Vow of Deception

by Angela Johnson

  “Rand, prithee. I love you. I need you. Jason needs you. Come back to me.” Rose’s breath hitched with a ragged sob. “I love you so much.”

  Blackness shattered as Rose’s words reached him and her tears bathed his cheeks.

  He was crouched down on his haunches, his back to the infirmary wall. The fire was so close the heat blasted as strong and hot as a coal-fired forge. “Rose?”

  Her eyes glimmered with hope and love. “Rand, we have to go. Now!”

  Giving him the knotted rope she made, she lifted Jason in her arms. Rand jumped to his feet. His wits returned. Her confession that she loved him giving him strength, he took charge. “I’ll tie Jason in your arms, then pull you both up once I’ve climbed into the window.”

  Jason clung to Rose face-first, with his legs around her waist and his arms around her neck. After tying them securely, Rand vaulted up the candle stand and into the window embrasure.

  Rose twitched nervously back toward the chapel. “What about the brother and sisters?”

  A sheen of sweat covering his face, he shook his head sadly. “The infirmary entrance is completely blocked with burning debris from the collapsed ceiling. ’Tis hopeless. Once free from here, we can try to get help for them. Toss me the end of the rope.”

  Snatching the rope out of the air, Rand coiled it around his forearm, then braced his body against one side of the window and pressed his foot against the other to gain leverage. “Use your feet to climb up the wall when I pull you up. Can you do that?”

  She bit the corner of her plump lip and nodded determinedly.

  “Very good,” he said, smiling with encouragement. “I’ll pull you up on the count of three. One, two, three.”

  Pressing his shoulder and foot against the embrasure, with a loud grunt, he tugged Rose and Jason up. Sweat broke over his back, while his leg and arm muscles flexed and strained. His jaw clenched tight, teeth aching. He pulled on the rope a foot at a time. Inexorably, Rose climbed up the wall step-by-step. When her foot hit the wide ledge, he gave one last great heave and pulled her into his arms. Jason was cradled between them.

  His arms quivered, not with strain, but with the restraint not to squeeze her too hard, in an overwhelming urge to assure himself she and Jason were safe and unharmed. A huge pressure in the vicinity of his heart felt near to bursting with the need to confess all of his feelings—his fears, his hopes, his dreams. And more importantly, how much he loved them both.

  But the groaning roof was on the point of collapse. Rand wanted to be as far away from the hospital as he could when it caved in. He removed Jason from his harness and carefully steadied him at Rose’s feet. Rose was securely placed against the embrasure, crouched behind Jason and facing out toward the dark night.

  Rand vaulted off the ledge, the cool breeze a relief after the blaring heat of the fire. He hit the ground with a jarring thump. Quickly climbing to his feet, he maneuvered himself directly below the window. In the shadow of the building, he gazed up at Rose, his arms stretched up to her. “Hand Jason to me and then I’ll catch you when you jump down.”

  Clutching Jason’s arms, Rose lowered him down. Rand caught hold of his dangling legs. “I’ve got him. You can let go.”

  After setting Jason on his feet, he turned back to the window. Rose gazed nervously behind him at the city walls. “Hurry, Rose. Jump. I won’t let you fall.”

  Rose held her arms out and jumped.

  She slammed into him, causing him to stagger, but he held on to her tightly. Chest heaving, he flipped his hair out of his face. Her face was inches from his. He smiled. “We made it. Are you ready to go?”

  She smiled back. “Aye, let’s go.”

  Rand swung Jason into his arms, then grabbed Rose’s hand. They ran and ran until Rose pulled up, clutching her side and breathing heavily.

  Rand set Jason down and wrapped his arm around Rose. “Take a moment to catch your breath. But we need to find a place to hide. We’re fortunate we have not run into any of the castle guard, who surely by now have come to investigate the fire.”

  Staring back at the hospital, Rand watched what was left of the roof collapse, causing a section of the wall to crumble. Debris floated above, illuminated by the red glow of the fire. He shuddered at how close they had come to being buried in the rubble. His eyes met Rose’s, a shared gaze of gratitude and relief passing between them.

  “Rand,” Rose said, her head cocked, “do you hear that?”

  “What?” Rand gazed toward the castle walls.

  The sky was clear now and the full moon illuminated the outline of a small troop of soldiers rapidly advancing. They slashed their swords through the thick reeds lining the ditch they traversed as they approached the hospital.

  He grabbed Jason. “We must hurry before they see us.”

  They ran headed west, away from the soldiers. Suddenly, Rose cried out.

  Rand slid to a stop and spun around. He hurried back to where she was limping on one foot. “What is it? Are you hurt?”

  “Mama,” Jason piped up, fear in his voice.

  She smoothed Jason’s cheek. “I’m all right, darling,” she said, a smile on her face, but Rand saw the pain glazing her eyes. Then she looked up at Rand. “I stepped on a rock and turned my ankle. I think it’s sprained.”

  A shout came from the direction of the soldiers. A man in front pointed toward them.

  “Jesu. We’ve been spotted. Can you run on it?”

  She put her weight on her foot and tried to walk, but she pulled up short again. Tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t walk on it. It hurts too much. You must go without me. I’ll only hold you back. Run. Take Jason with you and keep him safe.”

  “Absolutely not, Rose. I am staying with you. I shall not leave you alone to the mercy of the king’s guard.”

  “Rand, I beg you.” She clutched his hands as her soft blue gaze implored him. “Go. Before ’tis too late.”

  He shook his head, his voice tempered with steel. “I swore I’d never leave you. I have never broken a vow to you before and I shall not start now.”

  At that moment, half a dozen soldiers converged on them, their swords drawn. Rand wrapped his arm around Rose protectively.

  He recognized their dark-haired lieutenant, who stepped several paces forward. “Sir Rand, you are under arrest by order of the king.”

  “On what charge, Sir Reginald?”

  Sir Reginald shifted his head toward Rose, then back to Rand. “For abetting and harboring a confessed felon.”

  Rand jerked his gaze to Rose, curious why they were not arresting her. “What of Lady Rosalyn?”

  “Sir Golan’s clerk brought the king evidence of the lieutenant-justiciar’s various corruption and extortion schemes, including Lady Rosalyn’s coerced confession. Charges have been withdrawn. Lady Rosalyn is free to go.”

  Rose gasped.

  “Will you give me a moment to bid Lady Rosalyn fare well?”

  Sir Reginald nodded. “Make it brief.”

  Rand waited until the lieutenant rejoined his men. He gazed into his son’s face, saw the familiar dimples, and jaw-line. The sweet smile so like his mother’s. He felt his heart cracking. Jason patted his face. “Why are you so sad, Papa?”

  Unable to speak for the emotion in his throat, he turned to Rose. Fear shimmered in her gaze. He leaned down and kissed her. Her lips, soft and supple, clung desperately to his. Holding her tightly, he poured all his love and devotion into his final, parting kiss.

  “’Tis time, Sir Rand. Step away from Lady Rosalyn.”

  Rand handed Jason over to his mother.

  She clung to Jason, her face twisted with pain and grief. “Rand, I need—”

  “Do not grieve for me, Rose,” he whispered softly in her ear. “Never doubt that you are worthy of love. One day you will find a man who will love you. I am sorry I cannot be that man.” He embraced Rose and Jason one more time. “When he’s old enough to understand, tell Jason I love him.” Then he moved away from the
m, his hands out to his sides to show his cooperation.

  Two soldiers rushed forward and restrained him, while a third clapped manacles on his wrists, pushed the cup in place, passed a chain through the cross-shaped slot, and securely locked it.

  As Rand stood stoic while he was shackled, Rose memorized every detail of his precious face, from his green-gray eyes shrouded with thick dark eyelashes, to his sensual lips framed by endearing dimples, to his strong jaw clenched with courageous resolve.

  As she watched him being dragged away, a terrible ache unlike any she ever felt tore her heart in twain.

  “Nay. Don’t want Papa to go.” Jason reached out, struggling in Rose’s arms. “Papa. Papa.”

  Legs trembling, she dropped to her knees. Rose tried to hold her emotions inside, but a deep, dark chasm, where she kept her feelings buried, burst free and would not be silenced. She sobbed, hugging her son, afraid she might shatter into a thousand pieces if she let him go.

  Chapter Thirty

  Upon receiving the latest refusal by King Edward for a private audience, Rose took long, swift strides in search of Edith and Jason. Rand’s townhome in Chester had a small but magnificent walled garden. Meadowsweet, with its frothy white petals, betony, with its purple-hued flowers, honeysuckle, and roses of white and pale pink grew in profusion in raised planter beds, imbuing the courtyard with an intoxicating concoction of sweet fragrance. But Rose was oblivious to all but her mission.

  As Rose passed under an arbor of honeysuckle, a warm summer breeze wafted through her long flowing hair, which was held back by a circlet. Jason’s childish giggles drew a smile from Rose. In a back corner of the garden, Edith sat on a bench below a hawthorn tree, many of its green leaves tinged with a reddish hue. Jason, wearing just his braies, played in a pool of water in the middle of the courtyard, his feet kicking sprays of water into the air.

  Flicking back a loose lock tickling her cheek, Rose raised the missive in her other hand and waved it at Edith. “The king has denied my request for an audience, again. If Edward thinks his refusal will deter me, well, I am afraid he shall be disappointed.” Rose halted by the bench.

  Edith gazed at her, raisin-brown eyes shadowed with concern. “Milady, what do you intend to do?”

  “I intend to go to Chester Castle and stand day after day in the presence chamber like the rest of the supplicants petitioning the king.” Rose tipped back on her heels and, staring down, smoothed her hands over the red silk stretched over her rounded stomach.

  She calculated four and a half moon cycles had passed since she and Rand had made love and conceived this precious babe she carried. Her heart blossomed with profound love and tenderness. But she could not prevent a ripple of sadness from marring her happiness. Rand should be here with her. He missed his son’s birth and early years; it was not fair he would never know this child either.

  Rose continued, “My condition being glaringly evident, I am counting on the king showing mercy upon me. If not, perhaps the queen will take pity on me and use her influence with the king to get me an audience. I shall not rest till Edward frees Rand from prison.” The conviction in her voice rang like steel.

  “What do you hope to accomplish by speaking with the king?”

  “I intend to persuade Edward that Rand did not truly betray him. The king knows Golan extorted my confession. Rand, therefore, should not be condemned for breaking me free from prison when I was not guilty of the crime Golan made me falsely confess to.”

  “Do you truly believe the king can be swayed with reason?”

  “I pray Edward’s love for his cousin shall outweigh his anger that Rand broke his oath of fealty, and the king will pardon him.”

  “You must not despair should you fail. You have Jason, and another child on the way to consider now.”

  Aye, Rose swore fiercely to herself, I shall protect you, my sweet one. Already she loved this baby more than her own life. She loved Jason just as much, but this baby was conceived in an amalgam of hope, love, and desolation; desolation because she’d thought she was going to die and never see Rand and Jason again.

  Rose jumped, startled, when a small hare scampered into the garden. It froze not far from the pool. One beady dark eye stared at them. Jason scooped up water in his hands and, giggling, showered the hare with it. When the animal darted away, Jason leapt from the pool and gave chase. The hare, cornered, scrabbled beneath the hedge. Jason lunged for it with his hands outstretched. The hare made its escape. Catching naught but air, Jason fell onto his hands in the dirt.

  Rose ran to his side, fearing he was hurt. But he just crawled to his feet, and laughing, he swiped his dirty hands onto his braies.

  His eyes brightened upon seeing her. “Mama, did you see? I almost caught a hare.”

  “Aye, I saw all right. I also see what a dirty mess you are.” She licked her thumb and wiped a bit of dirt off his forehead.

  His feet and hands were muddy and his braies were covered with dirty smudges at the thighs and knees.

  “I believe ’tis time for someone’s bath.”

  “Ah, Mama, I want to play some more. Can I?”

  Since Rand’s imprisonment, it was rare to see Jason so happy. She did not have the heart to spoil his playtime.

  “Very well, dar—” Feeling a sharp twinge in her abdomen, Rose gasped and clutched her stomach. “Oh my.”

  “Mama?”

  “Milady, is it the baby? Are you all right?” Edith rushed over and wrapped her arms around Rose’s shoulders. “I knew all your worrying was not good for the baby. I shall take you—”

  “Nay, my dear friend, ’tis naught wrong with the babe. The opposite actually. The baby kicked me, I think.” She marveled.

  “Can I feel the baby?” Jason leaned toward her eagerly.

  She beamed at his enthusiasm. “Aye, son, here.” She grabbed his grimy hands and pressed them to the tiny bulge that protruded from her rounded stomach.

  His eyes rounded, awe in his face. “I can feel him moving.”

  She laughed, ruffling his shoulder-length damp curls. “Aye, I can feel him, too. Though you know, son, it could very well be a girl and not a boy.”

  “Rose?”

  Rose started at the soft, silken caress of the masculine voice. Slowly, disbelieving, she turned in the direction of the voice. Rand stood beneath the spreading canopy of the hawthorn tree, staring at her stomach. The leaves overhead fluttered in the breeze, dappling him with shimmering light. She skimmed her gaze over him from head to toe. His surcoate was ragged and dirty. His hair, long, lanky, and greasy, framed his dirt-begrimed, bearded face. Yet he never appeared more handsome to her.

  His gaze shot up to hers.

  She spoke in unison with Rand, shock palpable in both their voices.

  “Rand, what…how came you to be here?”

  “Rose, darling, verily? You are with child?”

  A thrumming wonder and happiness began to beat in her breast.

  She nodded, biting the corner of her plump lower lip, waiting for his response. She did not wait long. A huge grin spread across his bearded face; in a trice he loped toward her, then swung her up into his arms with one hand at her back and the other under her knees.

  He spun her around, releasing a carefree laugh of exuberance she’d never heard from him before. She clutched his shoulders, laughing and crying with unbound joy. Then Rand set her down and clutched her face between his palms. His green eyes, lit with overwhelming pleasure, bore into hers. “You are having a baby. I still cannot believe it. By the looks of it, Jason shall have a baby brother or sister in five months or so.”

  Jason nudged between them. “I am having a brother. Girls are no fun to play with.”

  Rand released her, and laughing, picked Jason up and hugged him. “Girls are fun too. One day I am sure you will agree.”

  Jason wiggled to be free. “I am too old to be picked up like a baby.”

  Rand stumbled, appearing as though Jason was too heavy a burden to carry. “Aye,
you are so heavy, I cannot hold you any longer,” he said, setting Jason down on his feet.

  Jason giggled heartily. Rose smiled, so happy she felt like raising her voice to the sky.

  “Milord, milady,” Edith interjected, “you no doubt wish to have your privacy to discuss all that has occurred of late. I can tend Jason for the nonce, and he may sleep with me in the servants’ quarters this eve.”

  Rose felt a flush on her cheeks, knowing Edith was giving them privacy for more than just talking.

  Rand grinned, his eyes twinkling with laughter. But when he spoke his voice sounded calm and serious. “Aye, Edith, Rose and I do have much to…discuss. And I desperately need a bath to remove the filth of prison.”

  “Come, Rand. I shall order a bath for you and find you some clean clothes,” Rose said.

  But first, she turned and kissed Jason. “Good eve, son. Sleep well. Rand and I shall see you in the morn.”

  Rand knelt down, hugged and kissed Jason.

  “Your beard tickles, Papa,” Jason said, giggling.

  Rand’s throat visibly quivered. “Well, it appears I need to shave too. Good eve, son,” he said, a crack in his voice.

  He stood up and held his hand out for her. His eyes glowed like hot steel. Her heart missed a beat, then began racing wildly with anticipation. Without hesitation, she slipped her hand into his warm clasp interlacing her fingers through his.

  Rose held Rand’s hand tightly as they walked in silence, tension building between them like a sultry wave of heat.

  She quickened her pace to keep up with his longer gait. Upon approaching the arbor, he released her, then swung his arm out with a flourish for her to go before him. She grinned, curtsied, and hurried beneath the arch. When he stepped through the arbor, he swept her off her feet again, clutching her to his chest. She squealed in delight. He laughed and hurriedly raced to the outer steps leading to their bedchamber above the kitchen.

  Rose had too many questions vying for an explanation. “How came you to be free?” she blurted out. “I wrote the king numerous times begging for your release. But every time he denied me.”