Corisande’s eyes were wide at him. “But… Cole, I…”
He put up a hand to silence her. “Please let me finish,” he said. “If you do not feel the same way, I shall not trouble you further, but I want you to know what is on my mind. I know I am the son of Ajax de Velt and that does not make me a worthy suitor, and I am resigned to that. But you, my lady, are a very special woman and I wanted you to know that. My thoughts and feelings towards you will always be those of the greatest admiration.”
By the time he was finished, Corisande had lost some of the hardness in her expression, but she was looking at him with some doubt. Even so, no amount of doubt could stop the faint flush in her cheeks from his kind words.
“That is… kind of you to say so,” she said. “I have enjoyed coming to know you, also. But since this is a moment for honesty, I will tell you that for a betrothed man, you have been paying me an inordinate amount of attention and I do not appreciate that in the least. It is not fair to me and, most of all, it is not fair to your betrothed. It is…”
Again, he held up a hand, more firmly this time. “Stop right there,” he said. “I am not betrothed. Essien misspoke and your brother misunderstood. But I would be lying if I did not tell you the complete truth – that my family has expected me to marry Lady Audrie de Longley for some time now. I will be further honest with you by telling you that I have considered it, but I am in no hurry to do so. You see, I was married before, but I lost my wife and child a few years ago. Audrie is simply a prospect, I suppose. I am not in love with her, but she is pleasant enough. The marriage would be a political one, mostly, and not a love match.”
Corisande had an expression suggesting sorrow. “I am sorry about your family,” she said softly. “That must be a difficult burden to bear.”
“It was,” he admitted. “But I am moving forward with my life. There is no use dwelling in the past. Audrie has helped me do that in a sense, but then… then, I met you.”
“But we have only just met,” she said, sounding perplexed. “How can you know anything about me?”
He shook his head. “I do not,” he said. “It is a feeling more than anything, an instinct. My lady, I am not a charming man by nature and I certainly do not toy with women’s feelings and emotions, but there is something about you that is different from any woman I have ever met. That is why I told you I would return to visit you. I… I would be honored if you would allow me to get to know you better, Corisande. I could think of no greater privilege.”
Her cheeks were full-blown red by this point, flattered beyond measure by his calm, quiet words. “What about Lady Audrie?”
He lifted his wide shoulders. “We are not betrothed.”
“But was it implied?”
“It was, by everyone else but me.”
Corisande thought on that a moment. Perhaps it was foolish of her, but she believed him. She’d seen enough men, and had been suspicious of them, to suspect when she was being lied to and she didn’t sense it from Cole. She could only sense his sincerity. Even so, the not-so-small issue of Lady Audrie stood between them. She wasn’t going to discount it.
In fact, she felt some pity for Lady Audrie.
“In the spirit of great honesty that seems to have overtaken us both, I would like to get to know you better, too,” she said. “But I want to tell you of something I have not spoken of since it happened. A few years ago, there was a knight from an ally whom I shared a fondness for. He made it clear he was fond of me and, much like you and Lady Audrie, a future betrothal was implied. But before anything could take place, however, he was sent away by his liege to settle a dispute. He was gone for some time and I was eventually told that in order to settle the dispute, he had married the daughter of an enemy. I’ve not thought of him since, nor have I entertained the thought of another suitor. Until you.”
His eyes glittered at her in the early morning light. “And?”
She met his gaze, without reservation. “And I would be very flattered to come to know you better,” she said. “However – you must make it clear to Lady Audrie that there is no betrothal between the two of you. This must be resolved before you and I can keep company. I will not be happy at another’s expense, Cole. Someone did that to me and I will not do that to another.”
Cole gazed at her a moment before a smile spread across his lips. “This is why I admire you so much,” he said. “It takes an extraordinary woman to think of others before herself. I will make things plain to my family, and to Audrie’s, so that they understand a marriage between us is not possible. It would be greatly unfair to her if my thoughts were with another woman.”
“Indeed, it would.”
Corisande’s smile mirrored his. It was an important moment between them, as thoughts as well as intentions were established. It was something Cole had never done with Audrie, but within a day of knowing Corisande, he was doing it with her.
It just felt right.
Reaching out, he took her hand and kissed it gently. He liked it so much that he kissed it again before releasing it.
“I shall return as soon as I can,” he said softly. “Have more of those meat pies waiting for me when I do.”
Corisande burst out in quiet laughter. “A romantic sort, are you?”
He grinned, full-on. “Pies are very romantic,” he said. But his smile faded as he looked at her. “Anything would be romantic with you, I suspect. I am looking forward to discovering that for myself.”
Corisande’s face was so red that she thought it might burst into flames any moment. Cole didn’t think he was very good with women, but the truth was that she was butter and he was the hot knife. All he had to do was look at her and she was melting. After years of closing herself off, it was a wonderful feeling.
“Then I will see you when you return,” she said. “Godspeed on your journey, Cole. And take care.”
Corisande thought she might have seen a little blush in his cheeks, too, before he turned away.
The realization made her laugh.
But, oh… what a joyous laugh!
CHAPTER EIGHT
The village of Otterburn
The Queen’s Head Tavern
It was a loud, boisterous establishment that Cole, Addax, and Essien found themselves in.
Situated in the middle of a bustling village in the wilds of Northumberland, the tavern was the only place in town and given that night had fallen, the place was packed with travelers and diners and those that just wanted to get drunk and have a good time.
The three of them fit into those categories.
They managed to commandeer an excellent table next to the window so that they could watch the comings and goings of the tavern. Cole pushed the table away from the door, angling it so that all three of them could sit with their backs to the wall, facing the entry. No one wanted to sit with his back facing the door, especially on a busy night like tonight.
A group of traveling minstrels were also in the tavern on this night and they sat near the hearth, playing lively tunes as the patrons danced with some of the serving wenches. In fact, a couple of the serving wenches were in high demand as partners, so much so that the owner of the tavern and his wife ended up serving food to some of the tables. Happy patrons were happy spenders, so they let the girls dance.