Chapter 605: Greatest Swordsman Of An Age (Part One)
Isabell stood before the hearth in Jocelynn’s sitting room, breathing deeply of the combination of woodsmoke and sweet perfume that filled the room and calming herself as she prepared to face the young lady that Lady Ashlynn had asked her to protect. Confessor Eleanor’s warning had shaken her, but as Isabell thought back over the other woman’s careful words she realized that it changed little about what she had come here to do.
It was clear that Lady Jocelynn was in danger and the protection the Church was prepared to extend was much more limited than Isabell had imagined but she never intended to rely on the Church to keep Jocelynn safe in the first place.
For a moment, she considered asking Jocelynn to join her on her journey to meet with Lady Ashlynn. She was certain that both of the Blackwell sisters would be delighted by a chance to reunite, no matter what the circumstances were. But Lord Owain only rarely let Lady Jocelynn out of his sight and even when she was, he still assigned the guards that protected her and the servants who tended to her needs.
Isabell might be able to get Jocelynn out of Lothian Manor by requesting her company to tour the city, but she would never get her out of Lothian City without an entourage of knights and soldiers who were certain to be Lady Ashlynn’s enemies. Since that was the case, the best she could do was to give Lady Jocelynn a warning before learning what Lady Ashlynn’s intentions were.
With a deep breath to steady herself, Isabell strode across the sitting room, passing through a small, private dining room before walking out onto the balcony where Lady Jocelynn sat at a small table overlooking a courtyard below.
Despite the early hour, Jocelynn was dressed in a fine gown of fitted cerulean blue silk that clung to her slender frame and emphasized her modest bust. Spills of white lace made her look like a siren of the sea with waves cresting over the gentle swell of her hips and accentuating her trim waist. The ensemble combined with Jocelynn’s fair complexion and golden blonde hair to create a vision of a perfect maiden, waiting atop the balcony for the arrival of a handsome knight or heroic champion.
Perhaps the only thing that marred the look was the necklace of sea glass and shells that would have been more appropriate gracing the neck of a commoner in Blackwell City than accenting the plunging neckline of a refined lady’s dress. Isabell had considered asking about the oddity on more than one occasion but in the end decided it was best brought up in private.
If the necklace had been a keepsake from a friend beneath her station in Blackwell City then it likely wasn’t something Lady Jocelynn would want to discuss with someone who understood the meaning of the necklace.
By contrast, Isabell’s simple black tunic and skirt looked so plain as to render her nearly invisible with nothing to suggest that she was any more important than the young serving girl who had informed Confessor Eleanor of her arrival. The trappings of wealth and power had long since lost significance to Isabell, and she was far less bothered by the difference in her attire than she was by the way Lady Jocelynn seemed to be displaying herself to the people in the courtyard below.
"Lady Jocelynn," Isabell said, offering a shallow curtsy to the young lady. "I hope I’m not interrupting anything."
"No, come, come," the young lady said, gesturing animatedly for Isabell to join her at the small table on the balcony. A steaming pot of tea sat ignored in the center of the table along with several artfully arranged pastries that looked equally untouched, though Isabell doubted it was because Jocelynn had been waiting for her arrival to begin her breakfast.