The Lady of the Storm - 2 by Kathryne Kennedy Page A

he think Sir Robert would, either. But if he wished the young woman off his hands and the end of this task so he could be given another, he wouldn’t admit this. “No. And please refrain from bandying the man’s name about. I confessed it to you only in the dire need of your circumstances.”
    “I’m surprised you were given his name.”
    “The Rebellion will risk much to protect you.”
    She grimaced. He could not help but grin at such a look.
    “Come,” he said, bending down to pull on his boots. “We should leave at once.” A bit of sand had stuck to his stockings and prickled his feet as he walked up the rise. He did not wait for her, knowing she would follow. For he’d heard about the men leaving, had known that Will would go with them.
    The village held nothing for her now.
    Indeed, as they made their way to his smithy it felt as though they walked through an empty village. The young men must have already left, and perhaps many of their families as well. It would be foolish to stay and wait for the soldiers to come.
    Cecily tried to walk away, and he stayed her with a raised hand. “It’s best if we do not part.”
    She gave him an indignant look. “I need to pack some items for the journey. I will meet you back here in a few hours.”
    Giles entered the stable next to the smithy, his mind already racing with plans for the journey. It would take at least six days to reach London, perhaps more since they needed to travel in secret. He had but one horse, Apollo, a brute big enough to bear his weight, but Thomas kept extra mounts stabled, and he thought the small brown mare would suit Cecily. “I think it’s better if you stay with me. I have already packed the supplies and need only to prepare the horses. Does this little mare meet with your approval?”
    Giles turned around and realized he spoke to air.
    He frowned and patted the mare’s neck. “Ah, Belle. It would seem that this is going to be a most difficult journey, eh? With that young lady hating me—and me wanting her—all at the same time.” The horse nickered, nosing into his pockets in hopes of a treat. Giles fetched out a bit of wilted carrot and saddled her while she crunched. “The hatred doesn’t worry me. It’s the wanting that could get me into trouble.”
    When he’d finished with the mare he saddled up Apollo, who stamped his feet until he’d been given a carrot as well.
    It took Giles only a few moments to arrange the bags on the mounts. When he’d awoken this morning, he had decided to take Cecily to Firehame whether the woman would come willingly or no, so he’d packed the bags and dressed in his buckskins. He supposed he should be grateful she had changed her mind. He’d never had to force a woman to do anything.
    “Although,” he muttered as he led the horses from the stables, “Cecily is not a woman who can be forced to do anything. And that, my beasties, will have her and I knocking our heads together before we travel far.”
    Belle nickered and Apollo snorted. Fie, how he loved the beasts. They listened to everything he said and never talked back.
    Giles didn’t spare a glance for the smithy he left behind. He had always known that it had been but a temporary arrangement for him, despite having lived here for years. And although it had become his home, and he’d made a few friends in the village, his heart felt light as he left it behind for good. He did not lock the doors, and welcome to any man who wished to take up where he’d left off. He didn’t suppose it would be any time soon, but after a while the village would become populated again.
    The fishing hereabouts made for a comfortable livelihood.
    As if on cue, Old Man Hugh popped his head out the door of his cottage as Giles passed.
    “Ye be taking her away then?”
    Giles nodded.
    The old man spat. “Can’t say as I’m sad to see her go. Nor ye, for that matter.”
    Giles turned to him in surprise. One of the men he’d thought he had made friends