At a sharp turn in the trail Gilda let go of her hold on Freda, then watched in dismay as the nun lost her footing and began sliding off the slick trail.
“Wait, wait!” Gilda shouted, as though Freda had any choice. In her rush to catch up, she also lost her footing and slid right past Freda. She didn’t stop sliding until she collided with a tree.
Freda wasn’t far behind, and Gilda grabbed hold of her arm before she slipped by. Holding Freda pulled Gilda off-balance, and both nuns ended up on the ground against the tree, with Gilda on the bottom of the heap.
Justin had rushed back up the trail when he heard Gilda shout to Freda. “Damnation,” he muttered when he saw the two women lying entwined against the tree. With all the black clothing, it was hard to tell where one body ended and the other started. “What can I do?” he asked.
“Help me off Gilda,” Freda said as she lifted her arm toward him.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, pulling her upright.
“Just my dignity. Gilda softened my landing.”
Once Freda was standing, Justin pulled Gilda to her feet, almost dropping her when she groaned. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“I’m fine now,” she said, trying to pull away from him.
Justin’s grasp tightened. “You’re not fine. Just relax, Gilda. If either one of you is hurt, you’ll delay our journey,” he pointed out impatiently.
“I’m not hurt,” she muttered. “Just a bit sore where I hit the tree.”
Leonardo had come to help Freda, and they carefully worked their way up the slope to where Leonardo had tied the horses.
Although there were no more accidents, they descended the mountain slowly, stopping often to rest. It was dark by the time they reached level ground where the men could put up a shelter. Since the rain gave no sign of letting up, they made up their pallets under cover. Gilda thought of asking for something to eat, but for once she was too tired to make the effort and was soon asleep.
When Gilda awoke, she found herself face-to-face with a sleeping Justin. She couldn’t remember settling so close beside him, but then she had been the first person to fall asleep. She thought about moving but didn’t want to disturb him. At such close range, she couldn’t help but notice that his dark eyelashes were exceptionally long. She marveled at them for a while, until she was distracted by the gentle purr of his lips. Remembering the feel of his kiss, she became alarmed. What was she doing? When she tried to wiggle herself away, she felt Freda wedged behind her.
Determined to sit up, Gilda’s hand bumped Justin’s arm, and it came tumbling down on top of her sore hip. She yelped at the sharp pain.
Justin’s eyes flew open and he stared into her face. He must have noticed the tears in her eyes as she struggled to lift his arm from her hip.
“Lord, I’m sorry,” he whispered, looking at where his arm had landed. “That’s your sore leg.”
“I’ve got to get up,” she whispered back.
They were wedged in the middle of Freda and Leonardo, but Justin managed to put his hands to her back and push her up far enough so she could crawl out of the shelter. He followed her and was happy to find the sun shining. When he saw that Gilda had disappeared, Justin wondered how badly she was hurt.
He gave Gilda a few minutes on her own before heading for a small stream they had discovered the night before. He found her struggling to brush mud from the damp skirt of her habit. Gilda had taken her head covering off to sleep, and the sun shone on her golden hair. The beautiful sight stopped him in his tracks, and he wondered at the fact that she hadn’t cut her locks.
Although Gilda didn’t look at him directly, she must have felt his presence. She turned toward the water and pulled on her head covering, pushing her hair out of sight. When all her hair had disappeared, Justin moved toward her again.
“You’d better let me have a look at your leg, Gilda. I’ve had experience with injuries.” When she shook her head, he added, “Everyone else is still asleep. At least let me put some cold water on it. You’d let a physician tend it, wouldn’t you?”
“You’re not a physician, and it’s my hip, not my leg. I’ve put a cold cloth on it.”
Since examining her hip didn’t seem a good idea, Justin let the subject drop. To distract himself he pulled an apple out of his pocket. When he held it out to her, Gilda accepted his gift with a smile. He had been worried about her injury and was pleased she could smile.
“We’ll arrive at Mainz today,” he remarked. It couldn’t happen soon enough to suit him.
Gilda nodded and sat to eat her apple. He noticed she was taking small bites, no doubt to make it last longer.
Justin turned away from her and washed his face in the stream. “We have to be careful how we approach Count Cedric. I don’t believe it would be wise to tell him that Lady Mariel has accused him of trying to kill her. He’ll point out that she is being hysterical.”
“Of course. Whenever a woman fears her husband, she is being hysterical. I’ve heard that many times before.”
“I’m not agreeing that’s the case, Gilda,” he reminded her. “He may be expecting us to bring his wife home with us. It might be best if we have a reason why Mariel has remained at the abbey.”
“We can say Mariel is unwell. Continuing her spiritual retreat will put her at ease. Improve her health.” She tossed away the few seeds that were left of the apple and grinned at him.
Justin’s eyebrows rose as he watched the apple seeds disappear. “I think he’ll have to accept that. I didn’t know nuns were so good at lying.”
“I prefer to think of it as stretching the truth. Lady Mariel is on a retreat of sorts. Plus, I didn’t think she looked particularly well. What I want to know is how you are going to handle those messengers.”
“That really depends on who they are and why they were at the convent. They may not wish it known that we saw them. That will give me some leverage. Leave the matter to me.”
“Just make sure you deal with it quickly. I don’t care to have my reputation in ruins.”
“No, we can’t have that,” he commented, sounding as though he didn’t care an apple pip about her reputation. When Gilda scowled at him, he extended his hand to help her up, and this time she accepted it.
Later that day the five travelers rode over the bridge and through the portal at Mainz. The walled city was bursting with activity as they made their way through the crowded bailey in the direction they had been given to find Count Cedric. While Leonardo, Matthew, and Freda sought refreshment in the great hall, Justin and Gilda climbed the stone steps that led to the count’s quarters. They were ushered into a private chamber to meet Cedric.
“I bring greetings from King Louis,” Justin said to establish his authority. “May I present Sister Gilda from the Convent of Saint Ives. She joins me in my commission from the king to review your request for an annulment of your marriage, Count Cedric.”
The count, a handsome man with white hair and an easy smile, rose to meet them. “Welcome to Mainz,” he said, including both Justin and Gilda in his greeting. “I hope your journey was a pleasant one.”
While Justin and Cedric exchanged pleasantries, Gilda surveyed the elegant chamber. The dark tables and chairs had a high polish, and the tapestries, most of them depicting hunting scenes, were richly colored. Glittering gold candlesticks lit the room with a warm glow. Mariel wasn’t running away to escape cold and dreary living quarters, Gilda decided. As for the count, although he was much older than his wife, he was still a comely man.