Chapter Twenty #3
As Mathias finished dressing and just sat and watched, she pulled off the shift she was wearing, exposing her luscious nude body to the weak morning light.
Mathias inspected her hungrily, her sweet curves and remembering how they tasted upon his tongue.
But she quickly covered up, pulling the clean white shift on and then a red linen surcoat over it.
In little time she was completely dressed, braiding her hair into one thick braid and draping it over one shoulder.
All the while, Mathias sat and watched her, feeling the pain of their disagreement like daggers. It was all he could do to breathe.
When Cathlina had finished dressing, she packed everything up in her satchel and opened the front door, calling for Midgy.
She was back to ignoring him so Mathias quit the cottage and went to the livery to collect his charger as his wife tracked down the errant otter.
He paid the stable boy to groom and saddle his horse, and by the time he returned to the cottage, Cathlina was standing on the riverbank sniffling. He went to her.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asked. When she turned around and he saw that she was weeping, his manner softened. He thought it was still because of him. “Love, I am truly sorry you are so upset but I will not continue to discuss it.”
She shook her head and wiped at her eyes, pointing to the river. “It is not that,” she said. “Midgy has not come back. I fear he is gone.”
Mathias could see that she was genuinely upset and his hawk-like gaze perused the area.
“This is where we first found him,” he said gently.
“Do you suppose he has returned to his family? It is quite possible, you know. I would not worry that something has happened to him. He more than likely simply went back to his family.”
“Do you think so?”
“I do.”
She was sobbing softly, looking over the river. “I hope not,” she said. “I will miss him so.”
Even though she was angry with him, Mathias threw caution to the wind and put his arms around her, kissing her forehead.
To his surprise, she didn’t stiffen or pull away.
She continued to sniffle softly, watching the river and hoping her otter would make an appearance.
But there was no sign of Midgy. Mathias sighed softly.
“We cannot wait for him,” he said gently. “We must be on our way.”
“Can I call for him a little longer?”
He wriggled his eyebrows and released her from his embrace. “Just a few more minutes and then we really must leave,” he told her. “I will go to the inn and procure some food for the journey, and we will leave when I get back.”
Cathlina nodded and began walking the river bank, calling for her pet.
Mathias watched her a moment, feeling sad for her, for the situation in general, before heading up the path to the tavern.
By the time he returned nearly an hour later, as he wanted to give her plenty of time to hunt for her pet, he found her sitting outside of the cottage with her satchel in her lap, waiting for him.
When he walked up to her, she didn’t look at him.
Her gaze lingered on the gently flowing river.
“Midgy has not come back,” she said sadly.
Mathias sighed softly, his gaze moving out over the river. “We cannot spare more time to look for him now but if it will make you happy, I will return when time allows to search for him.”
“Promise?”
“I do.”
She squared her shoulders. “Then we may leave now.”
Mathias knew how she must be hurting but he respected the fact that she was trying to be strong about it.
He grasped her elbow gently and helped her to her feet, not saying a word.
At the moment, he wasn’t entirely sure what to say.
They were facing a difficult enough day ahead without the added sorrow of the missing pet.
No, he wasn’t sure what to say to her at all.
The horse was waiting by the tavern, tied to a wooden post shoved deep into the ground.
The dirt was surprisingly dry and dusty in the mid-summer season and the lower legs of the silver charger were already a dusty brown.
As Mathias escorted her to the charger, they passed by a towering rose vine that grew up all around the south side of the tavern and was bursting with small white roses.
Cathlina reached out and plucked a piece of the vine that had four or five roses on it.
She held it to her nose as Mathias lifted her up onto the charger.
Mathias mounted behind his wife, collecting the reins of the charger and directing the animal onto the main road south.
All the while, Cathlina sat silently in front of him, smelling the roses.
When they took the bridge over the river, she didn’t look to see if Midgy was anywhere to be found.
It was as if she had given up. There was too much on her mind and Midgy was the last straw.
When they were about a mile south of the town, Mathias heard her break down into soft sobs.
Whether it was for him or the otter, he didn’t know.
He didn’t even ask, for nothing he could say would ease either situation.
He didn’t want to make things worse. She withdrew completely, and Mathias let her.
He let her cry.