Chapter Sixteen #2
Christin believed him without hesitation. He was a knight of the highest order and men such as Alexander did not take a vow upon their oath lightly.
They meant it for life.
“I believe you,” she said, her eyes glimmering warmly at him. “Did my father?”
Alexander chuckled, a nervous gesture because he honestly wasn’t sure if she would have accepted his vow so easily.
“I think so,” he said. “Your father and I have known each other a very long time. He was concerned about my past, as he should be. He is a father protecting his daughter. But men have pasts; most do not live like priests until they marry. I want you to know that you can ask me anything about my past and I will answer you honestly. I say this because I am certain your father will tell you things he knows about me and I do not want you to be surprised. I want you to hear the truth from me.”
She appreciated that he was being forthright. “You are an Executioner Knight, a legend,” she said. “I am sure you did not gain that reputation by living in a monastery for the past twenty years.”
He laughed softly. “I did not,” he said. “And your father knows that.”
Her smile faded. “Do you think he will try to dissuade me?”
Alexander shrugged. “It is possible,” he said. “He tried to chase me away but I would not go. I have found the woman I wish to spend my life with and I will not leave her, no matter what.”
It was a sweet thing to say and Christin’s smile returned.
“He cannot say anything that will shake me, either,” she said.
“I am sure he wishes I would marry a stalwart young knight with no past and a bright future. I am sure every father wishes that for his daughter. But there is no young, stalwart knight in England that could turn my head from you, Sherry. I have made my choice.”
Alexander looked at her, fortified by her declaration but knowing they more than likely had a difficult road ahead of them. In fact, he knew of one right away.
It might change everything.
“You did not hear what William said to me?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nay.”
Alexander averted his gaze, thoughtfully, trying to find the best way to tell her what he must. It was difficult for him to spit it out, but he had to.
Better now than later.
“He is not happy about our association, either,” he said quietly.
“He fears that it will impact any tasks we are assigned together, and he is not wrong. He has the same concerns with Achilles and Susanna, although so far, they have proven him wrong. Still, he is afraid our emotions will get in the way of our judgment.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he wants to separate us,” he said softly. “It means that he wants to put space between us to either kill what we are feeling for each other or, if that is not the case, at least give us time to think. We are not to serve together unless absolutely necessary.”
Christin’s brow furrowed as she listened, genuinely trying not to become upset. She was struggling to be pragmatic, to see things from The Marshal’s perspective, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.
“He is siding with my father,” she said after a moment. “Surely, my father must have spoken to him and told him what happened. There is no other way he would have known.”
Alexander knew that. “I am sure he did speak with him.”
“Then you lied to me.”
“When did I do this disgraceful thing?”
“You told me that my father wasn’t trying to ruin this for me. Clearly, he is.”
He could see that she was becoming upset no matter how hard she was trying not to. He admired her strength in the matter; a lesser woman would have been in tears by now. Christin was stronger than that.
But she wasn’t unbreakable.
“Come with me,” he said, reaching out and taking her by the hand. He led her over to the bed. “Sit down, please.”
She did, gripping his hand tightly. He could feel the tension, the fear, in her grip so he sat down beside her and took both of her hands in his, holding them against his thigh. Looking her in the eyes, he could see how much she was struggling with the situation.
Truth be told, he was struggling, too.
“I have had time to think about everything since this morning, so I want to discuss it with you,” he said quietly, seriously. “Only yesterday, we were declaring our feelings and, today, we have already had to face serious opposition. Would you agree with that statement?”
She nodded. “I would.”
“But that does not mean it is ruined. Nothing is ruined, Cissy. Do you understand?”
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. “I do,” she said. “I am sorry if I sounded snappish and weak.”
He smiled at her. “You are dealing with the stress of this situation far better than any woman I know of,” he said.
“Ever since we reached Norwich, this has been a tribulation for you. You’ve had to deal with an amorous king, an angry father, and an unsympathetic commander.
But you have dealt with it all beautifully and you will continue to do so.
Every moment shows me how strong and capable you are, and that simply makes me adore you all the more.
So, I swear to you, nothing is ruined. But we do have to think of a few things about our future.
It sounds ridiculously premature to say that, but it’s necessary.
I have no intention of letting you go, so if we have a plan in place, we’ll both feel better. Agreed?”
She was visibly calming in the wake of his logic. “Agreed,” she said, smiling weakly. “And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not letting me go.”
He shook his head, reaching up to gently touch her cheek.
“Never,” he whispered. “For now, I think we must adhere to the plan we set earlier – that you must leave the castle until the king departs. That will keep you away from him. If your father does not know about last night, he soon will, so I am sure he will agree. The fastest and safest thing to do is take you to the inn near the cathedral, as we discussed. I will escort you there myself, so you should pack a satchel and be ready to leave as soon as I can secure the horses.”
She nodded. “What about my father? Will you tell him?”
He nodded. “Of course,” he said. “As soon as you are safely away, I will tell him everything. I suspect he may even come to you at the inn and I further suspect he will want to take you back to Lioncross Abbey with him.”
Her brow furrowed. “I am not entirely sure I want to go there.”
“Why not?”
“Because it is a massive fortress and once I am there, it would be a simple thing to keep me locked away from you.”
Alexander chuckled. “Do you seriously think those old walls would keep me away? You do not know me very well.”
She grinned. “That is something I hope to change,” she said, squeezing his hands. “I was so hoping we would have more time to talk and come to know one another. But if my father takes me back to Lioncross…”
He cut her off gently. “It will be the safest place for you right now,” he said. “You will be far away from John and he can focus his attention somewhere else.”
Christin thought on John and his determination, and of a future where she and Alexander were separated for an unknown amount of time. “And then what?”
He shrugged. “The Marshal and I must have a serious discussion about the situation,” he said.
“It may be that you will stay at Lioncross for some time and I will come to you when I can. It may be that you must give up your life of spying altogether, which I hesitate to say because I know you love it. I do not want to see you unhappy, but I will say this… as my wife, I would prefer you not continue to serve The Marshal.”
She cocked her head thoughtfully, looking at him in such a way that told him she was considering everything quite carefully. Perhaps that wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but at least she wasn’t outright denying him.
“I do love serving The Marshal,” she finally said. “Susanna continues to serve him even though she and Achilles are married.”
“That is true.”
“May I serve as she does?” she asked. “As time and the situation allows? It’s simply that I feel it is important work, Sherry. I have told you this. I would not do anything you did not approve of.”
She said it in such a way that he didn’t immediately flare.
Not that he would have, and he didn’t expect her to give up so easily, but what she said made sense.
Moreover, she was willing to give him the control, even this early on in their budding relationship.
That spoke of her willingness to compromise.
Regardless of what he wanted, however, he couldn’t have denied her.
She was gifted.
He understood that.
“We do not have to decide anything today,” he said.
“I suppose that I do not see any issue with you continuing to serve in some capacity, but that is far in the future, sweetheart. Let us get through the immediate situation and we’ll address the rest. But I think, for now, getting you to the inn and then on to Lioncross is the best course of action.
You will be safe with your father, in any case. The king cannot touch you.”
Reaching up, she gently touched his hair and he closed his eyes, savoring the sweetness of her touch.
It was such a gentle moment of discovery, having the freedom to touch one another in a setting that allowed them complete privacy.
At the moment, there was nothing lustful about it, simply the excitement of something new and wonderful at hand.
“You are worried about the king, still,” she said. “You do not think that last night truly discouraged him?”
Alexander opened his eyes. “With John, we have no way of knowing,” he said. “All I know is that we should not take any chances when it comes to you. I want you safe and away from Norwich.”
“Today?”
“Today. Right away.”
“Will you do something for me, then?”
“If I can.”