Part 8 (1/2)
But when Sir Walter had goaded him and he had finally stood, she didn't seem embarra.s.sed. He didn't know what he'd expected of her. Exclamations of rapture? A beaming smile? A quick grope? He'd gotten none of it, of course. She'd stood without a quiver, a simper or a frown. If she'd been impressed, she hadn't indicated it.
And she should have been impressed. h.e.l.l, he'd been impressed, and he'd wielded that weapon all his life.
”Did you sleep well?”
He jumped, flinging the blankets up in surprise. He'd been thinking about her, and here she was, with her arms full of folded material and a pleasant smile on her face.
Again, he looked at her. Perhaps it was an exaggeration to call it a pleasant smile. It was more of a lift of the lips, performed because she'd been taught it was the proper thing to do. But he liked it. He liked her, the way she looked this morning, dressed for work in a faded blue cotte and a sky blue wimple wrapped over her hair and under her chin. A big iron ring of keys hung from her belt, marking her as the chatelaine of George's Cross and a power to be reckoned with.
Rolling onto his stomach, he propped his chin onto his hands and grinned. ”Well, it felt odd to have clean sheets, a clean body, and a room to myself, but I suspect I could easily get used to it.”
”Aye, it is pleasant to have a clean body.” She stacked the material on the bench by the fire hearth. With peculiar emphasis, she said, ”It is more pleasant for the people around you, also. The sun is rising. It's time for you to take on your duties.”
His grin sagged. ”My duties?”
”You'll want to consult with Sir Walter today, and I've told him you're to have the freedom to wander where you will and speak to whom you please.”
”That's generous of you, my lady.”
Ignoring both the words and the sardonic tone, she shook out a tunic of red linen and a surcoat of berry blue wool. ”I thought these would fit you and be appropriate for your coloring.”
Dumbfounded, he repeated, ”For my coloring?”
”A man as large as yourself with brown eyes, brown hair, and brown skin must take care not to appear to be a tree trunk.”
He viewed the colorful array of cloth in her hands with misgiving. ”Mayhap being a tree trunk is an advantage when danger stalks.”
”I thought of that.” With a snap, she shook out a black cloak trimmed in green. ”I doubt that you'll be in danger in broad daylight, and in the early morning and late at night, this cloak will keep you warm and protect you from being seen unnecessarily. Get out of bed. I want to cut your hair.”
She'd left her scissors on the table last night when she'd left the room, but she obviously hadn't forgotten them. Why was she so insistent on removing his mane? Like bathing, was this some kind of ritual required when one entered the home of Lady Alisoun?
”Let me get dressed first.” The door stood open behind her, but she was alone, and for the first time he wondered why. The lady of the house should never have been reduced to carrying his clothing, but mayhap the chief maid had been correct when she giggled and told him that their mistress found him attractive-when clean.
Naked as a newborn, he put his feet on the step stool beside the tall bed, then stepped onto the floor, keeping his gaze fixed on Alisoun for reaction. ”Did you bring hose?”
Lifting two black wool tubes, she showed them to him. ”Don your braies,” she commanded. ”Then sit on the bench. You'll not want your clean tunic cluttered with hair clippings.”
He did as she told him, watching her carefully for signs of interest or intrigue. There were none. She laid out a towel on the table beside the bench, tested the scissors, then stood and waited, hands folded before her, for him to seat himself.
It occurred to him she was a restful woman. That lack of expression which so frustrated him made her an easy companion. It also made him want to prod her to get a reaction. He sat, and as she wrapped a cloth around his shoulders, he said, ”I was wondering...why did you leave last night?”
He saw her hand appear from behind him, pick up an ivory comb, then retreat. The comb bit into the hair at his forehead, then slid over the top. A tangle caught it, and it stopped with a jerk at his neckline. ”Ow!” He clapped his hand over hers as she tugged to separate the strands. ”Ow, ow! Stop that!”
A warm chuckle floated over him, pleasing his ears, and he tried to twist around, to view this miracle of emotion from the lady. That only made the comb bite deeper, and she pushed him back into place. ”Do you always whine? If so, I wouldn't want to have been anywhere near when you were actually wounded.”
”That's different. This pain is unnecessary.” Feeling as if he'd been chided, he folded his arms over his chest and glared at nothing while the comb tugged and maneuvered. Then he realized she'd changed the subject. She'd established herself in control and silenced him all at once. ”You vixen,” he murmured.
The comb paused in its work. ”What?”
He straightened his spine and wished his shoulders had the breadth they'd once had. Too many months of near-starvation had reduced his bulk and made him less awesome than he'd been in his prime. But, he reminded himself, last night she'd still left after he'd stood in the tub. ”I did ask why you failed to finish bathing me, didn't I?”
Her hand appeared again, picked up the fine steel scissors, and disappeared behind him. In his ear, he heard the ”snick” sound as she tested them, then their cold metal rested against his neck.
She was good, he admitted. Very, very good. Only the most consummate diplomat managed to convey a threat while saying nothing. But, he wondered, why did she feel the need to threaten him? He'd done nothing more than ask a simple question.
She seemed to realize it, for she said, ”I do apologize for abandoning you, but on my first night home, I had many duties which required my attention-not the least of which was soothing Sir Walter after your impressive display.”
He pounced on that. ”So you did think it an impressive display?”
The scissors sliced through his hair with that peculiar, irritating sound, and a s.h.i.+ver ran up his spine as wisps of brown swirled down toward his feet. ”Every woman in the castle thought it an impressive display, and if they didn't see it themselves, they heard an expanded version.”
”But you were impressed?”
She blew the hair away from his ear, and he s.h.i.+vered for a reason other than fear. ”Very impressed.” She clipped off the words as sharply as the scissors clipped off his hair.
Satisfied, he said, ”Don't cut it too close.”
”Don't you trust me?”
Funny, when he wasn't distracted by looking at her, he deciphered her moods a little more easily. Her voice betrayed her more than she would like, and her hands lost their graceful movement when he aggravated her. ”Don't you trust me?”
The comb and scissors paused. ”What do you mean?”
”You haven't yet told me what is threatening you. That's what I'm here for, isn't it? To protect you against some menace.”
The comb and scissors moved along. She answered reluctantly, ”Someone has conceived a dislike for me.”
”Enough of a dislike to shoot arrows at you?”
”Apparently.”
”Why?”
”I don't know.”
He decided that was a lie. ”Who?”
”I don't know.”
Another lie. But what she'd told him was almost as interesting as what she didn't tell him, and why she'd told him even more interesting than that. When he wanted information from Alisoun, it seemed, he would have to introduce a subject she wanted to avoid, like her response to his body, then allow her to speak on an alternate subject, like this hara.s.sment against her. ”Why don't you go to the king and press charges against this lord who so plagues you?”
She combed his bangs into his face. They were long, past his nose, and they tickled. He blew at them, and she scolded, ”Stop that. I need to cut these, too.” She stepped over the bench and stood in front of him.
b.r.e.a.s.t.s! She had b.r.e.a.s.t.s that pressed against the thin blue material. The straight drop of the cotte she wore hid the rest of her shape from him, but her b.r.e.a.s.t.s begged him to kiss them. He could almost hear them calling his name, and he wanted to press his ears close to better heed them. Perhaps they were smothered under there. Perhaps they wanted him to free them. Perhaps...perhaps he'd better subdue another impressive display. Hoa.r.s.ely, he prompted, ”The king?”
”King Henry already tries to exert more authority over me than law or tradition allows him. I will not involve him in a matter which would leave me indebted to him.”
She answered steadily, as if she wasn't aware that her b.r.e.a.s.t.s thrust themselves into his face. Maybe b.r.e.a.s.t.s were unruly, like p.e.n.i.ses, and she had no control over their behavior. But he knew what his p.e.n.i.s was doing-didn't she know about those impertinent b.r.e.a.s.t.s?
”I do comprehend your concern about King Henry, but if you had a man to take care of you-” A wad of hair landed in his open mouth.