Page 4 of Castle of Refuge

Audrey was too afraid to make eye contact with her sister. Instead, she smiled briefly at their guests, then looked down at her food. The knight was chewing, a tankard of ale in one hand and a large roll of bread in the other. He paid her little notice, but the squire stared her in the eye. Even when she purposely looked away, she could feel his eyes lingering on her face.

He was a handsome boy with a lean face and gentle eyes. Why she should think his eyes were gentle, she wasn’t sure, but they made her wonder what he was thinking, what sort of person he was, and if her father might actually make an agreement with his father to match them.

The servants brought out more food while her father talked with the knight, a Sir Clement of Nottingham. Audrey was not hungry, so she nibbled on the cheese and dried fruit and sneaked quick glances at the squire. While listening to the conversation, she discovered that his name was Edwin Raynsford.

“You are to be the Earl of Dericott,” her father said, looking hard at Edwin.

It seemed improper to bring this up, since it would require Edwin’s father to die for him to inherit the title, but her father was rather impolite at times.

“Yes, my father is the Earl of Dericott, and I am his eldest son,” the young man said. There was neither undue pride nor censure in his statement. His demeanor was calm and forthright.And as she stared at him, for the first time in her life, she wondered if she might like to be married. She believed she would—if she could marry someone gentle and good, someone who looked like Edwin Raynsford.

While Father conversed with Edwin, Sir Clement ate his food and glanced back and forth between Audrey and Maris. Finally, Audrey chanced a look at her sister. Maris was sitting tall and straight, her hands folded in front of her. And she was staring at Edwin, her gaze unwavering.

Maris was seventeen, so she must think him handsome as well. But Audrey had heard Father say in a pique of temper that Maris would never be married, that he couldn’t have her bring shame to the family by letting the world know his daughter was lunatic. Maris had been angrier than Audrey had ever seen her, and she could tell her father was sorry for what he’d said. He had tried to calm her down by saying, “There’s no reason for you to marry. You are needed at home and can be free to do as you please.”

“You’re ashamed of me,” Maris had breathed.

She had stormed through the house, slamming doors, and shut herself in her room for almost an entire day. Audrey had steered clear of her sister for several days after, carefully avoiding her for fear that she would take her wrath out on her.

As her father talked to Sir Clement, Edwin addressed both Audrey and Maris. “Do you ever go to the coast to see the ocean?”

His voice was lovely, like a stream shot through with a warm ray of sunshine. But Audrey did not answer him, lest Maris get angry and lash out at her.

“I adore the ocean,” Maris said with a broad smile.

Audrey had never known her sister to profess any affection for the sea.

“I would love to go there with you.” Maris gazed at Edwin with her eyelids lowered halfway. Was she trying to appear alluring?

Edwin’s expression changed, and he cleared his throat. “We are on our way north tomorrow, I’m afraid.”

“We can sneak away tonight. Meet me at the stable after dark.”

“I am sorry, but I cannot.” He shifted on the bench and turned to look at Father and Sir Clement, as if he was interested in their conversation.

Was the young man determined only to do good things, or did he have sharp enough instincts about people to be afraid of Maris? But perhaps Audrey was giving him too much credit. Maybe he was only afraid of his master finding out he’d run off in the night with their host’s daughter.

Either way, Audrey kept her head down so Maris wouldn’t look into her eyes and read her thoughts.

When the main dishes were brought out—pheasant and wild boar—they all got quieter, except for her father, who rarely had guests of similar rank, and he seemed pleased to have someone to converse with.

“And your father was the Marquess of Donwell?” Father said, still talking with Sir Clement. “I met him once on a trip through Nottingham.” Her father went on with another of his tales, all of which highlighted something he could brag about.She’d never really thought about it before, but her father loved to boast of his good deeds and the important people he had met.

Suddenly, Audrey felt a sharp pain in her side, and she gasped and flinched away from Maris. She looked down to see Maris holding a knife in her fist, pointed at Audrey under the table. Audrey scooted farther away from her sister, who had just stabbed her with the knife, though not hard enough to puncture the skin. Maris was giving her a look of surprise, pretending she had no idea why Audrey reacted the way she did.

Edwin turned his gaze on her.

“What is wrong with you, daft girl?” Maris laughed. “To suddenly jump away from me?”

“You hurt me.”

“Hurt you? You truly are mad.” She laughed, then smiled at Edwin. “She is mad, poor thing. We cannot tell what she might do next. She’s been this way since birth.”

Audrey felt her face starting to burn. She did not want Edwin to think such things about her, but she knew from experience that to argue with Maris or dispute her word would only make her more hostile. So she sat silently staring down at the food on her trencher.

What would life have been like if her mother had lived past her birth? Would she have defended Audrey? Her father almost never did. She felt like the sacrificial lamb sometimes, her life offered up to keep Maris from attacking anyone else.

But she also knew that her father hoped and expected her to marry well. Since he had no sons to inherit his title and property, if he did not remarry and produce any male heirs, his propertyand title would go to a nephew, her aunt and uncle’s child in Derbyshire.