Authors: Karolyn Cairns
“Relax,
Lunley, I made it my business to find out what your true motivation was in
coming along with me,” Strathmore said with a cold smile. “I agreed to help you
because it pleases our king.”
“You
agreed because you know she was de Mortaine’s whore,” Robert snapped and saw
the older man stiffen.
“Yes,
I admit to a certain bit of pleasure knowing her capture and inevitable
execution will pain de Mortaine.”
“What
of her husband? He will hardly allow us to just take her?”
“What
are his dozen knights against a force of thirty of the king’s guard, Lunley?
Trust me, de Warren will know he is beaten.”
“I
want my sister taken back to London and burned before all,” Robert said
harshly. “Only then will I sleep at night.”
Strathmore
chuckled. “I should thank the girl. My wife’s servants recalled Blythe speaking
to a certain redhead before she disappeared. She has done nothing but help me
in this.”
“Why
do you seek to provoke de Mortaine by forcing his sister to wed you?”
“Let
us just say he holds something that is mine,” Strathmore said harshly. “Sir
Rohan threw the match to have the girl and ruined all my plans.”
“May
I ask why you seek Rivenhahl, my lord? Strathmore is a far richer estate.”
“It’s
not the land I want,” he said and shrugged, refusing to share what that might
be.
Robert
had his own plans and could care less what Strathmore meant to do. Madeline and
her husband would go back to London in chains. The man was being charged with
treason for refusing to hand over his wife. His death warrant was signed by the
king before they left. The baron and baroness of Rothford were fugitives now.
“Let
us hope we both get what we come here for, my lord,” Robert said and eyed the
earl smugly. “I’ve left nothing to chance them getting away. Lady de Mortaine
will hardly appreciate her home being overrun by English guards. You risk
alienating the girl before you marry her, Strathmore.”
“The
wedding takes place when we get there. I’ll not risk our sovereign changing his
mind. The girl will be my wife when we leave.”
“Lord
Rivenhahl will not appreciate you forcing the issue with his sister, my lord,”
Robert commented.
“He
can do nothing! The girl is mine! He risks the king’s wrath himself if he
interferes,” Strathmore said with a scowl. “I mean to have Rivenhahl. His
sister is merely a means to get what I want.”
“What
will you do if de Mortaine arrives and objects?” Robert asked with an uneasy
expression in his eyes.
“I
have thirty men to watch after your backside, Lunley. Do not fear.”
Robert
longed to strike the older man for his insult that he was a coward. He thought
of how he’d beaten his sister Mary when he discovered she spoke on Madeline’s
behalf with the king. He also recalled none of the men at the palace saw a
monster the day she arrived there. Her curse was lifted, while he and Sybilla still
suffered theirs.
He
refused to believe a mere apology would end the curse that afflicted him for a
decade. No, only the fires of purgatory would do that. He would not apologize
to her for his mother doing what needed to be done, or that he was sorry for
it.
“I
was not as worried for myself as I was for you, my lord. You are the one who
gives insult to de Mortaine’s sister, not I.”
Strathmore
chuckled and dug his heels into his mounts sides. “I am hoping to outrage the
man, Lunley.”
Robert
watched the Earl spur his mount forward to catch up to the leader of the king’s
guard. His eyes narrowed to see the pair conversing quietly. He didn’t trust
Strathmore. Something told him to question the man’s true intentions. His wife
was barely missing two months months and he hastily wed de Mortaine’s sister.
He was far too determined to get his hands on Rivenhahl for Robert to not
wonder at it. He kept such thoughts to himself, but he had a nose for money.
Strathmore saw something in it for himself, that much was clear.
It
was common knowledge de Mortaine was penniless but for his estate and the small
purse he won in the tournament. His wife came to him with a pittance of a
dowry. Whatever the man was after, Robert vowed to learn what it was.
****
Rohan
glared at the steward with annoyance as the man stuttered to get through the
introductions. He finally strode past the man and ushered Madeline into the
hall. She sat near the large hearth warming her hands as Rohan and his men
secured the keep. She saw the lady descend the stairs and would have known her
anywhere.
She
was quite lovely and had Gavin’s coloring, raven hair with bright, glittering
green eyes. She looked infuriated to see her home invaded. Twin spots of color
suffused her ivory cheeks as she swept forward, her demeanor hardly welcoming.
“Lord
Rothford, I was informed by my brother you would give us adequate time to
vacate the premises,” Lady Vivienne de Mortaine said as she approached Rohan,
her eyes glimmering with outrage. “I had no knowledge of your arrival to
prepare, my lord.”
“I
will not be here long, Lady de Mortaine,” Rohan said with a grin. “You need not
hurry out the door. I hardly care how long you stay.”
Vivienne
eyed the tall, handsome blond baron suspiciously. “My brother sends word Lord
Strathmore is on his way. Did you perchance see the man on the road?”
“Had
I seen him, you need not worry about your upcoming marriage, dear lady,” Rohan
said in amusement and all his men chuckled uproariously.
Lady
Vivienne appeared to relax at his words. “Why are you here, my lord?”
“Merely
a stopover, my lady,” Rohan assured her. “You need not pay us any mind. My wife
Madeline is warming herself by the fire. Any kindness you would show her is all
I would ask.”
Vivienne
smiled, obviously charmed by the new owner of her former home. She left them to
see about food and refreshments, had rooms prepared for them, and made
accommodations for his knights. When she returned, she approached the petite
redheaded woman by the fire.
“Lady
Rothford, I’ve had rooms readied for you,” she said softly, eyes noting the
lady’s pale features. “A hot bath will be brought up as well.”
“You
are very kind, my thanks. You are Gavin’s sister?” Madeline asked and smiled.
“You look like him, forgive me for stating the obvious.”
The
girl smiled widely. “My older brother and I take after our father, my lady.
Some would say in all things. How is it you are acquainted with Gavin?”
Madeline
decided to say as little as possible. “We met during the tournament.”
Vivienne’s
eyes lit up. “We are all so proud of him, my lady. I wish I could have attended
to see him too victory.”
“It
was wondrous to see, truly, you’ve cause for pride,” Madeline said, eyes
shining at the memory of the joust. “Tis’ how I was won by my husband, though
him being the one to fall from his horse wouldn’t see it as such.”
Lady
Vivienne stole a glance at the towering blond man and giggled in obvious
amusement. “My brother had night terrors for months to face Sir Rohan in the
field. It is good to see the stories of him were exaggerated.”
Madeline
made small talk with Gavin’s sister for a time and could see why Alastair
adored her. She was a female version of Gavin. Her straightforward manner was
refreshing after all the whining, manipulative ladies at court.
Rohan
came forward and frowned down at her. “You must rest, my love. You look like
you’ve taken a chill.”
She
smiled at his solicitous manner, seeing the speculative looks from Lady
Vivienne. “I was just about to go up, my lord. You might take your rest as
well.”
Rohan
grinned at the subtle invitation. “You are right, I’m suddenly feeling the need
for a nap, wife.”
Vivienne
smiled as she looked back and forth between the pair. “Margery will show you to
your chamber. It’s the best we have in this drafty rock. I have to see to the
evening meal preparations.”
Gavin’s
sister took her leave and Rohan helped his wife up from her chair, smiling down
at her as the servant approached. They followed the woman up the winding stone
stairs.
“Do
you see a bath in my future as well, fair witch?” he whispered at her ear,
making her shiver with anticipation.
“I
see a bath in your future and far more, my lord,” she allowed with a soft smile
and glowing eyes. “I see an evening of unsurpassed pleasures and comfort. We
both know how dearly you love those comforts, my love.”
“Curse
me with the longest night of my days, fair witch,” he breathed, drawing
scandalized gasp from the maid, who looked over her shoulder and hurried her
steps.
****
The
meal was merry and the knights made free with casks of ale brought along.
Burroughs sat with Madeline. She chuckled to see Gerwin fighting off several
tomcats that dared approach Lady Blythe as she lay sprawled in front of the
hearth.
“Sir
Kildare and Sir Markham will arrive soon with passage,” the young man said
softly as he looked at his lord’s lady under his lashes. “We go ahead of you to
make certain no trap waits. You and Lord Rohan will follow a day later. He
thinks it would be better for us to separate and meet at the ship. I bid you
Godspeed, my lady, and hope to see you on that ship by week end.”
“We
will be there, Burroughs,” she reassured him and looked at her husband and the
men who made merry their last nights in Scotland sadly. “Rohan takes no chances.
He even had the groom put a darkening agent on Goldwyn’s coat so none would
recognize the horse in Edinburgh.”
“There
will be trouble then,” Burroughs said and looked grim. “I feared as much.”
“My
brother will take no chance I will escape the fires of his wrath.”
“The
foul man deserves to be cast into the fire himself for his own wickedness,”
Burroughs said with a scowl.
Madeline
stared into the flames and her eyes grew tense, thinking of Robert and his
malignant hatred of her. He would not stop until she was dead. She knew it
before her arrest in Valmont. The man seen in the village was one who followed
them for years, easily recognized over time.
The
day before her arrest she’d spied the man asking questions in the baker’s shop.
He was trying to blend in with the villagers, wearing an old wool tunic tossed
over clothing far too fine to hide, and boots newly shined. She ducked down and
saw the Widow Perkins give the man every bit of information she knew of Minerva
and her granddaughter. Madeline’s eyes narrowed to think she might have cursed
the woman’s bread that one particular day.
Her
intuition told her more than her death was sought. Minerva always questioned it
as well. It was only after her grandmother took her from Lunley the man started
to come after them. At first he was content to watch, making Minerva nervous
enough to move in the night.
It
wasn’t until the last year the man grew bolder, actually trying to follow her
discreetly, make note of her movements. When they left Strathmore, they thought
they lost the man, but he appeared in Valmont not long after Minerva’s death.
She
saw his face in the crowd the day Father Belsay meant to commence with her
sentence. He was far younger than she had thought him, with thinning brown hair
and expressionless eyes. The man seemed to be waiting for what was to come, no
sign of what his intent on his face. He seemed impatient, she recalled. Then
Gavin and his men arrived. She quite forgot the man after that.
Had
he followed them to the coronation grounds? Was he there, dogging her every
step? She shivered, wondering what he wanted with her. Did he work for her half
brother? If he meant to kill her, he had more than enough opportunities these
last ten years.
“Pity
those like him, Burroughs,” she said with a sigh as she tore her gaze from the
flames. “My brother has little love in his heart for anyone.”
'Tis now the very
witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn
and hell itself breathes out,
Contagion to this
world.
~William Shakespeare
Gavin
and his men followed Strathmore and the king’s guards. They stayed far enough
behind to not draw notice, keeping the large party within their sights.
Alastair
stole up next to him, gazing down into the misty valley with a worried look.
“We are once again outnumbered, my lord,” he said pleasantly. “I do hope Rohan
covers us sufficiently at his end.”
“Don’t
count on the man’s good will, Alastair. You forget what we’ve been sent here
for in your eagerness to see my sister,” he said with a grim look. “Rohan will
be no happier to see us than Strathmore and Lord Lunley.”
Alastair
saw the wooden cage on wheels they pulled behind a wagon. He grimaced to think
of them getting their hands upon Madeline and dragging her back in such a cage,
tormented by all those they passed upon the road.