Choose the Sky: A Medieval Romance (Swordcross Knights Book 2) (18 page)

He put a hand on her shoulder a moment later. “Mina…”

“Don’t touch me,” she hissed. “Have you not touched me enough already tonight?”

“Nowhere near,” he responded.

Shocked, she turned her head to look at him. “What does that mean? You’re not finished?”

“Finished, yes. Satisfied, no.”

“What’s the difference?”

He slid his hand from her shoulder to her breast. “If you’d let down your guard for one moment, I’d show you.”

His touch was gentle, incredibly so. Mina barely felt his fingers stroke the contour of her breast, lingering along the bottom curve. Once again, it stirred a response she didn’t want to face.

“I’d prefer not to be shown whatever tricks you learned so far.”

“No tricks, Mina,” he said. “I only want to learn what you like.”

“I’d like to be left alone.”

“That’s not what I usually hear.”

Anger and something else—jealousy? Dear God, please no—flared up in her. “Perhaps the women you’ve lain with before knew what you wanted to hear,” Domina said coldly. “Or they had their own reasons for flattering the son of a baron.”

She turned her head away, huddled up to keep herself warm. Luc didn’t try to touch her again, or speak, or persuade her of anything. How was it possible to feel so alone when another person lay so close?

Mina couldn’t wait for sunrise.

Luc rose early. He didn’t
wake Domina, having already learned to be wary of his new wife’s ability to sting with a well-chosen word.

She’d proved it again last night, with her comment about how the women he’d known before had only been flattering him. She might as well have flicked a dagger at him. Luc had enough experience and presence of mind to know her accusation wasn’t true…but the idea that he hadn’t pleased Mina at
all
disturbed him far more than he’d let on.

He wanted to please her. He only had to look at her to want to touch her, and then touch her to want to be with her and in her. He wanted desperately to hear her ask for him that way, or to say she liked what he did.

It was early, he told himself. Mina had no experience, and plenty of prejudice. He’d break down her defenses soon enough, so he could show her she needed no defenses from him.

Luc sighed. It would take more than a few kisses to break Domina’s icy exterior. She was unlike any other woman he’d ever met. She spent years running her castle and hiding her father’s condition from the world—that shaped her whole demeanor. How could she change in a matter of days?

He ought to report everything he’d discovered at Trumwell to the king and his spymaster. The news of Godfrey’s illness put a very different light on the events Drugo told him about. But Luc didn’t want to offer such shocking news without also providing a few more details, and hopefully a few new clues leading to the real conspirator, whoever he was.

But first, there were other things to take care of. As promised, Luc sat down with the steward to learn more of the de Warewic estate. Trumwell Castle and its grounds was the principal holding of the family, but there were several other properties as well, some scattered quite a distance from Trumwell.

Luc made a careful note of all the names, thinking Haldan might have gone to them while employed by the de Warewic family. Perhaps he was at one of these places now, relying on the slow speed of news to ensure his welcome, for they wouldn’t yet know he’d been sacked.

It took a few hours for Ancel to discuss everything with Luc, and by the end, Luc understood just how shaky Domina’s hold on things had been. She apparently had no allies or relations in positions of power. Her father knew many people, but since he was incapacitated, she was unable to make use of any of those connections without also revealing her vulnerability.

Soon after that depressing conversation, a servant found Luc in the solar he’d more or less settled into.

“My lord, the knight Sir Octavian has returned. You asked to be alerted.”

“So I did. Will you tell him to come here as soon as he’s able?”

A quarter hour later, Tav strode into the solar. He’d changed from his riding gear into a clean outfit suitable for company.

“Good to see you,” Tav said, “Sorry I was delayed. What have I missed while I was gone?”

“
Delayed
? Where the hell were you? You were going to ride to the sheriff to make a report and then come back. What business could you possibly have had that’s more important than helping me uncover a conspiracy against the king?”

Tav looked rather taken aback at Luc’s uncharacteristic crankiness. “Well, to be honest, I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“You’re going to have to do slightly better than that, Tav.”

“I encountered, let’s say, an acquaintance who needed some…well, she wasn’t where she was supposed to be…”

“She?” Luc asked, suddenly alert. “Who is this mysterious woman?”

“I promised I wouldn’t speak of it. Let’s just say she’d wandered away from home and I helped return her to where she was supposed to be. But since she’s a lady—or she will be one—it’s probably best that…”

“…that no one knows you were alone with her for a few days?”

“She’s practically a child still, anyway.” Tav sounded defensive. “I swore an oath to protect the innocent. She needed my protection.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Luc said. “It sounds as if she was lucky she ran into you instead of someone else. All right, I won’t ask more about it. But I do wish you’d been here earlier.”

“What’s happened?”

“Domina and I are married.”

Octavian blinked. “Excuse me,” he said in what was likely complete sincerity. “It sounded as if you said you and the lady Domina are married.”

“I did say that. The wedding was two days ago.”

“Ah…
why
?”

So Luc explained. Godfrey de Warewic was not absent; he was ill. Domina hid his condition from the world in order to maintain control of her lands. When Luc saw the tenuousness of her situation, he married her to prevent anyone else from doing so. And then, naturally, he had to reveal to Tav that the king’s spymaster was the one who had arranged for a marriage contract to be drafted, and secretly given to Luc in case he might need it for leverage. But in any case, he chose to marry her to protect her, a decision Octavian should understand, considering he’d also gone out of his way to protect another, unnamed lady.

Octavian listened to the whole explanation without uttering a word. He crossed his arms, his gaze never leaving Luc’s face. Tav’s regard grew uncomfortable—Octavian could read people better than anyone else he knew—but Luc continued on. “And so we married. I didn’t want to wait, in case something should go wrong,” he concluded.

“
That
’s why you didn’t want to wait?” Tav asked, one eyebrow raised.

“What other reason would I have for doing it this way?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps because from the very first night we ran across her in London, you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”

“That’s…” Luc was about to say that wasn’t true, but Tav would call him out if he did. “That may be part of it.”

“You waited till I left before announcing your marriage,” Tav added.

“That was not intentional. I only made the decision after seeing what Haldan attempted to do to her, and then after I saw her father incapacitated. Domina needs protection.”

Tav’s voice dropped to a mutter. “Are you forgetting that you were sent here to find a traitor?”

“Godfrey de Warewic has been out of his mind and confined to a room for over two years. He can’t be the ringleader of any conspiracy.”

“But the lady could,” Tav pointed out. “If what you say is true, she’s had unusual freedom to pursue whatever plans she likes.”

“I…tested…her,” Luc said. “She didn’t take the bait.”

“Perhaps because she knew it was a test. Or because she didn’t need to show her colors. She may well have enough allies in whatever plans she’s already created.”

“I don’t believe she’s involved.”

“Because she’s a lady?”

“Because…” Yes, because she was a true lady, and witty, and utterly bewitching. Had Luc stumbled directly into a trap? “I just can’t believe it.”

“Well, you’d best be able to prove it, then,” Tav said. “Or your bright future at court will turn to ashes before you can blink.”

“Then I need your help more than ever. I want to find Haldan—he was obviously up to something.”

“Is it possible that you think Haldan is guilty simply because you’re angry he touched the woman you married?”

Luc frowned. “That’s not the reason. Granted, I want him to suffer for that offense as well. I shouldn’t have let him get away, but I was worried about Mina at the time.”

“What, then, is the evidence against him?”

“Nothing I would be pleased to hold up in a court,” Luc admitted. “He made some remarks that could be construed as suspicious—Domina will confirm them, for he was speaking to her. She thought he wanted to take the castle for himself. But more than his words, it’s his actions that are suspect. He stalled on carrying out a very simple order from Domina to cut back a fringe of trees that grew too close to the castle. Why would he do that? Even if he was lazy, it’s not as if he needed to cut them down himself! I directed a group of men, and the work was done in a day.”

Tav nodded thoughtfully. “Something could be made of that,” he conceded, “though it’s not much.”

“When I find him, I’ll learn more. He’s guilty of something, and he’s not working alone. He lacks the standing or the wit to be a leader.”

“So we find Haldan, and learn the name of his employer,” Octavian said. “All right. Where do we begin?”

“I have a list of properties belonging to the family. It’s possible he’s at one of them, pretending he’s still in the good graces of Domina.”

“We can ride to each one,” Tav said. “But we can’t send word ahead. That will only drive him off.”

“Precisely.”

They planned to ride to the smaller properties owned by the de Warewic family. All of them were within the shire, or in one case just over the border into another. When asked, Domina suggested the largest outlying manor, though she was of the opinion that Haldan would have fled immediately into Wales.

“It’s the largest of the properties,” she had said, “as well as the furthest from Trumwell. If he wanted to risk it, he’d go there, for it would take the longest to bring news of his disgrace.”

So Luc rode out, Octavian with him. They were accompanied by a few long-standing men-at-arms who could affirm Luc’s status, for the wedding was so recent as to be unknown to the world.

At the first three places, which were small manors not much larger than home farms, no one had seen Haldan in months. Luc introduced himself, explained that Haldan was now a fugitive, and told them to send word to Trumwell if he was found.

Then they rode on. When they reached the larger manor, Luc’s hopes rose. He eyed the sturdy fence around the pale and noted that some men actually looked as if they’d had some martial training.

But Haldan was not there.

“He hasn’t been here since, oh, early autumn,” the steward of the manor explained. “Is something amiss?”

Luc explained the situation. The steward was appalled. “He’ll not cross the threshold again, my lord. I’ll have word sent out so everyone in the area will be alerted. He often acted above his station, and no one will weep to hear of his fate. Called himself Sir Haldan whenever he stayed here, and behaved as if he was a lord.”

“Did he use any room in the house regularly?” Luc asked. “Did he leave anything here?”

“He used the same bedchamber every time.”

“Take me there.”

So the steward led Luc and Octavian to the room. “He only stayed here a few nights each time.”

“But he came here often?”

“It was one of his duties, to see to the defenses of the manor, such as they are. Not that he did much other than to look over the gate and tell the men to keep a keen eye out for trouble.” The man snorted. “His advice was no different from what one could tell a shepherd…and no more useful.”

“Things will change,” Luc promised.

“I was surprised when he first arrived. Not a man I’d have expected Godfrey to have taken on. But it’s not for me to question,” the steward added hurriedly.

Luc said nothing, but the comment made him think. The steward obviously knew nothing of Godfrey’s condition, which was probably for the best. But it also made him wonder who did hire Haldan. He was certain it wasn’t Domina.

Octavian had already begun poking though the items in the bedchamber. There wasn’t much there, for the manor had no permanent lord who would use this space. But Octavian found a wooden box tucked away under a pile of other items. He pulled it out.

“There’s a lock,” he noted.

“Did Haldan use that box?” Luc asked the steward.

“I don’t know, my lord. I can tell you it’s not mine, nor one I have a key for.”

“I have a key that will work,” Luc said with a smile. He ordered for a hatchet to be brought. A few strikes later, the box lid was little more than splinters.