Free Daughters of the Dagger 04 - Amethyst by Elizabeth Rose Page A

said the boy, and added more water.
    “Men, move those lower scaffolds over to the gatehouse quickly, as the construction needs to be started right away,” she called out across the courtyard.
    She was so busy helping out and working, that she didn’t even see Marcus, his father , and her uncle walk up behind her. She had a basket of small stones in her hands and was going to bring it to the workers to be hoisted up and filled into the walls, but when she turned and saw them standing there, she was startled. She dropped the basket, the stones falling atop Marcus’s foot. He jumped back with a scowl on his face.
    “Oh, I’m sorry, my lord, I didn’t see you.” She knew by the expressions on both their faces, it wasn’t going to be good.
    “What the hell are you doing?” asked Gilbe rt. “A woman’s place is inside weaving baskets or preparing food.”
    “Aye,” said Marcus. “Please go to the kitchen and help prepare the meal.”
    She just looked at her uncle and saw the sadness as well as the warning in his eyes, begging her not to speak. She bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to do anything to jeopardize his position. She turned slowly, and was about to do as told, but then decided she could take this no longer.
    She turned back and looked them in the eyes, and spoke her piece. “I will not!”
     
    Marcus felt doom wash over him as Amethyst stood with her hands on her hips and her mouth pursed into a firm, straight line. He knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut. And he also knew that as soon as she spoke, his father would cause trouble.
    “Uncle G ilbert, you didn’t wait for me,” came a woman’s voice from across the courtyard.
    He turned in s urprise to see his cousin, Matilda riding up on a horse with one guard at her side. Her long, red hair was pulled up and twisted into a knot atop her head, and her big green eyes were full of mischief as always.
    “Who are you?” asked Amethyst, and Marcus was glad for the distraction.
    “I am Lord Marcus’s cousin, Matilda,” she announced. “I was traveling with my uncle but he saw to leave me on the road and go on ahead without me.”
    “Lady Matilda, I told you if you were going to tag along that I would not wait,” said the earl. “Now stable your horse and make your way to the kitchens with Lady Blackpool and help prepare my feast.”
    “I prefer to be ca lled Lady Amethyst,” Amethyst told him. “And I am here by order of the archbishop as assistant to my uncle, the master mason. I am surprised no one told you that when you were in Canterbury.”
    “They did,” he said with a disgusted look upon his face. “But I thought they were jesting.”
    “I assure you, they were not,” she said firmly.
    “You are working as the master mason’s assistant?” asked Matilda with a sparkle in her eyes. “How wonderful!”
    “Nay, it’s not,” Marcus broke into the conversation.
    “Do you really know how to build a castle?” Matilda ignored Marcus and dismounted her horse as she spoke. By the smile on Amethyst’s face, he knew that she already liked his cousin. She was a young girl, mayhap a few years younger than Amethyst, and he knew that having two high-spirited women together was never a good thing.
    “I do know how to build a castle,” admitted Amethyst. “I traveled for a year with my uncle and he taught me everything I need to know.” She looked over to him and smiled.
    “Lady Blackpool,” Marcus warned her. “Don’t you have somewhere to go?”
    “Not at all,” she said, taking a stride forward. “This is where I’m supposed to be, directing the workers. You said so yourself just last night, my lord.”
    “Marcus?” asked his father. “What the hell is going on here? There is no way you really let a woman be placed in this position? I hope to hell you’re not paying her.”
    “I’m working for free,” Amethyst answered, before Marcus could even answer. “And I do know what I’m doing.” She then