“You were really worried I was hurt?” Goswin asked.
“I was,” she said. “And you were hurt in the end!” She looked angry.
At last Rafe noticed that the boy’s shirt was stained red on the back. “You were whipped?”
“Once,” Goswin said. “It doesn’t hurt.”
The boy was obviously lying, wanting to appear strong in front of Angelet. Rafe gave him a nod. “If you say so.”
“We should return to Cleobury,” Alric said, looking worriedly at the darkening sky.
Octavian said he’d retrieve the horses, who had wandered away somewhat. But the moment he spoke, another rider appeared.
Rafe squinted, since the rider was backlit by the setting sun. “Is that…”
“Robin,” Octavian said, sounding unsurprised, and also unhappy. “Our hidden archer.”
“What the hell is she doing here?” Alric asked.
By that time, Robin reached them, holding her bow. “I followed you,” she said bluntly. “And a good thing too. Three against twelve? Plus a crossbow? Not good odds.”
“A battle is no place for a lady,” Alric said.
“I attended as an archer,” Robin said defensively, plucking at the leather bracer she still wore on her forearm. “And some thanks would be pleasant.”
“Thank you for saving my life,” Angelet said. “But Sir Alric is correct, it’s time to go.”
They rode back to Cleobury in the deepening twilight. The lack of extra horses meant Angelet rode with Rafe, while Goswin rode behind Alric. As they rode, Octavian and Robin dropped back, immersed in a heated argument about Robin’s “whim,” as Octavian put it. The word seemed to infuriate the young woman, whose cheeks had gone beet red.
“I will say that having that first arrow appear was convenient,” Rafe said quietly to Alric.
“But she’s barely more than a girl,” Angelet said worriedly.
“A girl who can shoot,” Alric said. “I know all too well. I met her at arrowpoint, an experience I don’t want to repeat.”
Suddenly, Robin’s voice grew louder. “Because I wasbored!And I wasn’t in danger at all. Not with three knights in earshot!”
Octavian said, in a more measured tone, “It was irresponsible.” The rest of his argument was too low to hear.
Rafe didn’t think the knight had much chance to influence Robin. “And Octavian’s argument will…do what?”
“Chasten her, perhaps,” Alric said. “At least she listens to him sometimes. She never listens to me.”
Angelet said, “I’m glad she followed. Ernald might have succeeded if she didn’t. He was going to force me to go to Basingwerke. Which sounds like a horrible place.” She told what Ernald shared about the abbey’s practices.
Rafe’s arm was around her waist, holding her so she wouldn’t fall. Now he tightened his grip. “He’s probably telling the truth. Lord Otto acted strangely about it when he first hired us. We were told not to bring you back. He ordered me to ignore any pleas you might make. I was to see that you passed through the gate, and then leave when the gate locked behind you.”
“And you agreed to that?” she asked, aghast.
“I made no complaint,” he corrected. “I let Otto believe what he would—my reputation is that of a man out for himself. But I didn’t like his words, and I never let another decide my course. If I didn’t like what I saw, or if you’d asked…Otto’s orders meant nothing to me.”
He laid a kiss on her head, enjoying the silky feel of her hair. By that point, the sky had changed to a purple-blue, the last shade of twilight. Rafe used the darkness to hold Angelet closer to him than he otherwise could. He almost didn’t want to see the gates again.
Back at Cleobury, the party rode in to find an audience, despite the late hour. Many of the residents knew of the crisis and found reasons to be in the courtyard when they returned. At the sight of Angelet, many shouted in relief. She smiled happily. “I don’t ever remember being cheered upon my arrival anywhere.”
Cecily made much of Goswin, and took him away to tend the wound across his back. Alric asked if Angelet felt up to talking briefly. “Rainald ought to be told what’s happened.”
She nodded, but leaned against Rafe as they walked.
