Cole stood up and brushed off his breeches.
“Drago, arête,” he commanded quietly, tugging on the bucket until the horse released it. “Jij stoute jongen.”
Corisande was still sitting on the opposite side of the stall wall, unable to see what Cole was doing but grinning because he was talking to his horse as if it could understand him. “What language are you scolding your horse in?” she asked.
Cole laughed softly. “Dutch,” he said. “He was raised in Antwerp, so he only understands the language of his people.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That he is a naughty lad.”
“And he understands you?”
“Of course he does. We have great philosophical discussions, Drago and I.”
He could hear her laugh. Grinning at the horse, he petted the beast on the head affectionately as he tossed the bucket aside, only to notice Essien and Anteaus entering the stable. They were heading for their animals as more sunlight began to stream in through the ventilation holes.
Morning was upon them.
“Where is your brother?” Cole asked Essien. “Is he finished with Lord Alastor yet?”
Essien began to check over his spotted stallion. “Nay,” he replied. “But he should be here soon. By the way, I was just speaking to Anteaus and he was telling me that he fostered at Northwood. I am sure he knows many of the same people you know.”
Cole looked over at Anteaus, whose horse was next to Essien’s. Anteaus de Bourne was young and handsome, but muscular to the point of being bulky. He remembered briefly what Corisande had said about her older brothers siding up against the younger one.
Cole suspected that was an interesting match-up, given Anteaus’ size.
“Is that so?” he said. “When were you there, Anteaus?”
Anteaus picked up a nearby horsehair brush and began brushing the dust from his brown animal. “From the time I was nine years of age until I had seen ten years and eight,” he said. “I was knighted there by the Earl of Teviot and I remember that Northwood was a strong ally of Pelinom and de Velt. We helped your father fend off a couple of raids while I was there.”
“How long ago was that?”
Anteaus cocked his head in thought. “Six years ago was the last time I was there,” he said. “Mayhap eight or ten years ago. That was a period in time when the reivers seemed to be very active. I do not think you were at Pelinom at that time, but I remember your brothers.”
Cole shook his head. “I have spent a good deal of time at Norwich and also Pembroke Castle,” he said. “I only came home to Pelinom a few years ago. Home to stay, that is.”
Anteaus turned back to the horse. “So I heard.”
Cole looked at him curiously. “Heard what?”
Anteaus gestured to Essien with the hand that held the brush. “Essien says you are going to marry Audrie de Longley,” he said. “That will keep you in the north. Her father will not let her out of his sight. He was always very protective over her, you know. Lady Audrie was a sickly child, like her brother. John de Longley is not much of a warrior because of it, but he is a great statesman. I grew up with him.”
Cole was frozen with surprise. He hadn’t expected his association with Audrie de Longley to come out of Anteaus’ mouth. With Corisande sitting on the other side of the stall wall, she must have heard it. He was momentarily speechless, unsure where to go from there, wanting to explain away Anteaus’ comment for Corisande’s benefit but not wanting to make it obvious that he was trying to distance himself.
But he had to say something.
He wanted Corisande to hear him dispute what was more or less the truth.
He’d never in his life been in such a position.
“John is a good man,” he said steadily. “But Lady Audrie and I…”
Corisande was suddenly standing next to him, the sack of food in her hand. “Do not forget this,” she said, all but shoving it at him. “I wish you a pleasant journey, my lord, and Godspeed wherever your path in life takes you.”
She sounded so… hard. Cole took the sack, clutching it against his chest because she’d very nearly threw it at him. Their eyes met and the warmth he’d seen there just a few moments earlier was gone. The pale green eyes weren’t glowing anymore.
They were like stone.
Before he could say anything, Corisande pushed past him, heading from the stable, but Anteaus stopped her.
“Where did you come from?” he asked, surprised. “Why were you hiding?”
Corisande paused. “I was not hiding,” she said, sounding irritated. Hurt. “I brought Sir Cole some food for him and his companions to take on their journey. It is all part of my duties, as a good chatelaine.”
She didn’t really answer his question as to why she had just emerged from a darkened stall, but he didn’t press her. He let her go, turning back to his horse as she headed from the stable.
But Cole couldn’t let her go. God help him, he couldn’t. There was absolutely nothing spoken between them – no implication, no hint, no inferred intentions – but even so, he hadn’t wanted her to hear about Audrie. He kept telling himself there was nothing to hear, that it wasn’t anything of consequence, but the truth was that there was. He knew it. He knew that his family and her family expected them to marry. Everybody but Cole expected them to marry.
But it was quite possible he had other ideas about marriage.
He set the sack down and headed out of the stable.
He could see that Corisande was nearly out of the stable yard by the time he got outside. The sun was just peeking over the eastern horizon and the sky was shades of pink and blue and purple, with puffy gray clouds scattering in the gentle breeze. Cole could see her up ahead and he picked up the pace. He ended up running up behind her and the sound of his rapid footfalls startled her. She turned around with a gasp when she heard the commotion, nearly tripping on her own feet.
“I am sorry,” he said quickly, reaching out to steady her. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
When Corisande realized who it was, she straightened up and pulled her arm from his grasp. “You didn’t,” she lied. Her gaze upon him was guarded. “What do you want? Do you require something else?”
He just looked at her, feeling an odd sense of desperation. He’d never experienced anything like it and he wasn’t quite sure how to answer her. He just ended up staring at her for several long seconds before sighing heavily.
“Aye, I do,” he said. “I require your attention, just for a moment. I am not entirely sure how to say this, or even if it is important to say, but I should like to explain something to you.”
Her brow furrowed, but not from curiosity. She appeared decidedly displeased and it was apparent that her guard was up. “Explain what?”
Cole was trying to think of a pleasant, believable way to explain away what she’d just heard, part of which involved calling Essien a liar, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. As he had told her once, he didn’t lie.
He wasn’t going to start now.
But he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain something that even he didn’t quite understand.
“Just a moment of your time, my lady, and if you do not like what you hear, you are free to walk away,” he said quietly. “I will not stop you. I am not sure where to start, but I will start with what happened yesterday with the Scotsman. I told my men this, but now I shall tell you. The way you handled yourself when he took you hostage greatly impressed me. You showed calm and reason in a situation that would have made most women hysterical. That speaks strongly of your character. And in speaking with you yesterday and even this morning, I am coming to know a witty, humorous, kind, and caring woman. I was so enchanted by you that I did not sleep last night because I could not stop thinking about you.”