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Cordelia released an exhale that could have been relief. “You must tell him.”
“I did. He knows I’m not with child.”
“No, sister,” Cordelia said. “You need to tell him you’re in love.”
*
Lucy walked alongthe Strand, lost in thought. She hadn’t seen Greer since he left her alone in her bedchamber at Whitehall two nights ago. When she’d gone to the stables, his horse wasn’t there. At first panic had slammed into her chest, but then she’d remembered that he’d stabled the horse at Lord Norfolk’s house. Everything had been moving so quickly this past week, but now it felt like she was walking through thick tar. Its weight seemed to drag her down.
What would she say to Greer when she saw him next?
I love you. So, marry me and take me up to Scotland with you. Lucy shook her head. Even she wasn’t so bold.
We seem well suited for each other. Perhaps I should travel with you north toward Maggie’s home.Too vague. But he might fall in love with her on the journey.
Lucy clasped her hands. She’d donned her gloves, but only because it was cold. Let others judge her because of her scars. She did not care. Hopefully Alyce would see her as a good example and not hide away all her life.
Lucy stopped before the big old Cranfield House and looked up at it. Lord Burghley said that Elizabeth was letting the sisters keep it, but there were too many bad memories there. She and Cordelia would sell it and use the money to make a new home up near Maggie.
“Good. You’re here.”
Lucy spun to see Greer walking out from beside the house. “Greer? I thought you were with your horse.”
“Darach is being heartily patted and brushed by the children out back, but we have somewhere to go.”
“Go? Where?”
He took her hand, tugging her to follow him. “Another mission.”
“Another assassin?” she asked. Her heart leaped. Would Greer stay in London longer?
“Nay, but something that needs our attention.”
She hurried along with him into the streets. It was the day after Epiphany and shops were once again open. Shopkeepers were tidying their front stoops, brushing them free of snow and cracking off the ice that had gathered while they’d been away making merry with their families.
Twice, Lucy slipped, but Greer had her arm, keeping her upright. “We best get ye some boots with grip,” he said.
Greer stopped to purchase two buns. He handed one to her. “Are people eating at the castle again?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t eaten much, and Cordy has brought me things.”
He frowned and handed her a bun. “Then eat.” He wouldn’t proceed until she took a bite. Then he nodded and nearly dragged her along.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asked, but the loud call of another town crier describing the cold weather covered her words.
When Greer turned onto London Bridge, she thought he’d stop at the apothecary, but he continued to dodge people, bringing her behind him.
At the end, he turned them down Southwark along the Thames, her heart squeezed. She picked up her pace, bringing herself alongside him. “We are going to the kennels?”
He looked at her and gave a small nod. “We have two innocent pups to break out. ’Tis a worthy mission.”
Pip and Percy. He hadn’t forgotten them in all the chaos. Lucy’s eyes filled with tears, and she blinked them away, nodding.
Her breath puffed out white as they jogged along, her holding her skirts higher to keep from catching the hem with her toes. “A worthy mission indeed.”
They stopped beside the kennel, flat against the wall. Greer glanced around the corner and then held his finger to his lips as he turned back to her. They waited, his hand clasping hers. Lucy’s heart swelled. He was helping her steal back her dogs. He understood her and her love for animals.
She tugged on his hand, and he looked down at her. Her heart was already pounding so hard that exposing her heart might kill her if Greer stomped on it. But then her suffering would be over. “I love you,” she whispered. “Will you marry me?”
