Murder at Westminster Abbey by Amanda Carmack

Author:Amanda Carmack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2014-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

“Mistress Haywood! What has happened? Do you need a physician?” Master Hardy cried as he glimpsed Kate from the foot of the stairs. She watched, deeply relieved, as he hurried toward her. His fur-trimmed robes swirled around him, and his lined face was creased even more with worry.

Anthony was right behind him, his eyes wide and dark, his movements quick and graceful as he ran up the stairs two at a time. Kate couldn’t help but remember the last time she saw him, in the middle of Master Hardy’s ransacked office in Hertfordshire, when he’d touched her hand so sweetly. She still recalled how it felt.

“The queen sent me to play for the count’s gathering,” she answered. Master Hardy took her arm to help her to her feet, and she bit back a moan as all her new bruises screamed. “I took a wrong turn somewhere and slipped on the stairs.”

“You should not be wandering alone in such a place as Durham House,” Master Hardy fussed. “What can Her Majesty be thinking of to send you here all by yourself, my dear?”

Kate steadied herself against the wall and shook her tangled hair back from her face. She couldn’t quite bring herself to look at Anthony, though she could feel his steady gaze on her, studying her closely. It seemed ridiculous to worry about a man she had known for so long seeing her all a-mess, especially with the fact that someone had just pushed her down the stairs at the Spanish embassy. But oh, she did wish that Anthony of all people couldn’t see her with her sleeve torn and her hair a snarled tangle.

Kate almost laughed at herself. Surely she was becoming just as silly as Catherine Grey and her friends, giggling over handsome courtiers!

But then again, maybe Catherine Grey was not quite as featherheaded as she seemed. Not if she was whispering openly with people like Feria.

“I daresay Queen Elizabeth sent me because she thought it would be a diplomatic gesture,” Kate said carefully as she brushed at her crumpled skirts. “She said the Count de Feria much enjoys music. But you are quite right, Master Hardy, I should not have wandered off by myself. This is an old and confusing house.”

“Are you sure we should not call for a physick, Mistress Haywood?” Anthony asked. “You may have injuries you are unaware of.”

Kate looked at him and shook her head, touched that he would be worried. But he had not been so worried that he could send her a message in the weeks since they had last seen each other. “I am well enough, just feeling foolish. I need to get back to the palace, but I’m not sure I can ride. . . .”

“We shall see you back by boat,” Master Hardy said. “Anthony can see that your horse is returned.”

Kate studied the old lawyer in the dim light. The torch in its sconce on the wall flickered; it would soon go out. They had to go soon, but Kate remembered her earlier doubts.

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