The Black Knight of Ashfern

Chapter 24

It took three days to reach William's sister's home, and most of the time was spent with Nan nervously staring out the coach window, her hands apprehensively kneading at her fingertips as all manner of thoughts and scenarios played through her mind. None of which ended particularly well as she tried to speculate how her first meeting with a woman she knew nothing of would go.

Nan had known William had a sister, Mrs. Baringer had informed her so, but She had never thought she would meet the woman. Nor did she know what kind of woman Clara De'Mont was. Mrs. Baringer had never met her, so she could offer no insight into what Nan could expect from her. And Hoss was keeping his mouth decidedly shut, largely due to William's smiling orders, though she felt had William said nothing, Hoss still would have remained silent.

Nan wondered, once again, about the intelligence of agreeing to come with William. Though she would have greatly preferred he not have asked her the day before he was due to leave. And while she had half a mind to resend her agreement to come, she could not bring herself to squash the happy light that had entered William's eyes when she had said she would. His entire being had seemed to glow and lift when she had agreed to come with him. His joyful smile rivaled Jamie's when the boy showed her the puppy William had given him.

Still, William's pleasure aside, she had no idea how she would or should act towards his sister. Nan was a beggar who, until a few weeks ago, had been living under William's roof as his Mistress. Though she was fairly certain, the only people who did not consider her to be his Mistress were William and Jamie; much to Nan's surprise, Jamie had not been at all cross with her for sharing William's bed, even if only to sleep.

He had been quite happy with the knowledge that she had taken up with the dreaded Black Knight, as he had told her cheerfully and repeatedly. Though again, she was fairly certain his glee at her being with William had far more to do with the furry friend Jamie had recently acquired than it had to do with Nan's own happiness. But Nan could hardly begrudge her boy for wanting a more comfortable life after how they had been living for so many years, and she was far from tempted to return to it or make Jamie do so, for that matter.

No, if her boy was happy, she'd let him believe she had taken up with William despite her having repeatedly informed him that she had not. Still, the darling little brat had set to teasing and tormenting her with kissy faces and ridiculous lover's endearments that Jamie assumed she and William might share in more private surroundings. At least until she would throw a pillow or some other harmless item at him, and he would either run from the room with a gleeful smile on his face and his furry companion hot on his heels or stand stunned a moment before the two of them burst out laughing.

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William observed Nan's quiet fretting as she toyed with her fingertips. She had been acting like this since William had told her his sister was the hostess of the ball they were to attend. He had never seen her so flustered, and neither had Jamie, as the boy had sniffed out William in his stables to tell him how peculiar she was acting. Something William had not entirely believed until he followed Jamie back into the house and found her in her room, with Mrs. Baringer packing a case and Nan pacing back and forth, firing off question after question. Few of which his housekeeper had an answer to. It all revolved around Clara, what she was like, how she looked, her hobbies, and the foods she might enjoy.

When Mrs. Baringer looked up and saw William standing at the door, he barely suppressed his laughter. His housekeeper sent him a pleading look, begging him to get his panicking love from the room so she could finish packing for their trip. Pushing the door open all the way, William had stepped in and led Nan from the room without a word, allowing her to assail him with the same questions she had been firing at Mrs. Baringer, and while he had fully intended to answer her, a thought had occurred to him.