Page 37 of To Honor

“I should not have mentioned her.” Alden’s words interrupted his thoughts.

“Nay, you should not have,” he teased. “Come. We’ll speak to Fitzwilliam. If we’re to attack today, we’ll need to move quickly.”

He could not think of Evie. Not now. Gareth’s life very much depended on his complete concentration on the task at hand.

18

She could not last any longer.

None at Ashford Manor had heard anything unusual happening beyond their walls. Yesterday, she and Amalia had gone to the village, where Evelina could not bear to pass by the chapel. Seeing it, and the grounds behind it, made her think of Gareth.

Not that she’d been thinking of much else.

“To love a man you cannot have,” she said as they passed through the gatehouse of Castle Blackwood, “is the worst sort of torture.”

“You will have him,” Amalia said, as she did every time Evelina made such a statement. She was worried he would be injured, or worse—and then, when convinced by Amalia he was quite skilled and had been recruited for a reason, that he would be safe, she worried they would never be together. If her father did not agree to the match, a foregone conclusion to Evelina’s mind, would Gareth truly leave the Guardians? Would his honor prevent him taking her from Ashford?

“I am not so certain,” Evelina said as they made their way through the courtyard. They’d gained entry easily enough, as Evelina was known here among the guards. But finding Eamon would be much more difficult. The grounds were vast, much more so than those at Ashford Manor. “We will start with the stables,” she said.

“The stables? Should we not go to the keep first?”

“The stables are closer and if his horse is not here, neither will we find the man.”

“Or perhaps you just have a fondness for stables these days?”

Amalia had been teasing her since Gareth left. Of course she’d told her all that had transpired, and though her friend thought the whole affair incredibly romantic, like something out of a courtly tale, Evelina knew the truth of it was bleaker than that. Her love for Gareth, and his for her, did not mean they could be together.

“Perhaps,” she conceded as they entered. A stable hand immediately approached them. Or Amalia, at least. The look he gave her was a familiar one to Evelina now. She understood much better what it was to desire someone.

Evelina nudged her friend, who found her voice. “We are looking for Sir Eamon and perhaps wondered if his mount is here in the stables or . . .”

“He is not.”

Her shoulders shrank. It would be nearly nightfall by the time they returned if they did not turn back soon, and if she was not at the evening meal, Evelina would be forced to tell her father something.

Perhaps not that they had come here, as he’d strictly forbidden it. Evelina suspected it was less the secret nature of the occupants’ purpose but the availability of unmarried men that worried him.

“Thank you.” Amalia paused, as if waiting for the stable hand to offer his name.

“Edgar,” he said.

“Thank you, Master Edgar.”

He smiled, and Amalia returned it.

Though she clearly did not wish to leave, as Edgar was admittedly a handsome man, Amalia took her by the hand as the two of them exited the stables.

Just as the very person she wished to speak with rode up to them.

“Sir Eamon!” Evelina let go of Amalia’s hand and ran to the knight, startling his mount. “Apologies,” she said, backing away. Spooking a warhorse was not advisable, and certainly not one as large and menacing as Eamon’s.

Dismounting, Eamon looked at her curiously. “I am more than a little surprised to find you here, Lady Evelina.”

“And I you. We were told you were not here.”

“Which was true a moment ago but is no longer,” he said. “I will return posthaste,” he added, entering the stables.

“If you’d like to speak to the stable hand a bit longer . . .” Evelina said to Amalia.