Neither, but I do not wish to lie to him.
“To know where those in Murwood End stand before we move forward.”
A partial truth.
“And you?”
His chin rises defiantly. “The same.”
Neither of us will reveal any more. Will it be enough to avoid an all-out war with our neighbors to the east?
“Think on it. We’d planned to leave this very day but can delay until tomorrow.”
Which will give me time to talk to Aedre as well.
“What say you?”
Again, he smiles as if he hasn’t a care in the world. Since we last met, the queen’s commander has grown bolder, but he’s certainly not lost his sense of humor.
“I say we drink and meet again tomorrow, midday.”
McGreghere pounds his mug on the table then, a sign of good faith.
I was in the capital of Edingham the first time I saw a Highlander do that. And while some of my companions stared in horror at the men who slammed their mugs down in unison, I admired the gesture. Stokerton joins him, and I smile at the public show of unity. If it is meant to be a warning, as some in Meria suggest, then I am so warned.
But if I’m to drink with my enemy, I might as well get some measure of enjoyment out of it. Since there really is nothing else at the moment to bring me any pleasure.
I failed to convince Aldwine.
And the disastrous way Aedre and I parted . . . I still know not what I will say to her. She seemed quite adamant about not returning to the capital with us. Or marrying me.
My only consolation is the possibility that she will change her mind. Although I hadn’t thought to take a wife, I’ve become more accustomed to the idea of Aedre at court with me.
At home with me.
In my bed, night after night.
And so, I drink.
Chapter Thirty-Three Vanni
“My lord, there is someone here to see you.”
I ignore the squire, hitting the quintain again and again and again.
I should have gone to the forge earlier, before the tide rose again, but Thomas and I didn’t part ways with Stokerton and McGreghere for some time. And how was I to know she would hide from me for a second full day? When her father told me she was still at Nord Manor, I was of half a mind to tell him everything. Demand he send for her. Would he not agree we should marry if he knew the truth?
Restless in my need to strike something, I was almost jealous of the hammer he swung upon his anvil . . . so I decided to come back to the inn to await the opportunity to go to her at Nord Manor.
“My lord?”
I spin toward Christopher, prepared to share my displeasure at being interrupted, when I see the man standing behind him.
“Aldwine.”
I drop my sword.
“Why did you not tell me he was here?”
Christopher makes a strangled sound and marches off. I can hear the calls of men coming into port, indicating the end of the day for the fishermen of Murwood End. The end of another day without any communication with Aedre.
“Is she with you?”
Aldwine shakes his head. “Nay.”
Which means she is stranded at Nord. Did he take a boat?
“I need to speak to her,” I say, without preamble. “Take me back with you.”
Aldwine’s face is hard. “She does not wish to see you. So, no.”
I am liking Galfrid’s son less and less.
“I will not leave Murwood End without speaking to her.”
He approaches cautiously. “Does your king not anxiously await your return?”
“It matters not to you, as you’ve made clear.” I am angry enough to lash out at the very man I came here to woo.
He shrugs. “You’re right. It does not.”
My jaw aches from grinding my teeth together so forcefully.
Aldwine leans against the wall of the inn, crossing his arms. “If she were here, what would you say to her?”
I refuse to answer.
“I know about your tryst, d’Abella. And would challenge you because of it if Aedre had not convinced me ’twas her idea.”
She told him.
“What did she say to you?”
Before the words are even out of my mouth, I know he will not tell me. The man would no sooner betray Aedre’s confidence than he would return with me to claim the throne.
I grit my teeth even harder, biting out, “I would tell her to marry me, that I refuse to leave Murwood End without her.”
That Aldwine chuckles infuriates me even further.
“She’s right. You do not understand her at all. And that is why she will not see you. Go home. Go back to the king.”
The man is actually serious. “Why are you here? Did she send you here to talk to me?”
Again, silence.
“If I do not know her, it’s because she will not let me attempt to.”
Aldwine shakes his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Southerner. Aedre let you in where she denied all others.”
I ignore the pain caused by his words.
“I will not leave without at least speaking to her.”
Aldwine is quiet for a moment, and then, unexpectedly, he pulls out his sword.
“She says you are a man of honor.”
I hold my stance, prepared to fight but not really willing to do so. Not with him.
“I am.”
It is the truest statement I’ve made all day, and nothing I’ve said today was a lie, even to Stokerton.
“Then give me your word. If I defeat you, you’ll respect Aedre’s wishes and leave Murwood End without causing her further pain. If you win, I will take you to her straightaway.”
There is no decision to make. I will not lose.
“Done.”
He puts his sword up. And for a wretched moment, I remember who trained him.
I hear my own mentor’s voice in my mind: A man assured of victory means as little as a man who wishes never to die.
Albertus would chide me for accepting a challenge with a potential outcome I find unacceptable. But he did not account for the purpose of the challenge being a
