Chapter Thirteen #2
Then, he swung inward, through more trees, until he met with the clearing on the other side.
He could see Alessandria standing against the wall near the postern gate, patiently waiting, but he had to pause until the few men manning the back side of the fortress moved out of range.
Quickly, he thundered across the clearing, pulled Alessandria on behind him, and tore off back into the shield of the trees before anyone was the wiser.
It had been a slick and clever plan that now saw them quite alone.
Nestled in behind Chad, Alessandria clung to him as they rode through the bramble, her cheek against his back and the cold feel of mail between her and his muscular, warm body.
But it didn’t matter; they were together, her arms were wrapped around him, and it was just like it had been for that blissful week when they fled Canterbury for Isenhall.
It was as if nothing else in the word existed.
For now, it was only them.
But their solitude couldn’t last forever, unfortunately.
The town of Coventry was quite close and they arrived on the outskirts of the burg within a half-hour of leaving Isenhall.
With the warm, bright day and few clouds overhead, the town was bustling with merchants and farmers, people moving about to conduct their business.
They came up from the southeast, up to the very large wall that surrounded the city, and passed through the New Gate that opened up into a residential part of the city.
As the Earl of Coventry, Gallus had men stationed at the city gates along with soldiers from the Catesby family who were major land owners in the city itself.
Lord Catesby was a merchant by trade and had amassed a vast fortune that required many soldiers to help protect it.
He wasn’t a political man and therefore worked well with Gallus regardless of the de Shera support of de Montfort, and as Chad passed through the gate and into the town proper, he saw very few de Shera soldiers and many more Catesby soldiers.
After Evesham, that Gallus shouldn’t assign soldiers from his depleted army to guard the city gates wasn’t surprising.
“Where are we going?” Alessandria asked from behind him. “Did you have a plan in mind?”
Chad nodded as they plodded down the avenue, children playing in the streets and dogs barking as they moved along. It was a glorious, sunny day and he shielded his eyes from the bright rays as he looked on ahead.
“Indeed, I do,” he replied. “Past the cathedral on the north side of the city is the Street of the Cooks and Merchants. We shall go there to see if we can find suitable material in which to clothe you.”
Alessandria watched the people as they passed by; one child stuck his tongue out at her and she stuck her tongue out at him in return. As the boy went wailing to his mother, she fought off a grin.
“You truly do not have to purchase anything for me,” she said. “Simply to be with you is more than enough. That is truly the only reason I came.”
Chad’s big, gloved hand found her small hands, clasped around his waist as she held on. “I have missed not seeing you more frequently,” he said. “I was going out of my mind with longing even though I know very well that you are in good hands.”
Alessandria lay her cheek against his back again, so very content. “Jeniver and Courtly and Douglass have been very kind to me,” she said. “I never knew women could be so kind.”
Chad patted her hands. “Not every woman is like your Lady Orford and her horrible daughter,” he said. “There are kind people in the world.”
Alessandria watched a little girl carry around a puppy, with the puppy’s legs dangling.
“I know,” she said. “I discovered that the day I went to Newington, although the kindness from the nuns is much different than the kindness of the ladies at Isenhall. The nuns were kind out of duty, I suppose, but Jeniver and Courtly and Douglass seem to be kind because they want to be.”
Chad could see the cathedral up ahead and, beyond that, would be the Street of the Cooks and Merchants.
“Of course they do,” he said. “It is unfortunate that you’ve not known much kindness in your life, but take heart that it will no longer be true.
I intend to be kind to you and spoil you until you grow sick of it. You deserve nothing less.”
Alessandria grinned, now also catching sight of the cathedral up ahead. It was a large complex with a spire, rising into the sky and seen well across the land, constructed from red stone that had turned brown and dingy with age. It was the same stone that the walls of the town had been built with.
“Look,” she said, pointing to the cathedral. “Is that the cathedral?”
Chad’s gaze was on the cathedral as well. “It is,” he said. “That is St. Mary’s Priory and Cathedral. Newington did not have a cathedral attached to it, did it?”
Alessandria shook her head. “Nay,” she replied. “It was part of the bishopric of Rochester. We went to Matins at Rochester every Sunday regardless of the weather. We would walk the entire way.”
He craned his head back to look at her with some surprise. “That is a distance to walk,” he said. “How long did it take you?”
She shrugged. “An hour or less,” she said. “I did not mind. The cathedral at Rochester is so beautiful. No offense intended for St. Mary’s, but Rochester’s is far more grand.”
Chad simply grinned at her. They passed St. Mary’s and its dingy stones, and Alessandria inspected the structure with interest. Just as she had done the entire ride from Canterbury to Isenhall, she inspected her surroundings and the towns they passed through with great interest.
Alessandria had spent so much time bottled up, away from the world, that everything was bright and new to her now, seeing sights she had never seen before.
But they soon left the cathedral behind as they passed by the town’s center, heading to the Street of the Cooks and Merchants.
Alessandria was enamored with everything around her.
“I have been wondering something,” she said.
Chad could see their destination up ahead. “What is that?”
“After we are married, where shall we live?”
Chad thought on his reply. “From my father, I inherited the title Lord Thorndon,” he said.
“The title comes with two small castles that my father staffs with Canterbury soldiers as outposts. One is Denstroude Castle and the other is Whitehill Castle, both of them on the north perimeter of Canterbury lands. I suppose we could live in one of those if you wish.”
“Lord Thorndon,” Alessandria murmured, rolling the title over her tongue. “It is a prestigious title.”
Chad grinned, turning to look at her. “And you will be Lady Thorndon,” he said. “When I inherit my father’s earldom, you will be the Countess of Canterbury. What a magnificent countess you will make.”
Alessandria returned his grin, humbled. “It seems like a dream to even entertain the thought,” she said, struggling to explain her feelings on the matter.
“I am a simple woman, after all. I did not grow up in a fine home and learn fine things. To be a countess… I must say that I feel wholly unworthy, Chad.”
His smile faded. “You are the worthiest woman in the world,” he said quietly, firmly. “You are not polluted by politics or poisoned from those fine homes you speak of. You, and only you, are worthy of such a post. You will honor the name of Canterbury and the House of de Lohr.”
“Are you certain?”
He pulled the horse to a halt, still looking at her over his shoulder. “I would not say it if I did not believe it,” he said. “Aless, do you not have any concept of how beautiful and honest you are? You are a treasure, over any so-called fine woman I could ever find.”
His flattery was true and sincere. Alessandria flushed and lowered her head, basking in his compliments.
She was unused to such things but Chad was certain to make her accustomed to them with his gentle flattery.
He had been like that the entire ride to Isenhall, dropping gentle compliments now and again, introducing her to the world of courtship.
It was something she was rapidly becoming accustomed to.
“You are very kind to say so,” she said.
“The way we are… the way things have been since we have come to know one another… I so hope it will always be like this. I hope we will always say kind things to one another. I see the way Jeniver and Gallus are with each other, and the way Maximus and Courtly speak to one another, and it is clear that there is respect as well as adoration with them. I did not know marriage was supposed to be so warm or pleasant, but I feel… I feel as if we will be the same way. I will do my best to make it so.”
He squeezed the hands at his waist. “As will I,” he said.
“Have no fear; we will be kind and sickeningly sweet to one another until we die. My mother and father are like that. As children, we would watch them kiss and touch affectionately, and we would groan our displeasure. But now I have come to appreciate what my parents have between them.”
Alessandria smiled at the thought. “Your mother is a wonderful woman,” she agreed. “I did not much know your father, but I am sure he is just as wonderful as his son.”
Chad shook his head. “I am by far more wonderful and talented than my father is,” he said arrogantly. “You must believe that.”
He said it rather dramatically and she fought off a grin. “I do, I swear it.”
“Excellent.”
The came to a crossroads where their avenue intersected with the Street of the Cooks and Merchants and Chad began looking for a livery or a place to secure his horse.
He didn’t worry about anyone stealing the animal because it wouldn’t respond to anyone but him, but the horse was rather snappish so it was safer to put him away in a livery where he wouldn’t try to take someone’s arm off.