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“I was with you, my lord. I didn’t know it was my job to watch over the women. I was attending you during the competition like any good squire would do for his lord.”
“You’re right, Toby. I didn’t mean to lose my temper. But watching over Lady Willow is proving to be a challenge. Mayhap I should pull out of the competition.”
“Aye, please do,” said Sir Bedivere, breaking through the crowd with a ribbon in his hand for winning the sword event. “That would be best since you can’t seem to keep track of a simple wench. Once Lady Willow is my wife, she won’t go anywhere unless she is right at my side. I will tie her to me if I have to, but she won’t be off batting her eyes and smiling at other men, I assure you of that.”
“She is not a hound, Bedivere. And if you think I’ll pull out of the competition so you can have her, you’ve got another guess coming.”
“Face it. She doesn’t want you, Lochwood. If she did, she wouldn’t keep running from you, would she?”
Something about the man’s words hit Conrad hard. Willow did seem to keep avoiding him, even more so since their intimate moments last night.
“Let’s go, Toby,” said Conrad, plowing through the crowd, stretching his neck, looking for the girls. He felt as if he were failing miserably as guardian to Willow. He also felt as if he’d not seen much of his sister in days. Hazel had times when she became very frightened or extremely sad. She needed constant supervision. Once she went to live at Naward Castle with Lord Rook, she would have it. But for now, he needed to keep a closer eye on her. He’d been so preoccupied with Willow that his sister’s care had fallen at the wayside. He wasn’t happy about this at all.
“They’ve got to be here somewhere,” said Toby, looking in all directions. People shouted, and others pushed. Dogs barked, and little children cried. It all made Conrad’s head hurt.
“Check their solar, Toby. If they are there, stand post outside their door until I return.”
“Where are you going, my lord?”
“If they were in this commotion, Hazel probably started acting odd again.”
“Odd? How so?”
“It doesn’t matter, Squire. Check the chamber, but if I know Willow, that is the last place she’d go.”
“Then where do you think they went?”
“There’s only one place I can think of that is calm and serene. After last night, I doubted Willow would ever return there, but something tells me she took my sister to the secret garden.”
“You’re saying they left the castle walls? But the gate is closed. No one is being let out.”
“A simple gate cannot stop a determined, cunning woman like Willow. If she wants something, she will get it one way or another. And I am willing to bet, this is one of those times.”
