Catalina thought it was rather sweet that Essien should be so concerned for his brother’s opponent. To her, that showed his good character, kindness in a man she’d not experienced before. But now she was standing in the staging area with her daughter, and there were men and horses everywhere, so she thought it would be best if she retreated to the lists, especially with Adabella by her side. Unfortunately, Adabella wasn’t so apt to relinquish the puppy, and was concerned that the dog was hungry, so Catalina could see that her next stop would be at the same vendor, who had beef and beans so the dog could eat.
Taking her daughter by the shoulder, she directed the child toward the gate next to the lists. She was about to pass through it and on to the street beyond when she heard her name. Puzzled, she stopped, only to see Lance coming toward her from the staging area.
He was coming in behind her.
“Lady de Barenton,” Lance said, “may I have a moment of your time?”
Catalina was immediately on her guard. “Lance, I have nothing more to say to you,” she said. “I am not the person who requested the betrothal to Sir Essien and I cannot break it. Nor would I. I am sorry if you feel slighted by this, but there is nothing I can do.”
Lance put up a hand to silence her. “I know,” he said. “My lady, I was not going to ask you to demand the betrothal be broken. I simply wanted to tell you that I’ve had an entire night to think about the situation and if I have made you uncomfortable with my suit, then I apologize. You never showed any interest in me, that is true, but I am stubborn. I thought I could convince you to see things my way. I’ve never had anything belong to me in my entire life and I just wanted something… someone… to belong to me. I saw that opportunity with you.”
Catalina eyed him for a moment. Essien thought she’d been cruel to Lance, and she’d defended herself because he’d been relentless and annoying, so it was difficult not to snap at him again. She was afraid that if she let her guard down, he might resume his unwanted attention. She’d become so accustomed to having her guard up with him that it was difficult to lower it.
“Mayhap you saw an opportunity, but I hope you realize that I did not,” she said. “It was not personal, le Kerque. I simply did not want to remarry anyone.”
“But now you are pledged to al-Kort.”
“I am,” she said. “My father will not break the betrothal. He wishes for me to marry, so I shall have to.”
Lance simply nodded, as if he’d received confirmation for the last time. The last rejection, the last statement of fact. She didn’t want him and he had to accept that. After a moment, he drew in a long, pensive breath.
“But your father did not want you to marry me,” he said.
Catalina shrugged. “I would not know his mind,” she said. “My father did not share his thoughts with me. I suppose you do not bring what he wants into a marriage.”
“I realize that.”
“You are not going to file a grievance with the local magistrate, are you?”
Lance shook his head. “Nay,” he said, sounding defeated. “Why? You do not want me, so there is no reason to fight for something futile.”
“That is a sensible way to look at it.”
“Mama!” Adabella tugged at her. “We must feed the puppy!”
Catalina nodded to her daughter. “We will,” she said, but her focus returned to Lance. “My apologies. We must go. I wish you well, wherever you end up.”
Lance nodded, watching them scurry off with a squirming puppy in Adabella’s arms. While Catalina felt some relief to get away from him, Lance could only feel regret. Deep, deep regret.
Yet one more thing he couldn’t have in a life that was full of such things.
But now, it was over for good.
*
There were dancingdogs again.
Catalina had just purchased another bowl of beef and beans when Adabella spied the man with the dancing dogs.
They had to stay for the show.
Catalina ended up holding the puppy as it wolfed down the food while Adabella watched the dancing dogs with fascination. Catalina lingered for a few minutes, feeding the puppy and thinking on her conversation with Lance, but a few minutes turned into a longer stretch because Adabella didn’t want to leave. A half-hour passed, at least. She could hear the roar ofthe crowd in the lists, rising and falling, and she knew the bouts were going on. She wanted to see Essien compete in the finals, so she finally had to break her daughter away from the dogs and drag her, and the puppy, back to the lists.
Adabella wasn’t happy and the dog wasn’t happy. The moment they came within range of the staging area and the big stable situated on the edge of it, the puppy threw itself out of Catalina’s arms and raced across the staging area, back to the barn where its mother was. Adabella started weeping because Catalina wouldn’t chase it, so Catalina ended up dragging her crying daughter back to the lists, where the two competitors for the championship were lining up.
It was a stroke of luck that she’d made it back in time, and as she sat down, she could see that Ines hadn’t moved from where she’d left her, still sitting with Brielle’s children and playing with something that looked like clay or earthenware cows. Christin’s children were back, three little boys under the age of seven, and they had their father with them, an enormous man with black hair and black eyes who was a good deal older than his wife. He sat on the bench with his two-year-old son over his shoulder while the five-year-old and seven-year-old were begging him to go down to the field and stand at the railing like their grandfather was. He kept putting his big hand over their faces to shut their mouths, and it did not please them. As they turned to their mother and began to beg, the man with the black eyes noticed Catalina.
“Ah,” he said. “Lady de Barenton, I presume?”
