She shook her head. “’Tis not that. ’Tis simply hard for me to believe that he would still want to marry me after all that has happened.”
“My lady, if you do not wish to go to him, I am not here to abduct you. I am merely here to help you should you wish it.”
“Is that what he told you to say to me?”
“Nay. But I am an honorable knight. I do not abduct unwilling women.”
“I am not unwilling, Sir Fergus,” she said quietly. “I want nothing more in this world than to be Garren’s wife. If he sent you for that purpose, then it is my pleasure to go with you.”
“Good,” Fergus smiled. “Then we shall arrange it. A time and place, when there is little chance of your absence being discovered too quickly.”
“Why not now?”
Fergus peered from the open stable door. “Where is your family?” he cast her a long look. “I understand you are surrounded by a host of guard dogs.”
“I do not know where they are,” she said. “But we can leave Framlingham without being noticed. There are always peasants coming and going and we can blend in with the crowd. Where is your horse?”
“In the woods to the south,” he replied. “Are you certain you wish to go now? Do you not wish to pack lightly, or to collect anything of personal value?”
Derica shook her head firmly. “The sooner I see Garren, the better. He is the only thing of personal value to me.” She could see the indecision on Fergus’ face and she put her hand on his arm. “Sir Fergus, I have done nothing but eat, sleep and dream of Sir Garren since nearly the moment I met him. He is all that I have dreamed of and more. I must be with him. Do you understand that?”
Fergus could see her sincerity and he felt a stab of envy; he wished a beautiful woman would speak so fondly of him. But he pushed those thoughts aside, quickly, and removed the dirty cloak from his back. Swinging it over Derica’s shoulders and pulling the hood over her honey-colored hair, he began to pile straw on her back.
“Let us do this the best way possible, then,” he said. “I think I have a plan.”
Derica was so excited at the prospect of being with Garren that the weight of the straw on her back couldn’t dampen her spirit. Although she was angry with her family, she still loved them and felt a moment of sorrow that she would never see them again. She also felt sorrow at the prospect that Aglette would take the brunt of their anger. Still, she had to do this. She knew in her heart she would have risked death to go to Garren. But hopefully, it would not come to that.
*
Leaving Framlingham wouldhave been easier had they left a few moments earlier or later. As it was, the timing was right so that Daniel and Dixon were in the ward, speaking to the guard captain. Derica spied them the moment she and Fergus left the stables, and Fergus saw her hesitation.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
The hood was down over her face, the huge cloak covering her body. “My brothers,” she whispered. “Over by the main gate, talking to the guard.”
Fergus had no such cover for his face, as he had given his cloak to Derica. But he was dressed like a peasant. Still, he was a knight and projected a higher image than most of the dirty people around him. He knew this was going to be tricky.
“There is my handcart,” he pulled her towards the small card heavy with straw. “I used this to gain entrance a few days ago. It has been an effective cover.”
“A few days ago?” Derica allowed him to lift her onto the edge of the cart. “You have been here that long and have only now tried to contact me?”
Fergus grinned as he secured the straw with a length of rope. “It wasn’t as if I could charge into the tower and announce myself,” he said, eyeing Daniel and Dixon in the distance. “I had to make myself familiar with the place and determine who had access to you and who did not.”
“Like Aglette?”
“Exactly. I was told she was your servant.”
“Who told you that?”
“One of the peasants, a man who sells his grain to the castle. You’d be surprised what these people know about you.”
His eyes were twinkling as he secured the last of the rope. Derica pulled the hood further down over her face.
“Like what?”
Fergus grabbed the end of the handcart and lifted it. With little effort, he turned it around and began steering it towards the open gates.
“I hear you’re something of a spitfire,” he said.