They went in through the tall windowed doors that opened onto the terrace. Sir Julian looked up as they came in. "Ah, well met! I thought you had tired of my company so soon!"
Cordelia smiled. "Surely not, my lord." She accepted a glass of wine from a servant and looked about her at the Great Hall. The trestle tables were set up as they would have been in a castle, though with many fewer places. The head table stood on a dais only a few inches high. Behind it, painted on the plaster and beams, was a huge coat of arms. Cordelia gave it a glance, memorizing it for later analysis; she did not easily remember any such tokens as these.
The rest of the hall was plastered too, between the old oaken beams. There was a tapestry centered in the long wall across from the windows, and another at the end.
The original colonists of Gramarye had reconstructed the Middle Ages not as they really were, but as they should have been. Accordingly, they had kept costumes and customs from the Seventh Century, and mixed them in with all the succeeding centuries through the Fifteenth. But when it came to the amenities and courtesies, they had been more much eclectic; the range spanned through the Nineteenth Century and into the early Twentieth. On Gramarye, there were elements of gracious living that had never been there in the real Middle Ages of Terra—and this gathering for wine before dinner was certainly one of them.
So, for that matter, was the manor house itself.
They had come late; Delilah had already managed to work Alain off to the side of the conversational grouping. Seeing Delilah, Cordelia felt dowdy all over again, for the hussy was attired in a demure gown of pink and cream, considerably looser than her riding dress, only hinting at the lush contours beneath. It complemented her blonde hair so well that Cordelia automatically felt dimmed by comparison. But she lifted her chin; she would not be outdone!
Even as Cordelia watched, though, the vixen took another step toward the far corner. Alain perforce stepped with her, to hear what she was saying. He began to respond gravely, but Cordelia could tell, from the color of his face, that her suggestion had not been entirely decorous. Her flirtations had become even broader than on their journey.
Cordelia leaned over to Geoffrey and murmured, "Brother, would you see if you can distract the Lady Delilah from my inconstant suitor?"
Geoffrey looked up, then smiled. "He is constant, Cordelia, or he would not be blushing. Naetheless, I am certainly more than delighted to do as you ask." He stepped away.
But Cordelia stopped him with a hand on his forearm. He turned back, eyebrows raised in polite inquiry. "Only flirtation, mind," Cordelia said sternly.
Geoffrey grinned. "I make no promises." Then he was gone, moving over to join Alain and Delilah. She looked up with a flash of annoyance, which turned very quickly into a sensuous stare which she even more quickly broke, turning to Alain with a silvery laugh.
Cordelia turned half away from them, satisfied; Delilah certainly would not be able to keep her mind on Alain now. She reflected that a brother with overabundant hormones could have his uses.
For herself, she must not appear to be watching too closely ...
"Lady Cordelia! How beautiful you are!"
She turned, warmed by the sincerity in the voice—then caught her breath.
Forrest stood beside her, resplendent in a doublet of the same cut and period as Geoffrey's, hose clinging to his legs to show his magnificent calves and thighs to advantage. Cordelia scolded herself; she should not be noticing his legs so, even if they were remarkably well turned. Or the feeling of his lips on her hand, though they were amazingly soft, amazingly sensuous ...
He looked up, gazing into her eyes, and she managed to find enough voice to say, "You sound surprised, sir. Is it so rare that I am ... presentable?"
"Nay, not in the slightest!" He grinned, white teeth flashing. "You are rare indeed, my lady! Surely there cannot be another like you!"
"Oh, is there not?" Cordelia began to feel a bit better. "And to how many damsels have you said that, sir?"
"Never, milady, not to a single other woman!" Forrest reflected that he had also never been given so good a cue line. "I have never seen you in those colors before. Surely they bring out highlights in the glorious auburn of your hair that I would never have known, though 'tis so great a pleasure to see your hair unbound in the sun's rays that come through this window."
Cordelia blushed. "You extol my charms too much, sir."
"I speak honestly." He stepped a little closer. "Would you have me prevaricate?"
He was so very near, the aroma of him so masculine, so compelling ... and the strange feelings had begun within her again... "I would have you speak only as a gentleman should, sir!"
"Alas! Must I be a gentleman, then?"
"You must be as you were born!" They both looked up, startled.
Alain stood by them, looking stern, wearing a russet doublet, again of the antique cut, and fawn-colored hose. Cordelia could not help but notice that his legs, too, looked very well, perhaps even better than Forrest's ...
"Why, so I must!" Forrest turned to Alain with a dangerous glint in his eye. "But who are you to tell me what I must and must not do, sir?"
Alain began to answer, but caught himself in the' nick of time.
Forrest noticed the pause, and lifted an eyebrow. "Only a knight," Alain said, still stern, "but as such, 'tis my duty to remind you of your duty to knighthood."
"Am I still a knight, then?" Forrest cocked his head to the side. "I, who have broken the law?"
"You are still a knight!" Alain snapped, more sternly than ever. "You are a knight, who can redeem himself, and behave as a knight should once more."
Cordelia stepped a little closer to him. Yes, sometimes Alain was insufferable, overbearing, and his holier-than-thou attitude did grate upon her now and then—but she felt safer next to him, somehow. The troubling feelings inside her were so much less in his presence ...
She glanced up at Forrest, and knew a moment's longing. If only he were as proper a man, as morally sound and steady a man, as Alain!
Though if he were, she wondered, would he be so attractive?
Then Sir Julian was offering her his arm, and leading her to the head table. "Surely you will allow your host the benefit of your beauty and charm, my dear, if only for the space of this dinner."
"I shall be honored, my lord." But even as she said it, Cordelia wondered if this was a ploy to get her away from Alain, so that Delilah might work on him at her leisure. A glance out of the corner of her eye showed her that she had no need to worry, though—the lady was sandwiched between Geoffrey and Alain, and Geoffrey was definitely occupying most of her attention. Alain was looking none too pleased about it, but he glanced up at Cordelia longingly.
She found it very reassuring.
She turned back to Sir Julian. "I thank you, my lord."
"Then sit! Sit! And we will dine!" Sir Julian sat down, and immediately, the servants began laying in front of them the huge slices of bread that served as plates. Behind them came another server, laying thick slices of beef on the trenchers.
Sir Julian picked up his knife and began to cut at the meat—the signal to begin.
Cordelia found it slightly disturbing that he did not start with a blessing over the meal, but she had no choice other than to abide by the custom of the house.
"I must honor you, my daughter's rescuers!" Sir Julian said, lifting a cup. "Honor you with a toast tonight, and a ball tomorrow night!"
"Ball?" Cordelia stared, appalled.
"Indeed. I have sent word to my neighbors, bidding them come rejoice with me." He laid a hand over hers. "You must not be upset, lady. We are rude folk here in the country, taking any opportunity that offers to celebrate Life—and if our dress is not elegant, why, we make up for it with exuberance."