Chapter Seventeen #4
As she stared at the box, she began to calm. Inside, she had packed several possessions of a personal and sentimental nature, items Emma had managed to leave intact when she stowed away in the case.
Taking a deep breath to ease her tumultuous emotions, Arissa realized that the likelihood of being able to physically display her affection for Richmond in front of the mother abbess an impossibility at best. In lieu of a kiss to remember or a touch to linger upon, she realized that a tangible token of her adoration might work a similar effect.
Arissa leapt into the bed of the wagon, struggling to unlatch the heavy oak lid of the case.
Releasing the locks, she propped the lid open and began to rummage through her belongings, new and old, searching.
Several feet away, Richmond and the mother abbess had come to an uneasy agreement and Richmond approached the rig, eyeing Arissa with a good deal of concern and curiosity.
“What are you looking for, kitten?” he asked softly. “You know that you cannot bring any of your possessions with you.”
She continued to rummage about, finally coming upon the object of her search.
Richmond watched as she drew forth the rosary he had given her.
She smiled weakly at him, stringing it over her neck for safe keeping.
He returned her smile and extended his hand to assist her from the wagon, but she ignored him and delved into the trunk once more.
His smile faded. “What are you looking for now?”
“I know I put it in here….” she mumbled, tossing her expensive new garments onto the bags and crates of provisions in Richmond’s wagon. “I put it….ah! I found it!”
He watched curiously as she drew forth a small, elegant box of ivory.
Exquisite carvings graced the sides of the rectangular case and he continued to observe as she raised the lid, peering inside.
A bit of color reappeared in her cheeks as she cautiously fumbled with the contents of the box until she came to the item she apparently sought.
Drawing forth a small envelope of green silk, she replaced the ivory box in her trunk.
“What is that?” Richmond asked softly, noting the care with which she held the tiny parcel.
On her knees, Arissa moved to the edge of the wagon to where Richmond stood.
His bright blue eyes were filled with a thousand emotions, all of them piercing her heart until she could scarcely breath.
She struggled against the natural instinct to collapse into his powerful, comforting arms. To have him so close yet forbidden the luxury of a simple touch was torture.
The hands that clutched the package began to quiver as she began to unwrap it.
“I do not press all of the flowers I collect into pomades,” she said softly, her voice quaking. “Sometimes I simply press them flat between pieces of wood. Once dried, they are preserved in a lovely state to enjoy forever.”
Richmond watched as she unfolded the green fabric, revealing a flattened, perfectly preserved collection of tiny blue flowers.
He stared at the dehydrated bouquet a long moment, the name of the delicate blooms suddenly coming to mind and he raised his eyes, his gaze softer and more emotional that Arissa had ever seen it.
“Forget-me-nots,” he whispered.
She nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I want you to keep them. So you will forget me not.”
He swallowed hard, blinking away the sting of his own tears.
Without hesitation, he carefully accepted the small parcel from her outstretched palm, groaning softly when their flesh inadvertently touched.
Under the guise of presenting him with a gift, Arissa greedily caressed his fingers as he slowly, lingeringly, claimed her tribute.
He was loathed to pull his hand away from her gentle fingers, but he could not allow their covert contact to continue lest the abbess become suspicious.
Already, she was uncomfortable with the proximity of their conversation, as it had been a struggle to persuade the woman that he would do naught but calm Arissa with a few brief words.
He had been forbidden to touch her in any manner and although Richmond had been prepared for the fact that Arissa would officially cease to become his charge the moment he delivered her to the abbey, it was still difficult for him to accept the fact that he was no longer able to do with her as he pleased.
You are forbidden to touch her, sir knight. She’s no longer your concern.
Technically, the abbess was correct. But his heart still ached with the reality of it.
Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile and refolded the green silk about the flowers.
He was well aware that it would be far less painful for them both if he were to put on a brave front, showing her that he was confident in his ability to return for her as quickly as possible.
He had to show courage, for Arissa’s sake.
“I shall keep your gift next to my heart, always,” he said evenly. Noting the faint smile on her lips, he gave her a saucy wink to reinforce his light tone. “I shall return as soon as I can, kitten. Until then, you must decide what you would name our fortress. I am depending on you.”
She nodded eagerly, swallowing the torrents of miserable tears that threatened. He was determined to be brave; so was she. “I shall make my decision, have no fear. And I shall watch the road for your return, every day.”
He chuckled softly, struggling to maintain the positive atmosphere. “I shall hurry, then. I would hate for you to become bored waiting for my reappearance.”
Her smile faded, looking at him with such longing that he was forced to step away from her or risk breaking down completely. “I will not become bored. But I will miss you more dreadfully with each passing moment. Already my heart aches for you, Richmond.”
His own smile died, feeling her pain as it mingled with his own consuming anguish. “As does mine for you, kitten,” he whispered. “Be brave, my love. We shall be together soon, I vow.”
She was making a valiant attempt to maintain her courage but he could see that her strength would not hold out indefinitely. The sooner he made a quick break, the stronger they would both be.
With a final, weak smile as if to prove to her that he believed his own words, he turned away and motioned for Gavan to release Emma to the custody of the nuns. Before he could move away completely, however, Arissa’s delicate voice came wafting to him upon the damp sea breeze.
“I love you, Richmond. For all time, I will love you.”
He turned to her, slowly, his eyes screaming with emotion. “And I love you, Lady Arissa,” his voice was hoarse. “In this life and beyond.”
Without another word, he mounted his charcoal gray charger.
Arissa watched as he and Gavan galloped down the rocky road, toward the column of men that had collected since the disbanded skirmish.
A company of soldiers that would have virtually no time to recover before their liege was marching them to London.
Arissa continued to watch the two armored figures until they disappeared from sight. Even then, she could scarcely believe he had gone. Trying desperately to bite back the tears, she was simply not strong enough to stop the heart-wrenching sobs.
Richmond’s wagon driver attempted to help her from the wagon so that he might join the rest of the column, but she refused to leave.
Sobbing and gasping, she ignored his requests, his offers of aid, simply for the fact that she irrationally hoped he would give up his efforts and drive away with her lying amongst the wheat sacks and take her back to Richmond.
She was vaguely aware of Emma’s comforting voice, of the mother abbess’ throaty tone, but little else. The only matter of import was the fact that Richmond had left her. Even when gentle hands forcibly removed her from the flat bed, she was barely aware of their efforts.
Richmond was gone, and he had taken her soul with him.