His thoughts rattled him almost as much as Beatrice had just a few hours ago in the dark. He didn’t want to be too gruff with her now or trip over his own feet.
For weeks, he had looked at her as a means to an end, but a new layer of feeling had been growing all along, like fresh skin under a burn. She was important to him in a way that was unexpected and still difficult to fathom.
If she tells me that she is leavin', what would I say to her?
He decided he couldn’t wait any longer, both because he wanted to see her face and because he had been standing outside the door with his hand resting on the knob long enough to look a bit unhinged. The innkeeper was still watching him, but he took no notice of it. Beatrice was the only thing on his mind.
When he pushed open the door and found the room empty, his heart sank into his stomach, which then knotted up.
“Och, innkeeper,” he called over his shoulder, not wanting to walk away from the room just yet, “where’s the lass I arrived with last night?”
“The lass?” the innkeeper repeated, stepping towards him and furrowing his brow.
“Aye. It’s nae as if many lasses came through the past day. The one with the auburn hair and hazel eyes?” Leo paused, waiting for a response. “Ye do remember me comin’ in with a lass, daenae ye?”
Stay calm. There’s nay reason to believe anythin’s gone wrong.
But that was easier said than done.
A thudding started in his chest, rang in his ears. His mouth went dry as the innkeeper folded his arms over his chest and spoke so slowly that Leo wanted to throttle him.
“Aye, I do. The lass left a little while back. She just took off down the road.”
Leo lunged at him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. “And ye just let her go?”
“I couldnae chain her to the bed,” The innkeeper yanked himself free of his grasp and cowered against the wall. “I surely cannae be expected keep track of every lassie a guest brings here, can I?”
Leo bolted to the door and threw it open. The road uncoiled before him in both directions; neither seemed more or less likely for Beatrice to take. The pleasant warmth from earlier turned into a glacial chill as he stared out into the vastness of the landscape, knowing that Beatrice could be anywhere.
Dear God, what did I say to her last night? Did she wake up alone and think I had left her?
Even as that thought rolled through his mind, Leo couldn’t fully accept it. Beatrice might have been hurt or surprised by his words, but she was smart. She certainly wasn’t reckless. Leo found it hard to believe that she’d disappear so quickly, no matter what she was feeling. No horse, no companion, miles away from anywhere she knew well enough to traverse on her own.
Nay, she isnae foolish. She’d stay here until I returned, even if she was upset with me. Unless…
He thought of how many dangers lurked in the woods, along the roads. Men and beasts and all matters of creatures that would see a lone woman and think nothing of snatching her up. She had no money on her, which only made her being on her own more dangerous. At least a thief and a scoundrel could be distracted by money, but if there was none to give, they would want the only other thing she could give them.
If anyone touches her, I’ll cut off their fingers. I’ll rip their filthy tongues from their mouths.
The imaginary foes were not what he was actually angry at. It was his fault that Beatrice had thought she was left alone. His fault and the fault of the innkeeper, who had done nothing to keep her from leaving.
He shoved his way back into the inn just as the innkeeper was starting to shut the door. The old man gaped at him, very nearly knocked off his feet.
“What did ye say to her?” Leo growled.
“About what?”
“Why would she leave on her own like that? She doesnae have a horse or money. She wouldnae go off unless she was told something.”
“I didnae say much to her,” the innkeeper protested. “She asked if ye had gone, and I told her ye had left before the sun rose. Nothing else was said between us.”
She thought I had left her. She thought I had returned to the castle and had nay qualms about abandonin’ her.
Leo reached for the innkeeper again. The man clumsily dodged him and groped around for a heavy item to protect himself.
He stepped back, his hands raised in a gesture of peace.
“Do ye have any lads around here who can ride quickly?” he asked. “I willnae hurt ye. I just need to find the lass before she gets lost out there and cannae find her way back.”
