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Waterthwaite
“Yon major’s getting impatient,” Glenda remarked to Adelina.
Sitting on the remains of a low stone wall outside their small tent, the two women had long since eaten the stale bread they’d been given to break their fast. The other tents had all been struck and packed away. Yet, there were no horses waiting to take them the rest of the way.
“He’s angry about something,” Adelina replied, though any delay was fine with her. “Perhaps my elderly betrothed has died,” she mused.
Glenda tensed. “What makes ye say that?” she demanded.
“Wishful thinking, I suppose,” Adelina murmured, wondering why the maid seemed upset by her remark.
An hour passed.
Mandeville paced.
The locals grumbled amongst themselves.
Two youths eventually strolled into the ruin, both clad in servants’ garb. Cringing away when Glenda snarled at them, they hesitated when Mandeville accosted them. “Where are the horses?” he demanded.
The men exchanged a worried glance. “Bain’t no horses, my lord,” one replied. “’Tis but a two-hour walk to Waterthwaite.”
“Two hours,” Mandeville exclaimed. “I understood it’s only five miles from here.”
“Aye, my lord, but we mun cross the Esk and there be only one bridge and ’tis…”
Mandeville raised his hand. “Stop. I am not your lord. You will address me as Major Mandeville.” He picked up the dowry chest and thrust it into the hands of one youth before turning to Adelina. “Since your betrothed has seen fit not to provide us with transportation, I fear we must go on foot the rest of the way.”
Adelina had no objection to walking but she wondered if her future husband owned no horses or was he simply too miserly or thoughtless to send them? The major’s red face and clenched jaw indicated his angry embarrassment, so she said nothing.
Glenda muttered her displeasure, but apparently decided that voicing her complaints was not the wisest option.
* * *
From the riverbank, Roland and Terric watched the scene in the ruins unfold. They’d rowed back before dawn, and were puzzled by the long delay. When the soldier who was clearly in charge shouted his outrage at two newcomers, they realized Adelina was going to have to walk to wherever they were going.
“Becket’s wife explained her parents’ home is located north of Ravenglass on the coast,” Terric said. “Our quarry is heading upriver, away from the water.”
“I’m reluctant to leave Adelina to go in search of the Aigremonts,” Roland replied. “Though it would be beneficial to have a better sense of the lay of the land.”
“We’ll follow at a distance,” Terric suggested. “It’s to our advantage they are walking since we have no horses.”
Once Adelina’s party was out of sight, Roland and Terric emerged from their hiding place and entered the ruins.
Roland ran a hand over the weathered bricks. “I’d say your guess about the Romans was right. These walls have stood for hundreds of years.”
“Some sort of a niche here,” Terric pointed out. “I wonder what this place was used for?”
“No time to worry about that,” Roland replied. “They’ve entered the forest yonder.”
Keeping well back, they followed a clear trail through the trees. Roland took courage from an occasional glimpse of Adelina’s golden tresses. “We’re coming, my love,” he murmured from time to time, hoping she sensed they were close behind.
After about an hour, they crossed a bridge where the river narrowed. The rolling terrain beyond the bridge was too open to follow closely.
A long while later, they squatted behind a boulder and watched as Adelina and her escort were led inside a wooden palisade then swallowed up by a substantial building atop a small rise.
“This is going to be a challenge,” Terric said.
“We can probably find a weak spot in the palisade, but the building is curious.”
