Page 68 of Suddenly a Bride
When a cold spell threatened and Edmund moved all the workers to the orchard, he often found Langston in the highest branches of an apple tree, doing the hardest, most dangerous work. He’d developed a legion of admirers, girls who probably liked his courtly manners and the proper way he talked. When dinner was called, he had companions on both sides of him.
Geoff informed him that Langston had even asked to spend a few hours training with the soldiers when he was able to find the time. With a sigh, Edmund allowed him an hour here and there.
While the harvest continued, Geoff occasionally took a few men out to explore every parcel of Edmund’s land, searching for opportunities before winter arrived. Farther up in the Pennines, other landowners had discovered that mining could enrich a castle’s coffers, and there was a chance Castle Wintering could benefit from the same.
Edmund wished he could enjoy the land’s resurgence, but always he felt the need for vigilance. He made certain Geoff was training the soldiers harder than ever. They could not afford to be unprepared for an attack by Earl Langston.
~oOo~
It had begun, and there was no returning to safety. Being a traitor made one feel as if everyone were watching. Sir Edmund and Lady Blackwell had been the most generous of souls, and their repayment would be betrayal. The guilt was almost too much to bear and made the nights long and sleepless. But it was too late to stop—too dangerous to stop. The earl’s instructions outlined the plan, and all that was left to do was follow it, but the fear was crippling and the risk of discovery ever nearer. Things were going to get worse.
~oOo~
On Sunday morning, when her family was due to arrive any day, Gwyneth persuaded Edmund to go to church with her. Mrs. Haskell had told her that there was to be a celebration on the village green afterward to give everyone a rest from the hard work of harvest. Gwyneth thought it would be good for her husband to make an appearance—and she convinced him of the same. She had realized that in her excitement over her parents’ pending arrival, she’d neglected him. Her plan to seduce him had given way to exhaustion, something she wasn’t proud of.
The villagers stared in surprise when he limped into the church, but Gwyneth held his arm and smiled at all her new friends as they found their pew. After the service, everyone adjourned to the village green, where trestle tables and benches were being set up. The musicians were tuning their viols, the brewer was setting up a table to sell his ale, and another long table was turned into a banquet, the best dishes from every house in Swintongate.
Gwyneth had Edmund bring her basket from where she’d left it tied to Star.
He watched dourly as she pulled out pies and cakes. “I should have known you had something planned.”
She smiled and patted his arm. “I only had plans for amusement. And is this not enjoyable?”
She slid her hand in his arm and gave him a little squeeze, leaning her head against him for a moment.
“Hmm,” was all he said.
She looked around and was glad to see that the villagers were watching their intimate conversation with interest. She would make her husband a popular man by any means possible.
When the music started up, she stood at Edmund’s side and clapped her hands. When he frowned down at her, she only grinned. “My mother taught me to dance, but I’ll admit I have never done so except with my own sisters. They did say I was exceptionally talented at it.”
She thought he would laugh, but his mood seemed to darken, and he swallowed a rather large mouthful of ale before giving her a short bow and walking away. Her gaze followed him, but she didn’t allow her worry to show. If it was dancing that worried him, she would convince him later that night that a limp mattered little to her.
Gwyneth gladly accepted Geoffrey’s offer to dance, and soon she was traded from one partner to the next, song after song. When even Martin Fitzjames, the old steward, claimed her for a dance, and then her cousin Harold, she hoped Edmund was watching. Maybe he would see that his people were learning to put the past behind them.
When she finally sat out a dance, she saw her husband standing at the brewer’s table, listening to something Prudence Atwater was saying. Gwyneth wished she could hear what was going on, especially when the merry widow gave an angry toss of her head and walked away. Gwyneth couldn’t help being curious, but she would not have Edmund think less of her by questioning him. But when Geoffrey sauntered over to Edmund and they both turned to watch the widow’s departure, Gwyneth allowed herself to wander closer under the guise of examining the peddler’s wares.
Edmund was shrugging. “I know not what she was thinking, Geoff. As if I would dance with her when I will not dance with my own wife.”
“But now she’s angry,” Geoffrey said, smiling as he accepted a tankard of beer.
“I’ve angered her before.”
“And you didn’t feel the need to share it with me?”
“ ’Tis not something you need to know.” Edmund drained his tankard and reached for another.
Gwyneth strolled away, relieved about Prudence but worried by how much her husband was drinking. She had hoped he would be drawn in by a country party, but still he kept himself on the fringes, talking little and wearing his ferocious frown. He wasn’t going to make friends with the villagers like that.
Hugh Ludlow, the soldier Lucy had befriended, wasn’t helping either, as he stood with a group of villagers. Gwyneth saw him deliberately turn his back to avoid having to talk to Edmund, and then when Edmund passed by, he seemed to be whispering something to his friends. Gwyneth strolled over to stand in their midst, and at least Hugh had the decency to seem embarrassed. After a moment of awkwardness, she pulled Lucy aside.
“Milady?” Lucy said uncertainly.
“Can you tell me what is going on with your Mr. Ludlow?”
“MyMr. Ludlow?”
“Is he saying unkind things about Edmund? If he is still angry that Geoffrey was promoted over him, I do so wish he would not involve the villagers.”
