A Girl of White Winter Read online

  Adina leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes. “Goodness no. Chess bores me to tears when I have to play it, much less having to watch you both play it.”

  I tensed, wondering how he would react.

  But he laughed. “And what doesn’t bore you besides spending money?”

  Tilting her head, she smiled at him. “I can think of a few things, but they aren’t fit for polite company. What about a game of cards? Spades perhaps? Now that there are four of us, we could play teams?”

  Royce looked to me. “Do you enjoy cards?”

  Though I would have agreed to anything, I answered honestly, “I do, but I’ve never played in a game with teams. My lady and I played only games for two people.”

  “This one is simple,” he said. “I can teach you. Shall we play as a team?”

  “No,” Adina said. “She’ll be on my team. I say women against men.”

  Again, Trey laughed.

  As we sat down around a small table, another piece of the puzzle here fell into place. For Adina and me, our roles were quite different here given the natures of these two men. If it was my job to make Royce feel generous, it was her job to make Trey laugh.

  * * * *

  That night, when I went to my room, the silk screen was back in place, the sheets had been changed and all evidence of what had happened was gone. The only reminder was the black velvet case containing the diamond necklace, and this had been moved to my dressing table.

  I put it in the top drawer.

  Abigail entered the room, carrying a clean nightgown.

  “A pleasant evening, my lady?” she asked.

  With no idea how else to answer, I nodded. “Yes.”

  She unlaced me and helped me step out of the gown. Then she slipped the nightgown over my head. This one was too long, but otherwise it fit well.

  “Come sit, and I’ll brush your hair,” she said.

  As I sat down, the door opened and Royce walked in. Though I’d hoped he’d not come here again so soon, I wasn’t surprised to see him. It seemed he was not required to knock or ask permission to enter my room.

  But he appeared more at ease tonight and dropped into a chair, motioning to Abigail with one hand. “Carry on.”

  He sat watching as she brushed my hair.

  When she finished, he nodded with his head toward the door. “Out.”

  Quickly, she gathered the silk gown and fled the room.

  But Royce remained in his chair. “You looked beautiful at dinner tonight. Did you enjoy the card game afterward?”

  “I did. Did you?”

  “Yes. The whole evening reminded me of days long past, when my mother still lived.”

  This took me aback. It was the first time he’d tried speaking to me about anything that mattered. “You miss her?”

  He nodded. “When she left us, the life seemed to go out of the house, but tonight…I didn’t feel so alone.”

  Was that Royce’s great secret? He was lonely?

  Standing, he came over to me, drawing me to my feet. My eyes were level with his collarbones, and I couldn’t help my rising fear. But I kept my expression calm, even when he tilted my head up and kissed me. Again, the feeling was foreign and invasive, and I had no idea what to do—only that I couldn’t try to push him away or resist him.

  Thankfully, he wasn’t offended by my lack of response and whispered. “Just move your mouth with mine.”

  When he kissed me again, I tried to respond.

  * * * *

  As the weeks passed, I began to find my place inside the household, and the days took on a somewhat familiar rhythm. Royce began to stay all night in my room. He asked me to call him by his name in private, as it was more intimate than “my lord.”

  We slept until mid morning and then had a light meal of rolls and hot chocolate. After this, he either went riding on his own or he and Trey would ride out to visit some of the villages on their estate lands—checking on crops or taxes.

  Adina and I were never idle. She ran the house and managed the servants and went over menus with the cook. She was only too happy for my inclusion in these tasks, and because I’d worked with my lady back home, I knew something of how a great house was run.

  I also had gown fittings several times a week. Adina oversaw these as well, and at one point, she launched into an argument with Royce after he’d insisted all my gowns be made from fabrics of either white or ice blue.

  “Surely, you’d like to see her in some other color on occasion?” Adina asked. “What about a soft shade of oyster-shell pink?”

  “No.”

  On this point—as with most points—he was firm. I never questioned him. My lady had liked me only in those two shades as well, so I was accustomed. However, as the days passed, I became uncomfortably aware of many similarities between my relationship to my lady and my relationship to Royce.

  I watched his face and listened carefully to the cadence of his voice. I tried to anticipate his needs and moods and to find ways to please or entertain him. So long as I showed him my gratitude, never argued with him, and made him feel like my savior and protector, he was the soul of kindness.

  We often ate a late lunch in the dining room, and then we would spend much of the afternoon together. Sometimes he liked to play chess, but often, he liked for me to walk the manor grounds with him. This was difficult for me at first, as I still feared the open sky, but I learned to hold his arm and keep my eyes down and let him lead. This didn’t offend him, and he even seemed to enjoy my need of keeping his arm.

  The grounds were beautiful, even as we moved into late fall. Lord Trey employed three gardeners to trim hedges, trees, and holly berry bushes. Royce liked for me to have a good view of the manor itself as well. Although my experience was limited, even I could see the Capello manor was magnificent: four stories of tan brick with ivy and climbing roses. The numerous windows contained clear glass. The slanted roof was of red tile, and the front doors were enormous, painted white with a gold knocker in the shape of a lion’s head.

  “It’s been in my family for six generations,” he said one day as we walked.

  As he seemed willing to speak of his family and the past, I found myself on the edge of asking him a question I’d been longing to pose. My face must have given something away because he asked, “What is it?”

  Still, I hesitated. “I have been wondering…wondering about your wife. Why is she not here?”

  He stopped walking, and I was poised to change the subject instantly should I have tread on dangerous ground.

  But he sighed. “She is away in Kerago, in the south, at the baths there. Do you know of them?”

  I didn’t know much about these baths, but I had heard of a place called Kerago where nobles and merchants went on holiday. The town boasted underground springs that had been piped up into indoor baths and were said to heal many ailments.

  “Is your wife ill?”

  “No, not ill, but she has never been completely well either. I finally convinced her to try the baths and remain in Kerago for a few months.”

  When he said this, the relief in his voice was unmistakable.

  “She does not like to be away from you?”

  “No, she does not. I sometimes travel without her…but she does not care to travel without me, and we’ve never been apart for an entire season.”

  From that morning back at Lord Jean’s table when Royce had bought me, I remembered my lady having said that Royce had been married for eight years. As he was perhaps thirty now, that meant he’d married young for a man.

  “Forgive my questions,” I said. “But I don’t know your customs, and sometimes feel at a loss. What you and I have…what Trey and Adina have, this is normal among most nobles? For a man to take a formal mistress?”

  “Yes, in some houses it’s even expected. We tend to us
e the word companion, but I suppose it’s a euphemism.”

  “Before me, had you ever taken a companion?”

  Here, he hesitated, and beneath my hands, the muscles in his arm tightened. “No.”

  This was my cue to change the subject. “How was your ride this morning. Did you go into the orchards? Are there any apples left on the trees?”

  His arm relaxed, and he began walking again, leading me onward. “Yes, I did ride to the orchards, but the trees are bare.”

  We walked onward, speaking of insignificant things, but my thoughts churned with revelations of our brief discussion. First, Royce had made an effort to get his wife to leave and go to the baths without him. Second, this was their first lengthy separation in an eight-year marriage. Third, he was clearly relieved at her absence…and fourth, he’d used the opportunity to acquire his first formal mistress.

  I did not know what the ultimate ramifications of all this would be, only that there would be ramifications.

  Chapter Twelve

  A week later, we had an important visitor arriving, and the household was aflutter. King Amandine’s brother, Alexi, would be stopping for the night. Even Lord Trey was unusually particular about the dinner menu and asked Adina to go over it with him several times. He had a fine cask of wine, aged twenty years, brought up from the cellar.

  Only Royce appeared unaffected.

  “Father always makes a fuss,” he said in private. “But Alexi passes through several times a year and stays with us. Give him a decent dinner and a game of cards and he’ll be content.”

  Still, in spite of his assurances, I sensed the evening was important to him when he told me to wear the diamond necklace.

  That night, I wore an ice blue silk and the necklace. Abigail spent a good deal of time on my hair, arranging it into long curls. She put kohl under my eyes and tinted my mouth. The hint of black beneath my eyes made them glow even more than usual

  “You look lovely, my lady,” she said.

  I found myself wishing I could feign a headache, but I could not. Royce was expecting me.

  Leaving my room, I headed downstairs and toward the dining hall, hearing voices well before I arrived.

  “I hadn’t intended to stop,” a man said, “but then I heard Loraine wasn’t in residence and found I couldn’t resist.”

  Another man laughed, but I didn’t recognize that voice either.

  Stopping in the archway, I realized I was the last to arrive. Adina, Trey, and Royce were all present. Adina looked beautiful in a straight-cut gown of light pink satin. Royce wore a black sleeveless tunic. Candle lanterns glowed from all about the room and on the table.

  The other two men in the room were strangers. The one nearest to me was slender with dark hair and a goatee around his mouth. He was perhaps five or six years older than Royce. The other man was smooth shaven with thick, reddish brown hair. Both men wore tall boots, black pants, and silk tunics.

  The dark-haired man exuded an aura of confidence. “Oh, and I’d heard rumors that Royce has finally taken on a companion? Could it be true? If so, I wanted a glimpse of the brave lady.”

  As if on cue, I walked through the archway, and Royce came toward me.

  “Alexi,” he said, “let me present Kara.”

  With an amused smile, the dark-haired man turned, but when he saw me, the smile faded. On instinct, I moved closer to Royce, and at this, Alexi’s smile returned.

  “Good gods, Royce,” he said. “Who is this? Where did you find her?”

  “She was Jean de Marco’s ward,” Royce answered.

  “No?” Alexi said and then turned. “Francis, do you see this?”

  Reaching up, I took Royce’s arm.

  “I could hardly miss it,” said the other man, walking over.

  “Kara,” Royce said, “may I present King Amandine’s brother, Alexi, and his good friend, Francis Le Trou.”

  I bowed my head politely.

  “At your service, I assure you,” Alexi said with a laugh.

  I was out of my element and growing more nervous. But Royce seemed to sense this and led me to the table. Everyone took a chair. I knew it would be considered poor manners for him to seat me beside himself, but he did anyway, and I was grateful.

  Adina smiled at me from across the table. “I fear we are outnumbered by the men.”

  “So long as Loraine is absent, we’ll be a merry party,” Alexi said, taking a long drink of wine. He looked to me. “Have you met my dear cousin?”

  I wasn’t sure what he was asking me and did not know how to answer.

  “Does she ever speak?” Francis asked.

  Adina did not appear to be enjoying the way they spoke around me and explained, “Kara, the lady Loraine is Alexi’s first cousin. They are not fond of each other.”

  Alexi laughed again, but I absorbed this information—which Royce had neglected to share. If Alexi was Amandine’s brother, then Loraine was first cousin to the king. Royce ignored all of Alexi’s slights upon Loraine.

  “Where are you off to after this?” he asked.

  The conversation flowed to Alexi and Francis’s coming travels, and I felt myself begin to relax. Thankfully, no one expected me to speak through the rest of dinner, but I did notice Royce drank three goblets of wine, when he normally stopped at one. I was beyond glad when dessert was finished and Adina stood.

  “Gentlemen,” she said, “it’s time we leave you to your port.”

  Perhaps she and I would have a short reprieve.

  To my disappointment, Alexi stood up as well. “I’ve no taste for port tonight.” He looked to Royce. “And I’d rather join the ladies. This little thing of yours has yet to say a word. Does she play any games?”

  “She’s quite good at chess.”

  “No? Really?”

  Coming over to me, Alexi offered his arm. “Lead on to the sitting room. I challenge you to a game.”

  I glanced at Royce, and he nodded.

  This appeared to amuse Alexi greatly. “Did she just ask your permission to take my arm? My gods, I wish I’d visited de Marco first.”

  With little choice, I took his arm.

  Everyone moved to follow us, but Royce brought a full decanter of wine from the table.

  Once we reached the sitting room, Alexi headed toward the chessboard. Numerous candle lanterns and wall sconces provided light.

  “Kara,” Lord Trey said. “I’m having trouble with my collar.”

  Letting go of Alexi, I saw Trey pulling at the collar of his tunic and went to help. Perhaps it was too tight and would need to be loosened.

  But as I reached him, he leaned down and whispered. “Don’t let him win.”

  I looked into his eyes. Did he know I let Royce win?

  “He’s better than Royce,” Trey whispered, “but take his king as quickly as you can.”

  Not only did he know, he was giving me permission to really play.

  I nodded.

  A few moments later, Alexi and I were seated at the board. Adina and Trey played a game of cards while Royce and Francis chose to watch the chess match. Royce poured himself a full goblet of wine and offered one to Francis.

  “Ladies first,” Alexi said, waving a hand over the board.

  As Trey had warned me that he was better than Royce, I started by setting up a careful defense. Four moves in, he saw what I was doing and raised an eyebrow.

  “Who taught you to play?”

  “Lady Giselle,” I answered with just enough voice to be heard. It was the first thing I’d said all night.

  The sound of my voice seemed to affect him. “I’m not going to bite you.”

  Royce took a long swallow of wine.

  Lord Trey had not been wrong. Alexi was a skilled player, but he was also overly aggressive, and less than hour in, he left an opening with his k
ing cornered. I moved a knight to block any escape.

  “Checkmate.”

  Sitting straight, he looked down at what I’d done, and I waited tensely for his reaction. Thankfully, he was not annoyed, only surprised.

  Then he laughed. “I’ve not lost a game in four years.” Turning to Royce, he asked, “What kind of arrangement did you make with de Marco. What were his terms for her care and future?”

  By this point, Royce was nearly drunk, slumped in his chair. But I could see his amusement that I’d beaten Alexi at chess.

  “No terms at all,” he said, sounding as if he was boasting. “I bought her.”

  “What do you mean?” Francis asked. He’d been growing bored but was at full attention now.

  Royce shrugged. “He’s been after me for a piece of land for years. You know the one, on our northern border? They called the girl their ‘ward’ but she’s the daughter of Lady Giselle’s brother and some maid. De Marco offered me twenty-five hundred silvers for the land. I told him I’d take fifteen hundred and the girl. He agreed. She’s mine.”

  My face flushed with shame. Again, I was “the girl.”

  “She’s of no family?” Alexi asked, leaning forward. “And she’s property?”

  “I’ll give you a draft for three thousand silvers for her tonight,” Francis said.

  “Four thousand,” Alexi countered.

  My hands began to tremble.

  But Royce came to his senses. “No, my lord,” he said to Alexi. “She’s not for sale.”

  “Five thousand,” Alexi offered. “And I’ll make sure you have an invitation to next year’s council gathering.”

  Royce’s body stiffened. “She’s not for sale.”

  “Gentlemen,” Adina said, rising from the card table. “Surely you can see this vulgar display is distressing Kara. I suggest if you wish to make bids on each other’s property, you go out to the stable and look at horses.”

  Both Alexi and Francis had the good taste to appear chagrined.

  Reaching out to me, she looked back to Trey. “Might the ladies be excused for the evening?”

  “Yes, of course,” he answered.

  I looked to Royce, and he nodded.