Chapter 6
The sun was barely showing when Elisande found herself astride her horse, moving at a bruising pace in the direction of the priory.
She was at the center of a formation of three knights and three soldiers, with three squires following behind them.
If Sir Henry was surprised to see her with wide skirts spread over both sides of the horse, he said nothing to indicate it.
He simply gave her a nod and urged his massive black warhorse forward.
Is he really seeking a priest, or is Hilda his true prey? She didn’t know the answer and certainly didn’t know him well enough to trust his word. He was a Norman. They had come to take the whole of England.
They didn’t slow until the sun was high in the sky, and they approached a stream.
“Let the horses have a drink,” Sir Henry said to his men. “My lady, you may tend to your needs.” He nodded to a stand of trees about two dozen paces away.
Unused to long rides, Elisande was already feeling the effects. A moment off her horse sounded like a godsend, but she wondered how she would ever manage three days at this pace.
Then she corrected herself. At this speed, they were likely to reach the priory faster than any member of the baron’s household ever had and certainly faster than a nag and cart could manage.
Fear rose within her as she swung her leg over the saddle and slid from the horse, only to be plucked from the air by capable hands circling her waist.
“I have you.” Sir Henry placed her on the ground, not releasing her until she found her footing.
“Thank you,” she said as she shook out her legs.
“You ride well. You keep pace.”
“And my body feels it.”
A whisper of concern moved across his expression. “We can slow down, if you require it.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you being kind to me?”
His brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re a man.”
His countenance darkened. “Who treated you so poorly to make that your impression of men?” Then he paused. “Ah. Your brother, the coward, who may be dead or soon will be.”
“He’s never shown the least concern for anyone but himself.”
“Perhaps we will overtake him as well.”
“Is that our true purpose?”
“To find the baron?”
“No, Lady Hilda.”
Light brightened his blue gaze. “So, you will admit you sent her to the priory?”
“Of course I did. Where else would she be safe from you?”
“You really do think I am some kind of monster, don’t you?”
“Perhaps I did.”
“Did?”
“Your character has surprised me thus far, I must admit.”
He smiled, and it removed years from his face. “Then I am happy to surprise you. Come, my lady. I will escort you and keep watch.”
His mixture of gallantry and his clearly defined purpose of being a deadly warrior was at odds in Elisande’s mind. He was not a vicious beast, like the rumors had said of William’s berserker knights.
Perhaps … perhaps rumors had been wrong.
So far, it seemed like that could be possible.
Or perhaps this one knight was the exception.
Or perhaps she was wrong, and if they overtook Hilda and Alger, his true character would shine through.
Either way, as Elisande slipped into the trees, she was grateful for the reprieve from horseback.
Whatever happened, she was glad to be out in the open air, rather than experiencing any of the possible fates she had envisioned yesterday morning.
After several more hours in the saddle, however, Elisande was ready to recant her earlier thoughts.
“Oh my word,” she said as she was lifted off her seat at nightfall.
“Come, my lady. We will make a bed for you.”
“A bed …” she said with longing in her heart and soul.
He chuckled beside her. “You have never ridden astride all the way to the priory before?”
“No, I have never been there. My brother would never have allowed me to travel so far.”
“I like him less and less, the more you speak of him, and my opinion of him was already poor when I arrived.”
“It is not unthinkable that I would not be allowed. I am a woman after all. And more than that, a caretaker for a child.”
“From the rumors I heard, I thought the baron’s daughter was a woman grown by now.”
Elisande didn’t know what to say. Describing Hilda to a stranger was not easy.
“Not exactly, Sir Henry.” But the subject was forgotten as she took a few steps. “How am I going to mount again tomorrow?”
“You’ll manage. There’s a stream ahead. I suggest you sit in it.”
“What?” Elisande jerked her face toward his. “Why?”
“The cold water will ease your muscles. Trust me. It is the wisest course of action. I will make sure no one approaches. My men will take care of the horses and make camp. Come,” he said as he held out a hand to her.
He was most peculiar, Elisande decided. Totally unique in her experience.
Then again, she had never met a Norman knight.
Her brother’s knights and soldiers had been crude and often belligerent and dangerous.
Elisande had kept herself and Hilda to the solarium as much as possible, venturing about the rest of the manor only in the company of trusted servants.
It hadn’t been much of a life of freedom, but it had kept them safe.
But this man … he didn’t make her feel like he might pounce upon her like a ravenous wolf at any moment. He was solicitous and strangely courteous. And he was one of the feared men of the great William the Conqueror.
She was shaken from her reverie as they approached the stream. Practicality instead invaded her thoughts.
“But what of my dress? It will never dry overnight.”
“Then take it off. I will turn my back. Use your shawl as toweling. I had a bedroll packed for you.”
“Take my dress off? With you standing here?”
He met her gaze as the sun dipped low on the horizon and darkness began to cover the land beyond. “I assure you, my lady, I can manage to avert my eyes. I am not a slavering youth, desperate to see a naked woman. I’ve seen plenty, and your form, while surely lovely, is not unique.”
Elisande coughed in shock. “Excuse me?”
“Let’s hurry. Because what I am most hungry for right now is food and then sleep. I promise you, your virtue is safe. And regardless, in a few days … you’ll be my wife, and I will know your body as well as you. But I am a man with restraint. I can wait.”
“Never in my life …” She trailed off.
“Strip down, and in you go. It’ll be brisk,” he replied.
His matter-of-factness about an issue of great importance to Elisande stunned her beyond belief.
“Hurry up. Pretty soon, it’ll be full dark, and there’s no point in waiting.”
“Well, I never,” she said, feeling annoyance and something else she didn’t quite understand.
In a bit of a snit, she stripped off her garments and marched into the stream.
She missed his smile at her shortness. He’d made her angry. It was mostly on purpose. He didn’t know how else to get her to do what would serve her best. He could call it a gamble, but it had worked.
At her sharp inhale, he knew she had sat down.
“It’s freezing!”
“Don’t get up. You’ll live. Wait until I tell you.”
“I’ll live? Easy for you to say. This is horrid!”
“You’ll thank me in the morning.”
“If I don’t catch my death before then.”
“Hush. You didn’t ride all day at the pace of a knight to die from some cold water in the evening.”
“But it’s frigid.” Her teeth were chattering now.
“A few more minutes. You’re doing fine. Be grateful it is nearly summer.”
“Please, it’s so cold.”
He moved closer to the stream, careful not to look at her as he squatted down to pick up her shawl.
It would barely cover her naked form, but his cloak would swallow her while she warmed herself in front of the fire his men were building even now. He waited as long as he thought she could tolerate. And truly, he was amazed she obeyed.
“That’s long enough. Come out. Dry off.”
The sound of her clicking teeth and shivered breathing nearly had him turning to help her, but it wasn’t until she shrieked that he spun. It was pure reflex that had him bolting to catch her as she slipped.
“There now. Get your footing.” He held her naked body away from his armor as he attempted to avert his gaze.
Henry had misspoken. Her form wasn’t like every other naked woman he’d ever seen. Because none of those women were going to be his wife. Still, he hadn’t lied when he said he could wait. He wasn’t a fresh-faced youth. He was a battle-tested knight, trusted by King William himself.
As soon as she was steady on her feet, he turned, holding out her shawl. “Dry yourself. Then you can have my cloak.”
“This was a horrible idea.” Her teeth chattered as she spoke.
“You’ll never know how horrible it could have been on the morrow had you not done it.”
“Please, the cloak.”
He pulled it off his shoulders and held it out to her.
“You can dress before sleep.”
“You can turn around now.”
He spun on his heel and took in her tiny form, completely swathed in his black cloak. Her blonde hair was wild from the wind, and in the golden light of the setting sun, he wasn’t sure if he had ever seen a more becoming woman.
Henry admitted to himself that part of this mission was to hunt down the missing daughter of the baron to determine if she would make a more suitable bride.
But the other part of him knew there was a reason this woman had been the one waiting for him within Rosewyn Manor.
God didn’t make mistakes. And in the glow of the sunset, he was reminded of that fact.
“Come. Let’s get you in front of the fire. There will be hot food. It will warm you from the inside.”
One of the soldiers had taken several rabbits as they rode.
“But I’m naked beneath this,” she said, and it was a fact of which Henry was well aware.
“It covers more than your dress, my lady. Just don’t let it fall open.”
She said something under her breath.
“What was that?” he asked.
“You seem quite comfortable with the possibility that your men could see me unclothed.”
He turned in front of her, blocking her way. “You misunderstand, my lady. In no way, shape, or form do I intend for anyone but myself to ever see you unclothed.”
Her green eyes lifted. “Are you certain? Because this feels wildly improper.”
“Would you care to redress now and then wear the cloak? I am happy to hold it as a curtain for you.”
She swallowed, and her gaze dropped to the ground. “I’m exhausted and frozen. I don’t know what I’m thinking, saying, or doing right now.”
Her honest admission touched him in a way nothing else could. “Then hold still, and I will dress you. No one will see.”
“But,” she protested, but he could see the truth of her statement on her face.
She was exhausted, and her wits were failing her. The cold water had likely slowed them, even as they helped her body recover.
He unfolded her dress and held it out. “Step in.”
He was surprised when she did as he’d said.
“I’ll tie your dress if your fingers are frozen.”
“How did you know it would help? The water? At least if it doesn’t kill me.”
She laughed slightly, and he was glad her humor was coming back.
“It is the greatest remedy I have found for aching muscles after a battle. The only reason I suggested it is having experienced it many times myself.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
He did up the front laces of her dress. He was thankful she had chosen something simple and manageable. It was another indicator of her good sense and his wise choice.
When she was once again fully covered by the cloak, he offered his arm. “Come. A seat at the fire and some hot food will set you to rights.”
“I am glad those battles didn’t kill you.”
In surprise, he looked down at her lowered head as she gripped his arm. “Are you?”
“Yes,” she replied so quietly that he barely heard her. “Will there be many more?”
“More what?”
“Battles?”
“I am a knight, my lady. It is the purpose I have in life.”
She looked up at him, and he was pleased to register concern on her countenance.
“Fear not, I am rather difficult to kill. And with a lady wife awaiting me at home, I will have even more reason to stay alive.”
He was right. After food and the warmth of the fire, along with the comfort of his voluminous cloak, Elisande did feel much better. Her body still protested when she moved, but after the chill from the stream, it wasn’t as bad as when she had first dismounted.
The larger surprise was how Sir Henry saw to her needs before his own. She had never met a man beyond Alger who ever seemed to notice she even had needs of her own.
His men were nothing like the baron’s knights—at least in her presence.
“Are you sure you don’t want more, my lady?” Sir Geoffrey asked.
“Thank you. I don’t think I could eat more even if I wanted to.”
It was educative to see how Sir Henry’s men treated him and how he was with them. She observed nothing but respect between all of them. It was the most time she had spent in the presence of warriors and not heard profanity or vulgarity.
They might not have been barons, but they certainly seemed nobler than those she had met of her brother’s class. And certainly, they were far kinder and more respectful.
When it came time to bed down, Elisande observed as his men determined watch and fire-keeping shifts, and then the others settled in a circle around her and Sir Henry.
“Here you are.” He gestured to the bedroll closest to the fire. Another was at least a pace away.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We leave at dawn’s first light.”
“Traveling light and fast?” she asked.
“Yes, my lady. I suggest you get as much rest as possible. It will be another long day.”
She lowered herself onto her bedroll. “Oof,” she whispered as she winced.
“My apologies that this is necessary. I truly do not have any intent to cause you pain.”
“Is it necessary? Couldn’t we simply have waited for Brother Benedict? He comes at least every other fortnight.”
With the firelight flickering on his features, the planes and shadows were even more highlighted. His blue gaze seemed to glow.
“Trust me when I say, I would much rather have you comfortable and well rested for what I have planned. But, no, we couldn’t have waited. My orders were to secure these lands with all due haste, irrevocably.”
Heat, not from the fire, bloomed in Elisande’s body. “So, this isn’t about Hilda.”
His gaze was frank. “Not anymore.”