Part 11 (1/2)
”I will miss you.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. She would not allow his words to mean more than he intended. ”Perhaps. But you will also be glad for another a.s.signment. One with more adventure and intrigue. You must have found my little village so quaint and boring.”
”It was not as bad as all that. Do you remember the time when that badger got into Old Man Hugh's cottage?”
”And ate the pie that the widow had made for Hugh? Fie! I think the whole village came out to witness the commotion. I will never forget the sight of him chasing the animal about with his broom. The poor beast.”
”Hugh, or the badger?”
Cecily laughed.
Giles squeezed her hand. ”It's only a few hours before midnight. Do you want to return to the room to rest a bit, or would you prefer to stay with me here?”
Cecily lowered her lashes. ”I could not sleep if I tried.”
And so they stayed at table, Giles never once relinquis.h.i.+ng her hand, even when the serving girl came in to clear the dishes. They told stories of the village, Cecily with longing and Giles with nostalgia, as if he spoke of memories of a place that he'd already left far behind. And the time flew by faster than she could have imagined.
The clock on the mantel chimed midnight and Giles abruptly stood, jarring Cecily from her contentment.
”It's time,” he said. ”Let me fetch my cloak-I'll be but a moment.”
He fled the room and she tried not to be disappointed by his apparent eagerness. If it had been up to her, she never would have let the evening end.
But she must face her new future, eagerly or no. She stiffened her back and shoulders, determined to be strong. Cecily did not know what this Sir Robert might have planned for her, but she would hold to her own ambitions. She would think only of Thomas, and if this Rebellion would not tell her his whereabouts, then she would find some way to track him down herself.
When Giles returned to the dining room he took one glance at her face and froze in the act of shrouding her with his cloak. ”d.a.m.n. I would not want to be Sir Robert tonight.”
Cecily pulled the cloak over her head, trying not to muss her cap or hair, and followed Giles through the half-empty common room to the waiting carriage outside. She ducked into the plain black coach, surprised by the contrast of the inside. Her hands touched velvet-cus.h.i.+oned seats, the walls had been painted with scenes of playful cherubs, and every bit of trim shone with the l.u.s.ter of gold.
Giles took the seat across from her, watching her face as the conveyance lurched forward. ”Although Sir Robert prefers to travel in secrecy, he does appreciate his comforts.”
”Yes, I see.” Cecily turned and stared out the window, watching the lamplights flit past. ”I am not discomfited by grandeur, Giles. For some reason this all seems... commonplace to me.”
”I should think it would.”
She met his shadowed gaze. ”What do you mean?”
He took a deep breath, and then shrugged. ”I suppose you'll find out soon enough, and they might use it to unsettle you.”
”Use what?”
”You still remember nothing of your past life? Before you settled in the village, that is.”
Giles had asked her this once before, and she'd flinched from the memories. But she would need any advantage she could, and he was obviously trying to help. She frowned in concentration. ”I remember running and hiding in dark places. I remember the storm. The relief when we settled in the village.”
The coach bounced as they hit a pothole. Giles reached forward and placed her hand upon a leather strap bolted to the sidewall. ”Hold this, or you might wind up in my lap.” He gave her a wicked grin.
Cecily scowled. For a man who couldn't wait to be rid of her, he still could not seem to stop his flirting. She ignored the frisson of excitement that raced through her from his touch, from the nearness of his face.
Giles's eyes widened at her expression, and he relaxed back into his seat. ”They will not know what to do in the face of such determination. Cecily, can you recall anything before the running and hiding?”
”My mother's face. Another woman's... she sang songs to me. A garden, the sting of a bee. Little things that have no meaning. And yet there is obviously more.”
He nodded, glanced out the window. ”Your mother was a widowed countess. You are, by t.i.tle, the Lady Cecily Sutton. You were born in a fine mansion, but your mother left it all behind to protect you from the elven lord when your powers became apparent.”
Cecily should have felt more surprise than she did. But perhaps somewhere deep inside, she had known it all along. ”I am deeply touched by my mother's sacrifice. She never said a word about our past life, although it explains a great deal-I think she detested that little village. But a t.i.tle hardly matters to me.”
”You are a peer of the realm, Cecily. Of course it matters.”
She shook her head so hard the lappets on her cap swept against her cheeks. ”My mother gave up the t.i.tle, so as far as I'm concerned, I never held it.”
”You can't just dismiss a t.i.tle. At least, not to those who matter.”
”Ah, you mean the esteemed Sir Robert? He will discover soon enough that he cannot bribe me with the trappings of society. I care for nothing more than my sweet cottage by the sea.”
Her breath hitched on the last sentence, and Giles fell silent until the carriage slowed. ”We are here.”
Cecily pressed her nose against the gla.s.s. The carriage rolled through a ma.s.sive square, a fine park in the center of it, which sported those flaming trees and a fountain of yellow fire. When the coach came to a full stop and Giles flung the door open, a golden light spilled into the dim interior. He helped her down the steps, and she drew strength from his strong warm hand as she looked up at the home in front of her.
Giles had been right. Her entire village could surely fit into the ma.s.sive dwelling.
Despite her brave words, Cecily felt her knees quiver as they approached the front door. Two stone gargoyles sat on either side of the front step, an odd combination of lion and bird, and their eyes seemed to follow her every movement. Before Giles could raise his hand to lift the bra.s.s knocker, the door flew open, and a uniformed man bowed and stepped aside, beckoning them in.
”May I take your cloak, madam?” he asked as soon as he closed the door behind them. Giles unwrapped her while Cecily stared about. Pockets of fire littered the ma.s.sive hall, casting eerie shadows upon the marble floor and a line of statues that paraded down the walls. Frescoes of angels and clouds covered the ceiling high above her head, and crystal chandeliers divided the firelight into sprinkles of starlight.
”I have been given instructions to show you to the library upon your arrival,” sniffed the doorman, looking down at her with disapproval. He turned to lead them down the hall.
Cecily snapped her mouth shut and told herself to quit gawking.
”The trappings of society,” whispered Giles.
She glared at him and he smiled jauntily back at her. Thank heavens he had agreed to accompany her, for somehow he made her feel like her normal self in these rather daunting surroundings. Giles took her elbow and prepared to lead her after the doorman, but that stiff-legged gentleman took a glance over his shoulder and said, ”Not you, sir.”
The smile froze on Giles's face and Cecily felt his sword tremble. He patted the scabbard, another look crossing his handsome features. A sort of acceptance.
”He is with me,” said Cecily, watching Giles in confusion. Had any man in the village dismissed him in such a manner, he would have reminded the fool of his skill with a weapon.
The doorman stopped and turned, a polite rise of his bushy brows his only response.
”I will not step one foot farther without him,” she insisted.
”Cecily,” whispered Giles. ”Do not argue. The man is well aware of my place, and it is not among such esteemed personages.”
”Your place is at my side, at least for tonight. You promised.”
He shrugged. ”Aye, so I did.” Giles met the stare of the officious steward, his expression quite different than it had been a moment ago. ”Majordomo, tell his lords.h.i.+p that the lady refuses an audience unless I am at her side, and until she dismisses me I continue in my duty to protect her in every conceivable way.”
The doorman's face did not alter a whit as he turned and proceeded back down the hall.
That sword of his trembled again and Giles patted it with a sigh. ”Sir Robert will not like this.”