Gayle Eden Read Free Page B

and set a silver plate and goblet at the end of the Lord’s Table. She stood silently by and waited until Illara sat herself.
    There was succulent meat and herbed winter vegetables under the dome, as well as nutty bread. Illara gave her thanks then said as Lylie made to leave, “Please, sit. Tell me about this castle.”
    The woman did not sit, but went to stand by the fire. “There is no telling of Dunnewicke without telling of the family, and the master alone can approve or disapprove repeating it.”
    Illara ate, she drank rich dark wine, and murmured something in response, though she was curious.
    She did not doubt there were dungeons under the castle. It was immense. She did not doubt either that the tale would be violent. It did not seem odd to her that such a dark figure as Pagan dwelled here.
    Finished with her meal, she arose. The woman was clearing the dish and cup as the doors opened and Randulf came in, followed by two young men dressed in long cloaks and leather boots. They carried her trunks up a set of stairs. She followed them, noting that the plaster walls had been added at a much later date than the castle had been built.
    There were two arched chambers before the main solar was reached, one was familiar to her from her childhood, the tiles likely having come from Arab countries, as their designs were familiar too, those being used to line a bathing pool with copper spigots. Designed like the open spas. A faint scent of herbs and spices hung in the air. She saw great carved candleholders and incense burners, as well as baskets flowing with herbs and soaps.
    The next chamber had the beginnings of a library, something rare in English castles, but identified by the shelves and large scrolled tables and chairs. A hearth graced it, as well as hunting tapestries. It was a masculine chamber, but the sort she had once been at home in, as her mother was oft reading books and scrolls, teaching her from them.
    The men exited the main solar and bowed to her on their way out. She was intending to question Randulf, but he appeared in a hurry, and she supposed he was busy.
    Entering the rooms that would be hers, Illara stood for a moment, struck dumb by the lavish beauty of it, and finding her eyes stinging as she recognized hues and patterns that would have fit in their fortress in Egypt. Here, even with the stone walls, were the warm colors of sun and sand, of sea and fiery sunsets. The bed was massive and covered with fur, tasseled pillows in bold crimson and gold stripes at the head. The windows were large and under them ran a half moon shape seat, padded with leather, and cushions were scattered about.
    Walking further in, she eyed a mirror with decorated iron on the edge, full length, massive, reflecting the bed and windows beyond. There were rich carpets on the floors; in sienna and red, gold and warm bronze. A series of candlesticks rose from their scrolled bases around the chamber, inlaid with gold and made of cedar. Her trunks had been placed at the end of the bed, but there were other elaborate ones in one corner, and when she looked up, noting the scroll work on the plaster ceiling, she saw the delicate designs of leaf and pomegranates, figs and exotic birds.
    She longed to bathe and shed the heavy traveling garments, but first Illara walked to the window, putting her knee on the bench and opening the shutters to look out. There was a courtyard in the back, leading to what must have been hedges and gardens, and though not full, a long square pond that would stock fish, decorated on each corner with lions holding massive urns of now dormant vines. There were benches and statues, the guards she noted, walking the walls, not realizing that until then that she had feared no one would live in the mysterious knight’s castle but the two of them.
    She allowed her gaze to swing left, making out the back of the round tower where Pagan had ridden. The barracks were in that direction. On the right was a chapel. It