“Are you talking about the farrier’s again? Is that where you want to go? Would you rather—”
“No, of course not. Isn’t there someplace near here?” she asked, trying to cut through the jealousy that was blinding him. She tried again to make him remember. “A hut or something? Someplace dry and warm.”
“This is hunting land, you know that. Callie, really, I’d think you’d have more sense than—” He cut off as he had a thought. “Yes, there is a place near here. It’s just a cellar and it has no door, but it’s better than this.”
Callie had to hide her face so he wouldn’t see her smile.
“No!” he said, shaking his head against the rain. “It is better to get you back home.”
At his words, Callie really did feel like weeping. “Talis, please, let’s stop. It’s raining so hard I can’t see and I’m so cold.”
“Since when has rain bothered you? We’ve walked for miles in the rain together. You love walking in the rain and now you’re not even having to walk. I’m carrying you.”
“But look at me, I’m soaked.” She moved her body away from his so she could show him her wet gown. She was not wearing a corset. In fact, she wasn’t wearing much at all under the thin white woolen bodice of her gown, and as a result, the dress was almost transparent. “Look at me! Talis, you are not looking.” But even in the rain she could see that his face was red. Obviously, he had looked.
Slipping her arms back around his neck, she pressed her breasts against him. “Please, if you know a place where I can get dry, please take me there. Maybe we could sit and rest. My ankle does hurt so much.”
Talis didn’t say a word but kept walking as though he meant to carry her to China.
“Oh, I see. You’re afraid to be alone with me,” she said. “How very flattering. I had no idea you thought I was so beautiful that you could not be alone with me. Some knight you will make! You can only keep your vows if you are not tested. Yes, I understand now.”
Talis turned so fast Callie had to clutch his neck to keep from spinning away from him and Kipp dug his fingers and toes into her waist as he held on. It really was cold and Callie really did have on a very thin gown with almost nothing on under it. Had it not been for the concealing cloak she would never have left her room wearing so little. But it was all for a good cause, she told herself.
Minutes later they were in the little shelter built into the side of the hill.
When Talis had gently placed Callie on a clean, thick bed of new straw, and Kipp had delightedly begun to burrow into the straw, he began to look about him with interest. Even when Callie let out a loud groan, he gave her only cursory attention, but kept looking at the interior of the shed.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped, getting more frustrated by the minute. Why couldn’t he give his attention to her?
“Look you at this place,” he said. “Mere weeks ago this was no more than a shack. There was not even a door, but now the place has fine new straw in it and it—”
He broke off as, behind him, the door slammed shut. When he ran to the door, he found that it was locked! Locked from the outside. He spent several minutes running his hands over the door, examining it.
“Callie,” he said seriously, “something very strange is happening. This door has new forged iron hinges. The iron is not rusty.”
“Obviously, someone was preparing the shed for use.”
“If that is true, then why was the door standing open when we arrived? Rain rusts iron. And why isn’t this place being used now?”
“Perhaps the people plan to use it tomorrow and some lazy workman forgot to close the door.”
“What could this place be used for? It is too small for storage, too small for housing. And why would someone put a four-inch-thick oak door on a cellar that has a dirt and timber roof? The roof will melt before the door gives way. And, besides, this land belongs to Lord John, and since he bought it he uses it for hunting only. He has trespassers whipped.”
“Yes, well,” Callie said, her tone conveying how uninterested she was in what he was saying. “That must be it. This hut was to be used for a poacher-catcher. As a place for someone to spy from.”
“Really, Callie, that makes no sense. A spy cannot ‘hide’ in a place with a door that can be locked from the outside. A spy would—”
“Talis! I do not know what this place is for. I do not know why someone has gone to all the trouble to put new hinges and new crossbars on the door on this place. I—”
Talis looked at her, his head cocked to one side. “I did not say the crossbars are new.”
“Of course you did. And if you did not then I can see from here that they are new.”
Talis was thoughtful. “No, the crossbars do not look new. In truth, the wood has been taken from somewhere else. Callie, it is almost as though someone wanted the door to appear old. They are new but look old. I wonder—”
For a moment Callie looked at him and didn’t seem to have anything to say to his speculations. Then, she hugged her arms about herself and shivered. “Talis, I am cold.” To emphasize this, she sneezed three times. “You stand there talking about that door while I am freezing to death.”
Talis’s face was very serious. “Yes, I know you are cold and I will get us out of this. I swear to you, Callie, that I will get you home.”