CHAPTER NINE
It had been an unusual experience for Lyssa.
Other than an occasional scrape or cut, she had never really had to have any part of her body tended by someone else, at least not an injury. She’d had women brush her hair, style it, and even put lip rouge on her, but it wasn’t anything like this. Even though she was quite well from her encounter with Colchester, Garret seemed disinclined to let her tend to her own injuries and it was something of an experience to have a man tend to her.
A mother couldn’t have done any better. Garret made her sit still while he cleaned every prick from the rose thorns on her arms, shoulders, and neck. There were more on her torso that propriety dictated he would not touch, but he was insistent to clean those as well. Juliana, who had thus far been rather quiet and subservient to Garret and his ambition to tend Lyssa, had to take a stand when he wanted to inspect her belly. She drew the line and Garret was forced to retreat, leaving Lyssa disappointed that her friend had ended his attentions. It wasn’t that she wanted to strip down before him, but the fact that he was paying her such attention… she’d loved every minute of it.
Garret, too, was disappointed that his time to tend Lyssa had come to an end, but he graciously moved aside for Juliana. He hadn’t been trying to gain a sneaky look at Lyssa’s body, which he found quite attractive, but more that he took his duties very seriously. He’d quite ably cleansed the scratches he could get to with witch hazel first and then wine to chase away any poison. But Juliana seriously frowned upon him when he suggested Lyssa show him the scratches on her torso and, like a gentleman, he backed away. He let Juliana take over after that but she wouldn’t make a move to tend the damage to Lyssa’s torso until Garret and Rickard left the chamber, and Garret wasn’t ready to leave yet.
In fact, he wasn’t sure he would ever leave at all.
Visions of Lyssa’s pale, smooth skin lingered in his mind. While he’d been tending her, he had to keep focusing on what he was doing and not allow his mind to wander to the feel of the woman’s body against his, or the taste of her flesh upon his tongue. It had been a serious test of his willpower to stay on-task and not try to steal a kiss, even with his brother and Juliana in the room. In fact, he had to keep his eyes away from her face because it was difficult to look at it and not want to kiss it wholeheartedly.
So perhaps Juliana’s intervention had been necessary to preserve his self-control.
“Garret,” Rickard said as Juliana took over the tending duties. “Let us leave Lady Juliana to finish the task. You have done all you can.”
Rickard’s voice snapped Garret out of his thoughts of tasty flesh and lovely bronze-colored eyes. In fact, he felt rather foolish because he knew he’d been staring at her. But he was so very reluctant to leave.
“My lady,” he dipped his head to Lyssa. “May I come and check on you tomorrow to see how you fare?”
Lyssa gazed up at the man with some fear on her face. “Y-You are leaving now?”
Garret nodded. “It is not by choice, I assure you,” he said. “It is by necessity. My brother and Lady Juliana, I am sure, will be very diligent in their care of you. I would not worry.”
Lyssa had felt so much comfort with him by her side. Now that he was leaving, in spite of the fact that she still had Rickard and Juliana with her, it gave her a rather hollow and frightened feeling inside. But it was silly of her and she knew it; Garret was an important man with important duties. He was, in no way, responsible for her. Resigning herself to that fact, she forced a smile.
“T-Thank you for your kind and diligent care,” she said. “I-It was most kind of you to take the time. I-I would be honored by your visit tomorrow.”
Garret smiled at her, his black eyes glimmering warmly. “Thank you,” he said. The pause grew rather awkward because Juliana turned to look at him to make sure he left before she had Lyssa undress, so Garret simply wriggled his eyebrows when he realized everyone was looking at him. “Then I wish you a pleasant day, my lady. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to send word to me at Westminster.”
Lyssa nodded, sad to see him go. “I-I will. T-Thank you.”
With nothing more to say, Garret left the small room, emerging into the larger chamber it was attached to. Rickard was on his heels as if fearful the man would change his mind and try to stay. The knights neared the door when, on the other side of the panel, someone tried the door latch, rattling it. Because the door was bolted, whoever it was couldn’t gain access and both Garret and Rickard had the very same thought –
Colchester.
It would have been just like the man to check every single room in the manse to find his victim. Rickard looked at his brother to gauge his reaction and was shocked when the man unsheathed his broadsword. Rickard put up a hand, preventing him from lifting it.
“Have you lost your senses?” he hissed. “What are you doing?”
Garret’s jaw was flexing dangerously. “He will not come in here, Rickard.”
Rickard was very quickly panicked. “So you would kill him?” he demanded, trying to keep his voice low. “That is suicide! You will be executed if you touch him! Is that what you want?”
He was right. God help him, Garret knew he was right. He didn’t want to do something foolish and leave Lady Lyssa to suffer the indignity of a would-be suitor murdering her liege. He gazed into his brother’s frightened face for several long moments before sighing heavily and sheathing his sword.
Rickard was relieved but he was still on-edge. He was edgy that his brother would let his emotions get the better of him in a situation where common sense should have played the larger role. In fact, it angered him.
“Stop letting your manhood make decisions,” he growled. “Whatever you think you feel for Lyssa, or whatever misplaced sense of chivalry you harbor on her behalf, get rid of it or it will be your undoing. Do you understand me?”
Garret simply looked at his brother. He didn’t like being scolded, not even by Rickard, and he refused to admit that the man may be speaking some portion of the truth. His gaze lingered on the man for a moment without replying before he reached out to unbolt the door. Yanking it open, his gaze fell on the person who had been rattling the door latch.
Thankfully, it wasn’t Colchester. It was a woman he’d seen the previous night at Winchester, the very woman who had sought an escort for Lyssa. Garret didn’t know her by name but he knew she was part of the Colchester entourage. Still, he was standing in the doorway, creating something of a barrier against the woman entering until Rickard pushed him out of the way.
“Lady Rose,” he said, pointing to the adjoining chamber. “Are you looking for Lady Lyssa?”
Rose looked at Rickard but she had more interest in the very large man beside him. In fact, she recognized him. He’d been the one who had escorted Lyssa from Westminster the night before, which meant he was the man Lyssa had been speaking of as having been smitten with. She cast him a long, suspicious look before focusing on Rickard.
“How is she?” she asked.
Rickard’s expression was serious. “Then you know what happened?”
“Know? I was there.”
Rickard lifted his eyebrows as if to sympathize with her. “She will recover,” he said. “But she is frightened, understandably so.”
Rose was relieved to hear that Lyssa wasn’t so injured that she would not heal. “Praise to God,” she muttered. Then she grew serious. “But you know what this means, Rickard. We must keep her hidden from the duke until arrangements can be made to send her away.”
“Away?” Garret interrupted the conversation. “Away where?”
Rose and Rickard turned to him, with Rickard making the reluctant introductions. “Lady Rose de Barenton, this is my brother, Sir Garret de Moray, the Captain of the Royal Guard at Westminster. I believe you two met last night. It was Garret who escorted Lady Lyssa back to The Wix.”
Rose cocked an eyebrow. “After a detour to a tavern, I am told.” She didn’t hold back. “Sir Garret, your reputation precedes you. You have a great and noble name in London. But you should not have taken an unmarried lady to a tavern, no matter what your motives. Such a thing will not reflect badly on you but it will reflect terribly on Lyssa.”
Garret knew he deserved the rebuke. “My lady, I assure you, I understand the implications. My only excuse is that Lady Lyssa seemed so sad to be leaving a party she had been looking forward to and I took pity upon her. I took another man of good character with us so she would not feel afraid of being alone with me, and we went to a tavern to see some entertainment. She laughed heartily, ate until she was full, and then I brought her home. And that is the truth, upon my oath.”
Rose continued to eye him, unmoved by his explanation. “I would have done better to send her home with another knight who would not have been swayed by her disappointment,” she said. “You have put her in a precarious position.”
Garret cleared his throat softly. “Again, my lady, that was not my intention,” he said. “I am distressed that you feel the lady is compromised even though nothing untoward happened. However, I believe I have a solution. With your permission, I would like to court Lady Lyssa and, in doing so, it would not be untoward for her to be seen with me.”
After her conversation with Lyssa this morning, Rose knew this was coming. She simply hadn’t expected it so soon. Garret was looking at her hopefully, Rickard was looking at her with some confusion, and their attention was making her a bit nervous. As she pondered her reply, she could hear Lyssa’s words rolling around in her head.
I do not want to be a spinster like you!
Truth was, Rose didn’t want to be a spinster, either, but that was the role in life she’d assumed. Hearing Lyssa’s words in her head the second time around hurt her just like the first time she’d heard her status verbalized. She could remember what it was like to be young, but barely. That had been many years ago. It had been a long time since a man had sent her heart fluttering. Still, she didn’t want to be unfair. But she didn’t want to be too quick to agree, either.
“This seems rather sudden, Sir Garret, don’t you think?” she asked. “Lyssa told me about last night. She also told me of your intentions.”
“They are honorable, my lady.”
Rose eyed the man a moment. “Honorable though they may be, your intentions are rather sudden,” she repeated. “Why?”
Garret hadn’t expected that question. He had to think about it because he honestly wasn’t sure how to answer the woman. He therefore took a different tactic, hoping to drown any protests she might have by listing his credits.
“Does it matter, my lady?” he asked, trying to gain the upper hand in the interrogation. “My name is Sir Garret de Moray, son of Gaubert de Moray of Rushmere Castle near Wolverhampton. Although I will not inherit my father’s lands or titles, Richard has granted me the property of Ravendark Castle near Salisbury and he has also granted me the titles of Lord Ravendark and Lockerley. I have wealth of my own, Lady Rose, and would provide excellently for Lady Lyssa. You ask of the suddenness of the situation; mayhap I have simply come to the point in my life where a wife would be a pleasing thing. No one wants to grow old alone. I have been alone long enough.”
It was a succinct speech and, in truth, a fairly good argument. Rose had to admit that she was impressed by his response. Sighing faintly, she folded her hands in front of her and sized the man up.
“A well-enough answer, my lord,” she said crisply. “But I have a few more questions.”
“I am at your disposal, my lady.”
She smiled thinly. “How old are you?”
“I have seen thirty years and nine.”
“And you do not mind that Lyssa has seen twenty years?”
“Why should I mind?”
“Because she would be old for a bride.”
“She is the perfect age, my lady.”
Rose snorted quietly, thinking the man was trying to work some flattery on her. “She has a stammer in her speech.”
“So she does.”
Rose looked at him to see if he was simply being flippant or if he was being genuine. “Is it possible that does not bother you?”
“Why should it?”
Rose considered his answer. In fact, she was considering all of his answers. She had to admit that he seemed sane and rational. He didn’t seem like a man who was making a hasty decision. But she didn’t want him to think this was going to be as easy as he pleased; he was a man who was used to getting what he wanted. Men in power were usually like that. But for her niece’s sake, Rose thought it would be better if Garret had a few days or even weeks to think about what he wanted. She didn’t want to give her permission only for the man to have second thoughts and break her niece’s heart. In her opinion, he simply didn’t realize how rash all of this was.
“Then I shall consider your request,” she said. “That is the only answer I will give you today. For now, you will excuse me. I must see to my niece.”
“Garret already did,” Rickard said. He thought, at this point, he should put in a few good words for his brother, even if he, like Rose, thought all of this was rather hasty. “Lady Rose, my brother is a man of excellent character and possesses a strong heart. Your niece could not find a better husband, not in all of England. Have you not heard how sought after my brother is? He has had many offers in the short time he has been back from The Levant and even the Count of Amiens made an offer for his eldest daughter.”
Rose cocked an eyebrow, looking at Garret. “Is this true?” she asked.
“Aye, my lady.”
“Why did you not accept any of these offers?”
Garret faltered in just the slightest. “Because they were not women of my choosing.”
“And my niece is?”
“Aye, my lady.”
Rose didn’t know if that helped sway her decision, although she found it rather remarkable that a much-desired bachelor evidently wanted Lyssa. Still, she remained firm on the subject.
“As I said, I will think on it,” she said.
“When may I have your answer, my lady?” Garret asked.
She gave him an expression that sent almost anyone at The Wix running for cover. Cold, domineering, it was Lady Rose’s signature scowl.
“When I am ready, Sir Garret. Not before.”
With that, she turned and headed for the doorway that led in to the attached room, but Garret didn’t let her get very far. He took a step or two after her.
“My lady, if you please,” he said. “One more thing. You mentioned plans to send Lyssa away. May I inquire where?”
Rose shook her head. “I am not sure yet,” she said. She hesitated a moment before continuing. “I suppose it would do no harm to discuss the subject with you. In fact, you may be of use. If you wish to court my niece as you say you do, then mayhap you have connections that would see her sent to a place where she would be safe. Not as a servant, of course, but as a lady to a noblewoman. She is accomplished and would make an excellent companion.”
Garret felt there was more hope for his suit for Lyssa than there had been even moments earlier. At least Rose was willing to consult him on a matter involving Lyssa.
“I have the finest connections in England,” he said. “The House of de Lohr would accept the lady if I asked them to, as would the House of de Winter or de Lara. Any of the big houses, really.”
“Would you be inclined to ask on Lyssa’s behalf?” Rose said. She sounded hopeful. “Sir Garret, I have connections to a few good houses, but certainly not the connections you have. If Lyssa could benefit from your intervention….”
Garret held up a hand, interrupting her. “You need not ask further,” he said. “I will do what is necessary. But you must do something for me in the meantime.”
“What is it?”
Garret’s gaze moved over Rose’s head, to the door that connected to the smaller tower chamber where Juliana was still tending Lyssa.
“Keep her safe until I can make arrangements to remove her from The Wix,” he said. “I will return tomorrow to see to her health and we will speak more about sending her away, but it may take time. Until then….”
Rose understood him perfectly. “She will be safe, I swear it.”
“You are her last line of defense, Lady Rose. You can help her where Rickard and I cannot.”
“Understood, Sir Garret.”
“But know this… if Colchester touches her again, I will kill him.”
Rose believed him without question. It wasn’t some foolish emotional declaration; it was something he believed. She could see it in his eyes. A man like Garret de Moray did not make threats; he made promises.
She respected that.
This time, it was Garret who turned away; he turned on his heel and departed the room with Rickard close behind him. Rose followed the pair, bolting the door when it shut behind them. She paused a moment, her hand on the latch and reflected on the conversation. Instead of being upset by it, or rattled by it, it had oddly given her comfort. She wasn’t alone in her endeavor to protect her niece from a predator.
In the last few words Garret had spoken, she realized that she liked him very much.