“There is a tavern in Woodstock called The Buck and Bounty,” he said. “The owner is a friend of mine. I think I shall visit him tonight. I will be thereallnight.”
St. Héver nodded in understanding. “That is good to know.”
“It is.”
With that, St. Héver silently begged his leave with a bow of the head and moved off towards the de Lara party. Maximus headed back to his men, bellowing for his soldiers to mount their horses. Tiberius and Gallus watched him with some curiosity, Gallus going so far as to reach out and grasp Maximus’ arm as the man gave the order for the soldiers to move out and south. All Maximus did was wink at him and give him a hint of a smile.
Confused, Gallus and Tiberius followed their men southward, leaving the de Lara party to continue along their way. It wasn’t until they got down the road and out of sight of St. Héver and his men that Maximus pulled his animal to a halt and explained to his brothers what had taken place. Then, and only then, did they understand.
When Courtly appeared at The Buck and Bounty Inn towards dawn the next day, Maximus was waiting for her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next day
It was mid-morningin Oxford as Maximus and Courtly, both of them upon Maximus’ black and white jennet, made their way to St. Clement’s Church. Courtly, exhausted from the events of the past two days and having very little sleep, was sitting across Maximus’ lap, sleeping quite soundly against him. He held her with one hand and controlled the horse with the other. Even when he pulled the horse to a halt at the livery they had been using when in Oxford, he still didn’t have the heart to wake her. But it was necessary.
“Courtly?” he whispered, giving her a gentle shake. “Wake up, love. We have arrived.”
It took Courtly one or two more shakes before she roused. Yawning, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking at her surroundings. It took her a moment to recognize their location.
“We are back in Oxford,” she said as Maximus dismounted his steed and lifted her off the horse, setting her carefully to the ground. “Why did you choose to come back here? It is too close to my father, Max.”
He shook his head. “I would not worry about it,” he said. “In any case, I do not see him coming to this section of Oxford and, more specifically, St. Clement’s any time soon.”
She looked up at him with her sleepy eyes. “Is that where we are going?”
“Aye.”
“Why?”
“To get married.”
She gave him a half-grin. “We may as well,” she said, feigning sarcasm. “We have gone through an awful lot of trouble in order to be together. You had better marry me if you know what’s good for you.”
Maximus laughed softly. “I would have told you this at The Buck and Bounty last night only you came in the door, threw yourself into my arms, and promptly fell asleep.”
Courtly yawned again. “That is because I was up the entire night before and all day, too,” she said. “I am still so sleepy that I could lay down right here on the hay and go back to sleep.”
He put his arm around her. “I know, love,” he said quietly. “But let us be done with our business this morning and then you can sleep.”
Maximus gathered his saddlebags and weapons before allowing a stable boy to take his horse away. With his weaponry and bags slung over his left shoulder, he took Courtly with his right hand and led her from the strong-smelling livery and out into the cool, bright day beyond.
The Street of the Merchants was immediately to their right and St. Clement’s to their left as they emerged from the yard. Before he went to the church, however, Maximus returned to his favorite merchant to see if the man had any manner of gift to give his bride on the event of their wedding. Maximus’ mother, Honey, had been given a beautiful necklace from their father at the wedding and she wore it always, but in later years, Antoninus de Shera had given his wife a ring. Maximus liked that symbol very much because, to him, it looked like a golden shackle by which to keep his wife bound to him. Therefore, he was specifically looking for a ring, which the white-haired merchant was more than happy to sell him.
After a looking at several choices, Courtly selected a golden ring with a beautiful, yellow stone in the center. A yellow diamond, the merchant had said, and Maximus had paid handsomely for the thick-banded ring. He also paid for a well-made, dark blue cloak for her also, as she had nothing of warmth to wear. The cloak, lined with gray rabbit, was warm and beautiful, and with that, Maximus and Courtly headed over to St. Clement’s.
The morning mass had come and gone, and the church was relatively empty as Maximus went in search of a priest. He found two of them in the back of the church, behind the screen that separated the rear of the church from the major part of the sanctuary. As Courtly wait patiently on the main floor of the sanctuary, watching an occasional worshiper move past her, Maximus conducted business behind the screen.
Courtly could hear muted voices, at least two unfamiliar ones and then Maximus’ deep tone. She couldn’t quite hear what was being said but she was sure, much like any other type of obstacle Maximus de Shera faced, he was beating the priests down stone by stone by sheer force of will. She smiled as she thought of the man who was to be her husband, thrilled beyond measure that the stars had aligned enough so that she was able to marry the man without immediate fear of her father. It was almost too good to believe.
My father. Courtly tried not to think too much of Kellen and what his reaction would be when he discovered what she had done. Ellice had been so instrumental in making sure Courtly and Maximus were together that she seriously worried about the safety of her aunt, wondering if her father would somehow find out the extent of what she had done and punish her.
Courtly had never particularly had any use for her normally-taciturn aunt, but the situation with Maximus had changed that opinion. Ellice would not let the same thing happen to Courtlythat had happened to her. She had been most determined that her niece not be a spinster. Perhaps in some way, she would share in Courtly’s happiness, knowing she had contributed to it. Courtly certainly hoped so. Many people had risked many things in order to see her and Maximus joined, not the least of which was Kirk St. Héver.
As Maximus and a priest emerged from behind the carefully-carved screen made from Yew, Courtly briefly reflected on St. Héver and his selfless act of disobedience. Courtly remembered back to the previous year when St. Héver had impressed upon her his feelings for her and she clearly remembered, with some sadness, how she could not reciprocate them. St. Héver had been disappointed but he’d take it in stride and had never mentioned it again.
Even last night, when their party had reached Woodstock and, under the guise of helping bed down Isadora, he’d hypothetically presented a story to Courtly about a young woman who ran off from her escort and ended up at The Buck and Bounty Inn to rendezvous with her lover and had made no mention of his past feelings for her. All he had said was that he hoped she was finally happy. St. Héver was taking an enormous chance incurring her father’s wrath and they both knew it, but St. Héver didn’t seem to care. He simply opened the rear door to the inn they happened to have been staying at and told her that The Buck and Bounty was down the avenue. Stunned, Courtly had kissed him on the cheek before running like the wind.
