Page 30 of The Masked Baron
“I wouldn’t be able to catch him tonight anyway,” Andalin said.
Matilda nodded, pulling herself to her feet. “Yes, but he’ll ride again tomorrow night.”
“How do you know?”
Matilda picked up her things. “He’s more a creature of habit than ye realize. Once ye’ve been around as long as I have, ye get to know a person.”
“Yes, and I am beginning to get to know you. You are as mischievous as a black cat.”
Matilda shuffled toward the door. “And that’s exactly why I’m going to tell ye I hid the last slice of pie in the back of the bread box. Good night, luv.”
Pie wouldn’t solve any of her problems. Just the same, Andalin crossed to the bread box and pushed aside the contents until she pulled out the leftover pie. She placed a bite in her mouth and smiled. Maybe she was wrong about the pie. Anything this divine had to help.
Chapter 11
There were few things Andalindetested, but darkness, cold, and wolves were amongst them. It rattled her to think she was planning on riding out into the Black Forest, where all her passionate dislikes were in one location.
Considering her narrow window of time, her flawed plan would have to suffice. She managed to convince Hannah she was tired and wanted to go to bed directly after dinner. Hannah helped her out of her cumbersome evening dress, which Andalin quickly switched for her riding habit as soon as Hannah left the room. After pinning her shawl around her shoulders, Andalin selected her warmest cloak and pulled on her riding gloves.
She couldn’t believe she was taking Matilda’s advice.
Andalin slipped out of the house while the servants gathered for their late dinner. When the dogs barked happily at her heels, wanting to follow her, Andalin was ready. She threw her meat scraps from dinner toward them, and they were immediately distracted. She slipped into the stables unnoticed.
This was a small triumph since saddling Ginger proved a difficult feat. She had watched it done several times but had never attempted it herself. The seconds flashed by in her mind, and she urged her fingers to move more quickly. Every rustle and creak had her whipping her head behind her in fear of discovery. When Ginger was ready, she ducked down in the stall and waited.
Rubbing Ginger’s neck, she attempted to wait patiently for Ellis. After a good half hour, both she and Ginger were anxious. Andalin bounced on the balls of her feet to keep her legs warm.
Finally, she heard Ellis enter the stable and after a few minutes spied him leaving, leading his horse behind him. Andalin unlatched Ginger’s stall door and followed, mounting only when she thought Ellis was far enough ahead not to notice. The proximity of the forest loomed before her. From where she stood, she could count hundreds of hiding places for evil. Were her shivers from the night air or the fear settling on her shoulders? Her resolve was beginning to weaken.
This had better bring answers.
It wasn’t long before she was quietly tailing Ellis through the Black Forest. The night noises were loud and frightening, but they helped mask the sound of Ginger’s hooves. It calmed her to be within sight and sound of Ellis. Just the same, she steeled herself for a glimpse of wolves or, worse, ghosts of Ellis’s past.
They avoided the main road, following either a path forged by Ellis or a deer trail. Twice she lost sight of him in the thick trees, but Ginger led her back to him again. They weren’t moving too quickly, which surprised Andalin after learning Ellis preferred a bruising ride.
The night waned, and she lost track of time. Surely hours had passed. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she felt herself drifting in the saddle. The cold nipped at her, bringing her conscious again. She was miserably uncomfortable and had yet to discover any answers. Sometime later she finally fell asleep. She woke with a jolt of pain. She opened her eyes, but everything was a dark, dizzy blur.
“Annie?”
Andalin blinked; she knew that voice. She closed her eyes again.
“Annie, look at me.”
Andalin opened her eyes, and this time there was less spinning. She focused in on Ellis’s dark shape. “Blast!” Andalin grumbled, her mind clearing. She must’ve fallen off her horse and now would pay for it with pain and embarrassment. “I’ve been caught.”
“Yes, I would say you are right about that.” Ellis helped Andalin slowly sit up on the hard ground. “Are you hurt?”
“No. Was I unconscious long?”
“Only a moment.”
“Well?” Andalin asked as she rubbed the knot at the back of her head. “Aren’t you going to reprimand me?”
“I think you’ve punished yourself enough tonight.” His voice was full of sympathy.
Andalin swallowed an urge to cry. “Indeed, I have. I wasted a perfectly good night of rest. My nerves won’t be the same for weeks after venturing into these haunted woods, and I’m no closer to solving the Cadogen family mystery than when I started. I give up. You can keep your peculiar habits and your secretive ways. I’m done with trying to help. Good riddance to the whole lot of you!”
Andalin wasn’t surprised when Ellis didn’t answer right away. She wanted him to argue with her, but he didn’t. He just looked at her.
