Page 43 of The Earl

Chapter 19

Cait sat across from him, the only space available, atop a log that appeared to have been strategically placed there for her. They’d made camp, and Cait had ducked into Conrad’s tent to change into the hose and loose linen shirt Sabine had found. By the time she returned, the men had already taken seats around the fire.

Although the day had been cool, the night remained somehow temperate. A full moon, coupled with a cloudless sky, offered as beautiful a night as Cait had seen since leaving Bradon Moor.

“I hadn’t realized the sky could be so beautiful here.”

The men looked at her.

“In England,” she said hesitantly. Not wanting them to think she disparaged their home, Cait clarified, “’Tis lovely here. I . . .” She stopped, Conrad’s grin contagious.

“Our village healer,” said Jeffrey, a man sitting next to her, “said that if a male child is born on the fifth day after a new moon, he will be virtuous and loyal, courageous and steadfast. He will be physically healthy and live long.”

Conrad rolled his eyes. “Were you born on the fifth day after the new moon, Jeffrey?”

Cait tried not to laugh. The young man seemed very sincere in his belief.

“I was.” He lifted his chin, and his flagon.

“I wonder . . .” She accepted a bit of roasted chicken, wondering where they’d gotten the meat. The crated chickens that had come with them from Licheford had been sent along to London with the men, and they had no permits to hunt on this land. “What would your healer have said if the babe was a female?”

Jeffery looked decidedly guilty and offered no response. He was prompted by a kick from the man seated next to him. Was his name Godwin?

“Uh. Well. If it is a female, she will be virile, quarrelsome, and vindictive, but honest nevertheless.”

Conrad burst out laughing, and Cait somehow kept a straight face.

“Quarrelsome and vindictive?”

“Aye, my lady,” Jeffery rushed to explain, “but I do not believe it to be so.”

“But honest,” Conrad managed across from her. His eyes danced in the moonlight, and Cait wished more than anything that she were closer to him.

“And virile,” Godwin added. “A man would be so lucky to have such a woman.”

Their laughter rang out, but it was decidedly at Jeffrey’s expense, and Cait took pity on the poor lad.

“I jest with you,” she said. “I do believe the moon has many special powers.” Cait shifted on the log under her. “But this is certainly not one.”

“Besides”—Conrad stretched his legs out in front of him and looked at Jeffrey—“I need no moon to tell me you are both virtuous and loyal.”

It was stated casually, but Cait could tell Jeffrey did not take it so. The young man beamed as if his lord had just offered high praise, which indeed he had.

For the rest of the meal, she listened to the men’s banter and sometimes participated in it, but her eyes continued to stray to Conrad. In the few days since she’d come to Licheford, Cait had seen plenty of evidence to suggest he was a man of grace and honor, that he still possessed the very qualities she’d fallen for all those years ago.

And she had nearly let him go.

When their eyes met, Conrad’s words, once again, came back to her.

But I plan to rectify that. This eve.

She could tell he must be thinking the same, but neither of them moved. Instead, he continued to converse with his men, all the while watching her. By the time Conrad stood, Cait wasn’t sure if her legs would carry her.

Holding out his hand, Conrad stood before her. She could feel the others’ eyes on them, but Cait had dispensed with any notions of propriety when she and the women had concocted their plan. She took his hand and rose, expecting him to release her once she did. Instead, Conrad wove his fingers through hers. If he’d not already announced their relationship to the countess the day before, such a display would have surely done so to the men who were watching them.

He led her to the tent and lifted the flap, only then releasing her so she could enter. It struck her then that they hadn’t spoken of his words to Lady Lennox, which surely hadn’t helped shore up his relations with the woman. It would be best if they stuck to the cousin façade in the future.

“We should speak of what you said to Lady—”