Chapter Sixteen #2
He was gently holding on to Emllyn’s hand, encouraging her to stand, but Merradoc stepped in and took Emllyn’s hand away from him. He practically yanked her up from the bench and began pulling her in the direction of the keep.
“Not today, my lord,” he told de Noble briskly. “The lady’s head is aching. Why, before you came, we were contemplating retreating inside so that she could lie down. You would not want to make her ill by taking her into the dust and flies of a bunch of unruly horses, would you?”
De Noble wasn’t pleased by Merradoc’s actions. His expression reflected his displeasure intensely. “Of course I have no intention of making her ill,” he said. “But you yanking her around like that isn’t doing her any favors, either. Stop acting like I want to take her into a corner and ravage her.”
“Father!” Elyse gasped. “What a terrible thing to say!”
De Noble glanced at is daughter, his temper now unleashed.
That hadn’t happened in a long time but he was truly frustrated by the attempts of his daughter and Merradoc to remove Emllyn from his presence every time he got near her.
It had been going on for several days and he’d finally had enough.
It was frustrating as well as embarrassing.
“That is enough from you,” he snapped at his daughter, pointing at her.
“You act as if I have the plague every time I get near the Lady Emllyn and I will thank you to stop. I realize she is not interested in me at the moment but there is no way to convince her otherwise if you and your silly physic are constantly removing her from my presence every time I get close to her. I want it stopped, I say. Do you understand me?”
“Silly?” Merradoc repeated, grossly offended. “I am silly?”
Elyse shushed Merradoc loudly. “Hush!” she hissed, returning her attention to her father. “Father, must we discuss this in the open for all to hear? You are embarrassing me!”
De Noble frowned. “And you are embarrassing me,” he said.
“You should be encouraging your friend to allow my suit rather than running off with her every time you as much as hear my voice. And if anyone should be ashamed of anyone, it should be me of you. Do not think for one minute that I don’t know what you and Connaught do when you think I’ve gone to sleep.
I’m not an idiot, Elyse, but evidently you are.
I thought I had raised you better than to be a common whore. ”
Elyse’s mouth popped open in shock before bursting into tears and fleeing to the keep.
Emllyn, her mouth agape at the turn of events, pulled away from Merradoc and ran after her.
No one seemed to notice that Eefha, too, was headed after them.
With the woman all running into the keep, Merradoc turned to de Noble.
“I hope you are proud of yourself,” he said, disgust in his voice. “Even I would never say to her what you just did.”
De Noble scowled at the man. “Shut up, you woman,” he snapped. “You are the worst of the bunch. Are you sure there is a manhood between those legs? From the way you gossip and congregate with womenfolk, I would be sure it was a great gaping cow’s vagina between those skinny limbs.”
Merradoc threw up his hands in an astonished gesture. “Good God, de Noble!” he cried. “When you throw an insult, you can do it with the best of them! I would not have believed you capable of it, old man!”
He was actually giggling as he scurried after the women, leaving de Noble alone with Connaught.
The young knight was looking at the ground, waiting for the inevitable blast to come his direction.
In fact, he would be lucky if it was only a verbal lashing.
From an enraged father, the punishment could be anything up to and including a physical bashing.
But de Noble didn’t anything to him right away. He gaze lingered on Merradoc as the man disappeared into the keep. Then, as the dust settled from the verbal sparring, he turned to Connaught.
“Did you really believe I was that stupid that I did not know what was happening?” he asked the knight.
Connaught shook his head firmly. “Nay, my lord.”
“What do you intend to do about it?”
“Marry your daughter, my lord.”
De Noble’s gaze moved over him a moment, feeling disgust and frustration coming out of every pore of his body.
After a moment, he took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself.
He realized that he had just said everything he’d always wanted to say to the gossipy little group and strangely felt better now that he had.
Perhaps a bit of honesty was good for the soul.
“You’d better,” he finally growled, his eyes fixed on the keep.
“But for now, you are going to go up to see how my daughter and Lady Emllyn are faring after I unleashed my barrage of insults. I care not about the physic, but at least see how the women are. Then, after they are sufficiently calm, you are to bring the Lady Emllyn to my solar. Is that clear?”
“Aye, my lord.”
“And do not tell her where you are taking her; otherwise, she will not come. Tell her that she has been summoned by another.”
“Aye, my lord.”
With that, de Noble headed off to the keep, leaving Connaught to wonder what next step the man was going to take in the pursuit of the Lady Emllyn.
He couldn’t imagine that he was going to remain passive any longer.