When he set her on the ground, she backed up against the mare, staring up at him mutely. Her pulse was rioting.
“Lady Stratheclyde?”
Realization was striking her with a full and brutal force. She had not come to Hawkehurst to ask after Katherine.She had come to see John. She had come because she secretly, sinfully, coveted this man, her best friend’s husband—in spite of the fact that she was betrothed now to Lord Simon Hunt.
She took a deep breath. She knew she must remount and go home. Before her real feelings became apparent to him, before she betrayed her dear and best friend in some small but genuine way, before she betrayed her own fiancé. “I…do not feel well. I am unaccustomed to riding,” she lied. “I feel somewhat like swooning.”
He eyed her. “Really? I have never seen a woman sit a mare as well as you. And this one’s half-wild still.”
She felt absurdly pleased with his praise. Then she started, because Hawke had gripped her arm.
“Come inside. Perhaps a glass of ale will fortify you.”
Juliet could not think of how to refuse, and she followed him into the hall and allowed him to seat her at the table. He did not sit beside her. He ordered refreshments, then proceeded to stare at her. He made no attempt to converse.
Juliet took a deep breath. “Sir John, I have come to see you because Katherine is my best friend and I had hoped you had some word from her.”
Hawke’s expression grew more grim. “No.”
“No word at all?” Juliet was amazed. “But surely, by now, O’Neill would allow her some communication with you!”
“No. There has been none.”
Juliet was rooted to the spot. Dismay filled her. John stared past her, out the window at the moors, gray and purple now with the impending winter. She gazed at him, trying to discern what his emotions were. She felt his anger—he was still angry over Katherine’s abduction—but she could not detect any grief.
Juliet gripped her gloved hands tightly in her lap. “I am sure that she is fine. I am sure he would not harm her.”
Hawke turned back to her. “Yes, undoubtedly there has been no rape, and if he was displeased with her, he would have freed her long ago.”
Juliet gasped when she realized what he implied. ThatLiam had won Katherine by wooing her, and that she was pleasing him even now. Her cheeks burned.
Juliet did not know what to say to comfort John. Yet she wanted to comfort him. The urge overwhelmed her. Juliet stood up, moved to his side, and lightly touched his hand, gripping his fingers for an instant. Hawke’s vivid blue gaze pierced hers. For another heartbeat, Juliet was at a loss, unable to look away, unable to speak.
“Katherine did not wish to be abducted, Sir John,” she finally said. “She wished only to marry you. She told me so.” That was the truth. Yet Juliet recalled seeing the doubt in her friend’s eyes at the time. She would never tell John of it.
John regarded her without expression.
“If you hear from her,” Juliet finally said, growing uneasy beneath his stare, “will you let me know?”
Hawke nodded.
Juliet realized that now she had no further excuse to linger. Yet she was loath to leave. She could not help wondering when she would ever see him again. “When are you returning to court?” she asked.
“Tonight.”
She hid her dismay. But…she had hoped he might remain in Cornwall for a few days. Even though she knew that his immediate departure was best. For everyone.
Hawke’s next words stunned her. “I have been commissioned to go after O’Neill by the queen herself. My men and ships are almost ready to depart. I plan to set sail within a week.”
Juliet gasped. She had not heard of this new turn of events. John was going after Liam—and fear filled her. “What do you do?” she half cried, half whispered.
His gaze was direct. “The queen wants his head.”
Juliet was more than frightened, she was terrified. “Sir John…he is a dangerous man! Please, take care…I wish you Godspeed.”
He stared at her, his eyes widening.
Abruptly Juliet turned away, afraid that he had detected her concern for him, a concern she had no right to feel. She hurried to the door.
