Burke came to the midday board impatient to finish what he and Alys had begun. Indeed, a mere nod from his lady would have him presenting his suit. If he could find her before the meal, he could secure her agreement and they could make the nearest town by dusk.
But Alys was not readily found. Indeed, she was not in the hall, even engaged in some petty labor. He could not hear her voice, even from the women’s chambers above.
Had he underestimated her response? Burke had thought Alys uncertain, shy, perhaps startled by the passion in his touch. At worst, he had assumed that she had been reminded of the trials that had ensued when they last had embraced in that same place.
But could she be deliberately avoiding him?
Nay! Burke could not permit that, not before the truth was laid out betwe
