Page 55 of Lord of Misrule

Chapter 14

Tolin awoke the next morning hearing a pounding on his door. He rolled over, looking for Kit, but she was gone. He sat up abruptly, running a hand through his tangled hair.

“Damn,” he muttered, yawning and then rubbing his eyes. The door to his room opened and in walked Jarvis with Rook and Daegel on his heels.

“Get up, brother. You’ve missed the morning meal again,” said Rook.

“It was good, too,” agreed Daegel, plopping down atop the chair. “That baker woman made herb-encrusted bread and even fruit tarts.”

“What?” That got Tolin’s attention. “Kit was there? In the kitchen? She made my favorite tarts?” He swung his feet over the side of the bed, reaching down to the floor to pull on his trews.

“Of course she was in the kitchen,” said Jarvis, pulling open the shutter to let in the sunlight. With it came a cold winter breeze. “Where else would the baker be?”

“Nowhere,” mumbled Tolin standing up and stretching. When he did, his foot tangled on something. He reached down and picked up the item. Kit’s hose dangled from his fingers.

“I have a feeling Tolin had a tart of his own in his bed last night,” said Rook shaking his head.

“What?” asked Jarvis. He walked over to inspect what Tolin held. “Oh, that looks like a girl’s hose. So, I see you had a little action last night, my lord. Congratulations.”

“It certainly is a girl’s hose,” said Rook. “And my guess is the tart it came off of was none other than the baker girl.”

“Brother, you didn’t.” Daegel’s eyes opened wide. “You bedded the baker? How could you?”

“I think we know how it is done, just not why,” said Rook.

“Shut your mouths. All of you.” Tolin wadded up Kit’s hose and stuck it into his pouch. Then he continued dressing. “Kit is not a tart and I won’t tolerate you calling her that again.”

“So you did bed the baker,” said Jarvis with a nod. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Damn it, Tolin didn’t mean to admit that. Too late now. “I care for Kit and she for me,” he told the others.

“You’re falling in love with a commoner.” Daegel cracked a smile. “So it seems you’re no different from the rest of our siblings, after all. I’m not sure Father is going to like that. He had high hopes that at least one of his children would marry for status and wealth. You know, a good alliance.”

“My lord, you prided yourself saying you’d never fall for anyone who had less money or status than you,” Jarvis spit out.

“Thank you for pointing that out, squire.” Tolin finished dressing and donned his weapon belt. “However, I never said I wouldn’t bed a commoner. I mean, don’t worry because it’s not like we’re going to get married or anything.”

“Isn’t it like that?” asked Rook, crossing his arms over his chest. “I recognize the signs, Tolin.”

“Signs? What signs? What the hell are you talking about?” grumbled Tolin, wishing everyone would leave him alone and mind their own business.

“Don’t forget, the same thing happened to me with Rose,” Rook continued. “Yep. It is as clear as day. You are defending the girl, denying how much you are infatuated with her, and getting ready to smash your fist into the face of anyone who says anything bad about her. You’re falling for the girl all right, and falling fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if you two are engaged to be married by the time Father returns.”

“Stop it. All of you,” said Tolin, not liking where this conversation was leading.

“It looks like she won the game this time, Tolin,” said Daegel. “She probably did it to save her ass, now that her bakery has burned to the ground.”

“Nay, you’re wrong,” snapped Tolin. “Kit has too much respect for herself and also others to ever do anything like that. Say anything about her again and I’ll⁠—”

“Smash your fist into his face?” asked Rook. “Like I said, you’re showing all the signs.”

“For your information, I like the girl and felt sorry for her,” Tolin told the others. “I only wanted her to have some sort of enjoyment in life after all that she’s been through lately. Her life has been so trying. No one deserves what she’s been through.”

Tolin didn’t mean to make it sound like he coupled with Kit out of pity. But he needed his brothers and squire to think so. If not, they’d never stop hassling him regarding his personal life. They would also get the wrong idea of Kit. True, he did feel sorry for Kit. But the reason he bedded her was far beyond pity. He truly had strong feelings for her, and it scared the hell out of him, though he’d never admit it to the others. He had always prided himself on the fact he was single and free. True, he did say if he ever married someday, he’d only do so with a woman who had more money or more power than he. What was happening to him? In the past he’d accused love as being the culprit that made Rook and Raven weak. Was the same thing happening to him now too? Tolin didn’t enjoy being like everyone else. Or at least being like the rest of his siblings. He thrived to be different. And he strived to be in control and win every time, no matter what he was doing. Tolin didn’t ever want to be called a loser.

“Wait until Raven hears about this,” said Daegel with a chuckle.

Tolin grabbed his brother by the front of the tunic and slammed his body up against the wall. “If you or anyone says a word of what happened last night to anyone, I swear I will make sure you won’t be able to talk for a fortnight.” The last thing he wanted was Kit being on the tongue of the gossip flooding Blake Castle. Especially because of him.