She turned to him with a suspicious look.
The horse felt her tension and jumped, the farrier barely able to move before the hoof struck him. “Hold him still, my lady,” the man ordered without looking back. “I have more to do and I can’t get it done if he prances about.”
Gavin started to open his mouth to ask the man what right he had to speak to his mistress in such a tone, but Judith didn’t seem to take offense at the man’s words.
“I will, William,” she said as she held the horse’s bridle firmly and stroked the soft nose. “You weren’t hurt were you?”
“No,” the farrier answered gruffly. “There! It’s done now.” He turned to Gavin. “My lord! Were you about to say something?”
“Yes. Do you always order your mistress about as you did just now?”
William turned red.
“Only when I need to be ordered about,” Judith snapped. “Please go, William, and see to the other animals.”
He obeyed instantly. Judith looked defiantly at Gavin. Instead of the anger she expected, he smiled.
“No, Judith,” he said. “I didn’t come to quarrel with you.”
“I didn’t know there was anything else between us.”
He winced, then reached out and caught her hand, pulling her reluctantly after him. “I came to ask if I could present you with a gift. See the stallion in the far stall?” he asked and pointed as he dropped her hand.
“The dark one? I know him well.”
“When you came from your father’s house, you brought no horse of your own.”
“My father would rather part with all the gold he owned than one of his horses,” she said, referring to the wagonloads of portable wealth that had accompanied her to the Montgomery estate.
Gavin leaned against the gate of an empty stall. “That stallion has produced some beautiful mares. They are kept on a demesne farm some distance away. I thought perhaps tomorrow you would go with me and choose one for your own.”
Judith didn’t understand his sudden kindness, nor did she like it. “There are palfreys here that are sufficient for my needs,” she said evenly.
Gavin was quiet for a moment, watching her. “Do you hate me so much, or do you fear me?”
“I do not fear you!” Judith said, her back as straight as an iron rod.
“Then you will go with me?”
She stared into his eyes then nodded curtly.
He smiled at her—a genuine smile—and Judith unexpectedly remembered what seemed a long time ago; their wedding day, when he had smiled at her often.
“Then I will look forward to tomorrow,” he said before leaving the stables.
Judith stared after him, frowning. What did he want from her now? What reason did he have for giving her a gift? She did not puzzle over the matter for long, for there was too much work to be done. The fishpond was a place she had neglected, and it desperately needed cleaning.
Chapter Ten
THE GREAT HALL OF THE MANOR HOUSE WAS ALIVE WITH the flickering light from the fireplaces. Some of the more favored of the Montgomery men were playing cards, dice, chess, cleaning weapons or simply lounging. Judith and Raine sat alone at the opposite end of the room.
“Please play the song, Raine,” Judith begged. “You know I am no good at music. Didn’t I say so this morning, and that I would play a game of chess with you?”
“And would you like for me to play a song the length of your game?” He strummed two chords on the fat-bellied lute. “There, I’m sure I’ve played as long as you did,” he teased.
“It’s not my fault you were beaten so quickly. You use your men only to attack and don’t protect yourself from the attack of others.”
Raine stared, his mouth open, then began to laugh. “Is this a bit of wisdom I hear, or an unadorned insult?”