I shook my head. “But he’s sick—”
“Which is why Lord Pitt showed mercy on your father by taking you and your sister.”
I collapsed against my bedroll. I couldn’t stop icy fingers from creeping around my heart. I’d been so sure Father would ride after us and attempt to regain our freedom, that he’d pay the ransom, that he’d do whatever he could to protect me and Izzy.
But if he was forming an alliance with other Marcher barons to rise up against the king, would he rescue us or would he sacrifice us as part of the cost of war?
I shook my head. Father was loyal to his family. He’d do whatever it took to gain our release. He’d not only do it because he loved us but because he wanted to keep Charles from becoming the next target. In Charles’s weakened condition, captivity would kill him.
Surely Father wasn’t so opposed to the king that he would refuse to turn from plotting rebellion.
Even as I sought to defend my father, I couldn’t scatter my suspicions. Words Father had spoken over the years whispered at the back of my mind—his displeasure over the way the king treated the Marcher barons, for calling upon them last when in need of defenses, for allowing so few of them to court, for accusing them of having mixed blood from intermarrying too often with the Welsh.
What would happen to Izzy and me if Father decided not to comply with Lord Pitt’s demands?
I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about the possibility. I could sense Sir Aldric watching me, but I turned my face away from him. If he hoped to sway me against my father, he was mistaken. He was my family. I would do whatever I had to for him, even if I had to sacrifice myself in the process.
Chapter
6
I was keenly aware of Sir Aldric’s hand upon my waist, much more this new day than I had been the previous eve. I was also keenly aware of his broad chest against my back.
When he’d lifted me into his saddle at break of dawn, I’d protested. But as he slid up behind me and encircled me, I found my breath and my protest cut off by his nearness. I told myself my easy acquiescence had more to do with his nighttime revelations and my growing sympathy for him than with his handsome presence.
Before leaving camp, he’d taken off the chain that had bound us. But I knew from yesterday, I wouldn’t have any chance of escaping, at least not while hemmed in by Sir Aldric atop his horse.
With each passing hour, I grew more attuned to his movements, to the places his body pressed against mine, and to the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
The day was gray with the dampness of rain hanging in the air. The slightly cooler temperatures made the ride less tiresome. Even though I was sore from traveling, I found myself in better spirits than yesterday.
Izzy rode her own horse not far behind me with the young knight, Sir Darien, constantly by her side. Though at first I’d been irritated that Sir Aldric had made the arrangement for the knight to attend Izzy, I saw the wisdom in it now. He acted as a personal bodyguard more than a jailor, and I could rest assured she was safe. Sir Darien’s flattery and adoration were harmless. And Izzy was as innocent and unaware, as usual, of the effect she had on men.
While I never stopped plotting how I might save her from this captivity, I found myself relaxing in the knowledge that Sir Aldric and his men meant us no harm—at least for now.
Throughout the morning, we talked of mostly inconsequential things—like our experiences with hunting and hawking. Although Sir Aldric never boasted, I could tell he was every bit as skilled a hunter as he was commander.
“Ahead is Bevins of Lowdown,” he said. “An excellent boar hunting ground.”
On the horizon loomed a heavily wooded forest with dogwoods all along the edge. The sight of the forest confirmed what I’d suspected—that we were nearing Lord Pitt’s land. Once we crossed over, I would lose any remaining chance of escape.
“You need to plan a boar hunt soon, Sir Aldric,” I said. “And since I have never gone, you must allow me to accompany you.”
He leaned in slightly and his breath brushed my temple. “If I plan a hunt, how do I know you’ll not run away the first chance you have?” His voice rumbled softly so that my belly turned over in a strange flip.
“You may chain me to your personage again.”
“I fear I may need to chain you close at all times regardless of where we are or what we are doing.”
“Would that be so terrible, sir?” I tried to keep my voice light.
His strong jaw brushed against the side of my head with such gentleness I couldn’t keep from sucking in a breath. I suspected he hadn’t meant anything by the gesture, that with our proximity such touches were inevitable. Even so, I’d never been so near to a man. I found that every contact only made me more aware of him.
His hand at my waist shifted, his fingers parting as though to hold me more securely. For a second I could feel his heartbeat thudding against my back as I waited for his answer with more anticipation than I should have. Why did it matter whether Sir Aldric liked my companionship or not? Soon enough he would deliver me to Lord Pitt, and I’d likely never see him again, except perhaps at a distance.
“Does your silence mean you find my presence intolerable?” I persisted in a teasing voice even though my body was suddenly on edge.
“You are not so difficult to tolerate, my lady.” His response was low and rumbling.
I expelled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, a strange pleasure stealing through me.
“Does Lord Clearwater tolerate you?” he asked, his mouth near my ear, which only fanned the pleasure.
“Of course he more than tolerates me,” I bantered. Although I’d had a fair share of suitors over the past year, including Lionel, I’d never met anyone who affected me like this man.
“Do you care for him?” Sir Aldric asked.
“He is a fine man.” I forced my thoughts onto the fair-haired young Lord Clearwater who had visited several months ago. We’d seldom spoken together privately. Even if he was brusque and a rather hard man, he’d been congenial and attentive to me. He’d struck me as purposeful and determined, much like my father. “Once we spend more time together, we shall develop affection for one another.”
“And pray tell what you will do if you’re already betrothed to him when you discover his true nature?”
Sir Aldric’s words from last night taunted me. Lionel is a scoundrel like his father. Truthfully, I didn’t know the marquess or his son well enough to determine their character. But I had heard rumors regarding Lionel, particularly of his unfair treatment of the bondsmen in service to him.
“I suppose you are referring to the old bondsman he sent off his land because the man could no longer do the work required of him?”
“I hadn’t heard that tale,” Sir Aldric replied. “The stories I’ve heard about Lionel are not quite so tame or kind.”
“You exaggerate, sir, and take pleasure in goading me.”
“I would not goad you about this, my lady,” he spoke in a deadly calm tone.
Even if Lionel was ruthless and calculating at times, that had nothing to do with me, did it? Besides, I was strong enough that a man like that wouldn’t bend me. “My father would not consider the match if he believed I would be unhappy in it.”
“He wouldn’t consider it if he believed he wouldn’t profit from it.”
“You do not know my father.”
“He seeks to increase his wealth and power in whatever way suits him.”
At his harsh accusation, I stiffened and sat forward. “Your forthrightness is not welcome. I would that you refrain from speaking ill of my father.”
“I hadn’t taken you for a coward, my lady.”
“You are correct. I am no coward.”