Don't Forget to Dream (14 page)

Before long all the fine food had been consumed and space was being made for the dancing to
begin. The
Crown Prince
, Prince
Edwin and Princess Sophia signalled the beginning of this portion of the night by being the f
irst to take to the dance floor.
Many
qui
ckly followed them. Callum
escorted Lady Madeline
to the dance floor followed by the second dance
with Lady Sarah. He sat out a few
dances
after that but it was not long before he was alternating between the two vying young women once again. Although it pained her to watch, Rhyla was secretly happy to see that the pure joy he had exhibited when he had held her in his arms a few days previously was at no time evident as he accompanied th
ese two women.

Rhyla had thought she was safe hiding near the edge of the room
. She was deep in conversation with Gina whose
husband was a butcher in town
,
and without him
there she was not inclined to join in the
dancing. Yet to
Rhyla
’
s dismay
,
Captain Martin discovered her hiding spot
. After the nobility had returned to their royal seats, it was now time for
the household staff and guardsmen
to take to
the floor.

“
Good evening Rhyla, Gina,
”
he said with a polite nod to both women.

“
Good evening Captain,
”
Gina replied with a smug grin in Rhyla
’
s direction before the younger woman could respond.
“
I hope you aren
’
t going to let Rhyla hide here with me rather than show off this wonderful dress.
”

Rhyla blushed deeply and shot Gina a furious glare before attempting to recover her composure.

“
It is not necessary Martin,
I am fine right here, thank you,
“
replied an

embarrassed
Rhyla. Reaching
out to take her hand Martin refused to listen,
“
Nonsense Rhyla. You are dancing tonight even if I have to make you. Excuse us,
”
he said to Gina with a wink. Guiding her through the crowd he whispered only for her,
“
I am under orders to make you have a good time tonight so you could at least pretend for my sake.
”

“
Orders,
”
Rhyl
a
hissed at him.

“
Not that I don
’
t want to dance with you,
”
he added hurriedly,
“
you are truly stunning tonight Rhyla. I only hope I can do you justice.
”

“
What are you talking about?
”

“
Are you really that naive?
”
Martin said as he placed her hand upon his shoulder and encircled her waist, pulling her towards him.
“
Every eligible, and
many ineligible, man
has been staring at you all evening. You are quite the bell of the ball.
”

Rhyla blushed again as he began guiding her around the room. She looked up at him trying to find the truth behind the complements. Her puzzlement must have been clear.

“
Trust me
Rhyla;
they would dance with you if they could.
”
The way he said it made it clear to R
hyla to whom he was referring,
in the incorrect plural. She nodded gently just once, and contented herself to be dancing in a beautiful gown, in the great hall at the Palace with a Captain of the Guard and a valued new friend.

The evening drew late and Rhyla had dance
d with several men of the guard;
all notable companions of Martins
; all with perfect manners
, if not all of perfect ability upon the dance floor. As she retired to her table to sip some watered wine
,
Rhyla found herself face to face with a sickening smile she had hoped never to see again.

“
I was most surprised to see you here Rhyla,
”
smirked Lord Tobias, before
she could step out of his way.
“
We miss you at the Willow.
”

“
I have a position here, with Lady Emelia,
”
she said, wishing there was more confidence in the
tone of her voice
as she attempted to control the fear that his closeness triggered.

“
That is a very nice story but don
’
t forget that I know the truth,
”
he said smugly, stepping in a little closer.

“
What are you talking about? What truth?
”
Rhyla asked, suddenly fearful of what that truth might be.

The smug young Lord continued on without acknowledging her question,
“
I can
’
t believe he has the nerve to bring you here, to get you a position within the Palace itself. I don
’
t know if it is
bold or selfish, keeping you totally
to
himself
this way.
”

Rhyla was getting angry with him
now; very
angry at his implications.
“
No one is keeping me here. I serve Lady Emelia.
”

“
Did he pay Drake off, beat my price? Well I hope you are worth it.
”
Without allowing her an oppo
rtunity to retort or understand what he meant,
Lord Tobias stepped around her and continued on as if he had never spoken to her. Watching his back disappear into the crowd Rhyla met the gaze of the one man she had been avoiding eye contact with for the entire evening.

Callum looked directly at
her;
his eyes flickered briefly to Tobias and back t
o her;
his expression fearful and angry at the same time. H
ow
dare he
look that way at me, Rhyla thought instantly.
She
had not started the conversation. But her an
ger towards Callum was fleeting.
He
had done nothing
wrong;
it was her fault that she had allowed her emotions to gallop ahead of her sensibility. Her anger was rightfully directed at the insulting implications from the crude lordling, but there was no possibility of venting that emotion. The frivolity surroundi
ng her was suddenly intolerable.
Her
delight
and happiness
turned to discomfort and irritation.

Looking around the room Rhyla found her mistress seated by her daughter
’
s side and found her excuse to escape. She crossed the room, weaving carefully amongst the clusters of celebrating guests until she reached Lady Emelia and dropped into a deep curtsy before speaking.

“
Queen Aletta. Lady Emelia.
”

“
Ah my dear,
”
Lady Emelia said taking her hand as Rhyla stood.
“
Are you
here to rescue me from all the excitement?
”

“
I thought you might be getting a little tired my lady,
”
Rhyla said smiling with a false warmth at both ladies.

“
You are indeed correct;
far too much stimulation for one night. I was most happy to see you enjoying yourself upon the dance floor. The guards are not
exactly fleet of foot
but Captain Martin was taught alongside Callum so he knows how to treat a lady,
”
she said patting Rhyla
’
s hand gently before turning to her daughter.
“
Good night my dear.
This has been
as lovely an evening
as ever. Will you bid the others
good night for me, else I shall be here another hour.
”

“
Of course mother, good night. And good night to you too Rhyla,
”
said the Queen as Rhyla dipped another curtsy.

“
Good night your majesty,
”
responded Rhyla

Rhyla escorted
Lady Emelia from the
room by the smaller door that
was nearer to where they sat thus
a
voiding
the necessity to wind their way
between the ongoing enthusiastic dancers.
Rhyla contemplated her mistress
’
s words. She had of course witnessed her previous encounter with Callum in this very hall. Had she seen more than Rhyla had expected? Did she know the ef
fect her grandson had on her
every time she saw him or ev
en thought of him? She sincerely
hoped
not.

It did not take long for Rhyla to settle her mistress for the evening. Elsie was no doubt off with her Kyle for the evening so Rhyla assisted in removing th
e numerous hair pins and combed
out Lady Emelia
’
s hair before helping her out of the restrictive gown and into her night robe.

Retiring to her own
chamber,
Rhyla was thankful to find it was empty. She started undoing the laces of her bodice but gave up in a frustration that had nothing to do with the fine strands of ribbon. In an attempt to steady her magnifying temper she
found her bone comb and began to comb
out her hair. Why did Lord Tobias
’
words hurt her so much? He had no part in her life and never would. Angrily she threw the comb onto her bed but she could not yet bring herself to sit down.

She found
that pacing the room yet
refusing to focus on the core of her
anxiety
brought her no answers either. She had to find the core of her emotions or she would never be able to rest.
It was not hard to know what the
centre of her apprehension
was
and once she started attacking the problem head on Rhyla found that she was able to stop pacing and leant against the window, looking out over the flickering torches in the courtyard below. Their steady light helped to calm her further, as did the light breeze upon her flushed cheeks.

Callum had done so much for her.
She
owed him her life, but she had nothing to repay him with. She would never be able to gift him anything that could demonstrate how gratef
ul she was to him, how indebted she was to him.
Had he
bought her freedom from
Master Drake as Lord Tobias had
said?
Surely he was better than any
man she had ever hoped to know.
He was strong and
handsome;
the thought of having his arms around her again made her tingle all over. She could not describe what she felt for him as no man had ever made her feel that way, a way you only hear of in stories and poetry from the bards, not a feeling you ever expect to fully exp
erience.  A
simple farmer
’
s daughte
r with no grand life could not find such a love. Surely it couldn
’
t
be wrong to repay him with th
e one thing that she had left.
Herself.
It
was
the one thing that no man had yet taken from her. What else did she have?

Rhyla found she was
excited yet terrified as she stood in the deserted hallway. Knocking gently on the door to his room she could barely stop her
hands from trembling.
She
clenched them about her waist, hugging herself tightly in an attempt to steady her racing heart. From the other side of the door soft footfalls approached and the door opened a few inches. By the dim light of a single candle somewhere behind him
,
Callum stood
there
bare chested
,
staring at her in surprise.

“
Rhyla, w
hat are you doing here? Is Grandmamma all right?
”
he asked as he opened the door fully.

“
Yes, she is fine. Can I come in?
”
she asked tentatively, so quietly he could only just hear her.