She darted towards the buttery, taking Penelope with her.
“Where are we going?” Penelope demanded as Annaleigh dragged her along.
Annaleigh didn’t answer right away. She’d made it to the wall where there were several outbuildings and several places to hide.
“If Anthony comes looking for me, tell him ye’ve not seen me,” she said, letting go of Penelope’s hand and pointing to the knight who was just starting to head in the direction of the kitchens. “Please, Penny! Tell him ye’ve not seen me!”
With that, she left Penelope standing near the buttery while she slipped inside. It was a cold, cramped stone building built into the outer wall and Annaleigh leaned against the heavy door, listening for voices.
They weren’t long in coming.
“Greetings, my lady,” Anthony said to Penelope, a child he had genuine affection for. “What brings you to the kitchen yard?”
Penelope peered up at him, squinting in the bright morning sunlight. “Sweets.”
“Oh?” Anthony said. “I do not see any out here.”
“Annie was going to get them for me.”
There was a pause as Anthony looked around the yard. “I do not see Annie anywhere. Is she here?”
Penelope remembered very well what Annaleigh had told her, but she was a smart child. She was also manipulative.
And a little spiteful.
“Aye,” she said, pointing towards the buttery. “In there.”
Annaleigh heard those words and she silently cursed that nasty little girl. She stepped away from the door just as Anthony opened it. He smiled brightly while she gasped, startled.
“So you are here,” he said. Then, his brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”
Hiding from ye, she thought. “I… I’m taking stock of the milk,” she said, gesturing towards the earthenware containers on the floor. “Lady Jordan has given me charge of the morning meal so I must check the stores.”
Anthony believed her, although he probably shouldn’t have. Much like Talus, he was coming to sense that she was avoiding him at times, which she was. All of Castle Questing was laughing at the two knights pursuing the young woman who had no real interest in either one of them.
“Do you require any assistance?” he asked politely. “I am at your service.”
Annaleigh moved to the door and he stepped back so she could exit. “Nay,” she said. “I’m finished now.”
“May I accompany you on your rounds?”
Annaleigh sighed. She could tell that she was going to have to speak frankly to him the same way she’d done to Talus, only with Anthony, it was more difficult because he was a genuinely nice man. He was handsome, too, as the d’Vants usually were. He was big and blond, well-built, and had no shortage of female admirers, only he seemed to shun them all in favor of a woman who had no real interest in him.
Annaleigh was coming to think it was simply the thrill of the chase.
“I think not,” she said, turning to face him. “I am minding Penelope and we have many things to do this morning, though I thank ye for yer offer. Good day tae ye, Sir Anthony.”
She turned away, eyeing Penelope and thinking that the lass needed a swift beating for betraying her, but Anthony spoke up before she could get away.
“My lady,” he said. “Will you be busy with tasks all day?”
Annaleigh came to a pause, holding out her hand to Penelope as the little girl took it. “Mostly,” she said. “It is difficult tae say. Lady Jordan has given me some responsibility at Castle Questing and I dunna intend tae shirk it.”
“I did not mean to suggest that you would,” he said. “It’s simply that I must run an errand into Wooler later today and thought you might like to come along. It is a fine day and would make for a pleasant ride.”
Annaleigh found herself sighing again, looking at Penelope, who was smiling up at her.That little goat knows what’s going on, she thought. Penelope may have only been four years of age, but she was very sharp. She listened and she observed. Perhaps she knew that Anthony had been trying to woo Annaleigh because she’d heard people talking about it. Perhaps she thought she was helping by making sure Anthony found her, but Annaleigh didn’t really believe that. She had a feeling Penelope’s betrayal had something to do with the sweets she’d been denied.
And Annaleigh wanted to spank her right on the bottom for it.
