Page 47 of Never Leave Me
Ellen expected him to approach the head table and Lord Worth first, but he veered toward the women and stopped in front of Lady Theresa. The woman rose, and as she extended a hand toward him, her eyes took on a tender glow.
“Mother.” He bowed before her, bending his head low and placing a kiss on her fingers. When he straightened, Ellen could see that up close, his features were striking, even handsome beneath the scruff covering his jaw.
“How do you fare?” He searched her face. “I pray well.”
“Well enough.” Lady Theresa smiled. “And you, Nicholas? I pray for you every day.”
He bowed and kissed her fingers again, but not before Ellen caught sight of the sadness in his eyes. As though sensing her scrutiny, he shifted his attention to her, his dark eyes catching hers like a hunter snagging its prey in a trap.
For several heartbeats, silence hung between them. Ellen felt as though she ought to say something but wasn’t sure what the protocol was for introductions. In Jane Austen novels, the gentleman had to be introduced to the lady first and not the other way around. Were the customs the same in the Middle Ages?
At the very least, she ought to stand. She pushed to her feet and waited, sensing all eyes upon her.
“This is Lady Ellen Creighton.” Lady Theresa spoke hesitantly, as though she was doing something she shouldn’t. “Lady Marian Durham’s sister.”
“And my betrothed.” Lord Worth’s chair scraped across thefloor as he stood. His hand went to his belt and the hilt of his sword.
Nicholas ignored Lord Worth and bowed toward her. “My lady.”
When he raised his head, his eyes seemed to hold a hundred questions, including what had led her to a man like Lord Worth. Ellen sensed a warning lurking beneath the surface.
She willed him to see her distress, that she was in no way considering marrying Lord Worth, that she needed help escaping him. “I am pleased to meet you...”
“Sir Nicholas.”
Lord Worth stepped around his table. “Why are you here, brother?”
Brother? This man was related to Lord Worth? Jasper had mentioned that multiple sons lived during this era. And some family resemblance existed in their dark hair and eyes and the shape of their noses.
While she sensed a gentler and kinder nature in Nicholas, would he be a better ally? Someone she could befriend? Or was he as dangerous as Lord Worth?
With a last bow toward her and Lady Theresa, Nicholas crossed to the head table. “I bear tidings from London.”
As Lady Theresa sat back down on the bench, Ellen took that as her cue to do the same.
Lord Worth folded his bulky arms over his chest and glowered at Nicholas. “What tidings?”
“An outbreak of the plague.”
Gasps filled the air. Lady Theresa fumbled for Ellen with trembling fingers. Ellen reached for the lady’s hand and squeezed, all the while trying to remember everything she could about the plague.
Was Nicholas referring to the Black Death? During her nurse’s training, when she’d studied communicable diseases, she’d learned that the pathogen responsible for the highly contagious disease had been carried by fleas living on rats. The biggest wave of the plaguehad occurred during the mid-1300s, killing millions throughout Asia and Europe. Sometimes whole families, even whole villages, had succumbed to the disease often within hours, with no one to bury bodies, bring in the harvest, or care for the livestock.
At least she was fairly certain the Black Death had struck England thirty years ago. If so, that would account for the terrified reaction from many in the room. Most of the adults had probably lived through the outbreak or at least heard the horror stories from survivors.
Lord Worth took a step back, as though Nicholas was already contagious. “Has the disease spread outside London yet?”
“Alas, ’tis only a matter of weeks.” Nicholas’s expression was grim.
“How do we know you are not bringing it with you?”
“Have no fear. I have kept away from those who are plagued. Now I have come to warn the people of Kent of the danger. Other king’s guards are doing likewise in other shires.”
Nicholas was a king’s guard? What exactly did that mean? From her time attending Sevenoaks—and from Shakespeare’sRichard II—she’d learned some English history and knew that King Richard II was currently king. The boy had ascended to the throne when he’d been only ten. He wasn’t more than fourteen or fifteen years old in 1382, and certainly didn’t end up a strong man like his father before him. Even so, from what she’d read, Richard hadn’t been a horrible king. He’d even attempted eventually to put an end to the Hundred Years’ War.
Nicholas appeared noble and strong enough to be in service to the king. Every step he took exuded strength and purpose.
“If what you say is true,” Lord Worth said with furrowed brows, “we shall have to take measures to stock our supplies and regulate more carefully who may come and go from Reider.”
