dragon archives 04 - dance with a dragon (26 page)

“There were many dragons there, Garrick.”

Garrick frowned. “You know who I mean.”

“Max went to see Aaron.” Garrick’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t go because of me,” she said.

“The fact that you were there gave him an added incentive to go, however,”

Anna glanced away. “Let’s not talk about Max,” she said. She brought her gaze back to his. “I told Keira about our betrothal.”

Garrick looked at her in surprise. “I thought you wanted to wait.”

“I still do, but I didn’t want to keep the news from my sister.” Garrick nodded in silence. “Aren’t you happy?” she asked.

“Of course I am,” he said, reaching for her hands. “Very happy.” He glanced up at the sky. “The weather has become a lot more settled,” he said. “It won’t be long now before we march.”

“I had better get used to riding,” she said.

A look of confusion furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“Don’t you know?” Anna was surprised. “The queen plans to follow the troops. She thinks her presence will give the armies across the border a reason to rally to Roderick’s cause.”

“And you intend to go too?” he said cautiously.

Anna nodded. “Of course.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You cannot go,” he said. “It will be dangerous, not to mention uncomfortable.”

“I didn’t think it would be anything else.”

“Does Master Drake know of this foolish intention?”

“Yes.”

“And he is happy with this?” Garrick’s eyes bored into her as his features hardened. “He intends to send along a certain dragon to watch over you, doesn’t he?”

“I don’t know! He said nothing to me.” Anna turned away and stared into the distance. “I’m not going to fight a battle,” she said. “The queen will stay well back from the battle lines, and I will be attending to her.”

“I don’t like this.”

Anna turned around. “It’s not for you to like, Garrick.”

“You are my betrothed. Do I not have a say?”

“When we are married, I will submit to your will, although I hope you will give heed to my opinion. But until then, I will do what I feel is right.”

Garrick stared at the distant hills. “Very well! It would seem that you have no regard for my feelings in this matter. I can at least be grateful that I will be there to watch over you.”

“I’m sorry, Garrick, I know you don’t like this, but I cannot stay behind while the queen goes.”

Garrick nodded. “I know.”

Garrick left a short while later, and Anna returned to the parlor. Kathleen watched her as she walked across the room and took a seat near the window.

“Who is the man who keeps coming to see you?” Kathleen asked.

“His name is Garrick Flynn,” Anna said. “We were childhood friends.”

Kathleen nodded. “Is he the one who danced so much with you the night of the ball?” Anna nodded. “I wondered if he was something more than a friend.” Kathleen looked at the embroidery in her hands as a blush colored her cheeks. Anna looked away.

“Just a good friend,” she said.

With the arrival of the warmer, drier weather, preparations for war started to be put into action. The council met every day, and although Rupert wanted to march immediately, the council backed the king when he suggested they wait for Roderick to arrive with the forces he had mustered. Rupert was not pleased, and had left the council chambers tight-lipped and close-fisted.

After much deliberation, Elizabeth announced that she was too old to travel across the countryside on horseback, a decision that Matilda accepted with only a slight flash of annoyance. There would still be three ladies traveling with her, along with numerous maids, footmen, cooks, and the guards, Frank and Tobias. A separate wagon had been arranged for the queen’s luggage and that of her entourage, but they would travel at the back of the column on horseback, while the maids and servants traveled with the wagons on foot. Frank and Tobias would ride with the ladies, of course.

Garrick helped Anna choose a fine mare to travel the countryside on, and had commissioned a new saddle from the saddler using funds given to him by Aaron for the supply of his own needs, despite Anna’s protestations.

“A good saddle is the key to a comfortable ride,” he told her.

Matilda was also having a new saddle made, but she had ordered one of the new-fangled side saddles that were becoming more popular amongst high-born ladies in the foreign courts. It allowed for more fashionable riding attire, but Anna viewed it with scorn. How could you possibly ride comfortably on such a contraption, she wondered?

The packing and preparations continued apace. Matilda ordered her luggage packed, and then, unsure of the gowns she had chosen, ordered everything unpacked again.

“Should I take my red, peasant gown?” she had asked Anna. “Then I could mix with the commoners and encourage their support of Roderick.” But Anna had replied that she didn’t believe it would be necessary to employ such subterfuge.

Although the ladies would be following the army, they expected to have far more comfortable quarters than a tent and camp cots. Already word had been sent ahead to all the noble houses along the marching route to expect both kings, the queen and her ladies, where the host would have the privilege of feeding and entertaining his guests – at his expense, of course. Once they reached the mountains, however, there were only a few meager villages stretched miles apart, and Matilda and the ladies would have to contend with more primitive accommodations.

Along with an assortment of gowns, boots and riding habits, Anna had also acquired a straw hat for the journey – an item of great amusement amongst the ladies. Blanche had openly sneered at the unfashionable headdress, and even Kathleen had mentioned that it might not seem fitting for a lady in the company of the queen to be seen wearing such an article, but Anna had stoutly refused to part with it.

“You will be wishing I had acquired one for each of you,” she told the other ladies, but they just laughed.

As the first day of the march grew closer, Anna saw less and less of Garrick, and when she did see him, she could tell he was distracted.

“My apologies, Anna,” he said when she commented on it. “I need to be with my men as we make final preparations.” He smiled at her, then hurried away as she watched in bemusement.

Roderick arrived a week after Anna’s return from Drake Manor. He brought with him fifteen hundred men, swelling the army to a little over five thousand. More would join along the way, as the army progressed through the kingdom. Added to the soldiers were wagons with supplies, guarded by outriders; a herd of cattle; smiths, with their forges loaded onto carts; and the inevitable camp followers – cooks, washerwomen, wives, children and prostitutes.

Anna had not seen Max at all since her return to the palace. It was not that she hadn’t looked for him – she couldn’t help herself scanning the crowds for sight of him, but he was never there. So she was surprised when, the day before the army was to start their march, she saw him striding towards her along one of the many palace passages. She watched him as he approached – the one thing she could not do with Max was pretend indifference.

“I’m marching with the army,” Max said, “as one of the foot soldiers.”

“Why?” Anna asked in surprise.

“Aaron wants me to report back on the king’s progress. And I will be able to watch over you.” Anna looked away. Why did everyone think she needed watching over?

“Why aren’t you flying?” she asked.

“I don’t want to be restricted to my natural form, and people will wonder what I am doing there if I haven’t marched with the others.”

“That sounds very, uh, tedious,” Anna said.

Max smiled. “Extremely, but I dare say I will survive. Especially since you will be there to keep things entertaining.” Anna stared at the floor. Her feelings for Max were so tangled and confused. He watched her for a moment, then stepped away. “I will see you along the way,” he said.

The first soldiers started marching at first light the following morning. It was six hundred miles to the border, a distance that would take a month for such a large army to cover. The people in the rear would only leave the following day – that included the queen, her ladies, her ladies’ maids, other servants, the supplies, and Frank and Tobias. That evening Matilda took a fond farewell of her children, staying in the nursery long enough to listen to the nurse tell a story, before bidding each of them a goodnight.

They started their journey early the following morning, shivering as they mounted their horses, before clattering across the courtyard and through the palace gates. Matilda, Blanche, Kathleen and Anna, along with Frank and Tobias bringing up the rear, all rode on horseback. The rest of the entourage walked with the wagons, and it did not take long for the small group of riders to outpace the slower carts. The early morning chill hung in the air as they set out, but as the sun rose higher, Anna could feel little trickles of sweat running down her neck. They soon saw signs of the army’s progress from the previous day – trampled grass, broken branches, and as the day progressed, the remains of camp fires. They pushed on through the morning, pausing for a short time at noon, then continued for another few hours until the house of their first host came into sight. They trotted up the road, and were soon welcomed by Lord Southam and his lady. They had had the privilege of entertaining the king the previous night, and they smiled in welcome now as the queen swept through the front door and into the hall. Anna noticed Lady Southam glance anxiously around the hall for a moment before her shoulders relaxed slightly. A roaring fire burned in the grate and the table on the dais had been neatly laid with silverware and porcelain plates, while a flagon of wine and an assortment of glasses lay on a smaller side table at the entrance to the hall.

“Wine, Your Majesty?” Lord Southam offered.

“Thank you, my lord,” Matilda replied graciously.

After a long day in the saddle, the hearty meal was fully enjoyed, and when the ladies retired to the chambers prepared for their use later that evening, Anna felt as though every muscle in her body was aching. The bed was soft and inviting, and when she lay down, she was sure she could sleep forever.

“I’m not sure I can ride again tomorrow,” Kathleen said with a groan, lying down next to Anna on the wide mattress.

“You’ll feel worse in the morning,” she assured Kathleen with a grin, and when the girl half-heartedly tossed a pillow in her direction, she laughed. “You can always stay with the Southams,” she said. “Your presence here will be a solace to them when the rest of us leave tomorrow,” she said.

“Do you really think so?” Kathleen said in surprise, while Blanche snorted from the next bed.

“No, you silly goose,” Anna said with a laugh. “I think they will be quite happy to bid us all a pleasant journey and close the door on our backs.”

As Anna had predicted, they felt stiff and sore the following morning, and groaned their way into their saddles. The exertion of the ride helped to relieve some of the aching, however, and they soon fell back into the rhythmic motion of the horses. They caught up with the rest of the army shortly after noon. A permanent cloud of dust hung on the horizon, and when they came across the camp fires from the previous night, some were found to still be smoldering. That night, when they arrived at the next house, Alfred and Roderick were there too, bending the ear of their host about the trials of marching. Rupert, Anna discovered, preferred to remain with his troops, for which she was incredibly grateful.

Chapter 35

As the days progressed, the ladies fell into a pattern of riding for a few hours, resting for a few hours, then riding again. Alfred always ordered an early-morning meal from his hosts, and he and Roderick would leave as soon as they were done eating, but Matilda and her ladies took their time, not leaving until the sun was well above the horizon. Each night they progressed to the next house along the route, partaking of their meals with their hosts before collapsing into their beds. During the day they rode until the late morning sun became unpleasant, then rested for a few hours until it became bearable once more. The wagons and servants did not stop, but continued past the resting group at their slower pace. They would ride for another few hours later in the day, catching up with Alfred and Roderick at the next home they were staying in.

Anna’s sense in retaining the ugly straw hat soon became evident – the veils and scarves the other women wore did nothing to keep the sun from their faces, and soon their delicate, pale skin was painted pink by the sun, before the skin peeled away in unsightly patches. The salves and ointments they brought with them did little to protect them, but it was the queen who suffered the most, with her pale complexion and fair hair, until Anna reluctantly offered her the straw hat. It was accepted with alacrity, and Anna handed it over with a sigh. Perhaps she could convince a farm hand to give her another.

Either Frank or Tobias traveled with the women at all times. Whenever Frank was around, his eyes seemed to be trained on Anna, until she felt as though he was boring a hole right through her skin. She ignored him as best she could, and as the weeks went by, he relaxed his vigilance, albeit it ever so slightly. After all, he had seen no more dragons, and apart from her penchant for walking, there was nothing in her behavior to arouse further suspicion. But Anna knew that Frank could not forget the dragon, nor that he had seen her with the creature.

As the days wore on, Anna lost track of the names of their hosts and the places they had stayed. The faces of Lords Bradbury, Cropter, Ludlow and Elliot blurred into one, and she could not remember if Rompton was the town with the huge water mill or the Roman ruins. At each place, they were cheered on by the townspeople, although there were always some in the crowds who scowled and turned away, mumbling to themselves as they dragged their wives and children with them. In one town, a young girl presented the queen with a crown of flowers, and when Matilda asked her name, it was discovered the child was deaf and mute. But the girl smiled sweetly and her father watched her proudly as she presented the gift to the queen, before taking her by the hand and leading her away.