Both Edna and Bek tried to talk her out of leaving, but Gytha refused to be swayed. She knew they both hoped for Thayer to appear and put a stop to her flight, but to Gytha’s great relief, that hope was never realized. Rumor reached her that Thayer was in Roger’s chambers drinking heavily and feeling very sorry for himself. She hoped he would continue to do so until she was well on her way to Riverfall, out of his reach.
Gytha did not allow herself the luxury of self-pity. She simply felt very tired. Court life had been a trial, but she had thought Thayer stood by her. Now she just wanted to go home, to turn her back on all of it.
Inside of her rested a hurt so great she knew of no way to ease it. She loved Thayer, yet wished she did not. That love caused her to be completely devastated by his mistrust, crushed by the discovery of what he truly thought of her. What had seemed so beautiful, so promising, now felt like the greatest of curses.
Dawn was barely tinting the sky rose when she started for Riverfall. Four of the men her father had sent when she left home rode with her as protection. Bek and Edna shared the cart with her. She briefly wondered if she was taking the coward’s way out, then shrugged the thought away. Her sanity required her to retreat, to seek someplace to lick her wounds. She needed to think long and hard about what to do about her marriage, if she even had a marriage left to worry about.
Thayer greeted the new day with an aching head, a sour, dry mouth, and the knowledge that he had done something there might be no forgiveness for. Adding to his misery was an immediate summons from the king. Reluctantly he answered it, praying the man would be quick. He needed to see Gytha. To his great annoyance, the king held him captive for hours.
“Have you seen Gytha?” he demanded of Roger as he strode into the man’s quarters late that afternoon.
“Nay, not a hair. Come to think of it, I have not seen Bek either.”
“He is most likely with her,” Thayer muttered as he washed up. “Who can that be?” he grumbled when a rap came at the door several moments later.
When he answered the knock, Roger scowled at the woman standing there. “What do you want?”
Lady Elizabeth pushed by Roger to go to Thayer, ignoring his less than welcoming look. “You look well, Thayer.”
“May I do something for you?” Thayer quickly moved away from her to tug on a clean jupon.
“Well, since your little wife has left, I thought you would want to escort me to the festivities this evening.”
“Gytha has left?” Thayer felt as if his heart had abruptly sunk into his boots.
“Aye. I heard she left before dawn had fully broken. Where are you going?” she demanded, but Thayer did not bother to reply as he raced from the room, Roger close at his heels.
A moment later, Thayer strode about the chambers he had been sharing with Gytha, seeing all the proof of her abrupt departure. “Wait until morning, you said,” he roared. “Leave her be for a while, you told me.”
“I never would have thought she would leave you,” Roger mumbled.
“Well, ’tis clear she has. What is this?” He snatched up the parchment left on their bed, sitting down heavily as he read it.
“Husband: I have returned to Riverfall. Bek is with me. So are my father’s men-at-arms. You need not rush to join me. Gytha.”
Thayer handed the message to Roger, who winced as he read it. It was chillingly blunt. Thayer wondered just how deep that chill went. He knew Gytha had been aware of Lady Elizabeth’s pursuit of him; the woman was hardly subtle. Yet, Gytha had left him to the woman’s ploys without a second thought. That said a great deal more than her terse note did. She was swiftly slipping away from him, turning her back on him.
“I have to go after her.”
“You cannot leave, Thayer. Not until the king gives you permission.”
“But that could mean weeks of delay.”
“Gytha knows you cannot simply walk away from here. If this business drags on too long, speak to Edward. Tell him you have a personal matter you must tend to. At least she has gone to Riverfall, not to her own people.”
“Aye, yet she makes it all too clear that my presence at Riverfall will be less than welcome.”
“She was still hurt when she wrote this, Thayer.” Roger sighed. “Mayhap this is for the best. Time will ease the hurt.”
Thayer was not sure he agreed, but Roger was right in saying he could do nothing about it now. “Time will also allow me to find that cur who slinked away from me last night.”
“He is most likely halfway to London by now.”
“He merely steals a few more days of life.”
Time quickly weighed heavily on Thayer’s hands. The king sent him and his men on forays against small nests of rebels and thieves who plagued the Marches. Thayer swore to fulfill his forty days but give not one hour more.
A newly recovered Margaret met Gytha’s arrival at Riverfall with ill-concealed surprise. Gytha told her cousin all that had happened as soon as she had refreshed herself from the journey. To her annoyance, Margaret was dismayed but expressed some understanding for Thayer. It quickly became clear to Gytha that Margaret hoped to imbue her with a little of it before Thayer returned.
