Page 13 of The Knight’s Reward

Kathryn had no time to ask what she meant, for a disturbing sight caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

Neill Waryn was entering the stables.

He was leaving.

And she aimed to go with him.

* * *

“Lord.”

Neill spun in his saddle, still unaccustomed to the courtesy title. Aylmer, his closest confidant at his surrogate family’s home in Langford, had accompanied him north, along with two other men. Both Neill and Aylmer were third sons, something that had strengthened the bond they’d forged under Adam’s tutelage. Assuming the king kept his word and replaced Lord Caxton, restoring peace at the border, they planned to return south after the council meeting, whence Neill could collect his bride and return to Kenshire with her.

Geoffrey and his wife, Sara, had invited Neill to Kenshire many times. Their castle rivaled in strength and size any other fortress in England. He looked forward to seeing it again, although he’d not thought to return for an extended stay so soon.

Nor had he expected to take a bride.

Seeing Aylmer nod to something behind him, out of his view, Neill immediately halted his mount. He turned to see what had caught his friend’s attention, and the relief he felt surprised him.

Kathryn.

When Neill had received word from a messenger that his brother would not be joining him after all, he and his companions had decided to stay the night. He’d looked for Lady Kathryn in the hall this morn, but to no avail. The innkeeper had acted oddly coy when he’d inquired about her. Still, he’d left soon after sunrise, eager to get to Brockburg.

Although he’d originally intended to make his way to Scotland through Bristol Manor so he could see his young nephew—Bryce’s wife, Catrina, had given birth to their first son the year before—he could no longer afford the delay. He needed to make haste to Brockburg so he could arrive in time for the council.

Neill would be offering his account of the king’s reward to the border lords there, and since the king had assured him the new warden would be fair, unlike Caxton, he was happy to give it. While he had been playacting battles on the tournament circuit, his brothers had been fighting real battles, ones that would protect their families.

Finally, he’d been able to make a difference.

“Kathryn,” he murmured.

A vision in yellow, her hair hanging down her back in a long brown braid, she approached him hesitantly.

“Go,” he said to the other men. “I’ll be along shortly.”

She looked . . . different somehow. Less guarded.

“Good morn, my lady.”

“I am no lady,” she said, anticipating his greeting.

“If you insist.” Neill dismounted to speak to the maid properly. “You are well? No further incidents?”

“In fact . . .” She looked down to the ground, which was when he noticed the satchel at her side. “Earlier, in the stables . . .”

She didn’t finish. “Was it the same man?”

“Nay,” she said. “But ’tis a daily occurrence, and I can no longer stay here.”

So she was leaving The Wild Boar. “Where will you go?”

She looked at him and blinked. Which was when Neill suddenly realized her intent. He shook his head regretfully.

“I cannot take you with us.”

“I beg you . . . I am accustomed to travel and will not hinder you in any way. I’ve saved some coin.”

“I am not traveling toward Bondgate-in-Darlington.”