Chapter 11
Angelet enjoyed the relative peace that riding alone in the carriage offered her, though nothing dulled the monotony of travel, especially as the surroundings grew wilder, with almost no villages or farms along the way.
That evening was the first time they were forced to make a camp. The road had become lonely, with no hint of any village or manor in the vicinity. Laurence had ridden on ahead of the group just to be sure, and brought back the news that the group would have to make its own shelter.
The men all worked to set up the camp, relying on Sir Rafe’s instructions for nearly every element.
The single large tent was set up for Angelet and Bethany.
There were several more smaller, simple ones for the men, although the sky was clear and fine, and the air quite warm, even with the sun sinking low.
Angelet was contemplating the effect of the setting sun through the young leaves, thinking it looked just like the stained glass windows in a church, when Bethany interrupted her.
“Where is the chest?” Bethany demanded. “I looked in the carriage and it wasn’t there!”
Angelet said, “After what Dobson tried to do, Sir Rafe thought it best to move the chest.”
“Moved to where?”
“That is hardly your concern.” She looked the maid over. “It is quite safe, and there the matter ends.”
“I’ll tell Lord Otto you disobeyed him!”
“You mean after I’ve gone to a nunnery, where I’ll be subject only to the rules of the Church?
Carry your tales to whomever you wish. It matters not to me.
” Angelet laughed. For years, the greatest threat anyone at Dryton could offer was to alert Otto that something might displease him. Such a threat was meaningless now.
Bethany realized the same thing. She pursed her lips, then said, “How do you know Sir Rafe isn’t going to steal it himself?”
“At this point, I’d give the chest over to anyone who came to take it,” Angelet said wearily. “It’s brought us nothing but trouble.”
The maid nodded. “Who knew Dobson would be so vicious? He’s Otto’s man, after all, here on the lord’s orders. Otto asked him special. Excuse me, my lady. I have to take care of something before it gets dark.”
Bethany hurried off. Angelet watched her go with idle interest, since she had nothing better to do.
But when she saw Bethany actually leave the camp and walk purposefully off into the woods in the direction of a large hill to the north, she wondered just what the maid was up to.
Surely she didn’t want to climb a steep slope simply for a call of nature.
Without telling anyone else, Angelet began to follow the maid. The underbrush was more or less completely leafed out now, obscuring much of the ground, and Angelet had to move quickly to keep on Bethany’s trail.
She clambered over a few rocks and tried to keep pace, although the path was fast turning from dirt to rock and making her progress more difficult as she slowly got closer to the hill’s summit.
She paused from time to time, listening for the crash of Bethany’s steps up ahead. She was fairly certain she was still on the right path—she hadn’t seen any other trails diverge from this one.
The trail flattened out for a short stretch, along a natural clearing, and she got an unimpeded view of the rapidly darkening eastern sky. The valley below was already in shadow. In a few minutes, the woods she just passed through would be much harder to navigate. Perhaps she ought to return…
“But where did Bethany go?” she muttered, looking ahead once more.
All of a sudden, she felt someone grab her hand from behind. She whirled, about to scream, when she saw it was Rafe. A very annoyed Rafe.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Rafe demanded. “After what happened, you should know better than to be alone. Ever.”
“There’s no one around but us!”
“You don’t know that,” Rafe said tersely. “Until you’re safely to Basingwerke, my lady, we have to assume that you’re in danger.”
“You think like a soldier,” she said.
“I am a soldier.”
“Well, I’m not and I won’t live looking over my shoulder.”
“You don’t have to, Angelet. I’m going to watch over your shoulder whether you like it or not. Now tell me what possessed you to wander away from camp just now.”
She pointed toward the summit. “I think Bethany is up ahead. I saw her leave the camp and I was suspicious. I followed her, or what sounded like her. And now you’ve slowed me down…”
“I saw Laurence leave the camp,” Rafe said, relaxing. “Heading this way too. Then I saw you go on the same trail and I followed.”
“So Laurence may go where he likes, but I can’t.”
“Precisely.” Then his eyes sparkled. “So what you’re saying is that you saw Bethany walk away from camp shortly after I saw Laurence…you may want to be less adamant about locating your maid just at the moment.”
“You mean they’re together….oh.” She broke off abruptly. “Well. If that’s what they’re up to, then I wouldn’t really want to interrupt… that is…”
“Why don’t we head back to camp, my lady?” Rafe suggested.
“Yes.” She looked around, then noticed something. “Wait!”
Rafe instantly had his hand on his sword. “What?”
“Nothing to slay, sir knight. Look!” She pointed toward the eastern horizon, where the first sliver of the moon was emerging over the horizon. “I want to watch the moon rise. Please. We can linger that long, can’t we?”
* * * *
Rafe knew he should say no, but the idea of telling her that she wasn’t allowed to watch a moonrise just seemed cruel. Who knew how many more moonrises would be available to her?
“All right, then. Only a little while. Wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea,” he added under his breath.
Angelet didn’t even register his comment. Her gaze was locked on the moon, a sort of rapture in her expression that was almost pagan.
And completely beautiful.
Her beauty had nothing to do with her outward appearance, either.
The hem of her gown was stained with dirt.
Dirt was an inevitable part of travel, but he was a little surprised that Angelet was so tolerant of it, until he remembered that she had never been expected to show herself off at Dryton.
For many women of her class, appearance was the only consideration.
A woman could spend hours a day making herself ready to be shown off for her lord or some other event.
Angelet had been ignored for so long that she didn’t follow those practices, despite her arresting natural beauty.
Angelet could have been a very useful tool in Otto’s political arsenal. How strange for the man to overlook her…there must be a reason. Angelet’s affliction wasn’t explanation enough, since it was only occasional and didn’t reduce her prettiness by one bit.
He must have been staring at her like an oaf, for she gave him a quizzical look. “What?”
“The moon suits you. That’s all.” It was true. She was a creature of the moon, with her silver blond hair and fey eyes.
“You’re teasing me, but there’s no court to impress.”
“Angelet, you’re the only one I’m interested in impressing at the moment.”
She looked a little uncertain. “I am?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot about my offer.”
By the way she bit her lip, she definitely remembered.
He walked up to her, standing right in front of her. “What have you been thinking about, then?”
She put one hand on his chest, keeping him a few inches away from where he wanted to be. “I’m thinking about the moonrise. You’re blocking my view.”
He shifted fractionally to the right, still in front of her but letting her look beyond him. “Pardon. I’ll try not to do that again. You enjoy your view… and I’ll enjoy mine.”
“Rafe, is this quite—”
He bent to lay a kiss on her neck, just under her jawline, and was rewarded with a little intake of breath.
Rafe pulled away and looked her over with approval. “So you have been thinking about my offer.”
“That is not true,” she breathed out. Yet he could tell by her breathing that something stirred her interest. And he’d bet it wasn’t the moon.
“If it’s not true, then why are you holding me as if I might get away?”
Angelet glanced down, seemed to realize that she had reached for him, and gasped in dismay. Her hands flew up, fingers splayed wide.
He caught her hands in his, then put them back exactly where they’d been. She took a breath, then said, shyly, “If you wanted to…you could kiss me again.”
He wanted to. Rafe wanted to do a lot of things with her, but he only kissed her, because that was what she asked for. He concentrated on her neck, laying little, teasing kisses on her skin. How the hell was it possible for a woman to be so soft?
When he licked her collarbone, Angelet actually moaned. His need sharpened about a hundredfold.
“How’s the moonrise?” he asked, forcing a light tone. God, he wanted to see her naked in the moonlight.
“It’s very…inspiring.”
“Mmm. Are you even looking at it?”
“Yes!” she said. But she spoke just as he ran his tongue along her neck up to her ear, and it certainly sounded like she was saying yes to him.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.
“You know exactly what I’m doing.”
She opened her mouth when he kissed her again, and curled her hands around his neck and slid her tongue along his. Lord, this woman was going to destroy him.
She sighed when he dipped his head and kissed her neck again. He took his time, teasing her with his lips, exploring her body with his hand, going slowly so he didn’t alarm her. Widow or not, it was clear that she’d been without a man for a long time. Too long.
He gathered up the fabric of her skirts to expose her legs, and then touched her. “Angelet? Is this what you want?”
She had closed her eyes. “It feels good,” she murmured, and she inadvertently let out another little moan.
In response, Rafe tightened his grip, his fingers digging into her flesh a little more as he explored her body by touch.
His hands were roughened by years of physical work, fighting, and riding, but she didn’t object, and then, thrillingly, even laid her own hand to guide him upward along her thigh.