Fancy meeting you at Castle Rising, my lady?
Was there a message to me in that card you gave to me, my lady?
Damn your marriage, let me feast upon your beauty?
Alas, but no… none of those seemed very appropriate, or polite, so he thought perhaps to simply tell her it had been an honor to meet her and he was sorry if he’d said anything to offend her. Women liked to hear that kind of thing. He was in the process of planning out something quite flattering when a horse abruptly departed the stables, several feet in front of him, cutting down the path to the north where the main gatehouse was situated.
It took him a moment to realize that the rider had been Lady Cadelyn.
Something told Kress to follow her.
CHAPTER FIVE
It was darkby the time Cadelyn reached Lynn, which was not so very far away from Castle Rising. In fact, the village and the castle shared a main road between them, so it was simply a matter of staying to the road that ran alongside Castle Rising as it took her straight into the heart of the town.
Everything was lit up at this hour as night fell, smoke from the evening cooking fires heavy upon the air. Astride her leggy mare with the one blue eye and the one brown eye, Cadelyn made her way through the outskirts, smelling fresh bread and roasting meat, trotting down the uneven dirt road as it headed in towards the town.
Torches were lit and the town watch was out, prowling around in groups of men, ensuring the town was safe. Since the town belonged to the bishops of Thetford, there was a small garrison of the bishop’s men, heavily-armed, and then a large volunteer group of men who maintained peace and order. She could hear them calling to each other as they walked the perimeter walls, their torches piercing the darkness.
Cadelyn knew that Susanna was going to be quite angry with her for coming alone. She’d left the woman in her chamber,helping her pack her trunk, while she lied and said she needed to get something from the wash. She hadn’t gone to the wash at all, but to the stable. By now, Susanna had figured out something was amiss and was surely coming for her.
Therefore, she had to make this fast.
St. Margaret’s loomed up ahead, the church yard dark for the most part and the steeple silhouetted against the starry sky. Directing her horse around to the side of the church where Yerik had sold the illicit cards, she dismounted her palfrey and pulled the animal into the shadows, tying the beast off before heading to the gate that was locked at this hour.
Peering through the iron slats, she could see the cloister beyond and men moving about. There was someone nearby, at least within earshot, so she began to hiss at the man, catching his attention. When he came near, warily, she extended a pence and asked him to send Yerik to her. The man was hesitant until she gave him another pence. Then, he wandered off.
Nervously, Cadelyn waited, wrapping the cloak tightly about her slender body, her eyes darting about her surroundings to make sure an entire legion of cutthroats wasn’t about to slip up behind her. Every sound had her jumping and every shadow had her imagination running wild. Every so often, she’d return her gaze to the iron gate and attempt to see if Yerik was coming through the shadowed yard. She hoped the priest hadn’t simply run off with her money without summoning him, but the truth was that she hadn’t known many priests that were the trustworthy type.
At the moment, she was going to have to have a little faith.
It took some time, unfortunately. Just when she thought the priest had taken her money and run, she could see Yerik’s round figure approaching, a heavily-smoking torch in his hand and a hood over his head against the cold night air. Pressed backagainst the arch of the gate to stay hidden as much as she could, Cadelyn pressed up against the gate as Yerik came near.
“What took so long?” she hissed. “Where have you been?”
Yerik looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him. “It is the meditation hour,” he said. “Brother Josephus told me there was someone at the gate to see me and the man cannot keep his lips shut so, by now, others know of the woman that has come to see me, too. What is so important that you are out in the dark like this?”
Cadelyn’s face was pressed between the bars. “My escort arrived today, the one that is to take me to my betrothed in Chester,” she said. “They have given me only two days to pack my belongings.”
Yerik’s young face was serious. “Why must you depart so soon? Surely they will give you time to settle your affairs.”
She pursed her lips wryly at him. “What affairs would I have?” she asked frankly. “I cannot tell them about my affairs with you, so I have no choice but to go with them. What about you? Can you leave in two days?”
Yerik seemed quite concerned and, in truth, dubious. “I am not for certain,” he said, glancing behind him again. “The clerics are already working on the next poem card.”
“Tell them they can sell it and keep the money,” she whispered. “But you… I need you to come with me. You promised that you would.”
Yerik nodded, but it was reluctantly. “I know,” he said. “And I will, but what is the plan? Shall I come to Castle Rising?”
Cadelyn shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “You will wait on the road and watch for our departure. Then you will catch up to us and I will tell the escort commander that you are my personal priest. He cannot deny me my priest.”
Yerik sighed. “Are you for certain? Did you ask?”
“Of course not. Once you have joined us on the road, he cannot deny you. If I ask, then I give him the opportunity to refuse. ’Tis better to tell the man than ask him.”
Yerik wasn’t so certain, but he didn’t argue with her. Lady Cadelyn was a woman of determination and once her mind was set, nothing would change it. He knew that. But he was nervous… nervous about leaving a place where he had some prestige, supervising the clerics, a warm bed and decent food. But the lure of making money with the poem cards was stronger than his attachment to St. Margaret’s. He knew, whatever happened, that Lady Cadelyn would take care of him.
She hadn’t let him down yet.
