Lynda Marie Vanderhoff by Tormented Knight Seductive Wife

Author:Tormented Knight, Seductive Wife [Wife, Tormented Knight, Seductive]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

The dancing continued after dinner was done. Avelina sat next to Waleran atop the dais, miserable at a feast held to welcome her husband home. He did not talk to her, and she could not understand why.

Her earlier meeting with him was one of the most disturbing moments of her life. One moment she was lost in his caress and his passion, and the next his eyes were unfocused and he acted as if he could not even see her.

Perhaps he was mad. He did not seem so, even after that. He seemed truly afraid of whatever beset him. The point was to find out why he was behaving that way. What did he see?

“Did you get your hawk?”

His sudden words startled her. “Nay, it needs to be purchased but Edmund told me that he would procure one for me as soon as he can.”

Waleran shifted in his seat. “I will have the steward leave on the morrow to get one for you. There is no reason you should have to wait.”

There was silence between them for a moment, but Avelina wanted to know much more about him. “Did you hawk much as a child?”

He did not look at her, but she could see his face in profile and watched a small, wistful smile curve the corner of his mouth. “Aye, almost once a day. My father loved the hunt – still does, actually – and we would always be out in the forest. Mostly we would hawk, but my father enjoyed taking down the harts.” He shrugged. “Either way, I enjoyed being with him. Sometimes I would go off by myself and hawk.” He stopped, and she could see a dark mood pass over his face. “But not that often.”

Avelina resisted the temptation to ask why, knowing instinctively that he would close up to her even more. “Yet you do not have a hawk, my lord. Perhaps Edmund could get one for you as well. You would not have to go alone. I could come with you.”

Waleran looked at her, then. “Aye, I think I would like that.”

A man from the dance floor beckoned to them. “Come and dance, Lost Sword, and bring your fair wife with you.”

“Nay, I will leave the dancing to jackanapes such as you.” This brought a round of laughter, and Avelina was surprised to hear such humor from him. She wished he would turn some of that to her.

“What does ‘Lost Sword’ mean, my lord?”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, quaffed a draught of his wine, and gave her a rueful grin. “It is my nickname of sorts. I am Waleran Richard’s Son, but those who have known me longest call me Waleran Lost Sword.”

“I suppose you lost your sword, then?”

He chuckled. “Not just once, but many times. Every time I went to ride at the quintain or to work with the pell, I would have to search around for my sword. You see, I liked to play

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