Chapter Four

Six Weeks later

“Do you see him?”

“Who?

“Him!”

There was a good deal of craning necks and gasping and even some shoving as several young women strained to catch a glimpse of something that had their attention.

Someone who had their attention.

He had since nearly the day he arrived.

It was a bright and sunny day in the middle of August and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as the wards of Lady Isabel strained for a look at their favorite subject. It had been an unusually dry and warm summer, and they were dressed in lighter-weight clothing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t proper or fashionable. Quite the opposite, because Lady Isabel demanded it. Life at Axminster, since the Tatworth siege, had quickly settled down to normal, and even now the gatehouse was open and people were moving in and out as they went about their business. The difference these days was that the gatehouse was heavily manned and anyone coming in and out was thoroughly inspected.

The events from six weeks ago had not been forgotten.

Rickard Tatworth had been sent home shortly after his defeat and his punishment had been that his army was completely disbanded. Grayson had absorbed some of the Tatworth men and so had Hereford, until Tatworth was only left with thirty men to run his rather large castle. In addition, Curtis had ordered his men to search every corner and every chamber at Tatworth Castle, removing any weapons or anything that could be used as a weapon. They even took the knives out of the kitchens so the cook was left with only a couple of very dull knives to use in the course of her duties. All sharpening stones had also been removed, as had farming implements that had any kind of a blade on them. Anything that could be used in a fight had been stripped clean and Curtis had taken it all with him back to Lioncross Abbey Castle, seat of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester.

That left Lord Tatworth with nothing to defend himself with but also nothing to attack anyone with. Grayson had left about thirty of his own soldiers at Tatworth Castle to ensure that weapons were not made on the sly. The smithies were only allowed to shoe horses or help the wheelwrights in repairing wheels or anything else that required metal, but they were not allowed to fashion anything that could be used as armament. Stripped and dishonored, Rickard Tatworth was left a very unhappy man.

But it didn’t end there.

He was disgraced among his allies, who were now ostracizing him. Tatworth had a few allies in the area, including St. Martin, and none of them responded to Rickard’s summons or missives. When Rickard physically rode to a neighboring garrison to find out why, they would not admit him and told him to return home. He still couldn’t get a straight answer as to why he was being treated like a leper, but he found out soon enough that it was because St. Martin had been telling everyone that he had been petty and foolish in his attack against Axminster Castle and Lady Isabel.

The tides had turned dramatically.

That had left Tatworth without support, which worked in Axminster’s favor. It seemed that the man had been completely subdued, punished in a way that Lady Isabel approved of, so life had Axminster continued as it always had. Tradesmen and farmers still did business there, the training of the royal troops continued, and Lady Isabel continued to educate the young women entrusted to her care. Everything was back to normal. Now, it was those young women who were desperate for the sight of the man that had them all swooning since the day he arrived.

Douglas de Lohr.

Each young woman was quite convinced that she was the right match for Douglas. He was kind and chivalrous, and pleasant even when they made fools out of themselves trying to impress him. When he spoke, he had a deep, beautiful voice with a slight lisp that made the young women sigh with joy. At this moment, they were supposed to be praying in the tiny chapel of Axminster, but one of them had seen Douglas walk by on his way to the stable and now all of them were trying to peer through the three lancet windows that faced onto the central bailey, hoping for a glimpse of the knight who looked like a Viking god. The mere mention of his name sent female hearts aflutter.

All but one.

Mira was the only one actually in prayer, as they were all supposed to be. At least, she was kneeling before the small stone altar and trying to concentrate, but the chatter about Douglas had her distracted. Unable to continue her rosary, she sighed heavily and stood up, going to the window and pushing between a couple of the young women to see if she could possibly see what had them fluttering like birds.

She couldn’t.

The entire situation was ridiculous.

“Do you want me to seek him out and settle this once and for all?” she asked with some sarcasm. “Do you want to know which lady he favors so you will stop this foolish behavior? We have been going through this for months and it is time to end it. Who is brave enough to know the truth?”

Nine hopeful yet fearful faces were gazing back at her. Astoria, Davina, Helen, Ines, Louisa, Marceline, Primrose, and Theodora. All of them from some of the finest families in England, all of them ranging from fourteen years of age to eighteen. Mira was the oldest of the group at twenty years and three, but she was a special case. She wasn’t truly part of them, but then again, she was simply because amongst the throng was where Lady Isabel wanted her. Astoria, Davina, and Helen were the second oldest, all of them having seen eighteen years. They were women grown.

And they were looking for husbands.

Maybe one husband in particular.

“Well?” Mira demanded again. “Do you want me to settle this once and for all?”

“You cannot simply ask him,” Astoria said as if it was a frightful suggestion. From the House of de Luzie, she brought a great fortune with her to a marriage. “What on earth will he think?”

Mira looked at the tall, rather plain young woman. “What do you think he thinks now?” she said. “Astoria, he knows that all of you watch every move he makes. The man cannot even eat in peace without someone offering to cut his meat for him—and right now, we are supposed to be in prayer, yet you are paying homage to a man who looks like a god among us. You are praying to Douglas!”

She made a sweeping motion with her hand toward the bailey where he was last seen. The young women began to look uncertain, even ashamed, as Astoria and Davina and Helen looked at each other with worried brows.

“She’s right,” Helen finally said. “We should be praying. If Lady Isabel catches us not following her instructions one more time, she will punish us.”

Astoria was usually the leader of the group. She was headstrong and bossy and she thrived on telling the others what to do. In the early days of Douglas’ presence at Axminster, she told the women that he would be her conquest. That hadn’t happened yet, and she was increasingly embarrassed that he’d not fallen at her feet simply because she demanded it. These days, she tried to pretend that it didn’t matter because there was a secondary target in Davyss de Winter, who was also quite handsome, but he was also young.

She wanted an older man.

But he, so far, didn’t want her.

Astoria spent most of her time these days trying to save her pride.

“She will not punish us if we all swear that we spent this time praying, as she instructed,” she said, looking at the anxious faces around her. “Shall we swear it?”

The girls started to nod, but Mira spoke up. “Swear to a lie in a chapel?” she said, incredulous. “That is sacrilege, Astoria. Shame on you for suggesting such a thing. But… if each one of you prays right now, however quickly, it shall not be a lie, shall it?”

That sent most of the girls stampeding to the altar and dropping to their knees as they began rapid-fire prayers. Hail, Mary, full of grace… Astoria and Helen remained by the windows with Mira just as Douglas began to pass by. Mira caught sight of him first.

“There he is,” she said, gathering her skirts as she turned for the chapel door. “I am going to settle this so there will no longer be any question. I will demand to know who he finds favorable so everyone will stop wondering.”

“You’ll put in a good word for me?” Astoria said before she could stop herself. When Mira looked at her, surprised she should verbalize such a hope, Astoria tried to pretend she hadn’t meant it. “What I mean to say is that if you happen to speak of me, you can tell him that I may or may not be interested in his suit. I’ve not yet decided.”

Mira knew she didn’t mean a word of it but nodded, heading to the chapel entry door and giving it a good yank to open it. The door was warped and tended to stick. Leaving the chapel, she headed out into the bailey in pursuit of Douglas.

He wasn’t too far ahead of her.

Dust blew up in her face as she moved swiftly, getting the hem of her green silk dress dirty. She didn’t like the heat, or the sun, so she shielded her eyes from the bright light as she kept her focus on the prize ahead. Douglas was stopped by a de Lohr soldier and engaged in a brief conversation, but he happened to catch a glimpse of Mira coming up behind him.

That always brought a smile to his lips.

She was wearing a gown the color of her eyes today, and it made her look even more ethereal than usual. When their gazes met, his smile broadened and he put his hands on his hips in a somewhat stern gesture.

“And what are you doing out of the chapel?” he demanded lightly. “This is your prayer time, is it not?”

Mira smiled in return. “How would you know that?”

“I know everything.”

“Then do you know that every girl in that chapel is watching you from the windows and not praying?”

His smile faded as he looked over at the small, sturdy chapel. He could see figures in the windows, suddenly disappearing when they realized his attention was upon them.

He sighed heavily.

“Lady Isabel is going to punish them if they continue that,” he said. “I do not want to be responsible for their pain.”

Mira chuckled. “Then you can end all of this attention right away.”

He frowned. “How?” he said. “I have been trying to do that since it started, Mira. I swear to you, if I find Ines or Primmy in the privy one more time, waiting for me to relieve myself just so they can spy on me, I am going to jump into the river and swim away for good. Do they not know how unseemly that is?”

Mira was in full-blown laughter by now. “They know,” she said. “I have told you repeatedly that you must tell Lady Isabel. She will end that behavior very quickly.”

He shrugged. “I know,” he said. “But it seems cruel to do it. She is very strict with her wards, I have noticed.”

“Then you are weak and soft and it serves you right if they never stop spying on you.”

She wasn’t serious and he knew it, so it was a struggle to maintain a frown without smiling. “That is a terrible thing to say to me,” he said. “How hurtful.”

“I doubt it.”

His eyebrows flew up. “Is that so?” he said, nearly sneering at her. “Very well, then. If you are so smart, tell me how I can end this attention once and for all.”

“That is simple,” she said, lifting her hand to shield her eyes again. “All you have to do is declare which young woman you favor most and the rest will leave you alone. None of them would dare tread on another woman’s territory. Especially of the male persuasion.”

His smile faded, as did his jesting mood. “Are you serious?”

“I am afraid I am,” she said. “I told them I would ask you which lady you favor. Astoria asked me to put in a good word for her.”

He shook his head and turned away. “I am not going to declare anything,” he said. “If you could simply ask them to leave me to my business, I would be grateful.”

Mira began to follow him. “I cannot,” she said. “All jesting aside, my lord, they are very serious about you.”

“Then that is their misfortune. And I told you to call me Douglas.”

That was true. He had. Mira took up pace beside him. “Now who is being cruel?” she asked. “These are fragile young women. You do not want to upset them.”

He stopped and looked at her. “They are all far too young,” he said. “Why do they not fixate on Davyss? He is more their age.”

Mira shrugged. “Because they like the blond, godlike creature who strolls the grounds,” she said, her eyes glimmering with mirth. “As the representative of the wards, I must ask you to come up with a pleasing answer that does not hurt their feelings, yet does not commit you to anything.”

His gaze lingered on her for a moment. Truth be told, he was fairly smitten with Mira and had been since the day they’d met, but given the circumstances and the politics at Axminster, there was no possible way he was going to declare that the only young woman he was interested in was, in fact, her. But he wasn’t here to find a wife and, frankly, he didn’t need the headache. He was here to do a job and a job only. But every day that he saw her, his resolve weakened more and more. In moments like this, she would have done less damage had she taken a battering ram to him. That rock-solid de Lohr composure was weakening.

But he almost didn’t care.

“Very well,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Is that what this will take?”

She nodded. “I am afraid so,” she said. “I know they have been quite a nuisance, but one word from you will end it.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“I hope so.”

He scowled. “That does not sound very confident.”

She shrugged. “I cannot promise anything with that group,” she said. “But I believe they will stop.”

He looked at her, lips twisted in thought. “Then you will have to help me.”

“How?”

He gestured between the two of them. “Pretend you are madly in love with me and I will pretend I am madly in love with you,” he said. “You are the only one I trust, Mira. Anyone else would take it seriously.”

He’d addressed her informally on more than one occasion and she found it quite endearing. She liked Douglas, very much. He was humorous and animated at times, and she’d found him to be very wise. He was always right, about everything, and she had come to trust his judgment. Not that they had any real relationship outside of an occasional conversation—and, one time, he’d helped her track down several errant chickens when it was her turn to manage the kitchens—but still, she liked him. She didn’t have a brother, so Douglas had shown her what it might have been like to have had one. Or any sibling, for that matter. Perhaps even a husband.

She considered him a friend.

It was a foolish dream to consider he would ever be anything more.

Still, his suggestion was a surprising one and, if she thought about it, a suggestion to be feared. She was astute enough to know that pretending she was in love with the man might give her a taste of what it would actually be like, and she wasn’t sure that was a good idea. With Douglas, it would be so easy to hope for the real thing.

She didn’t want to fall into that trap.

“That is your only plan?” she said, avoiding giving him an answer. “That is a weak attempt. Can you not come up with anything else?”

Douglas had to admit that her refusal to play along disappointed him. More than that, it hurt his feelings. Imagine that! Me—with hurt feelings! He almost laughed at himself but couldn’t seem to manage it. Shrugging his big shoulders, he shook his head and turned away.

“I do not,” he said. “I am sorry that pretending to be in love with me is such an appalling prospect. I did not mean to offend you.”

He was starting to walk away again, and Mira followed. “You did not,” she said. “Don’t be silly. I simply meant that I do not think they will believe it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you are Douglas de Lohr. I am no one of note.”

He came to a stop and looked at her. “That is not true,” he said. “You are Lady Misery Isabella Rosalie d’Avignon. Your family hails from Lincolnshire and your father was Lord Wygate of Wygate Castle. You are of noble birth.”

Her brow furrowed. “Who told you that?”

He threw a thumb in the direction of the gatehouse, or keep, or both. “Le Kerque,” he said. “He says your uncle was none other than Caius d’Avignon of Hawkstone Castle.”

She nodded. “He was.”

“He and my father were friends, you know.”

She shook her head. “I did not,” she said. “But I do not like le Kerque telling you about my background. That should come from me.”

Douglas braced his big legs apart, folding his arms over his chest. “He wasn’t gossiping if that concerns you,” he said. “We met shortly after I was stationed here and he told me about everyone of note who lives here simply to orient me. I know about you, about Lady Astoria, Lady Helen, and the rest of them. Would you rather have me not give a lick about any of you and treat you all like dirt?”

“That is not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?”

She sighed sharply. Douglas was a forthright man and when he was correct, which was always, he could get a bit confrontational when challenged. Not that it had ever really happened between them, but she’d seen it happen with others. Eric le Kerque was one. Eric had trained men unchallenged for several years, and when Douglas made a suggestion one day, a probably a correct suggestion on weapon management, Eric had pushed it aside and Douglas had taken offense. The castle was still talking about it. Eric had eventually backed down and the two of them got along well enough, but Douglas was clearly a man used to having his way in all things.

Truth was, so was Mira.

“I simply meant that if you were curious about me, then I would hope you would ask me directly,” she said. “I will tell you everything you wish to know, so let me explain to you why no one would believe you could consider me a marital prospect.”

Douglas cocked a blond eyebrow, an imperious gesture. “Go ahead,” he said. “I am listening.”

Mira cocked an eyebrow, too. “First of all, I am not an heiress,” she said. “I am not anything. Everything went to my brother, Payne. Secondly, when I finished fostering with Lady Isabel, I returned home to Wygate only to discover that my mother had taken another husband who had a daughter a little younger than I, and she immediately became very hateful against me. She told my mother that I had threatened her and intimidated her, and my mother believed her. She sent me back to Lady Isabel. Have you not wondered why I’m still here at my age? It is because my mother’s new husband did not want me around. So I am here.”

“What did your brother have to say about it? He is lord of Wygate, is he not?”

“He is,” she said. “But even he could see what a fuss that girl was making over me. He told me I could stay if I wanted to, but I chose to return to Axminster where I was happy.”

“I see,” he said. “But all of this still does not explain why you feel you are an undesirable marital prospect.”

She looked at him as if he were daft. “Did you not just hear me?”

“I heard everything.”

“Then it should be clear to you.”

He shook his head. “The only thing clear to me is that you find me to be a disgusting creature you could never be in love with,” he said. “I am sorry that I am so appalling, my lady.”

She scowled. “You are ridiculous.”

“Is that so?”

“It is,” she insisted. “Douglas, you know you are the most handsome man at Axminster and, more than likely, the entire world, and the fact that you are making me tell you this when you already know it is only feeding your pride. That is shameful!”

“Is it?”

Mira was ready to explode at him when she caught him laughing. He started laughing so hard that he bent over, hands on his knees, and she was trying desperately to maintain her outrage.

“Stop laughing,” she said, fighting off a smile. “Stop laughing this instant, Douglas de Lohr. Do you hear me?”

He did, but he suddenly went down on one knee in front of her and took her hands, holding them in his two big fists.

“I know those silly chickens are watching us from the chapel windows, so they now see that I am on my knee before you,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. “Please, Mira. Please pretend to love me. Please pretend to belong only to me so that gaggle of children will leave me alone and stop watching me piss. Please!”

He was being dramatic and hilarious and very sly. He was making it look as if he was proposing to her and, of course, she had no choice but to go along with it. Or so he thought. She tried to yank her hands from his grip.

“Let me go, you fool,” she said, trying very hard not to laugh at him. “Douglas, I swear I will beat you if you do not let me go.”

The more she pulled, the more he refused to let her go, but she managed to get one hand free. That caused him to yank on her, pulling her into an embrace right out in the middle of the central bailey for all to see. He was on his knees, holding her tightly, his face pressed into her belly, as she began slapping him around the head.

“Douglas!” she gasped. “Release me this instant!”

He was laughing so hard that he was crying, his face pushed into her soft, warm torso. It would have been extremely enticing had he not had to suffer through the sting of her slapping at his head and ears.

“I will not release you until you agree to pretend to love me,” he said, muffled against her belly. “Agree or we stay like this forever.”

Mira knew he meant it. Furious, but also caught up in the man’s undeniable charm, she stopped hitting him and he immediately released her. He stood up, but he still had one of her hands.

“Now,” he said in a low voice. “Do we have a bargain?”

She was desperately fighting off a grin as she shook her head at him. “You are an insufferable arse,” she hissed. “I swear you deserve everything that is coming to you. I hope a thousand foolish maidens follow you around and spy on every aspect of your life. I hope you never have a moment’s peace!”

His grin broke through. “As long as you tell everyone that we are madly in love, I do not care what curses you bring down upon me,” he said. “Do we have a bargain?”

She was looking at him most hatefully. “If we must.”

“We must,” he said. “Now, smile. You are very happy that I have declared my intentions. Smile!”

He hissed the last word, and she produced a sneering grin that not even he believed. “How is that?” she asked.

He frowned. “Terrible,” he said. “You look like you have a bellyache.”

“I do, and its name is Douglas.”

He started laughing. “Insult me all you wish and I do not care,” he said. “We have a bargain and you had better live up to it.”

“And if I do not?”

His laughter faded. “Even if you do not want to make the bargain, you have,” he said, suddenly serious. “Your honor is at stake, my lady. That is the most important thing in the world. If there is even a small part of you that has any respect for me, live up to that bargain. Do not disappoint me.”

He meant it. All jesting aside, even Mira could see that. She may not have liked what he’d managed to wrangle out of her, but her honor was important to her. She didn’t want to lose a friend.

“I will not,” she said. “I will be a sickly sweet as you want me to be where you are concerned.”

He eyed her dubiously. “Make it believable, at least.”

“I told you that I will not disappoint you. I meant it.”

He nodded, a faint smile on his lips, before lifting her hand to kiss it. With a lingering glance, he headed off, back to the duties that were part of his day, as Mira stood there and watched him go.

Her heart was still beating wildly in her chest.

Letting out a pent-up sigh, she put her hand against her sternum as if to ease her racing heart. All jesting aside, the man had made her feel faint with his sweet kiss and charming ways. She realized she wouldn’t have been disappointed if this farce they were about to perpetrate were real.

But it was only make-believe.

Perhaps that would come to be the biggest disappointment of all.