She was shocked into silence. He realized he had raised his voice. Downstairs, the rumble of the taproom and the parlor continued.
He took her hands and tried to draw her close to him. Seeing her in women’s clothes for the first time reminded him that she was a woman, like any woman. She needed protection, she needed ahusband, she needed a home. She was not the strange being—from another world—that he had first met. Now she was a poor woman, in a dirty sunbonnet and skirts. And she was grieving, he could see the strain in her face, she was thinner. He was flooded with sudden joy that he would save her from this terrible place, rescue her from this tragedy and take her home.
But she did not melt into his arms; she grew a little tense, as if ready for a fight, or to run away. He saw the way her dark eyes narrowed, taking in the room, marking the path to the window, the unlocked door behind her, the stool she could snatch up for a weapon, the jug of water she could throw in his face.
“I came for you,” he said, releasing her, gesturing that she should sit on the stool, seating himself on the edge of his bed and trying to look at ease, though his heart was pounding. “Honorably! My grandmother Alinor sent me, she dreamed that Ned was hurt; I came to save you both. Now that there’s nothing more I can do for him, I will take you back to London. It’s what he would have wanted.”
She perched on the edge of the stool, ready to leap up and run.
“How have you managed?” he asked. “You’re thinner than you were. Where did you live for all these weeks?”
She shrugged. “Different places.”
“How did you get these clothes?”
“I stole them.”
He was horrified. “Rowan! For God’s sake. You can be transported for stealing a shirt, just as well as for being a rebel!”
“Would I be on the same ship as Ned?”
“Of course not.”
She lost interest in his warning.
“We’ll go to the high street and see if we can find a dressmaker to make you a better gown,” he said. “And a cobbler for some boots.”
“D’you have the money for that?”
He smiled at her. “I have the money for that,” he assured her. “I am a wealthy man; to you, it would seem a fortune. I will spend it all on you.” He rose from the bed and offered his arm. “Take my arm,” he urged her. “I have said that you are my sister. You would take my arm.”
He felt a rush of protective love as she slipped her hand in his arm,and he led her down the stairs and out into the brightness of the afternoon.
“I will make you happy,” he told her.
“I don’t think you can make anyone be happy,” she said. “Doesn’t it just happen? Or not?”
FOULMIRE PRIORY, SUSSEX, AUTUMN 1685
“I should be getting back to Lincoln’s Inn,” Matthew said to his foster mother and grandmother eating a simple dinner in the grand dining room of the Priory. “I can’t be too long absent, I have to attend a certain number of dinners each term, and I’ll have to go and see the Nobildonna.”
“I’ve got to get back to the wharf,” Alys agreed. “Captain Shore’ll be home this month, bringing Gabrielle and Mia. I must be there when they arrive. What d’you think, Ma? Great-granddaughters? Does it make you feel old?”
Alinor smiled but said nothing.
“Shall we leave the day after tomorrow?” Matthew asked. “I’ll tell the coachman that we’re ready to go home to London, and we can return the Avery coach to Sir James.”
They both turned to Alinor. “Aye, it’s time you two went home,” she said agreeably. “But I’m thinking of staying here.” She smiled at their instant refusal. “I know! I know you want me to go with you, but I’d like to stay longer.”
“Who will look after you?” Alys demanded. “What if you’re ill?”
“I won’t be ill,” Alinor said. “You’ve seen yourself how much stronger I am. I can breathe here, and I can walk out. I’ve been walkingevery day and I feel well. Alys, I know you worry for me. But I’m happy here. I’ve come home.”
“Of course you can stay,” Matthew said. “And I’ll come down again soon, anyway. But…” He glanced at his foster mother.
“How long for?” Alys demanded.
“Not too long,” Alinor replied. “Not when winter comes. I don’t want to be flooded, nor snowed in! But perhaps till December?”