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"I ask that you give me your word that you will not walk by the shoreline alone again."
Andras's voice had an unmistakably hard edge to it, and CC's ability to be polite was rapidly unraveling when Isabel's grainy voice quivered across the chapel.
"It is well after midday and you have forgotten to eat again, Undine." The old woman limped toward them. She paused when she neared the statue of Mary, crossed herself and curtseyed reverently. Then she nodded respectfully to the knight.
'Thank you for reminding me, Isabel. Now that I think of it, I am very hungry."
"The mutton stew that will be served for this evening's meal is ready. Just this morning I harvested a fresh crop of mint," Isabel croaked happily.
"I promised to meet with the abbot and share with him the news I received from my men, but if you can wait I would be pleased to have an early evening meal with you, Undine," Andras said.
"I wish I could wait, but I think I should hurry and eat so that I can get back to work before the chapel is needed for vespers. I wouldn't want to create an inconvenience for the abbot."
Before he could argue Isabel chimed in. "Princess, I think it wise that you eat immediately." She shared a con-spirators' look with Andras. "We must be certain the princess takes care with her health."
"Of course I would not put the princess's health in jeopardy. Perhaps we can take in the air this evening, Undine?"
Andras reached for her hand to kiss. Laughing nervously CC pulled it out of his reach.
"Oh, you don't want to do that. My hand is filthy." She made a big show of wiping her hands on her dirty robe. "A walk would be nice, if I'm not too tired."
"I will come to your chamber this evening after vespers, where I will pray that you are not too tired." His look was intense.
CC felt her face flush. Could he not just leave her alone? Thankfully, Isabel spoke up.
"Sir Andras, you need not trouble yourself. I know how you enjoy your chess games with the abbot. If the princess is not too fatigued, I will come with word from her." She looked quickly at CC. "If that is agreeable to the princess."
CC hurried over to Isabel. "Yes! There's no need for you to interrupt your time with Abbot William if I'm asleep on my feet. Thank you, Isabel. That was a wonderfully considerate idea." She linked her arm through the servant's and began walking with her toward the door. "I hope you have a good evening, Andras, and if I don't see you tonight I'm sure we'll be able to spend some time together tomorrow."
Andras stood silently in the shadowy church, watching the women disappear into the gardens. His expression was introspective and his full lips were turned down in irritation. Had she begun to avoid him, or was it only maidenly shyness coupled with her newly discovered devotion to the Holy Mother that seemed to be keeping her from him? The knight felt a stirring of anger as he pondered the question. His anger coupled with something else, something that whispered hypnotically deep within his mind. Andras's hands trembled, and he balled them into fists. Images flashed through his mind. Undine naked and slick with sweat… Undine on her knees before him… Undine crying his name aloud as his seed exploded within her…
Overwhelmed by the visions, Andras felt himself harden. His breath was ragged. He raked a hand through his hair. What was happening to him? He had never before experienced anything like his growing obsession with the princess. Perhaps the abbot was correct. His eyes narrowed so that the silver glow that stained them was almost unde-tectable. Sorceress or not, she was only a woman. When she belonged to him, he would purge the pagan taint from her soul, then he would satisfy his desire for her. She had no choice.
"Thank you," CC whispered as soon as tltey were out of range of Andras's hearing. "He doesn't seem to be able to take no for an answer."
"You are most welcome, but you must realize that few women would tell Sir Andras no," Isabel whispered back. "Are you quite certain that is your desire?"
"Absolutely. I don't want a husband who has to rule over and control me."
"So you have said before, but I still believe that there are few men of any other kind." Isabel looked closely at her. "At least not in this world."
"If there's not, I won't have any husband at all. I'm a human being, not a piece of property."
"So young and headstrong," Isabel clucked.
"Where I'm from we call it having good sense and a backbone."
Isabel's look was clearly disbelieving.
They were halfway across the voluminous gardens before CC noticed how murky the day had become.
"Is it really that late? It looks like the sun is setting already."
"It is late for your midday meal, but the sun is not yet setting. There is a storm coming." Isabel squinted up at the rolling clouds. "It is odd, normally my leg warns me of a Storm long before I see clouds. Today it did not. It is almost as if the change of weather was suddenly conjured."
Not wanting to travel down that line of thinking, CC asked, "What happened to your leg?"
Isabel looked surprised at the question, but she answered without hesitation. "I was born with a twisted limb. My fa-ther wanted to dispose of me on the hillside, but I was the only girl child my mother had born, and she was quite old. She would not part with me."
CC was shocked at the matter-of-fact way Isabel spoke of something so horrifying.
"That's awful."
"A girl child with a twisted limb is of no use. My father knew no man would marry me." Isabel shrugged. "It is a blessing that I have a certain skill with cooking. When my youngest brother's beautiful wife gave birth to their fifth healthy child, she said there was no room for a crippled sister in their home. My other brothers felt the same. It was fortuitous that the monastery needed a cook. They took me in. I have been here since."
"Do you ever see your family?"
Isabel shook her head. "My mother and father are long dead, and my brothers do not visit. My family is here."
"The monks?" CC asked.
Isabel cackled and patted her hand. "Goodness no! The other women. We are all each other's only family now."
"I don't really have any family here, either," CC said.
Isabel paused on the threshold to the kitchen, where homey smells and sounds enveloped them. She turned to CC and smiled warmly at the younger woman.
"You do now, Princess."
Cc paced and paced and paced. She had already pulled the dresser under the window. For what felt like the zillionth time she hitched up her chemise and climbed on top of it. She studied the fading evening. Gaea's clouds were rolling in from the west, directly over the tumultuous ocean. They were low-hanging and reminded CC of a giant gray comforter being pulled over the sky. The setting sun was certainly obscured, but was it dark enough yet? She didn't think so. She could still see most of the way down the side of the cliff, which meant if anyone happened to be looking seaward, they would be able to see her if she was making her way down the side of that cliff. And she couldn't be sure that Andras wouldn't be looking seaward after the fishermen had aroused suspicion in him.
CC sighed and rubbed her temples. It seemed her heart pounded there in time with the distant crashing of the surf. Her body was a throbbing shell of need; she ached for the waters and for her lover. Dylan. Just thinking his name sent a shiver of anticipation low in her stomach.
Patience, she told herself firmly. Just a few more minutes and it'll be dark enough. She turned and sat on top of the dresser, resting her head against the windowsill. She'd lasted this long, she could certainly wait a little longer.
At first the day had felt like it would never end, so CC had been shocked when the Brothers began filling the chapel for vespers, and she realized that it must be late evening. Quietly, she had piled her cleaning supplies in a shadowed corner, wiped her hands on her very grimy robes and slipped out the side entrance before Abbot William or Andras could accost her.
She had stopped at the kitchen long enough to grab another bowl of Isabel's excellent stew and a goblet of wine. The ladies were at their busiest, cleaning up the evening meal and beginning preparations for the next day. It took some doing, but she persuaded Isabel that she really didn't need any help bathing and undressing. The old woman obviously didn't like it, but when CC promised that she really just wanted to get out of her dirty clothes and crawl into bed, Isabel acquiesced, assuring CC that she would make her excuses to Andras.
