Page 52 of Katherine the Vixen

“Does it seem to you that I did?”

Katherine hesitated because she suddenly felt foolish. For a moment, in the herb garden, when Siaspar had assured her that she would be able to join them, she had thought that this expedition might be for her benefit, not Lady Malpas’, since no one could have accused him of harboring any tenderness for his wife or wanting to please her.

But now, looking around at the retinue consisting of two litters and a dozen men at arms she realized how ludicrous the idea was. Why would Siaspar, or indeed anyone, have gone to all that trouble and expense for her sake?

“I thought you did for a moment,” she answered quietly. “I see now that it was absurd of me to think so.”

“Perhaps it is not as absurd as you think,” Siaspar answered with a wink. He had started to do that more often but she could not quite make sense of it. How could he think that she would simply take it into her stride to have her lord and master wink at her—and did he expect her to wink at him in turn?

She hoped not, as she could never do something like that.

He picked up a flat stone and threw it with a flick of the wrist. Unlike the stones she had thrown earlier, it didn’t sink with a plonk. Instead it flew across the river, skimming the surface in little jumps before sinking into the dark depths in a furry of elegant ripples..

“This is a skill only a humble brewer’s grandson would have practiced as a child,” she commented, remembering her brother doing that exact same thing every time he stopped by a river. She could not imagine mighty lords were given much leave to hone such trivial skills.

“I see that you did not really believe what I told you about my family. Or is it that you cannot forget the distance between us?”

“Of course, I cannot forget it.”

How could she? Why should she? What purpose would it serve except to hurt her?

Siaspar threw another stone across the river. Fast as an arrow, it went even further than the first one. Then he turned back to face her and said, “I have another, official reason for going to Allerby.”

Another.

Katherine’s heart skipped a beat. She had been right, then; she had influenced his decision, at least in part. To have it confirmed made her head spin. She did not ask what the other reason was, and he did not volunteer the information. That he wanted to be with her was extraordinary enough. She could not presume to behave as freely with him as he was behaving with her. She could never presume to become his confidante.

She did not want to become his confidante anyway; she wanted much more.

She wanted impossible, inappropriate things, which was precisely why she should never forget the distance between them.

“You’re cold,” Siaspar said eventually. “Let me walk you back to the fire.”

As they walked back to the camp in silence, Katherine watched him gradually transform from the relaxed, whimsical man he was with her to the forbidding, authoritative husband he was to Lady Malpas. It occurred to her for the first time that he might resent the role that seemed to come so naturally to him. Mayhap he felt as out of place in it as she did in the lady’s clothes.

When they parted, he did not throw a single glance her way. It was only then that Katherine realized that a fine drizzle had started to fall.

13

“There it is, my lord,” Lady Malpas announced as a somewhat dilapidated fortress appeared. “Allerby Castle, my family seat, now home to my brother.”

The retinue had crossed the border a few days ago and today, finally, they had reached their destination. If they did not meet with any incident, they would reach the gate before nightfall.

Katherine’s heart leaped in her chest. Rather than focusing on the castle like the rest of the retinue, she turned her head to the forest beyond. In the village nestled amongst the trees, her family would be going about their business, unaware that she was less than a day’s walk away from them. She had not sent word of her arrival, too fearful that something should come to compromise the success of the mission. Besides, she relished the prospect of taking them by surprise. What would they say when they saw her in front of the cottage, looking better than ever and dressed in a lady’s clothing?

Her lips curling up at the thought, she addressed a silent thank you to the commanding figure sitting atop his white stallion. Siaspar ap Morgan, mighty Welsh lord—and brewer’s grandson—was the one responsible for this joyous moment, and she would never forget it.

“The castle looks even better than usual from that angle,” Lady Helen enthused, looking at her mistress, who nodded and offered one of her rare smiles.

“It does, does it not?”

Katherine had to bite the inside of her mouth when Siaspar threw her a skeptical glance over his shoulder. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

If this is Allerby Castle’s best angle, what on earth does it look like from closer up?

She searched her mind to remember what she had thought of the place the day her father had taken her there, but she had been so nervous that she had barely spared it a glance. In any case, she doubted it compared favorably to Castell y Ddraig, with its white-washed walls and cozy interior, its fragrant herb garden and well-tended stables.

Dragon’s castle.