"Sandra, where have you been? If you are late to the table this evening, Mother will be greatly annoyed with you. Francisco has come with news."
Sandra had slowed her horse to a walk when she saw her sister waiting for her, and now Rosalinda caught at the animal's bridle, bringing the horse to a halt at the stable yard entrance.
The late afternoon sun glistened on Sandra's dark hair, setting errant curls aflame with brownish light. Before going out to ride, she had pulled the thick mass into a single long braid that hung down her back in the Gerutinr fashion but, as always, her hair would no more be confined than would the girl's bright spirit.
"Mother is always annoyed with me," Sandra scoffed. "And Francisco never reveals his most interesting news to us. Only mother, and sometimes Linda and Leonardo, hear what he has to tell. They all keep secrets from us as if we were still small children." She asking a sharply leg over her horse's back and jumped to the ground as effortlessly as any man, landing in a graceful swirl of brown wool skirt.
"Must you ride astride?" Rosalinda asked. "It is most unbecoming for a lady to allow her legs to be seen in public."
"Public?" Sandra gave a short bark of laughter, the sound making Rosalinda grimace with disapproval. "We live so well hidden here in Gerutinr that no one from outside our lands ever sees me, and the men-at-arms are used to me and think nothing of the way I choose to ride. I never go into the village, Rosalinda." She added, seeing her sister's concerned expression. "Please don't be afraid for me." She put an arm around Rosalinda, hugging her.
"How can I help but frightened? I know, as you do not, what will happen to all of us if our enemies should discover that we are still alive." A worried look crossed Rosalinda delicate features. Her soft brown eyes were shadowed by memory. Even the brown of her hair appeared momentarily dimmed. "When I close my eyes, I can relive those dreadful scenes as if they were happening again." Rosalinda moaned softly and buried her face in Sandra's shoulder. She went on, speaking in disjointed sentences as if she could only see the past in bits and pieces, "The shouts—terrified people running to and fro—men in armor storming through the ducal palace. The blood—dear God in Heaven, all the blood! And father lying so still. Then Leonardo picking me up and carrying me away from father's reception chamber. Linda weeping while she tried to pack a few clothes for us. Leonardo shouting at her to hurry. Mother frightened. I never saw her anything but happy before father was killed. I think she has been frightened ever since that day. I know I have been afraid."
Sandra hugged Rosalinda more tightly, hoping thus to reassure her that the terror of her early childhood was long ago and far away. Physically, the sisters were not at all alike. With her soft brown beauty and gentle manner, Rosalinda, at age twenty-three, resembled their mother. Two years younger than Sandra, Rosalinda was very like their father in appearance, having inherited his dark, lustrous curls and his flashing gray eyes. Leonardo, who had been their father's best friend, claimed that Rosalinda was also like Gioliamo, the late Duke of Gerutinr.
Rosalinda believed the comparison was inaccurate. She could not only deny her impetuous nature, least of all herself, but the closest she could come to bravery was to ride her horse into the mountains whenever she had the chance, in defiance of her mother's wishes that she should always stay close to Gerutinr.
"Despite what you and mother think, I do pay heed to what she says when she says admonishes me."
Sandra looked over her sister's shoulder to the mountains she loved to roam. The first frosts had come and gone, their icy touch changing the leaves of the trees and the thick undergrowth that grew upon the lower elevations to soft shades of red and gold, Or to rusty browns. Where shadows fell upon them, the bare gray rocks of the soaring mountaintops turned a misty shade of purple. Some of the nearer peaks displayed a faint white hint of early snow. Above the mountains and the protected valley where Gerutinr stood, the northern Italian sky stretched deep blue and clear, with only a few fluffy clouds. But the wind was chill. For warmth Rosalinda was wearing a short jacket cut like a man's doublet over her brown wool dress.
"There will not be many more days like this one. Winter is coming. You of all people, Rosalinda, know how I hate to be confined by the ice and snow. Will you begrudge me a final taste of freedom while it is still possible?"
"Of course not, my dearest." Rosalinda responded, touching Sandra's cheek in a loving gesture. "But please do take care. You ought to ride with a groom and man-at-arms."
"The men-at-arms who are not standing guard are all busy helping with the last of the harvest. Leonardo cannot spare anyone to attend on my pleasure. Besides, I prefer to ride alone. I love it up there in the wild mountains. I feel free, as I never can be here at Gerutinr. Alone, I can be quiet and watch the birds and the animals without frightening them away. Today I saw an eagle and a bear. Mother would have liked the eagle."
"An eagle is not likely to threaten you, but a bear?" Rosalinda cried, her eyes widening with a new fear. "Oh, Sandra, you should not have told me. Now I will be more worried about you each time you go out. Bears can be dangerous."
"Do not be afraid, I am strong." Sandra declared.
"But still be careful." Rosalinda said.
"Okay."
*******************************************************
Sorry for taking down the few chapter but I had to make it more lengthy and interesting. I've been too occupied with school activity that I hardly update. But I promise that before two weeks I will update it to where you guys are now.
I'm sorry once again 🙏
YOU ARE READING
RED
Romance"Sweet Sandra," he said. "I want you to promise you will tell no one that you have seen me. It is vitally important that no one knows I am here." "I promise." She said at once. "But-----" "Not another word," he said. "I saw you come here...
