Page 66 of Wolfehound
While Caria had bronze-brown hair and hazel eyes nearly the same color of her hair, Cambria had dramatically black hair and bright blue eyes. She also had a dusting of freckles over her nose, which Jordan found utterly charming. She was a strikingly beautiful woman. She was also the heiress to the principality of Wales, and while Caria was not the heiress to the Kingdom of Anglesey, she was the niece of the hereditary king. Jordan found herself watching two young women with more royal blood in them than perhaps anyone in the entire country.
But a casual observer would have never guessed.
They looked like ordinary, normal young women.
As she sat and reflected on that very thing, Cambria and Caria were getting along famously. No sooner were they introduced than they began to feel comfortable with one another. Now, they were inspecting a silk garment that had silver thread embroidered on it and a thick lining underneath, trying to determine if it would survive snow and cold weather. Over at the other wardrobe, Avrielle and Fair Lydia had the wedding dress hung up, with Annaleigh looking at part of the hem on the bottom.
“Jordan?” she said, looking up from the material. “Will ye come and look at this? I see a tear in the silk that needs tae be fixed, I think.”
Since Annaleigh was Jordan’s cousin, they were on a first-name basis. Wearily, Jordan stood up from the chair, leaning on a cane she used from time to time, and made her way over to the dress. Annaleigh held up the end for all to see, and Jordan, as well as Avrielle and Fair Lydia, noted the small tear.
“I have red silk thread that can be used to repair that,” Fair Lydia said. “I swear that Bria has tried this dress on twice daily for the past month, ever since the seamstress finished with it. I am not surprised there is a bit of damage.”
“She is excited,” Avrielle said, smiling. “I understand that completely.”
“I canhearyou, Mama,” Cambria said from her position in front of the wardrobe. “Do not talk about me as if I am not here.”
Fair Lydia didn’t look at her daughter, but she did fight off a grin. “Not only has she tried this dress on twice daily, but she has spent the rest of the time writing a love sonnet to read during the wedding feast,” she said. “She is learning to play the harp, too.”
“Mama!” Cambria gasped. “You are not supposed to tell anyone!”
Fair Lydia’s smile broke through. “Why not?” she said. “I think it is very endearing. Liam will be thrilled.”
“But I am not any good,” Cambria lamented. “Please do not tell him any of that!”
She was pleading to the women in the chamber, all of whom were grinning to varying degrees. It was Jordan who broke away from the other women and went over to where Cambria and Caria were sitting on the floor, a pile of clothing between them.
“Not tae worry, lass,” she said. “He’ll love anything ye do. Why do ye worry so?”
Cambria looked up at the woman, so elderly, but somehow so timeless. Her hair was pale silver on the top, with shades of darker blonde at the nape of her neck so that when she twisted her hair into a bun, it had many colors to it. Her skin had aged somewhat, but not too terribly. Not enough to hide the beauty that she had. Cambria had heard from her father how devoted William de Wolfe had been to his wife, and she could see that the woman had an ethereal quality to her. She seemed gentle and kind, but there was still fire behind those pale green eyes.
Almost as much as her husband, she was a legend.
“I suppose I do not want to be embarrassed,” Cambria said. “I want him to think I am perfect, and my harp playing is definitelynotperfect.”
Jordan smiled faintly, pulling the old shawl around her shoulders just a bit tighter because she was always cold. Even in a room with a blazing hearth. She lowered herself onto the end of the bed.
“But ye’ll always be perfect in his eyes, lass,” she said softly. “He’ll be touched by any gesture ye make at yer wedding because it shows yer love for him. That’s all a man wants—tae know he’s loved.”
“Believe her,” Caria said, looking up from the scarf she had in her hand. “Matha knows everything there is to know about men and women and love. She and Poppy had the greatest love of all for many years. If she could keep William de Wolfe from straying, she’s worth listening to.”
Cambria giggled as Jordan frowned. “Dunna say such things about Poppy,” she scolded. “The man never strayed a day in his life when he was with me.”
“He was scared of you,” Caria quipped.
The girls burst into laughter as Jordan shook her head reproachfully. “That was probably true,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “But in the end, love and respect are the only things that’ll make a man stay. Always treat Liam with love and respect, and if he’s any kind of a man at all, he’ll give it in return.”
“He’s like his father,” Annaleigh said, still over by the dress. “He’s a good man.”
Cambria looked over her shoulder at her future mother-in-law. “Are you saying he’s never even looked at another woman all of these years?” she said. “There are many years between us. When I was a child, he was already a man. What about then?”
Annaleigh passed a glance to Jordan. Because Liam had spent years at Castle Questing, Jordan’s home, they both knew that he’d had his share of women when he was a young and virile man, mostly because for the first several years of his betrothal toCambria, he was just coming into manhood. One young woman in particular had been the daughter of a de Wolfe ally that Liam had met at a feast, so Jordan knew of at least one encounter, because nineteen-year-old Liam had a tryst in the loft over the stables. He was only discovered when part of the wooden floor of the loft collapsed under their weight and he ended up, naked from the waist down, in a stall. He’d broken a wrist in the fall, and shattered his pride, but William had covered for him to the woman’s father. Being the father of many sons, William understood randy young men better than most.
But neither Annaleigh nor Jordan were going to mention that to Cambria. She had only been five years of age at the time of the event, but still, she wouldn’t want to hear of her betrothed cavorting with another woman. Not today.
It wasn’t their business, anyway.
“I dunna know much about that time,” Annaleigh finally said. “He was fostering at Castle Questing.”
