A Girl of White Winter Read online

  Such an arrangement made sense to me, but I was concerned about going back, as I did not know what to expect at the settlement. Where would I fit in?

  “Don’t worry,” Jade assured me. “Sean and I have our own little house. Sean’s father built it, and there’s room for you. You can winter with us, and we’ll be on the road again in the spring.”

  This brought me comfort, and I liked the idea of living with Jade and Sean for a few months.

  Traveling a road leading downriver, I sat beside Raven on the bench of our wagon until we rolled into the city of Lokeren. It was walled like Narbonnè, but not quite so large.

  “How long will we stay?” I asked.

  “Usually about a week, depending on the size of the crowds.”

  Once again, we set up camp near a large stable, and I took part in the now-familiar tasks.

  * * * *

  The next day, we found that word of the “lady in white” had spread throughout the city. The crowds were so large that Ash was having trouble being heard by everyone who’d gathered, and I worried that I’d soon need to raise my voice as well. I didn’t like the idea of this, as it might affect my ability to act out the story properly while doing voices.

  But we performed two shows a day and made good money.

  Then, on the fourth day of our stay, something happened that changed everything.

  At the afternoon show, Raven asked me to tell the story of the soldier who tries to fulfill the three tasks for the haughty lady and ends up falling in love with her maid.

  “That one is a crowd pleaser,” he said.

  Out on the stage, as I acted out the tale, something tickled at the back of my neck, as if I was being watched. Such a feeling was ridiculous, as of course I was being watched, by hundreds of people.

  I kept on with the story, but the feeling of discomfort continued to grow until I reached the end.

  “The maid fell to her knees as well and accepted his love, for she had long loved him. And he took her to his family home and married her, and neither of them ever saw the haughty lady again.”

  Dropping my arms, I signaled the tale was done.

  The crowd burst into applause, but I could see someone shuffling for a position closer to the stage. It was a tall, well-dressed man with dark blond hair. As I followed his movement, he stopped and stared at me.

  My heart slowed as I looked straight into the face of Royce Capello.

  Raven came out onto the stage, motioning to me as he always did. “The lady in white!”

  People cheered. As I turned, he saw my face, and his brow furrowed.

  But I walked past him, off the stage and behind the curtain, terrified beyond words. Raven announced Marcel, and as the final act started, Raven came back through the curtain, straight to me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Royce…Royce is out there.” The panic in my voice rose. “He’s found me! He’s come to get me!”

  We never raised our voices backstage, and Jade came over with a frown. But Raven peered though the curtain, and alarm passed across his face when he spotted Royce. This did nothing to ease my fear, and I grasped hold of Jade.

  “Don’t let him take me.”

  Raven turned around. “He has no claim on you here, and no one is taking you anywhere.” He spoke to Jade. “Get her back to the wagons while Marcel is still on stage. Tannen, Badger, and I will be there in a few minutes.”

  In a flash, Jade had a cloak over my head and was rushing me back toward our camp. I jogged along beside her, doing my best to keep up. Once there, she put me inside her own wagon.

  “You stay inside,” she ordered. “I have a few things to do out here.”

  I heard her running up another set of stairs, and then she was running about on the ground.

  Moments later, I heard several sets of heavier footsteps followed by Raven’s voice. “Badger, get up on my roof, but no one do anything yet. I’ll try to talk us out of this.”

  Feeling helpless, but needing to know what was happening, I cracked the door so I could peer out. The only person I could see was Raven as he stood about ten paces from the back of our own wagon, and he appeared to be waiting.

  Then I saw a group of men coming down the wide street toward us. Royce and a man wearing the green tabard of the Lokeren city constabulary were in the lead. Two of the Capello guards and four city guards followed.

  “He’s got Constable Bernardo with him,” Raven said to someone I couldn’t see from my vantage point. “That means he knows he can’t just walk in and take her.”

  As the men approached, I had a good view of them. As always, Royce was hard to read, but he stopped cold at the sight of Raven. Masked or not, Raven was easily recognizable.

  The constable appeared weary, as if he’d rather be anywhere but here. “Afternoon, Raven,” he said and then turned to Royce. “Now, what is this about, sir? Some missing woman?”

  “Not missing, but taken!” Royce spit out, pointing at Raven. “By him in a raid on my traveling party.”

  The constable raised one eyebrow. “Raven? In a raid? I don’t think so. You must be mistaken. His troupe has traveled these roads for years and never caused a moment’s trouble.”

  At this, Royce appeared nonplussed, and I knew why. Back on the northern estates, he had only to snap his fingers and any man of military or law enforcement would follow his orders. He commanded power there.

  This did not seem to be the case in the southeast.

  The constable asked Royce. “Are we talking about your wife? Sister?”

  “No…she’s not my wife.”

  “Then who is she to you?”

  Royce shifted weight between his feet and didn’t answer. He wouldn’t want to admit that I was his property, that he’d traded a piece of land for me. What kind of man had to trade land for female company?

  Constable Bernardo walked up to Raven. “Do you have any idea what he’s after? He keeps saying you took a woman.”

  Raven smiled and glanced back behind himself. “Tannen, are we hiding any stolen women in the wagons?”

  “Not that I know of,” came Tannen’s voice. “Jade, are you hiding any stolen women?”

  Royce’s face flushed red. “She was just on their stage! She cannot be missed. She has silver-blond hair and light blue eyes. The stories of her reached me, that she was performing with a group of travelers, and I came here to search. No one else looks like her.”

  Constable Bernardo turned toward him. “Are you talking about the lady in white?”

  Royce was completely out of his element. He didn’t know how to converse in any situation in which he was neither feared nor respected…and I knew what to do next. He’d heard tales of my performances and come to find me. He’d seen me that afternoon on stage telling a story, and now I needed to once again become “the lady in white.”

  Opening the door to the wagon, I descended the portable staircase. From out here, I could see Jade and Tannen to one side, and there were longbows and quivers leaning up against the outer wall. My hair was still loose, and I still wore my white silk gown. “Are you gentlemen discussing me?”

  The constable sputtered once and offered a slight bow. “Forgive me, my lady. I didn’t know this man was seeking you.”

  I became a character from one my stories: a heroine.

  “No forgiveness is necessary, constable, but please tell me. How can I help you?”

  He nodded toward Royce. “This man claims you belong with him, and that Raven stole you.”

  I smiled. “I am sorry, but I don’t know this gentleman, and I can assure you that Raven did not steal me from anywhere. I see myself as most fortunate to be part of this company.”

  Both Royce and Raven were watching me as if I were a stranger.

  But the constable turned to Royce. “The lady doesn’t know you,
sir. I suggest maybe you had too much ale today, and you saw her in the show? You might go somewhere to sleep it off.”

  Royce’s features flattened. “Do you know who I am? My family owns half the lands in the northern territories, and I have the ear of the king.”

  “I don’t care who you are,” Constable Bernardo answered, motioning to his men as he walked away. “And the king doesn’t grace us much with his presence here. But if you’ve an ounce of wisdom, I suggest you leave this lady in peace.”

  With that, the constable and his four men left us, walking away down the street. Within moments, they were gone.

  Royce didn’t move. His two guards both flanked him.

  “Kara,” Royce said. “I’ve come all this way to save you. I’ve had men from the king’s army out searching for you.”

  Dropping my character, I turned back into myself. “I don’t need to be saved, and I would like you to leave.”

  “But this man took you!” Royce pointed to Raven. “He stole you! He is a criminal.”

  How strange it was that he saw Raven as a criminal for taking me, but the same act had seemed perfectly acceptable for himself.

  “I am not leaving with you,” I answered. “Please go.”

  He drew a breath through his teeth. “I don’t know what they’ve done to make you say these things, but you’re coming out of here right now.”

  Then he was striding toward me, his face set in determination, and on instinct I drew back. But he didn’t get far.

  In flash, a dagger appeared in Raven’s hand. Moving almost faster than I could see, he rushed Royce, slamming him up against the wall of our white wagon.

  Startled, both guards moved after them, but a voice barked, “Don’t!”

  Looking up, I saw Badger on the roof, aiming a loaded longbow. The sight startled both guards, and Jade and Tannen flew into action. Almost instantly, they each had a bow loaded and aimed.

  The guards froze.

  Raven had Royce pinned with one forearm pressed against his throat and the dagger to his left eye.

  “Don’t touch her,” Raven said.

  His voice startled me, and I was not alone. Jade and Tannen’s eyes widened. Raven’s face was a mask of rage, as if he were fighting to hold himself back from ramming the dagger through Royce’s eye.

  “Or what?” Royce taunted. “You’ll blind me?”

  He had courage. I’d give him that.

  “No, I won’t injure you without legal cause,” Raven answered. “But I will drag you to that constable and tell him you’re still threatening Kara. I’ll file a formal complaint, and he’ll arrest you for assaulting a woman. Since he’s the one who told you to leave her in peace, I don’t think he’ll look too kindly on you threatening to drag her off. You’ll probably spend a month in jail.”

  Royce’s expression flickered. For him, that would be the ultimate humiliation.

  “How would you enjoy that?” Raven went on. “A month’s labor…eating spoiled food…shitting in a bucket…criminals for company. Would that suit my lord?”

  Again, the quality of his voice was too revealing. It dripped with hatred. He was not a leader protecting one of his people. He was a man protecting a woman. I could hear it, and I was sure Jade could hear it.

  With one final shove against Royce’s throat, Raven stepped back. “You come near her again, and I swear to all the gods I’ll have you in prison.”

  Jade, Tannen, and Badger still had their bows aimed.

  “Go,” Badger ordered from the roof.

  In some disbelief, Royce staggered sideways, holding his throat. Then one of his men hurried to him, and the three of them left us, walking in the same direction the constable had gone.

  I stood there with no idea what to say.

  But Jade looked to me and then to Raven, and her expression was stricken.

  * * * *

  That night, I couldn’t sleep. As I lay in bed, sharply aware of Raven just above me on the roof, I kept seeing him pin Royce against the wall with his forearm, and I kept hearing his raw, jagged voice.

  Don’t touch her!

  By now, I’d had time to reason out a few things—such as how Royce had found me. My nagging worries about the spreading word of “the lady in white” had not been unfounded. Eventually, word had reached him of a young woman with silver-blond hair and light-blue eyes, dressed in the white silk gown of a lady, performing with a traveling troupe. He’d come looking. The fact that he’d brought only two Capello guards suggested that Lord Trey had not supported the journey with much enthusiasm—which wasn’t surprising.

  But my new family had protected me—not only Raven, but Jade and Tannen and Badger. I was protected. This should have brought me peace, but here in the quiet, in the night, I could think only of Raven’s reaction.

  The air in the wagon felt cold, colder than ever before, and I rose from the bed to make sure the shutter was closed tightly. Outside, I saw something white and opened the shutter for a better look. Large flakes fell from the sky to land on the wagons and on the ground.

  It was snowing.

  And Raven was up on the roof.

  Without thinking, I wrapped myself in my cloak, opened the door, and descended our set of stairs. Snow fell all around me, sticking to the ground, and in bare feet, I walked to the front of the wagon, near to the bench.

  “Raven,” I called up softly. “It’s snowing.”

  No response came at first, and then he peered down at me, his head covered with a blanket. He said nothing.

  “You’ll freeze up there,” I said. “Come inside. Please.”

  He didn’t move.

  “Please,” I said again.

  He vanished for a moment, and I heard him climbing down to the bench. From the bench, he jumped lightly to the ground, still wrapped in a blanket. Turning, I led the way inside, and he closed the door behind us.

  Only then, did I see that he was shaking, and when I touched his hands, they were like ice.

  “You’re freezing.”

  “It’s not much worse than it has been for the past few nights,” he answered, teeth chattering.

  “Come and sit on the bed.” Taking the damp blanket from his shoulders, I wrapped him in mine. Then I sat beside him. “You’ve been suffering up there, in this kind of cold for several nights? Why didn’t you just come inside?”

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  But I knew. In the past few weeks, I’d turned from a girl into a woman, and I knew.

  Sitting beside me, his eyes locked into mine with a question. I held his gaze.

  “Kara?” he whispered.

  Slowly enough to give me every chance to draw away, he leaned down and touched his mouth to mine.

  His kiss was light at first, just a brush of his lips. Then I seemed to melt into him, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. When he opened his mouth, I opened mine in answer. When he touched me, I touched him in answer.

  We knew what to do without speaking, but I could hear his breathing quicken. Still moving slowly, he pushed me beneath him, and I pulled the blanket over the top of us.

  This felt right.

  This wagon was our home.

  He was my home.

  * * * *

  The next morning, in spite of the snow outside, I awoke feeling truly warm for the first time in weeks. I lay with my face on Raven’s shoulder with his arms around me. He opened his eyes, and I kissed him softly.

  “Kara,” he breathed.

  Our joining in the night had been gentle and desperate at the same time, and I could not bring myself to be sorry. Nothing had ever felt so right as when he touched me.

  Outside, voices and footsteps sounded as the camp woke up around us.

  “Winter’s come,” he said. “We�
�ll need to start back today.”

  I didn’t know what this would mean for the two of us, but I didn’t think on it. Instead, I rose from the bed and pulled on my shift. He was dressed in a matter of moments and heading for the door. As he opened it, I wrapped myself in a cloak and followed him to the doorway to see how much snow had fallen.

  When he opened the door, a world of white awaited us. The snow was perhaps a foot deep, but not enough to discourage travel. Halfway down the steps, Raven suddenly stopped. I wondered what was wrong and looked out past him. Then I saw what he saw.

  Jade, Tannen, Ash, and Jemma were on the ground outside our wagon, trying to get a fire started.

  They took in the sight of Raven coming from inside the wagon, with messy hair and somewhat disheveled clothing. They stared up at me, just behind him, wearing only my shift with a cloak wrapped around my shoulders.

  Raven was not a man who explained his actions. He did as he pleased and walked away whenever someone questioned him. But this was different. For all his adventuring with women, he’d chosen tavern or town girls. Among the troupe, he’d always returned to Jade.

  Tannen was Jade’s brother, and Jemma was her friend…and I was her friend. The strong connections running between this family could be cracked, could be broken, if the next few moments were not handled correctly.

  To save the group, I became a character in one of my stories: a trickster, a liar.

  With an open smile, I leaned around Raven and spoke to Jemma. “I woke up last night when it began to snow, and I feared for him up on the roof. Stubborn as he is, I begged him to come inside and sleep on the floor lest we all have a snowman for a leader this morning.”

  In relief, she breathed out and smiled back. “Oh, of course. Good thinking. He certainly can’t stay up there now. We’ll need to figure something else out.”

  I don’t know if everyone believed me, but my lightly spoken words broke the tension, and I could see how much Jade wanted to believe.

  Raven stepped off the stairs. “We need to cancel today’s shows and start heading back now. Jade, tell everyone to pack up.”