Chapter 6 #2
The path was wide enough that Briana walked beside Horland, turning her head back every now and then to make sure the child was keeping up. If the distance between them became greater than she was comfortable with, she stopped and waited for the child to catch up.
Horland stopped at those times too. He wasn’t sure why, but he liked her walking alongside of him.
Although they only talked when she asked what a flower or tree was called and he answered, the silence between them didn’t seem to bother her, and he found he quite liked that she didn’t chatter like most court ladies.
The path curved and in front of them was a large fallen tree. The bushes on either side of the path were too thick to fight their way through, so Horland scrambled over the tree trunk and once on the other side, helped the little girl over. He held his hand out to Briana, but she waved him away.
“I’m fine.”
She climbed up and stood on the top of the trunk. “I can see the road from here.” She gazed down at Horland. “It doesn’t look very busy. In fact, I can’t see anyone or anything.”
“That road isn’t as well used as the other, but there will be travelers during the day.”
“I hope you’re right.” She stepped down, misjudging the strength of a branch as she did so. It snapped under her boot and she fell forward.
Horland instinctively caught her and the scent of berries wafted from her hair.
He breathed in deeply. She stepped back and a blush of pink filled her cheeks.
She glanced away then back again. Horland was so entranced by her he couldn’t wrest his gaze away.
They were so close, his eyes flicked to her lips.
The pink in her cheeks deepened and she quickly looked down. Lifting her leg, she held her ankle.
Horland cursed himself for not realizing she might have been hurt. “Are you injured?”
She rubbed her lower leg and shook her head. “No. I was just worried I’d sprained my ankle, but it’s all good.”
She put her foot down and leaned her weight on it. “See? Good as new.”
Horland tightened his lips at her words. The way she talked reminded him more and more of Patricia and Dianne. He didn’t know what country the twins and Mark came from, but now he wondered if it might not be the same as Briana.
He continued down the path and as Briana joined him, he asked, “Is America a big country?”
“Um, yeah. Yes, it is.”
“Oh.”
Once they reached the road, Horland stopped and looked toward Frother to the east. From that distance he could just make out the castle tower rising from the trees.
“See there?” He pointed. “That is Frother. You can just see the tip of Pradwick Castle’s Southern Tower.”
Briana peered in the direction he pointed. “I see it. It looks like it’s a long way. How long would it take to walk there?”
“One, maybe two days with the child.”
She held out her hand and Horland stared at her long fingers.
Her short but nicely shaped nails were clean for someone who had been caged and walking and sleeping in the forest. At first, he thought she meant him to kiss her hand, but the way she held it sideways had him wondering what he was supposed to do.
She took his hand and shook it up and down. He frowned. That was something Mark liked to do when he first met people.
She let go and smiled. “I’m sorry you’re not going to do the knightly thing and take us to the castle, but I guess I should thank you for getting us this far.” She took the girl’s hand. “We’d better get started.”
The child pulled her hand back and sat down on the grassy edge of the road.
Briana tipped her head at the child. “You’re tired, huh? Okay, we’ll rest for a bit.”
Horland looked from the child to Briana. “I think it would be best if you waited for a wagon. The outlying farmers should be coming through soon to take their produce to market in Frother.”
Briana gazed at him. “Can you at least stay with us then? Your farmers will be much more willing to help us if you ask. After all, you are a knight and all.”
“I must continue my mission to find Sir Garlain.”
Her eyes widened and something crossed her face that Horland was sure was recognition. She snapped her head around and gazed down the road. “Did you hear that?”
Ah, so recognition of something she thought she heard. “I heard nothing.”
“I thought I heard the sound of wheels.”
Less than a minute later, a wagon rolled down the road in the direction of Frother. Horland raised his brows at Briana and she smiled. Had she heard the wagon from such a distance? He held up his hand and the driver pulled up his horses.
The driver bowed his head. “Greetings, Sir Knight. Are you in need of aid?”
“I am, Sir Horland. You are going to Frother, are you not?”
“We are.” He bowed his head. “I am Monty Laffin.”
A woman’s head poked out of the covers and she squeezed her body in behind the driver.
Dipping in an awkward curtsy, she said, “Pleased to meet you Sir Horland of Pradwick. I am Rose Laffin, Monty’s wife.
We have the finest ripe cheeses in the kingdom for the king’s table.
Would you like to sample our fine produce, Sir Horland? ”
She ducked into the back, reappeared, and handed him a wedge of cheese. “Thank you, kind lady.”
He took a bite and nodded. “This is indeed fine cheese. Please, do you have room aboard for a small woman and a child?”
A young man poked his head out, his curly blond hair almost covering his widened eyes, and he disappeared back into the wagon.
The woman huffed. “It will be tight, but we can make room.”
“The lady can sit next to me,” the man said.
The woman scrambled over the seat and sat down beside Monty. “I will sit here, husband, and the knight’s friends can sit in the back with Mayland.”
The driver blushed and smiled at his wife. “Of course, dear, that is for the best.”
The young man trotted to stand between the wagon and Horland. He bowed. “You are Sir Horland of Pradwick?”
“I am Sir Horland, knight to King Pradwick, yes.”
He grinned a silly, wide, lopsided grin. “I’ve heard about you. You’re the one who rid the kingdom of slavers.”
“I did not do that alone—all the knights and the king’s army worked to that one end.”
“So modest,” Briana said.
Horland shot her a black look.
The silly boy was still grinning. “I’m Mayland and I’ve always wanted to be a knight.”
Horland regarded Mayland from head to foot and then pierced him with his gaze.
As if realizing he wasn’t making the best impression, the boy stopped smiling and straightened his back and chuffed out his chest. “Can you tell me how to go about it?”
Briana giggled and the youth glanced at her, drawing his brows together.
“Is it funny that I should want to be so?” he asked.
“No, I think it’s a fine thing, a fine career, but aren’t you a little young?”
“I have already seen sixteen summers. A man by all counts.”
Briana raised her brows. “Well from where I come from, you’d still be in school.”
“The schoolhouse is for children.”
Horland, bored with the conversation, cleared his throat. “Go to Pradwick castle and tell the guard I sent you to enlist in the army. From there, it is up to you to make your bravery and skills known to the king. If he is impressed enough, he may knight you one day.”
Mayland bowed deeply. “Thank you, Sir Horland. Thank you.”
Monty directed his gaze to Briana. “Come along then, we don’t have much time. The king does not like to be kept waiting, and we don’t want Mayland to begin his career with a black mark already against his name.”
Mayland jumped into the back of the wagon and immediately poked his head out behind his parents. The grin had returned, and his admiring gaze made Horland uncomfortable.
Briana stood next to Horland. “It’s okay, you need only make room for the child, I’m not going.”
Horland couldn’t believe his ears. The woman was completely numb-brained. “You wanted nothing else but to go to Frother. Why change your mind when you have transport awaiting you?”
brEE UNDERSTOOD HE was probably confused, but she couldn’t really explain her reasoning, not at that moment anyway. She threw Horland a wry smile and placing a hand on the little girl’s back, steered her toward the back of the wagon.
The girl once again ducked away and ran to Horland’s side. Bree frowned. “What now? Don’t you want to go to Frother? Isn’t that where your parents are? Surely they’ll be worried about you.”
“I’m sorry, Sir Horland, but we have to go,” Monty said. “If we don’t arrive in time, we will lose the chance to be the king’s choice of cheese.”
The little girl crossed her arms and stood solid, refusing to move. Briana sighed. She could understand the little thing forming an attachment for the knight. He was brave, strong, and kind. In another place and time, Bree might have been tempted by him also.
“Please go,” she told the driver. “And thank you for being so patient. Good luck with your cheese.”
“Wait.” Horland glared at Bree. “Both of you get in that wagon now. I am leaving and I am leaving alone.”
Bree folded her arms across her chest and stood erect and defiant. “No.”
The driver chuckled. “Best wishes, Sir Horland.” He flicked the reins, and the horse moved forward, pulling the wagon down the road.
Rose gave them an apologetic look.
Mayland stretched his head around the front of the covered wagon and waved. “Goodbye and thank you, Sir Horland.”
Horland stared after the vehicle for a second then rounded on Bree. “You can wait here for another wagon. I am leaving.”
He strode toward the forest and Bree trotted to keep up. “You can’t leave us. What if that was the last wagon? It’s getting late and there might not be any more people going to Frother today. We can’t stay here all night by ourselves, can we, kid?”
The child shook her head, her eyes pleading with Horland.
Bree patted her on the shoulder. The girl might not be able to talk, but she was quick on the uptake.
“I must go if I am to end my mission, and you cannot come with me. You will not only slow me down, but the forest is dangerous, too dangerous for a woman and a child.”
Bree wanted to argue but then wondered if she should tell him she knew Sir Garlain. Maybe if he knew she wanted to see him too, he would be more obliging. She gave him her sweetest smile, but he still glowered at her.
“Fine, go then. We’ll be okay here without you.” She turned her head so he couldn’t see her eyes and winked at the girl. “Won’t we, kid?”
The girl’s eyes widened a touch, but then she nodded and waved goodbye to Horland.
Wow, she was a clever thing. Bree waved also.
A frown crossed Horland’s face before he turned on his heels and marched into the forest.
The girl moved to follow him, and Bree clasped the back of her coat. “Not yet,” Bree whispered. “Let him think he’s lost us. We know which way he’s going, and we’ll catch up before he gets to the fork in the path.”
Several minutes later, Bree took the girl’s hand and they followed Horland.
“I wish you could talk,” Bree said after a while. “I know why I wanted to go with the knight, but I’d like to know why you didn’t want to leave him.”
She smiled up at Bree.
Bree grinned. “Hmm, I think we’ve both got secrets, huh?”
The girl nodded and dashed after Horland.
Bree threw her hands up in the air and hurried to catch up. She pulled the girl up. “Not so fast. He’ll hear us.”
The sun was sinking below the treetops, but the light still made its way through enough that Bree could easily see the path they trod. She was thankful there were no clouds and that she hadn’t experienced the English wet weather Abby and Izzy talked about.
Late in the afternoon, they came to the three-fork corner in the path. Bree had to take a second to remember the way they’d come earlier, so she stood on each track one by one.
The little girl started walking along one. “Hang on. We have to make sure.”
Bree knelt and scanned the area for Horland’s boot prints. She was no tracker, but she’d had to find missing horses and goats before, and this was the only way she knew how.
Spying the tracks on the path the girl had taken, she rested on her ankles and peered at the child. “You know where he’s going, don’t you?”
She nodded.
Bree stood up and waved her hand in the same direction. “Okay then, lead the way.”