Chapter Twelve #2
Tay lifted an eyebrow. “He has every reason,” he said. “Why do you think he told you his story? Because he is hoping you will tell others. Better still, he is hoping you know Athdara and have run off to either tell her or fetch her. Be very cautious with him.”
Marina wasn’t entirely sure about that statement.
It made her a little nervous, and she eyed Athdara, who was still slumped against the wall.
She could see how much the news had affected her friend, which made her think that Kane was a bad individual, indeed.
She’d already sensed it, but looking into Athdara’s face confirmed it.
“Have no fear, my lord,” she said with quiet determination. “I will be cautious. But may I ask a question?”
“What?”
Marina turned to him. “What is this all about?” she asked. “A bounty hunter and something about an uncle… May I ask why he is searching for Athdara?”
Tay looked to Athdara, who took a deep breath and pushed herself away from the wall. This was her story to tell—not his. He watched her as she squared her shoulders and faced her Roman friend who had risked much to help her—and deserved an explanation.
“My father was a great duke,” Athdara said quietly.
“His brother, my uncle, stole his duchy and murdered him. He has sent this bounty hunter to find me and my younger brother, who is the heir to the duchy. If this bounty hunter finds me, he will probably torture me until I tell him where my brother is. God only knows what more he will do. Do you remember once that you asked me what I was searching for?”
Marina nodded. “You told me you were searching for revenge.”
“And I am,” Athdara said. “My father was a great man, and I miss him every day. The man you spoke to at The Black Cock is trying to erase his legacy from this earth. He is trying to kill or control everything my father gave his life for. My revenge is against that man and my uncle, who is the most evil of men. Even as he told us that he loved us, he was plotting our deaths.”
Marina pondered that. “I am sorry for you,” she said. “I did not know. We never spoke of it.”
“Now you know.”
“And I will help you, however I can.”
“Good,” Tay said, interrupting them. “Then you will remain here with the lady while I tend to some business. Once the food arrives, do not open that door for anyone until I return. Do you understand me?”
Marina nodded. “I will bolt the door behind you.”
Tay silently acknowledged her, but his focus was on Athdara. She was standing near the hearth, pale and drawn, and he crooked a finger at her. She went to him as Marina went back to the fire. He pulled her into the small chamber where the linen was still boiling in the pot.
“I will send some soldiers over to watch the cottage,” he said quietly. “I do not want you to worry. The bounty hunter will not find you, but even if he has followed Marina, he cannot get over the perimeter wall.”
She wasn’t convinced. “But—”
He put up a hand to silence her. “All he would know was that Marina went into Blackchurch and nothing more,” he said. “He would not know she went to find you. How could he? But I am concerned with her returning to The Black Cock alone.”
“Why?”
“As I said, he told her his story for a reason,” he said. “Men like that do not dole out information easily. I may have someone return with her when she goes back to collect her belongings.”
Athdara was nodding before he finished speaking. “Please,” she begged softly. “If it is not too much trouble, that would make me happy. She has risked much for me.”
He nodded back, but he wasn’t thinking about Marina at the moment. He was thinking about Athdara. His dark eyes glittered as he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. He liked it so much that he did it again.
“Take your linen out of that pot before it boils into rags,” he murmured. “Eat when the food comes, and do not wait for me to return. If you are weary, go to sleep.”
Athdara licked her lips where he’d kissed her, tasting him. “Why did you tell your man to summon those trainers?” she asked.
He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her to him, kissing her again, only this time it was longer and hotter. When he pulled away, he had to take a deep breath because the woman was making his head swim.
“No questions,” he said. “Settle in for the night, and I will return.”
Athdara’s head was swimming, too. She nodded, dumbly, and he slipped back out into the rainy night.
She followed him to the door, only to be pushed out of the way when Marina threw the bolt.
Outside, the thunder was rolling, and lightning lit up the sky, but all Athdara could think about was the bounty hunter on her tail and Tay as he went to meet with some trainers at Exford Castle.
She knew, without a doubt, that the meeting was about her.
God help her, she hoped Lord Exmoor didn’t regret agreeing to help her, not after hearing there was a bounty hunter on their doorstep.
Perhaps Tay was going to figure out just how to get rid of him. She could only pray that was the case.
“What’s in the pot?”
Marina’s voice caught her attention, and Athdara turned to see the woman peering into the boiling water. Pushing her nerves aside, she went over to the hearth.
“An old coverlet I found,” she said. “Let’s fish it out of there and dry it. Otherwise, I have nothing to sleep on this night.”
Marina looked around the barren chamber. “I would say you are fortunate to have anything to sleep on this night,” she said. “What about me? Am I sleeping on the floor?”
Athdara shook her head. “You can sleep with me,” she said.
“I had the stable servants stuff hay into the mattress, so at least it will be soft. But tomorrow, we should go about finding you your own bed. And mayhap fix some chairs so there is something to sit in. This cottage is so barren, anything will help.”
Marina was still looking around. “We can fix this place up nicely,” she said. Then she eyed Athdara strangely. “Are you really a duke’s daughter?”
“Are you really a merchant’s daughter?”
Marina snorted. “I am a different creature of God’s creation,” she said. “But you… you’ve been through much strife.”
“More than you know.”
“Mayhap you’ll tell me sometime.”
Athdara picked up a chair leg that was part of the chair she’d brought back from the pile of rubbish outside. She stuck it into the pot and pulled out the boiled coverlet.
“I will,” she said. “When the time is right. At the moment, my story has not yet ended. That is a fearsome burden to bear.”
Marina had little doubt, but she didn’t press. She quickly fashioned a drying rack for the coverlet out of the two good chairs in the room, and together, she and Athdara strung the coverlet across it. The fire was giving off a good deal of heat, and the coverlet would dry in no time.
Meanwhile, there were a thousand things to do in order to make the cottage comfortable, and they got busy with what tools they had.
It kept their minds off the bounty hunter and the uncertainty.
The only thing that interrupted them was Bowen and a servant bringing back the meal Tay had ordered.
After spreading it out over the dusty floor, Athdara and Marina ate bread and cheese, stewed fruit, and boiled beef until they could eat no more.
When Tay returned to collect his rain cloak and weapons, he found them both asleep on the floor, full of hot food and, for the first time in a long time, perhaps a little momentary peace.
But the peace, after the meeting he’d just come from, was a bit premature.
It was only going to get worse.