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Now her expression changed to shock and confusion. “I see,” she replied slowly. The few freckles sprinkled over her cheeks stood out sharply. “And I’m to remain here?”
“Aye. Are you not pleased to be home? I did not think you’d wish to leave so soon after arriving,” he said. Ask me to stay. The thought came from nowhere.
“Aye. I mean, nay. I do not wish to leave. I did not expect…ah, well, very well, my lord. I am certain you must attend to any number of things at Warwick, having been away for several months yourself. ” She smiled up at him, but it was a smile much less warm and spirited than a moment before.
A small flicker of hope warmed him inside. She did not seem pleased that he was to leave. Ask me to stay, Judith. Tell me you do not wish me to leave! But he could not allow her to see the hope in his eyes, and so he glanced over at the cluster of men-at-arms. “I do have some urgent matters to attend at Warwick. But I expect to return well before the snow falls. ”
“Will you not sup with us?”
His determination wavered, but in the end he knew ’twas best that he not even do that. For the longer he stayed, the more likely he would be never to leave—and being asked to sup was little more than a routine hospitality. “Nay, Judith. I hope to reach Delbring by nightfall, and from there, ’tis only a day and a half ride to Warwick if I travel unencumbered. ”
“Very well, then. I need not even see to a parcel of food for your journey, since ’twill be so short. God speed to you, Malcolm,” she said.
“My thanks, my lady,” he replied, unable to read her expression. Her eyes were neither cool nor warm nor distressed. “I shall return before the snowfall. Have a care for yourself. ”
With that, he turned and called his men—who appeared shocked and disappointed at their short reprieve—to mount.
Moments later, they rode out of Lilyfare.
FOURTEEN
Delbring. The moment Judith heard the word pass from Malcolm’s lips, her insides turned to ice. He was leaving her at Lilyfare, then riding hellbent for Delbring…where Lady Beatrice lived.
He made no excuses, no explanations. And she was much too proud to ask, afraid to demand—particularly in the hearing or sight of her people.
And so she turned away after a brief wave of farewell, allowing herself to be brought into the great hall—which seemed so small after the ones visited by the royal court over the last years—and to a celebratory feast. If she was sad and confused o
ver the absence of her husband, Judith allowed no one to see. She laughed and jested and ate and drank, and at the end of the meal, she accepted the renewal of Sir Roger’s fealty, along with that of each of her men-at-arms.
It wasn’t until she was in her own chamber—that which rightly should be occupied by both the lady and the lord of Lilyfare—and between the coverings of her own bed that Judith allowed herself to weep. And rage.
Finally, in the dark quiet of the night with the bed curtains drawn tightly against the world, she slept.
The next days at Lilyfare were so filled with activity that Judith hardly had time to stew or worry over her husband’s seeming abandonment of her. She was home. She was with her people. She was where she belonged, freed from the confines and dark tendrils of the royal court.
And for that, at the least, she must be grateful to Malcolm.
Late the following day after Judith’s arrival in Lilyfare, a lone knight approached the gates. When he announced he was from Warwick, he was immediately brought to Judith, who was in her solar with the seamstresses.
“My lady, ’tis I, Sir Duncan,” said the blond man as he bowed.
“Of course. I remember you, Sir Duncan of Merrywerth. You are well come to Lilyfare,” Judith told him, submerging the initial spark of hope that he might have come from Malcolm’s side with a message for her—for she recognized him as the man who’d pursued one of her would-be abductors. There had not been time for Duncan to find her husband at Warwick and then ride here. Unless he was still at Delbring. Her heart squeezed sharply.
“I understand my lord is not in residence,” Duncan said, answering her unspoken question. There was a note of confusion and surprise in his voice, but it was subtle and he kept his expression blank. “I knew he intended to travel to Lilyfare in the stead of Warwick, and I have news for him. Where can I meet up with him?”
“Aye,” Judith replied in an easy voice. “He left for Warwick shortly after arriving here—there were some urgent matters he must attend to. But, Sir Duncan, please sit and give me your news. Then I shall feed you and provide you a bunk for the night. And in the morrow, you may leave for Warwick, or we may send a messenger to Lord Malcolm with your information. ” She spoke sweetly, but made certain there was an underlying thread of command in her voice.
After all, she did not wish for him to leave without learning whatever he had gleaned from his investigation—if anything.
“Thank you, my lady,” he said. “But I have very little of import to share. ”
She smiled, realizing he likely felt as most men did—that women had little interest or need to know unpleasant details. “Very well, then, Sir Duncan. Then it shall take you no great time to tell me what you’ve learned. You followed one of our attackers and what did you discover?”
If the circumstances would have been different, she might have found his consternation amusing. He was hardly able to control a grimace of confusion, and she could nearly read his expression as he struggled with how to obey her implicit command. In the end, however, honor and respect won out.
“Aye, my lady. I followed him to an inn. I bethought ’twould be best to listen and see what I could learn, rather than to engage in battle. I overheard enough conversation betwixt him and some others to learn that a message had been given out that a particular lady would be traveling on a certain route. And that if the lady were to be—er—removed from the presence of her companions, there was a very powerful person who would be most appreciative. And pay a large ransom. ” Duncan glanced at her apologetically, and Judith gestured for him to continue.
“Was there any indication who this powerful person might be?” she asked when he hesitated. Her voice was calm, for none of this was new information to her.
