Chapter Eleven
The stop in Warminster had been thankfully uneventful.
Since the weather was good, rather than sleep at an inn – and also being rather wary of the town after what happened in Shaftesbury – Cortez set up camp to the north of Warminster to rest for the night.
The men had hunted at sundown and brought down two wild boars, which provided them with an abundance of meat for sup.
Underneath the black night sky with its carpet of diamond-stars, Cortez and his men stuffed themselves on wild boar and told great stories of valor around the fires.
It had been a pleasant evening for the most part, with Diamantha and Sophie sleeping in the wagon bed to keep them off the damp ground.
Cortez slept on the road next to the wagon, just to be near them. It was his duty as well as his desire.
The next morning dawned clear and bright again, and the roads were nearly dried up completely of their copious mud.
It made travel easier as the party set out from Warminster and headed north once again.
Their destination for that night was the ancient city with the great Roman baths, something Diamantha had heard of but had never seen.
She was rather like an eager child as the group plodded their way from the relatively flat lands surrounding Warminster and into the softly rolling hills that made up the landscape around Bath.
She was excited to reach their destination.
Once into the hills where the ancient Romans used to mine lead and other metals, the road grew narrower and heavy foliage surrounded it.
There were big ruts to one side of the path so the party, and both wagons, stayed over to the left side to keep out of the holes.
It was peaceful travel and one that Diamantha, after the hectic nature of the past two days, was enjoying immensely.
So was Sophie. The girl was taking a nap in the wagon bed, her arms around the cage with her pets in it, and Diamantha grinned every time she glanced into the wagon to check on her child.
Diamantha must have been in a smiling mood because she also smiled at Cortez every time the man, at the head of the column, turned around to look at her.
He would smile in return, making the morning full of smiles between them, gentle gestures that had been polite at first but were now gaining in warmth.
Something had changed between them yesterday, as two people who experienced danger and triumph together.
It had somehow brought them closer. At least, that’s what Cortez thought.
He’d never seen Diamantha behave so friendly towards him and at first he had been wary of it.
He wondered why she kept smiling at him.
Then, as the day went on, she continued to smile at him and his doubt turned to hope.
Was it possible that things between them were truly improving? He could only hope so.
What was it he had thought to himself the day before?
A woman who is chased will run? As hard as it had been to back off his aggressive pursuit of her, maybe in some small way, it was working.
Giving her some time to acclimate and having some patience seemed to have paid off.
As the village of Bath became visible in the distance, Cortez had Andres and Drake take point while he reined his charger back into the column to speak with Diamantha.
She had been looking in the wagon again when he approached and brought his charger alongside her leggy palfrey. When she saw that it was Cortez, she broke into one of those lovely smiles he had been seeing all morning.
“Look at her,” she said, indicating Sophie. “She has not released that cage all morning. I told her she could not take them out, so she is doing her best to keep them close.”
Cortez peered over the side of the wagon, seeing the little girl with her arms around the cage.
He grinned. “She can take them out tonight,” he told Diamantha.
“I plan to sleep in a structure with a solid roof over my head and we shall get Sophie her very own room where she can take the animals out and play with them to her heart’s content. ”
Diamantha wasn’t oblivious to the deeper implications of that statement.
We shall get Sophie her own room. In other words, Diamantha and Cortez would also have their own room.
Gazing at the man, she realized she wasn’t entirely opposed to that arrangement.
She was his wife, after all. At some point, their marriage would have to be consummated.
She couldn’t hold the man off forever. Now, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to.
“I am sure she would like that,” Diamantha said quietly. “Do you have a place already in mind?”
Cortez looked away from Sophie and to the head of the road where Bath was becoming more visible. “I was here, once, with Helene,” he said. “It was on our wedding trip and we stayed in a hostel called The Crystal Palace. It is near the ancient Roman baths, which I thought you might like to visit.”
Diamantha was very intrigued. “I would love to see them,” she said. “I have only heard tale of them. My father went there, once. He said it smelled terrible and the water was very warm.”
Cortez chuckled. “I remember that it did smell strongly,” he said. “There is something in the water, some kind of growth that turns it green and causes it to smell badly. You do not want to bathe in those ancient waters, I assure you.”
Diamantha nodded her head, rather horrified by the thought of foul-smelling bath water.
“I will admit that I would rather bathe in water without green growth,” she said.
“In fact, do you think it would be too much trouble to arrange a bath tonight? I should bathe Sophie and I would also like to bathe. If it is not too much trouble, of course.”
He looked at her, seeing that she was being exceptionally polite about requesting a bath.
He shook his head. “It will not be too much trouble,” he said, glancing over in the wagon that held her meager possessions.
“In fact, I thought to arrange a shopping trip if we do not arrive into town too late. Mayhap the merchants will still be open. This is our wedding trip as well and I should like to buy you something.”
Diamantha shrugged faintly. “That is not necessary,” she told him. “You gave me that lovely necklace that belonged to both Helene and your mother. That is enough.”
He shook his head, looking away as his gaze moved out over the city looming closer. “That is not enough,” he said firmly, casting her a long glance. “I should like to give you something that no one else has owned before. I should… well, I should like to buy you a wedding ring if you will wear one.”
There was a rather gentle and appreciative expression on Diamantha’s face. He had expected her to resist outright but she didn’t. In fact, she seemed receptive.
“If it would please you, I will wear one,” she said softly.
He turned to look at her simply to see if she was being truthful.
He still could hardly believe how much more accepting and pleasant she had become over the past day or two.
This woman was nothing like the rebellious one he had first met at Corfe.
She was kind and gracious and… beautiful.
She was most definitely beautiful. Thrilled that she would agree to wear a wedding ring, he winked at her.
“It would please me if you would wear my ring,” he said, then leaned into her and lowered his voice. “If only to let anyone who might have a notion to steal you away know that you belong to me. That goes for my foolish brother as well. Has he stopped flirting with you?”
Diamantha laughed, spying Andres up at the head of the column. “Truthfully, he’s not spoken to me since yesterday,” she said. “I would tell you if he was being bold and terrible, but he is not.”
“Swear it?”
“I do.”
“Even to protect him because he is now your brother as well?”
She giggled and lifted her hand in a vowing gesture. “I swear to you, my lord, that he has not taken liberties with me,” she said, then lowered her hand and grew serious. “You will know when that happens without me having to tell you.”
He cocked his head thoughtfully. “How will I know?”
She gave him a wry expression. “Because he will be sporting a black eye the size of a melon,” she said, watching him grin. “You do not think I would let him get away with it, do you?”
Cortez shook his head, hard. “I do not,” he replied frankly. “I have said it once before, God help the man who truly tangles with you.”
Diamantha laughed again, lowering her gaze in a rather coy gesture that Cortez found utterly captivating.
He would have liked to have chatted with her, and flirted with her, for the rest of the day had a call from the front of the column not interrupted him.
Frustrated at the intrusion, he excused himself and charged back up to the front of the group, just as they were descending a hill that led straight to the south gate of Bath’s city walls.
There were many people on the road at that point, crowding into the south gates as the Bishop of Bath’s men inspected the flow entering the city. Cortez could see the soldiers in their green tunics, scrutinizing all who passed. He nudged his brother.
“Ride up and announce us,” he told Andres. “Tell the bishop’s men that we simply wish to stay in town for the night and be on our way in the morning. You make sure to tell him that I am the garrison commander for Simon of Ghent. They cannot refuse us in that case.”