Chapter Five
She knew he was just around the corner.
Annaleigh had seen Anthony d’Vant when she’d emerged from the keep into the kitchen yard. Jordan had put her in charge of the morning meal and anything midday that the children wanted, so after the morning meal was completed, she had come to the kitchens to speak to the cook.
The cook, one of William’s old quartermasters, had been in the chicken coop.
In a day and age when it was usual for household cooks to be women, an old soldier with a great talent for food was something of an anomaly.
He was old and gruff and tended to push people around, but William and Jordan liked him a great deal.
His bark was worse than his bite.
That was why none of the de Wolfe children feared him, including Annaleigh. Even though she was clearly Scots and he was clearly English, she and Baker, as he was called, got along splendidly. She let him think he was in control and he let her.
It worked out well for all.
It was a day that had dawned clear and bright, with summer in full bloom, and the day promised to be warm.
Clad in a dress of linen, which was light and comfortable, Annaleigh was feeling as bright as the day.
She’d been at Castle Questing for a few months now and she was starting to feel more settled.
People were kind to her here. They spoke to her kindly and with friendship.
She was accepted for the most part. And her cousin was giving her regular duties to perform so she felt productive, as if she were earning her keep.
There was no one to tell her that the death of a loved one was her fault.
“Annie!”
Annaleigh paused, turning to see Penelope running from the keep. She waited for the little girl to catch up to her, taking her hand.
“What are ye doing out here?” she asked. “Does yer mother know where ye are?”
It wasn’t unusual for Jordan not to know where Penelope was, mostly because the little girl was like a moth.
She flitted everywhere, darting about, until no one could keep track of her.
Fortunately, there were many people in and around the keep and castle that kept an eye out for her so she never came to any harm, but Penelope was a slippery little creature.
They loved her that way.
“Mama knows I am with you,” Penelope said. “She told me to find you. I am to stay with you.”
Annaleigh lifted a dubious eyebrow. “I see,” she said. “But the question is – will ye?”
Penelope grinned. “I will if you give me sweets.”
“But it is early in the morning, lass!”
“I want sweets!”
Annaleigh shook her head and resumed walking. “Not so early,” she said. “Ye’ll be running like a madwoman all around the castle in little time if I give ye sweets now. Ye shall have some later.”
“Now.”
“Later!”
Penelope proceeded to tell her just how wrong she was, but Annaleigh wasn’t listening.
She had suddenly spied Anthony in the stable yard next to the kitchens and she knew that if he saw her, he’d corner her.
He’d become more aggressive lately because Talus was becoming more aggressive and, like a good competitor, he wasn’t going to lose out.
Annaleigh was fair game as far as he was concerned, and most of the eligible men at Castle Questing were concerned, so she didn’t want him to see her.
She darted towards the buttery, taking Penelope with her.
“Where are we going?” Penelope demanded as Annaleigh dragged her along.
Annaleigh didn’t answer right away. She’d made it to the wall where there were several outbuildings and several places to hide.
“If Anthony comes looking for me, tell him ye’ve not seen me,” she said, letting go of Penelope’s hand and pointing to the knight who was just starting to head in the direction of the kitchens. “Please, Penny! Tell him ye’ve not seen me!”
With that, she left Penelope standing near the buttery while she slipped inside. It was a cold, cramped stone building built into the outer wall and Annaleigh leaned against the heavy door, listening for voices.
They weren’t long in coming.
“Greetings, my lady,” Anthony said to Penelope, a child he had genuine affection for. “What brings you to the kitchen yard?”
Penelope peered up at him, squinting in the bright morning sunlight. “Sweets.”
“Oh?” Anthony said. “I do not see any out here.”
“Annie was going to get them for me.”
There was a pause as Anthony looked around the yard. “I do not see Annie anywhere. Is she here?”
Penelope remembered very well what Annaleigh had told her, but she was a smart child. She was also manipulative.
And a little spiteful.
“Aye,” she said, pointing towards the buttery. “In there.”
Annaleigh heard those words and she silently cursed that nasty little girl. She stepped away from the door just as Anthony opened it. He smiled brightly while she gasped, startled.
“So you are here,” he said. Then, his brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”
Hiding from ye, she thought. “I… I’m taking stock of the milk,” she said, gesturing towards the earthenware containers on the floor. “Lady Jordan has given me charge of the morning meal so I must check the stores.”
Anthony believed her, although he probably shouldn’t have. Much like Talus, he was coming to sense that she was avoiding him at times, which she was. All of Castle Questing was laughing at the two knights pursuing the young woman who had no real interest in either one of them.
“Do you require any assistance?” he asked politely. “I am at your service.”
Annaleigh moved to the door and he stepped back so she could exit. “Nay,” she said. “I’m finished now.”
“May I accompany you on your rounds?”
Annaleigh sighed. She could tell that she was going to have to speak frankly to him the same way she’d done to Talus, only with Anthony, it was more difficult because he was a genuinely nice man.
He was handsome, too, as the d’Vants usually were.
He was big and blond, well-built, and had no shortage of female admirers, only he seemed to shun them all in favor of a woman who had no real interest in him.
Annaleigh was coming to think it was simply the thrill of the chase.
“I think not,” she said, turning to face him. “I am minding Penelope and we have many things to do this morning, though I thank ye for yer offer. Good day tae ye, Sir Anthony.”
She turned away, eyeing Penelope and thinking that the lass needed a swift beating for betraying her, but Anthony spoke up before she could get away.
“My lady,” he said. “Will you be busy with tasks all day?”
Annaleigh came to a pause, holding out her hand to Penelope as the little girl took it. “Mostly,” she said. “It is difficult tae say. Lady Jordan has given me some responsibility at Castle Questing and I dunna intend tae shirk it.”
“I did not mean to suggest that you would,” he said. “It’s simply that I must run an errand into Wooler later today and thought you might like to come along. It is a fine day and would make for a pleasant ride.”
Annaleigh found herself sighing again, looking at Penelope, who was smiling up at her.
That little goat knows what’s going on, she thought.
Penelope may have only been four years of age, but she was very sharp.
She listened and she observed. Perhaps she knew that Anthony had been trying to woo Annaleigh because she’d heard people talking about it.
Perhaps she thought she was helping by making sure Anthony found her, but Annaleigh didn’t really believe that.
She had a feeling Penelope’s betrayal had something to do with the sweets she’d been denied.
And Annaleigh wanted to spank her right on the bottom for it.
“Thank ye, but nay,” Annaleigh said. Then, she dropped Penelope’s hand and closed the gap between her and Anthony.
“Sir Anthony, I dunna mean tae be cruel, but I must make it clear that I’m not interested in a suitor.
Any suitor. If ye simply mean tae be friendly with yer offer, then I appreciate it and mayhap I will go another time, but if ye mean anything more than that, then I must refuse ye. ”
The warmth in Anthony’s eyes faded a little. “Well,” he said, a smirk on his lips. “I suppose that was plain enough.”
“I am sorry if it offends ye.”
“It doesn’t. But you cannot fault a man for trying.”
There was some humor as he realized she was clearly rejecting his advances and Annaleigh smiled weakly.
“Nay, I canna fault ye,” she said. “But I dunna want tae give ye any hope where none exists. And before ye ask me, I dunna find anything wanting in ye. I simply dunna wish tae be courted right now. I’ve much happening with my family and in my life, and a suitor wouldna be welcome. It would be a… complication.”
Anthony smiled weakly in return. “I’ve heard,” he said softly.
“What have ye heard?”
“That your clan blames you for the battle at Etal months back.”
Annaleigh nodded with some sorrow and also some shame. “’Tis true.”
“I am not entirely sure how they can justify that kind of blame,” he said. “From what I heard, the Etal men were completely to blame.”
It was nice to hear of his support, something Annaleigh hadn’t seen much of since that fateful event. “I think so,” she said. “I know I dinna do anything tae invite being attacked by two Etal soldiers. But there are those who think I did.”
His smile faded. “Will you tell me the names of these men?”
It was a surprising question, but not so surprising considering Anthony’s character. He was very chivalrous, very loyal, even to a cousin of his liege.
It was rather sweet, actually.
“Nay,” she said, impulsively putting a hand on his arm in a show of gratitude.
“I dunna know their names. They dinna do more than tear my sleeve and frighten me, though they did steal my sheep. I tried tae tell my da of this, but he was bent on punishing the men who did it. When Etal Castle would not turn the men over to him, he decided tae attack. He said that if he dinna, the Sassenach would think him weak.”