15
THE SUN WAS barely up, and Irma was not, when Avelina glanced down at the note that had been slipped under her door the night before, still amazed at what it said.
She made her way quietly down the corridor to softly knock on Magdalen’s door. She opened it without waiting, but just as she slipped inside, she caught sight of the guard at the end of the corridor, watching her.
“Dorothea,” Magdalen said. “I am almost ready. Hegatha, will you finish lacing up the back of Lady Dorothea’s dress?”
Hegatha frowned as she came around Avelina’s back and laced up the last few inches of her gown and tied it with little jerky movements.
“Thank you.” Avelina gave her a smile, but the woman simply walked away to assist Magdalen with the last touches to her hair.
When she was finished, they hurried out into the corridor and walked toward the stairs. The man who had been standing at the end of the corridor was still there.
“Magdalen?” Avelina whispered. “Do you not think Lord Thornbeck is also taking the other ladies on outings like this?”
“He might be,” Magdalen whispered back. “He might be doing it secretly, two ladies at a time, so no one will be jealous.”
Avelina nodded. It seemed likely. “I don’t think he likes crowds.”
At the bottom of the stairs, Lord Thornbeck stood waiting for them.
“You got my message, then. Good. Let us go.” They made their way down the hill via the stone steps to the stable. The early morning sun was spilling between the tree limbs and painting everything with a pale light. Lord Thornbeck wore a leather mantle, but his slightly wavy dark-brown hair was bare. He had a couple days’ growth of beard on his face, which made him look rugged and even more masculine than he normally did. Her heart beat strangely. When she went back to Plimmwald, she hoped she could remember exactly what he looked like at this moment.
Lord Thornbeck checked both of their saddles carefully while his horse was being saddled beside him. He helped Lady Magdalen onto her horse, then it was Avelina’s turn.
His grip on her elbow was strong as she stood on the mounting stool and put her foot in the stirrup. Lord Thornbeck lifted her onto the saddle. He looked her in the eye, and her breath stilled in her chest. There was such an intense expression on his face, but there was also something else . . . tenderness.
He turned away from her, as though reluctantly, and limped up to his horse. He mounted while the stable boy tucked his walking stick into a loop on his saddlebag. Then they were off, riding slowly down the side of the castle mount.
The manor house on Red Stag Hill was built of pale-pink stone. It stood just south of Thornbeck Castle and was the home of Jorgen and Odette.
They dismounted and were greeted at the door by Chancellor Jorgen and his wife, whose servants took their cloaks. Next they were treated to a large breakfast of eggs, cold meat, and pastries with various kinds of sweetened fruit fillings.
“Are there any cherry ones?” Avelina whispered to the servant who was offering them on a large platter.
The servant pointed to one, and Avelina took it and bit into it. She sighed. Tart but sweet.
“Is cherry your favorite?” Odette, who was sitting beside Avelina, asked.
“Favorite pastry, favorite tart, favorite fruit.” They were all looking at her.
“You do not eat them raw, do you?” Magdalen was staring at her. “Hegatha says uncooked fruit will make you sick, and she never lets me eat them uncooked.”
“I confess I do. I have only sickened once from eating cherries, and I think that was because I ate too many.” Odette and Magdalen chuckled and Lord Thornbeck graced her with his slight smile.
They talked and laughed, listening to funny stories from Jorgen, Odette, Lord Thornbeck, and Magdalen. Avelina even told her own story, about a servant boy who had stolen a bracelet from another servant, then tried to sell it to the young man who had given it to her in the first place. She told another story, a true one, about a puppy she tried to hide from her father. She had to change a few minor details, but they all laughed.
She was not so different from noble men and women, and neither were Jorgen and Odette, even though they were not born into noble families either. But if they all knew that her father was a stable worker and she was a servant . . .
They had long finished their meal and continued sitting and talking. Avelina wasn’t sure she had ever enjoyed herself so much. But was Lord Thornbeck truly singling Magdalen and her out, or was he taking other pairs of ladies out like this? Perhaps he truly did prefer Magdalen over all the other ladies and had taken them to Chancellor Jorgen’s home to escape Fronicka’s prying. But if that were the truth, why did he take Avelina with them?