It was exactly what he didn’t want to discuss with her, but looking into her anxious face, he reckoned that she had a right to know what was going on. It wouldn’t be fair to keep it from her since she was involved in it, as much as he was.
“I have,” he said. “We have been honest with each other from the start, so I will be honest with you now. The Marshal wants you to return to St. Blitha and keep an eye on the situation. If something unusual happens, then he wants you to tell us.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t seem distress by that directive. “But he is going to tell the king not to come to St. Blitha, is he not?”
Maxton shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “The king is not to know. Andressa, you must understand something– we knew of this threat to the king. We knew because last year, I was offered money to do what your Mother Abbess has been instructed to do. I refused and was jailed for it. We suspected that more assassins would be sent to complete the task, but we never dreamed the assassins would be killer nuns. When you told us of this happening, you unknowingly solved a mystery we had been trying to figure out. You, my little friend, have been the key to all of this. You have helped save your king.”
He watched her eyes widen at the news. “The Holy Father asked you to kill the king?” she gasped.
Maxton nodded. “I spent a long time at the Lateran Palace, at the Holy Father’s invitation, and was offered the task,” he said. “When I refused, he imprisoned me and simply gave the task to the nuns who, from what you have told me, have done this kind of work before.”
She nodded solemnly. “Aye,” she said. “They have. And they show no remorse for it.”
“That is why I do not want you to go back,” he said. When she looked at him with surprise, he continued. “I did not want you togo back before I knew you were with child, but now… now, you cannot possibly go back into that den of demons. That is no place for you or your child.”
The last time he had suggested she not return to St. Blitha, she’d become panicky and ran from him. But this time, she didn’t run. She could sense his concern, and she was flattered, but it didn’t change facts.
“I have no choice,” she said. “I told you that others have tried to flee the Mother Abbess and she has found them and brought them back. The woman will find me no matter where I go and, frankly, I do not have the means to go anywhere. It is not as if I can return home.”
Maxton sighed heavily, scratching his neck as he thought of his reply. “You will let me worry about that,” he said. “I told you I would protect you, like a big brother should. I will not go back on that promise.”
Andressa stood up, pulling the now-dry towel around her as she moved towards him with timid steps. “But I am not your responsibility,” she murmured firmly. “While I greatly appreciate your offer, the truth is that I am not your responsibility. You have made the offer out of pity and it will soon become a burden if I permit it.”
She had come within arm’s length of him and Maxton’s dark gaze moved to her. Her hair was dry now, curling around her face, long and silky down to her knees. He could see such beauty in her, such grace and wisdom. Something about her swept him off his feet and made him feel giddy, a feeling that not even her pregnancy could dissolve. He didn’t care that she carried another man’s child. It was a mistake; he understood that.
All he cared about, at the moment, washer.
“You would never become a burden to me,” he said. “And… and mayhap I have not been completely honest with you about my intentions.”
“What do you mean?”
Whatdidhe mean? He fumbled for the right words. “It is not as a big brother that I look upon you,” he said. “I do not look at you and see a sisterly relation. I look at you and see a woman of grace and beauty, and I have since I first met you. There is something so haunting about you, yet so strong. I am not sure I can explain it better than that. Let me take care of you, Andressa. Let me take care of you and the baby, and let us find a corner of this world where two sinners can find happiness with each other.”
Andressa was looking at him in astonishment. Her eyes widened and she simply stared at him as if he’d just said the most shocking thing she’d ever heard.
“You… you want to take care of… of…?”
“Aye, I want to take care of you.”
She swallowed hard, taking a step back as his words impacted her. She’d only just met the man; that was her first thought. How could he know that he wanted to take care of her? It was his pity talking. She knew that. He had a great deal of pity for her, more so now that he knew she was with child, and it was that kind and generous man acting on impulse. As much as she was flattered, and deeply touched, the offer terrified her immensely.
I am not your responsibility.
But, God, she wished that she was.
Maxton was a powerful, seasoned, handsome knight of the highest order. She remembered thinking that she wished she was good enough for him, because a man like Maxton deserved a fine, elegant wife, not a lowly pledge who was pregnant with another man’s child. She was certain he’d not thought extensively on the offer he just made, because if he had, he probably would not have made it. The mere thought of what he was suggesting was ludicrous.
For his sake, she could not agree to it.
“Your offer is as beautiful as your soul, Maxton,” she said quietly. “I know you have a past that suggests your soul is as black as soot, but my experience with you has been much different. You are a man that every girl dreams of. But you said that William Marshal wishes for me to return to St. Blitha?”
Her response made him hopeful. “He does.”
“Then that is where I should go.”
He grunted unhappily. “Andressa…”
“Please, Maxton,” she said, reaching out to put a slender hand on his arm. “I know you are trying to help me, but you must let me think on what you have said. I will not make a decision of this importance in only a few moments. Will you send food to me now? I am rather hungry.”
