That Knight by the Sea by Catherine Kean

Author:Catherine Kean
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 0
Published: 2017-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Nightfall brought a chill to the tower. Shivering, Addy washed her face and combed her hair with her fingers, doing her best to complete her nightly rituals.

She plucked a fallen hair from her gown that was badly rumpled and creased. She’d have to sleep in her wedding dress, for she had no other clothes. Her linen chemise would have served as a sleeping garment, but the finely spun cloth was very sheer. She had no wish to be immodest when Garrett could come into the chamber without warning.

As she walked to the bed, she heard the key in the lock. Garrett entered, a blanket tucked under his arm. Handing it to her, he said, “I meant to bring this earlier, but I was busy with other matters.”

How curious she was about those other matters, especially after he’d been called away earlier by a young boy. Even more pressing, though, was the need to know more about Garrett, and what had molded him into the man standing before her now.

Knowing all she could about him would surely help her win him over to helping her.

She accepted the offering. “Thank you.”

“As we both know, nights in Cornwall, even in summer, can be cold.”

So they were still in Cornwall, as she’d suspected.

She tucked that bit of knowledge away and said, “Did you stay in Cornwall, then, after you left Ferringstow?”

“For a while. Why do you ask?”

“I am merely curious.” Managing a smile, she said, “I have not seen you in years, after all.”

He studied her and then his lips tilted up at the corner. “A lot has happened since we parted.”

“So I gather.” Suddenly, the bittersweet tug of old memories and lost love lingered in the air between them. Sitting on the bed, she asked, “Will you stay awhile and tell me about those years?”

His smile faded. “I have things—”

“Please. You need not stay long if you do not want to.”

Reluctance flickered across his features. She saw guilt and pain, too, swiftly hidden as he assumed control of his emotions. “Very well.”

He fetched a chair, brought it to the bedside, and then sat, stretching his long legs out in front of him. She tore her gaze from his muscular arms, crossed over his chest. Arms that had held her with such tenderness….

“Why did you stay in Cornwall?” he asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

She fingered a crease in her gown’s skirt. “I had no wish to go elsewhere,” she admitted. “The ocean, the wildness of the land…these things are in my blood.”

He nodded slightly, as though he understood.

“Instead of sending me away to become a ward at another lord’s castle, my father hired tutors to come to Ferringstow, some of them from as far away as London. They taught me household management and all else I would need to know to be a nobleman’s wife.”

“I am surprised you did not marry long ago.”

Her hand curled into the shimmering silk. I never wed, Garrett, because I gave you my heart. I wanted no one else.

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