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  “That is not fair.” Reminded of her selfishness, Aisley grew sad, doing her best to ignore the pang of temptation that clenched in her womb. “You know why I ran. I was scared. If I’d thought Angelica wasn’t safe with you, I’d never have left.”

  Garrick’s hand touched her chin, bringing her face upward. “If you can trust me with a child, can you try to accept my reasons for securing you here?”

  “Can you tell me why?” Aisley whispered, melting with the simple touch of his hand and the warm, enticing aroma of cinnamon. She came to realize Garrick’s touch would never be simple. His fingers were rough, scarred, speaking of wars and unknown hardships. He was accustomed to wielding a sword and leading armies of men. He was an earl and a warrior and now he was soon to be her husband. That knowledge thrilled and frightened her.

  He curled his thumb and index finger about her chin, caressing softly, revealing that he could be gentle. “I am concerned that Haywood may seek revenge against you for saving Angelica and Zotikos could use it to his advantage.”

  “Zotikos, what do you mean?”

  “Zotikos is the man who introduced himself to you as John Brewster,” he said. “Didn’t you feel troubled when he was near?”

  “Aye,” she confirmed. “He said he was a physician. I didn’t believe him. He then claimed he was a journeyman seeking to ply his trade in Danford. I sensed that he was trouble and reached for you. It was odd that no one else in the tavern saw him that way.”

  “It was fortunate that you saw him for what he was and obeyed me when I warned you not to accept anything he asked of you. He fooled the others in the tavern with a disguise, Aisley. By doing so he was invited inside and allowed to stay. Usually he pretends to be someone of rank and coaxes with coin. Once he gains permission to enter a town or dwelling, he finds a way to stay. In truth, he is my enemy and he is evil.”

  Garrick’s words left her trembling. “Why would this man come here or threaten me?”

  “Because his ancestors and mine have been at war for a long time and he would like to take away what is mine,” Garrick answered. “The manor and the people in Danford are largely protected from him because he cannot approach what belongs to me without my permission. Likewise, he cannot remain in another’s presence without their consent.”

  Beginning to fear Zotikos, Aisley felt herself drawn nearer to Garrick’s body. She didn’t want him to leave. “Mayhap it would be wise if you remain here. Have your men search for him.”

  “I wish I could stay with you.” Garrick leaned in and pressed his lips close to her ear. Her skin prickled with delight at his touch even though she was still angry with him. “There is much you need to learn and I’d like to speak of this further if I could. Unfortunately I must go soon. Lady Hunter awaits you inside your quarters and it is important the two of you become acquainted before she leads you through the introductions of the household servants. If you hear nothing else I tell you this eve, hear me now. Learn the servants’ faces and their names, male and female, no one should go unknown. Should you see anyone you do not recognize, alert me or the guards right away. Do you understand?”

  “Aye, but you said he cannot come here,” she said.

  “He cannot. He could use others to do his work. Remember, anyone or anything that does not seem right, let me or the guards know at once.”

  “Very well, I’ll remain here at the manor and keep vigilant,” she promised. She thought he would leave until he dipped inward, his mouth hovering close to hers. “You never told me what I should do if a villager needs my assistance.”

  “Until I say otherwise, you’ll not work as a healer.”

  “What?”

  “You are to become Lady Danford. You need to learn what it means to be my countess.”

  “I know what it means. Even so, it is not uncommon for the lady of a household to care for those in need.”

  Garrick withdrew, leaving her bereft and chilled without his warmth. “When it is appropriate you’ll be able to resume your work. You needn’t worry. My physician will oversee the villagers. I will advise him to come to you for recommendations on the remedies you like to use.”

  “How gracious of you,” she said. “You’d better go, milord. I’d not want to delay your search further.”

  “The first thing you need to learn is to avoid speaking to me in such a manner,” Garrick warned. “For now, inside you go. I trust you will remain respectful of Lady Hunter?”

  “Of course,” Aisley said.

  Garrick inclined his head and departed without further comment.

  Furious with his continued arrogance, she fell back against the door, then finally found the strength to enter her chamber. “Arrogant, pompous knave—”

  “You must be angry with an Abcynian male,” a woman said, almost turning Aisley’s scowl into a smile.

  Chapter Nine

  The voice came from a woman so tall and beautiful Aisley had to blink twice to make certain she was real. Looking again, she realized that the woman must be Sir Lucien Hunter’s wife.

  Dressed in a green silk gown with open sleeves and a high waist-belt, Lady Hunter reminded Aisley of a queen. Her long, tawny hair was straight and fell all the way to her knees. Her skin was tan, her eyes darker than honey, hinting of experience Aisley could never name. Her face was almost catlike, the tilt of her chin and cut of her nose as precise and elegant as Sir Knight’s.

  “Forgive me for staring, milady, I’ve never met someone as lovely as you,” she said. Thinking she must look like a simpkin in her simple tan frock, Aisley attempted to stand straighter but she felt small in comparison to Sir Lucien’s wife.

  “You needn’t apologize. I was thinking Lord Danford could not have chosen a better mate,” Lady Hunter said. “You are spotted, just as he would favor.”

  What an odd thing to say, Aisley thought. “I’m not fond of my freckles. I’ve often tried remedies to lighten them,” she replied aloud. “Nothing has worked.”

  “Foolishness,” the other woman said. “Lord Danford told me you were pretty. He’s not one to lie. Although I should warn you, like most Abcynian men, he is prone to arrogance.”

  “Abcynian men,” Aisley said. “Is that a branch of knighthood?”

  “It is as I feared. You know nothing of us.” Lady Hunter walked closer, her silk hem sliding across the floor making the only sound as she moved.

  “I don’t understand,” Aisley said.

  “Have you ever heard of the Abcynians?”

  “Aye, when I was a child, my father compared them to the Roman and Greek gods.”

  “Your father taught you many things, didn’t he?” Lady Hunter asked, though Aisley didn’t have time to answer. “You are learned.”

  “My father, Archer Reeves, was once Lord Danford’s physician. He believed my mother and I should learn our letters.”

  “I remember your father. He was a good man and well rewarded for his loyalty to the Earl of Danford. But he should have taught you more than your letters. Lord Danford is Abcynian. He is real and his ancestry is older than the ancient Greeks or Romans. It’s something you must learn to accept as you learn to become his countess.”

  “Are you suggesting Lord Danford is not English?”

  “Not exactly,” Lady Hunter said. “Garrick’s loyal to the Crown and his English brethren.”

  “Your husband Sir Lucien Hunter is a marcher lord. Isn’t Henry his king?”

  “Aye, he is.” Lady Hunter watched her quietly, seeming to consider what to say next. “Mayhap it would be best if we acquaint ourselves properly. I am Lady Hunter. You may call me Catarina.”

  Aisley frowned. She’d hoped to learn more than this woman’s name. “Thank you for your permission, milady, but won’t you tell me more about the Abcynians?”

  “Lord Danford will answer your questions when he’s ready,” Catarina said, confounding Aisley all the more. “Wouldn’t you like to meet the servants? I overheard your conversation with Garrick. It is imperative you follo
w his wishes. Zotikos would not hesitate to destroy the very woman the Earl of Danford has been waiting for most of his life.”

  Not wanting to disrespect Lady Hunter by refusing Aisley bowed her head in agreement. “Mayhap I should meet the servants. Would it be all right to visit Angelica first?”

  “Very well,” Lady Hunter agreed. “May I suggest you wash and change into something befitting a lady before we go see the child?”

  Eager to remove her awful gown, Aisley nodded. “I should.”

  With a royal inclination of her head, Lady Hunter turned and headed to a door Aisley hadn’t noticed when she entered.

  Taking a moment to look around her chambers, Aisley found that she liked the way candles warmed the blue and silver tapestries aligning the stone walls. One of the tapestries boasted the Earl of Danford’s coat of arms. Clean rushes, a curtained bed, a table with two sitting chairs, privacy screen, her small, battered storage chest, and two larger chests completed the living area. The room was thrice the size of her cottage. She’d need a sennight to study it completely.

  Lady Hunter knocked on the door and a maid wearing a clean brown dress and leather mules entered the room. Waiting just inside the door, the small, dark-haired woman lowered her gaze.

  “This is Elethea,” Lady Hunter said. “Since there are very few women here at the manor, I chose her to attend you because she speaks well and her mother served Lord Danford’s household for twenty and five years. I’d have preferred a highborn lady’s maid for you but there wasn’t enough time to search.”

  “I am certain you’ve chosen wisely, Lady Hunter.” Watching Elethea dip her head in shame at being Catarina’s only choice for a lady’s maid, Aisley took pity upon her. “Elethea, would you assist me with this gown?” Uncomfortable making demands upon a servant, she waited for the maid to step forward.

  “Aye, milady,” Elethea said. “Would you like water to wash with?”

  “I would,” Aisley agreed and waited for the maid to call a male servant to bring the water.

  Shortly after the young man delivered a bucket of warm water, Elethea helped Aisley with her ablutions and chose something for her to wear. Catarina remained in the room, watching the two women as they worked but rarely objecting to anything they said or did.

  Aisley was pleased with Lady Hunter’s choice for her maid and sighed in pleasure when her tan frock was discarded for a pretty chemise and pale blue cote-hardie.

  * * * * *

  “You realize the Earl of Danford could have your head for disobeying his decrees?” John Brewster asked.

  “I’m not concerned now that I’m well away from Danford,” Sedgewick said. As he thought on it, he began to wonder why he accepted a stranger’s assistance after he’d crept out of the tavern upon the Earl of Danford’s arrival.

  Brewster had come from what seemed nowhere and invited Sedgewick to follow him into the forest. There, he revealed two fine horses strapped to a tree and suggested the two of them to ride together as far as they could before nightfall. Sedgewick had known he would need a horse if he wanted to get away from Danford and he’d agreed. They fled, leading the horses through the brush and trees, with Brewster trailing at a slight distance, tossing some sort of powder from a pouch on the ground as they fled.

  Now it was dark, their horses were tethered for the night and they reclined beneath an encampment of trees. When he’d offered to build a fire, John refused to let him. He was a bit strange, but the powder he’d thrown on the trail when they left Fernley had kept Danford and his men from finding them. For that, Sedgewick would be grateful.

  “Should you push the Earl of Danford or if you are captured near his land, he will see you punished. Even worse, you accused his woman of an apparent wrongdoing in public. I’ve known him for more years than I care to name. He is a proud man, one who’ll not abide disrespect from someone lower-born than he.”

  “Why do you tell me this?” Sedgewick asked.

  “Because you need to know who your enemy is before you face him again.”

  He’d seen the Earl and his men when they entered the tavern. Lord Danford had not noticed him hovering in the corner. No one in the room thought it wise to move when he broke through the door. The squire’s warning of the healer’s escape had been the distraction Sedgewick needed to leave before he was caught.

  “I do not think I should face the Earl of Danford again,” Sedgewick said.

  “But you will,” John Brewster stated. “You told me what his lady had done. Had she not stolen a child, your pockets wouldn’t be empty.”

  “You also know I believe the girl to be a werewolf’s babe.”

  “Werewolves? Think you they exist?” John scoffed.

  “Aye,” Sedgewick said.

  “It is dangerous for a man to think such things in England. I suspect many in Europe will seek to understand the devastation of plague, a disease that affects commoners and nobles alike. Many lives have been lost during the years of war with France. Wolves live wild in the forests and they’ve been known to attack villagers. They’re seen as evil. Talk of witches and wickedness are beginning to fester, who can foretell what might come of that?”

  “I’ve heard some men have been executed for dealing in sorcery or witchcraft.”

  “Some, this is true, women as well. Do you find it odd that the healer drew Lord Danford to the tavern?”

  “I know not of what you speak,” Sedgewick said.

  John turned his eyes to Sedgewick. “I speak of witchcraft. The healer had withdrawn and her lips were moving, almost as though she were speaking to someone, but words never came forth. Moments later, the Earl of Danford marched into the tavern.”

  “Might you be claiming the healer to be a witch?” Sedgewick remembered the small birthmark under her chin and the splatter of freckles on her face.

  “I claim nothing,” John said. “It is a matter to consider in the future should you wish to address it.” With that, he quieted and turned his face away.

  “I shall think on it.”

  Sedgewick thought it might be wise to remove himself from John’s influence. As much as the man had assisted him in fleeing from the Earl, he likely had a greater agenda.

  “Let us talk of this in the morn. I’d advise you to be here when we wake, Haywood. I’d not like to search for you.” Softly spoken as it was, Sedgewick recognized the warning.

  * * * * *

  “We’ve found nothing of them,” Sir Brandon reported.

  Shifting in his saddle Garrick lifted his face to the wind, drawing in the scent of leaves, wind, a hint of rain and animals living in the forest. Zotikos’ foul scent failed to reach him and he lowered his head.

  He had not detected the scent since earlier that day. Distracted by chasing Aisley, he’d lost it. Lucien had as well. They concluded that Zotikos had masked his scent with something a panthera Abcynian would think belonged in the forest.

  Zotikos had gotten away. If he’d joined forces with Sedgewick Haywood, the danger toward Aisley would increase. Garrick would need to keep vigilant and make certain neither man returned.

  In the meantime, he would teach his mate about his enemy. His name and their marriage would protect her unless the Saturian used a spy to gain Aisley’s trust. Giving her the knowledge of how to defeat Zotikos was the best weapon he could offer her if he wasn’t there. He only hoped she would listen and believe that to repel Zotikos all she needed to do was tell him to leave or refuse to allow him to stay. But most people were fooled by his charm and became his minions without realizing that they were condemning themselves to Hell when they joined forces with a man who’d sold his soul for immortality.

  “Remaining in the forest will not aid Aisley overmuch,” Garrick said. His horse caught the scent of a lion nearby and flattened its ears. “Settle, Knox, you needn’t fear Lucien. He’s not a good hunter. His mate does the work for him.” Brandon smiled as Garrick patted the horse’s neck, settling him further.

  Lucien led another horse
from the trees, striding tall and easy as he avoided snapping twigs beneath his big feet. “I am capable of hearing you well, my friend. Do remember that no matter where we are, I am the leader of our kind. Jests against me will not keep you from being admonished for attempting to seduce your lady instead of finding Zotikos.”

  “My apologies, I was distracted.” Garrick knew Lucien was right, though he didn’t like to be reminded of his folly. “As for Aisley, I do not regret my actions this day. She ran and I caught her. I could not ignore her for the likes of Zotikos.”

  “At least we know she is safe with Catarina,” Lucien said. “My wife will teach her what she must know to become your countess.”

  Valiant came into sight. His horse was smaller than the destriers, but a fine horse nonetheless. “Milord, I’ve found nothing. Would that I could trace Zotikos or Haywood’s scent, but I cannot.”

  “Do not worry, Valiant. We’ll continue patrolling the forest on the morrow,” Garrick said. Valiant was still young and had much to learn before he could best a Forrester. “Let us return to the manor. Brandon, have you chosen men trustworthy enough to watch over Aisley when I’m away from the manor?”

  “Aye, I have. It would be an honor if you would afford me the privilege of being part of her guard. I chose two other men to share the duty when she is out of the manor and enough to watch the entrances to the house, grounds, gardens and the manor itself.”

  “You may guard her,” Garrick granted.

  By fortifying places already guarded by the soldiers in his garrison, he would see that Aisley was kept safe and she’d soon be able to roam outside the manor house. When she visited the village, he’d accompany her or she would have one of Sir Brandon’s guards with her. Until he was certain Zotikos and Sedgewick Haywood were gone, she would go nowhere alone.

  Chapter Ten