Page 28 of Suddenly a Bride
~oOo~
Gwyneth made sure her day was busy so thoughts of her husband could remain in the distance. Mrs. Haskell brought two more girls from the village to work in the spinning chamber, and Gwyneth spent many hours there. In London, she’d bought her fabric already made. She was fascinated that here she had to oversee each step of the process, from carding tufts of wool to weed out the impurities to the final weaving of yarn into cloth on giant looms. She had so much to learn, and did it gladly. Better still, she was becoming acquainted with the household staff. Soon she hoped she would not feel so awkward giving orders.
When Edmund didn’t come home at noon, she ate dinner in the great hall with the servants and found herself more at ease than she’d been since she arrived. She sat with Lucy, who pointed out the servants she didn’t know by name and explained their duties. Then Lucy gushed about her soldier, Hugh Ludlow, and Gwyneth could only be pleased for her. At least someone was feeling at home in this old castle.
But she had to admit that the servants finally seemed to be accepting her. No longer did they act as though Edmund was the only authority on something as trivial as what the dairymaids could leave out for the shepherds’ meals. She could sense a place growing for herself here, if not in her husband’s heart.
When they were done eating, she let Lucy drag her out to the courtyard. Lucy wanted to watch the soldiers train and felt foolish going out by herself for a second time in one day. Together they found a bench under a shady tree at the edge of the tiltyard and watched Geoffrey lead the soldiers through their sword training. Before they’d barely begun, Hugh Ludlow, Lucy’s friend, stalked off angrily, and Lucy begged Gwyneth’s leave to run after him. She watched the girl take hold of his arm and say something, but he didn’t look mollified.
Geoffrey turned and saw Gwyneth, waving as he strolled over.
“Lady Blackwell, it is good to see you out on such a nice day.”
“There is much to keep me occupied, Geoffrey, but Lucy asked me to come. She’s gone to be with Mr. Ludlow.”
He looked in the direction of the barracks, where Hugh stood listening to Lucy.
Geoffrey shook his head. “It might be a while before she’s soothed him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s just found out that Edmund has promoted me to lieutenant over him. He didn’t take kindly to it.”
“But surely Edmund’s decision is all that matters.”
“Hugh and I were both sergeants under Edmund’s command in France, which put us on the same level. But Hugh had bad luck with the men assigned to him and couldn’t control them. They were slaughtered in battle.”
“How terrible! But surely that was only simple misfortune.”
“Edmund gave him another squadron to command, and this one”—he looked away, his face reddening—”abused the women in a village. Hugh was away on leave at the time.”
“Good heavens.”
“Those men do not serve under Edmund anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She glanced again at Lucy, who talked so earnestly to her young man. “But Geoffrey,” she said, smiling as she changed the subject, “are you not also Edmund’s steward?”
He grinned, pointing his sword into the dirt and leaning on the hilt. “My lady, you force me to admit that Edmund does most of that work himself, and I only assist where necessary. After everything that happened with the Langstons’ steward, I think he feels the need to keep things under his own control.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, hoping that she would hear something that would help her understand her husband.
Geoffrey hesitated as he studied her, then finally shook his head. “It is not my place to tell you about Edmund’s life—or his first marriage, my lady. But I will say that Martin Fitzjames was secretly under Langston control when Edmund was lord of Castle Wintering.”
Secretly under Langston control? What did that mean? Had the earl done something underhanded to Edmund, his daughter’s husband?
Though still curious, Gwyneth knew that Geoffrey would say nothing more. “If my husband is in command of every aspect of the estate, I am surprised he is not out here training the men as well.”
She meant it as a light-hearted comment, but Geoffrey’s smile died and he gave her a meaningful look.
“My lady, since his injury, he doesn’t even train with me any more.”
She stiffened. “But surely there is much he can do, even with the limp.”
“I’ve always hoped that managing Wintering will show him that he’s more than a soldier,” Geoffrey said softly. “I’ve long worried that fighting is all Edmund thinks he’s good at. It was how he supported his first wife, after all.”
He straightened abruptly, as if he thought he’d said too much. Gwyneth felt a cold sadness envelop her. Again she wondered how her cousin had come to be married to him. Edmund had been so good a soldier that he’d been knighted. How must he feel, having to stop doing what he’d spent his whole life on? No wonder the estate meant so much to him.
~oOo~
