Page 13 of Always
Today the tributary was busy, the waterfronts hectic and crowded, boats loaded down with people and belongings. I guessed word had already spread about the royal couple’s death and the capital city falling to King Ethelwulf, and now anyone who could leave and go into hiding was doing so.
Another cry like that of a kitten’s mew drew me to my knees. I unbuckled the flap on the first bag to find that Princess Emmeline was awake. She peered up at me, her eyes wide and curious. One of her hands had come loose from her swaddling, and she reached it out as if to greet me.
I couldn’t help but give the wee one a smile. Even though her face was ruddy and wrinkled, her features were delicate and adorable and her hair a fuzzy dark brown. I touched the soft baby flesh of her hand and was surprised when her fingers closed around my thumb in a tight grip.
Adjusting my hold, I lifted her out as gently as I could and situated her in my arms, all the while letting the babe hold my finger. Her serious eyes seemed to search my face as though to wonder who I was and why I’d taken the place of her mother.
At the thought of the queen’s beautiful but lifeless body, hot tears pricked my eyes, and I placed a kiss on the poor motherless babe’s cheek. When I glanced up, I caught Lance watching me. He looked quickly away, but not before I saw approval in his expression that warmed me. After trying hard not to be a burden to him last night, I’d felt like a failure at every move. Was it possible he didn’t resent my presence so much after all?
I dug out one of the bottles from the bottom of the satchel and began feeding Emmeline. As I did so, I took the opportunity to study Lance more carefully. We’d been so rushed and the night so dark that I hadn’t really taken him in.
He’d discarded his mantle of chain mail and now wore a peasant-like cloak and hood that he’d acquired at some point—likely to conceal himself from recognition as one of the king’s elite guards. Even with his head covered, I glimpsed his blond hair with hints of brown. As was customary for trained soldiers, his locks were braided back on his scalp in three plaits that were tied together at the base of his neck. The style lent him a fierceness that was accentuated by the thick muscles of his shoulders and arms and chest.
The time in the river after jumping from the waterfall had washed away the battle blood that had covered him. While his countenance was grimy from the miles we’d traversed through the forest and now the hours he’d spent rowing, his features were clear in the daylight—a prominent brow above dark-brown eyes that seemed to see everyone and everything, a wide square jaw, a defined dimple in the cleft of his chin, a determined mouth, and a surprisingly straight nose. As before when I’d first met him, I was struck by his rugged handsomeness.
He was also certainly impressive with his strength and his endurance. Surely, he was as tired as I by now and could use a respite from rowing.
“Would you like me to relieve you for a while?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.
“Nay.” He slid me another sideways look, darting a glance at my legs.
Only then did I realize I hadn’t yet untucked my skirt from under his belt. Mortified that my ankles were exposed so brazenly, even if my stockings covered them, I loosened my skirt and pulled it down. “Do you believe we are safe now?” I asked, smoothing the layers and trying to sound more composed than I felt.
“Once Ethelwulf realizes the royal princesses have escaped the castle, he won’t rest until he captures them.” Lance studied one passing skiff after another as though assessing each one for danger.
I swallowed my fear and watched Emmeline suckle the bottle for a moment, her lids growing heavy. “I—we must find a safe place for the princesses.”
“I’m planning to take them to St. Cuthbert’s, an abbey hidden in the far eastern part of the Iron Hills.”
I noticed how he didn’t include me in his plans. “If it is hidden, how then shall we find it?”
“Have no doubt. I’ll find it.”
I bristled at his arrogance. “We must retrieve the Princess Constance in Everly first. I promised the queen I would protect the child.”
He pursed his lips and started to shake his head.
“We shall pass near the city on our way to the Iron Hills,” I continued. “We must take Princess Constance away to safety before King Ethelwulf sends his mercenaries to kill her.”
“If I delay any further, I’ll risk the lives of the newborn babes.”
“She is the heir to the throne,” I insisted.
Lance rowed steadily, meeting my gaze hesitantly. I could sense his desire to uphold the formality between us due to our stations. He clearly lived by a high code of honor and wanted to maintain his integrity. But because of the unusual circumstances, he was overstepping the usual boundaries and he knew it. “If I go into Everly, I could very well be walking into a trap.”
“I shall go in by myself. No one will suspect that a young woman like me would attempt to steal the princess away. I shall find her and then meet you outside the city.” The idea of venturing off by myself terrified me, especially after seeing Saracens. But I couldn’t allow Lance to sense my fear or he’d never agree to get Princess Constance.
When he seemed to consider my option seriously, I let my body loosen with relief. But a moment later, he shook his head. “Nay. ’Tis too dangerous.”
“I shall take great care.”
“You’ll stand out.” His eyes flickered down the length of my once elegant gown, now snagged and damp and dirty.
“I shall find a clean gown—”
“You’ll stand out for who you are, not for what you wear.”
“Then I shall disguise myself.”
