Chapter 7
Teren wrinkled his brow and tried to think.
Where would Isabella go? he asked himself.
The trail had gone dry. For several days he had tracked Isabella and Gavin in the villages around Kellineton, but as he traveled farther away and the villages became scarcer, he was having trouble finding them.
Tonight he was staying at an inn in a one-street village, enduring the stares of other travelers. They noted his sword first and his fine clothes second. For now he wasn't bothered, but he surmised that once out of town he might meet with trouble.
"A young red-haired girl with a curly-haired man," he had asked the innkeeper. "Have they passed this way?"
The man had scratched his head. "Not that I remember," he had said. "And I don't see many redheads around here, so I'd remember."
Teren had thanked him, hiding his disappointment poorly. He made up for it by renting the inn's best room.
Now he forced himself to think. He was Isabella. Where was he going?
If she wanted to marry, as he thought she did, she would have to leave the country. She hadn't gone for a boat, so she was staying on this side of the ocean. And she'd been heading mostly north, which meant Ilia, Idaarolaa, or Speroa was her destination.
Speroa, he thought. Frederich and Ethelaine had always been rather close after their failed engagement. While Isabella had never met the Speroan King, she would go to Ethelaine if she wanted her marriage.
Teren smiled into his mug of ale. He had picked up the trail again.
Isabella and Gavin sat silently over dinner.
"That innkeeper's staring again," Gavin muttered under his breath. "Stop acting like you're in love with me!"
Isabella opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and remained silent.
"We're brother and sister, remember? And we're common, so eat your food like you enjoy it," he continued, his voice rising to a loud whisper.
She glanced down at her plate and dutifully spooned some of the weak, flavorless soup into her mouth.
Over the past weeks, Gavin had become increasingly irritated, mostly at Isabella. She couldn't help but worry that it was her fault for dreaming of Teren. Gavin was jealous, of course, and she was only making it worse by thinking of someone more eligible than he. On top of that, she was pushing him to marry her when he wanted to wait until they were safe, their money was running low, and the harsh cold of winter had barely begun.
"What are you thinking about?" Gavin asked, his tone surprisingly gentle after his harsh words.
"You," Isabella replied honestly.
His face broke into a smile. "What about me?"
"Just how marvelous it will be once we're out of here and married." A white lie. Surely he wouldn't notice.
She could have sworn she saw his face darken, but when she looked again, he was smiling.
"It will be marvelous," he agreed.
"I think I'll go up to bed," Isabella said after a moment.
"I'll be up soon. Go rest. We have a lot farther to go," Gavin replied.
Isabella smiled and slipped upstairs, not even noticing the watchful eyes of the innkeeper's daughter.
Isabella was nearly asleep in the dark room when she heard the door open.
"Gavin," she murmured sleepily. "Up so soon?"
The door clicked shut. "Gavin's not 'ere," said an unfamiliar voice.
Before Isabella could scream, a hand closed over her mouth.
"Shh," the voice said in her ear. "Don' scream. I'm not 'ere to 'urt you. M'name's Nell. I'm the innkeep's daughter. I just wanna talk."
The hand on her mouth relaxed, and Isabella said, "Talk about what?"
The girl moved away and lit the candle on Isabella's bedside table. The light revealed a girl, perhaps a year or two younger than Isabella, with violently curly brown hair and fever-bright eyes. Although her face was plain, the energy in it made it hard for Isabella to see her so. Her smile revealed the crooked yellow teeth Isabella had gotten used to in her several weeks among commoners, but in Nell's face they looked natural and right.
"I wanna talk about your brother," Nell said. "Don' gimme the story. I've 'eard it a million times. 'E's not your brother, and I know it. I'm not about t'tell," she said quickly, noting the panic on Isabella's face. "I've never told. I'm 'ere to give ya a warnin'."
"I'm aware of the repercussions, if that's what you're here about," Isabella said haughtily. "Gavin and I are in love, and we're to be married."
"I know," Nell said. "That's the problem. You're the one who's idea 'twas, aren't ya?"
"Yes. He was just as willing, though!"
The girl smiled knowingly. "I'm sure 'e was. But 'ere's the problem, see? I seen a million and one girls like you, in love wi' 'er man and off to be married, and what do they find? As eager as 'e was, 'e doesn't wanna marry 'em once they get away from home. Now afore you doubt me, listen! When I came up 'ere, ya know what your man were doin'? 'E 'ad me sister on 'is lap and 'is 'and on 'er arse. 'E's not in it for you, miss."
"You're lying!" Isabella accused. "Gavin loves me! He'd never do such a thing!"
"I wish I was lyin', miss, for your sake. 'Ere, I can prove it to ya. 'As 'e said anythin' about marryin' ya?"
Isabella shook her head. "He says we have to wait until we get to Speroa, because marrying here is treason, and he'd be beheaded."
Nell nodded. "But 'e is after your virtue, am I right?"
Isabella frowned. "He respects my boundaries. I've told him we must be married first."
"You're smarter than most, then. If'n ya ever go back, you'll 'ave your virtue, and that's safest."
"But I'm not going back! Gavin and I are in love, and if I'd stayed, my parents would have forced me to marry Te— someone else. I won't have it!"
"I'm not sayin' you should go 'ome. I'm just sayin' you should consider forgettin' this idea of marriage wi' this Gavin fellow, is all."
"He really is down there…doing what you said? You're not lying?" Isabella asked. Her indignation had faded to despair.
"I'd show ya, miss, but I don' think ye'd like it," Nell said. "Me poor sister. 'As to put up with the likes of 'im every night. Tsk, tsk."
"Well," Isabella said, beginning to cry, "well, what do I do? I can't go home; they'll think I've been dishonored, and no one will respect me and— and I can't very well stay with him, when he doesn't even love me and would rather spend his nights in— in bed with a barmaid!" She broke into sobs.
"There, there, miss, there's no need for all that," Nell said, patting her shoulder in comfort. "Oh, I wish I 'adn't 'ad to be the one t'tell ya. I jus' saw wha' 'e said t'you at supper and knew I 'ad to save you. You were so sad t'look at, miss, an' I 'ad t'help ya! C'mon, now, you're makin' me cry too, see?"
"I'm sorry," Isabella said thickly. "But what will I do?"
"You said you were goin' to Speroa, right? What's there?"
"I don't know, Gavin and I thought perhaps the king would help us, but she's never even met me! It was a bad idea from the start."
"Now, now, don' go talkin' like that. Why don't ya head up to Speroa? I've 'eard the king's real nice, and she wouldn't turn a poor girl like you away."
"But I don't know the way, and I can't read a map, and I can't very well go alone, and— and—" Isabella broke off into sobs as she remembered all those nights, all those inns, where Gavin had said he would be up later; every time, she supposed, he had been with someone else. Oh, what had she been doing?
Nell's face brightened. "You don' 'ave t'go alone! I could come with ya! I'm mean wi' a map, and I'm good company, or so's I'm told. Plus, I've never 'ad an adventure, and you seem like nice enough company to have my first, right?"
Isabella smiled through her tears. "I'm afraid I won't be very good company. I'm rather useless when it comes to just about anything, besides daydreaming and sewing. And I couldn't protect you from attackers, and I don't have much money—"
"What do I care about that? That's why it's called an adventure, miss! It'll be loads of fun, and besides, Pa'll piss 'is pants in rage when 'e finds out I'm gone."
"Could you not use words like that, please?" Isabella asked. Her spirits were rising with the prospect of adventure.
"You'll 'ave t'get used to it if'n you're lettin' me come! This is 'ow us commoners talk, and I ain't changin' for your delicate li'l ears. Get your stuff ready whilst I pack meself up! I'll be back 'ere in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"
"We're leaving tonight?" Isabella asked. The prospect of traveling alone at night with only another girl for company was daunting.
"We can't very well leave in the mornin', now, can we? We gotta go now, afore your young gentleman rejoins you. Just be ready, and I'll sneak us out!"
Before Isabella could blink, the young girl had disappeared out the door.
Teren spurred his weary horse on. "Just a bit farther," he said soothingly in its ear. "We've almost reached the last one for the day."
Teren had, since his epiphany, taken up the practice of canvassing. He spent days riding from village to village, asking after Isabella and Gavin. His successes had continued leading him north, confirming his suspicion that the pair were headed to Speroa, but he had yet to run into either of them.
"Yes, a red-haired girl with a curly-haired boy," he said to the innkeeper once he'd reached the village.
"Oh, aye," the man said, immediately irritated. "The pair of 'em were 'ere las' week. Sat at that table over there. Brother an' sister, 'e said, but I've 'eard that story a thousand times if'n I've 'eard it once. They weren't brother and sister. Them," he said, pointing to a pair of youths, laughing and carrying on, "are brother and sister. Those two, uh-uh. So I watched 'em, ya know, cuz I don' want nothin' skeazy goin' on in my establishment, ya know? I'm a respectable businessman, ya know? And the boy, 'e sees me watchin', and 'e says something real mean to the girl. I could tell acause she got all quiet and didn't say nothing. Not that she were talkin' much before, mind you. She were a real quiet type, ya know?
"Well, anyway, my Nell sees this and gets all up in arms. She won' stand for that kinda thing nowhere. So a few minutes later the girl goes up to bed, and my Nell slips up after 'er. Meanwhile, this boy's got 'is 'ands all over me poor Bess—" he gestured at the barmaid, who was, Teren had to admit, quite pretty— "and 'e's orderin' drinks and squanderin' 'is money, like. Normally I don' mind a bit of spending— a man's gotta make money, ya know?— but I could tell they didn' 'ave much money, and I felt bad for the girl, ya know? Besides, 'e gets angry drunk. I tried t'keep 'im from orderin' too much, but 'e'd 'ave none of it, and the customer's always right, ya know? So finally, round midnight when only the 'ard drinkers is left, 'e starts makin' advances on poor Bess over there. She says no, my girl, acause she knows I ain't gonna stand for none of that nonsense from any child of mine. So this boy, 'e gets mad. 'E picks up a table— that one there, ya see?— and chucks it across the room.
"Well, I knows a brawl when I sees one, and I goes right up t'im and says, 'You've 'ad enough, up t'bed wi' you!'. And 'e gets pissy and won't go, so I get some of the more sober customers t'help me get 'im upstairs. 'E's piss drunk, can't hardly even walk. We get 'im upstairs, and it strikes me as weird the girl's not there, but I think, 'ey, it's possible nature called or somethin', ya know? So I don' worry about it. But the next mornin', 'e comes downstairs in a 'ot rage and 'e's goin' on about 'ow the girl's gone and do I know where she is? Well, I don't, of course, and I says so, and 'e storms back upstairs and slams 'is door and whatnot, and it's early and I've got sleepin' customers, ya know?
"And then me wife Sue comes in and asks do I know where Nell is? And then I sees the man comin' down the stairs with 'is pack and 'e's mad acause 'is girl done run off and I'm mad acause 'is girl done run off with my daughter! So I'm about to go tell 'im 'ow I feel when Sue says 'Naw, don' worry about it, let Nell 'ave 'er adventure. These parts are safe enough, and besides, you've gotta run the inn.' So I let 'im go off and I don' know where they went but God 'elp 'em both if'n I ever see either of 'em again!"
Teren had spent the duration of this speech picking out the useful bits of information from the innkeeper's opinions and worthless extras. So, Isabella and Gavin have separated, he thought. Good for her!
This was also good for Teren, as a girl on her own was far more noticeable than a girl with a man. He could only hope Isabella was still traveling to Speroa, and that he was still on her trail.
"If you wouldn't mind, sir," Teren asked the innkeeper politely, "could you describe your daughter for me?"
"Of course I can. She looks like me! I never 'ad a son, so I s'pose it's good one child looks like me. My Bess, on the other 'and, she looks like me wife Sue. Such a pretty thing. She'll be lucky one day! But my Nell, she's got me looks. Dark skin, brown curls— 'er 'air's awful curly, won't barely stay in a braid! She's rather short, too, but I'm just waitin' for 'er to grow— say, you ain't gonna try and find 'er for me, are ya? Sir, I'd be much obliged, if'n ya would. I'd offer you me best room, free for a night, and whatever victuals you'll be wantin', if'n you bring back my Nell."
"I'll try to find Nell for you, sir," Teren assured the man, "but I have to find what I'm looking for, too. If they're together, though, I'll make sure Nell gets home to you."
"Much obliged, sir, much obliged. Will you be stayin' for the night, then?"
"Yes, please. Give me the room they stayed in, if it's open."
Teren had made a habit of this lately. He liked to search the rooms for signs of Isabella. Sometimes the trail had gone so cold there was nary a sign of her. But other times he could swear the pillow smelled a bit like her perfume, and he was comforted by the gentle smells as he drifted off to sleep.
The man led Teren up the stairs to the first room on the left. "This is where they stayed," he said curtly before leaving Teren on his own. "Dinner's at seven in the common room, and it's Sue's best soup tonight, if'n you're 'ungry for it."
"Thank you very much, sir. You've been incredibly helpful," Teren said. He spent a long time sitting on the bed Isabella must have used, the bed farthest from the door, and thinking about her. He felt closer to her here than he had anywhere else, despite her not having slept here. Yes, he loved her. He'd always known he did, but lately the feeling had become stronger, and he felt if he didn't see her soon he would die. He had to find her, no matter what it took.
Later that night, after he had eaten dinner and crawled into bed, Teren heard a small clink as he pulled the blankets around him. He fumbled for a match and lit the candle, only to discover a locket lying on the floor. He recognized it instantly— Isabella's. She must have forgotten it in her hurry to get out. He picked it up and looped it around his own neck, where it warmed against his skin and brought him sweet dreams.
So Isabella and Gavin are over and done with, at least for now. And now there's Nell.
Let me know if my formatting's off. For whatever reason, italics/bold/underline don't translate from Lucinda.
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~~Mazzie~~