Page 70 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)

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Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland

The celebration at Stanwyck Hall exceeded expectations.

The earl had much to celebrate and wished to share his joy with his retainers.

He’d become a grandfather just two weeks before Christmas and decided to use the annual feast as an opportunity to introduce the world to his grandson, Edward, named after the Yorkist king.

The earl’s son, Robert Ambrose, glowed with pride when he brought the baby to the great hall.

The child looked contented enough, swaddled in blankets and furs to keep him warm, but the boy’s mother hovered behind her husband, looking fretful as though she feared the child would catch a chill in the drafty hall.

Watching from her table, Kate could understand the mother’s anxiety.

Babies were so fragile, especially during the winter months.

Any sniffle could turn into an ague and carry the child off within days.

The mother was hardly more than a child herself, fifteen if she was a day.

She had barely recovered from the birth, but the pride in her eyes when she smiled at her son was unmistakable and Kate felt a pang of envy, which quickly turned to shame as Hugh chose that moment to comment.

“Wed shorter than us, and a boy already in the cradle,” Hugh growled under his breath. “A wedding night babe is a blessing on the family.”

Guy turned to Hugh, a small smile playing about his lips. “Speaks of the prowess of the father, I should think,” he said. “The Ambroses are a virile lot.”

“That they are,” Hugh agreed, probably too drunk to perceive the slight to his manhood. “It’s now up to you, Guy. ”

“What is up to me?”

“You must marry and have sons, or our line will die out should Adam not live long enough to sire an heir.”

Eleanor blanched at Hugh’s words, her eyes growing round. Hugh had given voice to her worst fear, and possibly his own greatest hope.

“Adam will grow into a fine man and have many sons,” Guy reassured Eleanor. “Don’t listen to Hugh; he’s too deep in his cups to talk sense.”

Eleanor nodded, but her eyes darted around the hall, as though searching for Adam, who’d been seated at the end of the long trestle table on the opposite side of the hall with other children his age.

Adam’s seat was unoccupied, as were several others at that end.

The boys were at the front of the hall, watching the jugglers, who’d begun their performance after the earl’s grandson was taken back to his bedchamber.

There were several girls as well, but they seemed more interested in the boys than the entertainment.

Some of the girls were betrothed as early as eight years old, and the boys who were cheering on the jugglers and applauding the mummers might well have been their future lords.

“I do hope they finish soon,” Guy said as he watched the jugglers.

“I’ve a mind to dance, and I hope you ladies will partner me.

” Guy smiled at Kate and Eleanor. They had enjoyed the food, which was plentiful and exquisitely prepared, but what really made the feast special for Kate and Eleanor was the entertainment.

The earl’s minstrels had taken turns, singing romantic ballads about chivalrous knights and reciting poems of bravery in battle.

They were positioned next to the earl’s table, occasionally taking requests from him and his lady and keeping to tunes that didn’t result in indigestion for their lord.

Once the meal ended, they would collect their instruments and move into the adjacent chamber, where there would be dancing into the small hours of the morning .

“Of course, Guy,” Eleanor replied politely. She didn’t look in the mood to dance, but she’d never openly admit to being unhappy in public.

“And you, Kate?”

“If my husband has no objection,” Kate replied demurely.

“It’s all right with me,” Hugh said, reaching for the pitcher of mead. “I’ve no love of dancing.” Nor love of your wife , Kate thought bitterly.

“It’s settled, then. First Eleanor, then Kate,” Guy observed with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary.

If he wanted to cheer them up, Kate thought it would take more than a dance or two to lift the pall Hugh had cast on their spirits—but she was wrong.

She hadn’t danced in ages, and once the music began in earnest, she could barely keep her feet from tapping in time to the merry tunes. She waited patiently while Guy danced with Eleanor, then allowed him to escort her to the dance floor.

There were at least a dozen couples, all flushed from the warmth of the fire and the effects of the wine.

Hugh was nowhere to be seen, which added to Kate’s enjoyment of the dance.

She danced with joy, remembering the steps without any difficulty.

Guy was easy to dance with, and his fingers were warm and gentle as he held her hand, turning her this way and that as the current of the music flowed over them.

Kate laughed when Guy made a face at her after he’d been nearly knocked off his feet by a portly man who was too unsteady on his feet to be dancing.

“Your laugh is like the tinkle of carillons,” Guy said, referring to the hand bells one of the minstrels was playing. “I can’t recall the last time I heard you laugh,” he added, his eyes growing more serious.

“Neither can I,” Kate confessed. She was enjoying herself and the laughter had come naturally, taking her by surprise. It died on her lips when she spotted Hugh and Eleanor down the line of dancers.

Hugh hadn’t danced with Kate since the first time they’d been invited to Stanwyck Hall for the Christmas Feast, but he was now partnering Eleanor, looking for all the world like he was enjoying the dancing.

His gaze was firmly fixed on Eleanor, who seemed to have recovered from his earlier bout of cruelty and was smiling up at him.

Hugh’s grin transformed his face and reminded Kate that she’d thought him handsome once.

It would have been unseemly for her to keep dancing with Guy, so she accepted invitations from the Earl of Stanwyck and his sons, as well as several other knights in the earl’s service.

Guy partnered the duchess and then danced with Amelia Ambrose and several other ladies Kate didn’t know.

She tried to focus on her partners, but her gaze frequently strayed to Guy, who seemed to be enjoying himself.

Before his spell at court, Guy would have danced with Kate and Eleanor and sat the rest of the dancing out, reluctant to dance with ladies who were unknown to him, but today he seemed remarkably at ease and conversed with his partners easily as he led them around the floor.

Kate plastered a smile on her face as Hugh took her by the arm to claim a dance. “I thought you had no wish to dance,” she said.

“I changed my mind,” Hugh replied lightly. He was leading Kate, but his gaze remained on Eleanor, who was two couples ahead of them, dancing with the earl. “She’s still beautiful,” Hugh said softly.

“Yes, she is.”

“Will would have been proud of her. And his son.”

Kate wasn’t sure what had brought on Hugh’s attack of sentimentality but chose not to ask. She supposed he missed his brother, and having Guy back reminded him of other Christmases and other feasts .

“I was about Adam’s age the first time I was permitted to attend the Christmas celebrations.

I was enchanted. I watched Will dancing with Eleanor and thought they made a handsome couple.

I envied him because I knew my father would arrange their betrothal shortly and Will’s future would be taken care of. ”

“Do you wish your father had had a chance to arrange a marriage for you before he died?” Kate asked.

Will had arranged a marriage for Hugh with Eleanor’s sister, Kate recalled, but that had been years later, and the marriage had never actually taken place.

Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who wished things had been different.

“No, Kate. I wish my father had sired me first. My life would have been very different had I been the eldest.”

“We don’t get to choose the order in which we’re born. That’s God’s will.”

“I’ve grown tired of contending with God’s will,” Hugh said softly, so no one would overhear such heresy spewing from his lips. “I wish to make my own choices.”

“Whatever do you mean, Hugh?”

He laughed, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Never mind. I’ve grown maudlin with drink and lack of sleep. I think it’s time we made our way back. The party is starting to break up.”

Hugh was right. The number of dancers had dwindled to only a few couples and the earl and his duchess had retired for the night.

Sleeping forms draped some of the benches, and the servers looked run off their feet as they began to clear away the flagons of wine and pitchers of mead.

Many guests would remain at the castle and enjoy the earl’s hospitality, but the de Rosels lived close enough that they had no need to impose on the earl’s kindness.

Hugh signaled to Guy, who bowed to his partner and joined them by the door.

“We’re off home,” Hugh announced. “Fetch our cloaks. ”

Guy didn’t seem to mind being ordered about.

He strode from the chamber and returned a short time later with their cloaks, which had been left in one of the anterooms intended for that purpose.

Hugh draped Kate’s cloak about her shoulders while Guy helped Eleanor, whose attention was fixed on Adam.

The boy looked dead on his feet, but his cheeks were flushed with excitement and his lips frozen in a smile.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Eleanor asked as she ruffled Adam’s dark hair.

“Oh, yes, Mother. It was marvelous. I liked the mummers best. I can hardly wait to come to live at the castle.”

“If you think life at the castle will be all feasts and entertainments, you should think again,” Hugh said, bursting Adam’s bubble of happiness.

“Won’t it?” Adam whined.

“No, my boy. It will be hard work. You’ll be training, learning, and making yourself useful to your lord.”

Adam hung his head in disappointment. “Still better than being at home,” he muttered, earning himself an angry look from Hugh and a wistful glance from his mother.