“Just you and me.”
She wasn’t happy to hear that. “But where are we going?” she asked. “If you have asked me to be your wife, I will assume we are not going to The Paladin.”
“Nay.”
“But what of the others? What of Susanna and Yerik? I cannot simply leave them behind, Kress.”
“Susanna will stay with Achilles and Bric and Sherry,” he said, grabbing the only satchel he saw and thrusting it at her. “Yerik is still in the Summerlin carriage, making more of your poem cards, I will assume. He hasn’t left the carriage since we fixed it.”
“But what will become of him?”
“When we return the carriage, he will go with it and return to Lynn,” he said with hurried patience. “It is better for him there, anyway. He can keep producing your naughty poems even if youare not there to give him new material. Mayhap he can learn to construct those poems himself.”
Her mouth popped open. “Aman?”
Kress was losing his patience with her. “No more questions,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Hurry!”
Cadelyn was muddled but she knew enough to do as she was told. Frankly, she didn’t care why she was leaving with Kress, only that she was. The reasons didn’t matter. Quickly, she began digging into her capcases and pulled forth a pair of shifts, two gowns she could get her hands on that weren’t bulky, combs and soap wrapped in hemp, a handful of hose that happened to be near the top of one capcase, and anything else she could grab to stuff into the only leather satchel she had, which wasn’t very big.
Very quickly, the satchel was full and she struggled to close it, so much so that Kress stepped in to secure it. As he was tying off the leather bindings, Cadelyn slipped her cloak over her shoulders and secured it tightly. Her last action was to call the dog off the bed, and the animal leapt off and was at her side in an instant.
When Kress turned around with the satchel in his hand, he saw her standing there with the faithful dog by her side. He looked at the dog and sighed.
“I am not sure we can take him, Cadie,” he said quietly. “We must move quickly.”
She looked at the dog, petting his gray head. “I cannot leave him,” she said simply. “He will keep up with us. He is a dog, after all. He can run.”
Kress didn’t argue with her; he didn’t have time. At the moment, he had to move her out to the kitchen yard where Bric would be with his horse. With Cadelyn in one hand and her satchel in the other, Kress made his way down to the common room with the dog in tow.
Setting foot into the darkened common room with Kress pulling her along, the first thing Cadelyn noticed was how empty the room was. And it was eerily still. She could see Susanna and Achilles over by the front window, looking out at the street, and Alexander was standing in the middle of the room talking to a smaller man who seemed quite dirty and pale. He looked as if he lived in the gutter, in fact, but Kress pulled her over in his direction.
“My lord,” Kress addressed the dirty man. “This is Cadelyn of Vendotia. My lady, this is Lord Ellesmere, Tatius de Shera. He wanted to meet you.”
Cadelyn’s eyes widened at the sight of a man who wasn’t much taller than she was. He was perhaps twice her age, with a hint of gray in his dark hair, and of average size. He certainly wasn’t the great earl that Cadelyn had been expecting but in that introduction, she was also greatly confused.
“My lord,” she said, dipping into a practiced curtsy. “I… I did not know that you had come.”
Tatius looked in her direction and it was clear that he was studying her. His dark gaze moved from the top of her head to the bottom of her blue dress as it brushed the floor. He even looked at the ugly gray dog, standing vigilantly by her side.
“My lady,” he greeted. “You looked exactly like your mother.”
Cadelyn wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She glanced at Kress before replying. “I have only just met her, my lord,” she said. “Do you know her?”
Tatius nodded faintly. “I do,” he said. Then, he boldly reached out to take her hand. “I am sorry we could not have come to know one another, but it is better this way. I understand that you are in love with Sir Kress.”
Cadelyn’s cheeks flushed a dull red. “I… I am, my lord,” she said, feeling nervous and perhaps even a little frightened. “I amsorry if this offends you. It was not my intent, but you have asked a question and I answered truthfully.”
Tatius patted her hand and let it go. “It does not offend me,” he said. “Be at ease. I have broken our betrothal for reasons I am sure Sir Kress will tell you when he has time. For now, you must go with him. You must run. I wish you every happiness, my lady, but know one thing– you must never come back to Wales or Chester, or mayhap even England as a whole. There are those who would not be favorable towards you.”
Confused and frightened, Cadelyn looked to Kress for answers, but all he did was take her hand and kiss it. “You will be safe, I promise,” he said. “The earl has seen to that. We owe him everything.”
Even if Cadelyn didn’t understand what was happening, she knew enough not to question it at the moment. As Tatius said, Kress would tell her soon enough. All she needed to do was trust him, and trust him she did.
She returned her attention to Tatius.
“Then you have my thanks, my lord,” she said. “For whatever you have done, and it seems as if you have done a great deal, know that I am grateful, too.”
Tatius smiled faintly, feeling some regret that he would never be married to such a glorious creature. But it was not to be and he accepted that. He waved his hand at Kress.
