Chapter Eight #3
The moment was genuinely warm and Kirk maintained his smile, hating Edmund more by the second for subjecting Micheline to his immorality. It was a battle not to become grieved with the circumstance all over again. “My pleasure, my lady.”
*
The seasonal rains had greened the countryside now basking under the new winter sun.
Mara had spent well over an hour inspecting the fox pups that Fiona had so delightfully discovered, hiding in the bramble as the mother fox nursed her young.
In fact, the magnificent morning had been enough to distract her from her depression and by the time she returned to the keep, her fragile composure was well fortified.
Her hands were full of winter blooms that she had discovered in the foliage, small flowers with blue and white petals she did not have a name for. Robert and his siblings followed her into the kitchen yards, demanding she lay the flowers aside and play a game with them, but Mara declined.
Even though her frame of mind had been calmed by the lovely weather and playful children, she was nonetheless eager to see to her sister.
And possibly see what had become of Kirk if she could spare the time.
Bidding her friends farewell, she crossed into the inner bailey only to come face to face with Edmund and Johanne.
Immediately, her fine mood dissolved, replaced instead by a burgeoning dislike. The bright blue eyes simmered with hostility as Edmund and Johanne came to a halt, hand in hand, before her.
“Ah, Lady Mara,” Johanne said with feigned delight. “Out foraging in the fields, I see.”
Mara’s gaze moved between the two pasty-faced siblings. “I was enjoying the day. At least, I was until this moment.”
Edmund shook his head. “Are you always so confrontational? My sister was merely making an observation.”
Mara fixed on him. “Speaking of sisters, where is mine?”
Johanne shrugged lightly, snuggling up to her brother in more than companionable gesture. “In my brother’s bower, where we left her, I suppose,” she looked to her brother, touching his cheek. “Shall we continue our walk, dear? I do not think I like the atmosphere here.”
But Mara refused to allow them to pass. Clearly, she was uncomfortable with Johanne’s flippant answer. “What do you mean ‘where we left her’? Is she well?”
Johanne’s green eyes focused on her. She seemed to do most of the talking while Edmund smirked and gloated. “Well enough. What would you expect after surrendering her virginal body to her husband?”
Mara visibly paled, her pulse quickening. When she spoke, it was directed at Edmund. “You were… kind to her, my lord?”
“That is none of your affair.”
“I realize that. But I am asking nonetheless.”
Edmund sighed, eyeing her a moment before replying. “Kind enough, I suppose. Far more than I was willing. Was that the answer you were seeking?”
Mara swallowed hard, seeing the carelessness in his eyes and it only served to inflame her. “You never wanted her to begin with. Why did not you simply dissolve the contract or sell her to another? Why must you insist on continuing this… this torment?”
Edmund cocked an eyebrow, suddenly realizing why Kirk was so protective of Lady Micheline.
The little sister was quite defensive of her sibling, echoing Kirk’s actions perfectly.
Or, as Edmund’s suspected, Kirk was merely echoing Lady Mara’s.
Leaping to defend the sister of the woman he was smitten with.
He did not know why he hadn’t realized the truth before; the actions in the dining hall when Kirk had prevented him from striking the wench, or the constant attention he paid her, pretending to be stern.
Mayhap with his concern over his unwanted bride, he simply hadn’t given thought to anything else.
Even something as obvious as Kirk’s infatuation.
Aye, the knight’s shift of loyalty made sense now.
And truthfully, he couldn’t blame the man.
In spite of her unruly mouth, Mara was a lovely creature.
Too lovely to kill should Johanne figure out what Edmund now understood.
But his sister, too, had been focused on Micheline’s arrival.
Enough to deter her from her usual scrutiny of Kirk.
For the moment, at least, and unless Edmund intended to commit murder in the near future, he had better plan for the girl’s immediate removal.
“You call your sister’s plight torment?” He let go of Johanne’s hand, moving to stand before a shaken Mara.
Gazing over her lovely face, he realized well what Kirk saw in the girl.
“Think of my plight, if you would. Betrothed to a woman I never wanted, forced to wed against my will. Sound familiar?”
Mara refused to step back from him, although his foul breath was turning her stomach. “Indeed. But do you have to make an undesirable situation worse with your treatment of my sister? She simply wants to be a good wife.”
Edmund stared at her a moment. Then, turning to glance at his sister, he laughed. “She was good. For both of us.”
Mara had no idea what he meant. But she certainly did not like the tone of his voice. “Both of you? How do you mean?”
Edmund continued to snicker, returning to his snorting sister. “Precisely that. A rather tasty bit of flesh. Unseasoned, but tasty.”
Mara was lost to their meaning as Johanne latched on to her brother again, rubbing against him in a manner that made Mara’s skin crawl.
“She’s simply inexperienced,” she murmured, loud enough for Mara to hear.
“Time will improve her performance. And I will teach her what she needs to know in order to please you.”
Mara stared at them, baffled and nauseated. “How… how can you teach… those things? How would you know…?”
Johanne laughed, looking at Mara as if she were the most foolish creature on the face of the earth. “Ask your sister what I know, Mara. If she’s brave enough to tell you.”
They turned away from the perplexed young lady in a snickering pair, continuing their walk of Anchorsholme’s grounds. Mara was about to follow them to demand clarification when a rumbling male voice caught her attention.
“Let them go, love.”
She turned to see Niles standing next to her. The bright blue eyes were filled with distress. “But….”
He shook his head firmly. “Not those two, Mara. You would do well to stay far, far away from them.”
Mara passed a lingering glance at the pair, sighing with frustration. “But they spoke so strangely, Niles. I do not think I like their inference at all.”