Chapter Seven
It was raining when twenty five men-at-arms, five knights, and two ladies departed a water-logged Sherborne Castle in the early pre-dawn hours.
After a night that saw her getting very little sleep, Diamantha was introduced to the knights who would be escorting her north; Sir Andres de Bretagne, Sir James de Lohr, Sir Drake de Winter, and Sir Oliver St. John.
De Winter was a big man with big hands, very handsome, while St. John was tall and sinewy and blond.
Andres looked a good deal like his brother except he was taller and thinner, and he seemed to have a perpetual smile on his face.
He had winked at her a couple of times, too.
He thought he was being quite flirtatious but she thought he was being a fool and already she wasn’t sure if she liked him.
She wondered if Cortez had even noticed.
She politely acknowledged these men clad in full armor, with rain dripping off their faces, looking as if they were heading into battle.
They were well armed and well supplied with their massive war horses, animals that were muzzled in the bailey because they were so ferocious.
Diamantha would learn later that each man personally owned several horses, from palfreys to the more durable coursers or rounceys, but they had, in fact, chosen to take the expensive destriers on the trip north.
Being a long and perhaps dangerous journey, they wanted the stability and viciousness of the destriers.
Diamantha thought it felt a bit like a battle march.
After Diamantha and Sophie had retired the night before in Cortez’s rather large and comfortable chamber, Cortez had spent most of the night making sure all of the details were settled for their journey on the morrow.
Men were prepared, horses were readied, and he had taken a section of one of the provisions wagons and turned it into a comfortable little nest for Sophie.
He figured the girl wouldn’t want to ride all of the time, so he and James had fashioned a padded pallet.
He had even put some pillows around the sides, pillows that James’ wife had given them.
Suspecting that Sophie might also want to take her kittens along, Cortez confiscated one of the wooden cages in the kitchen yard used for the chicks and put straw at the bottom of it, putting it next to Sophie’s pallet.
He made sure to put a small wooden bowl in it for water, and part of an old horse blanket for warmth.
When he was finished primping the entire section of the wagon for the child, he had his quartermaster sling oiled cloth over the back of the wagon for protection, making a cozy little hovel.
When all was said and done, he was rather proud of it.
It was a nice little place for his new daughter.
It was into this warm haven that Cortez deposited Sophie, who was thrilled with her comfortable little space.
Bundled up against the weather, she had her two kittens underneath her cloak and happily put them into their little cage.
She was also still rather sleepy so after her mother bundled her up in a heavy blanket beneath the oiled tarp, Sophie lay down on her pillows and promptly fell asleep.
In the pre-dawn hours, she wasn’t ready yet to face the world.
But Diamantha was. After tending her daughter, she allowed Cortez to escort her to her palfrey, a rather big-boned mare that Robert had given her.
It was a gray horse, with black speckles, and she mounted silently, gathering her reins as Cortez and one of his knights covered her with an oiled cloth to protect her from the rain.
Cortez was polite, as he had been the night before, and Diamantha again felt a jolt when their eyes met.
He smiled faintly at her, which made her heart leap strangely.
He was, indeed, a devilishly handsome man, and perhaps for the first time since he appeared in George’s solar, she allowed herself to feel it.
She didn’t try to chase it away or talk herself out of it.
For once, she allowed herself to feel the thrill of his smile.
Even if she didn’t want to admit it, the man was starting to grow on her.
Diamantha watched him make his way to his big black and white charger.
When he mounted, someone gave a shout and the entire party began to move.
The great gatehouse of Sherborne Castle was open and men on horseback began to trickle out, heading out into the land that was brilliant green and wet with rain.
Diamantha rode beside the wagon where her daughter was sleeping peacefully, hardly believing that they were finally on their way. It seemed dream-like and surreal.
The great questing to locate Robert Edlington’s body had begun.
*
No glory, no great triumph. No inspiring thoughts or words. No great shouts of encouragement or great blessings from God.
In all, the trek north out of Sherborne was nothing that Diamantha thought it would be.
It was, in truth, a monotonous march through horrible weather, sloppy roads, and whipping winds.
The storm that had crept upon them yesterday as they’d made their way from Corfe was now a part of their very fabric, a constant travel companion with seemingly no end.
It was wretched and vicious as the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed.
Everyone in the party was beyond miserable but had the sense not to show it.
It was simply the way of things and the men were used to it.
The only person that was seemingly comfortable was Sophie.
As the procession moved north through the small and flooded village of Kington, the fields were so saturated with water that the soldiers were coming across groups of wet rabbits and foxes who had been flooded out of their dens.
Most of them ran off when the troops moved through, but a tiny little bunny and a small fox kit didn’t move fast enough and were picked up by a couple of the men so they wouldn’t get stepped on.
They were too small to eat so the men took them back to the little girl in the wagon.
Sophie, of course, was thrilled with a baby bunny and a fox kit, and she put them in her little cage where they could dry off and warm up.
The kittens were too young to care that there were intruders in their cage, and after the rabbit and the fox dried off, they snuggled up with the kittens and fell asleep.
Sophie was very proud to show off her growing collection to anyone who came near the wagon, including Cortez.
He had been riding at the head of the column but had come back to see how Sophie and Diamantha were faring in the terrible weather.
One look at the four small animals cuddled up in the cage, and Sophie’s joyous features, and the rain and storm suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
There was sun, somewhere, and he had found it unexpectedly in the back of his provisions wagon.
It was enough to make him forget his misery.
As Sophie fed her animals with some apples and jerky procured from the quartermaster, Cortez walked alongside the wagon, watching her tend the hungry creatures.
He was surprised by how gentle she was with them, considering most children her age didn’t have a strong concept of being gentle with smaller creatures.
It was sweet to watch, inevitably reminding him of the little girl he lost and wondering if she would have been like Sophie.
He would have liked to have believed so.
As he observed the child, he very much wanted to look at Diamantha but kept his eyes away from her deliberately. He was, in fact, working on a theory.
For the past hour, riding alone up at the head of the column, he was starting to wonder if backing away from her might do some good.
After all, he’d chased her relentlessly so he thought perhaps backing off might make her more receptive to him.
He really didn’t know what else to do because nothing he’d done up to this point had worked.
Women who were chased usually ran, but women who were quietly wooed were usually much more amenable.
It went against his nature to do anything quietly, but he had to admit that in this case, he might have to.
Therefore, he essentially ignored her. It wasn’t long before he heard a soft voice behind him.
“How far do you plan to travel today?”
Diamantha had reined her horse up behind him and he turned to see her beautiful face gazing down at him from beneath the hood of her cloak.
As he’d hoped, limiting his attention to her had garnered a positive reaction.
She had approached him instead of the other way around.
He wiped water out of his eyes before replying.
“Shaftesbury, I hope,” he said, glancing up at the sky. “Even at this pace, we should reach it by sundown. I have sent some men ahead to secure rooms at the first available inn.”
Diamantha cocked her head. “Why?” she said, indicating the second provisions wagon behind them that was stuffed with rolled canvas. “You have brought shelter. Why the expense of an inn when we can stay in your shelters?”
He looked at her. “Because these shelters are damp at best and it would not do for you or your daughter to become ill this early on in the journey,” he said.
“It is worth the cost to pay for a dry chamber and a warm meal. Wouldn’t you rather see your daughter in a dry bed as opposed to a damp tent? ”
She was forced to agree. “I would,” she said. “Sophie is usually a very healthy child and I would like to keep it that way.”