The Wolfe (42 page)

She closed her eyes at his touch,
too weak to respond with much else. “Nay, not dead,” she whispered. “Though I
think I was at one point, but I kept hearing yer voice. I tried to follow it,
hoping I would find ye. Next thing I knew I awoke in yer arms. Paris was leaning
over ye and quite surprised to see me. He thought I was dead, too, and had come
to pry me from yer arms.”

William’s mind was reeling. He
looked at Paris, then back to Jordan again. He was at a loss for words. He
wanted to hug her desperately but knew she was too weak to handle it.

“My God,” he breathed. “I hope I am
not dreaming. I still cannot believe that you are actually alive. ‘Tis too
unbelievable.”

“For me, as well,” Paris interjected
gently. “I came in here fully expecting to find you holding a corpse and as
soon as I bent down to remove her, she looked at me and smiled. I nearly
fainted.”

He looked at Paris then. “Why is she
up?” he demanded, recovering somewhat from his shock. “She should be a-bed.”

“Because I asked him to bring me in
here to allow ye to sleep,” Jordan answered for Paris. “I was fairly sore from
lying in bed for two days. It feels wonderful to sit up, although I am as weak
as a new babe.”

He looked dubiously at her, then
turned to Paris again. “You should not have allowed this.”

“What was I to do?” Paris lifted his
hands in a gesture of defeat. “She demanded it of me twice and then threatened
to get out by herself if I would not help her. I assure you, she has done
nothing but sit here for six hours.”

“Six hours?” William mumbled,
running his hand through his hair. “Damn, how long have I been asleep?”

“About seven hours,” Paris replied. “‘Tis
a little after the nooning meal.”

William looked down at Jordan, his
heart singing with happiness again now that he knew she was not going to
disappear before his eyes. “Have you eaten anything at all?” he asked.

“A little,” she said. “But I was
hoping we could sup together.”

Paris smiled. “And I shall be happy
to personally retrieve your meal,” he said. “But I must warn you, ‘twill be
difficult to fight Jemma off if she sees that you are strong enough to eat. She
is desperate to see you.”

“Fight her off as long as ye can,”
Jordan looked lovingly up at William. “I wish to be alone with my knight.”

They were lost to the world, seeing
and hearing only each other. Paris slipped quietly from the room, feeling
happier and lighter than he had in years.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Jordan recovered rapidly over the
next few days, eating well and begging to be let out in the sunshine with every
other breath. The earl came to visit her several times a day, usually with Adam
when the lad wasn’t standing watch outside her door. He was pleasant with her
and thankfully kept his visits short. His show of concern touched her.

William tried not to be with her
every minute now that she was recovering, but it was difficult for him. When he
wasn’t with her, his mind was on her and it made it hard to concentrate on his duties.
Yet with the passing days it was easier to focus knowing she was going to be
well again. He knew she was almost fully recovered on the fourth day when she
tried to seduce him, laughingly and playfully, but he fought her, although it
had been extremely difficult. He promised her that there would be time enough
for that later.

The knights, one by one, had taken turns
watching her door and alternately sitting with her. It became obvious to Jordan
that they thought she had been as good as dead, too, and she was pleased to see
how relieved they were.

By far the knight who spent the
greatest amount of time with her was Deinwald. He would come and read to her,
sometimes all afternoon. She would fall asleep on him and wake up to find that
he was still sitting next to her. He would not speak much of himself, but he
read her the entire book of Plato’s
Critias
, a valuable part of the
earl’s substantial library. Even gruff, crusty Ranulf came to see her every
day. She took it on as a personal challenge to see if she could get him to smile
at her, and she always won.

Jemma still had not returned to Langton.
The earl decided that Lady Jordan had been through enough trauma and he would
not add to her distress by sending her one and only lady-in-waiting back home.
He did, however, write to the queen regarding obtaining a court woman for
Jordan, and the answer had come back rapidly that a woman was on her way.
Jordan didn’t know who was more apprehensive over that -  her, or Jemma.

Jordan had not seen Analiese or
Alexander since the first day she had arrived. Neither one had so much as sent
a message to her the entire time she had been in the infirmary, but she was not
upset by it. If they wanted to ignore her, then so be it.

Remarkably, Jordan found herself
alone in her rooms on the sixth day of her recovery. She was feeling much
stronger and managed to get herself up from bed, albeit slowly, and make her
way stiffly to the window.  Her shoulder was wrapped tightly but she could move
her arm and hand a little.  The pain was there but bearable. She inhaled deeply
of the sweet summer air; she relished it. She was happy to be alive.

She wore a robe of quilted gold
brocade, a gift from her future husband. She ran a careful finger over her
shoulder, wondering if she would ever feel comfortable wearing off-the-shoulder
surcoats again with the ugly purple scar exposed. But she comforted herself in
the fact that the scar was next to her neck on the thick of the muscle and easily
covered by hair worn loose.  It was silly feminine vanity, but a concern
nonetheless.

As she inspected the feel of the
healing wound, there was a knock on her door. It was only a courtesy, of
course, for no one ever waited for her to open it. They simply barged in. She
smiled warmly as the earl, followed by William, entered her bedchamber.

“Great Gods.” the earl exclaimed. “What
are you doing out of bed?”

“Enjoying the day, sire,” she replied,
then her eyes found William and she greeted him. “Sir William.”

As William acknowledged her with
warmth in his eyes, the earl went to her and took her gently by the arm.

“I will not stand for this, my lady,”
he led her back over to the bed and practically forced her to sit. “You must
rest until you have regained all of your strength.”

“But, sire,” she begged. “I feel
much stronger, truly, and I would be ever grateful if ye would allow me to go
out in the sunlight, if only for a few moments. ‘Twould help me recover faster,
I know it.”

De Longley was weakened by the pleading.
He looked doubtfully at her before glancing at William.

“What say you, Captain? Should I
allow it?” he asked.

William shrugged, his eyes twinkling
at Jordan. “I must agree with Lady Jordan, my lord. The fresh air will do her
good. Besides, she is ready to tear down these walls and I cannot say that I blame
her.”

The earl nodded after a long,
thoughtful moment. “Very well,” he said to William. “Take her outside but do
not let her feet touch the ground. And do not keep her overlong. Take Lady Jemma
and a few of the knights if you wish. Hell, make a parade of it. Lord knows she
deserved a celebration for surviving a nearly mortal wound.”

“Thank ye, sire,” Jordan said,
excited she was actually going to be able to go beyond these four walls with William.

“My pleasure, my lady,” the earl
replied. “But, in faith, that is not why my captain and I are here. This coming
week will be one filled with events and we wish to brief you on what is coming.
First but not foremost, my son, Adam, will begin his knighting ceremony at dusk
tomorrow. As you know, this will go on all night until the morning when Sir
William will receive him into the brotherhood.”

Jordan nodded her understanding. “Of
course, my lord,” she said. “I am thrilled that your son is finally to be
knighted. ‘Tis a proud thing.”

The earl sat heavily in the chair
next to her bed. “I have also received word that the king is in York and wishes
to know just precisely when our wedding will be so that, if time permits, he
may attend.” When Jordan looked surprised, he went on. “I have, therefore
decided to push the wedding forward. We shall hold an engagement party in five
days, followed two days later by the actual wedding. Can you be prepared for
the wedding in a week?”

Now he asks,
Jordan thought
dryly. “Of course, my lord,” she said. “My dress is ready now.”

“Good lass.” The earl stood and
looked at her, his expression softening just a bit. “I know this is a great
deal to happen in such a short time, especially in lieu of your condition, and
I am sorry. I hope it will not tax you overly.”

“Nay, my lord,” she shook her head. “We
Scots are a strong lot.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Very
well,” he pointed a finger at William. “Remain with her and see to her needs, I
will see you later.”

“Aye, sire.” William followed him
from the room and closed the opened the door for him.

***

In the corridor outside of Lady
Jordan’s chamber, pale blue eyes watched the earl as he left Jordan’s
bedchamber and descended the stairs. The eyes narrowed; William had not come
out.  Because of that, it would be foolish to try anything with him standing
guard over the Scottish slut.

And then there was the problem of
the men standing guard outside of her chamber, men more loyal to William than
to the family. It had been easy to slip the Welsh archer a necklace that
belonged to Analiese to be Lady Jordan’s would-be assassin.  The spoiled young
woman wouldn’t miss the jewelry, anyway. She had enough of it.

Even after the archer had been
killed to keep him from talking and Lady Jordan had survived the attempt, the
infection that followed nearly claimed her. But not quite.

The blue eyes blinked thoughtfully.
The whore certainly had her hooks in dear, sweet William. Could the knight not see
that? Was he so blinded by her beauty that he could not see what an abomination
the woman was?

No matter, though. The bitch would
be done in one way or the other, before or after the wedding made no
difference. Just so long as she was out of the way and William was free of her
clutches.

‘Twas the true problem, it was -
William was attracted to her. That realization fueled a rage of jealousy that
would not be banked. A jealousy that was willing to do most anything.

The blue eyes smiled. There would be
another time, another chance, another window to slip in and destroy her. True,
no one would ever suspect who the culprit was, and with a little luck, the
blame would fall on completely Analiese.

**

Jordan was dressed in a soft pink linen
surcoat and shift that brought some color to her pale cheeks. Cradled in
William’s arms as he carried her across the bailey, he was astonished at the
number of people that stopped to wish her good health or tell her that they had
paid the priest to pray for her. Even the tanner had left his shed to rush over
to her, two half-finished boots clutched in his hand to show her.

Jemma, Kieran and Michael were
accompanying them to the small lake beyond the outer wall. Jordan had insisted
that that was where she wanted to go, so with very little resistance, William
complied. Kieran carried a basket full of food and Jemma had brought a large
blanket to spread. Jordan wished that it would have been her and William alone,
but was nonetheless happy for the company.

She held onto William’s neck,
careful not to pass him any meaningful glances, but now and again her fingers
would stroke the back of his neck and he would respond with a slight squeeze.
With the sun bright above her and the air light, not sticky as it could be, she
was deliriously happy.

As the small group moved through the
outer bailey, Jordan noticed a group of children rushing toward them. She
smiled, recognizing little Mary Alys at the head of the group but wondering
what they were doing so far from the kitchens. The children knew they were not
allowed near the front gates. She also knew that William was bound to see them
and hoped he would not be too harsh.

The children drew closer. Mary Alys,
beaming a missing-tooth smile, walked boldly up to William and he nearly ran
her down. He glared down at her and opened his mouth, but Jordan put her
fingers to his lips to stop him.

“Sir William, this is my friend,
Mary Alys,” she said quickly. “Hello, Mary Alys. What do ye have in the basket?”

“I brought you a prethent.” she
announced with her delightful little lisp.

“A present?” Jordan slipped from
William’s arms, though he kept a firm grip on her. Her legs were still like
jelly. “Mary Alys, I am so touched that ye would think of me. What is it?”

Mary Alys fumbled with the cloth
covering the basket. We heard you were thick,” she said. “I wanted to give you
a prethent to make you feel better, but the tholdiers would not let me in the
cathle.”