“Sewing.” She took a bite of her tart, grateful to be talking about her domestic skills. It kept her thoughts off the melting warmth his closeness caused. “And I can read.”
“Truly?” His gaze flickered to hers again, curious, interested. “You used to speak about wanting to learn.”
“I did.” She smiled, remembering their conversations, childish as they were. “I’ve also studied the lute.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her fully. “Mayhap you could play for me one day.”
“Mayhap,” she replied breathily.
Sensuality deepened the color of his eyes when his gaze strayed to her mouth. “You’re skilled at many things, Tanon.” He lifted his broad fingers and rubbed the pad of his thumb along the corner of her lower lip. “Is there nothing I could teach you?”
His touch sparked a fire through her blood. Her eyes opened wide at his audacity, but she couldn’t form a coherent thought.
He gave her a slow, lingering smile and then held up the small crumb he’d just plucked from her lips and placed it on his tongue. “Forgive me, such a sweet delight tempts me beyond reason.”
Forgive him? Forgive him for making her feel like an uncivilized wench? She gave a quick look around, feeling like she stood naked on the lawns.
“This veil,” He lifted his fingers to her wimple and swept the back of his knuckles across her cheek ever so slightly. “It is an adornment, aye?”
She blinked, wide-eyed, and nodded.
“It’s useless compared to your laughter. When might I hear it again?” His husky query drew a sigh from her lips.
She took a step back, breaking contact with him as memories of their summer together flooded her thoughts.Stop it. She chided herself. He’d returned for peace, nothing more. Hadn’t he made that clear enough to the king? And she was glad. He was taking Cedric’s place. They would marry for peace and care nothing for each other. It was exactly what she had readied herself for all these years.
“You’re quite bold, my lord.” She eyed him while she patted the long veil covering her neck. “You take liberties by touching me so freely.”
“I’m your betrothed.” He couldn’t keep his smile from widening at the soft blush in her cheeks and the sweet, indignant curl of her mouth.
His eyes traced the contours of her face. The warmth in their golden-fringed depths made her feel bare, open. She folded her arms across her chest as if to shield herself from him. “I daresay you are not. Not until you have—”
“You’ve never been kissed, have you?”
Tanon gaped at him, willing herself not to look at his lips. “Why do you ask me that kind of question?”
“Because I want an answer.”
She frowned at his logical, albeit arrogant reply. His question put her in a bit of a quandary. Roger rejected her. A speck of food proved to be more tempting to the most feral of men than she. Must she suffer the humiliation of having to admit that no man had ever tried to kiss her?
“I don’t make a habit out of kissing my suitors,” she answered haughtily. It wasn’t really a lie.
“You’ve always been the perfect lady, haven’t you, Tanon?” His smile turned so tender it made her legs wobble. “Save when you were climbing trees and chasing pigs.”
Tanon suddenly missed laughing with him. Being with Gareth again made her remember a time when she didn’t worry about what others thought of her. But she was a noble’s daughter, bound by expectations that oft times felt too heavy to bear. She cleared her throat and squared her chin. She would never shame her family by behaving with anything less than the proper decorum she’d been taught. Her days of climbing trees and chasing pigs were long over.
“A civilized man would expect nothing less than a lady in his wife.” She offered him a practiced smile and forbade herself to stumble as she left him.
Watching the softsway of her hips, Gareth clenched his jaw. Mayhap she was right about him. Would a civilized man find himself tempted to haul her into his arms and kiss her with such scandalous passion they’d set every tongue in Winchester wagging? He inhaled a deep breath thinking of the challenge before him. Somewhere beneath all those layers of linen and polished refinement was the spirited, carefree, courageous girl he remembered. He was determined to find her.
Chapter Five
Winchester’s tournament fieldspread out over ten acres with separate sections partitioned off for jousting, archery, sword fighting, and themelee a cheval, where over a hundred knights would fight on horseback in a writhing mass of dulled swords and wooden axes.
From her vantage point seated with her family in a stand just above the western perimeter of the field, Tanon enjoyed a clear view of practicing acrobats, jugglers, dancing bears and their handlers. Dozens of knights were preparing for the day’s activities, their squires hurrying to and fro to arm their lords with spear and sword, and to make certain the knight’s thick wool padding and chain mail were securely in place. Excitement and energy charged the air and made Tanon’s heart accelerate. The rumbling of so many voices became deafening to her ears. She looked around at the enormous stands encircling her, the hundreds of faces watching with anticipation, sharing laughter and shouts of approval or disapproval when a certain knight rode across the field.
Unwittingly, her eyes searched for Gareth among the competitors, but found Roger instead. He stood with a group of his knights, polishing their swords beneath the sun. The metal flashed in Tanon’s eyes. She thought of one of those blades piercing Gareth’s flesh, his lifeblood soaking the grass. She’d seen Gareth at practice, heard the confidence in his voice in the king’s solar when he promised her that he would not lose. She had believed it was enough to grant him victory, but now, seeing Roger dressed in chain mail and clutching a sword as long as her leg, she wasn’t so sure. Roger wasn’t a boy anymore. He’d spent many years learning how to wield that sword from William’s own son.
Dear God, she didn’t want to marry Roger. She didn’t care if Normandy did him any good or not. She didn’t care about his nobility, or his manners, or his land. The thought of spending the rest of her life with him turned her stomach. Especially now that Gareth had returned.