“Anything.”
“You are not offering marriage simply because I am the rightful heiress to a rich fortress, are you?”
He laughed softly, flashing his big, white teeth. “I can promise you that I am not,” he said. “In fact, I would take you with only the clothes on your back. Regaining Chalford Hill for you… it is yours, Andressa. It will always be yours.”
She was enchanted by his smile, his words, feeling such hope and joy swell in her that she could hardly contain it. It seemed surreal, all of it. But in the same breath, nothing had ever seemed so right or so true. It was glory beyond imagination.
It was to be hers.
“And yours,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I will share all that I have with you, for always. But… will you do something for me?”
“All you need do is ask.”
She squeezed his hand again, that big and strong thing, trying to put her thoughts into words. “When I was young at Chalford Hill, and when I was fostering at Okehampton, no one called me Andressa,” she said. “My parents only named meAndressa because they hoped I would be a boy. They wanted to name him Andrew.”
“You are most definitely not a boy.”
She giggled. “Nay,” she agreed. “But because they wanted a boy, they called me Andie from birth. I was always known as Andie until I came to St. Blitha. It reminds me of better days. Days I never thought I’d see again.”
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it sweetly, and he didn’t care who saw him. “I am happy to call you Andie if it pleases you,” he said. “But know that I think your name is quite beautiful. Like you.”
Andressa’s cheeks flushed a dull red, the most color Maxton had ever seen in them. It gave her such a glow, a hint of the true beauty this woman possessed. He was still holding her hand when she lowered her head and continued eating.
All with one hand.
It was the best moment of his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY
St. Blitha
It was acold, misty morning, much colder and denser than the day before, but the Mother Abbess and her attendants were up before dawn, preparing for the day. With the feast day on the morrow, there was much for them to do.
They had a traitor in their midst.
“Is she awake yet, Sister Petronilla?” the Mother Abbess asked. “Is she at her duties?”
Sister Petronilla was over near the windows that overlooked the garden. She peered out, trying to see through the mist that had settled. The sun was just rising, turning everything a lighter shade of gray, like a mystical land the color of silver.
“Aye,” she said after a moment. “I see her and some other women over near the kitchens.”
The Mother Abbess sighed faintly as Sister Agnes adjusted her wimple. “And you are sure what you saw last night, Sister?”
Sister Petronilla turned away from the window. “I am certain,” she said. “I was watching the postern gate to ensure she returned from Lady Hinkley’s. There was a man with her. I could see him standing outside the gate when she came through.”
“And she had no laundry from Lady Hinkley?”
“None that I could see, Gracious Mother.”
The Mother Abbess finished fussing with her wimple and made her away across the floor, looking from the windows just as Sister Petronilla was doing, seeing Andressa across the misty yard as she worked with the other nuns. Because she was so tall, it was easy to spot her among the other women.
“So Andressa has a lover,” she said, but there was an icy edge to her tone. “A lover who must have killed Douglas when the man strayed too close to her. Do you suppose that is what happened, Sister? Mayhap Douglas stumbled onto something he should not have heard and was killed for it.”
Sister Petronilla lifted her shoulders. “Andressa spends far too much time wandering the city,” she said, disgust in her voice. “She has more freedom than anyone else because of her duties as the laundress and she has taken a lover because of that freedom. She has taken advantage of your generosity, Gracious Mother. Something must be done.”
The Mother Abbess was calm, unnaturally so, as she watched Andressa go about her tasks. “Something will be done,” she said as she turned away. “She will understand her place in all things or The Chaos will swallow her, too. It is something we must do. Bring her to me.”
Sister Petronilla left her post at the window, a smug expression on her face because she was happy to summon Andressa to face the Mother Abbess’ punishment. She wasn’t happy about Andressa joining their exclusive group as it was, so the fact that the woman had proven herself unworthy was quite a joyful thing for Sister Petronilla. As she quickly left the Mother Abbess’ solar, the Mother Abbess turned to Sister Agnes and Sister Dymphna.
