Her breath caught.Maybe he couldn’t see her.But he knew she was there, watching.
He gave a subtle nod of his head.
“That’s our signal,” Eve said.“Hurry now and dress.”
Her mind was made up.Aye, shewouldrisk everything on the man she loved.She hastily donned the drab habit, hiding her meticulously plaited tresses under the ash-colored veil and leaving her intricately embroidered wedding gown in a pool on the floor.
Eve scooped up the gown, folding and concealing it under her own habit.
“We’re to leave no evidence,” she explained, though Carenza wondered if “Sister Eve” meant to keep the garment.
“Are you even a real nun?”she asked.
Eve pretended affront, but then admitted, “Sometimes.”
Carenza felt a shiver of misgiving.Should she trust the lass?But then she remembered she herself had once feigned to be a cateran.She let out an uneasy sigh and straightened her spine.“I’m ready.”Then she reconsidered.“Wait.”
She went to the small wooden chest where she kept the ring Hew had given her and the verses from Gellir.She slipped the ring on her finger.She didn’t have the heart to burn the pages.But she dared not leave them behind.She stuffed them down the top of her habit.
“All right.”
They didn’t dare interact with Hew for fear of drawing attention.Eve said he would meet them later at the convent.Still, it surprised Carenza how easily she could pass through the halls of Darragh as one of a pair of nuns.Clothed in dull colors, with her head covered and bowed, she moved through the crowded courtyard almost invisibly.And with all the flurry of preparations for the wedding, their departure out the gates of the castle was scarcely noted.
The journey south was taxing.Though her reasons for fleeing were noble, Carenza was all too aware that defying the king’s will was treason.
But when she’d seen Hew’s face, when she’d tried to imagine a life without him, she knew she had to take a leap of faith.
Now she’d leaped too far to turn back.
Riding away from Darragh through the woods on a stolen horse, Hew questioned whether he was doing the right thing.
He’d arrived for the wedding just this morn with the rest of the Rivenloch clan.But he’d begun plotting the daring escape days before then.
He’d secretly enlisted the services of an old acquaintance, Sister Eve.
Sister Eve was a nun with whom he’d accidentally—and temporarily—fallen in love years ago.Despite their mishap, they had remained friends.And though she was a less-than-devoted nun whose abbess had a hard time containing her within convent walls, when Eve put her mind to something, especially when there was adventure to be had, she was highly reliable and good at what she did.
It seemed as if all was going to plan.Sister Eve had replied to his signal.She would slip out of the castle with Carenza, and they would flee to her convent.Once the two of them were safely away—but before Gellir noticed his bride was gone—Hew would ride out after them.
But while procuring weapons for the journey from Darragh’s armory, Hew had been waylaid by Gellir, who was already looking for Carenza.Anxious about his missing bride, Gellir was eager to alert both clans so a wider search could be started.
That was the last thing Hew needed.So he begged Gellir not to tell anyone just yet.He explained that the laird of Dunlop would go mad if he thought he’d lost his daughter, having already lost his wife.He said there was no need to panic the clans.Hew would volunteer to ride out and look for her quietly himself.
His cousin, however, was stubborn and principled.Gellir deemed it was his fault his bride had run away.Therefore it was his responsibility to recover her.
In the end, since Gellir refused to take nay for an answer, Hew had to resort to brute force.He imprisoned his cousin in the armory.
Gellir was naturally furious.
Hew understood.He felt sorry for him.But he wasn’t about to let him go.
So he assuaged his cousin with a partial truth.He gently explained that Carenza was in love with someone else.He told Gellir he meant to reunite her with her lover.And in the meantime, he pledged to keep her safe.
Gellir, however, sternly reminded Hew he was not only aiding a runaway bride.He was defying the king.
Hew didn’t need reminding.The idea already chilled his blood.
But despite all his misgivings, at that instant, Hew felt he was doing the right thing.He recited the Rivenloch motto back to Gellir.Amor vincit omnia.Love conquers all.
