Perils of Wrath

by Park, Elsie

  “Audri,” Roland stated in a stern voice but then paused, as if unsure what to say. A nearby street lantern illuminated his uncertain expression. Audri waited, not sure what to convey either. “You are now privy to . . . furtive matters known only to me and the Griffiths. As my squire, I forbid you to speak of this to anyone.” He scrutinized her face, his voice lowered to keep it from traveling to the resident’s home above the shop. “I haven’t known you long, nor you me, but in light of what I’ve learned of you from the Griffiths, and from what I’ve personally observed, I believe I can trust your discretion and secrecy. Am I right to assume this?”

  Audri felt esteemed, honored, that he would hold such faith in her. In return, her feelings for his honor were strong. She desired to aid him in every way possible.

  “Sir Roland,” she said, matching his hushed tone and feeling more confident than she had in years. “I swear on my dear father’s grave that I am on your side. I will not only keep your secrets but freely join you in your quest for answers.” She knew he wouldn’t readily accept her help due to the danger it might entail. This became evident when he closed his eyes and shook his head. She pushed on. “You know very well I detest my stepfather and Doyle and all their dishonorable knights. I have no love for this place of violence and depression, and having someone of influence on my side is something I’ve dared hope for my whole dejected life but truly never thought possible.”

  Roland’s eyes opened to meet hers, and his silence urged her to continue.

  “I’ve spent more time in Guildon than you have. I know the castle and village well. I usually know who is loyal to Festus and who is not, and I generally know who to trust when speaking of surreptitious matters, though I admit there aren’t many willing to talk for fear of seizure. I’m sure you’ve noted those terrible screams emanating through the halls of Guildon, and I’m sure you’ve guessed that they come from the dungeons, caused by the same man who I believe murdered your parents. You know of whom I speak.” Roland’s brows furrowed, assuring her that he did. “The dungeon under Guildon Castle is a labyrinth of tunnels leading to caverns full of foul torture devices and terrible tools used to extricate information from prisoners and elicit sick pleasure from the enforcers. Though some of the captives aren’t completely innocent of wrongdoing, I suspect most have been unjustly accused and compelled to enter that dark hole, never to return. The dungeon is off limits to most, but I snuck down there when I was a young girl . . . I saw terrible things that still haunt me today.”

  Roland averted his eyes to the side, suggesting he thought deeply over her words. In a natural act of friendship, Audri stepped closer, lightly grabbing his upper arm with her hand. “Roland, I know Festus set me up as your squire, that you did not ask for this assignment nor my company, but I ask that you see me as an equal in this matter, as your friend and ally. Please, let’s rid the world of these sadistic men and bring peace to both our souls and to those we love.”

  Audri allowed time for her pleas to sink into Roland’s mind. He turned to face her again, taking another moment to consider her words. Would he see the benefit of her aid? While Roland’s plight could help her save her mother from Festus’s abusive hand, Audri cared about her knight. She would do anything for Roland.

  She’d gone and fallen in love with him.

  Roland’s warm hand moved atop her own. She thought he intended to shove it off his arm, but he didn’t. She looked down at his gentle grasp cradling the back of her hand. She caught her breath as his fingers tenderly brushed over her skin, stroking the top of her hand in rhythmic waves. Her heart pounded a fast cadence. She felt giddy, shivers racing up her spine.

  She could feel him looking at her, but the courage to meet his gaze flew away, scared off by not knowing what would happen if she did.

  “We can continue to act as a knight and squire to keep our enemies in the dark,” she said quietly, still refusing to look at him. He continued to stroke her hand. “I will never complain about your tough regimen again, I promise.” She risked a glance up and all but dissolved into the eyes watching her with an intensity that threatened to melt her heart. In his gaze, she not only saw respect for her but total acceptance as well. He accepted her ideas, her friendship, and her help. She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat.

  Roland stepped closer, their bodies inches apart. His face came down close to hers and her breathing quickened, matching her heartbeat. He paused, as if asking permission to continue. She didn’t step away. He brought his lips down on hers and pressed them together. His mouth moved, gently urging hers to follow. The hand that had lain on hers snaked around her back, pulling her body against his. His heat calmed her nerves, warmed her entire frame, and she relaxed into him.

  Sheltered from the torrential rain, they stood locked in the sweetest, most tender embrace she’d ever known. His kiss was gentle, accepting, not demanding or full of unrestrained lust as she’d often seen between other men and women. It was respectful, caring—wonderful.

  After a time, Roland stepped back, his breathing ragged. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he admitted with a smile. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Yes, Lady Audrina Gibbons of Guildon, I have not only come to admire and respect your tenacious, outspoken, and bold personality, but I have become quite attracted to you as well. I dare say I’ve fallen in love.”

  Audri inhaled and stepped back, her right palm flying to her chest. Her heart still hadn’t slowed down.

  Love.

  Though she felt the same toward him, she knew that men often used that sacred word in careless abandon for the purpose of gaining instant physical gratification, only to leave the woman with the heartache of discovering the word was spoken with false pretenses. “That is not something to declare lightly, sir.”

  “I assure you, it wasn’t,” Roland affirmed, his expression serious. He stepped up to her again and took both her hands in his. “Is it so surprising that I could love you?”

  “Yes,” Audri said, a bit confused by his sentiments. Since she’d met him, she’d done so much to defy him and cause him to dislike her.

  “You think that because we don’t get along all the time, I can’t appreciate your good qualities more—and love you for them?”

  “Yes. No. I mean . . . I didn’t think you liked me in that way, beyond a mutual friendship, especially with my being your squire and the impression I gave you when we first met.”

  “I don’t think either of us received a good first impression of each other, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Audri nodded, loving the way his damp hair clung to his forehead under the hood.

  Roland searched her face, his eyes squinting. A quick breath came from his nose as his lips curled up. He shook his head at her.

  “You laugh at me, sir?” Audri asked with a slight grin.

  “I know this might sound extraneous, but you really look nothing like your mother.”

  Audri rolled her eyes. “Where did that come from? And yes, I get that comment a lot. She’s petite, I’m tall. She’s blonde, I’m a brunette. She’s lovely, I’m—”

  “Gorgeous,” Roland finished for her, clearly guessing that wasn’t what she meant to say. She dipped her head to hide her sudden blush, even though he wouldn’t have seen it in the near darkness. Lord Craven’s disapproval and his crude knights had made her think poorly of herself. But Roland had changed all that, and she loved him for it. Whether they ended up together or not, she’d never be the same again.

  “When . . . when did you start tolerating me enough to . . . to . . .” She kept her head down, too embarrassed to finish her question.

  “To allow these feelings to enter?” Roland again finished for her, though this time it was what she wanted to say.

  She lifted her head, and he looked up over it with his eyes narrowed in thought. “I really felt something strong the day after I lost our bet—the day you had you
r way with me around the castle.” Roland smiled at his suggestive joke.

  Audri rolled her eyes but smiled wide. It thrilled her that he felt such feelings for her. In her heart, she knew his sentiments were genuine. “I can’t say the same for you, though,” Audri stated, causing Roland’s mouth to straighten into an uncertain line. “I didn’t feel love for you at that moment. No, Sir Roland, you had my love almost from the start—soon after we first met, if truth be told—though I tried my best to discard those feelings and make you hate me.”

  Roland laughed and wrapped his arms around her. He hugged her to his muscular body. She reveled in the feeling of Roland’s arms encircling her small waist. She was trim and strong, and she had worked hard to achieve it. And that felt good.

  Roland stepped back again but held her hands down in front of them. “Well, I daresay you’ve presented a good argument . . . and won. Who would have thought I’d find my greatest ally in the stubborn ward of my foe?”

  “Is that all?” Audri asked with a smirk. “I’m just your ally?”

  He tipped his head to one side and looked at her through lazy eyes. “Well, you’re still my squire, too.”

  Her glare made him chuckle.

  “You know the true answer to that, milady, as previously discussed, but it begs the question: is it appropriate to feel this way, to show it in our unusual circumstance as knight and squire? What would Lady Pritchard say?” His brows lifted.

  Audri had wondered that herself, uncertain how Gail would take it. “When it’s true love and not just some selfish, lustful spouting of breath, then I believe it’s appropriate to feel no matter the circumstances.” Her eyebrows drew together. “Festus’s sole purpose in life is to make me and everyone else miserable. If he sees that you and I have feelings for each other, he’ll put an end to our affiliation immediately. So as for showing it around others, I feel we should be cautious until such a time as it’s safe to do so without censure from disapproving persons who wield the power to separate us.”

  Roland nodded. “I wholly agree.” Roland made a point of looking around the vacant street for bystanders before bending his head and claiming her lips in another kiss. The kiss, though still as sweet and gentle as the first, was more confident—and it felt so right.

  Pulling back, Roland gently prodded her elbow with his hand. “We should get back.” They stepped off the platform into the deep mud of the street. The rain had eased to a drizzle and pattered on their hoods with a soft rhythm. She was grateful she’d donned heavier footwear. The tall boots reached up over her calves, protecting her legs from the mud that inched up past her ankles.

  “So then,” Roland said as they wended their way toward the front gate. “We continue to train as before, making no public display of our true feelings. We add to our regimen finding the truth about who was responsible for my parents’ death—my underlying goal since I arrived, despite being unable to pursue more information.”

  Audri nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I can help find out if there are records other than in the library, ones that may be more detailed and hidden somewhere else. Doyle’s personal chamber comes to mind, as well as the dungeon itself.”

  Roland stopped under a lone tree beside the road and pulled Audri into a protective embrace. “Don’t enter that hellish hole without me for any reason, Audri,” Roland warned. “I don’t think they’d keep records in the dungeon, anyway. Damp air ruins parchment—”

  “Not in Guildon’s dungeon,” Audri corrected, shaking her head. “Well, most of it.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Audri closed her eyes, recalling the horrific details in her memory: the bodies, dead and dying, the torture, the blood, the awful smell . . . and the flurry of fresher air from somewhere deep in the cavern. She stepped away from him and placed her hand against the tree, speaking to it as if the old arbor could understand her words. “I remember, even from a young age, how strange it was that the dungeon wasn’t damp or dripping with ground water. Most of it was as dry as a bone. The dungeon had ample air flow from somewhere. And though it didn’t temper the stench, it carried with it the faint scent of the outside world, of grass and trees. I remember it to this day.” She turned and faced Roland. “There must be small crevices in the rock walls allowing air to travel through, thus accounting for its dryness.”

  “So, it is possible for records to be kept there,” Roland stated.

  “Yes, but it will be hard to find out. We don’t know who would know, whom to trust.”

  “Speaking of trust, do you plan to tell your maid all of this?”

  Audri knew he’d bring that up again and hoped he’d rely on her judgment about Gail’s loyalty. “Sir Roland, I know you don’t know Gail well, and I know you find her highly annoying,” she smiled when Roland harrumphed beside her, “but she’s a good woman, a true friend, and completely devoted to me, which will make her equally dedicated to you as soon as I explain everything. And she’ll be invaluable in covering for both of us as we search for clues.”

  Roland nodded thoughtfully; the look on his face indicated that he hadn’t thought of obtaining Gail’s assistance. “Very well,” Roland consented, turning his attention to the street again.

  “And we must keep Andrew and Autumn on our list of worthy causes. I’m anxious to rescue them from the barn, which is so close to Hauber’s prying eyes. We need to get them out of Guildon as soon as possible.”

  Roland nodded. “We have much to do. We’ll come up with some ideas and then take them to the Griffiths tomorrow.”

  Audri nodded. “That reminds me. Sir Heath came close to discovering our school,” Audri began. “Does he know your tale? Do you trust him? He is one of Festus’s knights after all, and he has been deeply involved in the search for the siblings.”

  Roland looked at her, his eyes expressing his indecision. “I’ll be honest, Audri. I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t confided in him as yet. He’s a capable warrior and a good comrade. His actions with women are honorable, and his way with children is gentle. But . . .” He paused, looking past her shoulder into the storm.

  “But what?” she prodded.

  “I’ve seen him in conference with Sir Doyle on several occasions. There’s something about them, something secretive that sets me on edge.” He looked back at Audri and shook his head. “It may be that I’m sensitive to anything relating to Sir Doyle, but I feel their rapport isn’t entirely innocent. I wish I could figure it out and come to a decision about Sir Heath’s loyalties.”

  “Guildon knights and the word ‘honor’ don’t go hand in hand,” Audri said. “But in the case of Sir Heath, I hope he’s an exception. He’s ever surrounded by disgraceful knights, you excluded, of course.”

  “Of course,” Roland said with a mischievous grin.

  “And it’s not easy standing alone in your convictions under those conditions. But with our friendship and his obvious interest in Gail, I hope he chooses honor over vice. Having said that, I leave it to your discretion whether to enlist him in our cause.”

  Roland nodded. The rainfall around them intensified once more, but the tree kept them reasonably covered.

  “We should hurry,” she said. “Gail must be beside herself with worry, and I have much to discuss with her.”

  Roland took her hand in his, and they ran up the slippery road to the castle gates.

  They reached the double doors of the outer castle wall. They were closed for the night, but a sentry, upon seeing her and Roland, opened the small door to the side of the main gates. Roland let Audri’s hand go to place it on her back as she stepped through the door first. Roland followed.

  “It’s not enough you try to kill Audrina with the physical atrocities you call training, but now you seek her demise by soaking her in the freezing rain.” It was Gail, wrapped in a thick woolen cloak, waiting for her charge under the cover of the gatehouse. “Don’t bl
ame her if she can’t train for a few days due to a nasty cold.”

  “She’ll catch no such thing,” Roland calmly replied, rolling his eyes at the overprotective woman. “She’s stronger than you give her credit for.” He winked at Audri. “Let’s get out of the elements, ladies.”

  They all hurried through the rain and into the castle before they made their way to their chambers. Roland stepped to his own door but looked back at Audri, who waited for Gail to unlock hers. “Goodnight, Audri,” he said with a heartfelt smile. She glanced at Gail, who still fumbled with the lock, and then back at Roland.

  “Goodnight . . . Roland,” Audri grinned at her knight.

  Roland turned to his door, unlocked it, and entered. Watching him left Audri with the warmest peaceful feeling despite the cold water dripping from her clothes and puddling on the wooden floorboards.

  “Oh, Gail, I have so much to tell you . . .” Audri began the moment her chamber door was closed. As her lady-in-waiting helped her change into dry clothing, Audri explained all that she had learned about Roland, his past, and his connection to the Griffiths. She continued to relate the details between bites of the food that Gail had saved for her return. Audri left out the intimacies between herself and Roland, however, keeping that cherished moment to herself. Gail would only lecture her on the proprieties of a noblewoman if she knew, and Audri didn’t need that just then.

  But after hearing everything else, Gail’s face radiated surprise and a new respect for the knight. But she still felt compelled to address the tough training that Roland put her through. “I still don’t like how he hammers your poor body with drill after harsh drill.”