“I would be noticed missing too soon, which might draw attention to your own absence, which should not be otherwise noted until the accusations are made. You will have a better chance do you go alone, and I needs be here to assure Warrick hears the truth ere Beatrix offers her lies.”
“You forget he does not listen to excuses—leastwise not from us,” Rowena said in a small voice. “If I must go, better I not return. Tures is not so very far from here—”
“’Tis a good three or four days on foot!” Mildred exclaimed.
“But my people there will help me, or hide me until I can figure out a way to rescue my mother from Ambray Castle.”
“Rowena, youcannotthink to travel that far alone on foot. Trust in Warrick. Given time, he will do right by you. I feel it.”
Rowena shook her head. “I have not your confidence. And now that I think of it, I do not want a man who breeds such vicious children to have aught to do with the raising of my child.”
“Fault him for his negligence, but remember that neither of those girls had mothers to guide them, whereas you—”
“Mildred, there is no time to debate this issue now,” Rowena cut in impatiently. “Tell me only how I am to get outside the gates.”
That Mildred was annoyed to leave the subject unfinished was obvious by her sour expression. “There is only one guard at the postern gate. You will slip through whilst I distract him. But if you are determined to escape for good, then wait in the woods a day—nay, best make it two days, until the furor dies down. I will join you then.”
Rowena hugged her in relief. “Thank you.”
“Thank meafteryou have to listen to me telling you all the way to Tures how foolish I think you,” Mildred grumbled.
Chapter 34
The woods were not a welcoming haven for a woman alone, not when every little sound was an imagined thief or murderer about to pounce on her. The sky had clouded over with the threat of rain ere the sun set, so there was no moon to mark the passing of time, but time crawled for Rowena. Hours passed while she tried to sleep and could not, her only consolation that it did not rain.
She felt no sense of exhilaration for having made good her escape. The ground was too hard for comfort, even with her serf’s woolens spread out for a thin pallet, and she was cold. She had changed into her own clothes as an act of defiance, one that would not last past the morn, when she would have to don her serf’s garb again for what little protection it afforded. The bright yellow bliaut and scarlet mantle that she wrapped herself in gave her back a sense of herself, which had been shaken by the Lord of Fulkhurst’s intimidations.
Fulkhurst…she wished she dared wait for his return, but she had none of Mildred’s certainty where he was concerned. He might not be as cruel as she had first thought him to be, but he was still capable of brutal retaliations and judgments, and she doubted not that if he believed she had stolen that twice-damned necklace, the fact that she was sharing his bedandcarrying his child would not stop him from meting out the same punishment he would give anyone else found guilty of the crime.
There was the chance that he might believe her if she was given the opportunity to declare her innocence. But ’twas a slim possibility considering what he knew about her—naught much good, thanks to Gilbert—and she was not willing to risk a whipping or worse just so his daughter could have her revenge against him.
She discovered she had a few vengeful thoughts herself for that young lady for forcing her out into a lawless countryside. Ladies never, ever left their homes without armed escort to accompany them. Most often even female serfs were given a guard or two if they were sent out on errands. But here she was completely alone, with only the small dagger she had found in Mildred’s sack to protect her. Mildred had included another of her fine bliauts, which Rowena could sell to buy escort if she could reach a town, but ’twas a big word, “if,” and any number of unpleasant things could happen to her in the meantime, especially once she left the concealment of the woods.
When she thought of some of those unpleasant things, she found how easy it was to hope that Beatrix de Chaville received some just reward for what she had instigated. If Rowena should die ere she reached an end to this misadventure, mayhap she could come back and haunt Beatrix…aye, nowthatwould be a just reward, eternal revenge. Warrick would love the idea.
The thought put a smile on her lips that was still there when she finally drifted to sleep moments later. But the noises of the woods still gave her no peace, waking her again and again in what little was left of the night, until she opened her eyes to the dim light of a lavender dawn—and a man standing over her.
She sat up so fast, pain stabbed at her temples. But ’twas no dream. The legs were still there next to her, and the sound of horses that had woken her. She turned to see other men dismounting near her, nigh a dozen who would be within reach of her in moments.
She did not wait to learn who they were. After her nerve-racking night, Rowena panicked, grabbing the dagger she had stashed at her waist and slashing wildly at the legs next to her. The man howled, but ’twas cut off as one of his companions leaped toward him and clapped a hand over his mouth. Rowena did not see this; she had shot to her feet and was running deeper into the woods, where their horses could not quickly follow. Buttheycould, and did, three of them giving chase, laughing for the sport of it, which frightened her more than anything else. Sheknewwhat happened when men chased women through field or woods. They ended wanting a reward for their effort.
They were gaining on her. She could hear it over the violence of her heartbeat, now pounding in her ears. They were encumbered by armor, which she could hear clanking, but she had her long skirts to hamper her, and could not manage to grasp them with her one free hand to lift out of the way. She kept trying, for ’twould be the worse luck if the damn skirts tripped her up. Then they did, her toe catching in the hem of her chemise enough to throw her off-balance.
Her dagger fell from her hand as she braced herself for the fall, but she merely stumbled a few steps, then regained her footing. There was no thought to retrieving the weapon, however, and with both hands free now, she was able to yank her skirts out of the way. But the advantage was too late gained because one man was close enough behind her that he took the chance to dive at her. Had she seen him do it, she could have jumped out of his reach, for ’twas mere inches that undid her. He grasped only the very edge of her mantle ere he hit the ground facefirst, but that was enough to jerk her to an abrupt halt and right off her feet to land hard on her backside. Had the mantle been clasped at her throat instead of around her shoulders, she would likely have broken her neck. As it was, for the first few seconds she was sure she had broken her spine, so painful was her landing. And before she realized that shecouldmove, ’twas too late to do so.
The other two men had arrived, panting, one stopping in front of her, one at her side. And the one behind her was getting to his knees, so angry at the smarting from his own fall that he jerked again on the mantle still in his hand.
Rowena fell back the rest of the way, her head hitting the ground. But she was not so dazed that she could not kick at the man in front of her as he bent toward her, nor did she forget to scream. This she did shrilly, and it changed their minds about what they might have done with her first. Their concern now was to end the noise she was making, and they nearly collided with one another in their haste to reach and cover her mouth. She bit one hand, threw aside another, but then a third slapped her, and was about to do it again when that arm was caught and held by one of the others.
“Wait, I know her.”
“You are daft, man. How can you—?”
“God’s truth, she is our lady.”
This was said with a great deal of surprise, but Rowena felt even more.Theirlady? She thought of Tures, but she did not recognize the faces leaning over her—then she did remember one and groaned inwardly. She even had it confirmed by a fourth visage looking down at her, and an incredulous voice she had hoped never to hear again.
“Rowena?”
