Page 68 of Bold Angel
A corner of his mouth curved up. Lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes, then Caryn caught a flash of strong white teeth. The smile became a grin, the grin a chuckle of laughter that burst into a roar. His hand slammed down on the table and he laughed even harder. Behind him Richard chuckled, then Odo, then Geoffrey. Hugh and Lambert started to guffaw. Aubrey broke into peals of laughter, and Leo dropped his hand from his mouth, allowing his giggles to bubble forth.
Chaos broke out in the hall, Bretta laughing, poking Odo in the ribs. Even Marta chuckled, more with relief, Caryn guessed, than with humor.
“You are lucky,ma petite”—Ral wiped tears of laughter from his eyes—“that I did not wring your lovely little neck.”
Caryn smiled. “’Twas not for my neck that I feared, my lord.”
His mouth curved up. “I presume that you will set things aright, now that you have made your point.”
“Already the servants work to freshen the hall.” They had been given instructions beforehand. Even now they labored stripping off the soiled linens and carting out the rushes. The smell of simmering meat had begun to drift in from the kitchen. “By the end of the week, ’twill seem only a very bad dream.”
He lifted her chin with his hand. “And what of our chamber? Does it also resemble a very bad dream?”
The flush in her cheeks grew deeper. “Nay, my lord. The rest of the keep has not suffered so. And I held every hope that our problems would be resolved before we retired to our bed.”
Ral chuckled softly. “How is it that instead of anger, I find that I am amused. You ever amaze me, little wife.”
“And I, my lord husband, find I am more than pleased to see you. If you will allow me to bathe and change, I will give you a proper welcome home.”
“Mayhap I will bathe you myself. That way I may be certain the task is properly done.”
“Mayhap you should,” she teased. “But only if you will let me see you equally well tended.”
Ral’s eyes swept down her body, his glance both intimate and hungry. Caryn took his hand and he laced his fingers with hers. As the servants worked feverishly to prepare the hall, she led him up the stairs.
***
Ral awakened well before dawn, uneasy and out of sorts, though his body felt well-sated. Easing himself from his sleeping wife’s side, he dressed and returned downstairs. Already the hall had regained some semblance of order. But today instead of a smile, the sight of it made him frown.
It had been images of the hall in disarray and whathad happened there with Caryn that had given him pause this morn and forced him from the comfort of his bed. He kept thinking of the way she had dodged his anger, the way she had charmed him and bent him so easily to her will.
Ral’s jaw tightened as he descended the steep stone stairs. No woman he had ever known had dared to gainsay him as his wife had—and she had done so on more than one occasion. He should have punished her for the scene she had caused, justified or no, yet her bravado had only amused him. Just as her passionate lovemaking last eventide had pleased him.
Ral crossed the great hall amidst the snores of sleeping men and headed outside to the bailey. He roused a squire in the stables and ordered his sorrel stallion made ready, then walked to the mews and lifted the great hawk, Caesar, onto a leather-gloved wrist.
“We hunt today, my friend,” he said softly. “’Twill give me the chance I need to think.” He rarely rode out on his own. There was danger in the woods, especially for the lord of the castle. And without him, there was danger for his people. Still, today he would risk it. He needed time away from Caryn, time to understand these feelings she stirred and begin to overcome them.
It was a decision he had made sometime in the night, after they had made love and he had held her with such fierce possession. It would not have alarmed him, had she merely been another of his vassals, someone who belonged to him.
What bothered him was this feeling that he also belonged to her.
Ral crossed the drawbridge and rode off into the forest, enjoying the coolness of the shadows and the sound of singing birds. When he came to the meadow, he drew rein on his horse and looked around him. Lifting the small leather hood that covered the hawk’s perceptive eyes, he set the great bird free.
Upward, upward it flew, winging its way toward the heavens, yet he knew the bird would return, drawn by some unseen force that existed between them. He had tamed the hawk and now it was his captive. If he did not learn to guard his emotions, he would find himself a captive of Caryn.
Ral watched the hawk spot its prey and begin its descent into the meadow for the kill. For this brief time the bird was in control of its destiny, yet in minutes it would return to his wrist and succumb once more to a life of serving its master.
Ral vowed as he never had before, that he would not succumb to that same fate with Caryn.
***
“All appears to be in readiness. ’Twill be a fine feast to properly welcome our lord home.” Caryn smiled at Richard. Since the day of Ral’s return, they had planned this eve. Her husband and his men had received little of their due on the day of their arrival; this night they would celebrate their homecoming at last.
“I believe your husband will be pleased,” Richard said.
She and Richard had planned the festivities and worked to set the hall back in order. The night of Ral’s return, he had discussed his wife’s duties aschatelaineand agreed on a compromise. She would see the hall well kept, but do so within limits that would leave time for herself. There was no need, he said, to work from dawn till dusk.
It was a compromise that suited Caryn well, giving her the chance to visit her friends in the village or go for a ride in the woods. Still, she found herself strangely pleased when her woman’s tasks were finished and the hall once more well cared for.
