by Hall, Diana
Peering down, she spotted Titus at the high dais. He stuffed his mouth with roasted meat with one hand, while slipping the other down the blouse of the serving wench. The young girl trembled as she tried to refill an empty goblet. Drops of dark wine spilled across the stained linen tablecloth and spattered her uncle’s tunic.
“Idiot.” He released the wench and batted her away like a bothersome insect.
Gwendolyn leaned against the smooth wooden effigy, drawing courage from her mother’s image. As she closed her eyes, she felt her aged protector’s strong hand on her shoulder. “Dear Cyrus,” she murmured, releasing a long slow sigh. “If not for you and Darianne, that would have been my fate long ago. Titus keeps me alive now as an amusement and because of my mother’s death vow. Greed is Titus’s king and treachery his most beloved mistress. Should he discover the true profit my lands bring, I would have no hope of ever escaping. He would keep me prisoner till my death.”
“Aye, the man’s got no soul. And thus he fears your mother’s death vow.”
“But those words will not protect me forever.”
“Nay, but there have been many sightings of Isolde’s ghost.” Cyrus gave her a wink. “Trust that when King Henry hears of your plight, all will be put to rights.”
“King Henry?” She snorted. “He’s still trying to restore order in the civilized parts of England. ’Twill be some time before his judges and his influence reach us here in Cravenmoor.” The stairs creaked, and Gwendolyn hushed. She peeked from behind her sanctuary.
Ferris, the worst of her uncle’s bastard sons, stood at the far end of the galley. His dark eyes searched the hall below, then settled on her. The handsome lines of his face twisted into a familiar sneer.
Gwendolyn let the tangled mass of her dark hair cover most of her face. The hatred, the fear, the disgust churned away inside her soul, but she kept a vacant stare in her eyes as she lolled her head to the side.
Ferris approached and tapped her with the point of his sword. “What do you spy on, fat cow?” He stared down his long thin nose at Cyrus. “Why is she not waiting on her betters?”
“’Twas another fit, milord. I brought her upstairs so she’d not disturb your meal.” Cyrus pulled on her arm and led her from the hiding place. Gwendolyn kept her eyes downcast and her hands pushed deep in the folds of her gown. The coarse material snagged on her hangnails.
“Get the sow downstairs. Titus wants her.” Ferris slapped her leg with the flat side of his sword and waited, his black eyes exploring her face for a reaction.
The sting from the sword burned. A show of pain would only lead to more slaps and taunts. She buried her cry by squeezing her hands into tight fists. Cyrus patted her upper arm and guided her toward the stairs.
“Phew! Don’t you ever wash her?” Ferris sniffed the air with disgust. “Even if she is as fat as a sow, she needn’t smell like one.” He pushed them aside and headed down the steps.
Gwendolyn peered from between the strands of knotted hair. “What can Titus wish with me?”
Cyrus shook his head and scratched his beard. “Probably just planning sport at your expense. Mind, do as I’ve taught you. Keep your head down. ’Tis hard to mask the spark of life in those brilliant eyes. Keep your tongue quiet and carry yourself as Darianne instructed. Have faith, my child.”
“Aye, a bit of playacting and faith ’tis all that stands betwixt Titus and I.” She slumped her shoulders and hunched her back. To cover her eyes, she combed more hair over her face with her fingers. The transformation complete, she motioned for her knight to usher her downstairs. As she walked, one foot dragged over the rough planks of the floor. Occasionally, her foot snagged on the rushes and she had to lean on Cyrus for support.
Breathing hard, Gwendolyn made her way to stand in front of Titus in the great hall. Her uncle continued to gulp his ale. Drink dribbled down his greased beard. He wiped his chin with his hand and then flung the moisture away. Drops splattered her face. She shoved her hands deep into the slits of her kirtle and swallowed all her emotions.
Titus patted his stomach and belched loudly. “God in heaven, Ferris, it took you long enough to find her.”
His son remained quiet, but the tight line of his jaw showed his anger.
“Mayhap he was out searching for his angel again,” a nearby knight called as he drained his wine goblet.
The room grew silent. At a lift of Titus’s finger, Ferris’s blade rested at the blundering knight’s throat. Pressing the knife as well as his point, Ferris growled, “I think you talk too much, Hercule. Isolde lays moldering in her grave, not walking the lands of Cravenmoor.”
“Aye, Ferris. I talk too much,” the knight agreed with an eager but stilted nod. Ferris removed his blade; the knight rubbed his neck and swallowed several times as if to verify that his throat still worked.
Titus’s gaze flickered upward to where the sunlight haloed Isolde’s effigy. A tick attacked his left eye and a flicker of fear crossed over his face. The one chink in Titus’s evil came from Isolde’s threat. Gwendolyn whispered a prayer of gratitude for her mother’s gift.
The village talk of a wandering night angel, a silvery figure that appeared by night, ofttimes had instilled in Titus the only terror Gwendolyn had ever really seen in the man. Titus might not fear retribution in this world, but retribution from the hereafter scared him to the marrow of his bones.
“Why search for angels when we have such a lovely one here?” Titus’s gaze lowered, centering on Gwendolyn. A chill racked the wicked man’s body, as if an icicle ran through his soul.
The room took a collective breath. The knights and their women gave her rancorous looks and jeering smiles. Like Romans at the lion dens, they waited to see the cruel sport made of her.
Her uncle tossed a ham bone at her feet. From under the trestle tables, hunting hounds jumped at the morsel. Snarls and snapping teeth lashed out as the animals vied for the bone. Standing taller that she, the wolfhounds buffeted her from side to side. Their square-jawed heads collided with her knee. Daggerlike teeth sank into her calf.
Laughter and taunts clanged in Gwendolyn’s ears. Cyrus kicked at the pack, putting himself between her and the fighting beasts. The leader gripped the bone in his long yellow teeth, then slunk off, followed by his pack. Gwendolyn lifted her hem and gave thanks that the wounds did not run deep.
“God, but she’s stupid,” a woman declared, then drained her cup of wine.
“Aye, and ugly enough to make a cow look beautiful.” A knight nuzzled the woman’s ear. “Hair as soft as nettles. A shape to mirror a pregnant sow. ’Tis no wonder the girl’s the only virgin left in Cravenmoor. None of us are that desperate to bed a wench.”
“But all of that is soon to change, my dear niece.” Titus rounded the table and towered over her. Evil glittered in his eyes and warned Gwendolyn that misfortune would soon befall her.
“My friends, let us raise our goblets to the fair Gwendolyn on her coming marriage.” His hand whipped out and grabbed her by the hair. With a sharp tug, he forced her face upward. Another tug, and her lips parted from the pain.
“Drink, fair maiden.” He swept a cup from the table and poured the strong wine into her mouth. Hot fire swept down her throat as she tried to both swallow and spit out the brew. She started to choke from the forced drink and her uncle’s words.
Marriage! Was deliverance soon at hand, or an even crueler master? A crystal of pure hope burned in her soul and she suffered the abuse by focusing on that light.
“To Gwendolyn.” The nobles lifted their goblets high in the air and toasted her in mock salute.
Laughter at her expense echoed off the dreary stone walls. Titus released her, pushing her head toward the flea-infested rushes.
Gwendolyn scooted across the floor. Outrage and anger boiled in her heart and threatened to erupt, but her foster parents’ schooling helped her hide the turmoil. Keep all within. Do not show the pain. To distract herself, she stared at the rip in the seam of her shoe
. Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands. She could not afford to let Titus know of the person that existed beneath the dull outer shell she presented.
Her uncle, weak from laughter, waved his hand impatiently for another tankard of ale. A bone-thin page ran to fulfill the command.
“So, Niece, how do you feel to know of your coming nuptials to Lord Merin’s heir?” Titus chuckled under his breath.
“Milord?” Cyrus approached with hesitant steps. “Lord Merin’s son died some years ago.”
“Aye, and ’tis his good fortune he did, or else he’d suffer the fate of marriage to the cow.” Titus grabbed the fresh tankard and downed a hefty swallow. “Lord Merin has adopted a new heir and decided to bind the man to the agreement made between himself and his lifelong friend, Sir William. For the new heir to inherit, he must marry my lovely niece.”
A groan sounded in the hall. Gwendolyn heard the condolences to her unknown betrothed. “The poor man. What bad luck.”
Titus withdrew a wrinkled parchment from the bag on his belt. “Lord Merin demands I deliver the lady Gwendolyn to his northern keep of Mistedge before Easter or his troops will come to take her by force.”
“He threatens war for her!” Ferris pointed his reedy finger at her. Surprise animated his face, erasing the usual sneer.
“The man hasn’t set sight on her since she was two. Lord Merin’ll turn her away at the door.”
“Then why not let him come to us?” Ferris suggested.
“Because if I carry out Lord Merin’s request in good faith, only to be refuted, I’d have to be compensated for my travel. Then again, the contract has been signed and delivered to the king. Lord Merin would have to compensate my poor niece for her broken heart and embarrassment at being so publicly humiliated.”
Her uncle’s laughter tore at the last threads of self-control Gwendolyn possessed. Her desire for revenge caused her muscles to ache for action. Her fingers curled, begging for the chance to scratch out Titus’s eyes. Hidden beneath her kirtle, a dagger tempted her to finally end the years of torment, and impulse caused her to slide her hand toward it.
Cyrus saw her movement. His gray-white brows crinkled as he shook his head to warn her off. She returned her hand to her pocket.
Ferris gave his father a thin smile. “Pray, who is the unfortunate man destined for Gwendolyn’s hand?”
Titus slapped his thigh. “I know you’ll find much pleasure in the knowledge that my niece’s betrothed is Falke de Chretian.”
Ferris’s smile tightened to a snarl and his voice dripped with hatred. “So the rogue’s luck has finally run out.” He shoved aside his gaudily dressed mistress and marched to Gwendolyn’s side. His eyes scrutinized her. “Still, Chretian is known for his uncanny luck.”
“Not this time, which is why this tastes so sweet. Chretian will pay well not to wed Gwendolyn.” Titus’s gaze again lifted to the image of Isolde. A brilliant shaft of light shone on the white-blond hair, and the statue’s eyes seem to sparkle with life.
Titus’s voice lowered and Gwendolyn strained to hear him. “She has no power beyond Cravenmoor land.” A cloud passed, casting a shadow over the statue. The spell broken, Titus waved to Cyrus. “Take her away and pack up what belongings she has. We leave tomorrow.”
The old knight bowed low, so only Gwendolyn saw the white line of anger across his lips. “Aye, milord. I’ll prepare her stallion tonight and—”
“She’s not riding that stallion. He stays here.” The glimmer of another torture glinted in Titus’s green eyes.
The steady thump of Gwendolyn’s heart stopped. Not take Greatheart? Without her to care for her father’s charger, he’d die of neglect. Somehow she had to convince Titus to allow her to take him. Show no concern, her inner voice cautioned Titus is only trying to torment you more. Think! Outsmart him!
“I…ride…white…mule, like real lady?” She labored over each word and spoke in a childlike voice. Through the strands of hair, Gwendolyn watched her uncle’s reaction.
“By Hades, I wouldn’t waste a horse on the likes of you,” Titus shouted back.
“But she’s got to have an animal, milord. The trip would take too long if she’s to walk the whole way. And ’tis a long and taxing journey—hard on man and beast.” Cyrus gave her a quick wink. He had caught the direction of her plan and fallen in step.
“Aye, that it is.” Titus yawned, the drink and heavy meal beginning to slow him down. “Take the old stallion. No one but she can ride him anyway. If the animal dies en route, ’twill be no loss to me.”
Gwendolyn’s heart resumed a steady beat. She wanted to rejoice, hug Cyrus and rush out to Great-heart.
“Now get her the hell out of here. I’m tired.” Titus dismissed them and grabbed the wrist of the woman nearest to him. Her eyes glazed with drink, she followed him up the stairs to the main bedchamber.
“Let’s go,” Cyrus whispered in Gwendolyn’s ear.
Ideas and speculation raced in her head as she followed Cyrus down the stairs to the first-floor pantry. How was Falke de Chretian connected with Titus and Ferris?
“Gwendolyn?” Darianne hobbled from the tiny cell she called her chamber.
“Here.” Gwendolyn hurried to assist the elderly woman to a stool. “Are your joints aching again today? Did you drink the tea I made for you?”
“Hush, child. Someone may hear you,” Darianne cautioned, looking about the room.
“Do not worry. The serfs are off sleeping or drinking. Why work when the filth is tolerated? Why serve palatable meals when the food is strewn across the floor? We’ll be alone until ’tis time to break our evening fast on the scraps from my uncle’s table.”
Cyrus brought over a cup of hot water and Gwendolyn dug about in her pockets until she found the right leaves. She steeped several dark, aromatic stems in the cup and pressed it to the pained woman’s lips.
“It seems I’m to be married,” Gwendolyn stated in a dry voice. “Lord Merin has a new heir and wishes to honor the contract he made with my father.” Again a surge of hope washed over her. For so long, not even a beam of light had made its way into the darkness of her life at Cravenmoor. Disappointment threatened to snap the thin shaft of longing in her heart. She was afraid to believe, afraid to dream.
“Thanks be to God.” Darianne took a long sip of the hot liquid and rocked back and forth. “At last you’re to be saved.”
“Titus is sure the man will pay handsomely to be released from the contract. ’Tis the only reason he’s letting me go.”
“But if we tell this knight the truth…” Darianne’s gnarled and twisted fingers brushed the tangled curtain of hair from Gwendolyn’s face. “If we show the man the truth, he’d not refuse a union.”
“And what if he’s akin to Titus? If I tell this man that I do have my wits about me, that my dowry is rich, that I am not what I seem—and he tells my uncle—I am doomed.”
“She’s got a point, Wife.” Cyrus rested on a keg of ale. The strong yeast smell permeated the wood and the pantry area. “We must gauge what kind of man Chretian is. ’Tis plain Ferris and Titus have dealt with him before, and by their reaction, I would reckon the outcome was not in their favor. No offense, Gwen, but the thought that Chretian had to marry you brought them pleasure.”
“Aye. But what does that tells us? Any man who would deal with my uncle cannot be reputable.”
“But any man that bests them can’t be all bad.” Cyrus crossed his arms and asked, “So what’s it to be?”
“We go. We listen.” Gwendolyn pulled a handful of dried marigold flowers from a pocket to prepare a decoction for Cyrus’s joints. Placing the withered petals into a pot of boiling water, Gwendolyn formulated a plan as she worked.
“If Falke de Chretian is honorable, I’ll tell him everything. If not, I’ll keep up the disguise and wait for another chance.” She tried to keep the fear from her voice. How many more chances would there be? This was the first real opportunity she’d had in ten years to escap
e the horrors Titus heaped on her.
“What of Titus’s steward?” Darianne asked. “How long can you be away before our other little game is found out?”
“Come harvest I must be home to fix the numbers, or I must wed. That gives me nigh on seven months. I foresee no problem, for either Lord Merin’s heir will send me straight home or he’ll honor the contract. I should be safe either way.”
“I pray you’re right, child.” Darianne’s voice wavered with emotion.
Gwendolyn prayed also, under her breath. She looked around the dank, unkempt kitchen, and faint memories haunted her. Long ago this room had held happy, busy servants, the walls had sparkled with cleanliness. Her mother had…The rest eluded her. Each time Gwendolyn tried to picture her life before Titus, the image blurred more and more. Was she forgetting, or was desperation clouding even the pictures in her mind?
“Our luck is changing, love,” Darianne sang as she began to gather their meager belongings.
“But for the worse or the better?” Gwendolyn couldn’t help asking under her breath. Would her betrothal be her salvation or destruction?
Chapter Two
“I tell you he murdered him.” Outrage rang in the knight’s voice as he crashed his fist onto the trestle table.
Falke watched the reaction of each of the seated lords. Suspicion darkened their eyes. These men were to be his vassals, but now sat in judgment of him. Falke directed his comments to the panel. “I have witnesses, Laron. Uncle Merin’s horse stumbled on the path. He hit his head on a rock.”
Laron spat on the floor. “Witnesses! Two of your own men.” Facing the assembled noblemen, he summed up his case. “All of you heard their argument. Just before the hunt, Lord Merin threatened to disinherit Chretian unless he wed the daughter of William Duberque.”