by Justine Dee
Chapter Four
“My god.” Logan was just gobsmacked to see Adrian and Lance standing in the doorway of his study.
“I was your liege not your god,” Adrian laughed. His laughter was full and hearty. He moved across the room and Logan moved one arm from around Gwyn but did not let her go. They grasped wrists rather than shaking hands. Logan didn’t even think about it, he just did it.
“Brother.” Adrian’s voice rumbled powerfully.
“Brother.” Logan replied in greeting, his own voice a lower timbre. Lance had not yet taken his eyes from Gwyn but moved to follow Adrian and grasped arms with Logan, repeating the greeting.
“These are the two we’ve spoken of?” Logan said, tilting Gwyn’s head up to look at him as the two men sat down.
She nodded in reply, her eyes darting to them and away again.
“Then that would make you...” He looked to Adrian who nodded. “I never put the stories together. I was an idiot. You were the girl that they fell out over in college.” Logan looked back down at Gwyn; he was feeling a bit conflicted. He had been there and ragged on the girl with Adrian as they drank. He had been friends with them both, Adrian first and that was why he had been there for Adrian, and Lance had pushed them all away anyway. But now years later he had become friends with Gwyn. Not even two nights before he had gone on his trip to the forest, he had sat with her as she had railed against men, spilling good whisky as she did so and he had sided with her. He had never put the names together with the two men he had known in college, it had never occurred to him.
Logan was surprised that he did not feel uncomfortable that he was holding Gwyn right now, there was no embarrassment or worry that his old friends would see more than it was. He simply knew they would know that he gave her comfort if they knew what she had just seen.
Gwyn could not believe that Adrian was smiling at her, that he was jovial. The last time she had seen him, well he had not been happy and she had been left bleeding and crying on the pavement where he had thrown her down and cursed her to never seen him again.
It seemed he was not all powerful for here he was right in plain sight.
It was Lance that was tearing her more apart to see. She had pushed him away and he had gone. He had not tried to fight for her at all; he just walked away and never looked back. Yet here he was. She did not know how to take it.
Myrddin knelt down beside her and took her hand.
“We are all here and if you would tell us the tale, we will listen and promise that none shall judge you for anything that might have happened. We would not have then, though I know I poorly misjudged you for it and that alone pushed us apart in that lifetime. But I am here for you now as I should have been more in other times.”
Gwyn sniffled and nodded.
“I was riding and I was thrown from my horse. I do not know how it happened. One moment I was riding and the next, it was if something pushed me backwards and unseated me from my mare. I landed hard, painfully, and my guard was quickly off his horse to tend to me. My guard...” Her eyes moved to Logan. “It was you. You were riding with me because...” She turned to the other two. “You were busy, meeting with Myrddin.”
They all nodded and waited for her to continue.
“Melwas was there only moments later saying he had seen the whole thing. He bid Gwaine to return and bring aid for it was too dangerous to risk moving me without a healer. But as soon as Gwaine was beyond hearing, he did move me. He carried me until we came to a river and a boat was waiting. A barge like thing and he placed me in it and we moved downstream to the lake and from there to the island. I was so scared and did not know what to do. He was one of my Lord’s lesser nobles and I was surely meant to be safe with him but I did not like the way he looked at me or the way his hand would be so casual in how and where he would touch me. I was scared beyond any fear I had known before that day. The day passed with nothing of interest to tell, but as night fell he came to me with a nightgown, it was a fabric so sheer, it was see through and like nothing I had seen before let alone worn. He said it was a spoil of war from faraway lands and he would be honoured if I would wear it for him. I refused, I knew he would be able to see my body through it and I would not let any but my lord see me in a state of undress.
Melwas grew mad and he slapped me so hard the sting brought tears to my eyes. He told me that if I did not put it on he would tell the King I had thrown myself at him. I did not want that so I did as he bid. But in a moment of defiance I kept my cloak on and pulled it around myself. I returned to my seat and kept the cloak around me. He started to tell me stories, stories of things he had done to women, forced women to do to him and I tried not to listen. I had only lain with my King and only three times since our wedding night. Melwas kept talking and came to kneel before me. He pulled the cloak and exposed my legs in the short gown. He touched them and I moved away so he hit me again. He told me he would tell the King I drugged his wine and seduced him, that I had confessed to having had many men before and worse he said he would tell the King that I had been with Bedievere most every night since he had become my escort from my home. That alone scared me more because I feared it would be believed since I had feelings for my knight that I had not acted on; yet it still felt like a betrayal.”
Gwyn fell silent; it was from here that the story became more difficult. Tears began to well up in her eyes again.
“I did not give in to him. I did not give myself willingly to him.” She whispered the words not noticing that Lance and Adrian had both moved to the floor and moved closer to her, their own eyes shining with unshed tears.
All in the room knew what she was saying without her saying it but they had waited lifetimes for it to fall from her lips.
“For two days he kept me there. For two days and nights he raped me whenever the mood took him.” She collapsed into great gasping tears as the horror of the memory flooded her mind. She tried to crawl out of Logan’s grasp feeling dirty, used, not wanting to let another touch her, thinking that she was too disgusting to be touched. But he held her tight and rocked her even as a low growl issued from his throat.
“He is dead.” Logan stated in a low hiss.
“Long dead.” Myrddin replied.
“No, in this life, he is dead. He shall die for what he has done.” Logan needed to stand, had to stand as he was wound too tight to sit still. He looked around to see if someone would take Gwyn from him and Lance moved in behind him transferring her to his lap. She stiffened but Lance did not let her go and held her tenderly, silent tears falling.
“You know him?” Adrian stood as Logan did.
As Logan paced, Adrian stood at Lance’s right shoulder grasping it with his hand linking the three together. Adrian did not touch Gwyn directly, he feared it was too soon after his last touch for which he had not yet had time to make amends.
“You remember Izzy?” Logan asked and Adrian nodded. “And you remember the guy Scott I told you about?”
“Yeah I know Scott well. You told me he was your Dad’s mate right, who cheated on his wife and used Izzy for sex right?”
“Scott was Melwas.”
Now Adrian growled. He was working for the man. He hated him, loathed him, but he was where he needed to be, where he had been put. He worked closely with the man to the point where Adrian knew where he would be at virtually any given moment.
“No.”
Logan turned at the quiet feminine voice. He could not see Gwyn’s face but he stopped and looked at her anyway.
“You will not murder for something done so long ago.”
“But Gwyn, he has to pay. For you, for Izzy, for all that he has done.”
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t pay. I said you would not murder him.”
Words that Roen had said the night after Izzy had killed their father sprung to Logan’s mind at Gwyn’s restriction. Roen had said he would take everything from Scott, destroy him as he had almost destroyed Izzy and leave him with nothing. Roen would want to be i
nvolved. Logan was not sure about Izzy but perhaps she would have a part to play. Instantly he knew she would and a plan began to knit together in his head.
“Who will stand with me against Scott and help deliver justice to him?”
All in the room replied affirmative, except Gwyn. Logan knelt on the ground beside her.
“We will not do this without your blessing, Gwyn. I will not do something you do not want me to.”
“Do not act yet, give me time. I am too raw from this to make any decisions. Make your plans but give me time.”
“Agreed, my lady.” Logan reached around Lance and found her hand squeezing it.