Page 28

W olfton Hall

The great hall was filled with well-wishers glad to see the lord’s son returned home.

Melissa and Rolf climbed the steps to the dais and took their place at the table.

Rolf and Cristiana sat at the center, with Melissa at his left.

A visiting earl and his son sat to Cristiana’s right.

At the table just below the dais sat William and Trystan, both grinning up at Cristiana.

Melissa had not eaten since midday and then very little. Her appetite had waned during the trip, but now her stomach growled with impatience. She dipped in the offered finger bowl out of good manners, though they had just washed in their chambers.

“The short respite did you good, my lady. You look refreshed and restored.” William bowed in front of Melissa. He turned to Cristiana, an impish smirk on his face. “And you are a vision as always. It sets my heart beating faster to look upon your face after almost losing my life today.’

A swift glance of concern was washed away with a look of disbelief.

“I doubt very much there is anything that could kill you, Sir Blackbourne, but the devil himself. Please save the flattery for your harem. Save your courtier’s words, for I am not dimwitted enough to believe them.

” She turned her head, but Melissa noticed that she continued to watch William from the corner of her eye.

“Indeed you are not, which is one reason I am so smitten. You shall become my quest, lovely lady. I will endeavor to convince you of my sincerity. And once I put my mind to something, I cannot be swayed otherwise.” He winked at her when he caught her peeking at him from under his lashes. “Your brother will vouch in my behalf.”

“Aye, Cristiana. You do not want to be the object of his pursuit. I have yet to see him fail.”

William held up his cup. “A toast! To the reunion of the Arbrec’s. May their family live long and be prosperous.” A cheer rose from the group.

Melissa’s mouth watered from the aroma that rose from the perfectly-cooked capons. The skin was crispy, and the meat juicy as she cut off a slice with her knife. Chewing slowly, she closed her eyes.

“With the look on your face, I might think the meat was an aphrodisiac.” Rolf’s whisper tickled her ear. “Mayhap we should save some for later?”

She giggled. “Nay, my lord. I do not think my heart could take any more pleasure than you already give.”

“Challenge accepted, my lovely.” He gave her kiss on the cheek and dipped a piece of bread in the juice from the fowl and stuffed it in his mouth. “Helen is the best cook in England, next to Elsa. I would steal her if I could.”

“I heard that, brother. You will not kidnap my cook.” Amusement danced in Cristiana’s dark eyes.

Her smile was the same as her brother’s with a wide mouth and full lips.

But her eyes were ebony and her hair a rich chestnut color, browns and reds competing with each other in the candlelight.

Melissa thought she was much too beautiful to become an abbess.

Musicians sat in a small balcony, playing relaxing tunes as they ate. The conversation revolved around the planting of crops, Scotland, and the coronation. Cristiana wanted every detail of the ceremony. Rolf gave her the basic facts and Melissa saw his sister’s exasperated expression.

“If you will allow me, I am happy to share the details with you later. I can remember what most of the ladies were wearing and the courses at the banquet. It was an extravagant and magnificent event.”

“I would love to hear your observations. Tomorrow, then?”

The trestles were cleared away for dancing. Melissa watched the people separate into the double circles.

“Do you wish to dance?” Rolf’s hand covered hers.

“Nay, I do not think the capon set well on my stomach. A dance might prove my undoing.” Her hand went to her belly before she noticed his look of concern. “Rolf, it has been an eventful day and I am tired. That is all.”

He smiled and kissed her cheek again. “I fear I am becoming a lovesick lad where you are concerned. Just don’t let my secret out.”

“It seems your family enjoys secrets,” she replied, watching William pull an unwilling Cristiana into the dance circle. “I will enjoy getting to know your sister and finding out what her true feelings are for William.”

“My sister is a private person. She may not share her sentiments.”

“And I would never push the subject. But they do make a striking couple, do they not?”

As the circles moved counter-clockwise, William stood before Cristiana, his freshly washed hair shining like new copper. He was amazingly graceful for a man his size. As they touched hands, Cristiana flushed and avoided his eyes. But Melissa recognized the emotion. The flame was still there.

***

Melissa bent over the chamber pot, holding her stomach.

Sweat formed across her forehead and on her upper lip.

Her stomach had been in a temper for over a week.

She had found bread to be the only food that she could keep down in the morning.

Today even that had not gone well. Wiping her mouth, she stood and gripped the bedpost.

Her attendant Mary, assigned by Cristiana, took the towel from her and handed her a cup of watered wine. “Please do not mention this to my husband.”

The thin, gray-haired woman nodded. “Will you need anything else, my lady?”

“No, thank you. Please tell Lady Arbrec I will join her shortly in the solar.”

Melissa opened the window and sucked in the chill air.

It felt good on her face and neck. Below in the courtyard, several groups of knights practiced.

Some in full battle dress, others in a thick, padded gambeson.

She spotted Rolf advancing on two younger men.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him strike, pivot, and strike again.

The grunt of men and clash of steel rang across the yard, and she thought her husband looked magnificent.

A glint of silver arced in the air as a blade flew from one man’s grasp and another was pushed to the ground, a blunted tip at his throat.

Arriving in the solar, she found Cristiana working on a ledger. She lifted her head and smiled, indicating a window seat with a wave of her hand. Her quill scratched at the vellum and Melissa did not want to interrupt her.

“Ah, that is done for the quarter. I had a few rents come in late and needed to add them.” She took up the space next to Melissa and patted her hand. “How goes it this morning?”

“Better, now that I am rid of that bread.” She looked out over a spacious plot of freshly upturned soil, long mounds forming neat rows ready for seed. Another smaller square held plants or herbs that would return to full bloom on their own in the next month.

“When will you tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Melissa, used to seeing Cristiana in her brown novice garb, had not considered she might guess.

“Sister, I did not go to the convent until I was fifteen. Even there, we had a hospital and often served as midwives. I am not blind to the ways of men and women.”

Her lips upturned with joy, and she nodded her head. “Yea, I have not had my monthly flux. I believe I may be with child. Considering how protective he has been since the attack, I wanted to wait to tell Rolf until I was certain.”

“I don’t blame you. It warms my heart to see him act thus. You have brought back the brother I remember from childhood. I will be forever grateful for that.”

“Will you keep my secret a while longer?”

Cristiana nodded, the sun slanting across her pale skin. The light freckling across her nose had increased with her time out in the sun, preparing the garden. “Are you a healer? Is that your power from Merlin’s line?”

She laughed. “Oh, goodness. Aye, I am a healer and have a talent with herb application and the sick. But there is no magic to it.”

“So it is only the first-born male of each generation that inherits the power?”

Cristiana sobered. “Nay, not all. It is a random thing. Some of the firstborn acquire a magical skill and others do not. None have yet been born all-powerful like Merlin. The chosen ones have had only a specific power.”

“So Rolf is unusual because he has two?”

“Aye. My father had none that we knew of.” Cristiana studied her brown woolen skirt. “I think that is why Merlin is so close to Rolf. He not only can shift into another form, he is a seer. But it often does him no good. His dreams don’t give him enough information to understand the meaning.”

“Merlin does not fare any better,” Melissa confided. “He saw me fleeing from danger but could not tell from who or where I was.”

“We believe that most of his power is contained within the tree. And as the Rowan weakens, so does Merlin. That may also be why there has not been another male sorcerer like him born since the curse.”

A shout sounded from below. Cristiana moved to the door. A servant knocked from the other side. “My lady, a messenger has arrived with a letter from the King.”

The women hurried to the great hall. Rolf sat on a bench near the fireplace, breaking the royal seal from a piece of vellum. As he unrolled it, Melissa joined him. “Is it good news?”

He nodded. “Henry summons me to court. He is to bestow me with a title, lands on both sides of Wales, and would like me to join his advisors on another issue he doesn’t divulge on paper.” His palm cupped her face. “I am afraid I must leave you.”

Her heart sank. She knew this would happen but had prayed it would not be so soon.

Her hand went to her belly. Rolf would leave with a joyful heart, at least. The news of a child would also ensure he hurried home.

Home! What would her home look like? Their family would begin in new surroundings and hope filled her soul.

It would make her glad to be on the other side of the kingdom from Sunderland.