Chapter Eight

G aliena was mortified. And if she'd had the strength, she would kick Red in the shins!

She carefully extricated herself from the man's arms, spreading her feet a bit wider as she stood up to better balance on her uncooperative legs. She tried to bow her head in deference to the lord and lady of the castle, but that just made her sway precariously.

Red's hands were on her waist before she could fall on her face again, pulling her back into his chest as he steadied her. It was not at all seemly, but the alternative was to fall into the arms of a stranger and his wife again.

"Please forgive my entrance," she managed to say without stuttering. "My name is Galiena, and I am not this man's bride."

The lord of the castle raised one thin, questioning eyebrow while he grinned at her as though she were a dancing puppet at a summer fair. He was as tall as Red, with angular features and hair as dark as her own. His arms were crossed over his chest as he looked from her to the elegant woman standing at his side.

Lady Alyce was tall and willowy with reddish-gold hair that framed her face in soft waves. She was stunningly beautiful. The twinkle in her eyes and the broad smile on her face were warm and welcoming, but Galiena still felt intimidated and out of her element. This was a woman of wealth and title, while Galiena was a meager widow who lived alone in a tiny cottage.

"I am so pleased, Red," Lady Alyce exclaimed as she reached for Galiena's hand and pulled her into an embrace. Then to her utter surprise, Lady Alyce slipped an arm around her and pried her loose from Red's hold. "Come with me to rest and get warmed. Hawk, my love, please have a tub and hot water brought to Red's solar. I am certain Galiena will appreciate a warm bath after supper to wash away a long day riding."

"N-no, my lady," Galiena said, embarrassment turning her cheeks even warmer than when she fell through the door. She could not let Lady Alyce tend to her this way. "That is not necessary."

"Nonsense," she insisted. "A warm bath will have you to rights in no time. I would suggest it before dinner, but I am afraid Red's bed chamber is two floors above us and will be a difficult journey for you in this state. I'd have Red carry you, but the stairwell is very narrow, and I fear you would have a battered head by the time he reached the top. Shall we sit by the fire for now?"

"Wart told us you had arrived," Galiena heard Hawk say to Red as Lady Alyce led her away. "And he said you had a pretty lady with you." This was a dire situation indeed.

"My lady," Galiena said as Lady Alyce helped her across the hall. "I have no desire to bathe or do anything else in Red's chamber."

Lady Alyce laughed. "The honeymoon cannot yet be over; I am convinced whatever he has done to irritate you will be smoothed over in no time. Gertrude," Lady Alyce said to a young woman as they passed by the buttery. "Please bring warmed wine for this dear woman to the table by the hearth." Turning back to Galiena she said through a wide, mesmerizing smile, "I want to know all about you. Red has been gone no more than a fortnight. He said he was on a personal mission, but he didn't tell us it was to bring home a wife."

"I am not Red's wife." She'd said the last louder than she meant to, but frustration and fear that the situation was careening out of her control made her desperate. As did the sudden and overwhelming pang for a home like Red's, surrounded by people who obviously loved him. Both of the women stopped and looked at her with expressions of surprise, which prompted the heat to rise in her face.

Again.

This was mortifying. She turned to glare over her shoulder at him, but the oaf was just smiling broadly as he followed behind her with his commander at his side.

Hawk let out a booming laugh and slapped Red on the back with a loud clap. "I had no idea you'd gone hunting for a wife. Too bad she's immune to your charm, Viking."

"She is as strong-willed as your Lady Alyce," Red said, apparently unaffected by the resounding slap on the back his commander had just given him. "But she will be sleeping in my chamber tonight."

"I will not," Galiena insisted as Lady Alyce continued to lead her through the hall toward the large stone hearth in the back, flanked by several heavy wooden chairs with high backs and the most luxurious-looking cushions. She almost groaned in anticipation of collapsing in the pillowy softness while she warmed her feet by the fire.

Lady Alyce stopped and looked at the two men following them. "Shoo, both of you. You can sit on the dais while we await supper. I wish to get to know this lovely lady. And dearest, please order a bath for Red after supper, as well." She continued toward the hearth, saying in a softer voice, "And I want to hear how you came to know Red."

"I'm sorry to say it will be a short stay, Lady Alyce," Red called after them. "We will be leaving at dawn."

Lady Alyce turned her lips down in a pout but did not argue. "I was hoping for a nice long visit, but I will take whatever time we have."

The thought of having to get on a horse again so soon almost made Galiena's knees buckle, but she managed to refrain from leaning any more of her weight into the kindly woman at her side. A warm bath would be heavenly, and the mention of food made her stomach rumble.

By the time they reached the cushioned seats, Galiena's legs were feeling less shaky, but the ache in her back was increasing. Or maybe she was just noticing her other pains now that her legs were no longer taking all of her attention. The noblewoman took her cloak from her and folded it before laying it over one of the chairs across from them. Then she motioned for Galiena to sit in the chair closest to the fire. Galiena sat as directed and stretched her feet toward the soothing heat, trying not to moan too loudly.

"There's definitely a wintry dampness in the air today. You must be chilled to the bone." Lady Alyce shivered as she said the last.

"My face and feet are chilled," Galiena admitted as she put her hands to the sides of her face. The heat of her prior embarrassments since entering the hall had warmed her cheeks somewhat, but they were still cold to the touch.

Lady Alyce's lips quirked in a smile. "Wart said Red had a bundle in his arms when he rode through the gate, and it wasn't until you were almost in the barn that he realized the bundle was a woman. The little scamp couldn't wait to tell us that Red had ‘caught 'imself a lady'."

A soft burble of laughter escaped Galiena's lips at Lady Alyce's imitation of a young boy's voice. There had been several boys in the stable when they arrived, but she was too focused on trying to stand to pay them much attention. She'd remember to apologize in the morning for her rudeness.

"The truth is…." she started to explain but then stopped. Lady Alyce's husband was Red's commander, but did that mean they could be trusted? She assumed Red would discuss everything with Hawk, but what if there was a reason he didn't?

"The truth is," she began again, "we are not married. I must journey to Llanbadarn and Red has offered to escort me." An ironic laugh escaped her lips, even as she hoped Lady Alyce wouldn't notice the details she was leaving out. "Wait, that isn't the whole truth. The whole truth is Red didn't offer; he told me he was escorting me."

"That sounds more like the Red I know." Lady Alyce laughed. "He may be arrogant and commanding, but he's soft beneath it all, and if he says you are under his protection, you are in good hands."

Galiena was relieved Lady Alyce didn't ask more about the journey, and reassured by the ease in the woman's laugh and affection in her voice when she spoke of Red. Obviously, Lady Alyce truly liked and cared for him, and she tried to tell herself that the warmth blooming in her chest was relief that she would be safe with Red, but she feared his charm, even if boisterous, was beginning to work on her.

"Are your belongings still with the horse?" Lady Alyce asked, her voice laced with concern. "I thought Wart would have brought them in by now."

Galiena shook her head. "No, my lady. All that I have is what I am wearing. We had to…" She stopped herself, fearful of saying too much. "Well…we had to leave rather abruptly."

Lady Alyce nodded but did not ask more questions. Her face was kind and her demeanor welcoming, and Galiena felt the urge to tell the woman everything—but she didn't. Red could decide what to tell them of the events of the last two days.

"Thank you, my lady," she said quietly, "for your generosity." She looked Lady Alyce directly in the eye as she spoke, trying to convey the words she could not say. Thank you for being so kind to me. Thank you for not asking me to say more. Thank you for knowing what to say to reassure me about Red.

"Please, call me Alyce," she responded, her gentle smile widening.

She shook her head at Lady Alyce's suggestion. "I cannot do that. I am no one of consequence and you have been more than generous to accept me as your guest. It would not be proper."

"We are happy to have you as our guest." She reached out, placing a hand on Galiena's arm. "And I predict that you and I are going to be lasting friends."

The young woman from earlier appeared, setting down two tankards of mulled wine on the low table between them, the aroma of warm spices and fruit filling the air. "Supper is ready to be served, my lady."

Galiena turned to see a few men and women starting to congregate, and more were coming in from outside. A gaggle of young men and boys were laughing and pushing each other as they entered the hall, but quickly found their manners when Hawk let out a shrill whistle.

"That's better," he announced, leveling a stern look at the boys.

One of them separated himself from the rest and began to walk directly toward them. He stopped next to Lady Alyce's side, but he stared directly at Galiena with a grin on his face. She stared back at the scrawny boy with his mop of dirty blond hair, estimating him to be no more than seven or eight summers.

"Yes, Wart?" Lady Alyce coaxed gently when the boy didn't say anything.

"I, uh, I…" He continued to stare at Galiena as he scratched the side of his head as if trying to recall his reason for coming over to the women. "Is Henry coming down for supper?"

"Yes, he will be down very shortly. He finished his bath just before you told us Red had returned. Edna will bring him down soon."

Wart crinkled his nose in disgust and looked at his toes. "I don' like baths."

"I know, Wart," Lady Alyce said, giving him a teasing poke in the belly. "You have made that abundantly clear. But Cook is going to make a very special cake this week, and only boys who have washed with water and a cloth—and soap!—can have a slice."

"What kind o' cake?" he asked, lifting his head, and pinching his brows together, unable to hide his interest.

"Does it matter? I've yet to see you refuse any kind of cake."

He sighed. "True."

"It's a secret, but I'll tell you," Lady Alyce whispered, making a point of looking around to be sure no one else would overhear. "She's making a gingerbread cake."

"Wit' clotted cream?" Wart asked excitedly.

"For boys who wash from head to feet, yes, there will be clotted cream."

Galiena had kept herself isolated from most people for nearly three years. She'd been content with only Anora and her father as companions. It had been too painful to see the constant reminders of the family she'd lost. She'd thought about them and mourned them every day since they were taken from her. And being so near children felt like a knife to the heart, filling her with agonizing longing for her daughter. At this moment, she would give her own life if it meant Nahara could be here having a conversation about cake, looking so sweet and adorable. She bit her lip to quell the urge to pull the boy into her arms and hug him tightly.

"Was there anything else, Wart?" Lady Alyce asked kindly when the boy continued to stand there, looking from her to Galiena.

"Does the pretty lady belong to Red?" he asked unabashedly, staring at her with open curiosity.

Galiena shook her head and put her hands to her cheeks to be sure they weren't wet with unnoticed tears. "No. He is just a nice man who is helping me on my journey."

Wart raised his eyebrows, looking very skeptical. "He was holdin' you like a wife."

"I'm not his wife," she reassured him with a little laugh. He really was a precocious boy and hard not to like.

Much like Red.

"Yer pretty 'nuf to be 'is wife." Wart said the words very seriously, not showing the least bit of shyness or embarrassment.

Galiena couldn't help but let a smile spread across her face. To her surprise, the tightness in her chest eased a bit, and a very small measure of the icy pain in her heart was replaced with a comforting warmth. "Thank you, Wart. You are very kind."

"No," he disagreed, saying matter-of-factly. "I'm strong an' mean."

"You can be strong and kind," Lady Alyce stated.

"Lord Hawk an' Red are strong and mean," Wart argued, raising his little chin as he spoke of the men he obviously thought of as heroes.

"Your lord and Red are very strong," Lady Alyce agreed. "And they can be mean when it is appropriate, but they are also very kind."

Wart seemed to contemplate this for a long moment…or he was contemplating his feet again. Then he looked up at the women with a disarming grin and winked at each of them.

Lady Alyce let out a gasp of mock surprise. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Lord Hawk and Red taught me if I wink at pretty ladies, I might get a kiss." He pursed his lips and crinkled his brow again. "They tried to teach Hunter to wink but 'e can' do it. Or maybe 'e won't. I don' think 'e likes pretty ladies."

"That is a lot of information, Wart," Lady Alyce said with a sigh.

"I hafta go," he said looking over his shoulder. "Daniel will try to eat my portion if I'm not there to fight for it." With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the throng of people seating themselves at the benches along the trestle tables.

"Come, Galiena. You must be starving." Lady Alyce stood and gestured for Galiena to follow her to the table where Red and Lord Hawk were already seated. She couldn't remember the last time she was in a room with this many people. It was quite unnerving. At the inn, she cleaned the rooms when they were empty, and rarely assisted in the tavern, staying out of sight of most of the patrons. Even at the market, she waited until the throngs of people had made their purchases and left, making do with the picked-over items remaining.

As they drew near to the table, both men came to their feet. Hawk pulled out the highbacked chair to his left for Lady Alyce and Red signaled for Galiena to sit next to him in a smaller chair with a narrow, low back. She did as requested, but angled her chair toward Red so she did not have to look directly ahead at the crowd of people staring at them from the other tables in the hall.

Red sat down between Galiena and his commander but kept his attention on her. Leaning toward her he asked in a low voice, "Is aught the matter?"

"No. All is well," she said, her voice sounding tight and small even to her own ears.

Red looked out over the hall, surveying the people at the tables, then back at her. "There is no one here I don't recognize, but if anyone is making you uncomfortable, tell me now."

"It is no one in particular." She balled her fists on her lap, feeling foolish for how awkwardly she was acting. When had she become so afraid of people? She no longer recognized herself. She had traveled to the far reaches of the Mediterranean with her merchant father, and she had rarely been afraid then. Where was that courage now?

Red was studying her, the curiosity and worry evident in his eyes. "If you want to leave, I will request that we take our supper in the solar."

"I will not be rude to your commander and his lady wife. Lady Alyce has been very gracious, and I would not want her to take offense." She pushed her shoulders back and sat up straighter, feeling unsettled by the people looking at her, especially since she was still dressed in her dusty riding attire and Anora's boots, which were much larger than her feet. She had wished for a change in her life, an adventure, anything to break the monotony of her days—and she had gotten it.

Red grabbed the leg of her chair and pulled her close enough to him that their legs were touching. "You look beautiful, if that is what you are concerned about." As much as she hated to admit it, the look of genuine concern and caring in his pinched brows charmed her.

"I have no care if I look beautiful," she said to him, smiling to hide her discomfort. "I am not accustomed to being near so many people, let alone at the head of a nobleman's table in a castle." It was true that she did not care if the people in the hall thought her appealing, but there was a niggling awareness, a tiny hope, that perhaps Red thought her beautiful.

Galiena was startled by someone butting roughly against her arm. She looked down to see a small flaxen-haired child repeatedly bumping his head against Red's arm, and subsequently hers due to proximity. Behind the small boy was a large dog, sitting quietly but very attentively watching over the boy.

"Henry," Lady Alyce chided. "That is not how you greet Red and our guest."

"Listen to your mother," Hawk told the child, grabbing him by the shoulder to nudge him away. He leaned over to look the boy in the eye. "Let me show you how men greet each other. Do this," he said, balling his hand into a fist. The little boy imitated his father, folding his plump hand into a fist. "Then punch him as hard as you can in the arm." Which Hawk did to Red as he spoke.

Galiena heard a small grunt from Red and saw Hawk smile with satisfaction. When the little boy flung his fist into Red's arm, Red made a show of being nearly toppled from his chair as he clutched his bicep.

"Really, Hawk," Lady Alyce said, rolling her eyes at him, "the boy will never learn manners with you as a mentor."

Hawk turned to his wife, framing her face in his hands to kiss her quickly on the lips. "Manners can be taught later, Wife. First, he must learn to be tough."

Lady Alyce blushed and smiled, then put out her arms for the little boy to run into and scooped him up to hold against her shoulder. Galiena couldn't take her gaze from the toddler snuggled against his mother. The little boy looked to be about three years of age; she remembered how wonderfully affectionate her daughter was at that age, how warm she'd felt in her arms, and the sweet smell of her skin.

"Henry," Lady Alyce said. "This is Uncle Red's friend. Her name is Galiena."

Galiena looked from the boy to Lady Alyce, who was looking at her with those penetrating eyes that seemed to be all-knowing.

"Henry is very good at hugging," Lady Alyce said.

Henry lifted his head from his mother's shoulder to look at Galiena and nodded his head. Then he looked at his father and punched him in the arm. "Tough!" the little boy said.

"You can be tough and still give hugs," Hawk told the little boy, who immediately went from his mother's arms to his father's. After wrapping his arms around Hawk's neck and squeezing with all his might and a little squeal, he let go of his father and reached for Red.

That was too much for Galiena and she turned to look out over the hall, searching for anything to distract her attention. Watching Red pull the child into his arms made her think about things that were gone from her life, and she didn't think possible ever again.

"Hug."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pudgy pair of hands reaching for her. Red had a protective arm around the boy's legs as he leaned in Galiena's direction with his outstretched arms. Both the boy and Red were looking at her expectantly.

She could do this.

She could give the boy a quick squeeze and then set him down to return to his mother and father. It would be over in an instant, and then she could feign tiredness and ask to be excused from the meal. It was impolite, she knew, but it was better than the alternative of trying to sit through the meal while she fought to hide the anguish that was likely to spring from her eyes.

Holding out her hands, she carefully took the little boy in her stiff arms, looking anywhere but at the child, as she awkwardly patted his back. But then his arms curled around her neck, and he pressed his head against her cheek and draped his warm body fully over her. She inhaled deeply and wrapped him fully in her arms, knowing the tears were dropping down her cheeks and that there was nothing she could do to stop them.

For a moment, she felt complete. For the first time in a long while, she didn't feel the bleak emptiness that had been her normal state of being for so long.

The little boy loosened his grip and pulled his head back to look at her face. "Down."

"Manners, Henry."

He turned to look at his mother, then back to Galiena. His pink cherub lips curved into a perfect bow. "Please."

Galiena complied with his wishes, but the moment his feet touched the floor and he scurried away with the dog in tow, she felt like her heart had been sucked from her chest and she was overcome with longing for her daughter, wishing she could hold Nahara in her arms again. Suddenly, she was uncontrollably cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned forward fearing she may be sick.

Then she was in Red's arms, and he was clutching her to his chest as he carried her away from the table. She pressed her face into his shoulder and prayed for everything and everyone to disappear. She was overwhelmed with emotion and exhausted from all that had transpired in the last two days, which was why a hug from a toddler brought her to her knees. The weight of her grief for Adam and Nahara could bear down on her at unexpected times, and when it did, she was incapable of doing anything other than curling into herself and letting the darkness take her.