Chapter 10
Renaud stormed down the stairs of the manor and seeing Geoff, drew the knight to one side. “Have you seen the servant girl Sarah? This time of day she is usually above stairs, but she has not yet come.”
Although the morning meal had ended long ago, Renaud had not observed Sarah around the manor.
Without realizing it, he had become familiar with her pattern of work, looking for the brown plait and violet eyes, pleased when he spotted her.
He had noticed when the boy Jamie, now his page, walked to the stables alone that morning.
Most days, Sarah would have been with him.
And now she was absent from his chamber when she should have been freshening the linens.
“Now that you bring her to mind,” said Geoff, his brows drawing together, “I cannot recall seeing her.”
Renaud frowned but did not answer immediately. “I sense something is awry. See if Maggie knows of the girl. She may be unwell. I will be working in my chamber.”
As he ascended the stairs, he could hear Geoff in the hall talking to Maggie while she and the serving girls cleared the trestle tables. “Maggie, have you seen Sarah? The lord is asking for her.”
“M’lord, I know not where she is keeping herself. I’ve nay seen the girl all day. Ye might ask the boy Jamie.”
A feeling of unease settled over Renaud as he entered his chamber.
He was not able to concentrate on the drawings of the castle on his work table.
Could one of his men have defied him and taken the girl?
Certainly none would be so foolish, not after Sir Hugue’s banishment.
More likely she had gone to hunt rabbits and lay in the woods harmed by some beast. The image of Sarah’s crumpled form lying still in the woods made him mad with anxiety.
By the time Geoff appeared at his door, Renaud was beside himself.
“Ren, the housekeeper has no knowledge of the girl, and the others we’ve questioned have nay caught a glimpse of her all day.”
“Take some of the men and search the village, the woods. Find her!”
His friend knew him too well to question the order. “As you wish.”
It was later that afternoon when Renaud sought distraction in swordplay with some of his men, taking out his frustration and his worry on the clash of metal against metal.
Seeing Geoff approach with a worried look, Renaud waved off Sir Maurin with whom he’d been sparring and sheathed his sword.
He knew immediately they’d not found the girl.
“She is not in the manor or the outbuildings. The village and the woods have been searched and she is nay there. On my way here, one of the stable lads came to tell me the mare belonging to Lady Serena is missing. Assuming the servant took the horse, she has stolen a fine one.”
“When did the lad notice the horse missing?”
“He told me it was when he was feeding the horses this morning.”
“And he said naught of it?”
“He assumed one of the men had taken the horse and would return it. He said he would have reported the horse missing if it had not been brought back. I think he felt badly he had not done so earlier.”
His mood somber, Renaud wiped the sweat from his brow and chest and donned his tunic.
“Let us return to the manor.” Once bathed, and still brooding over the girl’s disappearance, he joined the men in the hall where they were beginning the evening meal.
She was only a servant, albeit a comely one.
Why should he care if she took to the road?
Mayhap the loss of the palfrey should concern him more.
Renaud could summon no appetite, so he strolled out to the yard, gazing through the gate to the dark green of the forest. She was gone. He had known in his heart it was so, but had hoped he was wrong.
Had she left on her own or had she received help from another?
After a few minutes, Geoff joined him.
“Have you seen the Welshman today, Geoff?”
“Nay, I have not.”
Renaud wondered if they’d left together. He had never trusted the bard.
But why would she leave? The answer came quickly.
It had been his attempts to woo her to his bed.
She had made clear her hatred for Normans and likely feared he would force her.
Or, mayhap it was more. Did she fear her own desire, that in time she would, of her own accord, come to his bed?
After all, she had surrendered to his kisses.
Even she could not deny the passion flowing between them when their lips touched.
Because of her disdain for Normans, she would try and deny that passion.
“I am going after her.” Renaud spoke his intention aloud. “There is still sun enough to travel for some hours yet.”
“I’ll gather some of the men and be ready to leave immediately,” Geoff proffered.
As Geoff turned back to the hall, Renaud said, “Nay. This I do alone. The young fool left to avoid me. Without knowledge of how to ride, she may be lying hurt somewhere. It must be me who brings her back.” His tone had been harsh though he was not angry with Geoff; he was angry with himself.
And if, as he surmised, she had chosen to leave him because of what lay between them, he’d be angry with Sarah. And Rhodri if he aided her.
“When last she fled,” Geoff said, “she rode north. She might have done so again. I doubt she has traveled far.”
“I will ride the night if I must, but I will find her. Of that you can be certain.”
As Renaud rode out of the gate, he passed the bard Rhodri coming in. They exchanged a slow look as Renaud rode past him.
So, she rides alone.
* * *
Serena shivered where she lay on the cold ground and pulled her blanket more tightly around her as the dream faded.
The morning brought a pale sun and cold air nipped at her face.
She had managed to sleep a few hours, but from the dull ache in her head, it was not enough.
When night had fallen, she had listened for sounds that might warn her of men in the woods or beasts that would see her as prey.
Thankfully, there had been none, but she’d listened all the same as she lay shivering in the night.
When she had slept, it was only to wake with the image of the Red Wolf in her mind.
There was anger in his gray eyes, as she knew there would be when he learned of her escape.
But it was needful she leave before she succumbed to his masculine lure, before he could claim her as his.
If he took her maidenhead, she would belong to him forever, no matter the priest had said no blessing.
A rustle of leaves drew her gaze, but when she cautiously surveyed the woods around her, she saw nothing unusual, and heard only the birds greeting the morning.
Rising from the hard earth, she dusted off her clothes. She would ride for a while before breaking her fast. Mayhap it would clear her mind. Today she must hunt.
She had traveled only a few hours when, seeing a fast flowing stream, she decided to stop. If the stream was bountiful, she might catch some fish. But first she would hunt rabbits. She could cook the meat, eat some and carry the rest with her for her evening meal.
Leaving her horse tied in the sheltering oaks, she crept on silent feet, making her way through the sun-dappled forest in search of her prey. Long ago Rhodri had taught her to move as one of the creatures of the woodland, confident none would hear.
* * *
Renaud had ridden Belasco through the night, determined to find the girl.
Before he lost the light, he had identified a trail heading north.
When the sun sank and its glow of scarlet and gold gone from the sky, he gingerly made his way by the light of the moon.
His body was now crying for rest but he was used to ignoring its demands.
As a knight in William’s service, he had gone days without sleep.
All during the night, thoughts of Sarah had run through his weary mind.
Why was he so fascinated with the girl? All he had wanted at the end of war was peace, to find his joy in the land, as had his father and grandfather before him.
Though, in truth, he knew little of the demands of a demesne such as Talisand, as Sarah in her impudence had informed him.
But he could learn, and he would. And beside him he wanted the English girl, no matter she was a servant.
He was certain he had been right in thinking she left because of him.
Telling the women he would allow none of his men to force them was a truth.
But he would never have to force Sarah. She had softened in his arms and returned his kisses, no matter how it shamed her to do so.
She was only a servant and he was a Norman knight, now made an earl by his king.
How much longer could she have refused him? Not long, he thought.
Anger warred with worry as he plodded on, concerned all the while what might have befallen her for her reckless leave-taking. Would he find her lying hurt somewhere? Thinking the worst, with the rising sun, he urged Belasco to a faster pace.
The sound of the running stream shook him out of his musings and reminded him both he and his horse were sorely in need of water and rest.
He led the gray stallion toward the sound of the gurgling water, and loosely wrapped Belasco’s reins over a log near the stream’s bank.
But he walked on some distance until he spotted a large flat rock near the edge of the water.
Kneeling, he leaned over the edge and brought the cold water to his mouth.
A snapping twig brought his head up. He stilled, searching the forest for the source of the sound. Brown and yellow leaves strewn about the gray rocks beneath the trees soaked up the sun’s rays. A labyrinth of fallen logs and tree trunks lay before him. Anything could hide there.