“Because you are my friend, just as the others are. We’ve become Sisters through the oath we made. I would never hurt any of my Sisters.” She balled her hand into a fist and lifted it menacingly. “But mark my words. If someone were to hurt any of you, in any way, I’d see that person pay.”
Besides the day when they had made their blood pact at the tree, Louisa had never before heard Ruth stand up for anyone with such fervor. This begged a question.
“How is it you know how to fight like a man?” Louisa asked. “Or the other tricks you know. Who taught you these things?”
Ruth gave a rueful laugh. “Sometimes one must learn what’s necessary for certain situations, Louisa. It’s as simple as that. Now, come on or we’ll miss the meeting.”
They made their way down the small path. The nearby trees created shade to wash away their shadows as they edged closer to Lovers’ Nest. A single bench sat in a glen of sorts, surrounded on three sides by hedges and backed against rose bushes that filled the air with their sweet scent. Behind the roses was a wooded area that created a back wall to the natural room. Louisa had always thought it a romantic place—if it had not been for the couple who sat on the bench.
She could not make out the features of the couple, but somehow, she couldfeelthe knight. Having him so close gave her a warm, pleasant feeling that she cherished. Yet it was not she who sat beside him.
“I can sense his vanity,” she whispered with a sniff.
“Let’s go around to the other side,” Ruth replied in an equal volume. “The woods will supply cover, and we’ll be behind them. They’ll not see us, but we’ll hear every word they say.”
With a nod, Louisa followed her off the path. Underbrush grabbed at her skirts, and more than once, she had to pull loose the fabric when it caught on a branch. Her dress would be ruined by the time this was all said and done.
Yet, the journey was well worth it. As Ruth had said, they were able to sneak up close enough to overhear the conversation taking place.
Indeed, Sir Aaron sat with a woman who had to be Lady Mathison. They were facing one another, their knees nearly touching.
Just as lovers would.
Louisa could not deny the lady’s beauty. Her deep-brown hair and heart-shaped face would have turned any man’s head, as would the jewels that glinted in the sun on her fingers and around her neck.
“Once my work is completed here,” Sir Aaron was saying, “I’ll likely move on. Though I’ve no idea where. Have you decided where you’ll be next?”
The lady sighed. “Peter will be dead soon enough. The doctor believes he’ll not last through the summer. Once I’m free from the bindings of marriage, I’ll make a decision. But whatever I decide, I know I’ll be happy.”
Louisa’s eyes widened in shock. What kind of woman wished her husband dead?
“Just know that I’m here for you,” Sir Aaron said as he placed an all-too-familiar hand on her arm. “If you need anything, all you need to do is ask.”
Louisa shook her head in disbelief. This lady had to do nothing more than play to his sympathies, and the knight was almost leaping to her aid. What an arrogant, selfish man!
“Tell me how William is doing,” Sir Aaron said. “I do miss him.”
Lady Mathison gave another breathy sigh. “You should not have spoiled him as you did, you know. He now follows me around everywhere I go, and he thinks he has the right to eat my food! I’ve considered making him sleep in the stable as a form of punishment.”
They both laughed at this, but Louisa was horrified. Who would treat a child so abhorrently?
“I can arrange for you to see him if you’d like,” the lady said.
Sir Aaron gave a wave of his hand. “I’m far too busy at the moment. But if Mathison does die, I’ll visit both of you.”
Louisa had heard enough. Disgusted, she signaled to Ruth, and they tiptoed away. When they reached the entrance to the park, Louisa halted.
“Forcing a young boy to sleep in the stable because he wants proper food?” she demanded of Ruth. “Have you heard anything so despicable?”
Ruth nodded. “And what is equally bad is their hope her husband dies. No one would believe it if I told them.”
Louisa pursed her lips. “I knew he was a foul character, but to learn he would allow the mother of his child to treat him so terribly only adds to why I despise him as I do!”
“Miss Dunston?”
Her heart leapt into her throat, and Louisa spun around to find that very deviant man approaching. She raised herself to her full height and jutted out her chin. “Sir Aaron.”
“What brings you to the park?” he asked as he came to a stop in front of her.