Authors: Netherworld
As his brother-in-law moaned on the floor several feet away, Keller had eyes only for Chrystobel. She was such a lovely creature. He’d known that from the moment he had first laid eyes on her. But the pain in his heart from a love lost had prevented him from seeing beyond his fear. Fear of feeling, fear of opening himself up again. Chrystobel was a beautiful angel he had never expected to know and now, he could feel himself relenting. He could feel himself warming, perhaps willing to open himself up again. The very moment he had saved her life was the moment he started to let himself feel something.
He crouched down beside her as she sat against the wall, his rugged face, worn by the years and the weather, creased with concern.
“Are you badly injured?” he asked softly.
The buzzing in Chrystobel’s head had eased considerably. “Nay,” she said softly, gazing into his eyes and feeling hope and relief in her chest such as she had never before experienced. “I am well enough.”
Keller’s gaze drifted over her head, her face, as if he didn’t believe her. “Are you certain?” he asked quietly. “I can send for a physic.”
Chrystobel smiled faintly, reaching out to put a hand on his arm in a reassuring gesture. “That is not necessary,” she said, sighing quietly. “I will admit that my head does ache a bit, but food and rest will cure me, I am sure.”
He stared at her a moment before lifting his enormous hands and gently cupped her face. As Chrystobel looked into his eyes, her heart thumping madly against her ribs, she could feel the emotion pouring from the man. It was as if a dam had burst and everything that had been held back was finally gushing out. Sir Keller de Poyer was cold no more, and it was an astonishing realization.
“I am sorry,” he whispered. “I am sorry you had to endure what your brother did to you. But I swear, with God as my witness, that he will never touch you again.”
Chrystobel was at a loss for words, her breathing unsteady as his thumbs began to stroke her silken skin. It was the first time he had touched her and her senses were understandably overwhelmed.
“It was simply the way of things, my lord,” she murmured. “It has been going on so long that I have known little else.”
Keller’s face hardened. “No more,” he rumbled. “He is a dead man if he so much as looks at you in a way I do not like. Do you believe me?”
Chrystobel nodded, though she hardly dared to truly believe. “Aye.”
His gentle smile returned. “Good.” He fought off the sudden urge to kiss her, not wanting the first genuine kiss between them to be a public spectacle. He was rather shy and conservative that way. Moreover, there was something more she needed to know, something very serious. He braced himself.
“I must also apologize for something else,” he said hesitantly. “Your father….”
Chrystobel cut him off by a nod of the head, tears popping to her eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “Gryffyn told me.”
“He admitted to killing him?”
“Aye,” she confirmed. “The blood on the floor… is it his?”
Keller nodded, watching her sorrowful expression. “Aye,” he said quietly. “I am so sorry that I was unable to prevent it.”
Chrystobel struggled to control her tears, thinking on her father, the man who was supposed to protect her but never did. Although she was sorry for his loss, she couldn’t seem to muster true grief for his passing. Had the man ever prevented Gryffyn from having his own way in all things, perhaps she would have felt differently, but at the moment she felt somewhat guilty that she wasn’t more distraught.
“You are not responsible,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “You did what you could. You saved me, in fact, and I thank you for that.”
Keller’s dusky eyes glimmered. “It is one of the better things that I have done in my life.”
She smiled at the first truly warm moment between them. “I am particularly grateful for your keen sense of timing,” she said. “A few seconds later and I might not have been so grateful. Or alive.”
He winked at her and dropped his hands from her face, moving to take her two small hands within his big palms. He kissed them both sweetly, tenderly, as a promise of things to come. Now, it would be different between them. Gryffyn had, if nothing else, accomplished that.
“If you can stand, mayhap we should go and check on your sister,” Keller said. “I am sure you are anxious to see her.”
Chrystobel nodded, glancing at Gryffyn as the man sat up with the Ashby-Kidd twins standing several feet away from him, watching every move the man made.
“I am,” she said, eyeing her brother warily. “What are you going to do with him?”
The warmth in Keller’s eyes faded as he looked over his shoulder at the Welshman, who was holding his broken wrist awkwardly against his torso. His expression suggested anger, defeat, and defiance. Even with the broken wrist, Keller could still see fight in the man. After a moment, he returned his gaze to Chrystobel.
“Lock him in the vault,” he said. “The man has much to atone for so I hope you will trust me to make the appropriate judgment.”
“Of course, my lord.”
His gaze lingered on her a moment, thoughts turning from Gryffyn back to her. He liked thinking of her much better. “You will call me Keller,” he said quietly. “Or husband. I will answer to whatever you choose to call me.”
A beautiful smile spread across her face. She had a delightful grin with straight, white teeth and slightly prominent canines. “I would be honored to call you Keller,” she said sincerely.
He was just about to release her hands but thought better of it as she spoke. The glimmer returned to his eyes.
“I like hearing you say my name,” he said honestly.
Her smile broadened even more, if such a thing was possible. “Then I shall say it again,” she whispered. “Keller.”
He kissed her hand again, smiling when she giggled. In the midst of this hellish situation, it was a tender moment that saw something of a relationship between them take hold. A spark had ignited, and Keller was again thinking on kissing her lips, privacy be damned, when he heard scuffling behind him. Before he could turn around, something violent and painful rammed into the right side of his torso.
He pitched forward as Chrystobel screamed, struggling to keep him from falling even as he collapsed onto his bum. Horrified, they could both see the dagger jutting from his right side, about a foot below his armpit. And there was a hand on it.
Gryffyn stood behind Keller, his good hand on the hilt of the dirk as he crammed it into the man’s flesh. Ripping it from Keller’s body, he pushed the man aside and aimed for his sister with the blade held high, but Chrystobel threw herself sideways, out of his line of fire, and Gryffyn’s blade came down on the wall behind her.
Screaming, Chrystobel was barely out of the way when the Ashby-Kidd twins pounced on Gryffyn. It was a bad fight from the onset, with fists flying, feet kicking and Keller somewhere underneath it all. The knife that had gored Keller fell to the floor in the process and Gryffyn began to howl as his broken wrist was further injured.
Chrystobel, meanwhile, had lurched to her feet, trying to keep free of the fighting men as she skirted the battle, attempting to find Keller in the chaos. It was difficult because all four of them were rolling about, throwing punches and grunting, and she could see a thin trail of blood on the stone that must have been from Keller. Horrified, she attempted to stay clear of the fight.
“Keller?” she cried. “God’s Bones,
Keller!
”
He didn’t answer but she could see that he had Gryffyn by his good arm, twisting it. It was as much as he could do given the position he found himself in, laying on his chest with three other men on top of him. George had Gryffyn around the neck while Aimery was fighting off the effect of a kick straight to the face. As Aimery fell back, hand to a bloodied nose, Gryffyn reared his head back and head-butted George. As George staggered, Gryffyn rolled off of Keller and scrambled to his feet, falling to his knees before scrambling up again.
It looked like a panicked flight of a man who knew his life expectancy was only counted in minutes now. Deep down, Gryffyn was a coward. He knew he was out-manned and the eventual outcome would not be in his favor. He had to get away from the knights who were intent on killing him. He ran straight to the hearth and shoved open the servant door, bolting through it as George, followed by a bleeding Aimery, went in pursuit. Chrystobel could hear the scuffling and shouting as they ran off.
With the fight having moved on without him, Keller was struggling to push himself up off the floor as Chrystobel raced to his side, trying to steady the man. Horrified, she could see deep red blood staining the right side of his tunic and leaking onto his mail.
“Keller,” she gasped. “Stay down. Let me look at your injury.”
He shook his head as he attempted to get to his feet. “Later,” he grunted. “I must go after your brother.”
Chrystobel had her hand on his shoulders, trying to keep him from rising. “You are in no condition to go after him,” she said, sounding as if she were scolding. “Your knights are in pursuit. He will not get away.”
Keller was on his knees, looking up at her and realizing she was more than likely correct. He trusted George and Aimery to subdue Gryffyn. More than that, he didn’t feel particularly well. If he were to go after Gryffyn, he would only be a hindrance. Frustrated, he sighed heavily.
“Then I should find Wellesbourne at the very least,” he said. “He must know what has happened.”
“We will find him in a moment,” Chrystobel insisted. “You must let me tend your wound.”
Keller didn’t seem particularly concerned about it. “It is not too severe,” he said, although his lips were pale with shock. “I would wager that a few stitches should take care of it.”
He was trying to stand up and no amount of pushing could force him to remain down, so Chrystobel got him by the arm and pulled him over to the bench next to the feasting table. He sat heavily as she pulled away layers of clothing and mail to get to the puncture wound. Keller tried to hold her off but she wouldn’t be dissuaded. Eventually, he gave up trying and sat there as she finally revealed the wound. He heard her sigh heavily at the sight.
“It does not seem to be bleeding too heavily,” she said, concern in her tone, “but I need to sew it up right away. Can you make it up to my chamber?”
Keller nodded, suddenly feeling very weary. He hadn’t slept in almost two days and his fatigue, now compounded by the injury, was catching up to him. So he stood up as Chrystobel positioned herself next to him, slinging his big left arm over her slender shoulders. She was very determined to assist him and he was touched by her resolve. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had showed him such concern.
“I must find Wellesbourne,” he repeated as they slowly moved for the hall entry. “He must know what has happened.”
“Then we will send one of your men for him,” Chrystobel replied steadily. “You’ll not go on the hunt for him.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not even a little.”
He fought off a grin at her firm tone but didn’t argue with her. He rather liked a woman who wasn’t afraid to deny him, so he kept his mouth shut as they moved out into the bright bailey beyond. As they walked across the mud, carefully, heading for the keep, they could hear shouting off to the right where the kitchen yard was located. Soldiers were breaking their posts and running in the direction of the yard. Keller watched them run, wondering what was so vital that had them breaking posts. But as he watched his men, a thought occurred to him.
“That passageway that is next to the hearth,” he ventured. “Where does it lead?”
Chrystobel was watching the ground where they walked, careful to keep them both out of the slippery mud. “It is used by the servants,” she said. “It leads to the kitchen yard. Gryffyn must have been hiding in it.”
He looked at her lowered head. “And you did not think to tell me that there was such a passage where he may hide?”
She felt rather guilty. “It is such a common passage,” she said truthfully. “It never crossed my mind. The passage is used constantly so I never imagined he would hide there, but he did, and when I entered the hall to wait for you, he was waiting. He killed the soldier that was my escort and then tried to kill me also.”
Keller sighed. Frankly, he didn’t want to think what could have happened had he been a few seconds later into the hall, so he pushed those thoughts aside as he turned once more towards the commotion in the distance.
“So your brother and my knights ran through the passage and ended up in the kitchen yard,” he said. “That must be what all of the chaos is about. Mayhap they have your brother cornered.”
“Mayhap.”
The more they walked to the keep, the better the angle towards the kitchen yard. Keller could eventually see the wall that surrounded the yard and the open gate that led into the area, but not much more. Men were shouting and someone was bringing horses from the stable, which soldiers quickly mounted. They tore off through the gate and on into the kitchen yard.
“Where are my men going with horses?” Keller wondered aloud.
Chrystobel kept her focus on the ground. “There is a postern gate there that leads to the slopes beyond,” she said quietly. “Mayhap my brother slipped through it and they are going in pursuit.”
Keller turned to look at her, recalling a mention of a postern gate from their first acquaintance. “The same postern gate you used yesterday when you were chasing the injured rabbit?”
“Aye.”
Keller grunted, visibly unhappy. “That gate should have been locked and guarded,” he grumbled. “Someone will have to reckon for this mistake if, in fact, your brother was able to escape.”
Chrystobel didn’t say any more, fearful that he might become angry with her somehow. She continued to help him across the bailey, dodging the puddles and kicking away the dogs. As they neared the keep William emerged, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Chrystobel helping an obviously injured Keller. He rushed forward to assist.
“What happened?” William demanded.
Keller ended up leaning on the man heavily. He had been keeping his weight off of Chrystobel so he wouldn’t topple her over but found he could no longer suffer the strain. He gripped William as the man struggled to steady him.