As was his right as The Enforcer.
Panic radiated through her limbs. For a fleeting instant, she recalled her sister’s warning that he had murdered his first wife.
Glancing at the door, the window, the garderobe, she searched frantically for a means of escape. Her chest constricted so tightly she could barely breathe. Cornered. Trapped. Nowhere to run.
“The battle is lost,” he said as if reading her mind. He stepped toward her, his jaw hard.
Not allowing herself to think, she lunged, attempting to race past him, to go somewhere, anywhere besides here. He grabbed her arm in an easy twist as if he had expected such a move and hauled her upright until her nose nearly touched his.
“You will have three lashes for every defiance you give me between here and the woodchopper’s block.” A tight tic pulsed in his jaw as if he was just holding himself back from striking her. As if he feared that once he started beating her, he would not stop. “I can have the skin stripped from your flesh and leave you to die from the wounds or have your execution done with one stroke to your neck.”
Her knees began to shake. In her mind, the cold metal of the axe was already biting into her neck. With a bravado she did not feel, she squared her shoulders. “I’m not sorry for what I’ve done.”
“Three lashes.”
She lifted her chin, her ire rising. “Do what you will with me, I won’t cow down to you.”
His hand on her arm tightened into a biting grip. “If you care naught for your own flesh, I can have the skin stripped from your sisters’ bones as well.”
Hot, angry tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Before she could compose an answer, Brenna found herself pulled upward and slung over Montgomery’s shoulder. The room spun, her paintings forming blurs of colors. His scent, which had enticed her only moments earlier, terrified her now.
“Put me down!”
“Nay.”
She beat on his back with her fist.
“Six lashes.”
She stilled, his shoulder pushing into her stomach. There was no sense in acting the fool. She would face death with dignity.
He paced to the door, opened it and began his march down the hallway. If the wound she had inflicted bothered him, his movement did not indicate it.
About halfway down the steps leading into the bailey, one of his men met them.
She cringed, embarrassed at being held in such an undignified position.
“My lord?” The man was a tall, thick-limbed brute with a crooked, ugly nose and deep frown line betwixt his brows. He took in the bloody red slice across Montgomery’s chest, silently nodded and moved to follow them outside. As if he too understood what would happen.
Flashes of light flickered before her eyes; she bounced against Montgomery’s shoulder as he strode down the steps into the courtyard. The bright sunlight stung her eyes, making them water. Hanging her head down, she allowed the pearled veil to cover her face and peeked through the folds.
Slowly, he set her down. Her legs trembled so much only his grip on her shoulders held her upright as her toes sank into the cool, wet earth. Her gaze darted to the castle’s gate. Could she make it? Lose him in the woods?
“Run and I’ll burn the keep to the ground,” he said, following the direction of her gaze.
She shuddered.
A crowd gathered, soldiers and servants rounding on them. They stared at the two of them, and Brenna felt her underarms sting with terror.
Montgomery stood tall and firm, allowing the castlefolk to gawk at the open wound and the blood oozing down his bare chest. So this is what facing death felt like? A cold, icy feeling that won’t let your knees stop shaking no matter how hot the sun gets.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she determined not to cry. Not to plead. Time seemed to slow so that the people moved like sluggish snails.
“Move. Walk forward.”
Toward the side of the bailey, a tall woodstack leaned against the outer wall of the castle. Logs scattered haphazardly on the ground and a heavy block that the woodcutters used to split logs was nearby. Two axes leaned against the pile, their sharp crescent blades gleaming in the sun. Ogier, the head woodchopper, took pride in having a sharp shiny blade.
Brenna trembled, thinking of all the times she’d seen the men pop open a log. Breathe. Breathe. But she couldn’t breathe. At least not deeply. Her breath came in short, panicked gulps as if her body was trying to inhale life itself.
What was left of it.
Montgomery’s hand between her shoulder blades pushed her forward. Her feet tangled and she had to make several quick steps to keep from pitching forward.
Angry, she whirled around. “You needn’t push me like a pig to slaughter!”
“Nine lashes.”
She clamped her mouth shut, fury swirling inside her like a storm.
With a hard hand on her shoulder, he forced her to her knees before the woodchopper’s block and motioned to one of his men. Her knees ground into the earth, further dirtying the wedding gown. Buttons popped and the points of the sleeves dragged in the mud.
She squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them a man was nailing a spike into the block a dagger’s length from her face. Every thunk of the hammer reverberated through her skull.
Bile rose in her throat. Clenching her jaw, she refused to give into panic.
The crowd grew larger, murmuring in hushed voices. To one side she saw Jennet, the laundress, holding her basket of linens. Brenna closed her eyes against the sight, and covered her ears with her hands.
She shivered as she felt strong male hands on her arms. One hand and then the other was brought in front of her to the spike and tied there. The ropes swirled around her wrists in symmetrical loops like some beautiful exotic snake. They cut deeply, biting into her tender flesh.
The crowd’s voices strengthened into a roar. She wiggled to escape, to put her hands back over her ears, but her efforts were puny. The rough hemp scratched her skin as she pulled against the rope.
Breathe. Breathe. She couldn’t seem to get enough air. The block pushed against her chest, the hewn wood smashing her lungs.
Behind her she felt Montgomery’s presence. His anger. His largeness. Fury radiated off his body like heat from the hearth.
Anxiety rose higher and higher inside her, choking her like steel bands around her chest. Our Father Who art in heaven—
She bit her lip to keep from begging for mercy.
Hallowed be Thy name—
Beyond Montgomery, she felt the eyes from the crowd. Gooseflesh popped up on her arms and legs.
Thy will be done—
She stopped the prayer, suddenly angry with God that he’d made her a woman. If only she were a man, able to fight, able to choose her own destiny. She didn’t want God’s will if it included being female.
And then she heard a rip and air rushed across the skin of her back. She gasped.
Glancing backward, she saw Montgomery standing legs apart holding a whip. He wore only hose, boots, and a belt. Blood ran down his chest, dripping on the ground. Resolve gleamed in his eyes.
Terrified, she pulled against the rope binding her to the block. She tried to scramble off her knees and onto her feet. Why, why, why had they crossed him? They knew his reputation, his station as The Enforcer.
What a daft plan it had been to try to stab him.
The crowd drew in a collective breath as Montgomery unfurled the whip and silenced them with a wave of his hand.
“This woman has committed acts of treason. She has gone against the orders of the king and against the order of God by attacking her lord and master with the intention of murder. As The King’s Enforcer, I now sentence her to a public whipping and beheading.”
Oh, God.
Brenna squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the feel of the whip. She wouldn’t beg, she vowed. She wouldn’t.
Around her she heard the sounds of the shifting crowd, of their approval of the punishment.
And then the w
hip cracked across her back and all thoughts left her brain. A line of white-hot agony laced across her skin.
Black spots formed in front of her eyes. Thrice more the whip sang through the air, landing with perfect accuracy across her shoulders. She screamed; feeling tears begin to leak from her eyes, and knew five more lashes would follow.
Sweat beaded on her upper lip. She pulled to one side, fighting the rope and dreading the next stroke. Gritting her teeth, she vowed to not scream again. She would not give him any more satisfaction.
With a soft pop, she heard the whip being flung to the ground.
Startled, she looked back, blinking the tears out of her eyes.
He paced to her, knelt and forced her neck down on the chopping block. She didn’t fight, but looked at him with questioning eyes. Why had he stopped?
“I take no joy in another’s pain. This was to keep order only and my point has been well-proven.”
His face was blurry through the veil of her tears, but, even so, she could see that his anger was gone. His eyes still looked hard, but the red mote no longer shone. In a flash, she knew he still planned to kill her, but the public whipping and humiliation was over.
“Gramercy.” Her voice sounded like a croak, her mouth dry as dirt.
He looked genuinely taken aback that she’d thanked him, and she felt her face heat. She wasn’t thinking straight. If her hands had been free she would have covered her mouth with her palm.
Turning, he picked up an axe, running his fingers over the smooth wooden handle as if afraid that if he did not hurry he would lose his will to kill her altogether.
“My lord—” she started, trying frantically to think of something that would stave off the deathblow.
“Lady of Windrose, do you have any last words?” He raised the axe.
A gurgling sound came from her throat. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came forth.
Her heart beat like a drummer’s frenzy. The seconds seemed to drag on, each one a year in length. The wood felt cool and hard against her cheek; four dark rings and endless others of lighter colors looped on the wood. Tans and blacks and browns all faded one into another as she stared at them, her eyes going blurry.
“Would you tell my sisters that I am sorry?” she finally managed to choke out, then squeezed her eyes closed and awaited the blow. Odd disjointed thoughts scattered through her brain. Would she die right away or would her head live for a few moments, severed from her body? Would her blood paint the earth in crimson? Would her miniatures be discovered? Perhaps this was her punishment for painting such things. For only wanting to enter the convent to follow her own selfish ambitions, not religious conviction.
“James!” A voice cried out from the crowd. “Halt! You cannot slay her.”
The axe stayed high in the air, right over her neck. “Leave be, brother. This is not your concern.”
Brenna opened her eyes to see a large man pacing toward them. He was similar in height and size to Montgomery, but his hair hung freely about his shoulders, wild rather than sharply contained like her husband’s. She could not see his face. He drew near Montgomery and stopped. “She is not to blame.”
Montgomery glanced down at his chest. Red stains marred his hose and little splotches of blood fell from his torso to the ground. Damning evidence of her handiwork.
“You are here to bring peace to the region and to oversee the port. ’Twill cause discord among the castlefolk if you slay her.”
“And if I do not then I’ll not be able to sleep another night with my eyes closed.”
“Then throw her in the dungeon, make her a slave or send her to a nunnery.”
A convent! Hope soared in her heart.
“Stand back, brother. My duty is clear and this is the only way for peace.”
Her hope crushed, she winced as the axe lifted even higher.
“Your position as The Enforcer has addled your brain. Use her as an asset, a pawn.”
Brenna twisted her head as far as she could so she could to see Montgomery’s face, to see if he was softening any. She wracked her brain to think of something to say that would tip the argument in her direction.
“Prithee, my lord,” she said. “Give me my life and I will fight you no longer.” Her pride kicked her for breaking her vow to beg. But she could be no help to her family dead. Mayhap she could poison him later. They said deceit and poison were women’s weapons, but ’twas men who made it thus. What choice did a woman have in this world of men’s power and men’s wars?
Montgomery stood there, axe poised. “Offal is worth more than your word.”
She swallowed, holding her breath. No words came to her to fight his claim. Pressing her forehead into the wooden block, she closed her eyes and began to pray again despite her fury towards God for making her a woman. She would not beg Montgomery again.
Slowly, he lowered the axe until its blade rested just on the nape of her neck. The sharp, cold metal chilled her to the marrow.
Moments ticked by.
Apprehension rose higher and higher, banding her stomach, squeezing off her breath. She opened one eye, angry he drew out the moment, that he stood there so calmly while she trembled on her knees. Pressure built inside her seeming to fill all her being until she felt she would burst. The fear, the terror overwhelmed her. If she must be a woman, why could she not be a fainting one?
“Zwounds! Just get it over with, man!” she cried out when she could take no more.
The axe twisted, raking to one side and nipping her skin. Her taught nerves registered it as strongly as a deathblow and her whole body convulsed. A stinging line burned her neck.
Another wave of terror went through her that it might please him to saw her head off slowly rather than lop it off all at once. The edges of her vision blackened and the voices of the castlefolk faded. Her head swam.
Mayhap she was the fainting sort of woman after all.
Chapter Six
“Awaken, Brenna. We must make plans. They are making talk of taking Father to London.”
“Huh?” Midmorning sunlight streamed over the mattress in long yellow streaks as Brenna opened her eyes and blinked sleepily, trying to fathom what had just been said. “Am I dead?”
Adele hovered over her, shaking the bed. St. Paul paced back and forth across the pillows while Duncan licked her nose. “Get up, Brenna. We must rescue Gwyneth and Father.”
At that, Brenna came full awake. Outraged, she threw back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Gwyneth and Father? It’s their bloody fault that I nearly had my head chopped off!”
Adele and Panthos jumped backward as Brenna lurched off the bed.
Ignoring her stinging back, she scrambled to find the pack that Montgomery had emptied and refill it. “I’m leaving before the beast comes to finish his deed of beheading me.”
“I do not believe Montgomery still intends to slay you.”
Brenna remembered the hush of the crowd, the cool wood against her cheek and the terror in her heart. Her pulse sped, and she felt dizzy at the memory. “You are daft.”
In sharp contrast to Brenna’s panic, Adele calmly scratched the dog’s head. “Panthos likes Montgomery.”
“Panthos!” ’Twas the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. The world had gone mad. “Most likely my faint took the joy out of murdering me. Killing me isn’t enough for a man like him—he could have done that here in the chamber.” Her tirade rose in tone and pitch as she grew more and more determined to quit the castle. She accented her words by racing around her chamber, tossing random items for her journey into her pack. “He drew the whole process out to terrify me and probably sees my swooning as thwarting his plans. He may want to send me to the rack or worse for the mishap.”
Panthos gazed curiously at her, ears upward as if he understood every word and thought she had lost her mind.
“Nay, Brenna, you must speak to Montgomery, see if you can lessen his sentence on Father. Both Gwyneth and I have been lock�
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“Father be damned! ’Tis his idiocy that caused this!” The thought of even seeing Montgomery made her queasy. In her mind she could see the red mote in his eye that bespoke vengeance. “And Gwyneth is as much to blame as him! Save yourself.” Plucking her wedding garment from where it lay flopped over the trunk Montgomery had locked her painting supplies in, she flung it into the hearth. Flames burst around it. Duncan leapt onto the window seat as if to get away from the crazed humans.
Brenna hurried behind her dressing screen to find clothing for her journey. “Come with me. We will beg for shelter at a convent and pray Montgomery won’t burn it down looking for us.”
“But Gwyneth will be married off to one of the king’s cohorts, and Father will be dragged through the streets and tortured if they take him to London. I know what Papa did to you was wrong—but he is still our sire. Montgomery is your husband; even with yesterday’s events, he may still hear your plea.”
Panthos barked once as if to agree with Adele.
A welling of dread clogged Brenna’s throat at the word husband. “Not a husband in truth.” She poked her head around the screen and scrutinized the sheets, searching for any sign of blood. “I am still a virgin. At least, I think I am. I need to get far, far away, have the marriage annulled and pray he never finds me.”
With a pensive look in her eyes, Adele glided to the seat in the embrasure. Panthos followed and settled at his mistress’s feet, flopping his large furry head on his paws.
Brenna scurried behind the dressing screen and peered at her wild red hair in the looking glass.
Someone had placed a sleeping cap on her head—Gwyneth? Adele?—but the curls had already begun to spring this way and that. Wearing the cap was a habit she’d let slide some when her hair had been freshly shorn, but she’d need it again soon to protect her locks. Her skin looked sallow and freckled.
“Ugh.” Even if she wasn’t dead, she looked like death. In this state, the convent nuns would think she was a harlot, hung over from a night of swiving randy men.
The Pleasures of Sin Page 6