Page 55 of Castle of Refuge

“And from now on the guards who walk with you to your lessons will stay and walk back with you. Or if you wish, we can set up a room in the castle for you to do the lessons.”

“Oh no, you mustn’t go to that much trouble. I am sure I’ll be safe with a guard.” He was already doing so much for her.

“I will send my guards to look for your sister and her henchman. In the meantime, I will write to your father telling him that his daughter is here and threatening you, and ask him the whereabouts of Sybil.”

“Thank you very much.” He seemed to be finished talking, so she started hedging toward the door. “Thank you again, and I shall let you get to your work.”

“And please don’t leave the castle without a guard, at least until we find your sister.”

Her father had never cared so much for her safety. But it would mean a loss of freedom. She’d always run wild over the countryside of her father’s demesne, picking flowers, watching birds build their nests, gazing at clouds drifting overhead. But she understood Lord Dericott just wanted to keep her safe.

“Of course.”

Their eyes met and held, and something about the look on his face made her heart quiver. She could think of nothing to say, so she smiled and suddenly found herself leaving him abruptly, instead of the other way around.

Fourteen

Edwin and his guards searched the village and beyond for Maris and her giant henchman, but after two days, he deduced they must have gone elsewhere. A few days after that, Viscount Engleford sent a response to Edwin’s letter.

And now Edwin finally had the time to talk to Audrey about her father’s missive and ask her the questions that had been looming in his mind.

It was early afternoon, the sun was shining, and a cool breeze was blowing, though it was early summer. Since Audrey was not teaching lessons today, he found her outside with the house servants as they were doing the laundry.

He was approaching from the side, so Audrey did not see him yet. She was smiling, bending over a tapestry that was laid across her lap, working a needle and colored thread into and out of the fabric. The light shining on her hair made his chest fill with warmth. But her smile... Her smile was more radiant than the sun.

She seemed to have positioned herself closer to Joan than anyone else. He might not have expected Audrey to focus most on Joan, since Joan was rather different, speaking in a quavering, childlike tone, meeker than anyone he’d ever met. Some might even think her lacking in her mind. But as she had served his family since he was a young boy, Edwin knew she was only a bit eccentric but perfectly intelligent. And this was not the first time he’d seen Audrey single out Joan to converse with her.

Joan must have said something that made Audrey laugh, because she looked up at Joan and guffawed so loudly, the other servants turned to look at her.

How had she survived so much abuse from her own sister, as well as having no mother and a rather indifferent father, and still turned out so sweet-tempered and kind?

Every time now, when bitter thoughts went through Edwin’s mind, when he thought about how unjustly he and his family were treated because of his stepmother, and when he thought of his missing arm and all the physical and emotional pain that had brought to his life, his mind went to Audrey. He thought of her scars, which must be both physical and emotional, and he remembered her smile and how cheerful she always was, and it made him ashamed of his angry, bitter, or vengeful thoughts. She made him want to be a better man.

Audrey looked up and saw him. Her expression changed, and she lowered her needle.

“Lord Dericott.” Her smile was gentler now than it had been a moment before.

Looking into her eyes, he asked, “May I speak to you?”

“Of course.”

“We’ll put your work in your room for you,” one of the servants said.

“Thank you.” She left her unfinished tapestry on her chair and came toward him, pulling at the hair at the side of her face, covering her scars.

When she reached him, he said, “Walk with me, if you please.”

She fell in beside him, and they walked away from the castle through a small gate in the rear wall and into the open area that led down the gentle rise on which the castle was built.

“Do you have news for me?”

“I do. As you know, I sent your father a letter about your sister being here, and he has sent this reply.” Edwin handed her the letter. She unrolled it and studied it.

“This part is interesting. ‘Forgive my daughter’s strange behavior. She has long been a source of frustration and grief to me and to her sister.’ Ha. That is understating the truth a bit.”

She did not read any more aloud, but as Edwin knew, her father went on to offer the help of his own men to find Maris and bring her home. But most importantly, he told Edwin where he could find Sybil. The viscount believed Audrey’s former nurse was in London with an aunt, and he provided the aunt’s name and the street where she lived.

“As for Sybil,” Edwin said, “I cannot imagine anyone who would rather live in London’s smoky, congested streets than here in the country, so I wrote a message to your nurse and sent it by one of my men, offering her a position in my householdand money to help her do whatever she needs to do so that she can come at once with my guard, who will bring her safely to Dericott Castle.”