Page 34 of While Angels Slept
She turned to look at him, her sweet face gently illuminated in the dusk. “What do you mean?”
“You do not seem entirely pleased about the sword.”
She lifted an eyebrow, though there was no anger behind it. “Brac always wanted to give him a metal sword but I would not allow it. Hecan hurt himself, or others, with it.”
He wriggled his eyebrows. “Then perhaps I should have asked you first. Your son came to me in the solar a few hours ago and asked where his grandfather was. I gave him an evasive answer that somehow led to the statement that Charles had promised your son another sword in place of the one he buried with Brac. So I ended up down here with the smithy.”
She nodded in understanding, her gaze moving back to the little boy as he swung the sword about under the smithy’s watchful eye. “I assumed that something came up when you did not come to my bower,” she said softly. “Clearly, I cannot fault you your noble deeds on behalf of my son. And for that, I thank you.”
He took another step so that the right side of his body brushed up against her. “Know that I would not have missed any opportunity to spend time with you unless it was undeniably important,” he muttered. “I thought perhaps a lonely little boy qualified as such.”
“It does,” she looked at him again, her beautiful face serene. “Given the choice, I would have made the same one.”
“I would still like to see you alone.”
“There will be more opportunity.”
“Are you sure? You have not reconsidered our earlier conversation, have you?”
She smiled faintly, studying the lines of his strong face. “No, Tevin. I have not.”
He smiled back at her but dare not touch her. He forced himself to change the subject lest he lose his self-control. It seemed as if the more time he spent around her, the more he wanted to touch her.
“Have you given any thought to where you and Hunt would like to go for the duration of my cousin’s visit?” he asked.
She nodded. “My father’s fortified home in Gillingham sits empty, as does a larger fortified manor in Darland a few miles to the southwest. Either one of them would be acceptable.”
“Which would you prefer?”
She thought a moment. “I was born at Darland. I have always liked it there. The village even has an outdoor theatre where they give entertainment.”
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “You are not going to go cavorting about the town while you’re out from under my watchful eye, are you?”
She grinned. “Of course not. And even if I do, it is none of your affair. You’ll be here wildly entertaining your cousin and you’ll never even miss me.”
He put his massive hand on the overhead beam, leaning over her in a rather dominating and provocative stance.
“That, madam, is an untrue statement,” he rumbled. “I cannot go a moment of the day without thinking of you. When you are out of my sight, I shall miss you all the more.”
She gazed up at him, feeling his breath on her face. Her heart began to race. “Do you think that you shall be able to come and visit us while we are there?” she asked intimately.
“I doubt it,” he replied. “All of my focus will be on Geoff. He’s like a naughty child that needs constant attention.”
“Then this parting will not be a particularly pleasant thing,” she said.
“Nay, it will not.”
Hunt interrupted their increasingly passionate conversation as he ran into the lean-to with his weapon aloft. “Mam!” he shouted as only a five year old can. “My sword ith good for fighting. Did you thee?”
“I did,” she put her hand on his head affectionately. “You must thank Lord Tevin for his generosity. It was most kind of him.”
The little boy had his sword in two hands. He looked up at Tevin with such naked joy that Tevin instinctively smiled. “Thank you, my lord,” he said. “Will you fight me now?”
Tevin cocked an eyebrow, though not unkind. “Perhaps tomorrow, lad. I suspect the evening meal is fast on the approach. There will be time for swordplay tomorrow.”
Though disappointed, Hunt didn’t argue. He kept staring at his newsword, perhaps the length from his elbow to his wrist, and admired it. It was a nice little weapon, purposely left dull at Tevin’s request. Hunt couldn’t have hurt himself, or someone else, if he tried. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Cantia took her son by the hand and led him back to Rochester’s massive keep. Tevin kept pace with them, though at a respectable distance.
Inside, the great hall was filled with smells of fresh bread and smoke from the hearth. The servants were bringing bowls of food to the tables and the hall was already half full with senior soldiers and a few knights. John Swantey, Sir Simon, Sir Dagan and Sir Gavril were already seated and eating. Val and Myles sat next to one another, conversing quietly.
