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“Willow, you don’t understand. Hazel needs help, and I don’t have the time to give her the care she needs. I have not only a castle to run, but also a small army at my command waiting for me to return to Scarborough. Once I have a wife, things will be different. But for now, I need her to go with your father to live at Naward. And if your father changes his mind, then I will have no choice but to put her in a convent for her own safekeeping. At least there, I will know she is safe and being watched over at all times.”
“Nay! I don’t want to go to a convent. And neither do I want to live in Naward,” came Hazel’s voice from the door.
“Hazel,” said Conrad in surprise. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to hear that I’m naught but a thorn in your side and that you can’t wait to get rid of me.” Crying, the girl ran across the garden toward the horses.
“What is the matter with you?” yelled Willow, yanking the other sleeve from Conrad’s hand. “All the poor girl wants is your attention – anyone’s attention, and you want to hide her away like she’s a leper or something.”
“That’s not true, now calm down. I only want to help her.”
“If that’s the truth, then make her feel special. Show her you care about her and stop pushing her away as if you are embarrassed that she is your sister.”
“Willow,” he said under his breath, wetting his lips. This was a very uncomfortable situation. “You don’t understand. Hazel isn’t like you or me or anyone else. She has certain . . . problems. There are things that I don’t even understand. You have no idea.”
“Well, I would like to know her better and wish you would try to get closer to her as well.”
Conrad groaned and wiped his hand over his face. He didn’t have time for this. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. And I don’t want you bringing my sister here to sit in the dirt again. Do you understand?”
“Oh, I understand all right. If someone doesn’t act the way you want them to, then you push them away and try to forget anything ever happened at all.”
“You’re not talking about Hazel anymore, are you? You are talking about what happened to us in this very room.”
“You can’t keep pushing away the people who care about you, because if you don’t stop it, you are going to end up with no one.”
“This is nonsense. I don’t push people away. Now, I won’t hear another word. The earl’s ruby has been stolen. We need to get back to the castle anon. There is a thief out there somewhere, and there is no telling how dangerous he is. I don’t want you or Hazel going off on your own again.”
“Don’t worry about the thief, I am going to catch him and make sure the ruby is returned to the earl.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Nonsense, is it? Perhaps, you don’t think I’m capable of doing such a thing?”
“I don’t know, and neither do I want to. Now, get to your horse and –”
He stopped in midsentence when he heard the sound of hoofbeats leaving the garden. “Damn,” he spat, running to the door. “Hazel just left. I need to catch her before she does something stupid.”
“There you go again. Now you are calling your sister stupid.”
“We’ll talk about this later. I have to catch up to her.” He ran for the horse with Willow right on his heels. He mounted and was about to leave when he realized Willow was stranded there. “Give me your hand,” he said, leaning over and reaching out for her.
“Nay.” She clutched the tippets and backed away. “I’m not going to ride with you.”
“It’s that, or you’ll stay here by yourself since we’ve only got the one horse now. So, give me your hand and hurry up about it.”
She stubbornly resisted. “I’ll stay here by myself, I don’t care. But I’m not riding with you.”
“Woman, you try my patience!” Conrad reached down and grabbed her under the arms, lifting her up and plopping her down in front of him atop the horse.
“Careful!” she cried out. “I almost lost my crown.” Her hand went to her crown to secure it. “If you think I’m riding into the castle without my sleeves and with dirt streaked across my face, then you’ve got another guess coming.”
Conrad turned the horse and headed out of the secret garden, holding his arm around Willow’s waist even though she struggled and dug her fingers into his arm trying to get loose.
“Aye, that’s the Willow I know. I wondered where she went.” Holding her close so she wouldn’t fall, he directed his horse into a run to catch up with his sister. Once again, being Willow’s guardian was proving to be exhausting, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.
