“We certainly see the advantages. I doubt there are many in the serving class in this country who can depend upon their employers as we can. There is a long history between the Pughs and the Wherlockes or the Vaughns. ’Tis the same with the Jones family.”
“That is what Orion told me and from all he said, it was honed under fire, so to speak.”
“It was that. We lost some of our own to the ones who came after the Wherlockes and Vaughns. It was a war, and it lasted for what feels like forever. Not sure it is truly over, either.”
“It may never be fully over, for it is born of fear of what the family can do, perhaps even some resentment concerning the power their gifts give them.”
“Ah, I ne’er gave that a thought. Jealousy.”
“The laws have finally changed, however, and with that change a lot of the danger has passed as well. One just needs to learn how to be, well, reticent and not march about boldly showing the world what one can do.”
“You are one of them, aye?” Mervyn frowned as she studied Catryn and then nodded. “It is in the eyes.”
Catryn sighed. “A drop or two several generations back. Sir Orion told me that he has a few cousins with eyes similar to mine, ones that cannot decide whether to be blue or green. I only just discovered that truth, too, as it was very well hidden.”
Mervyn nodded. “As it always was. Had to be. The Pryces have a drop or two, also. My Llwyd says numbers speak to him. ’Tis his wee jest, but he does understand numbers as few others can, and not just the adding of them. If a matter can be reduced to numbers, he can see where to go with them to win, or to lose. ’Tis not a skill I can understand no matter how often he tries to explain. I but pray that whatever hurt he was given in India has not stolen that skill. Llwyd loves his work, purely loves it.”
Seeing the deep worry on the woman’s face, Catryn gently patted her on the back. “He wrote you a letter, so we know his mind is still sharp.”
“That is some comfort, but what if he has been maimed in some way?”
“Then you both learn how to live despite his wounds. Try not to worry yourself ill over it. Did it not occur to you that he may have kept secret exactly what sort of wound he suffered because he wishes to see an honest, unprepared expression when you first see him and how he may have changed? Men have some vanity about how they look, just as women do.”
“I just want to see him again, to know that he is truly alive and home with us again.”
“Then think only on that. Trust me when I tell you that men can be as sensitive about scars and faults as any woman. It will be fine as soon as he feels assured that you still love him.”
“Of course I do. He is a very good man.”
“He sounds so. You are a very fortunate woman.” Catryn admired the way Orion moved as he escorted Mrs. Pugh out of the inn.
“Sir Orion is a good man, too.” Mervyn laughed when Catryn blushed and then grimaced. “You should keep him.”
“Um, it is not like that between us. He is a bit of a rogue . . .”
“And how could he not be when he looks like that? M’lady, do not look so distressed. You are a widow, not some young girl tossing her good name and future into the wind for the sake of a pretty face. And, as my mother said, you are not one of those loose widows . . .”
“Am I not?”
“Nay. You are not some roguish flirt. You follow your heart, I think. And Sir Orion
is
a very good man despite his great enjoyment of his bachelor life thus far. When he came into the common room I expected him to either join those fools drinking every drop of ale in the place, or ask the lordling and his family to join him in his private parlor. I was that surprised that he not only saw us but then chose to invite us to share that fine room with you. Then my mother said she was certain he was a Wherlocke or a Vaughn and she was arguing about how one of us should go and let him know that we worked for the head of the whole family. Still arguing over that when he walked over to us.”
Mervyn crossed her arms over her chest and gave Catryn a fierce look. “He is gentry and so are you. Me and my mum are not. Another of your class would have chosen that lordling, thinking nothing of leaving me, my mum, and my babes in that common room, unprotected and surrounded by men who were drinking too hard. I watched Sir Orion make that decision, watched him look at his lordship’s fine family and then look at me and mine. I know why he chose us before he even knew who we were.”
“Because you were two women and three babes alone and unprotected, surrounded by rowdy men.”
“Aye, and that is what tells me he is a good man. And that good man is not giving you the rogue’s eye.”
“The rogue’s eye?”
“That look that is hot but the fire doesn’t burn long or too deep. Nay, he looks at you like a man who is thinking that there is a woman who would make any man a fine partner. I know you do not see it, but at least consider the matter, since we both know you will go right back to being a proper lady once you are home again.”
“I will attempt to consider it. And you remember to think only on the fact that Llwyd is alive and home with you.”
“I plan to.” Mervyn frowned toward where her mother stood and talked to Sir Orion. “I wonder what she is so busy whispering about?”
Catryn studied Orion and Mrs. Pugh. The woman was intent, obviously considered what she had to say to be of the utmost importance, and not at all intimidated by the fact that Orion was a knight. Despite that wide difference in their stations, Orion gave Mrs. Pugh the courtesy of listening and responding to whatever the woman was saying.
Mervyn was right. Orion was a good man. A man a woman should fight to keep. It was a lovely thought, but Catryn was certain that, if she tried too hard to hold on to Orion, he would slip through her fingers like smoke.
“His fingers?”
Orion was not surprised to discover that Mrs. Anna Pugh knew more about the health and fate of her daughter’s husband than her daughter did, including the nature of the man’s wounds. All Mervyn’s thoughts had been on her husband, his health, and the fact that he was free again. Anna Pugh had needed to know more and had done an excellent job of investigating.
“Two. Cut them off down to the knuckle and he badly hurt his knee in the same incident, so that could leave him with the hint of a limp. And I think he is a wee bit bruised in mind and heart. Bringing home some dark with him.”
“That is not surprising, Mrs. Pugh,” Orion said. “You told us he grew up at Elderwood, only left it to go to the Cambridge and he loves to work with numbers. Not a man to be hardened to the ugliness of the world, yet he was suddenly dragged unwillingly into the military and sent to a foreign land. But, Mrs. Pugh, he is coming home now, a bit bruised and weary, but still having most of his parts, plus a wife and three children who are anxious to see him again. I suspect he has a goodly number of other Pryces waiting as well.”
“But his fingers and his knee . . .”
He still has eight fingers and two legs.” He was startled when she abruptly hugged him. “Just the truth, Mrs. Pugh.”
“I know, but I needed it said, for I was not seeing what he still had, only what he had lost.” She looked to where Mervyn and Catryn kept the children entertained. “She is a very good woman, Sir Orion.”
He knew she was not referring to her daughter. “I know that, Mrs. Pugh. I know that very well indeed.”
“Good. You do have some good sense despite being a man. Try to use a bit of it to see what is best for you.”
Orion was torn between laughter and a sense of insult as he watched Mrs. Pugh say farewell to Catryn. The woman then bustled her family into the carriage as if it was their fault that she was still standing in the innyard. Catryn waved farewell as the carriage pulled away and Orion caught her hand in his when she returned to his side.
He glanced down at Catryn as he walked her back inside the inn, where he hoped a meal would be waiting for them. The outrageous Mrs. Pugh was right. Catryn was a very good woman and she would be an excellent choice for a wife for any man. Orion was just not sure he was that man, for he knew nothing about marriage save what a disaster it could be.
It was a relief to find the parlor empty again and the food set out for them. As they had walked he had tried to think through all the marriages in his family, close and not so close, and it was a dismal tally. It was not just his parents who had shown him what miserable chances there were for marital harmony for Wherlockes and Vaughns. His entire clan was riddled with miserable marriages, the good ones so rare as to appear nearly miraculous. Orion did not dare see the recent spurt of happy unions among his family as a sign of great change, of a better future. Therefore it was wrong to think of dragging any woman into such an ill-fated union.
Once they were seated and helping themselves to the food, he turned his thought to the matter of Morris and relaxed. “Today we will try to make up for the day we lost to the rain,” Orion said.
Catryn watched him as he slathered butter on a piece of toasted bread, and then sighed. The very last thing she wished was for this adventure with him to end, for she strongly suspected that their affair would end as well. Yet it did not seem right to keep him working so hard to help her. Morris no longer held her son and Orion had to have a lot of personal and government business he was neglecting.
“Perhaps we should just stop,” she said. “Alwyn is safe and I could just take him home, stay with my father, even hire some very large guards.”
“You would remain uncertain of if or when Morris might try again. Is that truly how you wish to live your life?” He saw uncertainty cloud her eyes. “Is that how you wish Alwyn to live?”
The mere thought of having to weigh her every move, to keep Alwyn constantly under guard, chilled Catryn to the bone and she shook her head. “No, I do not, yet I cannot feel it right to hold you to this hunt, which begins to look as if it is unending.”
“My time is my own.”
“But . . .”
“Cat, I cannot, in good conscience, walk away when I know that stopping now would leave a woman and a child in danger. The fact that the woman is you and the child is Alwyn makes it far more than a matter of conscience anyway. This is now personal. We will continue until I am satisfied that Morris is no longer a threat.”
She desperately wanted to ask why the fact that it was her made it personal, more important to him. Then she recalled the advice she had gotten from other women on how one should conduct oneself while having an affair. Unasked-for though that advice had been, that did not dim the truth or usefulness of it. Do not push for love or promises, she had been told very firmly. Pressing Orion to explain why he considered her problem personal could be seen as pushing.
“I am still not sure how we end the threat without killing the fool,” she said, “and I do not want you to get blood on your hands because of me.”
Orion smiled and she could see the sadness behind it. “There is blood there already, Cat. Do not forget who I have worked for. I will add more blood gladly, without hesitation, if it will gain you and Alwyn a safe, peaceful future. But I have hope that I will be able to scare the idiot into leaving you alone.”
“How can you do that? You have implied that before, yet I simply cannot think of how it can be done.” She sipped her tea and added, “And Morris might not have the good sense or intelligence to stay scared.”
“I have scared the heart for the fight out of a few people in my time. Working for king and country as I do, it is not that hard to make someone believe he will always be watched and never know when the blade will fall or who will wield it. Morris is not the bravest of men.”
“Oh no, most certainly not. Alwyn talking to his Papa terrifies him.”
“Which brings me to my next idea. We will do our own hunting for another day, maybe more, and then I will send for some of my family.”
“Will they not also run into this wall or shield you believe Morris possesses?”
“Some, but I have been considering the ones who might not be affected. It occurred to me that what I do, while not reading a person’s mind or reading their heart or the like, is intrusive in a way. So I thought of which of my family could be helpful yet have a gift that is not intrusive.”
Catryn thought on what Orion’s gift was in an attempt to understand what he was saying, and then nodded. “Your gift reaches out too much, intrudes a little too deeply, for you need to understand the way your prey thinks.”
“Exactly.” Orion had to fight hard to hide his utter delight over how she accepted such gifts so thoroughly, she could now discuss the way they worked with calm and intelligence. “There are ones in the family who could track Morris almost as a hound does a fox. They can read a trail almost as one reads a book, by what is on the ground and even in the air around the trail. A few others simply have normal skills, outside their gifts, that could help. Any one of them could assist me in terrifying Morris into leaving you alone.”
It did not take Catryn more than the space of a heartbeat to understand Orion’s plan and see just how easily it would work on the highly superstitious Morris. “Oh mercy, he will want to move to a cave in the far hinterlands of Russia.”
Orion laughed. “So I thought. Eat up, love. We need to be on our way soon if we are to get in a goodly number of hours on the hunt.”
Catryn turned her full attention to her meal to hide the rush of emotion stirred by the way he had called her
love.
She knew how easily men could use such endearments. They were lovers now, and he could not continue addressing her formally even when they were private together. She would have to learn how to accept such pet names, to not take them to heart and fool herself into thinking that what she and Orion shared was any more than lust and friendship. It was the only way she would survive this adventure with him without suffering the sort of self-inflicted wounds that never healed.