isn’t at all what she wanted. If Roger came in now, she couldn’t express her affection for Hunter. She wasn’t sure when she’d have another opportunity to do so. Panicked, she grabbed Hunter’s arm and spun him around, doing the only thing she could think of that would get her message across quickly. She reached up and kissed Hunter hard on the mouth.
“Mmmph,” mumbled Hunter, taken by surprise. His hands went around her waist and he pulled her closer, reciprocating by kissing her back. “Mmmmm,” he moaned in pleasure.
Regina could see the door of the mews from the corner of her eyes. Roger was quickly approaching. She shoved Hunter’s hands away and stepped back with a jerk.
“Huh? What was that all about?” he asked, blinking in confusion. “And why did you pull away?”
“I wanted to tell you that I have feelings for you as well,” she said hurriedly and in a soft voice. “But I didn’t have time to say it so I just kissed you, not knowing if we’d ever be alone again.”
“Regina, really?” he asked, sounding pleased by her confession.
“Yes, but don’t say another word about it. And be sure not to stand too close to me. Here comes Roger now.”
Hunter’s mind soared. Whenever he was around Regina he had no idea what to expect with her. A kiss sometimes. A slap at other times. And now a confession of attraction that was instantly followed by a threat to stay silent about it. She was a complicated woman and one he wasn’t sure he would ever understand.
“Good morning, Roger,” called out Regina, waving to the boy as he entered the mews.
“Good morning, everyone,” Roger answered with a quick wave back. “It is going to be a beautiful day.”
That’s when Hunter spotted someone standing in the shadows with their back toward them. He nodded to Regina and used his eyes to point the man out, realizing it was Cassian inside the mews.
Regina looked over her shoulder and then back at Hunter.
“I think he was here all the time,” he whispered.
“It doesn’t matter. He can’t hear a thing,” Regina told Hunter with a dismissing swish of her hand through the air.
“What did you want me to do today, Lady Regina?” asked Roger. “The usual?”
“Actually, I’ve decided I want to go on a hunting trip tomorrow,” Regina answered.
“Hunting? You? With the birds?” asked Hunter.
“Yes, me. However, I’ll only be taking Hera. She hasn’t been hunting in a while and needs the exercise as well as the practice,” Regina explained.
“Aye, my lady. I will ready things for the trip,” said Roger. “Will I be joining you?”
“Nay. I’ll need you to stay here with the rest of the birds.”
“If I come along we can bring two of the birds. They can hunt in a pair the way we’ve been practicing with them,” suggested Roger. “Cassian will be here to take care of the rest.”
Regina nodded in agreement. “You’re right, Roger. That is important. Can you please find Lord Robin for me? Tell him the birds need to hunt and that I’d like him to organize a hunting party for tomorrow.”
“Yes, my lady,” said Roger, hurrying out the door.
“You give orders to your brother?” asked Hunter in surprise.
“Only when it comes to hunting with the birds. He knows that I know the best times to take them. There are certain times when the birds are molting that they won’t be able to hunt at all.”
“I am guessing this isn’t molting season yet?”
“Not yet, so we are fine.”
“Oh, my lord, my lady, I didn’t know you were here,” came Cassian’s voice from across the mews.
“Cassian, I need you to go to the kitchen and have the cook fill the food bag for the birds, please. I want to start training right away.”
“Of course, my lady.” Cassian started to shuffle toward the door.
“Don’t forget the bag,” called out Regina but the man was already past them and couldn’t hear them.
“I’ll take it to him.” Hunter picked up the empty food bag and raced after Cassian. He was just about up to him when Cassian turned around with his hand outstretched. Hunter stopped in his tracks, handing him the bag. It was almost as if he’d heard him coming, although that couldn’t be true since the man could barely hear.
“I know I’ve seen you before.” Cassian looked Hunter up and down. “You are hiding something, and I am going to figure out just what it is.” Cassian turned and headed out the door.
“What did he say?” Regina came to join him.
“Nothing of importance.”
“Hunter, I just realized that I never introduced you to all my birds and neither have I showed you around the mews.”
“Nay, you haven’t.”
“Follow me.” Regina took his hand in hers and led him over to the perches where the birds sat silently with hoods over their eyes. He liked the feel of holding her hand. Hunter also liked that no one else was around or she probably wouldn’t have done it.
“Is it really necessary to cover their eyes with those leather hoods?” asked Hunter. The birds wore hoods that looked so silly in his opinion. Most of the coverings had ornate designs on them and ridiculous long plumage atop the head.
“As I told you before, it is. These birds are easily startled. They can also see things moving from far distances and it distracts them. The hoods over their eyes keep them calm and rested.”
“How many birds do you house in the mews?” Hunter raised his head and looked around.
“Right now we have only four birds of prey living here. However, I am going to talk Robin into getting more soon.”
“Talk him into it? So he doesn’t want more birds then?”
“My brother doesn’t yet realize the importance of a good bird of prey. Once his larder is always filled to the brim and it lasts throughout the winter, he’ll be thanking me.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“This is my smallest bird, Dewdrop,” she said, showing him a colorful bird with orange and gray plumage. “She is a kestrel,” explained Regina.
“I see.”
“This one is my goshawk, Cloud. He is a young bird yet and is still in training but learning quickly.” She showed him a larger bird than the first with brown and black on its wings. It had streaked tones on its belly.
“Hello, Cloud,” he said, reaching out to touch it but she grabbed his hand and stopped him.
“Don’t do that! I thought I already warned you not to try to touch the birds. Even though they are wearing hoods and cannot see you, they can still bite. Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Right,” he said with a nod, pulling his hand back. “I suppose they have sharp beaks.”
“Sharp enough to tear the flesh off their prey in midflight. Plus their talons are like knife blades too.”
“I’ll keep my fingers intact, thank you.” Hunter clasped his hands behind his back as they walked to the next perch.
“This is Lightning, my peregrine falcon. You already met her the other night at the lake.”
“Yes. I’m sure Lightning remembers me as being the crazy naked man in the water.”
That made her giggle. “The last bird is my oldest, my largest, and also my favorite. Hunter, meet Hera, my gyrfalcon. She is eight years old.”
The bird had a lot of white on her, especially on her chest. Hera’s feathers on her back and wings were of a grayish brown. Her feet were yellow and her beak had a blue tint. She was truly a beautiful bird.
“Yes, she certainly is a lot bigger than the others,” surmised Hunter.
“The gyrfalcon is the largest falcon that exists, while the peregrine is the fastest,” Regina explained.
“Isn’t eight years an old age for a bird?” He was truly curious about the birds and wanted to learn more.
“In the wild, yes, it is. Ten is usually their lifespan. However, birds in captivity live a lot longer. I heard from another falconer that he knew of a gyrfalcon that lived to be thirty under a rich lord’s care. I hope Hera lives at least that long.”
“Yes. Me, too,” said Hunter.
Regina took the falconer’s leather glove and slipped it onto her left hand. Then she used her right hand to untie Hera’s straps that were keeping her on the perch. “These leather straps on the birds’ legs are called jesses,” she explained. “There are sometimes little bells attached to the bottom, but I only put them on some of the birds. Hera doesn’t wear them.”
“Bells? Whatever for?”
“It comes in handy if the bird goes after prey and loses sight of its master. Sometimes the bird will fly too far and get lost. Listening for the bells helps us to locate them.”
“This is all interesting knowledge.”
“There is a lot involved in falconry. For instance, you must remember at all times that even though the birds can recognize a trainer’s voice or face, they are still birds of prey. So one must always be on their guard.”
“Do all of these birds hunt and kill the same type of prey?” he asked, honestly interested in falconry now, and not just the falconer.
“Shortwings like goshawks or kestrels usually hunt ground prey like rabbits or pheasant,” she told him. “Those birds like to sit and watch from trees.”
“What about birds like Hera?” he asked.
“Longwing birds such as peregrine falcons or gyrfalcons hunt in the air and normally catch birds in midflight. They are extremely good in open areas and moorlands whereas birds like Cloud do better in wooded areas.”
“So which birds will be going on the hunt tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, I’ll be taking Hera and Lightning with us. I have been working with Roger to train them to hunt in pairs and it has been working.”
“In pairs? Really? Even though they are different species?”
“It isn’t common, but can be done. Actually, the hunting dogs know how to hunt with the birds of prey as well. They work well together.”
“The dogs? They hunt along with the birds? How?”
“Easy,” she answered. “The hounds scare the prey out into the open and the birds catch it.”
“Regina, you are amazing.”
“What do you mean?” She removed the hood from Hera and took the bird onto her glove, wrapping the jesses tightly around her hand.
“I have never known a woman who is so confident and good at things the way you are. Especially something that takes true skill like falconry.”
“Thank you.” She flashed him a quick smile, still looking at her bird. “It’s because I have true passion for what I do.”
“Yes,” he said, thinking of the passion she showed in her kissing. “I believe you do everything with passion.”
“Well, why not? With passion and lots of practice comes skill and perfection. Don’t you think?” She looked at him directly, her cute little mouth turning up like a bow.
“I would like to practice that passion with you while I use my skills,” he told her, staring at her mouth. “I am sure that together we can find true perfection.”
He was talking about making love to her and he was sure she knew it. But instead of responding, she did probably what any good falconer would do. She changed the subject and talked about the birds.
“I think it is time Hera gets to know you. Give me your hand.” She held out her free hand to him, still balancing the bird on the other.
“What?” That took him by surprise. “How are we going to do that?”
“Hera, this is Hunter,” she spoke to the bird. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t hunt birds like you so you don’t need to fear him.” She spoke in a soft and calming voice. Regina put her hand over his and gently reached up and ran his fingers over the bird’s back.
Excitement coursed through him. Not only from the fact he was actually touching the bird and not getting his fingers bit off, but because Regina was holding his hand again and this time it was different. Something happened today between them that was truly important.
That ‘something’ was that Regina trusted him, and this proved it. He never thought for a minute this would really happen even though he had always hoped it would. She trusted him enough to let him touch her bird! She was even telling the bird to trust him as well.
Damn, this was a good feeling. It was something that he would never forget as long as he lived.