Chapter 6
Her jaw dropped parting her lips, and she turned to him with disbelieving eyes. “A nunnery?”
“Yes! ’Tis good, isn’t it?” He threw his arms open to encompass the large building of tawny-colored stone behind a high wall.
She continued to stare at him with that stunned expression on her face. It made him want to kiss her. She had a mouth he wanted taste all the time.
He reached over and nudged her leg. “Come on! ’Tis a perfect place to put you. You’ll be safe...and you can practice living like a nun. See how it suits you.”
“You’re going to leave me here?”
“Yes, but I won’t be far away. I pass this way sometimes, so I may stop in from time to time. And when it’s safe for you to return, I’ll fetch you.” He saw her bottom lip quivering. “Not just when I happen to pass by. I’ll make a point of visiting to check and see that you are faring well.” Now, she started blinking rapidly. “Listen, I’m less than an hour’s ride from here. If you need to see me—for any reason—you tell Sister Ursula you have to get word to me. Right? Sister Ursula. You remember that. Now, on we go!”
He started riding again, listening for the sound of her horse following behind. He didn’t want to look back at her and see her looking so vulnerable. He’d act confident for the both of them. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard hoof beats sounding behind him.
Will raised his eyes heavenward, glad this journey was over. The urge to hold and caress her increased with each passing day, with last night being the worst. Lying on the floor, seeing her warm and comfortable in bed, was a test he didn’t want to endure again. He hadn’t a wink of sleep, and couldn’t be out of that room soon enough, the next morning. Though, when he saw the interest in her eyes, it put him at war with himself for a moment, fighting the impulse to join her in bed.
When they were inside the wall and near the building, a heavy door opened. A fresh-faced girl wearing the habit of a nun came out to greet them. She had her hands tucked in her sleeves against the cold. A pretty face.
“I bid thee welcome, Sir William. I am Sister Agnes. The abbess has been expecting you. Someone will take care of your horses.”
When they were dismounted, they made their way toward the nun and a second one appeared. An older woman.
“Sister Agnes, if you will show our guest to her room, I’ll take Sir William to see the abbess.”
Here is where we part. He took her hand, so little in his own, and brought it up to his lips. “You will be safe here. Until we meet again, adieu.”
He turned his back on her beseeching eyes and lips puckered in distress, and followed the older nun through the door.
• ♥ •
The door swung open to a narrow room with one window. There was a bed with a straw mattress and little else except a stool and pegs on the wall.
“This will be your cell, and here are some clothes for you,” said Sister Agnes.
Juliana looked from the pile of clothes on the bed and then back to the nun. She was used to clothes in rich colors and fine fabrics. This costume was hideous! Undyed, gray wool. Her consternation must have shown on her face, for Sister Agnes jumped to attention.
“The abbess said ’tis best you don the nun’s habit whilst here. Shall I help you?”
“Nay...I think I can manage.”
“Very well. I’ll wait out in the hall, and when you’re ready, I’m to show you around.”
After Sister Agnes left the room, Juliana slipped off her clothes, now stiff with filth. She wasn’t sorry to get off damp clothes, but she looked at the pile of dull clothes with distaste. First, she put the habit on and tied the cloth belt around her waist. Next, she found the opening for her head in the wool scapula and fitted the garment on so it hung down her front and back.
She picked up the wimple, wondering how to fit it on her head when a movement outside the window caught her attention. She peered out and almost called to him when she saw the now-so-familiar figure of Will walking around the cloisters. His back was to her, and walking next to him was a nun wearing a cloak. They stopped walking and he turned to face his companion. Juliana took in a sharp breath at the sight of him, the ever-present smile on his face. He gestured as he talked. Then, he took a pouch out of his pocket and handed it to the woman who must be the abbess. Coins for my keep.
He bowed at the waist to the woman, turned on his heels, and was gone. Juliana felt empty and alone. Homesick for someone left behind—and now, oddly bereft to see one she hardly knew walking away.
There was a soft knock on the door. Sister Agnes entered without waiting for permission. “I thought you might need help with the wimple and veil. Sir William has just left.” She looked down at the floor and blushed. “He’s a good-looking man.”
Juliana studied her again. Now she looked at her, Sister Agnes appeared younger than she first thought. The girl was probably an oblate, left here by her family to be raised to be a nun. Given the girl’s interest in Sir William, Juliana wondered if the young woman would choose to leave.
“Sir William is as good-looking as he is aggravating.” She sighed and muttered, “What am I supposed to do now?”
The girl brightened. “I’m to show you! That’s why I was sent to you. To show you all the rooms and find suitable work for you.”