Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight

She rolled over, trying to put her jumbled impressions of the evening before into some kind of order. First and foremost, she thought of Matthew, but there was no sign of him, nor any indication that he’d slept in the chamber either. The space beside her on the bed was completely smooth and she couldn’t see his belongings anywhere. He’d said that he had a few matters to attend to when he’d left, but by the look of things he’d never come back. As far as she could tell, everything was just the same as it had been when she’d closed her eyes. There wasn’t even the food he’d promised her, as if he’d forgotten her completely.

She propped herself up on her elbows, wondering if she’d imagined the closeness between them the previous night. The intense look he’d given her as he’d cradled her face between his fingers had been different from all the other looks he’d given her. There had been a sense of intimacy and closeness that definitely hadn’t been there before. There had been flashes of it perhaps during their journey and in the hostelry, as if the feeling had been building, but that particular look had taken her breath away. There had been something more than intimacy in his eyes, too, a hint of the hungry way other men looked at her, only this time she hadn’t minded. This time she’d welcomed it. Even the memory made her skin tingle again.

She tipped her head back, feeling a warm glow despite the other, less pleasant events of the evening. She’d always been raised in warm, caring environments, first at Lacelby, then in her uncle and aunt’s household, so that the meeting with his family had come as a shock to say the least. She’d never come across a family like the Wintours before, strange figures who stood at opposite sides of the room and greeted each other after five years with barely restrained antipathy. It hadn’t felt like a family reunion so much as a trial.

According to Matthew, his relationship with his father had always been strained, but as for that with his brother... He’d said that it was because he’d left five years ago without saying goodbye, but he hadn’t explained why he’d done so and something in his face had warned her not to ask. It was a mystery—only the fact that he’d left England so soon after their wedding made her wonder if the two events were connected somehow. Had he left because of her?

She shook her head, pushing the idea aside. No doubt she was letting her imagination run away with her, not just about Matthew’s motives for leaving, but about his family, too. Whatever bizarre impressions she’d received the evening before had no doubt been the result of exhaustion. In the bright light of day surely the whole situation would seem different. Her surroundings certainly did.

She wriggled herself up to a sitting position and looked around. Matthew’s chamber was more than three times the size of the one she’d shared with Isabella and Emma in Lincoln, although she’d been too tired and confused to pay much attention the evening before. Now she noticed a large, expensive-looking rug laid across the wooden floorboards, as well as tapestries decorated with images from Greek legends on three of the walls. Meanwhile, the other wall, behind the bed, was decorated with white plaster so bright it actually seemed to glow.

‘Matthew?’ She pulled her knees up to her chest at the sound of a light tap on the door, belatedly noticing that she was still in her travelling clothes from the day before.

‘No, my lady.’ A fresh-faced serving girl stepped inside and bobbed a curtsy. ‘I’ve brought you something to eat and fresh water for washing.’

‘Thank you.’ Constance smiled, swallowing her disappointment. ‘Is it really morning?’

‘Almost midday, my lady.’ The maid unlatched the window shutters and folded them back as if to prove she was telling the truth.

‘Is that sunshine?’

‘Yes.’ The girl gave a shy smile. ‘I almost didn’t recognise it either.’

‘And I’m still in bed.’ Constance looked down at her rumpled gown in consternation. She must have been more tired than she’d realised, falling asleep in her clothes and sleeping right through until midday. ‘Do you know where my husband is?’

‘I believe he went out, my lady.’ The girl bobbed another curtsy. ‘The family ate a few hours ago, but he told me to have some food ready for when you woke up. I brought a trencher last night, too, but you were fast asleep so I took it away again. I have bread and cheese now, if you’d like?’

‘Yes, please.’ Constance swung her legs over the side of the bed eagerly. Her stomach was feeling considerably better this morning, so much so that the mere thought of food made her start to salivate. The fact that Matthew hadn’t forgotten her the previous night made her mood brighten, too. ‘That would be wonderful.’

‘Your belongings are over here.’

‘They are?’ Constance mumbled through a mouthful of bread as the maid indicated a pair of chests by the door. She hadn’t noticed them before, but now she saw they were definitely hers. ‘The baggage cart arrived?’

‘Yesterday evening. Sir Matthew carried your things up himself. I drew the bed curtains so you wouldn’t be disturbed, but I don’t think a herd of cattle would have woken you up last night. You’d hardly moved at all when I opened them again this morning.’ She smiled. ‘Shall I help you with your dress, my lady?’

‘Thank you.’ Constance took a bite of cheese and gestured at the laces on the back of her gown. ‘I know I should have done it last night, but I only meant to close my eyes for a few seconds. The next thing I knew you were here.’ She smiled over her shoulder. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Susanna, my lady.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Susanna, I’m Constance. Have you lived here long?’

‘All my life. That is, I grew up in the village, but if you mean the castle then I only came to work here last summer.’

‘Do you like it?’

The girl’s expression seemed to go rigid. ‘Of course, my lady. It’s a very good position.’

‘But?’ Constance lifted her eyebrows along with her arms, allowing Susanna to lift the gown up over her head.

‘Nothing. Like I said, it’s a very good position.’

‘I see.’ Something told her the maid wasn’t telling her everything, but she didn’t want to push. ‘I have t

o admit, it seemed a bit strange to me last night. When I first woke up, I thought perhaps it had all been a dream.’

‘I know what you mean, my lady...’ The girl lowered her voice and threw a nervous glance towards the door. ‘I felt that way, too, at first. My mother didn’t want me to come at all, but I have eight brothers and sisters and my father said there was no choice. In the end, they just told me to be careful.’

Constance paused with her under-tunic halfway up her hips. ‘Why would you need to be careful?’