“But you will meet me here in the morning.”
“I will, I promise.”
He smiled, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. “That’s my good lass,” he said. “I’ll take you home now, but I will be here first thing in the morning and if you do not come to me right away, I will go and find you.”
She swallowed hard, trying to recover her composure. “You must not,” she said. “I do not know how my aunt will react to a man coming to call upon me, so please do not come to The Asher. It might get us both into trouble. Wait for me here. I will come as soon as I can.”
“Swear this to me.”
“I swear.”
That seemed good enough for him. He pulled her out of her chair, but she was so wobbly kneed from his attention that it took her a while to regain her balance. They were out on the street, heading for The Asher, before she could walk a straight line again.
Andreas held her tightly the entire time.
By the time The Asher was in sight, Gavriella was feeling stronger. She tried to disengage herself from him, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand. He kept kissing it until she finally had to gently but firmly pull away, smiling apologetically at him.
But he understood.
Andreas came to a halt across the street from The Asher, watching Gavriella cross the avenue and head to the entry door. When she turned to look at him, a final glimpse, he blew a kiss at her and she gave him a small wave. Her gaze lingered on him as the armed guards at the heavily fortified door opened for her, admitting her inside.
Once she was out of view, Andreas headed off to Lothbury.
But he was already wishing that it was tomorrow morning.
“Gavriella? Come here.”
Gavriella had just put a foot on the bottom of the stairs leading to the floor above when she heard her aunt’s stern voice. She looked over to see the woman standing in the archway that led from the entry hall into the great hall, a severe-looking woman with a tight, white wimple and dark, perfect robes. There wasn’t a thread out of place. Cold and emotionless, much like Gavriella’s father was, Drucilla de Kennet, Countess of Blackburn, was a formidable woman.
Already, Gavriella was on her guard.
Her heart began to pound.
“Greetings, Auntie,” she said, coming off the stairs and heading in her direction. “How may I be of service?”
Drucilla turned her back on her niece and walked into the great hall. Gavriella followed, noting that the hall was vacant except for a guard standing over near the hearth.
As Gavriella drew closer, she recognized the man.
He had opened the door for her at noon when she’d gone to meet Andreas.
She braced herself.
“Gavriella,” Drucilla said sternly. “I am told that you left here around the nooning meal and have only now returned. Tell me where you have been all afternoon.”
Since the guard was there, Gavriella knew it would be of no use to lie. The man had seen her leave and had evidently told her aunt. At that moment, she decided then and there that she was going to be completely truthful. In truth, she’d done nothing wrong except go off with a man, unescorted. There were technicalities to that, such as not asking her aunt’s permission or borrowing Camilla’s dress, but Gavriella wasn’t going to lie about it.
She wasn’t the lying type.
“I went across the bridge, Auntie,” she said. “There is an area over there with food and entertainment. I went to see the plays.”
“Did you go alone?”
“Nay, Auntie.”
“Who did you go with?”
“A knight named Andreas.”
“Andreas what?”
Gavriella shook her head. “I do not know his family name, Auntie,” she said. “But he is very kind and polite. We saw two biblical plays and then two more with fools. In one play, they even threw candy. It was very entertaining.”
“I saw her, Mama!” Aurelia was suddenly entering the great hall, having just come from her bedchamber on the upper floor. Her gaze on Gavriella was loathsome. “I saw her leave with him earlier today and, just now, I saw them return together. Just now! He blew her a kiss!”
Gavriella was starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. With Aurelia there, it was all coming to light. Now she knew why her aunt was so quick to condemn her – Aurelia, whom she thought was asleep when she had left earlier that day, evidently hadn’t been asleep at all. Her greatest fear was realized when it occurred to her that Aurelia had seen her leave with Andreas and had then run straight to her mother with the information.
After the argument they’d had earlier, Gavriella knew that Aurelia was trying to get her into trouble, or worse. Gavriella didn’t know her aunt well and all sorts of terrible things went through her mind – punishment, restriction – perhaps even a beating. There was no telling what her aunt would do to her with Aurelia poisoning her ear.
But if she went down, she was going to take Aurelia with her.
“Before Aurelia fills your head with lies against me, please let me explain,” Gavriella said calmly. “Sir Andreas was perfectly polite and proper. He knew I had not been in London very long and offered to escort me to the place across the river where they have plays. I very much wanted to see the entertainment. We saw them, he bought me a meal, and he returned me home safely. That is really all there is to it.”
Drucilla eyed her a moment before crossing her arms stiffly. “You should have asked permission, Gavriella,” she said. “If everything was proper, as you say, then why did you not tell me where you were going? Why did you run off and not tell anyone where you had gone?”
She had a point and, in this case, Gavriella wasn’t sure she wanted to tell her the truth of it. She didn’t ask permission for obvious reasons – she didn’t want to be denied.
She said the first thing that came to mind.
“I suppose I did not want to trouble you, Auntie,” she said, trying to sound contrite. “I thought I could go and not be missed and you would not be troubled at all. I never meant to be any trouble to you, I promise.”
“She’s lying,” Aurelia spat. She jabbed a finger at her. “Look at her! She has stolen Camilla’s dress. Camilla didn’t know anything about it at all. She’s a thief and a liar, Mama. There is no telling what she did with that… that man.”
Drucilla just stood there and shook her head at the behavior of her niece, wagging it back and forth. “Is this true, Gavriella?” she asked. “I did not want to believe what was in your father’s missive, but how can I not believe it when I see the evidence right before my eyes?”
Gavriella was still eyeing Aurelia dangerously. “What evidence, Auntie?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
Drucilla uncrossed her arms and went to sit at the feasting table. She sat at the end, so heavily that the chair creaked, and immediately poured herself some wine.
“Sneaking out to meet a man,” she said. “Your father told me what happened to you. He told me that you fornicated with a man and bore a child as a result. He told me that you needed my guidance to mend your ways but, already, you are doing here what you did at your father’s home. You are off meeting strange men and doing God only knows what with them. Well, Child? What do you have to say to all of this? I cannot have your terrible influence around my daughters, Gavriella.”