Deathspell by Peter Dawes

Author:Peter Dawes [Dawes, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crimson Melodies Publishing
Published: 2015-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Long silences filled our southward journey, our horses walking at a brisk, but manageable pace. My mind wandered several times throughout the duration of the day, revisiting the suspicions I harbored while attempting not to entertain them for too long. Sometime around midday, Jane rode up beside me, jolting me back into awareness. “Leonard tells me there is a town an hour’s ride from here,” she said. “We’ll pause for food there.”

“Very well,” I said, punctuating my acknowledgement with a nod and apt to leave it at that. When I failed to say anything else, Lady Cavendish allowed her mare to drift back beside Leonard and left me to my thoughts once more. A town came into view just a few miles further down the road, as Jane had indicated, and the same lack of conversation dotted both our time spent acquiring food and our journey forth. We rode onward until dusk, pausing before the sun fully set in the west to take up rooms.

Another long rest left me feeling much more rejuvenated. After passing through the market in search of food the next morning, I drifted back toward the open-air stable and fed Tempest an apple I had purchased as a treat. Jane found me a short time later, with Leonard in tow bearing a satchel which looked slightly more encumbered than I recalled it being last evening. If she gave any care toward his well-being, she gave no outward indication.

“The conditions of these towns are wretched,” she commented once she was within earshot. The sigh which followed sounded heavy enough to nearly break her in two. “What I wouldn’t give for the hospitality of a local Lord.”

My gaze met Leonard’s as he glanced over at me. While the look in his eyes managed to remain impassive, something about the weight they held told me I was being warned against commentary. Shrugging, I brushed my hands off and reached for Tempest’s saddle. “Milady should be careful how loudly she announces her displeasure,” I quipped, heedless of Leonard’s displeasure. “Every scoundrel in town might assist in lightening your purse.”

“The market does an adequate enough job of that, thank you.” Jane smiled warmly at Leonard as he led her over to her mare’s stall and secured the horse’s accoutrements into place. “Although we did make certain to purchase a few things for us to eat along the way. We should be able to make it to Plymouth before supper.”

“Always a pleasant expectation.”

She ignored my response in favor of accepting Leonard’s help atop her steed. It shifted its hooves to accommodate her weight while I shifted my focus away, in favor of surveying what I could make of the town around us. “Regardless of how much lighter your purse is, announcing it draws the wrong sort of attention,” I added. Mounting Tempest, I nudged her out from her stall, gripping tight onto the reins to direct her closer to the exit. “Now, I have to be mindful of whether or not we’re followed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.