Courtly bolted out of the doorway and grabbed her father by the arm, stopping him from going any further.
“We arenotgoing anywhere,” she said. “I knew you were watching Maximus last night when he spoke with me. You were watching him from the moment he entered the hall, weren’t you? From the very moment the man said his first word to me, you were watching him with suspicion. How could you do that, Papa? How could you show such mistrust for the man who saved the lives of your children?”
Kellen grunted. “The man didn’t talk to the rest of us– only to you.”
“He was our guest! Was I supposed to ignore him?”
Kellen yanked his arm away from her grasp. Their first conversation of the day had become very brittle, very quickly, and he was caught off-guard by it. He didn’t like fighting with hisprecious Courtly and wasn’t very adept in handling his emotions where it pertained to her.
“I never said this decision had anything to do with Maximus de Shera,” he insisted, although it was weakly done. “Why would you accuse me of such a thing?”
His denial angered her. “Because it is true!” she fired at him. “You always behave the same way when any man comes within ten feet of me. You think every man in England is out to ravage me. It simply isn’t true!”
Kellen was trying not to lose ground in this argument. Maximus’ attention towards Courtly had him up all night and by morning he’d made his decision what to do about it. He knew he couldn’t chase a de Shera away as he’d done with other suitors. Therefore, it stood to reason that if he couldn’t send the man away, he needed to send his daughter away where the man could not get to her. Still, he would not admit to her accusation. He didn’t like having his decisions questioned.
“I have no idea what you mean,” he said, again. “I am sending you back to Trelystan because you and your sister have nothing and your aunt has not yet returned this morning, so it is doubtful you will have anything you need to replace what you lost.”
Courtly threw up her hands in a gesture of utter frustration. “We can just as easily go into Oxford to purchase items to replace what we lost in the fire,” she pointed out. “You would rather send us home, more than two weeks on the road, with absolutely nothing to our name? We would have to stop somewhere, at some time, to purchase something to tide us over. Why not purchase it here?”
Kellen’s jaw ticked angrily and he was having a difficult time looking at his daughter. “You will be safer at home,” he said, avoiding her question. “I should not have brought you with me to Oxford. There is too much danger here.”
Courtly grunted with frustration. “There is no danger here,” she said. “You have made up any danger in your mind. Admit it, Papa– you want to send me home because Maximus de Shera was kind to me. He showed me attention. Every time a man shows me attention, you do your very best to send him away. Now, you are sendingmeaway because you cannot send a de Shera away. Admit it!”
Kellen growled and turned away from her. “You are mad.”
Courtly watched him march away. “Mayhap I am,” she called after him, furious. “But I amnotgoing home!”
With that, she stomped back into the building, slamming the door behind her. When she returned to the small, dark chamber she shared with her sister, Isadora was sitting up in bed, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
“Why were you shouting?” Isadora wanted to know, yawning. “Why was Papa here?”
Courtly was hurt, frustrated, and angry. She sat heavily on the end of the bed, near tears. She knew what her father was capable of but this was one suitor she did not wish for him to chase away. Speaking with Maximus the night before, it was as if they were the only two people in the entire hall. Her father had been right. Maximus hadonlyspoken to her for most of the night. He had been attentive, kind, and humorous. It was true that she had done most of the talking, but he had listened most carefully. And when he spoke in that deep, melodious voice, it was enough to send bolts of excitement coursing up her spine. She could have listened to that voice forever.
But she knew her father had been watching. He’d been watching both of them since the moment they came back from the kitchens. Although Maximus’ brother was able to engage Kellen in conversation, monopolizing the man for the entire evening, it was clear that Kellen had been distracted by the conversation going on between Maximus and his daughter.Courtly had been fully expecting her father to make a comment about it but she certainly hadn’t expected the man to make an attempt to send her home. Well, she wasn’t going no matter what he said.
“Papa wants to send us back to Trelystan,” she finally said, answering her sister’s question. “I told him we are not going.”
Isadora appeared puzzled. “Why does he want to send us back?”
Courtly looked at her sister, then. “Because he wants to send me away from Sir Maximus,” she said. “He did not like the attention the man paid to me last night. We knew this would happen, Issie. It always does.”
Isadora yawned again although she was becoming more lucid. “I saw Papa,” she said. “He watched you and Sir Maximus all night.”
Courtly sighed heavily and hung her head. Her frustration and anger was wearing off, being replaced by a powerful sense of disappointment.Not this time, Papa. I will not let you do it this time!
“Why does he do it, Is?” she sighed. “I did not much care when he chased away my first two suitors, old men who had summoned me because they had heard I was beautiful. I did not even care when he chased away that young knight who had been traveling from Ireland. What was his name? De Royans? And if Papa knew that Kirk St. Héver has tried to show me attention, he would dismiss the man forever. But with Sir Maximus, I do not want to go home and never see him again.”
Isadora watched her sister’s sad expression and felt very sorry for her, as sorry as a child could feel. She didn’t yet understand the allure of men and of marriage, but someday she would. She didn’t want to face what her sister was facing. Climbing out of bed, she went to her sister, snuggling against her, trying to give the woman some comfort.
“Papa is afraid,” she said simply. “He is afraid someone will take you away from him.”
Courtly sighed. “I wish it was that simple,” she said. “It seems as if there is something more than that, something….”
She was cut off when the door to the chamber suddenly swung open, revealing Ellice in the doorway. Isadora gasped with fright at the unexpected sight of her aunt, who looked damp and disheveled, as if she had been running all night long. Her eyes had an edgy gleam to them. Courtly, however, did nothing more than meet the woman’s gaze. She was in no mood for the woman’s games, now appearing as if Lazarus had just returned from the dead, when she had been missing all night.
“Greetings, Auntie,” she said without enthusiasm. “We missed you last eve.”
Ellice eyed her niece. “I was told you cooked the meal,” she said. “Is this true?”
