"Nor do I think you would be an unkind or difficult man," she said.
"Surely not," Walter agreed. He wondered if Tamsin desired him the way he desired her. If she was innocent she might know nothing of desire. He would have to teach her. The thought of that made his cock harden.
"If you mean it truly, say the words," Tamsin said. Walter pulled her away from his body so that she could face him. He looked deep into her eyes so she knew that the words came straight from his heart and soul.
"I, Walter, take thee Tamsin to be my wedded wife and unto you I plight my troth," Walter said.
"I, Tamsin, take thee Walter to be my wedded husband and unto you I plight my troth," Tamsin said.
"I promise I will give you a more proper wedding once we are back at my home," Walter said.
"I do not need any more," Tamsin said.
"No, I believe that you do not, but you shall have it all the same. We should go. It is early morning and we might slip out without being missed. It will be assumed that we are both abed. You in grief and me from being awake all night in Henry's service."
"I will go to my room and change into traveling clothes," Tamsin said.
"We will be on foot so mind that you bring only what you cannot bear to part with," Walter said. He knew that was no small task to ask of a woman.
"There is nothing I have at Hampton Court that I cannot bear to leave behind," Tamsin said. The idea that she would leave her worldly possessions to come with him warmed Walter's heart. He vowed that once they were home he would make it up to her. He would supply her with fine gowns to wear and a comfortable home.
"Meet me in the courtyard in an hour," Walter said. Tamsin nodded.
He hurried to his room. He had carried what he needed to court. He had acquired a few clothing items to better blend in with those at Hampton Court but they could be left behind. He would dress in his traveling clothes and take only necessities like his costrel along on the journey.
Owen was in his bed. He rolled over and gave Walter a hard look.
"My brother has given me permission to return home. The grief of my father's death and my longing for my children has overcome me. I need to leave," Walter whispered.
"Shall we go together tonight?" Owen asked.
"Henry must be guarded," Walter said.
"It is not safe to travel so far alone. Not even for a wolf," Owen said.
"I never said I was traveling alone," Walter said with a wink. Then, he raised a finger to his lips.
"Tamsin?" Owen asked. Walter nodded.
"Your brother will not be happy," Owen said.
"You let me deal with my brother," Walter said.
Owen shook his head and then rolled back over to face the wall. By the time Walter had left for the courtyard the room was filled with Owen's snoring.
***
Tamsin tried to calm her breathing as she stood in the courtyard but it was no easy task when she was so filled with nerves. She was now a married woman running away from Hampton Court to a life she knew little of. It was a fate she had never imagined the morning before when dawn had awoken her to a new day.
She had brought a small basket of things that it seemed they might need on the journey along with one indulgence. She brought the journal her mother had given her when she left Wolstenholme. She had been writing about her days in it and she just couldn't bear to leave it. Besides, it held information about both Crake and Wolstenholme wolves and she could not let that information fall into the wrong hands. Of all her possessions at Hampton Court the journal was her most precious.
She had arrived at Hampton Court with a carriage and many trunks. Most held gowns and trinkets meant to catch the eye of King Henry. She was more than happy to leave those behind.
As the moments ticked by she wondered if Walter would really come. Did he really care for her or had he seen her crying and wished to do the honorable thing and to save her? Had he changed his mind?
He had said the words that would make them man and wife but only God had witnessed it. She had heard of young men saying those words in a fit of passion and denying them later. She didn't believe Walter was like those men but she had dealt with very few men outside of her family. Males were not something she had needed to learn about. As the daughter of an alpha her mate should have been chosen for her.
She wondered what her father would do once he was given the news that she had run from King Henry and married a Crake.
It was possible he would disown her. Is she had been a werewolf and married against her alpha's will she could have been banished from the pack. Since she was not a werewolf and since she had failed to win the heart of King Henry as he intended her father might well be glad to be rid of her. No one in the werewolf world would question a match with a Crake. They were not a particularly strong pack but they were well connected. They guarded the Welsh borders and King Henry's father had strong ties to Wales if she recalled. That was likely why the Crake pack had been asked to guard Henry unlike her family which shied from politics.
If her father wished to save face he could even say he arranged the marriage himself. Most of the werewolves had heard only rumors that she was not a she-wolf. If she married a Crake they would assume those rumors unfounded.
Tamsin touched her temple and gently shook her head. It did not matter what her mother or father thought or did. She had written to them about the situation at Hampton Court and they had remained silent. Neither her father nor mother had sent instructions or called her home.
She had no choice but to save herself and that was what she was doing. She had said the words to make her Walter's wife in the eyes of God. It was over. There was nothing her parents could do.
Her heart leapt as Walter rounded the corner. He was carrying a sack on his back.
Once he was close enough she grabbed his hand. She would have no choice but to follow his lead. She had no idea how to get either to Crake Estate or Wolstenholme from Hampton Court. She had arrived in a carriage and she certainly had not paid any mind to the way.
As they left the land attached to Hampton Court Tamsin realized how much trust she was putting in her new husband. Without him she would be lost. Without him she would likely die in the wilderness. She was dependant on Walter to keep her safe and lead her home. The open roads held many dangers for a woman even if she was in the company of one very protective werewolf.
Chapter 14
Walter thought long and hard as he chose the path for them to follow away from Hampton Court and in the general direction of Crake Estate.
He knew he wanted to avoid London first and foremost. He also wanted to avoid populated parishes wherever he could.
When he and his pack brothers had made the journey to Hampton Court there had been friendly werewolves along the way who had housed them and fed them most nights. He might have sought their hospitality if he was traveling alone but he did not wish Edward to hear of his new bride until he could explain himself. He did not believe his brother would exile him but that did not mean there would be no consequences. He had married without permission of the pack alpha and that could not be taken lightly.
He planned to make the arguments to his brother that he had made to himself. He would not breed her. If there were no children involved then the woman who shared his bed and mothered his children was of little consequence to the good of the pack.
"Shall we rest?" Walter asked when the noonday sun was overhead. He could see the sweat beading on Tamsin's forehead. He had not taken into account that she would not have his stamina due both to her sex and the fact that she was not a wolf.
They were in a lush grassland and the world around them was calm. It was as good a place to rest as they were likely to find.
"We should go as far as we can today. There are not many days until the full moon," Tamsin said.
The looming full moon had not even occurred to Walter. If it had, he might not have set out into the wilderness on foot. If he was with his pack brothers it would not
have mattered. Now, it did matter. If they were not at Crake Estate in time then he would have to leave Tamsin alone during the night of the full moon. He knew how dangerous that was and he loathed the idea of doing it. He couldn't stay with her in his wolf form. He couldn't risk something provoking his wolf and him causing harm to her.
It was a rare happening but it was not unheard of either. It was one reason that the werewolves always cloistered themselves during the moon.
"We will need to make haste," Walter agreed. They continued walking a distance until they came upon a stream. The water was clear and the stream was not so deep that he could not see the bottom. Several fish wiggled and darted beneath his shadow.
He dipped his costrel in the water and offered it to Tamsin. Once she drank her fill he took the costrel and drank as well. Then, he filled it again.
He had filled the costrel before leaving Hampton Court but it was nearly empty by the time they reached the stream. He knew they would have to be more mindful of their water. He did not know the way they were traveling well and so could not accurately predict where water would be plentiful or scarce.
"Do you fish?" Tamsin asked.
"Not since I was a boy," Walter admitted. He hadn't cared for the water much after the death of his mother.
"Thomas loved to fish. My father preferred he use the falcons for his hunting and when father was looking he obeyed. When Thomas could get away from the eyes of my father we would go down to the river and fish. I doubt there is so large an amount of fish here but it cannot hurt to catch some to eat. It will prevent us stopping again until nightfall," Tamsin said.
"I do not have a rod with me," Walter said. It had not occurred to him that finding food could present as much of a problem as finding water. He was a werewolf which meant he could turn to a wolf and hunt if the need arose but it would leave Tamsin alone. She would be vulnerable to nature and villains alike.
"We made our own at home. I will not pretend it is a terribly good one but Thomas used a bent sewing needle tied to a stick. It worked only when the water was calm and the fish were plentiful but it appears that is true here," Tamsin said leaning over to look in the water.
Walter wondered if he could simply reach his hand in and grab a fish. It might come down to that but he was willing to try her way first.
"Have you a sewing needle?" Walter asked.
She reached into the wicker basket she had brought and pulled out both needle and thread. He found a fallen tree branch that seemed like it would be strong enough for the small fishes of this stream though would likely have been snapped if there were large catches to be had.
Walter found a bug to use as bait on a nearby flower and he balanced on the edge of the bank and lowered the rod to the water.
Tamsin came towards him but he reached a hand out to her.
"You must stay back a ways. This bank is muddy," he said.
"The water is not deep," Tamsin said though she remained where she was.
"It is not deep but the clothes you have are heavy. If you fall in the water you may not be able to lift yourself up," Walter said.
"I have never fallen in before," Tamsin said.
"Neither had my mother but the water swept her away all the same," Walter said. He had not meant to say it but the words hung in the air. In truth, he did not think of his mother often. He had lost Mary and his father more recently and so the pain of their loss was fresher. Being near the water and having Tamsin to worry about brought the memories of that fateful day flooding back to him.
He tried to push them away. There was too much to be done. There was too much distance to travel to get back to Crake Estate. Memories would be nothing but a distraction.
***
Tamsin sat down on the bank. She made sure she was far enough that she could not slip in but close enough to enjoy the coolness wafting from the water.
She looked at Walter as he fished. He had told her of the death of his wife but aside from that she realized she did not really know him. He didn't know her.
For that matter, she knew only a bit about the Crake pack. She felt she should know more about the man she was married to and the pack that she was joining the Wolstenholme pack to, assuming her father claimed her as his daughter once he got word of her marriage.
"Is all well?" Walter asked looking back at her. No fish had yet caught itself on his rod.
"Will you tell me about your mother? It is strange to me that we are married but that we know little of each other," Tamsin said. She wasn't sure she should have voiced her thoughts. She had never spoken so boldly to any man except Thomas before. Still, how were she and Walter ever to have a happy marriage if she kept her thoughts from him?
"Learning the life of another takes time. I do not think Mary knew of my mother's drowning until she had given me my third pup," Walter said.
"Please do not assume I am like Mary," Tamsin whispered.
That morning it had seemed a romantic notion to run away with Walter. It still seemed a better fate than being in the bed of King Henry and in the displeasure of Queen Anne. Tamsin realized that did not mean it would be easy. She was married to a near stranger. He was older than she by perhaps ten years. He had a dead wife and seven children. She had a dead twin. He was a Crake. She was a Wolstenholme.
Even their grandfathers had made different choices during the War of the Roses. Surely, that had affected the laws of their packs. How different would the Crake pack be to the Wolstenholme? She felt a surge of panic but pushed it down. There was nothing to be done now. She had said the words. She was married to Walter. They would just have to make the best of things. If they could.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to imply that you and she were alike. You are really very different," Walter said.
"Will you be able to accept a wife so different from the first you had?" Tamsin asked. A sinking feeling rose up in her stomach. Walter had been married a long time. What would he do with a wife as innocent as she was? What would happen when he took her to his bed? Did he realize she was a maid? The physical part of their union hadn't occurred to her before. She thought him handsome and she did not loathe the idea of his bed as she did with Henry. That did not mean the idea did not frighten her a little. Joan and many of the other women at Hampton Court were experienced lovers. She was not. She hoped he wouldn't be disappointed in her.
"If you can accept a husband who forgets sometimes that the woman he knows how to be married to is cold in the ground and that he must learn how to be a husband anew," Walter said.
"There is much for each of us to learn," Tamsin agreed.
Walter sighed.
"My father was past his prime when he married my mother. He had not been raised to be an alpha but had joined the church. When his older brother died without an heir he inherited the pack. His duty to the church was withdrawn and he found a mate for himself. My mother was the youngest daughter of a fellow alpha. She was a quiet sort of woman. Submissive and obedient. She was also religious and devout. If the tales I have heard of her are true it is a wonder that she gave my father any children at all. She was much too devoted to God. Edward and I were born ten years apart. My grandmother did most of the raising of us, leaving my mother time for her prayers. I think she would have preferred the life of a nun to that of a pack leader's wife. I remember her very little as she had little to do with her children.
No one saw her swept away in the water. I suppose it is even possible that she wearied of the life of a wife and ran away to a nunnery where she might live even now. It was a story I told myself as a child. I imagined that one day she would come back but she has not and I have given up that hope. My grandmother said that on the bank of the water there was a basket of laundry along with her cloak. There was mud on the banks that looked as if it had been disturbed but there was no proof that she drowned though my grandmother told my father that it was not an uncommon fate for a woman. Ladies are not as strong as men and your clothes become quite heavy when wet," Walter said.
The line on the rod jerked pulling Walter's attention to it. A moment later he brought a fish out of the water. It was not a terribly large fish but it would do. The sun was no longer pounding down on them and a cool breeze made the air comfortable.
Tamsin supposed they should be glad that their first day on the run was such a mild one. Spring could be unpredictable just like many other things in nature.
Chapter 15
Walter sniffed the air. The smell worried him. Dusk would fall in another hour but as he looked around him he decided they would not continue on.
"We should think about stopping for the night," he said.
"I can walk further," Tamsin said. He admired how hard she was pushing herself without complaint. She was already limping from blisters on her feet. Her eyes looked heavy and tired. The air was cool enough that she was not sweating but her face was red from the heat of the sun. In another day she would look like a common peasant woman.
"I smell rain in the air and lightning. We do not want to get caught out in a storm," Walter said. He hoped the storm was a mild one. If the rain persisted into the morning they might lose half a day or more of walking. If the rain was more than a light sprinkling it could bring mud with it which would slow them down.
"If there is rain we will need cover. We will not be able to sleep in the open," Tamsin said. Sleeping in the open had never been part of Walter's plan.
"There is a rock shelter just over that hill. Do you see it?" he asked. It had caught his eye as they had peaked the hill they were climbing.
"What is a rock shelter? Is it a cave? Should we worry about wild animals?" Tamsin asked.
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