Page 7

Much too soon, his lips, and his hand, were gone.

Her hand had been kissed in such a way by so many men, but never, not once, had her body come alive as it had just done. Evelina wanted nothing more than to run from the hall’s entrance, find Amalia, and ask her if this was how it happened. Her maid had been with a man before—two in fact—and she’d given her virginity precisely because “I am a farmer’s daughter and the only advantage to such a station is the ability to give in to your heart’s desire.”

At the time, she thought her maid mad. To bed a man she did not intend to marry? It was not only Evelina but the law, and the church, that forbid it. But Amalia did not apologize for neither wanting to marry nor giving herself to a man anyway.

Finally, she understood.

“Welcome to Ashcroft Manor, Sir Gareth,” her father said. “Come, dine with us. Lord Stirling,” he added by way of greeting. As the men moved forward into the hall, Eamon fell behind with her. Her father rarely greeted Sir Eamon. There was no doubt he did not care for the man, even though they’d been in each other’s presence many times, but Evelina could not understand why as he was one of her favorite people in all the world.

“You look lovely this eve, my lady.”

“As do you,” she teased. Evelina was certain the word “lovely” had never been used to describe Eamon before. No matter his clothing, it nearly always appeared to her as if Eamon were about to step onto a training field or into battle.

“Ah, well, I cannot help as much. God graced me with a fair appearance, and ’tis a fact I must live with.”

She smiled. Fair. Another word most would not use to describe him, but Evelina adored the man’s quiet wit even if he showed it to few people.

The word could be used to describe the knight, however. Stealing a glance as they made their way to the table, she watched as Sir Gareth easily charmed her father, who laughed at something the young knight said.

“He is as honorable as he is skilled.”

Eamon had noticed her looking. If there was one person who hoped to see her married more than her father, it was Eamon. The man never ceased his matchmaking, even knowing neither of them would have a choice in her husband.

“Eamon,” she warned. But her warning went unheard as they reached the table. Since their party was small, both she and her father would dine with their guests rather than at the head table. Sitting directly across from him would make it difficult to ignore the man. That she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do so—ignore him—was even odder still.

Looking at Sir Gareth was not a hardship by any means. In fact, she was doing just that as the first of their meal was delivered, and he noticed. Holding her gaze, the knight addressed her for the first time since their greeting.

“Tell me something of yourself, my lady.”

“What do you wish to know?” she asked, her father and Lord Stirling engaging in a debate over some other new recruit and Eamon simply watching them.

“Do you have any sibling here at Ashcroft Manor?”

“I do not. ’Tis my father and I alone. Do you, Sir Gareth? Have siblings?”

“I’ve two older brothers,” he replied.

“Are they tourney knights as well?”

The others finished their discussion and listened as Sir Gareth spoke. He might be younger than her father and the instructors, perhaps the same age as she and certainly he’d not seen thirty summers, but Sir Gareth demanded attention when he spoke. He was polished in a way that the other recruits, even sons of great earls, were not. He was not at all what she expected from a great tourney champion. Not pompous and self-serving at all. At least, he did not appear so.

“Nay, my lady. They are not.”

“Sir Gareth’s father is a great man,” Lord Stirling said. “A supporter from the start who paid the ultimate price for it.”

Though all here at Ashcroft knew of the Guardians, neither the name Lady Maude, nor Empress Matilda, nor the names of her family members were ever spoken aloud in the hall. Years of secrecy had been upheld, since the Guardians of the Sacred Oak formed, but all were aware of the price they’d pay if the order were discovered.

“The ultimate price?” she asked. “Did he lose a family member in battle?”

“Perhaps not the ultimate price,” Sir Gareth said. “For we lost nothing but our lands and titles.”

“Ones you will have restored,” Evelina’s father said, as if he had the authority himself to accomplish such a feat.

“It is my greatest desire,” Sir Gareth said as they began to fill their plates. “To restore my family name.”

“Precisely how we lured him here,” Eamon said with a very rare wink. The man scowled more often than he did not, though she knew much of it was to uphold a reputation. He was softer on the inside than anyone she knew.

“How did these two convince you to come?” she asked.