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Tabatha would have been just as pleased to quit court as her mistress, except for two things.
First, that she must leave behind all hope of capturing the attention of Bruin, the fascinatingly silent second-groom…and second, that she must travel with the irritating Sir Nevril.
Why oh why hadn’t Lord Warwick taken his master-at-arms with him and Lady Judith and left Sir Holbert to travel with Tabby and the others? But nay. He’d not only left Sir Nevril of the poor jests and the long scar to ride with Tabby and the rest of the baggage, but he’d put Nevril in charge of the small caravan.
Which meant that not only must Tabatha travel with the man, but she must also abide by his commands. And that, she decided, glowering from her perch in the cart on which she rode, was the very worst part of the situation.
She could see Sir Nevril near the front of their group, jouncing along on horseback. His hair curled in small, tight frizzes, and his mail-covered arms gleamed in the sunlight as he conversed with two of his peers. It occurred to Tabby that she would be seeing more and more of the man now that her lady was wed to his lord, and that did not sit well with her at all.
“He is a beast,” she informed the amber-striped kitten—who was hardly a kitten any longer, but more of a young, lanky cat. “If he mentions rabbit stew once more, I shall run him through with his own sword!”
The cat, who was curled up in the lap of Tabby’s skirt, purred loudly as she stroked the stripes into a neat pattern. She’d been surprised when Nevril hadn’t argued about bringing Topaz—as she’d named the creature because of her stripes. Nor had he suggested she leave Bear behind, even though the poor hound was nearly blind and might not last the journey. In fact, Nevril himself had carefully lifted the graying dog into the cart, making certain he was settled comfortably with a bone on which to gnaw.
But it was the man’s comment about having rabbit stew for dinner, cooked over a firepit, that caused Tabby’s irritation. “He knows just what will overset me,” she said. “And methinks he says it apurpose, just to turn me red!”
And so Tabatha was determined not to allow Nevril to overset her any longer. She would ignore his comments and avoid him as much as possible.
No sooner had she come to this conclusion than the party stopped in the center of the road. She craned her head to see what caused the delay—a broken wheel on one of the carts, an oncoming travel party, or any number of things—but no obvious answer was forthcoming. She could see Nevril dismount and watched as he walked near the edge of the roadway, joined by another man-at-arms. They conferred for a moment, then to her surprise, he glanced back—and looked directly at Tabatha.
When he hailed her, commanding her to come to the front of the group, she frowned mutinously. But climbed out of the cart, nevertheless.
Making her way along the edge of the road, walking in the grass to avoid the heavy-footed, impatient horses, she approached the two men. Both were now crouched, looking at something on the ground, but it wasn’t until Tabby was nearly upon them that she realized it was a fox, lame and unmoving on the side of the road.
And she understood at once why Nevril had called for her. She glanced at him in surprise, then back at the rust-colored creature, squatting next to him. The fox panted harshly and his bushy tail twitched like that of an angry cat. She saw right away that his two back legs had angry, bloody wounds on them—as if he’d been caught in a metal trap and somehow escaped.
“Can ye help the beast or should he be put from his misery?” said Nevril. His voice was gruff and he avoided looking at her.
The fox bared his sharp teeth, lunging at her hand as Tabby reached toward his leg, and Nevril moved quickly to block the attack. His mailed glove acted as a shield and restraint, allowing Tabby to examine the wounds.
“I can help him,” she said carefully, still stunned that the man had even thought to ask her. “But I must get a cage from my grandfather. I do not believe Master Fox will enjoy the journey in my wagon. ”
Tessing was riding in a cart with the raptors and their equipment, and Tabby knew she could borrow one of the bird cages to accommodate her new patient.
“We must get on our way,” Nevril told her. “I mean to reach Treadwell by sunset. I will fetch a cage and bring the beast to you there, and you can tend to him while we travel. ”
She looked at him once more, still confused but happy with the arrangement. “Aye. And…now we are stopped, may I go into the woods for a moment? I am in need of water for the poultice, and also…a moment to myself. ”
He rolled his eyes, but nodded abruptly. “Do not dawdle. And there is a stream yonder. ”
She grabbed a small wineskin from her cart and trudged into the forest, glad to be moving her legs after a long day of travel so far.
When she came back out of the woods a short time later, she found Nevril waiting for h
er, just out of sight of where she’d sought privacy. For some reason, she flushed slightly at the realization he’d been waiting and watching for her, and she sailed past him without a word. But when he helped her climb back into the cart, she had no choice but to thank him before he turned to speak with Sir Gilbraith about their route for the rest of the day.
The fox was already in a cage in the cart, waiting for her, and Tabby turned her attention to his care. She was surprised to find that someone had tied a falcon jess around the beasts’s snout in a sort of muzzle, then tied it to the cage so she could care for his hind legs without fear of being bitten.
Had Nevril done that? She glanced at him as the cart started off again with a jolt. He was on his mount near the front of the caravan, but stood off to the side as it began to travel past him. When her cart reached him, to her surprise, he urged his mount into position alongside her.
At first, Tabby was able to distract herself by applying the poultice to her patient’s wounds. But when she was finished wrapping them up in strips of cloth, she had naught to occupy her mind—and he still rode along next to her.
“Do you mean to remove the muzzle now?” Nevril asked, clearly having been watching her work. “Have a care, for the beast was none too happy when I put it on. ” Without further explanation, he pulled off his mail glove and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, taking it. She’d never worn mail before, of course, and had hardly ever handled it. The last time she’d done so, in fact, was when her father was still alive. It was heavy and cool, and all at once, Tabby was struck with a wave of a memory she’d forgotten until now…actually wearing her father’s chain mail sherte, storming about their chamber with a wooden sword, pretending to be a knight herself.
She was no more than eight, and the edge of the sherte dragged along the stone floor. The sleeves were too long for her, of course, and the weight of the garment was substantial. But she’d managed to tramp about quite a bit before she tripped on the hem and fell. Father had picked her up and bundled her into a hug, mail and all.
“What is it?” Nevril demanded, pulling her from the reverie.
