Page 82 of The Sword and the Damsel

Daniel stood, and the hall hushed. He looked commanding in his midnight blue velvet cotte with slashed sleeves and billowing folds flaring from the waist. He gave a brief speech in honor of the holiday, commenting on the new ties with Hastings and Canterbury, and invited her father, Lord de Vere, to bless the feast. Her father led them in the Lord’s Prayer as they all bowedtheir heads. When he finished, he spread his arms with a smile and said, “Let us feast!”

An entire roasted boar was carried by four servers and placed in the middle of the table. An army of servants appeared with a seemingly endless procession of platters and tureens for their table and then for the rest of the hall. There was venison, mutton, and sweetmeats. Hot, crusty loaves of bread and cheeses were laid on every table. There was pottage and roasted root vegetables. Mulled wine, mead, and ale flowed freely.

Alais took a sample of everything, unable to resist the decadent aromas.

“How is the venison today?” Victor asked, leaning in.

She took a bite. “Quite good, actually. The cooks didn’t overcook it for once.”

“Excellent, then I’ll have some,” he said, reaching for the platter.

“I’d skip the mutton, though. It’s rather tough.”

He grinned. “Thank you for saving me from mediocre mutton, my lady. I am in your debt.”

They ate until they could eat no more, and then the plum pudding arrived. Victor winked at her as he served her a slice, despite her groan. As usual, she had overindulged. Nonetheless, she ate the rich dessert and even nibbled on a gingerbread cookie. She thought the ties on the sides of her gown might burst if she took another bite.

That’s when the first troubadour stepped up onto the low wooden stage at the side of the room. Alais sipped mulled wine and leaned against Victor, who wrapped an arm around her as they listened to the plaintive tune about a beautiful lady locked away in a castle and a lover who lived merely to look upon her face from afar and no more. Another troubadour took the stage and sang a fiery song about going to war and laying siege to his cruel lady love.

Daniel and Carenza got up and sang a merry Christmas carol. By the end, everyone in the hall was singing along. A few were even dancing. Daniel gestured for the other troubadours to join them on stage with their lutes, and they each took turns leading a verse in a reprise. Before long, they’d run out of real verses, and the performers were improvising increasingly ridiculous parody verses.

Victor stood up and held out his hand. “A dance, my lady?”

She stood and accepted his hand, and soon they were whirling to the music, which had somehow devolved into increasingly ribald country songs. Daniel and Carenza surrendered the stage, leaving four troubadours to hold court, and everyone got drunker and sillier.

When she had danced until she could hardly stand, Victor whispered in her ear, “Do you think we can go now?”

Alais looked around. Her parents were dancing. Carenza was leaning back casually in Daniel’s arms, obviously tipsy. Iselda had already excused herself and gone to bed.

“Yes, I think we can.”

“At last.”

He pulled her upstairs to their room and showed her that Christmas had hardly begun.

Epilogue

Alais wore hernew burgundy silk dress with the wide V-neck showing off the swell of her breasts, and the draping bell sleeves that reached the bottom of her skirt. It was made from fabric purchased in Hastings, and it made her feel like a queen. On her head, she wore a matching hat that curved up on the sides like horns and had a delicate veil draping down in back. Her hair was tucked demurely beneath a sheer veil that hung down the back, down to her shoulders. Around her neck was the double-stranded pearl necklace with an enormous ruby medallion that had belonged to Victor’s mother.

Dora sighed as she stood back to look at her work. “You look magnificent, my lady. Sir Victor won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

Alais laughed. “Sir Victor couldn’t take his eyes off me if I was wearing a lumpy brown sack.” She examined herself in the mirror. “But I do quite enjoy stunning him into speechlessness. It’s getting harder these days, you know. He says he’s started to get used to me. But I bet this dress will do the trick.”

“You should go down to the great hall, my lady. They’ll all be waiting for you.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She gave Dora a quick hug.

“Oh, go on with you.” Dora shooed her away with one hand and dabbed her eyes with a hankie with the other.

As Alais walked down the beloved halls of the castle and down the grand staircase to the great hall, she found herself pondering the changes the last year had brought. Birthdays always made her pensive, though she would never admit it to anyone else. How different her life was now than it was a year ago! She still lived in the castle in Winchelsea with her family, but she felt like a different person. It wasn’t only that she was married now. She’d changed inside. It was as if she used to float along on the surface of life, and now there was so much more. She used to live for attention, starved for affection, and now she felt…content? Could that be? And useful too. Who would have expected that?

She walked into the great hall to see the people she cared about most in the world seated around the table. First, she looked at Victor who, she was delighted to see, dropped his wine goblet on seeing her. She gave him a look full of smoldering promise, biting her lip. By God, he was delectable. He came and offered his arm to take her to her seat.

“Where were you all morning?” he murmured in her ear as they walked, or really processed. Yes, they were a two-person procession, she decided.

“I went down to the Bird’s Nest.” A woman named Jane, who bore a striking resemblance to her, had started a home for women seeking to leave prostitution and abusive homes, and Alais had taken a charitable interest in seeing that it was well-provisioned. When Victor confessed his familiarity with Jane, she couldn’t stop laughing for half a day. He was so worried about what she’d think, but it only served as further proof he’d been infatuated with her from the start, even when he thought his suit was hopeless.

“It’s amazing what she’s done with the place. You’d never know it used to be a brothel. The Sisters from the Abbey aresupporting our efforts as well now. It’s incredible what she’s accomplished in such a short time.”

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