Page 254 of Historical Hotties
CHAPTER NINE
“Who are youlooking for?”
Nicola gasped as the voice came from behind her. She’d been peering from the doors where Caledonia and Thor had disappeared, trying to catch a glimpse of them, and someone had snuck up behind her. Whirling around, she came face to face with Darius de Winter.
“It’s you,” she said, hand on her chest to ease her pounding heart. “I was looking for Thor.”
Darius threw a thumb in the general direction of the gatehouse and apartments. “I am certain he is gone by now,” he said. “If I had a new wife, I would not spend my time in a hall talking to other men. I would be with her. Always with her.”
The mood rapidly turned into something warm and wistful. Painful, even. Nicola’s gaze drifted over the big, handsome knight, a man she’d been in love with for the past two years, if not longer. She’d only been sixteen when she fell for the brawny, dark de Winter son, a man who served her brother, but she hadn’t hinted to her mother about him until about a year ago, mostly because she knew that her parents would say she would have to wait because her older sister, Diara, wasn’t betrothed yet. Happily, Diara was now betrothed to a d’Avignon son, amarriage that was to take place in the autumn when the leaves turned colors.
That left the path open for Nicola now.
“I know you would,” she whispered. “I’ve not spoken to you in two days. I’ve missed you.”
“And I’ve missed you,” Darius said in that sweet, low voice. “You look beautiful tonight.”
Nicola looked down at her blue silk dress. “This is your favorite dress.”
“It is.”
“I wore it for you.”
“And it is much appreciated.”
She looked at him again. “Do you suppose you can meet me tomorrow?” she said. “I can break away from the princess for a short time. Mayhap you can meet me by the river in our usual place?”
He nodded, but his expression was serious. He took a step toward her. “I shall, but seeing your brother marry has made me realize that I no longer wish to waste time,” he said. “I have done as you have asked. I have refrained from speaking to your father. But you were eighteen years of age last month, Nica. I want to ask your father’s permission to marry you. May I, my dearest? Is there any reason we must still wait?”
Nicola went to him, wrapping her hands around his as he held them against his broad chest. “He may be feeling sentimental with my brother getting married,” she said softly. “And my sister is marrying in a few months. I’ve always felt we should wait until Diara marries before we speak with him.”
Darius wasn’t happy with that answer. “I fail to understand why,” he said. “It is not as if our feelings are any secret.”
“I know.”
“Your father knows I am going to ask for your hand.”
“Iknow.”
“Then why the delay?”
“Because she is my youngest daughter and I am a selfish man.”
It wasn’t Nicola who replied, but Gage. He stood just a few feet behind them, but they’d been so wrapped up in one another that they never heard him approach. They were tucked over in a darkened corner of the hall and the ambient noise had masked his movements. Nicola gasped and yanked her hands out of Darius’ grip, but her father had seen them. He knew they had been holding hands. In fact, he’d seen Darius approach Nicola as she peered from the doors, looking for her brother, and that was when he’d left the dais and headed for them. He had to chuckle at a daughter who thought he hadn’t seen the obvious.
“Christ,” he muttered, looking at Darius. “Did you get rope burn on your palms with the speed with which she removed her hands?”
Darius smiled weakly, holding up both hands, palms out. “Am I bleeding, my lord?”
Gage pretended to peer more closely. “Not that I can see,” he said. Then his gaze moved to his daughter. “Nica, surely you do not think I am oblivious to this. I’ve known for a while now. You needn’t pretend any longer.”
Nicola tried not to look guilty. “I am sorry, Papa,” she said. “I wasn’t pretending anything. At least, I wasn’t trying to.”
“But you think I did not know?”
“Did Mama tell you?”
He pointed to his face. “I have eyes, lass,” he said wryly. “I would have had to be blind not to see what is going on between you and de Winter. When I asked Thor if there was something I should know, he said that it was not his secret to tell. And your mother did mention something, but very little. Of course I figured it out. I am not a fool.”
