CHAPTER THREE
“I am going to marry her,” Sebastian said firmly. “Did you see the way she looked at me? She wants me.”
Mathias was in the midst of shoeing a massive charger with a nasty temper. He was trying to concentrate as his brother, propped on the edge of a table, chewed loudly of his nooning meal, a large bird leg. Food flew about as Sebastian chomped and spoke.
“Could you see how attracted she was to me?” he asked enthusiastically. “Mark my words, I have found my future wife.”
Mathias avoided a thrown horse-head. “You never came even remotely close to her,” he said. “How can you know anything about her?”
Sebastian tore at the bird. “It was the way she looked at me.”
“Is that so?”
“It ’tis. It was the look of love.”
“How would you know? You have never seen such a look.”
Sebastian snorted, pieces of food falling from his lips. “I have indeed, my fine lad,” he informed him. “Every time I step foot in The Buck’s Head down the street, those women give me the look. They want me.”
He was deeply self-assured and Mathias couldn’t resist taking a swipe at his arrogance. “They will give anyone the look that they think will pay for the privilege,” he said.
Sebastian shrugged, unwilling to admit that only whores were throwing him expressions of passion. “Sometimes I do not have to pay them.”
Mathias fought off a grin at his brother’s damaged ego. Letting go of the horse’s hoof, he went back over to the fire and pumped it hard as the flames sparked and roared.
“I would guess that Lady Cathlina does not even know you are alive,” he said as he removed the red-hot shoe. “Besides, she is a de Lara. I told you that.”
Sebastian was back to snorting as his brother transferred the shoe to an anvil and began to hammer. “What would the great Earl of Carlisle say if one of his lovely relatives ended up married to me?” he wondered. “It would make us family.”
Mathias put the shoe into a barrel of rainwater, watching the steam hiss up into the air. “I am sure that would not excite him half as much as it would excite you,” he said, eyeing his brother. “De Lara would not want us in the family.”
“Why not?” Sebastian demanded. “You served with him and St. Héver and Pembury. You were all as thick as thieves.”
“I was Tate’s squire when he was a young knight,” Mathias muttered. “I am not sure that makes us blood brothers.”
“He loved you and you know it,” Sebastian pointed out. “Besides, there is only a few years difference between you two.”
“Seven years.”
“He still knighted you at nineteen,” Sebastian pointed out. “Two full years before most knights receive their spurs.”
“That is because there was a war going on. He needed my sword.”
“And I would wager he has missed it long enough this year past,” Sebastian said. Then he looked thoughtful. “In fact, I do believe you even saved his life once. He owes you everything.”
“Sparing his life and saving it are two different things,” Mathias said quietly. He didn’t want to talk about that particular incident. In fact, he didn’t want to discuss that part of his life at all. Politics had separated him from his friends. A king had stripped him of all that he was. Nay, he didn’t want to talk about it in the least and Sebastian knew it, but Sebastian had jelly for brains sometimes.
But Sebastian didn’t have so much jelly for brains that he didn’t know he had broached a sore subject with his brother. Mathias kept himself so bottled up, however, that sometimes Sebastian wondered if the man cared about anything at all. But he knew, deep down, that he cared a great deal.
“He would be honored to have a de Reyne in the family,” he said confidently. “De Lara views you as an equal, Mat. You know he does. Ken and Stephen view you as a brother. Mayhap it is time to speak of such things again. Mayhap… mayhap it is even time to contact them again.”
Mathias kept his mouth shut as he removed the shoe from the water and moved to the horse. Bending over, he pulled the horse’s hoof between his legs and fitted the shoe. The horse tried to move around a bit and tried to kick at him but Sebastian set his food down and went to help his brother. He held the horse firm as Mathias hammered on the shoe.
Dropping the hoof to the ground, he wiped the sweat off his brow and moved back to the fire where the remaining shoe was being heated.
“Mat?” Sebastian said quietly. “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you.”
“What say you?
Mathias pulled the shoe out of the fire, his face red from the heat and exertion of wrestling with the horse. “What would you have me say?”
“Tell me your thoughts,” Sebastian pushed. He could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere with his brother so he ventured onward in an attempt to prompt him. “I heard something the other day that might be of interest.”
Mathias was only half-listening to him. “What is that?”
Sebastian reclaimed his food and chewed on the last of the meat. “Henry de Beaumont is trying to put Edward Balliol on the throne of Scotland instead of the infant David,” he said. “I heard some men speaking of it the other day. De Beaumont will need knights, Mat. Mayhap this will be an opportunity for us.”
Mathias looked at his brother. “De Beaumont is allied with our king,” he said frankly. “If we take up arms for de Beaumont, do you not think that Edward will catch wind of that? Nay, brother, I will not lose my head for a Scots rebellion.”
Sebastian knew that would be his brother’s response but he wasn’t pleased with it. He tossed aside the stripped bird bone and stood up, his manner growing agitated as it so often did.
“I do not want to be a smithy the rest of my life,” he hissed. “Mayhap you find comfort in swinging a hammer instead of a sword, but I do not. I will be a knight again someday, I swear it, and if it is without your support, then so be it.”
Mathias wiped the sweat off his brow. “Patience was never one of your virtues.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that times change. Tides and the flow of power change. You must be patient, little brother. We will not be like this forever, but for now, it is what we must do to survive.”
Sebastian wasn’t satisfied with that. He was about to fire off a volley of insults at his brother’s lack of courage when a soft voice interrupted him.
“Excuse me?”
It was a gentle female voice. Startled, Mathias and Sebastian turned to see Cathlina standing at the entrance to their stall. Lit from behind by the nooning sun, her silhouette gave off an ethereal glow as she stood at the threshold. Wrapped in a yellow linen cloak, her dark hair was braided and draped over her right shoulder and her dark eyes glimmered as she fixed on Mathias.
“I am so sorry to interrupt,” she said politely. “Do you remember me? You saved my sister and me yesterday from a brute, right out there on the avenue. I do hope you….”
Mathias cut her off, gently done. “Of course I remember you,” he said, realizing in a rush that he was both surprised and glad to see her again. “Are you and your sister well?”
Cathlina smiled warmly at him, thrilled that he remembered her. “We are very well, thanks to you,” she said. Then her gaze passed between Mathias and his brother. “I did not mean to intrude. I will only beg a moment of your time and then I promise I shall be gone.”
Sebastian was the first one to move towards her, his enormous red-headed presence overwhelming. “Lady Cathlina,” he said, a smile on his lips. “’Tis a welcome interruption, you are.”
Cathlina looked at the big, ruddy-faced brother and couldn’t help but be a bit put-off by him. He was smelling and sweaty and large. She instinctively took a step back as he came close.
“Thank you,” she said, eyeing him. “How do you know my name?”
Sebastian pointed to Mathias. “My brother told me,” he said. “I am glad to hear that you and your sister are faring well after yesterday’s fracas.”
Cathlina nodded. “Well indeed,” she replied. “Thank you again for coming to our aid. In fact, that is why I have come. I have brought you something in the hopes of emphasizing our gratitude.”
She lifted the basket in her hands and both men looked at it as if only just noticing it. Both of them had been looking at her face, mesmerized by the unexpected appearance of such beauty. Sebastian looked at the basket with interest but Mathias was on the move. He didn’t want his brother frightening her, or worse. The man could offend easily.
“Your thanks yesterday was quite enough,” he said, his deep voice soft. “You did not need to bring us anything.”
“I realize that, but I wanted to,” she said, once again completely focused on Mathias as if Sebastian did not exist at all. She couldn’t seem to do much more than stare at him. “You would not take a reward and you would not sup with us, so I took it upon myself to bring you a few tokens of my appreciation. I hope you will accept them.”
Mathias was genuinely touched. More than that, he was coming to realize that every time he saw the woman, she seemed to grow increasingly more beautiful. He was still apprehensive about her being a de Lara but truth be told, every second that he gazed at her saw that resistance taking a beating. Looking at her hopeful face, he knew he could not refuse her.
“Of course we will accept whatever you have brought,” he said, his eyes glimmering at her. “You did not have to go to the trouble.”
She smiled brightly and he was enchanted. “It was no trouble at all,” she said, moving to the nearest table surface, which happened to be littered with a mixture of tools and scraps of food. Setting the basket down, she peeled back the embroidered cloth. “I brought you pear and cinnamon compote, and different types of bread, cherries soaked in honey, and – oh! – pickled onions. Have you ever had them? They are quite delicious. The cook pickles them with vinegar and herbs.”
Sebastian was extremely interested in the contents of the basket, pulling things out to smell them, while Mathias tried to control his boorish brother by putting things back where they belonged.
“I have had them, aye,” he replied, smacking Sebastian’s hand when the man tried to stick his fingers in the cherries. “This is most kind and generous of you, my lady. This is truly an unexpected treat.”
Cathlina beamed happily, thrilled by Mathias’ response but rather peeved at his brother’s uncouth manners. She had the little cakes she had made tucked down in the corner of the basket and she pulled them out before Sebastian could stick his fingers in them, handing them over to Mathias.
“Here,” she said. “I made these just for you. I do hope you like them.”
Sebastian was busy with the bread and wasn’t paying much attention to the cakes Cathlina had presented to Mathias. But Mathias was acutely aware that she seemed to be speaking only to him. His eyes were on her as he unwrapped the cakes, hit in the nose by the clove and nutmeg smell. The gesture of bringing him gifts coupled with the delight of her lovely face had his careful control slipping.
“They smell wonderful,” he said quietly. “It was very kind of you to do this.”
She picked one out of the bundle and held it up to him. “Would you try one?”
He did. It was a marvelous bit of culinary achievement. “Did you make these yourself?” he asked.
“I did.”
“Then they are the most wonderful gift I have ever received,” he said. “No one has ever made treats for me before.”
Cathlina was smiling so broadly that her face threatened to split in half. “Then I am happy to be the first,” she said, noticing that Sebastian was tearing into the onions. She sighed at the sight. “Mayhap I should have made two baskets – one for you and one for your brother. It would seem he is going to eat everything before you have the opportunity to taste it.”
Mathias cocked an eyebrow as he snatched the basket away from his brother, shoving the man back by the chest when he tried to pursue. Sebastian balled a fist but Mathias held up a finger.
“You have already shown Lady Cathlina what an animal you are,” he said. “Would you show her that you are a brute as well? Show some manners in front of the lady, Sebastian. You are shaming me.”
Sebastian tried to throw the punch but couldn’t bring himself to do it. His brother was right; moreover, if he had any chance of wooing the woman, he would have to behave himself.
Lowering his balled fist, he forced a smile at Cathlina and sought to apologize for whatever brutish manners he had thus far shown when Justus entered the stall with a customer, bellowing for Sebastian. Disgruntled, Sebastian was forced away from his brother and the lovely lady.
“Good,” Mathias snorted as he watched his unhappy brother stomp away. “That should keep him occupied for a while.”
Cathlina watched Sebastian move away. “Your brother is quite… lively? Friendly? I am searching for the correct word that will not offend you.”
Mathias laughed softly. “He is aggressive and he is a boor,” he said. “But he is also fiercely loyal and strangely compassionate. It is an odd combination.”
Cathlina grinned at him. “Mayhap you should hide this food from him. I have a feeling he will eat it all given the opportunity.”
“He will,” Mathias agreed, his gaze drifting over her delicate features. “Truly, it was quite kind of you to bring this. Where is your father so that I may thank him also?”
Cathlina’s grin faded. “He is at home,” she replied. “He did not come with me.”
Mathias looked over her shoulder, back in the direction she had come from. “Where is your escort?”
“I do not have one.”
His brow furrowed. “Did you come here alone?”
“It was not a long ride and the day was fine.”
Now both eyebrows lifted in a mixture of concern and disapproval. “It is not safe for a lady to travel alone,” he said as mildly as he could. “Does your father know you have come?”
“He does not.”
Mathias wasn’t sure what to say to that, but one thing was for certain; he was very flattered that she should risk her personal safety to deliver what she considered a reward for assisting her. In fact, he was rather stunned.
“Would you allow me to escort you home, then?” he asked softly. “I cannot allow you to return home unattended now that I know you have no escort. I hope you understand.”
“It is truly not necessary. I can find my own way home.”
“I am sorry, but I must insist. If you will not give me permission to escort you, then know that I will follow you all of the way home to ensure you do not run into any trouble. I can either ride with you or as your shadow. It is your choice.”
Cathlina very nearly refused him again but she quickly realized that if he escorted her home, they would have more of a chance to talk. Perhaps she could come to know him better. Clearly, she was attracted to the man. Now that she had seen him again, it served to reinforce her initial opinion of him. He was handsome, gentle mannered, and undoubtedly brave. There was much to be attracted to.
Unlike her sister, Cathlina didn’t particularly care if he was a lord or not. Roxanne was the one with lofty goals. Cathlina had, since she could recall, merely wanted a man she liked a great deal no matter what status he held in life. She’d heard of many lords who were selfish, vain, and immoral. Being a lord didn’t mean one was automatically of good character. Cathlina would rather have good character and love over wealth and status. The man in front of her was of good character. She could sense it.
“Very well,” she said after a moment’s deliberation. “I would be honored with your company. Are you certain you can spare the time?”
Mathias looked around the stall, at the big charger he needed to finish. Taking the basket in one hand and the lady by the other, he gently escorted her over to a stool near the wall and helped her to sit. He set the basket down next to her.
“I must finish with this Son of Lucifer,” he said, throwing a thumb in the direction of the big black charger. “When I am finished, I will be happy to escort you home. Is that acceptable?”
“It is.”
Their eyes met, brown against green, and for a moment, the pull between them was stronger than they could grasp. It was difficult to describe, this attraction between two people who had no expectations or obligations to their brief association. Up until a few minutes ago, all Mathias knew of the Lady Cathlina de Lara was that she was incredibly beautiful but, unfortunately, she was also a de Lara. He had warned his brother against her. Now, he was not so apt to heed his own warning. There was something about the woman that was very, very special. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her because she muddled his mind. She was bewitching. He finally had to force himself away.
“I will not be long,” he said as he made his way back over to the horse, who tried to bite him. He frowned at the animal. “These animals are sometimes quite difficult to handle for those they are not familiar with.”
Cathlina watched him with interest as he pulled another red-hot shoe out of the fire and began hammering at it.
“It is a very big horse,” she said. “A war horse?”
Mathias nodded as he pounded. “This nasty boy has seen several battles.”
Cathlina eyed the scarred horse. “We saw several knights in town yesterday when we arrived,” she said. “My father says there is to be a tournament in a few days.”
Mathias nodded as he put the shoe back into the fire. “So it would seem.”
Cathlina studied the man as he stirred the fire. He was wearing leather breeches and a leather apron, and a rather worn linen tunic that in greater days had probably been a bright shade of red. It was very worn and the neckline was torn just enough so she could see portions of his muscular chest. The man had the biggest arms she had ever seen, muscular to a fault, and his chest seemed to match that particular pattern. She’d never thought much about men’s chests before but in peeking at Mathias’, she thought his rather attractive. The man was purely big and beautiful, and her cheeks began to flush. She averted her gaze and sought to divert her innately passionate thoughts.
“Where… where were you born, Mathias?” she asked, struggling to think on something else to speak of.
He continued to stoke the fire, his face and body riddled with lusty, oozy sweat, causing his inky hair to kink up in small curls around his neck.
“Throston Castle in Northumbria,” he said. “It is near the eastern coast.”
“I see,” Cathlina said, cocking her head as she tried to imagine where he was from. “You must have learned your trade from a very young age. Did you ever think to become anything other than a smithy?”
He pulled the red-hot shoe out of the fire again and set it on the anvil. He didn’t want to tell her his deepest, darkest secret for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that she was a de Lara. Therefore, for all she knew, he was what she saw: a smithy. There was no reason to tell her any differently because it would have been far too complicated to explain anyway, and it might possibly frighten her away. He didn’t want to frighten her away.
“Like what?” he asked, glancing up at her with a twinkle in his eye. “A farmer? A sailor?”
Cathlina took the question seriously. “You are big and brave and intelligent,” she said. “Perhaps you could have found someone to sponsor you as a page or squire at a young age. You could have been a fighting man. You said you were born at Throston Castle? Who is the lord at Throston?”
My grandfather, he thought. They were heading deeper into a subject he wanted to avoid. He pounded on the shoe.
“An old man by the name of Lenox,” he replied, then shifted the course of questions back onto her and away from secrets he did not wish to divulge. “Your father is a knight, is he not? Allied with the Earl of Carlisle, you said?”
Successfully diverted, she nodded. “My father is a cousin to the earl,” she replied. “During the wars between the king and Roger Mortimer, my father served the earl and the king. But he sustained a very bad injury in the battle at Stanhope a few years ago and resigned from fighting. He simply administers the garrison at Kirklinton now and has knights and other men who do the fighting for him.”
“What is your father’s name?”
“Sir Saer de Lara. Have you ever heard of him?”
“I am sorry, I have not. I am sure he was a great knight.”
“They used to call him The Axe. Father did not fight with a sword. He liked his axe much better.”
The Axe. Now, Mathias had heard that name. De Lara’s Axe had been a feared fighter, indeed. More and more, Mathias was sure he would never divulge his past to Cathlina. Or at least, never divulge it to her father. He was coming to wonder if his attraction to her would lead him down paths he was trying very hard to avoid. If their attraction grew and he eventually pledged for her, somehow, someway, he would have to be truthful. To lie about who, and what, he was then have the truth come from someone else’s lips to Cathlina’s ears would have devastating consequences. Truth be told, lying was not in his blood. Truth and honor meant everything to him.
“I could make him an excellent axe,” he teased softly, watching her giggle. She had the most beautiful smile. “Mayhap you will want to give your father a gift someday and employ me to make it.”
She laughed softly. “I am sure you would do a very good job.”
He grinned, swept up in her charm, when a pair of knights entered the stall. They didn’t see Cathlina, sitting against the wall, as they sauntered into the shop, knocking over a hammer and hardly caring. They were young, arrogant, and full of entitlement. The taller of the pair, a young knight with bristly red hair, approached Mathias.
“Have you finished with my horse yet?” he demanded.
Mathias picked up an enormous steel file and bent over, pulling a hoof between his legs. “Almost,” he said. “A moment longer.”
“A moment longer?” the knight repeated, incredulous and outraged. “He has been here all morning.”
Mathias was filing the front left hoof. “He has been here not yet two hours,” he said steadily. “These shoes were specially prepared, as you requested. That takes time. I am almost finished.”
The young knight pursed his lips angrily, eyeing the big smithy. “You are incompetent,” he announced. “This job should have been completed an hour ago.”
“I will be finished in a moment.”
“I will not pay you, then. You did not finish on time.”
Surprisingly, Mathias kept his composure. “I told you when you brought him in that he would be finished by early afternoon,” he said. “I have finished him sooner than I estimated and you will indeed pay me the full price or I will pull every one of these shoes off of him and you can find someone else to shoe this bad-tempered beast. Do I make myself clear?”
The young knight was looking for a confrontation. He was too arrogant to back down from what he considered a challenge. “You will do no such thing,” he said. “I will not let you. I will take my horse now and I will not pay you for being lazy and slow.”
Mathias kept filing. “You will pay me or the horse stays here and I will sell him to the highest bidder to recoup my losses.”
The young knight was outraged. “He is my horse and I am taking him.”
“Not until you pay me what you owe me.”
The young knight marched over to Mathias and lifted a hand to strike him, but Mathias grabbed the knight’s wrist before he could follow through with the action. The knight yelped as Mathias shoved him away and tumbled over a bucket near the anvil.
This brought the knight’s companion charging forward, unsheathing his sword. Mathias dropped the charger’s hoof, preparing to defend himself against the armed knight, when a stool suddenly sailed into the knight’s feet and the man went down. With both knights on the ground, Mathias was rather dumbfounded when Cathlina rushed up and kicked the armed knight in the shoulder. It was a hard enough kick that the man’s entire body rattled.
“Shame on you!” she scolded angrily. “You foolish whelps! By what right do you try to cheat a man out of his earnings? You are a dishonor to the knighthood, both of you!”
Mathias’ eyebrows lifted at her furious manner and brave tactic of throwing the stool she had been sitting on in order to disable the armed knight, but in truth, he wasn’t surprised. She had shown remarkable bravery the day before whilst fighting with a man three times her size. If he thought about it, his respect for her had sprouted at that moment. She was a strong and courageous woman. Now, with this latest show of courage, his respect for her had gone from a sprout to a healthy bloom.
“’Tis all right,” he soothed her, trying to steer her away from the men who were trying to gain their feet. “Please go and sit down. Do not trouble yourself over this.”
Lured by the commotion, Sebastian appeared from outside the stall. His brow furrowed at the men on the ground.
“What goes on here?” he demanded.
Mathias merely shook his head but Cathlina spoke. “These men were trying to cheat your brother out of his earnings for shoeing this horse,” she pointed angrily. “They tried to attack him.”
Sebastian’s red eyebrows flew up in outrage. “Is that so?” he said, going to stand over the young knight who had started it all. He was just starting to sit up as Sebastian loomed over him and glared. “You were trying to cheat us?”
The young knight rolled to his knees, attempting to stand up and keep a distance from the enormous red-haired knight. “He… he was slow and lazy,” he stammered, his arrogance gone now that he was being challenged by two very big men. “It is within my right not to pay him for a job he did not complete when he said he would.”
Sebastian reached out and grabbed the man by the neck as Justus, lured from the opposite side of the stall by all of the scuffling going on, came around to see both of his sons standing and two armed knights in various positions on the ground. The big old man with the long gray hair went straight to Sebastian.
“What are you doing?” he hissed, pointing fingers at the man in Sebastian’s grip. “I have warned you against harassing our customers.”
Sebastian didn’t let the young knight go. “He is trying to cheat us out of paying what he owes,” he told his father. “He tried to attack Mathias.”
Justus looked at his eldest son. “Is this true, Mat?”
Mathias had positioned himself between Cathlina and the men tussling, including his brother.
“He tried,” he confirmed. “But it is of no matter. His horse is finished and he owes a crown. If he refuses to pay, as he has declared to be his intention, then we keep the horse. Hopefully he has reconsidered, as a knight without a horse is a sorry sight indeed.”
The young knight had managed to yank himself away from Sebastian and was fumbling angrily for his purse. Mathias untethered the charger and held out a hand, refusing to hand the reins over until the young knight paid him in full. By the time the young knight got the reins in his hand, he was so angry that he yanked at them and the horse took offense. A big head swung at the young knight, nearly knocking him over, as the young knight and his companion stumbled from the stall.
When they were gone, Mathias went about his business cleaning up as if nothing was amiss. Sebastian, however, followed them out and stood in the entry to the stall, watching them walk down the street with an expression that dared them to turn around and look at him. He would have liked nothing better than to go charging after them.
With the situation settling down, Justus eyed his two boys before realizing that Cathlina was standing back in the shadows. Surprise filled his expression as his gaze beheld her lingering on the fringe.
“A lady?” he said, pointing to her. “God’s blood, there is a lady here. Does she have business with us?”
Mathias put his hammer on the anvil and began to remove his leather apron. “This is the Lady Cathlina de Lara,” he said. “It ’twas her and her sister that we did a good turn for yesterday. Lady Cathlina has come bearing gifts to thank us.”
“Good turn?” Justus was still confused. “What do you mean?”
Mathias had a half-grin on his face, his eyes on Cathlina as he spoke. “The lady’s sister was nearly abducted yesterday,” he said, trying not to be thankful for such an event but it was the reason that had introduced him to the lovely young woman. “Sebastian put their accoster in the stocks back behind the stall.”
Justus was aware of that particular circumstance. “The animal with one eye who will not speak?”
“The same.”
“He was still there last I saw.”
“He will be there for a few days or until Sebastian has had his fun with him and decides to let him go.” He set his leather apron down and pulled a leather vest off a nail. “I will be gone for a few hours, Father. I must escort Lady Cathlina home.”
Justus’ gaze was still lingering on Cathlina, thinking on the events of yesterday as Sebastian had told them. He and Mathias had all but swooped out of the sky like avenging angels. Mathias was a bit more modest, but in looking at the beauty of the lady before him, he began to suspect that one or more smitten sons were on the horizon. It would be hard to look at all of that beauty and not be bewitched by it. That spelled trouble.
“I am sure she has her own escort,” Justus said. “Your presence is needed here. With the tournament beginning tomorrow, we have more business than we can handle. I cannot lose you, even for a few hours.”
Mathias put the leather vest on over his rough tunic, securing the fastens that held it snug to his body. It was, in truth, a measure of protection against sharp objects, like swords or daggers, because the leather was heavily woven and fit his enormous torso like a glove; tight against his broad chest and snug against his slender waist. Since he was disallowed armor, the vest was the next best thing.
“I will not be gone long,” he assured his father. “And Lady Cathlina has no escort. She bravely rode here alone but I certainly cannot let her return alone.”
Justus could see the glimmer in Mathias’ eyes when speaking of Lady Cathlina and he knew the man was already infatuated. It hadn’t taken long at all, but he hardly blamed him. Still, he had to discourage it quickly.
“Then I will send Sebastian to escort her,” he said. “You are needed here.”
The glimmer vanished from Mathias’ eyes when he looked at his father. “Not Sebastian,” he growled, leaving no room for discussion. In fact, the last time his father heard that tone, they were in battle. “I will return in a few hours and do not let Sebastian touch anything in that basket. If he does, I will put him in the stocks. You will tell him that.”
Justus sighed heavily, realizing there was no way to discourage his eldest. Strangely enough, he was rather glad for the lady’s appearance when it came to Mathias. The man hadn’t shown so much interest or concern about anything in well over a year. The Mathias that had lumbered around the smithy stall since that dark January day had been morose and sullen, quiet. A mere shell of his former self. But this Mathias was much more like the Mathias of old; humorous, concerned, and interested in what was going on around him. Aye, the lady had done that much, at least. Justus had no choice but to relent.
“Return as quickly as you can,” he said, with reluctance. “We shall be working long into the night as it is.”
The glimmer was back in Mathias’ eyes. “I will, I swear it.”
When Sebastian found out where Mathias was going, he tried to follow until Mathias slugged the man in the chest so hard that he fell into a big puddle of horse urine and got covered in the stuff.
As Mathias and Cathlina walked off, Sebastian vowed to get even.