Chapter 13 #2
“Your mother is not here, I’m afraid,” her father said, reaching for a ladle. “She went to the market in town. Elena, who gave birth to her own son last week, agreed to feed James while she was gone. She will be heartily sorry to have missed you,”
With those words he handed her a bowlful of broth.
He had not asked if she was hungry or if she had eaten but evidently, he could not even imagine that she would not share the morning meal with them.
And he was right. After the long walk from Allerby, she was grateful for the food.
She selected her favorite wooden spoon from the basket where they were kept and handed a spoon to each person.
“I am sorry to have missed her too. But I will be back as soon as I can.”
They ate together, everyone plying Katherine with questions. What did she think of the Welsh? How long was she to stay at Castell y Ddraig? How did you actually pronounce that name? Had she missed the family? Had she made any friends? What kind of shift was she wearing underneath the silk dress?
This last question was whispered in her ear by Annette while they cleared the empty bowls together.
“Linen, thin and beautiful,” Katherine whispered back, reddening slightly. It was just as delicate as the one she had worn on the two occasions Siaspar had bedded her.
“Lucky you.”
Soon, much too soon, it was time to leave.
“They will be expecting me at the castle.” She had not asked permission for this outing and had a feeling she would regret it. But after so long, nothing could have kept her away from her family. “Lady Malpas doesn’t even know I’m gone.”
“Lady Malpas?” Her father’s eyes narrowed. “I thought she was married now?”
“She is, of course. I just thought you would not understand who I meant if I used her new title. Besides, just like the castle’s name, it is almost impossible to pronounce.
” She laughed a little too nervously but mercifully, no one made any comment.
“I will come to visit again as soon as I can, I promise. Give my love to Mother.”
It was the first time she’d felt uncomfortable in front of her family.
Little wonder, as it was the first time she had hidden anything from them.
But how could she explain the unusual situation that had developed between her, Lady Malpas and Siaspar without giving them the wrong impression or causing some alarm?
They would naturally become suspicious and try to convince her that she had better get away from such a tangle before real damage was inflicted.
She was here with them now. If she decided to leave Lady Malpas’ employ, she would not have to make the treacherous journey back from Wales on her own.
Her father was working again, and able to provide for the family.
It was the perfect moment to leave a mistress she had come to loathe.
Yes. But how could she leave Siaspar?
The answer was simple. She could not, not so quickly, not like this.
“All right, I need to go,” she said almost to herself.
Annette walked her back as far as the other side of the forest, her arm entwined with hers. A year younger than her, her sister had always shared her every secret. Until now. Siaspar, whom Annette had never even met, loomed between them like a ghost.
It felt wrong but necessary. No one would understand what was happening. Katherine wasn’t sure she did either.
“So, how have you been?” she asked to try and get over the discomfort.
“Well enough… Jack, the baker’s son, offered for my hand the other week,” Annette told her shyly.
“Oh, that is wonderful news!” The two of them had just started courting when she had left for Wales and Katherine had had no idea that things had progressed so much between them.
There had been no mention of it in the letter she’d received a few weeks ago.
Was that cause for worry? As the eldest, she felt very protective of her siblings.
Was Annette rushing into this union? “This is very fast, though, is it not?”
“Yes, I know but…”
“But?”
“Well…he is impatient to bed me. I would not allow him to do so before we are properly married, you see, and he agreed to wait, so…”
“I see,” Katherine said with a smile. This would explain the rush, and it was clear from the color on her sister’s cheeks that she was not being coerced in any way.
The future bride was just as impatient as the future groom to consummate the marriage— which was just as it should be in a happy union.
In that way, at least, villagers were better served than noblemen. They were usually free to choose their spouses.
“There is one thing…” Annette lowered her voice to ask the question. The two sisters had always been very honest with each other but apparently, this promised to be intimate. “I don’t suppose you know if the pain will be very awful?”
“I cannot tell you, as I am not married either.” Katherine had no other choice but to pretend she was still untouched.
Telling anyone what had happened on Siaspar’s wedding night was unthinkable and she’d already concluded she would have to keep silent about it.
“But I imagine that Jack loves you very much?”