Page 35 of Peregrine's Call
And they’d died.
She took a sip of wine, confused and out of sorts. Life had been simpler a day ago, when she’d been alone with Octavian in the Ardenwood.We can’t stay here long, she thought. However polite Pierce was acting now, he had some ulterior motive for luring a king’s knight here with that strange message.
Just then, the white cat leapt up onto the table and sashayed toward Pierce. Rather than shooing the creature away, he offered it a piece of meat from the plate near his chair. The cat accepted the offering and then crawled onto the man’s lap, purring the moment Pierce began to stroke its back.
“I know you’re curious about Govannon,” Pierce said, looking toward Octavian.
“Then tell me more,” Tav returned, his voice even.
Chapter 14
Tav gave his full attentionto Pierce, hoping the man would finally explain why and how a message came to the king promising help from someone who turned out to be a cat.
“I don’t suppose Govannon is named for a man you know,” he said.
“There’s only one Govannon,” Pierce said. “I named him after a story my nurse used to tell me when I was a boy. She was Welsh, and told me tales at night about a clever spy. Govannon was a hero of the people, fighting against the Danes who came to conquer. I always liked those stories, even though I think she made them all up. Govannon was always getting into one adventure or another, always meeting kings and getting treasure and tricking his enemies,” he said. “Anyway, this cat was here when we came, so I named him Govannon. I think he was somewhat annoyed to be usurped as sole lord of the manor, but a little meat and some adulation is enough to win him over.”
“A singular creature,” Tav agreed. “Where I’m from, cats are considered keepers of secrets.”
“I can imagine,” Pierce said. “They stalk the night, and who knows what they overhear?”
Robin was listening silently, with an air of utter confusion. She was no doubt wondering if Pierce was completely mad for talking about a cat this way, and if Octavian was mad for asking.
But Tav recognized the meaning beneath Pierce’s words. He still didn’t understandwhyPierce had to veil his meaning in a story like this, but he could tell that something made the man too worried to simply share his thoughts out loud.
“How do you get a cat to tell a secret?” Pierce asked.
“Earn its trust, I suppose,” said Tav. “Though I think cats know who can be trusted right away.”
Pierce gave the cat another chunk of meat. “We’ll see if Govannon decides to grace you with his trust. Perhaps in the next day or two?”
Robin kept her eyes on the table as she asked, “How long are we being kept here, my lord?”
“You injure me, Lady Robin, speaking as though you’re some sort of prisoner. I hope you’ll see my home as a refuge. Tomorrow, I’ll show you more of the castle and the area. You’ll love it here.”
The look Robin shot Tav was flustered and alarmed, so he said, “You mentioned you like to pray before bed, Lady Robin. There’s a chapel in the courtyard, on the eastern side of the keep.”
She gave a tiny nod to indicate that she understood that he wanted to talk to her there, and then excused herself shortly after the meal. The men at the high table stood up when she did, and Tav did not like the way Pierce looked at the departing Robin, who was far too decorative in her borrowed gown.
When Octavian managed to leave the dining hall a while later, he went immediately to the chapel. Robin sat on a bench directly in front of the altar. The place felt more like a cave than a house of worship.
“It’s freezing in here,” he said, sitting down beside her. “If I’d known, I’d have asked you to wait somewhere else.”
“I don’t think this chapel gets much use under the rule of Lord Pierce.” Robin sounded lively enough, but her face was pinched and her lips nearly blue.
Tav removed his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Robin almost disappeared within the voluminous fabric, but she said, “That’s much better.”
He was glad she was covered, because it was difficult for Tav to avoid staring at her before. It seemed that every time Robin was dressed like a lady, he was bound to gape. The gown did exactly what it was meant to—it displayed all of Robin’s most feminine features in a way no man could avoid seeing. The shape of the fabric over her hips made it very easy to imagine reaching out to run his hands over her curves. And the furred neckline was just cruel. His first impulse on seeing her in it was to want to drag the neckline just a little lower and use the fur lining to tease her until she begged him to take the whole gown off.
At that point, Tav gave up trying to deny that he was wildly attracted to the singular woman he was supposed to be protecting. All he could do was hide his increasing desire until Robin was safely home again. Then she’d be truly protected, and she could resume her life. Probably by marrying that young lord Alric mentioned.
Yes, you should remember that she’s essentially engaged to someone else.Octavian thought a lot of the obsession surrounding a woman’s purity was nonsense. If purity were so important, why was a woman like Mary Magdalen so close to Christ in all the stories, a loyal and beloved follower? But so many people, in the church and in the world, held it up as the sole measure of a woman’s worth before the day of her marriage. The de Veres hoped a good marriage would pull Robin up from her common birth to a place where she would be respected and safe. And for that to happen, she would need to remain a virgin.
Which meant he’d need to keep her safe from himself as well as Pierce and every other man.
I can do that, he thought. Then he looked at the altar.That is, if I ask for a miracle and get it.
