Page 63 of Her Baseborn Bridegroom

“It’s quite alright, Robards,” muttered Linnet, though sadly it was true. She was in a blind panic about going to court. Due to her supposed ill health she had never even been presented and had no idea what to expect!

Gertie came hurrying over with the housekeeper’s cloak for her to borrow once again. Linnet was pleased she had remembered to order a new one for Mrs. Perkins, considering how much she was using her current one!

Robards clapped his hands. “These trunks are to be carried out and loaded on the wagon,” he shouted. “Make haste!”

Linnet looked around distractedly for Mason but he must have already gone out to the stables.

Cuthbert appeared before her with a furred hood and gloves. “Because ’tis cold milady, travelling at night,” he explained. She didn’t ask who he had begged, borrowed, or stolen them from.

“How long will it take us to reach court?” Linnet asked Oswald, who was strapping on his sword.

“Court is currently being held at Caer-Lyonnes,” he answered her. “It is a two-day ride at least, if not three, depending on the weather and circumstances of travel.”

“Caer-Lyonnes,” she echoed. “Is that not the King’s castle by the sea?” In spite of herself Linnet felt a shiver of excitement. She had never seen the sea before.

“Indeed it is and a very fine royal palace,” conceded Oswald. “’Tis a shame you’re not seeing it under happier circumstances.”

Linnet’s face fell. “Yes,” she agreed sadly.

Robards appeared in the hall, out of puff. He clutched his side as if he’d run all the way from the stable. “The master wants you outside, milady. He wants you on his horse up before him.”

She had wondered if she would be expected to ride Fira, but after only lesson that would have been rather a tall order. She nodded, and with a quick backward look over her shoulder, let her gaze linger on the two standards hanging from the ceiling—the black Vawdrey panther and the golden leopard of the Cadwalladers.

She only hoped they would still be proudly displayed side-by-side when next she returned to her home.

XIX

The next three days’ journey was exhausting and, while it was true that she saw more of Karadok in seventy-two hours than she had in the previous twenty-four years, the novelty of travel wore off very quickly for Linnet. She was dusty, aching all over, and weary to the bone by the time they finished the first leg of their journey. Mason was a hard taskmaster and they had ridden all through the night and the next day before they were permitted to stop at an inn.

That pattern was repeated the next day with only hurried stops for snatched meals and hard beds in coaching inns. She had no sooner fallen in bed and rolled into her husband’s warm body than she was fast asleep and then shaken awake at daybreak for the next stretch. Mason was uncommunicative, he barely spoke and simmered on a slow-burning rage for the most part, but he held her very close in the dark, and she took comfort from that if nothing else.

Their party was far from a merry one. Oswald looked tense and miserable; Baron Vawdrey, bad-tempered; and Cuthbert, fractious and whiny for all he had so badly wanted to come. Only Gertie seemed determinedly cheerful, and she had confided in Linnet that was because she had heard you could buy very fine lace at Caer-Lyonnes and she wanted some for her bridal veil. Linnet tried to take that as a positive omen.

It was not long past noon on the third day that Mason squeezed her waist and pointed wordlessly into the distance. She sat up, expecting the tall soaring towers of the royal palace but instead saw just a vast, blue shimmering haze.

“What is it?” she whispered over her shoulder at him.

“The sea,” he answered.

“Ohhhh,” breathed Linnet. “The ocean.” She gazed her fill as they carried on their way. The size of the party and a horse going lame meant the journey had taken a full three days rather than the two her brother-in-law had hoped for.

By the time the castle was outlined in the distance, it was dark and all they could see was a looming shadow, which Linnet tried not to find menacing. The town below looked of a good size and Linnet guessed it would be bustling at daybreak. But for now, it remained quiet and still, a few twinkling lights at windows the only sign of life. The occasional spill of light and laughter sounded from taverns they passed on their way, but other than that all was quiet.

A fortified gate and two portcullises led to the castle courtyard, where their summons was duly produced and shown to the waiting guards. Their horses were taken to stable and they were shown into a vast stone entrance hall with a vaulted ceiling. Lighted torches burned in the sconces and the walls were lined with suits of armor, giving the eerie impression of a silent standing army.

“Wait here,” said Mason, and disappeared through a shadowy studded doorway followed by his father and brother. None of them gave a backward glance.

Linnet pulled her cloak tightly about her, feeling grateful when Cuthbert leant into her side. She passed an arm around him and hugged him close.

“Tired?” she asked him quietly. “I’m sure we will soon be shown to our beds for the night.”

Footsteps echoed in the distance, and Linnet drew a shaky breath, imagining the worst case scenario, which would be her aunt and uncle demanding she share their quarters in the castle. Perish the thought! To her surprised relief, Mason returned with a bunch of complete strangers, along with some more armed guards.

Mason looked grim in the torchlight. “Linnet, you are to accompany Lady Margaret Doverdale,” he said tersely.

“Where will you be?” she asked, at once noticing the distance he kept between them.

“In my own quarters.”