Justice of the Root

by Abby Gordon

  By then they were walking around and in front of the main doors. Several maids were going in and they simply joined at the end as if it were normal.

  “Get a cloth and bucket,” Alicia instructed. “Count paces from door to main stairs, both ways along second floor. She’s probably in the rear tower so we need at least two ways to get there and back out.”

  “What about you?” Rose murmured.

  “I’ll find out more about these Richland brothers,” Alicia told her. “Meet back here in two hours.”

  “Then we leave? As Sir Owain said?”

  “We’ll see what we’ve learned and decide from there,” replied Alicia.

  Pushing down the sudden flare of concern, Rose only nodded and picked up a bucket that had been left near a table. Edging back to the main door she headed straight for the main stairs while Alicia went along the wall to the right.

  As Alicia had surmised, no one noticed a quiet maid with a cloth and bucket scrubbing diligently when they passed her. Counting paces to the right from the top of the staircase, Rose knew where the bedchambers were for the brothers and their half-sister, which was tucked farthest away and was the smallest, although there were three larger rooms between hers and the youngest brother. Retracing her path, she worked her way to the left, and found the corridor that lead to the rear tower.

  Keeping her head down, she made her way up to the third floor, then scurried back all the way down when she heard the brothers talking. How could I forget those voices from court? Oh, I wish Daffyd was with me. And immediately chided herself for thinking that. No matter how he’s acted, a knight cannot take a maid to wife. He’d lose all rank and position. His family wouldn’t want to acknowledge him. Yet the thought of his arms around her that one time after Ralph had attacked her and the expression on his face before she and Alicia had left to enter Jonal Park warmed her heart and her mind tended to fantasize about things she had no right to hope for.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she paused as the brothers continued to the second-floor corridor. Hoping the door before her lead outside, she cautiously pushed at it a little. Smiling when she saw the gate beyond the side yard. Orienting herself, Rose realized she was behind the farthest end of the stables, near the rear of the manor. Three men glanced at her.

  “’Ere now,” one yelled at her, getting up from his stool. “You’re not supposed to be back here. G’way.”

  “Sorry, sor,” she gasped, dropping him a quick curtsey. “Just checkin’ if anything was needed.”

  “No,” a second replied shortly. “We’ll be leaving soon and have all we need.”

  Puzzled, but eager to get away before they asked who she was, Rose stepped back into the tower and closed the door, getting a good fix on the position of the gate in her mind.

  Still carrying her empty bucket, she carefully made her way back to the front and found Alicia in the back hall near the stairs.

  “I found a way to the rear tower,” she whispered, putting the bucket and cloth down. “There’s a postern gate and a little yard.”

  “Perfect,” Alicia smiled, pressing something into her hands. “Hide this in your skirt. Get it to Sir Owain. Tell him it must be taken to Walsingham immediately. No delay.”

  “What—”

  Alicia pulled the corner of the linen back and Rose stared at the brand of the cross with the circle of thorns. Son of Scion!

  “Alicia,” she breathed.

  “Sh, little sister,” the woman soothed. “The men have already started drinking. Tell Sir Owain to attack at midnight. Most of them will be too drunk to know what’s happening.”

  “Me? Aren’t you coming as well? He said to only be here two hours.”

  “I’m going to see what these Sons of Scion are up to,” Alicia shook her head. “There are too many men here for a place this size.”

  “I thought the same,” agreed Rose. “I’ve counted nearly two hundred.”

  “There’s foul work going on here,” muttered Alicia, then nodded at the journal. “Take that. And,” she hesitated. “Tell Sir Owain the attack must be swift and overpowering. The Richlands were saying that at the first sign of soldiers they will each rape Anna and throw her from the tower.”

  Gasping, Rose cried out. Alicia put a hand over her mouth. Nodding, blinking back the tears, Rose clenched her jaw to keep silent. Alicia removed her hand.

  “Come with me, Alicia,” Rose begged. “Please.”

  “I’ll create diversions inside when the attack begins,” Alicia shook her head. “Stay ready, little Rose. And don’t look back.”

  Nodding, Rose headed for the door with other maids. Despite the command, she glanced over her shoulder as she stepped out. The woman was slipping away down the corridor. The rain had started again. Pulling up her hood, Rose left the manor with three other maids who glanced at her then ignored her. With the rain, it was easy to slip away from them, hurrying to the trees beyond the rise.

  “Rose,” a hushed voice came from the brush. “It’s George.”

  “George,” she nearly sobbed. “Take me to Daffyd.”

  Daffyd was already on his way and met them a moment later.

  “Where’s Alicia?” he asked, coming to her and drawing her further along the line of men.

  “She stayed inside, I have something for Sir Owain.”

  “This way.”

  The Welsh and George acted swiftly and decisively. Rose felt relief when John left on the big black to take the coded journal back to London. After making several sketches of what she’d seen, Owain had decided that while the men waited, a small group would go through the postern gate she’d found. He’d argued but, as Alicia had observed during the search, was realizing that women of the Rose, even if he didn’t know that Rose was, were stubborn determined creatures. Daffyd guided her to where he’d found some shelter from the rain.

  Ignoring the amused glances of the men around them, he wrapped her in his cloak and then held her as she slept.

  “This isn’t proper,” Rose told him, keeping her voice low so others couldn’t hear.

  “I don’t care what is proper at court,” he told her. “We’ll go to Wales. No one will care what you did. Actually, they’ll be too awed at what you’re doing now to be concerned about anything else.”

  “Daffyd,” she moaned softly as his fingers brushed her cheek.

  “You’re mine, Rose,” he stated as Owain, Griffin and George approached. “You have to get used to that.”

  “Ready?” Owain asked, amused eyes going from one to the other.

  “Ready,” Rose nodded. “At least the rain has eased a bit.”

  “Aye, we’ll slosh around in the mud a bit,” George grinned. “But so will they.”

  Smiling, Rose started off to the left of the manor. Recognizing the guard near the gate, she pulled back and whispered to the men. Griffin slipped around and she started forward to provide a distraction. The next thing she knew, Daffyd was striding towards her, calling out like the jealous lover she’d been pretending about.

  Nearly too fast for her to see, he drew his sword and sliced the man open in the maneuver she’d done to Ralph with her small knife. Never touch a Welshman’s woman. I like the sound of that! Then he pulled her to him and kissed her hard.

  The other three grinned, then Owain focused on the gate. Turning her mind to the only thing that mattered, Rose went to the gate. Owain pulled it open and she drew her pistol and blade. Halfway across the yard she heard the attack start. Picking up her skirts, she ran for the door.

  “She’s at the top?” Owain asked.

  “I think so,” Rose whispered. “I wasn’t able to get up there.”

  “Got to be,” he muttered.

  Following him, they could hear the shouts and gunfire as those in the manor fought back. Rose didn’t see any other chambers as they followed Owain’s speedy steps. Just as Rose heard Anna’s voice, four guards charged up from the floor below. As Daffyd and Griffin drew their swords, George pulled Rose behind
them. Aiming at the fifth, Rose fired as the men took care of the other four. Rushing into the room, Rose paused at the sight of her lady in Sir Owain’s arms. Hearing what Anna has gone through, shaken at the blood on the wall, Rose didn’t hesitate to go help the woman who kept her alive. Griffin and Daffyd rushed after her.

  “All the way around this corridor?” Griffin asked as they passed the main staircase.

  “Aye,” Rose nodded, putting her pistol back in her pocket. “Past all the others.”

  “Stay here and don’t let any past you,” he told them.

  “Hurry,” Daffyd yelled after him.

  Sounds of shouting, swords clashing and then gunfire woke her. Startled, Mary opened her eyes and saw a shadow looming over her. Sitting up with a scream, she found Henry climbing onto the bed.

  “Henry, what –”

  “They want the Spanish bitch first so I’m going to have you.”

  Her paralyzed mind barely comprehended the words as he reached out and grabbed the silk neck of her bodice. He ripped it down the front. The action jolted her into speech.

  “Henry, no! Go away! I’m your sister!”

  The words that came from him shocked her nearly as much as his actions. For his hands grabbed for her body, groping and pinching her budding breasts, reaching between her legs. Desperately, she tried to fight him off as he pinned her to the mattress. Catching both her wrists in one hand, he worked on the ties to his codpiece.

  “No! Help me. Someone, please help me,” she screamed.

  Henry’s body was suddenly pulled off her and even as Mary sat up, a man shoved her brother toward the hearth. Henry grabbed his sword from the nearby table as his cock flopped freely.

  “Brave guard to attack a lady of the manor,” the stranger stated.

  “He’s my brother. Half-brother,” she corrected, voice sounding hollow to her own ears.

  A red-haired man and a brown-haired woman appeared in the door.

  “God’s Blood but you Richlands are more perverted than I thought. Defend yourself, knave!”

  “Griffin, what goes on here?” the man yelled.

  Swords clashed as the men fought around the room. Mary scrambled from the bed towards her wardrobe and held a recently mended skirt over her body. The man called Griffin stabbed Henry in the left shoulder and smiled.

  “Go. I’ve got him. We’ll be there in a moment.”

  The red-haired man pulled the woman away as the stranger’s sword ran through Henry’s heart. Mary sobbed in relief, but the man was there, shaking her arm.

  “No time for tears. Dress quickly before Jonal Park is burned to the ground.”

  “You came for Lady Anna,” she whispered, trying to cover herself as she reached for the bodice that had been under the skirt. Gasping she whirled towards him as she pulled it on. “We must go to her! Thomas and Richard said they would –”

  “She is safe with my brother,” he told her, grabbing the skirt and helping her jerk it into place about her waist. “Grab a cloak so we can leave. Unless you’d like to stay?”

  Fingers trembling, she managed to secure a few ties to keep the skirt in place. Snatching up her cloak she pulled it about her shoulders and tied it at her throat.

  “What is in there?” he asked as she grabbed a small satchel.

  “Lady Anna insisted someone would come for her,” she replied. “I hoped to convince her rescuers to take me with them. So, I packed a few things.”

  A brief smile gentled the fierce face as he pulled her out of the room. “Anna didn’t want to leave without you. Now hurry.”

  They ran down the hall and started down the main staircase. A man carrying Anna teased Griffin as they caught up with them and the pair who’d been at her doorway. Strangers filled the hall as she looked around. Where are Richard and Thomas if they weren’t going after Anna?

  Suddenly Richard came from the back hallway holding a woman hostage, a blade at her throat.

  “No! Richard, don’t,” Mary screamed.

  The man called Owain put Anna down and the other woman went to her side. Griffin kept Mary where she was. Ever since she’d realized her brothers were traitors, Mary had been expecting retaliation for their actions. She’d never expected a night raid like this. Where is Thomas?

  Both Anna and the brown-haired woman moaned. Glancing at Anna’s face Mary realized that this was a woman who meant everything to her. Shocked at Alicia’s murder and Anna’s fury, Mary didn’t understand the talk of Root and Justice, but the men in the hall had a very different reaction. Their expressions made Mary think that they’d suddenly seen an avenging angel or someone returned from the dead. Either way, from Richard’s reaction before Anna’s blade cut his throat, Anna was much more important than a Queen’s Maid of Honor.

  Clinging to the bannister, she let Griffin guide her to the foot of the stairs. He kept a grip on her upper arm as he talked with his brother.

  “Sir Owain,” the man who had held Richard’s arm. “We found more papers and journals in the office. Dickon’s packing them in a trunk.”

  “Papers?” she whispered. Here is a way I can be free of them. A way to make amends for their treason. “I know where there are more.” Several pairs of eyes arrowed on her face. “I would follow my brothers. They hid things in their bedchambers. There are false bottoms in the drawers and under the mattresses.”

  “Tear the place apart,” Owain ordered in a loud voice before glancing at her. “Where would trunks be to carry things?”

  Eagerly, hoping to save her life, with Griffin never releasing her, Mary went from one room to another, showing the men where she knew or suspected there were papers. She told them where chests were, and a dozen were filled.

  “Walsingham and Danker will be quite happy,” Griffin commented. “Of course, we don’t know all the Sons of Scion’s codes, but having this…” He grinned. “They don’t.”

  The red-haired Daffyd was thumbing through a journal found in Thomas’s office before putting it in the last trunk which George buckled and carried out. “The dates at least aren’t coded. Nor are places.”

  “What is it?” Owain asked, entering with Anna. “Did you find something?”

  “He traveled a bit this spring and summer. Quite a bit,” Daffyd answered, glancing at Mary.

  “He did,” she confirmed with a nod as a shout that everything was in the wagon came from outside. “Mostly to Shrewsbury and north to York and elsewhere. I’ve no idea why. As far as I know there are no Richland properties there. Everything is either here in the Wash or south along the coast.”

  “Was,” Owain corrected darkly. “Traitors hold no property.”

  Fear filled her and she fell silent, wrapping her arms about her as Griffin guided her outside. He mounted and she was lifted to sit before him. Owain ordered the man George to start with the wagons and other men to start the fires. Unable to watch, Mary turned her face against Griffin’s chest. His arms tightened around her as they rode out.

  Hearing the explosions, everyone stopped at the rise and stared in shock as Jonal Park disappeared.

  “The tunnels,” she whispered, suddenly aware of everyone staring at her. “There were tunnels. I never found the entrance. They were planning something, but I couldn’t get close enough to hear. There were stockpiles of ammunition somewhere, but I could never find them.”

  “Planning something?” Daffyd murmured. “Well, so much for those plans.”

  “More justice,” Owain decided. “Let’s leave this foul place.”

  Her home truly destroyed, Mary felt lost and hopeless even as she was held by strong arms.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Holding onto Daffyd, Rose silently wept at Alicia’s death. Justice, Anna had declared. Justice of the Root. Alicia, you would be proud of her. Would you weep at what she did? Or be glad that she avenged you? I think a bit of both for you always knew what she would become. What she would have to do to take her place as Root of York. I saw the faces of the men. They were thrilled at
the idea of a Root’s Justice in England again. What will they do when they find out the truth? What will Daffyd do?

  As if sensing her thoughts, the Welshman’s hand covered hers, squeezing gently.

  Oh, God, how can I feel so much for a man? A man who I think loves me? And it can never be. A knight and a lowly maid marrying? He’d never be able to go to court again. And I couldn’t bear to do that to him. Of course, he’s said nothing of love. Or marriage. He called me his. Before he killed the guard outside the gate, he told him never to touch a Welshman’s woman. Oh, I wish I could be! Oh, Daffyd, the angels are laughing at us now.

  Taking a deep breath, she pressed her face against his broad back, relishing the feel of the strength in his muscles.

  “We’ll stop soon,” he told her. “To give Anna a chance to clean up and eat. Give the men a chance to rest.”

  Men. Rose frowned, remembering the sight of the bodies dragged to the steps of the manor. That wasn’t all of them. Even if some escaped, there should have been much more.

  “Daffyd,” she raised her voice to be heard over the sound of the horses. “The bodies at Jonal Park. That wasn’t all the men. I counted two hundred this afternoon. And the oldest brother wasn’t there. He’s still alive.”

  His head turn and she gazed up at his dark brown eyes. “I’ll tell Owain. We’ll need to be on our guard. They could shadow us and attack before we reach London.”

  Nodding, she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

  When Owain called for a stop an hour later next to a stream, George and several men quickly set up a shelter for Anna, Mary and Rose. Giving his mount to Miles to water, Daffyd went to his cousin as he reviewed the route back to London with Griffin.

  “Owain,” he interrupted them. “Rose says that there were many more men at Jonal Park. She counted two hundred this afternoon and the oldest brother wasn’t there. He could have escaped with them and be following us.”

  Both of his cousins scowled. Owain sighed and nodded. “Fuck, but how—”