‘And you make such a fine woman!’ laughed Becky.
Phillip grew serious. ‘I tell you truthfully that I prefer writing to disguising, but I am not bothered about my friends seeing me dressed thus, although it disturbed my father when I adopted feminine guise and he would make himself scarce, so if it disturbs you also then I will strip off.’ Before she could say a word to prevent him from doing so, he dropped his cloak and dragged the bodice of the gown from his broad shoulders.
‘I am not embarrassed, Master Hurst,’ she said. Nevertheless, she could not take her eyes from the width of those powerful shoulders that she remembered wielding an axe and hammer.
She watched him wriggle out of his skirts, the breath catching in her throat, for there was no mistaking he was all man as he stood there in tight-fitting hose that lacked a codpiece. She could not look away, telling herself that it was not as if she was a virgin, bashful because she had never seen a man’s private parts before. Despite being childless, her husband had been desperate for a son and had been ardent in his attempts to get her with child.
Phillip cocked an eyebrow at her before bending and picking up his cloak. He swung it about his shoulders and it fell in folds to just above his knees, concealing, in the main, the garments beneath. He tied it at the throat before gathering up the gown and stuffing it beneath his arm with the wig. ‘So where is this Minster Draymore and why does your husband not escort you?’
The questions took her unawares and her head shot up. ‘But I am widowed, Master Hurst. I thought you must have realised that was so.’
He said slowly, ‘Forgive me for not expressing my condolences earlier. I had heard that was so from mutual friends of ours, Sir Gawain and Beth Raventon, but it had temporarily slipped my mind.’
She shrugged. ‘Why should you have remembered? We have not spoken for an age until this even and if we had not met now, no doubt you would not have given me another thought.’
His brow knit. ‘You belittle yourself. Surely you must have gathered from our conversation that you proved unforgettable.’
Rebecca flushed, believing him to be flattering her and determined not to fall under his spell again. ‘I had forgotten your family was acquainted with the Raventons,’ she said hastily, wishing to change the subject.
‘They did mention that you were living in Oxford, so why do you go to Minster Draymore?’
‘Simon Caldwell, my brother-in-law, and his children are staying there and will be expecting me. I have no need of an escort, so if you wish to hurry back to the feast, then please do so. I know the way and it is unlikely that I will be set upon. Cutpurses and such ruffians will find better pickings in Witney this evening.’
‘Well, I’m not going to allow you to wander the countryside all alone when it’ll soon be dark, however unwilling you are for my company,’ said Phillip crisply. ‘And please, do not call me Master Hurst. It reminds me of your father.’
‘But that is your name,’ she protested.
‘I would not deny it, but I would prefer it if you called me Phillip.’
‘Phillip!’ She moistened her lips. ‘It would not feel right calling you Phillip. After all, your father was my father’s employer.’
He swore under his breath. ‘Becky, we are old friends and have no need of such formality—please call me Phillip.’
‘Then you are an unusual man, because in my experience most men prefer to keep a woman under their heel,’ she said roundly.
‘I thought you had realised by now that I am not your usual man. I do not wish to squash you. Tell me, was that how your husband behaved?’
She took a deep breath. ‘My husband, Giles Clifton, was a kind man, a good companion; we were happy for the short time we had together. It is just that men view the world differently from women, so why should I have deemed you would be any different?’
‘I confess I find it difficult to get into the head of a woman,’ he said ruefully. ‘You don’t reason like us and are moved too much by your emotions.’
‘Men have emotions, too! They just pretend that they don’t,’ protested Rebecca.
‘Damn it, of course they do and I make no pretence about it,’ he said.
Her lips twitched. ‘Actors are always pretending.’
He protested, ‘That is not true! I think we should change the subject. So, where is your sister-in-law?’
‘She stays in Oxford because she is expecting another child and is needful of a rest from the children. Knowing that the Witney feast was taking place today, it was considered an excellent notion that the children and I visit and stay with their father for a short time,’ said Rebecca. ‘We have been here two nights so far and I am sure he is already wearying of the children’s company. They are boisterous and proving a distraction, I fear.’
‘What kind of man is he?’ asked Phillip.
She eyed him carefully. ‘A decent man, one to be trusted. A stonemason, like my husband, and he has a commission to make repairs to the vacant Draymore manor house. And what of yourself, Mas—Phillip? Do you have a wife?’
‘I have no room for a wife in my life,’ he said shortly. ‘The travelling life is not one that most women find to their taste.’
Why did such news cause her relief? wondered Rebecca. ‘So such a life does have its drawbacks,’ she murmured.
He slanted her a long estimating look, thinking that meeting her was causing him to consider how a wife would mean changing his way of life in so many ways. ‘I am well aware that I would need to provide a wife with a certain standard of living and a covered wagon would deter most, if not all.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘But surely you don’t sleep in a covered wagon during the winter? And what of your entertaining the king? Does he not provide you with lodgings? My brother, who is now employed at Princess Mary’s court, has living quarters at Ludlow Castle. Lady Salisbury is her governess and has ensured it.’
‘I know of Lady Salisbury—she is a great friend of the Queen. It is true that the Master of the King’s Revels provides such quarters for me and my troupe, but only when we are performing at court. Last year was a particularly bad year for all of us, with the plague raging in London and its environs, and we have had to spend more time on the road this year.’
‘Tell me, how did you cope with such a setback?’ she asked, her expression concerned.
Her interest was obviously genuine, so Phillip told her. ‘I worked in my brother’s shipyard for a while and I also went abroad. It was not so for the troupe. We had hoped for occupation during the Christmas festivities, but the king and his lords did not make merry during that period for fear of the plague. They retreated to the countryside and did not allow anyone in or out. No doubt Davy escaped the worst of the plague at Ludlow?’
She nodded. ‘Although I’ve not had news of him for some time. I wish I could visit him.’
‘Then why don’t you?’
Rebecca hesitated. ‘If
