Page 59 of Veil of Winter

“That was very kind of him. I have never known him to be so thoughtful.” She raised her brows at Ysa.

Ysa’s cheeks were turning red. She began brushing Elyce’s long brown hair but would not look Elyce in the eye in the looking glass Elyce held in her hand.

“I can brush my own hair, as I always do,” she said as she took the brush out of Ysa’s hands. “It is clear Sir Oswalt has his heart set on you, but do you love him?”

“I hardly think we are at the point to be talking aboutthat. And besides, he is going back to England soon.”

“Will you go back with him? If he asks to marry you?”

“You know I do not want to leave my brothers and their wives and children. I love my nieces and nephews, and I would miss them too much.”

Elyce was quiet as Ysa fluttered about the room doing her duties and Elyce finished brushing her hair and getting undressed. Truly, she wanted Ysa to be happy. Even if she could not be with Sir Gerard, she was not so petty that she would be jealous and begrudge Ysa a good husband who loved her.

Besides, one had nothing to do with the other, and his actions that night did not necessarily mean he didn’t care for her.

But now, as they traveled, Sir Gerard seemed to be avoiding her. Sir Oswalt had not made much effort to speak to Ysa either.

She must accept that Sir Gerard did not care for her. She had searched her mind for something she might have done wrong, something she said when they went on their walk in the garden at Prague Castle.

How could she make him fall in love with her?

This kind of thinking did not feel right. Hadn’t she always been trying to make herself more acceptable to others? She had tried so hard to push down her emotions, to deny them, or to hide them at the very least, but she never fully succeeded. Why couldn’t there be a man in the world who would love her in spite of her strong feelings?

Why should she care or even notice that the other men seemed to like him and respect his authority over them, even though he was younger than most of the soldiers? Or that he looked handsome riding on his big blond war horse? Or that even though he was strong and tall and commanding, there was something gentle and vulnerable in his eyes?

She shouldn’t. And she wouldn’t.

Elyce just wanted to get to Württemberg and save her people. She would cease to think of Sir Gerard. If he did not want her, she certainly did not want him.

At the beginning of this journey, Elyce had enjoyed the mountains and the different views, even though it was winter and many trees were bare. Even the bare trees looked interesting and beautiful, stretching their branches like bony fingers high into the sky. She rarely left the familiar confines of Montciel Castle, after all. But now everything looked the same and she was just ready for this journey to be over.

“Are you well?” Ysa was staring at her from atop her own horse.

“Yes, I am well.” She forced a smile. But the fake smile made tears spring into her eyes.

She could not allow anyone here to see her cry, so she took deep breaths until the tears went away.

***

Gerard noticed Princess Elyce’s horse looking lethargic and moving slowly. When they stopped to rest, the horse lay down immediately.

Princess Elyce knelt beside the horse’s head and was stroking him and speaking softly to him. No one else seemed to notice, so Gerard walked over to her.

“Your horse looks sick.” He knelt beside her.

She turned worried eyes toward him. “Do you know what to do for him?”

Gerard shook his head. “Probably best to take one of the extra horses.”

“You won’t just leave him here, will you? He might die.”

“If he can walk, we will take him with us, but if he can’t get up... we might have to leave him.”

Suddenly her eyes were swimming with tears. She ducked her head so he couldn’t see her face.

What should he say? He couldn’t help but admire a heart that would cry over a horse, especially a horse that was not her own, only one she had ridden for a few days. He felt helpless to stop her tears, but if he could fix the problem...

“I’ll see if I can find someone who might know what to do for him.”