Aye, my lord. Shall I put another in there as well for me?” asked the squire eagerly.
“Nay. Your pallet will go at the foot of my bed. But do put another in the wardrobe for Lady Blackpool’s uncle, as I will not have anyone accusing me of stalking her while she sleeps.”
“Aye, my lord, right away.” The squire went to g ive directions to the pages.
Marcus leaned over and spoke in a low tone. “Too bad, Lady Blackpool, as I think you would have rather enjoyed me.”
Amethyst felt her body stiffen as he purposely rubbed against her, subtly reminding her that parts of him were still stiff as well.
“Yes, too bad, my lord. Because now I guess you’ll just have to enjoy it yourself,” she said in a low voice as well. “And I assure you, I always say what I mean, so you may want to think about that meaning.” She pulled away from him before he could react, and scurried out the door.
Chapter 4
Amethyst could barely concentrate on eating, as Lord Marcus had insisted she sit next to him at the dais during the main meal. On his other side was Sir Gawain, and next to him, the chaplain. Next to her was an empty chair, which didn’t even allow her to talk to anyone but him.
She had hoped her uncle would be sitting next to her, but he was sitting with the workers in the lower part of the hall as he went over plans and prepared for the meeting later in the solar.
As was custom, two people shared a cup and trencher, and of course that meant that she had to share with Lord Marcus. He was busy in conversation with his knight, and tended to keep the trencher of food and also the cup directly in front of him. So, in order to get anything to eat, she had to reach over him and try to snag a piece of food before he devoured everything.
While the man was in excellent shape and not at all overweight, she was shocked by how much food he consumed. And since Lord Marcus liked the best of everything, they weren’t eating beans and brown bread, but rather stuffed pheasant, rabbit cooked in almond milk with a ginger sauce, and venison ribs with black pepper, sage and wine. And for dessert, she was surprised to see the servants bring out a sweet seed cake shaped like a knight’s shield, filled with exotic spices such as anise, cardamom and coriander. She’d tasted these foods before, being the daughter of an earl, but her father normally only had such expensive treats on special occasions and holidays. She wondered if this was an every day occurrence for Lord Marcus.
He was leaning over talking, and she took the opportunity to snake her hand along th e table and once again try to grab a piece of food. But he suddenly leaned back and rested his arm atop the table, trapping her hand underneath. His head turned slowly, and his eyes trailed up her arm and to her face.
“I’ll let you know when I’m done eating,” he told her. “And then, you can have the rest.”
She pulled her hand back quickly, her anger rising by his comment. She was normally a very positive person who didn’t get aggravated easily, but this man was bringing out a side of her that she didn’t even know existed.
“You’ve had the trencher as well as the cup the entire meal,” she pointed out. “And what happened to the knightly gestures of letting a lady have the first cut of meat?”
“I’ve never heard that before. ’Tis always the lord of the castle who gets the first and best cut of meat. I am the lord of this castle, and that’s why I ate first.” He picked up the goblet of wine and quaffed it down.
Amethyst knew he was right, but being one of four siblings - all girls - her father always gave them first choice of the food back home. Even when her mother was still alive, her father made certain she had what she needed, as well as the children before he ever thought to take food to his own mouth.
“I am the daughter of an earl, not one of your meaningles s trollops,” she spat.
“Really. Well, I am an earl,” he rallied, “so
Stormy Glenn, Joyee Flynn