by Aston, Alexa
“How long?” she asked.
“Soon, my lady,” Karys replied. “I wish I could tell you that I could make him more comfortable. Ease his worry. But there is nothing to be done. Have you sent for Father Martin?”
She nodded. “He should be here soon.”
“Then I will let you and Lady Sabelina spend time with Lord Amaury.” The healer’s eyes misted over and she took Faylinn’s hand, pressing it. “I’m sorry, my lady.”
Faylinn returned to her husband’s bedside and took his hand. “Try, Amaury,” she said gently. “You have much to live for. Think of the child.”
Her husband’s grunts quieted and he gave her what almost passed for a smile.
“See? The thought of our child soothes you,” she continued. “You will recover. We will name the babe together. You have longed for a son. Mayhap it will be a boy.”
“What child?” demanded Sabelina.
She looked at her stepdaughter. “I am with child. You will have a brother or sister come late October.”
“After all this time?” Sabelina asked haughtily.
“Yes, it has taken many years but the Christ has blessed us.”
“It won’t be any relation to me,” the girl said stubbornly.
“The babe will be your half-brother or half-sister.”
“That’s not what I mean.” She paused, glaring at Faylinn. “Are you sure this babe is Father’s? Or have you been rutting with one of his knights since you’re with them so often?”
Outrage filled Faylinn. “How dare you!” She tried to push aside her dislike of Amaury’s daughter. “I know you’re upset about your father’s condition or you wouldn’t say such hurtful things.”
“I’ve resented you from the time you walked through the gates of Mallowbourne,” admitted Sabelina, her eyes filled with hate. “You tried to take the place of my mother and never succeeded. You pretend to be nice and good but you’re not. Don’t think you can pass off some bastard as Father’s child. It won’t work, Faylinn.”
Before she could respond to the vile accusation, Father Martin entered the bedchamber. He took one look at the man lying in the bed and sympathy filled his eyes. By now, Amaury was grunting again, trying to be understood, but it only caused him more distress. Not only was Faylinn upset that Sabelina had made such vicious allegations, but she regretted that they had been uttered in front of Amaury—and that as he fought for his life, he might doubt her fidelity to him.
She bent close and whispered in his ear, “I have always been true to you, Amaury. ’Tis your babe in my belly and no other.”
“Lady Faylinn, I believe we should commence with the last rites,” the priest said.
“Do as you must,” she said quietly and retreated a few steps.
She watched as Father Martin performed the last rites, saddened that her husband would never see his child come into the world.
And worried that her stepdaughter might start rumors which could ruin Faylinn.
The priest finished the sacrament and tears slid down Amaury’s cheeks. He continued to struggle to speak. His right side seemed useless and never moved. Only his left arm and hand remained in constant motion. Then he groaned loudly. A soft whimper followed. His eyes grew large and remained that way as the breath rushed from him. Father Martin passed a hand over the baron’s face, closing his eyes for the last time.
“I am sorry, Lady Faylinn, Lady Sabelina, for your loss,” he uttered. “Lord Amaury will be missed by his people.” He paused and added, “I will prepare for the funeral mass tomorrow morning. Shall I summon Resa to help prepare the body?”
Faylinn could only nod, a sudden weariness possessing her. She watched the priest leave.
Sabelina burst into tears. Faylinn moved to comfort her stepdaughter but the young woman threw her arms up to block any contact between them. A string of curses erupted from the girl, shocking Faylinn.
“What will happen to me?” she demanded. “Father hadn’t even sought a new husband for me. No betrothal contracts have been signed. The king will send another man to take the title. I will be without a home.”
“Not necessarily,” Faylinn said, hoping to placate her stepdaughter. “If I give birth to a son, he will be the new Baron of Gaynesford. We will have to wait and see. If that is the case, you will always have a home here, Sabelina. If you like, however, I can work on negotiating a betrothal contract on your behalf.”
More curses flew from Sabelina’s mouth as she fled the room.
*
Though mourners packed the chapel for Amaury’s funeral mass, Faylinn watched the mass unfold feeling totally alone. It reminded her of arriving at Mallowbourne all those years earlier, a young woman who knew no one on the estate. Over the years, she’d come to know everyone, building trust and relationships with many. Still, she’d never experienced such isolation as now.
Father Martin concluded the mass with a prayer and as he passed her, he nodded. She followed him from the chapel and stood just outside its doors as the people of Mallowbourne filed out. She received their condolences with a heavy heart, knowing her future was up in the air and would be for months, until the birth of her babe.
The last to approach her was Sir Drake Harcourt. The knight bowed to her and she saw genuine sorrow in his eyes.
“I am sorry for your loss, my lady. My own father and mother passed away within a day of each other three years ago and I still carry that burden with me. I wish I could offer you comfort. The pain never goes away but it does lessen with time.”
“Thank you, Sir Drake. My husband was impressed with your fighting skills and called you the greatest knight at Mallowbourne. I wanted to pass along that compliment since I don’t know if he ever spoke to you about his admiration for you.”
The knight smiled graciously. “Thank you, my lady. Though I only knew Lord Amaury a short while compared to others, I appreciate knowing how highly he thought of me.”
Faylinn returned to the keep and chose to break her fast in the privacy of the solar. Once she did, she wrote to the king, informing him of the death of the Baron of Gaynesford and sharing that she was with child, asking for a brief reprieve before the title and estate might be awarded to another. She also mentioned that Sabelina needed a husband since her betrothed had passed away and asked King Edward to choose a man to match with her stepdaughter.
She went to the study and sealed the parchment, pressing Amaury’s signet ring into the warm wax. Though it might lead to heartache, Faylinn pinned all her hopes on giving birth to a boy who would become the new baron at birth. She would write Ashby today, as well, and send both missives with a messenger in the morning.
Returning to the solar, she spent a quiet day reflecting on her marriage and life with Amaury and making plans to hire a steward. She’d put off doing so for long enough. While she still had many months before her babe’s arrival, it would be wise to have someone in place to manage the estate, whether she remained and raised the new baron or left to travel to Ashby and Marielle with a daughter. Faylinn wrote out lists of things that needed to be seen to in the coming months so the new man would have a good idea of what should be accomplished, as well as noting the routines established as far as running the estate went.
Tired and feeling a bit queasy, she took a long nap and then ventured down to the great hall for the evening meal. Though Sabelina hadn’t spoken to her since her outburst at Amaury’s death, Faylinn hoped they could support one another in their time of grief. She joined her stepdaughter on the dais and greeted her.
Sabelina looked away.
Throughout the meal, Faylinn tried to engage the mercurial girl in conversation but had no luck.
Finally, she said, “I have written to the king of our situation and explained how we won’t know if there’s a new Baron of Gaynesford until I give birth. I also asked King Edward to suggest a husband for you. The missive will be sent in the morning. I know you have been worried about your future. The king will resolve the issue.”
&n
bsp; Sabelina stiffened but remained silent, gazing out across the great hall.
Faylinn stood. “I bid you a good night.”
Returning to the solar, she decided to sew something for her babe and then wondered if that would be bad luck. From caring for the women at Ashland and Mallowbourne, she knew many things could go wrong in the early months of carrying a child. When she was closer to giving birth, she would sew things for the child then.
Instead, she decided to write to her brother, letting him know of the events of the past few days and why she wouldn’t be able to visit him and Marielle at Newbury Manor in the near future. She concluded the letter by asking him to pray that she delivered a son but if she didn’t, she begged him to allow her to come live at Newbury Manor with her daughter. She knew Ashby would take her in. They had been close since they were children and remained thus over the years.
Faylinn decided to stretch her legs a bit, feeling restless. She went downstairs where all was quiet, the keep’s residents bedded down for the night in the great hall. She entered the study and placed her candle on the desk before heating wax and smearing it onto the seam of the rolled parchment to Ashby. Taking Amaury’s signet ring, she pressed it into the wax, sealing her missive. She lifted the ring and allowed the wax to cool as she cleaned the ring and replaced it in the desk.
She started to set this missive to Ashby next to the one she’d written to the king and paused.
Where was it?
She knew she’d brought it downstairs and was certain she’d left it on the desk. Or had she? She’d learned over the years that when a woman carried a babe in her belly, she could become forgetful about some things. Had she brought the completed missive downstairs? She remembered doing so and then began to doubt herself. Mayhap it was still in the solar.
Faylinn left the correspondence to Ashby on the desk and crept past the hall full of sleeping people. She climbed the stone stairs to return to the solar. When she reached the top, she saw a movement to her left and paused.
Sabelina stepped from the shadows. “Sending another message to your brother?” she asked haughtily.
“Yes. We’re close and I write to him regularly. I wanted Ashby to know of Amaury’s death.”
“And the babe?”
“Yes, I did share the good news about the babe. He will be happy for me since he knows how much I’ve longed for a child.”
Sabelina took a step toward Faylinn. “I still don’t believe it’s Father’s babe growing in your womb.”
“Believe what you want,” she said, her hands going protectively to her belly. “I have lain with no other man but my husband. I would never dishonor Amaury and break my vows.”
Her stepdaughter’s eyes narrowed. “Not even with that new knight, Sir Drake? I saw you talking to him at length.”
“Your father thought a great deal of Sir Drake Harcourt. He believed him to be the most skilled knight at Mallowbourne and was happy to have him in service here.”
Sabelina’s features twisted. “I think you carry Sir Drake’s babe in your belly.” Her fisted hands went to her hips, her face growing red with anger. Then she smiled so eerily that Faylinn felt a chill ripple down her spine.
“Why were you downstairs, Faylinn?”
Before she could reply, Sabelina slipped a parchment from her sleeve and said, “Were you looking for this?”
Cold dread spread through her. “Is that my missive to King Edward, Sabelina?”
“Yes—but it won’t be needed. I plan to send one of my own. Do you know what I will write, Faylinn?” Malevolence filled her face. “I’ll tell the king he needs to send someone for Mallowbourne since my father and stepmother are dead.”
Her words shocked Faylinn. The girl had obviously become unbalanced by the death of her father. Trying to soothe her, she said, “You’re upset because of your father’s passing.”
“You have no idea how upset,” Sabelina said and viciously ripped the missive into pieces. Meeting Faylinn’s gaze, Sabelina said, “You won’t get Mallowbourne. It’s mine. Not your child’s. Mine.”
With that, Sabelina’s hands shot out and pushed Faylinn backward. For a moment, she was in the air, sailing as a bird, and then came hard back to earth. She threw out a hand to break her fall and heard her wrist snap as it made contact with the stair. Pain shot through her but her only thought was for her babe. She only hoped with her arm taking the brunt of the fall that no harm had come to the child. Using her good hand, she pushed herself up and tried to hurry down the stairs as Sabelina slowly descended, rage filling her features, twisting her face into something monstrous.
Faylinn tripped and fell the last few stairs, her wrist throbbing, tears streaming down her face as Sabelina came to stand over her. Her stepdaughter knelt, gloating.
“You’re weak, Faylinn,” she said softly. “You’ve always been weak. I’m strong like Father. I want Mallowbourne—and will do whatever it takes to get it. I’ll write the king and offer myself as a bride and Mallowbourne as the prize. I’ll wed and become the new baroness and never have to leave.”
Sabelina rose and sent a swift kick into Faylinn’s temple. Stars exploded in a night sky of black and then all went dark.
Chapter Five
Drake climbed to the wall-walk and spoke to each man on duty. The cool air felt good to him. He preferred cold weather to warm, finding it easier to train in. Luckily, Somerset was so far south that they rarely got snow. He’d never liked it, finding the white beauty quickly turning dirty and ugly.
Satisfied with the sentries’ reports, he climbed down the ladder and walked the perimeter of the outer bailey and then did the same with the inner one. He saw not a single soul. Exactly as it should be. If someone had been stirring, it might indicate a problem.
Drake wanted no problems on his watch.
He’d been charged to make these nightly sweeps a few months after he’d arrived at Mallowbourne. Sir Stephen had drawn Drake aside to let him know that both he and Lord Amaury were pleased with the leadership Drake had shown among the men. Sir Stephen then asked that Drake make these nightly sojourns once the castle and its inhabitants retired for the evening. Drake was to handle anything amiss and once solved, report the incident to his commander.
Sir Stephen made no promises to Drake but he believed he’d been singled out for a purpose. Especially today, once Lady Faylinn passed along how well the baron had esteemed Drake, he thought he would one day be in line to serve as Mallowbourne’s captain of the guard.
Of course, things might change radically now with Lord Amaury’s death. The baron had no male issue, which meant the king would appoint a new Baron of Gaynesford. This nobleman might bring others with him and have them serve in leadership positions.
For now, he would wait and see. He’d pledged his fidelity to Lord Amaury. If he believed the new baron unworthy, Drake would simply move on. Nothing tied him to Mallowbourne.
He did have sympathy for Lady Faylinn, though. Shortly after Drake arrived at Mallowbourne, he’d observed subtle changes in Lord Amaury, probably more quickly than others, who had known the nobleman for years. The changes hadn’t been for the better. Drake noticed the baron moved more slowly and tended to repeat himself—and not for emphasis or clarification. Drake had watched as Lady Faylinn stepped in and assumed more and more of the responsibilities of the estate.
Then the Mallowbourne steward died a couple of months ago. The baroness had served as not only head of domestic affairs but she took on all business of the estate and managed it even better than the previous steward had. Drake had heard her mention hiring a replacement but she didn’t want to rush to make such an important decision.
With Lord Amaury’s death now, the baroness would be leaving. King Edward would appoint a new Baron of Gaynesford. Her hard work that had kept Mallowbourne running smoothly would never be acknowledged. Of course, the king might choose to have Lady Faylinn remain as baroness and give her in marriage to the new Gaynesford. Drake hoped for her sake that w
ould occur. Lady Faylinn had a great love for her people and the feeling was mutual. She would be sorely missed if required to leave the premises.
By now, he’d reached the keep and mounted the steps leading up to it. Easing open the large oak door, he entered and quietly closed it behind him. His usual routine involved checking on the sleeping inhabitants in the great hall and then walking the corridors before returning to the barracks for the night. He took a few steps and paused, trying to make sense of what he saw.
A woman lay crumpled at the foot of the stairs.
His gut twisted as he hurried to the still body. Drake knelt and eased the woman onto her back.
It was Lady Faylinn.
He sucked in a quick breath and then thrust the rising panic from his mind. This was his lady whom he was sworn to protect. If she lived, he must tend to her at once. Quickly, he ran his hands along her limbs, searching for broken bones. She frowned, whimpering slightly as he touched her right wrist. He would need better light to see if it were merely a bad sprain or broken. As he brushed back the hair from her face, his fingers discovered a large knot along her temple. That worried him. She must have struck her head in her fall down the stairs. He’d learned that anytime a blow to the head occurred, terrible things could happen. It could result in memory loss. Even death. He murmured a swift prayer to the Virgin as he searched for any other injuries but found none.
Gently scooping up the baroness into his arms, Drake made his way up the stairs and down the corridor to the solar. The room was empty and he cut through it and went inside the bedchamber, thankful that a candle burned next to the bed. As he placed Lady Faylinn onto the bed, her eyelids fluttered several times. Relief filled him that she had regained consciousness.
“What . . . where . . . have I lost the babe?” she asked, panic in her voice.
Surprise filled him. He knew the baron and baroness had been wed for many years and had no children.