“I am sorry,” Hereward said abruptly into the ensuing silence. “I am being ungracious. Again. I will go...”
“Go where?” Matilda asked quickly. And she was certainly quicker than I, although it gave me the first inkling of what he would do, of what he had to do now. One glance at his face, at Matilda’s, told me the rest. Something inside me began to freeze and crumple. This was too sudden, impossibly immediate...
Slowly, he moved nearer to her, taking both her impulsively thrown out hands.
“No,” she said pleadingly. “Oh no...”
“Lady, I have to now, and there is no point in putting it off. Here, I am fair game to any bravo, any bounty hunter — and as such, I will cut up your peace, your life. I would spare you that much. For your sake, and Gilbert’s, I have to go.”
“But you can’t!” she
