The Winter King by Alys Clare Read Free Book Online Page B

him what she was doing, and telling him what she was planning.
    He nodded. ‘You’ll want to live here, when Jehan comes to join you?’ he asked.
    ‘Some of the time, yes.’ That was not strictly honest. ‘Well, most of the time, I expect.’ Quickly, before he should be hurt, she went on, ‘Jehan will need to work, and I told him about the spot beyond the old charcoal burners’ camp, where once there was a forge. There’s water there, where the stream runs down a short fall, and, of course, endless wood.’
    ‘It’s Hawkenlye Abbey land,’ Josse remarked.
    ‘Yes, it is. I’m going to see Abbess Caliste, to ask her what she thinks about having her own blacksmith on the doorstep.’
    ‘We could do with a forge here,’ he said.
    She smiled to herself. She’d been rather hoping he’d see it that way. ‘So, if the idea is acceptable to the abbey, then Jehan will need to live close by, and I – we thought maybe we’d repair the old smithy’s cottage, and sort of divide our time between there and here. Oh, and of course we’d come often to see you all, at the House in the Woods.’
    He was silent for quite a long time. Then he said, ‘I keep forgetting you’re not a girl any more.’
    She guessed that was acceptance, in a way, of her right and her need to make her own life in her own home. She reached out for his hand, clasping it in both of hers. ‘I’m still your girl,’ she said softly. ‘Always will be.’
    He was frowning, and she wasn’t sure if he had heard. ‘I still don’t like it that your Jehan let you come all the way back here from wherever it was you landed in England!’ he exclaimed suddenly. ‘It’s not safe on the roads nowadays for a woman on her own. He should have brought you back, before he set off on this – this – whatever it is.’
    She felt the anger surge up inside her. She drew a breath, then another. She thought she heard a quiet voice in her head say:
He is your father. It is his right to be concerned for you.
    She said calmly, ‘Jehan doesn’t
let
me do anything, Father. I have made him no promise of obedience, and he respects my ability to make my own decisions.’ Before he could reply, she hurried on. ‘As for not being safe on the roads, I totally agree, which is why I didn’t travel on the roads.’ His sudden intake of breath suggested he understood, but she explained anyway. ‘The route by which I travelled home, from the little port where our boat dropped us, passes largely through woodland and forest. For those who know the hidden ways, it’s easy. And I met friends along the route – so, you see, I was perfectly safe,’ she finished.
    He grunted, and she decided to take it for assent.
    They walked together back to where he had tethered Alfred. She sensed he was still not entirely happy, and wondered which of the things they had discussed was on his mind.
It hurts me when he’s sad
, she thought.
    Acting instantly on the idea that had just popped into her head, she hurried over to her hut, checked briefly that all was in order inside, and grabbed her cloak. It was a present from Jehan, made of fine, soft wool, deep silvery-grey in colour, and the hood was lined with reddish-grey fur. Jehan had told her the fur was vair, and came from the squirrel’s thick winter coat. He also confessed that the garment wasn’t actually new, but had once belonged to his grandmother, who had missed the warmth of her native land. New or not, Meggie loved it.
    She ran back to Josse. He looked at her enquiringly.
    ‘The sky’s clear, so it’ll be cold tonight,’ she said. ‘I haven’t got very much firewood till I have the chance to collect more. May I come back to the House in the Woods with you?’
    His grin seemed to split his face.
    Sabin had arrived at Josse d’Acquin’s house to be met with the distressing news that everyone was out. The glum-looking man who had given the information stood in the yard looking up at her, as if waiting for her to make the