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at the wolf, then stomped from the hall. Garwaf yipped happily, scanning the crowd for the king. After a moment, though, he realized Reynard's was not the only scent absent from the hall. Lord Stephen's smell of fresh-turned earth and beef stew had gone as well. Kathryn. Garwaf charged from the hall at once, pounding through the doors and onto the cobbles of the court just in time to see Reynard galloping off into the distance a few horse lengths behind Kathryn and her father. Llewellyn, not one to shirk his duty, had followed Garwaf from the hall, and he and the king stood side by side, panting for breath as one man. "My lord, Reynard may harm the Lady Kathryn if left to his own devices on the road with her." He clutched his chest and rasped for more breath. "Her father is not as young as he was." The king nodded. "Nor as heavily armed as Reynard." Kathryn and that hideous beast? No. She may not want me with her anymore and small blame to her after how I have behaved these past few days. But I care too much to risk her all alone on the road with that slimy filth. Without pausing, he bounded out of the court to follow the dust trail of the horses that had but lately left the king's castle. Chapter Fourteen Kathryn had made sure she was ready to depart, and taken her leave of the queen quite early. Lately, the queen had been ill, and all the other ladies were too squeamish to wait on her. A small amount of guilt tickled at Kathryn to be leaving Aliénor now, but she hoped the queen's sickness would pass before too long. Kathryn's father had brought only one horse, and when she explained to the queen that she and her father would probably take turns in walking and riding to the convent, Aliénor offered up her own mare. When Kathryn protested, the queen clucked her tongue. "Not for you to keep, you tiresome creature. Just to borrow so you don't have to ruin those new boots of yours. Besides, if you have my pretty girl with you, I shall have a good excuse to visit you sooner than later." The queen smiled, but with sadness in her eyes, then hugged Kathryn and kissed her cheek. The queen escorted Kathryn to the courtyard, then ordered her own dainty horse, Gaenor, saddled and loaded with Kathryn's meager luggage. "Shall I wait for your father with you?" Kathryn chuckled and shook her head. "So seldom do you get the chance to display your queenliness to the fullest extent. How can I rob you of one moment more of that privilege?" And then, more gently, Kathryn said, "Go back to the garden and your ladies, my queen. I will be fine." The queen reluctantly left. Kathryn would miss the queen and the court and the ladies and the knights and the king and Llewellyn . . . and the wolf. She would miss it all, but still she discovered within herself that she had made the best possible decision. She would only be in the way when the duke returned. If she was near, there would be awkward and painful scenes to play out. By leaving, she acted now in the best interests of everyone. I am being a coward. "Oh, quiet you," she snapped at herself. Fortunately for Kathryn's inner solidarity, her father came rushing out just as the sun rounded the horizon toward late afternoon. Winded and flushed, her father's face blazed as red as a tomato. Lord Stephen wiped sweat from his broad brow, then grasped her by the arm to drag her to their horses. "Well, come on, fool girl. Best to go while the going is good." Baffled rather than bolstered forward, Kathryn dug her heels in and would have asked questions but for the look of sheer terror her father turned on her the next moment. Silence seeming the best course for the moment, she mounted the queen's mare and set off at a brisk gallop beside her father through the castle gates. They rode for some time. Not until the sun began a headlong rush toward its bed and board for the night did Kathryn notice the sound of a third pair of hoofbeats behind them. When she turned back and recognized Reynard, a manic glint in his eye, she was immediately too scared to notice anything else. Eventually, though, she perceived the small dot behind Reynard farther down the road. Too small to be another horse, yet her other pursuer ran on all fours. Her throat closed with fear. She prayed this second following shadow was not who she was almost certain it was. Unsure precisely what he planned for the wench, Reynard wanted only to hurt the bastard who had humiliated him so completely in front of all the court. Kathryn was the best and most readily available means of doing this. Her father was a trifling matter [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |
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