A Stain on the Soul by Elizabeth Davies

Author:Elizabeth Davies
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elizabeth Davies
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The night was my cloak, stealth was my armour, and I used both to my advantage. We had been at Edward’s court for a week, and only now had I felt confident enough in the healing of my wound, to become Cat. When I did finally transform, it was like greeting an old friend. I had missed her. If I could be both Cat and Caitlyn without the yoke of Arlette, I might be content with my lot, and I realised it was not the enchantment itself which bothered me unduly now, it was my bound state. Being mistress of my own destiny appealed, and as Cat I had certain freedoms which Caitlyn did not.

As I slipped through the shadows and crept along passages and around corners, I contemplated how life would have been for me if I had stayed in Llandarog. Would Rhain’s men have followed me, would they have obeyed my commands? Hardly. They would have looked to a warrior to lead them.

There were such things as independent women, but they were rare and were usually viewed with mistrust. Even Herleva had sought out a husband to give her status and respectability. And Arlette, too, had been forced to wed, had seen the sense of it, though Herluin, Count de Conteville, would not have been her first choice – Duke Robert was that, but he had not been strong enough to stand against his nobles and wed his mistress. But at least her husband was easily manipulated, and I do not think she needed to resort to the dark arts to do so. Arlette, for all her faults (and she had many), had developed into a woman to be reckoned with. But again, it could be said that it was probably mostly down to the man she had given birth to and her position in William's life.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Tonight was not for William, or Arlette, or the prophecy. It was for me. I had my own reasons for being Cat, or should I say one reason – Brihtric.

Seven days into our visit and my desire for him was growing ever stronger. Each time I saw him, my heart did a little skip and my insides flooded with liquid heat. These were not feelings I was familiar with, and they disturbed me greatly. My thoughts kept turning to him, and I appeared to have a sixth sense where he was concerned, knowing when he was near, even if I could not see him.

Take tonight, for instance. Edward had finally named William as his heir, announcing it to his court with great ceremony. Brihtric, I noticed, had not been at his usual place by the King’s side, but I sensed his presence the moment he entered the hall, although my back was towards the huge double doors. The hairs on my neck rose and I felt his gaze on me as solidly as though he had stroked a finger down my spine.

When I turned, it was to find him watching me with a half-smile on his lips.

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