“No one knows of her heritage,” William replied in a quiet, even tone. “How is it possible his enemies would discover her to be his bastard?”
“You would be surprised what his enemies know. The walls have ears at Windsor.”
“Eyes and an appetite as well, I would wager,” William set his chalice to the table. “I have no fear for her safety now that you are here.”
Richmond was silent for a moment. “Where is she?”
“Truthfully, I do not know,” his gaze sought out Lady Maxine and Lady Livia at the far end of the table. “Where is Arissa?”
“She was not feeling well, my lord,” Maxine answered. “She’s resting in her room.”
“Not feeling well?” William’s brow furrowed. “What is the matter with her?”
“Fatigue, my lord,” Maxine said. “She’s quite excited for the party tomorrow.”
Richmond had had enough wondering and worrying over Arissa’s health. She’d never been a particularly robust individual and to hear that her vigor was lacking once again only reinforced his desire to see for himself.
But he controlled it well. He finished the wine in his goblet and completely drained a third cup before bothering to excuse himself from the table. As casually as he could manage, he strolled from the gallery and into the foyer, focusing on the massive flight of stone steps laid wide before him.
His destination was the second floor.
CHAPTER TWO
“Do not beso miserable, child. So he’s returned? Ye wanted him to return, did ye not?”
Arissa sat on a splintered old stool, her elbows braced on the table before her and chin resting in her hands. The expression on her features was one of utter, complete misery.
“Nay,” she groaned. Then she reconsidered. “Aye, I guess I did. Oh, Mossy, I am simply not sure of anything anymore. But I do know one factor; I am pledged to the convent at Whitby and come the New Year, I am obliged to keep my appointment. I must forget about….everythingin order to begin a new life devoted to God.”
Mossy turned from the skunk he had been feeding. Aged did not quite encompass the man; ancient was a more apt term. As Lady Maude’s great-uncle on her mother’s side, he was as old as God himself and mayhap as wise. At least, Arissa thought him to be wise. Everyone else thought him to be bordering on senility.
“Ye would forget about Richmond?” Mossy prodded gently. “Surely, child, ye cannot forget a man ye’ve known yer entire life. The man ye love.”
Arissa lowered her gaze. “I…. I never said I loved him.”
Mossy snorted loudly as spittle flew from his mouth. “Ye did not have to, Riss. I have known ye since ye were a little scrub. There are no secrets between us.”
Arissa let out an exasperated sigh and rose from the stool, wandering aimlessly towards one of the three lancet windows that illuminated Mossy’s sanctuary. Situated in Lambourn’s onlytower, it was a wonderful place of curiosity and learning. Lord William thought it to be a den for demons.
“I am pledged to the cloister,” she said softly as she gazed out over her beloved Berkshire. “Moreover, Richmond is my father’s friend. He’s far too old and far too prestigious, and…. oh, Mossy, ’tis a waste of time and effort. I am so very weary of it all.”
Mossy collected a small bowl and moved to a reed cage that housed a family of rabbits. From the open beams above, a large crow screamed and he waved at it irritably. “Ye’re next, Samuel, keep yer patience,” he opened the rabbit cage. “It would seem to me that ye must settle the matters in yer heart before ye pledge yerself to God. He wants ye fully, completely, not distracted and miserable. As any man would want ye whole, so does our Lord.”
She watched him as he fed the bunnies. “I haven’t a choice in the matter. In one month, whole or not, I enter Whitby.”
Mossy did not reply until he finished feeding the rabbits. When he closed the cage, he returned to the cluttered table in the center of the room. “God doesn’t want ye if yer unhappy. Our Lord wants his children to be happy.”
She leaned against the wall, her beautiful face pensive. “I shall never be happy.”
Mossy looked up sharply, gazing at her striking profile. “And why not?”
She did not say anything for a moment. Her pale green eyes gazed into the dim space of the tower room, one prevalent thought filling her mind.
“You know why.”
Slowly, Mossy returned to the disarray before him. “Ye must tell him.”
Arissa let out a harsh gasp, a reflexive gesture to a suggestion she herself had never considered because it was completely outlandish. “Tell him what? Stop antagonizing me, Mossy. I have no desire to play games.”
