The Heart of Darkness

by Odelia Floris

  He silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. ‘Hush. I know you are determined to disagree, but I will not be contradicted on this point,’ he said with a smile.

  She felt her blush deepen a little, but nodded acceptance.

  He lifted his finger from her lips and took her other hand in his too. ‘I want you to know that I consider myself deeply in your debt for this. Any time you need or want anything from me, consider it done, no matter how great or small it might be.’

  ‘You are very kind. I don’t know what to say…’

  He laughed and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. ‘‘Yes’ would do nicely.’

  She smiled slyly at him. ‘Your wish is my command, master.’

  ‘Hmmm…now I think you mean to tease me.’

  ‘And I think that you will find teasing is your special talent,’ she said archly, beginning to think it might be wise to free herself from his grip.

  He eyed her dangerously. ‘Oh really?’

  She quickly got to her feet. ‘Oh no, you’re getting that dreadful predatory look in your eyes again, like you did at the feast last night. Causing a shocking scene like that, right in front of anyone who is anyone for miles around—I really must severely tell you off for doing such a thing! You know, I was that close to breaking into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.’ She gave an indignant sniff. ‘In future, I shall be making sure that your hands are where I can see them at public gatherings.’

  He smiled darkly down at her. ‘If you don’t stop your scolding you might end up being the one jumping to a place of safety like a maid who has seen a mouse this time, because I can think of a very good way of silencing you.’

  ‘Oh yes, in all the excitement of stealing the letters I had forgotten all about that! It really was the funniest thing I have ever seen!’ she cried, laughing heartily at the memory.

  ‘You thought it was funny, did you? I’m set upon by some crazed, drink-sodden girl and all you can do is laugh.’ He made a lunge for her waist. ‘I’ll teach you not to laugh at me like that, madam!’

  She shrieked and skipped to the side just in time to avoid being caught. ‘No, you won’t!’

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that, little lady,’ he replied, advancing on her again. ‘You’re always out-foxing me and making me look a fool, and I think it’s time I taught you a lesson.’

  Rowena was not sure what punishment Sir Richard had in mind, but the look in his eyes did not bode well. She backed away from him rapidly, determined not to be caught.

  He kept pace with her retreat. ‘So, do you still think my predicament last night was funny?’

  ‘Yes I do, and I can’t wait to tell everyone at Eaglestone all about it!’ she replied rather boldly considering her odds.

  He lunged for her again. ‘That does it!’

  But this time her nimble dodge only found her in a corner, firmly trapped and staring straight at Sir Richard’s naked chest through the opening in his leather doublet and shirt, both undone to near his waist in the heat.

  He placed a hand on the wall on either side of her, removing any chance of escape she might have had, and leaned over her.

  ‘I capture the castle…’ he whispered, in deep, darkly honeyed tones that washed over her like a caress.

  The heady, overpowering scent of musky, spicy perfume mixed with the smell of leather and his sweat made her feel giddy.

  She leaned her head back against the cool stone wall and looked up at him with a smile of resignation. ‘Yes, Sir Richard, I think you are the victor this time. But it is hardly a noble victory, as your size is so much greater than mine.’

  He looked down on her in smug triumph. ‘If looked at purely from the point of brute strength, perhaps. But if one adds your foxy cunning to the scales, I think it becomes much more balanced.’

  ‘But you did not give me a chance to think about cheating, so I think my point still stands.’

  He gave a low, bemused laugh. ‘You do not give in easily, do you?’

  She tilted her chin up defiantly. ‘You may have gained an easy victory over my body, but you will find my spirit a much harder opponent. I doubt you stand any real chance at all.’

  ‘Fighting words indeed, my lady…’ he murmured, moving in closer.

  Rowena let out a gasp as the pressure of his hard, muscular body pressed against her. His panting breath was hot on her cheek and she could feel his pulse throbbing through the thin cloth separating them. Her own heart began to race and her bosom heaved against his firm abdomen as she breathed faster and more deeply.

  ‘I’m not quite sure that your body and your mind are in complete agreement here, madam…’ came his low, velvety purr.

  She looked up at him. His liquidly dark, heavy-lidded eyes fixed on hers with a seductive intensity that made her feel weak.

  ‘I think you might have just called my bluff, Sir Richard,’ she gasped breathlessly. ‘I feel…like I’m going to faint…’

  He smiled his slow, dark smile. ‘So, you finally admit defeat?’

  She had always thought herself immune to his physical charms, but now she felt like she was drowning in a sea of throbbing, sweating maleness. If he did not remove his hard, heaving body from hers soon and stop breathing over her like that, she was sure she was going to faint or have a heart seizure—or both.

  Still panting, she nodded. ‘Yes—’

  One large, strong hand slid around her waist, while the other came to rest on her bare chest, rather close to her gown’s low neckline.

  Feeling even giddier, she watched with hypnotically fixed eyes as a heavy bead of sweat ran slowly down the hard, smooth contours of his naked chest.

  ‘I do wish it wasn’t so stiflingly hot…’ she gasped.

  ‘Are you talking about me or the weather?’

  ‘I had meant to refer to the latter, but I think the sentiment extends to the former too.’

  He laughed sardonically. ‘I must say, even I did not expect the crafty fox to be overcome quite so easily...’

  Rowena pulled her eyes up. ‘Neither did she.’

  But the new view was even worse than the previous one. He had fixed his burning black eyes on hers and bought his parted lips down to hover just above her own lips. Spellbound, she held his gaze as his burning velvet lips first brushed against hers, then pressed a firm kiss upon them.

  She could barely think at all. Why did those eyes have to be so darkly, deeply seductive? Those eyes, they were pools of liquid black—pools of ruin! What was she thinking of, letting some devilish knight whom she barely knew have his way with her? God’s bones!

  She suddenly put both hands to his chest and pushed back. ‘You, sir, are taking a great liberty!’

  He lifted his head, but she felt his body stiffen in resistance to her push. ‘The kind of liberty you made free to take with my person?’

  She set her jaw firmly and tightened her lips as she tried to meet the challenge in his eyes defiantly. It was a failure. She felt her cheeks glow hot, and when he lifted a dark eyebrow in amused satisfaction, she had to look down. That slightly sadistic smile playing on his lips spoke of gratification at a victory achieved and a power exercised. If she allowed him to exercise it anymore, her city would surely fall.

  She stopped pushing, but kept her hands braced against him ‘I’m sorry for what I did to you at the feast, master. Now will you release your underling, or does this master demand more of his minions than a Christian knight ought to?’

  He tilted his head to one side and regarded her darkly. Feeling that he mistrusted the sincerity of his clerk’s sudden fit of meekness, she kept her eyes lowered. A wolf with bared teeth poised at its vanquished foe’s throat only invites defiance from fools.

  After a few moments’ consideration, he stepped back. ‘Pardon me. I did not mean to offend your modesty.’

  She irately smoothed her dishevelled hair. ‘My modesty? Did you think I would have loose virtues because I’m some poor, common maid?’

  ‘No!’


  She hitched the fallen neckline of her gown back onto her shoulder with an angry jerk. ‘Oh, so this is your habit with all women then, is it?’

  He took an aghast step back that nearly had him flying over a stool. ‘If you are suggesting that I am a ravisher of women, I will consider it a grave insult to my honour!’

  ‘I was not suggesting that you are a ravisher of women’s bodies, but of their hearts. Where the heart leads the body is likely to follow!’

  ‘Madam, I swear by Our Lady that my soul is free of the sin which you accuse me of. I have never in my life stained the virtue of any maiden!’

  She shot Sir Richard a cross look as she stepped carefully past him enroute to the centre of the room. ‘And then you decided it was about time you did. I really must be tired,’ she added under her breath, ‘letting a man like you anywhere near me without so much as a betrothal between us.’

  He bowed stiffly. ‘I beg your pardon, sweet lady. I did not intend for things to get out of hand.’

  Still in a huff, she stooped to pick up the broken pieces of pewter bowl lying scattered on the floor. ‘The only thing that got out of hand is you.’

  The knight gave a silent and rather unwilling nod of acceptance at this latest rebuff from his clerk.

  Starting to feel ever so slightly guilty at Sir Richard’s remorseful face, she dropped the pieces of broken bowl into a pail by the door and turned to him with a more open expression. ‘Never mind, accidents will happen.’

  He seemed less than comfortable with her verdict, but nodded anyway.

  Rowena smiled wryly to herself. No doubt he had decided it would be wisest to stop digging. Deciding it was best to put the matter to bed quickly, she smiled politely across at Sir Richard. ‘Pray, let’s talk of other things. Tell me, how are your investigations going?’

  He carefully drew a bench out, sat down and rocked it onto its back legs. ‘Well, I had been hoping that Thomas’s killer would be found before the upcoming sitting of the shire court, so the people could be satisfied some progress was being made. The court is only a few days away now; it looks like I’ll have to pass an unsolved verdict when the case comes up. All the citizens of Hartfield will be keenly noting the outcome of this court-day to see if I have solved any of these crimes. I hope Gray doesn’t use it to start some damn riot…’

  Rowena perched herself on the edge of the stout table. ‘But at least you will be able to announce the much lower new tax rate. I’m sure that will go a long way towards silencing any discontented mutterings—don’t rock that bench back like that, you will break it! The sort of furniture humble folk can afford is not up to such punishment.’

  He let all four of the bench’s legs rest back on the ground. ‘Pardon me. This bench is so low it’s going to give me stiff knees. Yes, you are right about the taxes. That was, after all, Gray’s main rallying cry.’

  ‘It is not the bench which is low but your legs which are long.’

  He leaned back against the wall behind and swung his boots up to rest on the table. ‘True.’

  She promptly shoved them back off. ‘No, off!’

  There was a decidedly miffed air about the tall knight as he rearranged himself on the tiny bench. ‘I already feel henpecked and you are not even my wife!’

  His clerk gave a piqued sniff. ‘No, thank goodness. Having to put up with that sort of thing every day of her life really can drive a woman to the edge of reason. Now, you were saying about the investigation?’

  ‘Yes, the investigation...the trail has just gone cold. We have not found a single witness or new piece of evidence since you and I searched the scene of the last kidnapping at Dovers Dell. I have had every one of my available men out on the case. They have been going around to all the dwellings that are anywhere near where the maidens were taken from, or where the felons might have passed through. I gave my men orders to take the brooch we found at Dovers Dell and show it to all the folk they talked to in the hope one of them might recognize it, but there has been nothing.’

  ‘So what are you going to do now?’

  ‘I don’t know. As it has now been such a long time since the first maidens were taken, there is a good chance we will never find them. My men and I have scrutinized every possible lead and clue. There is nothing left that we can do.’

  ‘Oh don’t say that! I can’t bear to think what dreadful fate might have befallen those poor girls. They were kidnapped, not murdered. They are probably still alive somewhere.’

  ‘Yes, but they are likely a very long way from here by now.’

  ‘Please don’t give up, Sir Richard. For the maidens’ sake you must not give up hope. Someone must have seen or heard something.’

  ‘But there is nothing left for us to do that has not already been done before. We have scoured every corner of this shire. Lucifer has covered so many miles in these past weeks that he has worn through his shoes at twice his normal rate. My backside shall be glad when this is over too,’ he added, shifting uncomfortably on the hard seat.

  ‘Despite what some of Hartfield’s citizens say, I know you have been working very hard. But I’m sure there must still be something that can be done. Have you thought about what the felons may have in mind for the maidens?’

  ‘I have heard some rumours about slave traders near the coast. I talked to a pilgrim awhile back who had just docked at the seaport in Dead Men’s Cove, which is on Lothbury’s south coast. He had heard talk in the local alehouse about slave ships docking there at night to take supplies on board, and some said also children who had been sold to them by their parents. But the ship’s main cargo was said to be folk who had been captured by the pirates roaming the waters of the channel.’

  ‘Where do these slave ships take the poor souls to be sold?’

  ‘Almost certainly the East. Turkey, Persia and the like. White slaves are said to fetch a high price over there. There is a great demand for them among the wealthy sultans and princes.’

  ‘Do you think young women would be especially sought-after by slave traders?’

  He nodded. ‘A pretty girl would almost certainly fetch the highest price of all at the Eastern slave markets.’

  ‘From what we’ve been told, it seems that all of the victims were comely young maidens. This is a very promising lead. Why don’t you ride over to this Dead Men’s Cove and look into it?’

  ‘It is in the next shire; I have no jurisdiction there. I am supposed to go to the sheriff of any shire outside my own and pass on any suspicions of felony being committed there for him to investigate.’

  ‘Well why don’t you do that then?’

  ‘I did. It was pointless. He flatly denied there was anything shady going on in his shire. The slimy knave is clearly as bent as a thumbscrew. He wouldn’t even let me finish speaking before he was saying “How dare you come over into my shire accusing me of corruption!” I never said anything to him about corruption, but after his guilty reaction I was left in no doubt that he’s bent. If there is anything underhand going on in his patch, he will be getting his cut.’

  ‘Oh dear…’ she sighed, but her attention was not on Sir Richard anymore. The cottage door, left open to allow what little breeze there was to pass through, had just darkened with the figure of a worried Becky, who looked as if she had just entered her home to find a wolf seated at her table.

  Becky pointed to the seated sheriff, who had not noticed her yet as he was seated with his back to her. ‘What’s this?’ she mouthed silently to Rowena.

  Rowena hopped down from the table edge. ‘Becky, it’s barely midday; surely you have not finished the harvest already?’

  Becky cautiously stepped inside, eyeing Sir Richard like he was a wild animal that might jump up and bite her at any moment. ‘No, we ain’t finished. I just forgot the food basket.’

  The sheriff turned to see who it was, then quickly got to his feet.

  Rowena gave her friend a reassuring smile. ‘This is our sheriff, Sir Richard Hastings.’

  He b
owed. ‘Dame, our Lord give you good day.’

  ‘And this is my friend Becky, whose house this is.’

  Becky replied to his polite greeting with a curt nod. ‘What might you be doing here, Sir Richard?’

  He placed a casual hand on Rowena’s shoulder, which caused Becky to visibly stiffen. ‘I came over to talk to my clerk.’

  Rowena raised her eyebrows. ‘Talk to? I think scold would be a more accurate word.’

  Becky’s eyes narrowed. ‘He’s not been bothering you, has he?’

  Sir Richard laughed. ‘Goodwife, you need have no fears on that account. It is me you should pity. Rowena is forever proving the superiority of her wits over mine.’

  Becky shook her head, looking a little startled.

  ‘That’s not true at all!’ cried Rowena, giving him a playful slap on the hand.

  He winced and rubbed his hand. ‘Look at the way she abuses me.’

  ‘Don’t take any heed of anything he says, Becky. Now, Sir Richard, have you not got sheriff’s business to be getting on with?’

  ‘Yes, I do indeed. Very nice to make your acquaintance, Dame Becky,’ he said, picking up his gauntlets and starting to move towards the door. ‘Oh yes.’ He stopped and turned back towards the women. ‘I have some news about the tax rates which you will want to know.’

  Becky let out an audible groan. ‘They ain’t going up again, are they? How are us poor folks to live when we are forced to give most of our earnings to—’

  He raised a silencing hand. ‘Madam, I beg that you let me finish. The news I wish to tell you is that the tax rate will be going down, not up.’

  The blonde dame put a cynical hand to her hip. ‘By how much?’

  ‘The new tax rate, which will be officially announced and take effect at the next shire court hearing, is to be a third of the current tax rate.’

  Becky’s jaw dropped low enough to fit a pie in whole. ‘By all the saints in heaven!’ But her cynicism quickly returned. ‘For how long?’

  ‘Permanently, I hope,’ he replied with a smile.

  .11.

  Lest your Heart’s Blood