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Arik was next, and the stone floor seemed to rumble as the terrifying giant strode forward, each step double the stride of an average man's. As Je
Seeing her startled discomfiture, Royce leaned down and chuckled in her ear, "Don't be insulted-Arik has never condescended to actually swear fealty to me either."
Je
The knights who made up Royce's personal guard came next. Sir Godfrey, a tall, handsome man in his late twenties, was first and instantly became her favorite because, immediately after kissing her hand, he did something that completely dispelled the tension over their past association: Turning to all within hearing, he proclaimed her the only woman alive with wit and courage enough to dupe an entire army. Then he turned back to her and said with an irrepressible grin, "I trust, my lady, that if you ever decide to escape Claymore as you did our camp a few weeks ago, you'll spare our pride by leaving us a better trail to follow?"
Je
Sir Eustace, blond and handsome with merry brown eyes, gallantly a
One at a time, they came to stand before her, skilled, deadly knights who once would have killed her at a word from their lord, but who were now bound to protect her, even at the cost of their own lives. Attired in fine velvets and wools, instead of chain mail and helmets, the older knights treated her with differential courtesy while a few of the younger ones actually exhibited an endearing embarrassment for something they had done: "I trust," young Sir Lionel said to Je
Je
"Yes, escorted," he said with a sigh of relief.
Gawin, Royce's young squire, was the last to be formally presented to her as his mistress. Obviously too young and idealistic to follow the older, more experienced knight's example and let bygones be bygones, he bowed to Je
That remark earned him a hard cuff from Sir Eustace, who had lingered at Je
The mention of Roderick and Lady A
Royce watched him leave and glanced at Je
The fears Je
When all the introductions had been made, Royce insisted that Je
Aunt Elinor was in her glory, with a captive audience of more than three hundred people to converse with, although the person she was most often seen near was none other than Arik! Je
"Does the food live up to your expectations, my lord?" Je
"It's adequate," he said with a mild frown. "But I'd expected better fare from kitchens under Prisham's supervision." At that moment, the steward himself materialized behind Royce, and Je
Je
"Everything is fine," Royce replied, sliding his chair back as the dancing began at the far end of the hall. "If you're well enough tomorrow, I'd like to see the ledgers, and the following day, we should tour the estate."
"Certainly, your grace, but the day after tomorrow is the twenty-third, which is customarily Judgment Day. Do you desire me to postpone it?"
"No," Royce said without hesitation, his hand under Je
With a bow to Royce and a curt inclination of his head to Je
When Je
With a grin, Royce took her firmly in his arms. "Just hold on tightly," he said and began to whirl her expertly. He was, Je