Page 29 of To Love

Elara had not yet secured the coin to do so, but she would. Any expense in finding those who would betray their cause was not too great.

“Another healer,” the girl murmured.

“Aye. There are few here, including our own Lady Amalia, who I’ve spoken with on the matter, with knowledge of the wasting sickness. ’Tis what your mother suffers from, is it not?”

“Aye.”

“I’ve found such a person and will send for them posthaste. Will you do this for me, Ada?”

“What shall I watch for, my lady?”

Elara could not tell the maid any more. She’d considered a similar offer with her own maid, whom Elara trusted far more than this girl she hardly knew, but only Ada and two others had access to nearly every person in this castle in her duties as both a kitchen and serving maid.

“Any conversation, any action, which feels uncertain . . . unusual. I cannot say more, and if you speak of this with anyone, I will know of it.” Elara disliked the threatening tone she used, but had no choice but to make the girl believe her words. “Can you do this?”

“Of course, my lady. I am most grateful for your aid. My mother does not fare well, and none have been able to help her.”

Elara prayed the healer from Brackenford that Lady Amalia had told her about would be able to do so. “I will send for the healer this very day.”

“Shall I come to you if—”

“Nay,” Elara cut in. “I will seek you out.”

With a small curtsy, Ada returned to the kitchen. Praying Ada would remain silent, and that she could discover something, Elara conducted her morning lessons. Afterward, she skipped the midday meal in favor of a meeting with the steward. Finishing there, and then her afternoon lesson, Elara’s stomach reminded her she must eat.

“Lila,” she said, spotting the maid in the great hall. “Will you have a meal brought to my chamber?”

“Of course, my lady. I will fetch that for you straightaway.”

Of all the servants besides her own, Elara liked the young woman most of all. The eldest daughter of the village’s innkeeper, a man well-known to despise the king for his increased taxes, she was also more competent than most. Although her father was not pleased to lose his most competent worker to Castle Blackwood, he was pleased to have her serve such a cause.

Elara next arranged for a hot bath to be brought to her. As it was well before the evening meal would be served, if Alden did come to her chamber, it would be much later. She would instruct both the meal and bath to be left until the morrow.

If he came, that was.

Elara had considered seeking him out, to ask why he failed to do so last eve, but decided against it. She was no eager maid wishing to entertain him in that way, and if he had something to report to her, Alden would likely have come.

It was only later, as she sank into the tub, that Elara allowed her mind to wander back to Alden. She’d kept it occupied all day, considering who else knew of the Guardians of the Sacred Oak, outside the castle. The parents of the servants, for instance, must be considered. But now, as her hands ran over her hips, Elara wondered what it would feel like if those hands were Alden’s. She moved them upward, over her stomach and onto her breasts. Though it was a sin to touch oneself in such ways, Elara did so anyway.

No man had ever touched her in such a way. Would she enjoy it? Would Alden run his thumbs over her nipples, causing them to peak as they did now?

A knock at her door interrupted Elara’s thoughts. Having finished cleansing herself, she bolted out of the wooden tub and wrapped herself.

“My lady? ’Tis Lila, with your supper.”

Elara opened the chamber door. Lila and the maid who had served her previously, a woman named Sarah, came into the chamber.

“Are you certain you do not wish for my aid, my lady?” Sarah asked, seeing her in a drying cloth.

Before she could say “nay,” Sarah had placed the tray she carried onto the table in the antechamber and returned to open one of three trunks Elara had brought with her to Blackwood. Pulling out a dressing gown, one not appropriate for Alden’s potential visit, Sarah made toward Elara.

“I will help you with the ties,” she said, “if you will finish drying.”

By now, Lila had also placed the wine pitcher and goblet in the antechamber as well. Just as Elara was about to tell Sarah she did not require her aid, something stopped her. She’d already dismissed her maid and did not wish to raise any further suspicions. She would simply change into a gown when the young woman left.

When they did leave, Elara headed toward the same trunk from which Sarah had fetched the dressing gown. Another knock stopped her. This time, it came from the antechamber.

It could not be. Alden, if he were coming, would not arrive for some time. However, as she made her way into the room, the roasted chicken reminding Elara how little she’d eaten that day, another knock clearly sounded.