bed. "At the moment I feel as strong as Donata. Come on. Get up and let's get out of here. We have actions to take."
She scrambled off the bed, tidying her clothes and looking ridiculously deprived. He was very tempted to spank her, for he didn't believe she was nearly as innocent about all this as she pretended to be.
"What are we going to do, then?" she asked as she wound the blue cloth around her head again.
"I'm not going to get Jehanne out of the convent."
Her hands stopped. "What? Why not?"
The end of the cloth began to fall loose, so he caught it and tucked it in, glad of any excuse to touch her, despite the dangers.
"Since I didn't go instantly to sleep, I had time to think. It can't do any good to thwart the king in that way. On the other hand, I do believe that Jehanne has something of import to add to the hearing. I'm going to get into the convent so I can have private speech with her, then I'll convey her information, make her argument, or whatever is required."
She leveled her severe brows at him. "The penalties for invading a religious house are rather harsh. Are you sure . . . ?"
"I'm not sure of anything, but this is my best judgment. And how, exactly, did you expect me to get her out without violating a religious house? Now,"
he said, ushering her out of the room, "I saw the cloister. Tell me as much about the rest of the convent as you can."
As they made their way out of the house and into Cheap-side, she told him everything she knew.
"I can go in over the wall," he said, as they hurried along. "But noise might be a problem."
"I think you need to go in during chapel anyway so there'd be few people around." She glanced at the sky, judging the light. "You've missed prime. It will have to be terce, which is the time of the hearing."
"Christ's crown, that's too late." By the time they reached the lane behind the convent, they hadn't come up with a solution to that problem.
Raoul assessed the rough wooden wall. "Getting over that will be simple.
I'll just have to hope that no one hears."
"Faint hope of that. Why don't I create a distraction?"
"What kind of distraction?" he asked. But by Christ's crown he loved the way she was his partner in this.
"If I turn up disheveled and incoherent, it will draw everyone's attention."
"And get you a whipping."
"And what will you get if you're caught invading a nunnery? Anyway, they probably won't punish me until I get my wits back. By then, I hope, we'll all be free."
So she, like Jehanne, was trying to save a man from trouble. There was no point in arguing about it here. "What will you tell them?"
"Nothing. I'll be completely mad." She twisted her mouth and rolled her eyes. "At least until after terce."
He had to laugh at the sight. "Then what will you tell them?"
"That the big city frightened my wits away? I hope by then it's all over."
Raoul shook his head, wishing she didn't sometimes seem so young. But he did need the distraction she could provide. "Very well. You escaped, thinking to contact Galeran and tell him of your predicament, but got lost and had to hide all night, terrified of beggars and bandits. Now you are desperate to return to the safety of the convent"
She looked around and stepped into a shadow between two houses, already unwinding her headcloth. She tore off the ribbons at the end of her already unraveling plaits and fingered them out. Raoul followed and gripped the shoulder of her kirtle to rip it a few inches so it sagged. He scooped up some dirt and rubbed it into the cloth and into her skin.
Proud that he'd not let any of his lewd thoughts show, he looked her over and nodded. "Ready?"
She smiled. "Ready."
"Brave girl." He kissed her lightly on the brow, then pushed her off down the lane toward the front of the convent.
In moments he heard the convent doorbell clang stridently. He counted to three, glanced around to be sure that no one was nearby, stepped back, then ran at the wall, leaping to grasp the top.
As soon as his fingers caught, he realized he had a problem. The wall was not very sturdy. For a moment it felt as if his pull might bring it down rather than him up. But