Chapter Six #3
James nodded smartly and, with a brief smile to Diamantha, quit the room and took Merlin, who had been lingering in the shadows, with him.
He also motioned to the servants to stay out of the room, and quickly, those remaining in the chamber cleared out.
The mood of the chamber had changed the moment Cortez had entered and no one wanted to be a part of it.
Very shortly, it was only Cortez, Diamantha, and Sophie, clustered near the hearth.
The only sounds filling the cold, stone-walled room were those of the rain outside and the snapping fire.
Diamantha was watching Cortez closely but he seemed exclusively focused on Sophie, who had somehow managed to find a small straw broom and was pretending to sweep the hearth.
She swept up clouds of ash dust as Cortez sank down onto the bench formerly occupied by James. He set the basket down beside him.
“Lady Sophie,” he said. “I thought you would like to know that General is in his own stall now eating his supper. He is well.”
Sophie stopped sweeping and turned to him. “Where is he?” she wanted to know. “I want to see him.”
Cortez pointed to the windows and the rain that was dripping down on the inside of the walls from the open sills.
“It is raining very badly,” he told her. “General is warm and safe right now. I will take you to see him when the rain stops. Meanwhile, I found something in the stables that I think you and your mother might like.”
Sophie let the broom fall to the ground and made her way over to him just as he pulled the cloth off the basket. Inside were two small kittens, a multi-colored one and a white one with black spots. Sophie squealed with delight as Cortez lifted the multi-colored kitten out and handed it to her.
“I brought you a kitten because I thought you might like to take care of him,” he said. “I did not want you to be lonely without a pet since General cannot come inside.”
Sophie was thrilled beyond words. She was surprisingly gentle with the kitten, cuddling it and cooing to it. Diamantha watched her daughter with a smile on her lips until Cortez reached in and grasped the other kitten, handing it over to her.
“And this,” he said softly, “is for you. I did not want you to be jealous that I gave your daughter a gift and I did not bring one for you.”
Diamantha looked at him, their eyes meeting, and feeling that familiar jolt of excitement. She took the kitten, the sweet little thing, and cuddled it against her breast. “I would not have been jealous,” she said softly, averting her gaze. “But I thank you for the gifts, for both of us.”
Cortez looked at her, then, because she was looking away, down at the kitten in her hands. Over near the hearth, Sophie sat down and put the kitten on the ground between her legs, teasing it with a piece of straw from the broom. As the little girl giggled and played, Cortez focused on Diamantha.
It had been difficult to ride for an entire day away from her, ignoring her for the most part, at least outwardly.
But inside, his attention, his focus, was on her as it had never been on anyone in his life.
The woman filled his thoughts and mind like nothing he had ever known, and he felt so very badly that things had not gone well between them.
He knew he was to blame, at least for most of it, but he was at a loss as to how to handle it.
He’d never known animosity like this before with a woman he was fond of.
Or, at least, powerfully attracted to. Aye, he was fond of her, too.
He’d caught glimpse of much to be fond of.
“Have you been made comfortable?” he asked softly. “Have you eaten?”
Diamantha nodded. “James and Merlin have been very attentive and we have been well taken care of,” she replied. “But we’ve not yet eaten. There is food on the table. We simply haven’t gotten to it yet and I do not know if we ever will. We have been interrupted by the kittens.”
Cortez grinned at her unexpected touch of humor.
It gave him hope that perhaps things were not as bad as he thought, that sense of dread in the pit of his stomach that made him wonder if he’d ruined two lives in the course of his impatience.
In fact, he sighed heavily, unwilling to continue with the polite but tense conversation.
He was a man of many words. If something was wrong, he righted it.
He wanted to right this in the worst way.
“My lady, I must say something,” he said quietly.
“I realize that the past three days have been quite difficult between us but when the difficulty eased, I saw moments of such brilliance. It was as if the sun had emerged from the clouds, so bright and hopeful this vision. I will take responsibility for much of the animosity between us because I know you believe I have pushed my way into everything. I have been demanding and impatient. But it is only because I believe that what I am doing is right. Robert asked me to take care of you and it took me three months to do it. I did not want to delay any longer.”
Diamantha’s head shot up and she looked at him with big eyes. She opened her mouth to dispute him but thought better of it because she remembered James’ words, he is a good man. Perhaps he was, but she was still uncertain, about everything. She grunted softly and looked away.
“I would like to believe that,” she said quietly. “But I would also believe that there was some selfishness in your actions. You said yourself that you have been widowed these three years. Were you not just the least bit eager to be widowed no longer?”
He knew she was right. He nodded his head after a moment. “Aye,” he said honestly. “You are correct. I wanted a family and I did not want to wait any longer. I am sorry if that caused you to resent me.”
She glanced at him. “I do not resent you,” she said. “In fact, I suppose I should apologize for my demands which you consider unreasonable. I know you believe so, but they are not unreasonable to me.”
Cortez was caught off-guard by the apology.
It softened him greatly. All of the resentment he had been feeling since they had departed Corfe seemed to slip away.
He didn’t want to stay angry with her; he didn’t want to be bitter.
He had a new wife and in spite of everything, he was genuinely thrilled.
He just wished she felt the same way. With a sigh, he raked his fingers through his dark hair.
“I know it is because you do not want to be separated from your daughter,” he said softly. “I understand. I am sure there aren’t many young ladies who have traveled the length of England. Sophie will have something to tell her grandchildren about, if she even remembers the journey.”
Diamantha was starting to feel very badly for manipulating the man so.
He was being rather acquiescent about the entire circumstance, as if they’d never had bitter words.
As she looked at him, she knew that it was time to clear the air between them.
She didn’t like unspoken forgiveness, or allowing time to dissolve harsh words spoken in haste. She sighed heavily and looked at him.
“I thank you for understanding my position,” she said, “but there is something more I must say to you. Please understand that I hold nothing against you personally for this marriage. I know you were doing what you told Robert you would do. I suppose my hus… that is, I suppose Robert was really only thinking of me in the end. He wanted to make sure I was taken care of and I will honor his wish. I want you to know that I will try very hard to accept this situation but I am sure there will be times when I falter. You must forgive me for those lapses. My world has changed so drastically over the past few months that I am still overwhelmed by it all.”
He was gazing at her, into those miraculous dual-toned eyes that were so haunting yet so lovely. “I understand,” he said. “And you will forgive me for charging in and creating the chaos of a rutting bull. When one has lived alone as I have for the last three years, one thinks very selfishly.”
Diamantha smiled faintly, stroking her purring kitten. “I have no such excuse for being selfish other than Robert always let me have my way in everything,” she said, shrugging with resignation. “It is what I am used to.”
Cortez grinned. “I will also try to let you have your way in everything, too,” he said. “But there will be times, very few I am sure, when I would like to have my own way. Will you allow this?”
She cast him a long glance, her grin broadening in a rather coy gesture. “It would depend on what it is.”
He laughed softly. “I will plead to your good graces, madam,” he said. “Actually, this is one of those times when I would like to have my own way.”
She looked at him, a smile still playing on her lips. “What would that be?”
His expression sobered as the black eyes grew intense. “I would like for you to call me Cortez,” he said softly. “And mayhap when you are comfortable enough, you will call me ‘husband’. I can think of no greater honor.”
It was a sweet request and one she could hardly refuse. Graciously, she nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “The honor would be mine. You may call me Diamantha if you wish. I will not protest.”
His smile was back. “I would like to, very much,” he said, thrilled the conversation was growing pleasant.
He was very curious about her and took the opportunity to find out more about the woman he had married.
Pleasant times like this had been very rare.
“It is an unusual name. How did your parents come by it?”
Diamantha shrugged. “My sisters all have unusual names,” she said.
“I have two older sisters, Leticia and Avocet. My mother’s name is Evanthe.
They are all old family names. I am named for a grandmother, generations back, whose name was Diamanda.
My father changed it to Diamantha just because he liked it. ”