“Do not play the innocent. You must think me the greatest of fools if you believe a dirty cap and a youth’s clothes will make me think that you are a boy. So, why has a girl dressed herself so?”
She inwardly cursed but struggled to look very young and mournful. “I try no trickery, kind sir. I am an orphan. My only family is my cousin, and he rides to join the army. There was nowhere near our home where he could safely leave me behind. I but try to hide as his page until we can find a convent where the good nuns will accept a poor girl into their care.” She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile.
“It is a shame that the good sisters cannot afford to take in all who need care and guidance,” he said, as he gave her the bread and watched her count out her coin. “Your cousin should not let you wander about alone, however. He does you a great kindness by taking you under his protection, but he risks your life and virtue by sending you out alone and unguarded.”
“I will tell him, sir.”
“You do so, and return to his side as quickly as you are able.”
“I am nearly done here, sir,” she said, as she hurried out of the shop.
Although the man she bought the cheese from and the other merchants she fleetingly dealt with did not feel compelled to give her any advice, it was clear to see upon their faces that they knew exactly what she was. Her saddlepacks finally filled with all she needed, Gisele was more than happy to hurry out of the village. It did not really surprise her when she saw a small group of armed men riding toward the village. She did not even bother to look to be sure that they were DeVeau men. Instinct told her that they were, and her luck had been very poor of late. She rode for the shelter of the trees, trying to keep a good, fast pace and not look as if she were trying to flee and thus raise the men’s suspicions.
She hissed a vicious curse when a sly glance behind her revealed that the men had slowed their pace and were looking her way. It took all of Gisele’s willpower not to kick her horse into a gallop and flee as fast as she could. Her body held so taut it was painful, she rode into the trees, listening intently for any sign of pursuit.
When she felt sure she was hidden from their sight, she reined in, dismounted, and crept back until she could see the men. She was pleased with her stealth although she would need a lot more practice to be as soft of tread as Nigel. It alarmed her a little to see that they had stopped. They kept looking her way and arguing with each other. She tensed when one man started to slowly ride her way, then breathed a hearty sigh of relief when his companions called him back. The men finally continued on into the village, but Gisele maintained her vigil for several long moments to assure herself that they would not change their minds again and come hieing after her. The last thing she wanted to do was lead them back to the cave, trapping her and a helpless Nigel inside.
Still keeping a close watch behind her, she carefully made her way back to the cave. As she drew near to her shelter, she dismounted and led her horse up the steep, rocky slope. A few feet from the mouth of the cave she stopped and gaped toward it, not wanting to believe what she saw.
Nigel was standing outside the cave, his sword in his hand. He saw her and slumped against the rocks. Even as she rushed to his side he began to slide down until he sat on the cold ground.
“Are you completely mad?” she demanded as she helped him back inside, alarmed by the way his body was shaking with weakness.
“I might ask ye the same thing,” he rasped as he sank back onto the bedding and heartily cursed his weakness.
He had woken up to find her gone. At first he had not been very concerned, thinking she had gone out for wood or to scavenge for some food. When he had realized that her horse was gone, however, he had become increasingly worried. The longer he waited and she did not return, the more worried he had become. The moment he had stood up he had known that he would not be much help if she were in trouble, but he had doggedly continued. His sword had felt so heavy in his hand he had known he would not have been able to use it. By the time he had dragged his weak and trembling body outside, he had realized that he could do no more than stand there shaking and sweating, and that had infuriated him. Having her find him in such a poor condition and have to help him back to bed had only added to that anger.
“I am not the one trying to recover from a fever and a wound.” She hastily checked his wound, relieved to find that he had not opened it. “Where did you think you were going?” she demanded even as she moved to go and get her horse.
“To find you,” he called after her.
“I did not need finding,” she replied as she tugged her horse back inside the cave and unpacked the animal.
“Where did ye go?”
“We needed food. I cannot hunt, and none was walking up to the mouth of this cave, so I had to go and get some.”
“Ye went into a town?”
She brought him some water and made him take a drink. “A little village to the west of here.”
“Ye could have been seen by the DeVeaux.”
“I was, but only from a distance,” she added hastily when he cursed. “They did not recognize me, and did not follow me.”
“Are ye certain?”
She nodded. “I watched to be sure that they went to the village and stayed there.”
He frowned. “Someone in the village could tell them that you were there.”
“They could, but that still will not tell them if the rider they saw was me, or where I went to. And, I was alone. Now they are looking for two of us. It will probably confuse them.”
“We must leave here.”
He started to get up, but she easily held him in place with one hand planted firmly on his chest. “We cannot. You could barely get yourself outside. Do you try to tell me that you were not weakened by that, so weakened that you could not take another step?” She smiled faintly when he cursed. “We needed food.”
“Ye shouldnae have taken the risk,” he snapped.
