Velvet Touch

by Catherine Archer

  Fellis was grateful for the tiny blaze. It did help to dispel some of her nervousness and she held her trembling fingers out to it even though the night was fairly warm.

  Seeming to understand her feelings, Stephen gave her a look of encouragement. He said very softly, “We will find a way.”

  She made no reply as they were cast a glance of warning from the man closest to them.

  There was no hint of blame in Stephen’s eyes. But Fellis knew there should have been. It was her fault they had gotten into this situation. Without her, he would not have been taken. She was certain of that.

  Stephen’s care and consideration made her love him all the more and wish desperately that they were free to be together.

  He seemed to sense her thoughts, for he smiled into her eyes. It was obvious that Stephen had not given up the notion that he was going to have her for his own. She could see the truth of that shining in his gaze. There was no point in even trying to remind him that this could not be, not considering the circumstances.

  Silently Fellis sat there, drawing unconscious strength from his nearness as they waited for what seemed an interminable amount of time. Then finally out of the darkness around them came the sounds of someone approaching. Someone who was making no effort to remain quiet.

  Fellis’s eyes grew wide as Wynn, escorted closely by two of the men, stepped into the glow of the firelight. What caused her surprise was the fact that he too was bound, as she and Stephen were. She felt Stephen start forward beside her. He subsided and when Fellis looked to him, she saw that one of their captors had placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  Wynn’s expression was dark with anger. He glared at the man Fellis had thought must be the leader of the group as he was led forward. She heard him speak furiously in his own language, but the one word she could make out was “Lloyd,” and she could only assume that was the fellow’s name.

  The two men became involved in heated exchange. The one called Lloyd seemed to become more upset as they went on. Finally he swung around, turning his back to Wynn. He made a motion with his hand and Wynn was dragged to where Stephen and Fellis sat. The three of them were taken to separate trees and tied just out of reach from each other.

  Their captors then became involved in another heated discussion amongst themselves.

  Stephen asked of Wynn, “What is going on?”

  Wynn frowned, speaking softly. “I was woken from my bed by two of Owain’s men. They told me that Ardeth was ill and needed me.” He grimaced bitterly. “’Tis obvious that was not the truth.”

  Stephen asked, “You say these are Owain’s men.”

  His expression filled with confusion, Wynn said, “Aye, but I do not understand why they would do this. Why have they taken me and both of you?”

  Stephen spoke up. “Fellis and I were on our way to see you when we were set upon.”

  “You were coming to see me. Why? I wish someone would explain something soon. I feel like I am going mad.”

  Stephen answered, “I can explain some of what is happening, but I can guarantee that you will not like what I have to impart.”

  “Try me,” he replied cryptically.

  Stephen began by cautioning Wynn briefly. “I beg you to allow me to finish what I have to say before you interrupt.”

  Wynn nodded by way of agreement.

  Without further preamble, but taking care to speak quietly, Stephen launched into the tale that Fellis had told him some two hours gone by. The Welshman did as Stephen had asked and remained silent through the entire narrative though his expression became grimmer and grimmer as the knight went on.

  When finally Stephen took a deep breath and named Owain as the man who he believed was at the heart of not only the attempt on Wynn’s father’s life but who also wished to harm Wynn himself, the smaller man cried, “No. I will not listen to this.”

  “But you must.” Stephen’s tone was hard. “Your very life may depend on it.”

  The Welshman shook his head in denial. “I will not heed you in this. Owain has been like a father to me since my own father died some three years ago. He would not harm me.”

  Fellis felt anger and blighted hope boiling up in her chest. Finally she could not hold back any longer. She interjected with a gasp of exasperation. “This tale is true, sir, whether you believe it or no is your own choice. But ask yourself why we would come to you this way if ’twas a falsehood? What could we hope to gain? We have indeed placed ourselves in danger to assist you and you refuse to see the truth. And why then have we been detained and bound by Owain’s own men?”

  She turned her face away. “Pray leave go, Stephen. We can do naught for him if he refuses to see the truth.” Still without facing him, she said to Wynn, “My greatest regret in this is that we have lost our hope of peace. For even if we are able to escape our current predicament, Owain will eventually rid himself of you. When you die, the fighting will begin anew. Know, sir, that that is why we bothered to come here this night. For the good of your folk and mine. As for myself, your demise will only save me from a marriage that was not amenable to me from the onset.”

  Wynn halted her gruffly. “Wait.”

  She turned back to him to find him studying not her but Stephen with haunted eyes. “Can this really be true? Has he done these things?”

  Stephen nodded. “We believe he has.”

  Wynn shook his head with pain rather than denial. “There is something else you must know, something that makes me think you could be right, no matter how it hurts me.” He looked away, his jaw flexing. “He has taken Ardeth away to his own holding some miles from here. Since he learned that a date had been set for the wedding, he has forbidden us to see each other.”

  Stephen spoke, drawing Fellis’s attention. “There is something more I must say to you on that subject, my lord.” His eyes locked with hers, and she felt a sinking sensation in her stomach.

  “Nay, Stephen, do not,” she said.

  “Aye, I will,” he said, looking at the Welshman, his face set with resolution. “I intend to marry this lady myself, so Owain can rest easy on that measure at least.”

  She cried out in exasperation, nearly forgetting the need for quiet. “You are a madman, completely. Have you no sense whatsoever?” She turned to the smaller man. There might still be some hope of salvaging the peace between their two peoples. “Do not pay him any heed. He knows naught of what he speaks.”

  When she looked to Wynn, he was watching Stephen with assessing eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I have a proposition to set before you.”

  Before Wynn could make any reply to this or Fellis could further try to persuade him of Stephen’s idiocy, they were interrupted.

  Several of the men had come forward to take them from the trees. Wynn was untied first and when he lunged to get away, he was hit over the head from behind. He crumpled to the ground.

  Fellis was taken next. She felt herself grabbed and held against the hard wall of a male chest. The fellow who held her made no pretext at gentleness, for his hands squeezed her arms so tightly that she cried out.

  Stephen had been released by now and leapt to assist her in spite of his bonds. He was set upon by two men who jumped at him from behind. He shrugged them off and continued to come forward. Only when her captor pressed his dirk against her throat did Stephen come to a halt with a cry of despair. “Fellis.”

  Her own soul was in her eyes as she turned to Stephen. The blade pressed to her throat kept her from answering. It was clear that their captors had come to some sort of decision concerning them and this might very well be the end for the three of them. Only when Stephen and Wynn were both bound at the feet and gagged did the assailant take the knife from her throat. With a gasp, she raised her hands to rub her neck and, feeling dampness, brought them down to see a spot of blood on her fingers.

  The man who had held her watched without any show of emotion. In barely intelligible English, he said, “You will no scream.”
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br />   She shook her head, even as her gaze went to Stephen where he now lay trussed on the ground some feet away, his eyes telling her how terrified for her he was. Seeing beyond the fear, she recognized the burning rage inside him, as well.

  As Fellis’s feet were tied, she could only hope that they were not to die. Judging by the actions of these men thus far, she held out little hope that their lives would be spared.

  Fellis and Stephen were set atop their own horses, with the reins being held by two of the men. Wynn was tied facedown to the back of another man’s mount. The others closed in around them.

  Fellis did her best to retain her balance with her hands tied behind her. It took some effort to do so.

  Once she was settled, it became easier and she began to take note of their circumstances. To her chagrin she could not see any way for them to even hope to escape. Each of them was kept separate from the others, and was well guarded by at least four men armed with swords. As they started off for she knew not where, Fellis attempted not to think how badly things appeared to be.

  Stephen worked furtively at the knots that bound him and tried to think of some way, any way, to get them out of this. His gaze went to Fellis where she rode ahead of him. She was surrounded by four men, and Stephen knew that even if he could free himself he would not be able to reach her before one of them might do her harm.

  That these men meant business he had no doubt.

  He could not risk it. He was not prepared to lose her now when it looked as if there was some hope for them. All he had to do was get free. But how?

  Stephen knew he had to devise a plan. He was positive that these men were acting on Owain’s wishes. Their behavior and the dissent and uncertainty among them marked the men as common soldiers. They were not the masterminds of complicated plots. He wondered if he could use that against them. As yet he had seen no way to even hope to escape that would not mean leaving Fellis to their tender mercy. That he was not prepared to do.

  Nor did he wish to leave Wynn to suffer Owain’s betrayal.

  As he thought of the Welshman, Stephen could not help wishing that he had been presented with enough time to explain himself in regards to his own marriage to Fellis. There was no telling what impression the Welshman had gained from what Stephen said about marrying her. He must surely believe the knight mad as Fellis had accused him of being. He had not even told her of his plan to make his own peace with Wynn. Had not even told her he loved her.

  He clamped his jaw tightly as he resolved that they would find a way out of this. He raised his head, determined to watch for any mistakes the men might make. He was going to say those words and many more.

  It was quite some time later that they came out of the wood and crossed over a stretch of well-tended farmland. It was just moments after that when Stephen saw a long house very similar to the dwelling Wynn lived in loom up out of the darkness. There also appeared to be several other buildings of stone and wood clustered about it.

  A dog barked in the predawn night and another took up the call. The sounds ended sharply a moment later.

  One of the men dismounted and went into the dwelling. He returned some minutes later with Owain who was still fastening the belt over his tunic.

  Stephen did not even try to hide the disdain in his eyes. He watched as Owain came forward. As he saw the captives, his eyes grew wide with what could only be described as horror.

  He barked out a question in Welsh that made the men grimace. One of them moved to where Wynn was draped over the back of the horse, unconscious.

  He then turned his displeasure directly on the one Wynn had called Lloyd. His voice was sharp with disapproval.

  Lloyd answered at length, obviously telling his master everything that had taken place as he gestured first to Fellis and Stephen, then to Wynn. There was more than a hint of pleading in his voice.

  Owain finally made a cutting motion with his hand, effectively ending the conversation. Lloyd subsided, though he could not have failed to see the rage in Owain as he turned from him.

  Owain came to stand a few feet from Stephen. After a long moment in which he studied the Englishman with obvious hatred, Owain rasped out another order. One of the men prodded his horse forward and removed Stephen’s gag.

  Owain addressed him in English. “Well, Sais, I had not expected to see you again. I cannot say I am glad that my orders have been so badly bungled. I know not how you came to be in the right place for my men to take you, but they have.”

  Stephen showed no fear as he answered, “Why have they taken us?”

  “Why, because they assumed I would want you dead, of course.” Owain raised his hands as he shrugged. He waved toward Wynn. “What were you doing on Wynn’s lands? It is by your own foolishness that you were taken. I had set my men to watching him for days. They waited only to find the right opportunity to catch him alone and kill him. You, Sais, were to be blamed for his death. These fools—” he looked around him and several of his men shifted uncomfortably “—made the mistake of saying that Wynn was to come to Ardeth.” He shrugged again, but the rage in his eyes belied the offhanded gesture. “Now I shall have to kill you all.” His eyes grazed Fellis, where she sat in white-faced silence. “I will also be forced to explain how Wynn was safe when he arrived and left here.”

  Stephen felt like banging his fist against something hard. He now realized that he had played directly into the maniac’s hands.

  Owain was speaking again. “I could not allow him to simply go about his business, not after he had agreed to treat with our enemies and dishonor my daughter so he could marry this English bitch.”

  Stephen saw Fellis raise her chin at hearing the insult, and he had to bite the inside of his own mouth to keep from telling the whoreson what he thought of the remark. He knew he had to go carefully here. He must get Fellis and Wynn out of this situation alive.

  Stephen forced himself to answer calmly. “I can only think, sir, that you have forgotten I was sent here by King Edward himself. You may be able to kill your own kind without fear of retribution, but I will be missed. As will this lady. Her father knows where we are and that we had discovered your plans to murder Wynn ap Dafydd.”

  In the early dawn Stephen could see Owain pale at what he said. Yet the Welshman was not ready to back down and made to bluster his way through. “How would you have told Lord Grayson when you could not have known until this very night?”

  Stephen raised dark brows. “We know of your attempts to kill his father years ago because he was willing to treat with his enemies.”

  Owain let out an angry retort, but his expression was troubled to say the least. “How could you know?”

  “That is none of your concern, suffice it to say that we do. I must tell you again that you cannot kill us without facing the consequences. King Edward has had enough of this feud and will end it by force if he deems necessary. Murdering his own messenger will certainly drive him to do so.”

  Owain backed away from them, his brow creasing with a frown. “Put them in the lambing hut.” He started to turn away then stopped, glaring up at Stephen where he sat atop the stallion. “Make no mistake, English knight. You have given me some cause to contemplate the method. But believe me, kill you I will.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Fellis watched the gray-haired man and the knight with no small amount of trepidation. As Stephen had just told him, they could not be killed without fear of retribution. It was not true that her father knew where they were, but her grandmother would surely guess.

  Fellis could hardly think what her parents would think when they awoke to find her and the knight gone from the keep. She gave herself a mental shake. This was not the time to worry about such a thing. Survival must be the first thing on her mind now.

  Even in the poor light of this early hour, Fellis could see the rage and resentment on the older man’s face as he looked up at Stephen. There seemed no hint of tolerance or compassion in him. Could he but think of a way to dispose of th
em without bringing down the king’s wrath, he would do so.

  With an angry wave of his hand, Owain barked out an order in his own language and stalked into the long house.

  The man closest to Fellis dismounted and reached up to lift her from Ebony’s back. He made no effort to speak to her or handle her gently as he tossed her over his shoulder. She moaned as his hard shoulder dug into her stomach.

  Stephen’s voice echoed across the space that separated them. “Have a care, you bastard!”

  Fellis did not know if the man understood exactly what Stephen had said, but the tone had been quite plain. Her captor only laughed, calling out to his fellows and she heard the sound of a fist striking flesh.

  Desperately Fellis tilted her head, trying to see what had happened. She barely had time to note that a trickle of blood fell from the side of her beloved’s mouth. She grunted with outrage behind her gag as she was carried away.

  Yet in spite of all that was happening to him, to them, Fellis could not help a feeling of pride in the man she loved. Even now there was no hint of submission in the angle of his proudly held head, nor in the defiance in his dark green gaze.

  She was taken a short distance around the side of the main dwelling. When they came to a halt, she heard the sound of a bolt being drawn back, then a heavy door opening on rusty hinges.

  A moment later, she was unceremoniously dumped, faceup, onto a pile of straw.

  The man then left without a backward glance.

  Fellis tried to shift to take some of her weight off her arms, which were pinned beneath her, but could not. With her feet bound so tightly, she could get no leverage. She wanted to cry with desperation. She made herself breathe slowly and deeply, for with the gag over her mouth it was difficult to get enough air unless she stayed calm.