That was the cue for two soldier to head off, looking for an area where they could eat their meal, but the old woman shook her head and put a stop to the soldier’s forward movement. When the old nurse spoke, everyone listened.
“Nay, lady,” she said sternly. “We will return to the lists. Your mother said so.”
Vietta frowned. “Must we, Mimsy?”
The old woman was severe. “You must,” she reiterated. “Lady Agnes insists. Your father will want you there when your brother wins the competition.”
Vietta rolled her eyes. “Fen is an excellent knight but if he wins, it will be a miracle,” she said, sighing. Then, she looked sadly at Annavieve. “I am sorry, my lady. Mimsy says we must return. We can eat together in the lists, I suppose. Not as nice as if we found a nice, shaded area.”
Annavieve smiled, looking between the pale old woman and Vietta. “Mimsy?”
Vietta pointed to the old woman. “I fear I have not properly introduced you two,” she said, putting her arms around the old woman. “This is Lady Alys but everyone calls her Mimsy. She has raised my brother and sister and me, and we love her dearly, even if she does not have a frivolous or fun bone in her entire body.”
The ground swayed. Annavieve looked at the older woman with as much astonishment as she had ever felt in her life, struggling to regain her balance as she was faced with the shock of the truth.This is Lady Alys…Lady Alys! God’s Bones, was it true? Was this older woman, this nurse, actually the woman who gave birth to her?
Annavieve could hardly catch her breath and she actually stumbled back, pretending to have stepped on her gown to cover her stagger. Vietta reached out to steady her, concerned, but Annavieve assured her that she was fine. The entire time, however, her eyes remained riveted to Mimsy.Lady Alys.The tears she had fought off since Magda’s death were now fighting tooth and nail to return. Annavieve had never struggled so much in her life not to cry.
God, is it really true?
“It… it is a pleasure to meet you, Mimsy,” Annavieve said tightly.
Mimsy did nothing more than nod her head, but the big hazel eyes were fixed steadily upon her.Does she even know who I am?Annavieve thought. She wasn’t sure, but she wanted so badly to identify herself to the woman that her palms were sweating. But Mimsy simply stared at her without the slightest hint of warmth or recognition. She was as cold as stone. Heart pounding, mouth dry, Annavieve dared to speak, hoping to elicit some kind of response from the woman.
“Have… have we met before, Mimsy?” she asked, her voice trembling. “You seem… familiar somehow.”
The old nurse didn’t react. She simply stared at her. It was a golden opportunity for her to say something to the affirmative, to perhaps acknowledge what Annavieve knew. What, perhaps, they both knew. The old woman’s hazel eyes glimmered, perhaps reflections of a love lost and a daughter lost. Perhaps she was pondering painful memories, things she did not wish to be reminded of. There was no way to tell. Whatever the case, after several seconds of tense silence, the old nurse simply shook her head.
“Nay, my lady,” she said, lowering her gaze. “We have never met. I do not know you.”
Annavieve felt as if she had been physically struck. The woman would have done less damage had she taken her fists to her. Her answer had been most final.I do not know you!Annavieve realized that she was unwanted and unacknowledged by the woman who had given birth to her. The decision was final. It had been almost nineteen years ago as it was now. Shaken, she could do nothing more than turn away.
Annavieve had once told Kevin that her mother was a stranger to her, that she had no desire any longer to meet the woman. But she found out, very quickly, that was not true. It was possible that the death of Magda made her more emotionalabout her mother, but in any case, meeting Mimsy had her reeling.
Her breathing quickened as she realized the tears were coming again. She wanted to return to her room, or a tent, or anywhere that she wasn’t around Vietta or Mimsy or even William or Victor. She didn’t want to be around anyone at the moment. She was feeling wild and emotional and she knew, no matter what, that she could not hold back the tide of tears that was surging.One mother lost today, one mother gained today.She couldn’t think anymore.
She had to get away.
“I… I am sorry, Vietta,” she said as she began to separate herself from the group. “I… I am afraid I am not feeling very well at the moment. I am so sorry. I must return to my room and lie down. Please… please forgive me.”
With that, she bolted off, listening to Vietta calling after her in a panic. The de Lohr guards were dispatched to follow her, but Annavieve ran like the wind, losing herself in the labyrinth of small homes and businesses that comprised the town’s square. She ended up in a back alley, weeping hysterically, cutting through someone’s kitchen yard and making her way to the end of town where the Cock and Bull was located.
The last time she’d been at the tavern, there had been a scene of devastation but as she burst into the tavern and ran up the stairs, she saw that Magda’s blood had been washed from the landing. Everything was clean now, as if nothing had ever happened. As if Magda had never existed. Her chamber was unlocked because of the Dorset guards in the common room below, men who had watched her dash up the stairs with some confusion. Bursting into her borrowed room, she slammed the door shut and bolted it.
Then, she collapsed on the bed and sobbed her heart out.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Having spent thepast half-hour in an utter and complete panic when William informed him that the duchess had run away from her de Lohr escort, Kevin, along with Adonis and Thomas, had spread out through the village, all of them searching for signs of Annavieve. With Piers’ whereabouts unknown, and knowing he had attacked Annavieve once already, it was imperative that they find her before Piers did. Time was ticking and the panic level, especially for Kevin, was at a splitting capacity.
His first stop had been at the encampment where he’d last seen her but the soldiers on guard assured him that she wasn’t there. He’d then run back to the Cock and Bull where the Dorset guards informed him that the duchess had returned to her room a short time before. Relieved beyond words, but furious at the same time, he’d taken the stairs two at a time and launched himself at the door only to realize that her chamber door was bolted from the inside. It was a supreme effort to knock on the door politely and not kick it down.
“My lady?” he called. “My lady, it’s Sir Kevin. Will you please open the door?”
He didn’t hear anything. Not a peep. Struggling with his frustration, he knocked again. “My lady?”
No reply. He went to knock a third time but the door suddenly opened. Annavieve wasn’t standing there; the door simply rolled open. Curious, Kevin stuck his head into the chamber in time to see Annavieve lay back down on the bed and put her arm over her eyes. Now concerned as well as curious, he stepped inside and shut the door, bolting it.
“Anna?” he asked with great concern in his tone. “I have been looking everywhere for you, sweetheart. What happened? Why did you run away from de Lohr? They were terrified for you. Half of the men from the competition today are out looking for you even as we speak.”
