A Knight's Desire by Catherine Kean

Author:Catherine Kean
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Medieval
Published: 2015-10-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“I still cannot believe that I am betrothed.” Herta held out her left hand yet again to admire the plain silver band set with a small blue bead. “I feel as if I am in a dream.”

Rosetta smiled. “You are not dreaming, I promise you.”

“Oh, milady.” The young woman’s eyes shone. “I am so excited. I am not going to be able to sleep tonight. My mind will be whirling with all of the arrangements that must be made.”

While Herta had been finishing her errand that afternoon, her suitor, one of the stable hands, had found her, taken her to a quiet spot by the tiltyards, and asked her to marry him. She’d said aye. Thrilled and completely in love, Herta had talked of nothing but her betrothal as soon as she’d entered the solar.

Herta now gestured to the chair near the hearth, and Rosetta sat so that the young woman could take out her braid. Rosetta had spent most of the afternoon in the garden, staying there long after Justin had grown tired of his archery and left. She’d only returned to the keep a short while ago and had declined Ash’s invitation to dine with him. She simply didn’t feel up to the noise and activity of the great hall while she was still struggling to accept all that he had told her earlier. Herta had brought her a plate of bread, cheese, and cold meats that Rosetta hadn’t yet eaten. The young woman had also ordered Rosetta a bath that would arrive once the water had been heated.

“Were you as thrilled the day you got betrothed, milady?” Herta asked, moving to stand behind Rosetta. The young woman began working on Rosetta’s tresses.

Rosetta turned the emerald and pearl ring on her finger. The extravagant jewel almost seemed to make a mockery of her betrothal when compared to Herta’s small ring that had been given, and accepted, with so much joy and love. “My situation was a little different from yours.”

“Different, milady? In what way?”

I didn’t love Edric, but I chose to accept his proposal anyway. “I agreed to marry Edric in part to protect my father’s lands. Edric’s and my sire’s estates border one another, you see. The marriage will allow the lands to be joined once my father has died.” As Herta ran the brush through her loosened hair, Rosetta added, “Father is in excellent health, so ’twill not be for a long while yet.”

“I have heard of such marriages, milady—ones intended to secure inheritances and preserve family fortunes.”

A note of sympathy softened the young woman’s voice, and Rosetta fought a pang of envy. Herta was lucky to be able to marry the man she adored, and to be free of the obligations that came with being born into a titled family. “Such nuptials are very common for noblewomen,” Rosetta admitted. “Some ladies are married when they are still children, not even old enough to bear heirs. At least Edric and I are of a similar age and know one another well.

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