Was the man truly so forgiving?
“If you are quite sure,” she said. “And you do not feel coerced?”
“Nay.”
“Trapped?”
“Not in the least.”
“Then if you are quite sure, I will again say what I said when we first met – I am deeply honored, Sir Tenner. That was not a lie.”
The smile returned to his lips as he gazed at her a moment before lowering himself to the bed beside her. He just looked at her, the hair hanging over the right side of his face like it always did, and Annalyla stared at him in return.
“Honesty is the greatest quality I could ask for next to loyalty,” he said. “You have proven that you are honest. I suspect you will easily prove that you are loyal as well.”
“I shall, I swear it.”
“Good,” he said. “We have quite a destiny, you and I. You must be brave to face it.”
She nodded, watching the colors in his dark hair reflect the candlelight. “I believe I am brave,” she said. “I have always tried to be. I told you about my father, didn’t I?”
He conceded the point. “That is true,” he said. “But after we are married this night, we embark on a new adventure that is going to require all of your courage and your obedience. I mentioned earlier that I was to assume a new post; to be truthful, when Tiverton told me of my new assignment, I did not want to take my new wife with me. I did not want to take any woman with me, for my new outpost is no place for a woman. But in the short time we have known one another, you have shown me courage. I think you will do well.”
She cocked her head. “Why would you not want to take your wife to a new outpost? Is it dangerous?”
Tenner thought of the piracy, the wildness of the area surrounding Baiadepaura. “All of Cornwall is dangerous,” he said. “It is a wild place.”
“That is what Graham told me.”
“Who is Graham?”
“My father’s knight,” she said. “He is the one who escorted me here. His grandfather was from Cornwall. In fact, Graham was telling me the stories of piskies and haunted castles on the journey here.”
Tenner lifted a dark eyebrow. “There are many such tales,” he said. “It seems as if every town and every corner in Cornwall and western Devon has some manner of legend associated with it. Where we are going most definitely has a legend.”
“Where are we going?”
“A place called Baiadepaura Castle.”
Annalyla’s eyes widened. “That is one of the castles that Graham told me about!” she gasped. “He said the lord of Baiadepaura was burned to death for bringing a plague. He said the castle is cursed!”
Tenner’s lips flickered with a smile at the look of fright on her face. “I thought you were brave.”
She tried very hard to quell her reaction, not wanting to look like a superstitious fool in front of him. “I am,” she insisted. “But you just told me that you did not wish to bring a wife to Baiadepaura. If you do not believe in the curse, why would you say that?”
He fought off a grin. “Because it sits on a coast plagued with pirates,” he said flatly. “That is the only reason. Pirates make it dangerous, especially since the place has remained vacant for so long. It will be up to me to restore Baiadepaura Castle and make it a powerful outpost to protect Tiverton’s properties.”
The way he said it suggested that he was rather confident in his abilities. What was it Graham had said about the House of de Velt? A de Velt can tame anything. Simply looking at Tenner, Annalyla was willing to believe that.
She was willing to believe in him.
“Then… then you do not believe Baiadepaura is cursed?” she asked.
Tenner shrugged, a noncommittal gesture. “Who is to say that we are not all cursed to come degree?” he said. “I prefer to believe in men and their evils, not ghosts and their evils. If I cannot see it, then it therefore does not exist. But if I can see it, I can fight it. And I will win.”
He sounded so confident, reminding Annalyla very much of the knights she once knew at Netherghyll Castle. Confident and certain they could conquer the world. Tenner had much that same energy. And even though Graham had told her that Baiadepaura was a terrible place, Tenner’s refusal to give in to any suggestions of curses made her feel comforted. If he wasn’t worried, then she wasn’t going to be, either.
“I believe you,” she said. “And we leave tomorrow?”
He nodded, rising from the bed. “Tomorrow before sunrise,” he said. “In fact, the priest is awaiting us in the great hall to perform the marriage ceremony and Maude has arranged a feast. She and Arlo are going with us to Baiadepaura, so you will have a companion.”
Annalyla liked that idea a great deal. “I am so glad,” she said. “It will be lovely coming to know Maude. And you.”
He gave her a little smirk, reaching out to tap the end of her nose. It was a sweet little gesture, almost one of affection. Annalyla would have been very happy to believe it was an affectionate gesture had she known the man any longer than just a few hours. Even so, there was no denying the warmth between them, especially after she confessed her father’s terrible intentions. His acceptance and forgiveness of the deception in the marriage had endeared her to him more than anything she could have dreamed of.
She didn’t care that they were going to Baiadepaura Castle. She would have followed him anywhere.
“We shall have the rest of our lives to know one another,” he said. “Until a few hours ago, it was something I wasn’t looking forward to. But now, I am. If you are prepared to begin that journey, my lady, then I am prepared to escort you.”
Annalyla nodded eagerly and retrieved her cloak from where she’d put it. When she went to sling it over her shoulders, Tenner took it from her and placed it on her himself. He even fastened the ties beneath her chin. Giving her a smile, perhaps one that suggested he’d suddenly realized he was about to become a married man. He took her by the elbow and led her towards the chamber door. The minute he opened it, however, they both heard a plaintive howl over the rain.
Annalyla’s good humor faded as she heard the screaming again. Lady Jane was back to her screeching ways. But now that she understood the story behind it, she felt a great deal of pity for the woman. She could only imagine how she would feel were she denied her marriage to Tenner. It wasn’t as if she loved the man but, already, her heart was full at the prospect of a new life with him. She felt so very sorry that Lady Jane had missed out on that with her lover. As the screams rose in tandem with the bursts of thunder, she could hear the lover’s name piercing the noise of the storm.
“Beauuuuuuuuuuuuuufort!”
It was as clear as a bell now.
A tragic sound, indeed.
CHAPTER SIX
Mother Angel wouldn’t stop her weeping.
In truth, Annalyla was in shock. She’d never seen the woman show much emotion other than varied levels of disdain and frustration, so to see her weeping after the soaking-wet priest completed the wedding mass was something of a surprise.
It told Annalyla that the woman was human, after all.
She’d had her doubts. In all of the years she’d spent with Mother Angel hovering over her, there had rarely been any warmth or emotion, so she found that she was actually angry that the woman should become so emotional over her marriage to Tenner. To her, it was false emotion, making a show of it, and Annalyla didn’t like that. She genuinely had no need for the woman any longer.
She wanted her gone.
Now that she was married, she could indeed send her away, and Tenner would do so without hesitation. But she wanted Graham to remain. She’d always had a great deal of respect for the man and she asked Tenner if he would give the man the option to remain as part of the Tiverton force. After Tenner discussed it with Arlo and Ivor, he agreed to accept Graham’s fealty as part of Annalyla’s dowry. Considering he was really the only thing of value she had, he was happy to take that from Cain St. Lo.
He co
nsidered it fair payment for the inheritance the old man had tried to cheat him out of.
Leaving his new wife enjoying the feast that Maude had arranged on the event of their marriage, Tenner went to the table in the corner that contained Mother Angel, Graham, and the small St. Lo escort. They were informed that they were to leave on the morrow after the horses were properly fed and rested, but that they were not to linger at Seven Crosses.
As Mother Angel stopped her wailing and glared at her charge’s new husband, Tenner pulled Graham aside and informed him of his change in duties to serve the new Lady de Velt and her husband. Graham had a split second of indecision followed by complete agreement. Even though he’d not wanted to leave Cain St. Lo, or the destitute house he’d always served, Tenner’s proposal had been an unexpected one. He liked the idea of a little adventure in his later life. No wife, his sons seeking their own fortune, and he was apt to change his future as well. All it had taken was a solid offer.
And he wasn’t sorry.
Meanwhile, Mother Angel kept trying to leave her table to approach Annalyla, but Arlo kept her at her table with the other St. Lo attendants. As the night went on, the old woman drank heavily, so much so that Maude finally leaned in to Annalyla as they sat next to one another, surrounded by men in conversation.
“Your nurse does not look too happy, Lady de Velt,” Maude commented. “At any moment, she shall be shooting daggers from her eyes at you.”
Annalyla wouldn’t look at Mother Angel. There was a part of her that didn’t want to tell the woman that Tenner knew everything of the intended marital deceit, because there was that inherent fear; she had feared the woman as a child. Mother Angel had been in complete control and that child in Annalyla didn’t want to disappoint her. But there was great freedom in the realization that she didn’t have to fear her any longer, that she was now a married woman, and Mother Angel held no power over her. Out of pure courtesy and nothing more, she thought she should speak to the woman before she was sent back to Roseden and tell her everything.
There was some satisfaction in that, knowing there could be no retribution.
“She has been my nurse since I was an infant,” she said after a moment. “She has always acted as if she were my mother, and I suppose she believes she is.”
Maude lingered on her for a moment. “But you are not close to her.”
Annalyla shook her head. “Not really,” she said, looking to Maude. “Please do not think me cruel. You must understand that Mother Angel has been a great manipulator for my entire life. The woman does not have a warm bone in her body. She has ice in her veins and a stone where her heart should be. Think not that she is crying because there is any emotion involved; she is weeping because she is losing the ability to control me. For that, and no other reason.”
Maude forced a smile, her gaze moving to the weeping woman across the hall. “I was raised by my grandmother,” she said. “We were always quite close. I am sorry you’ve not had that experience.”
“As am I.”
“What happened to your mother?”
“She withdrew from life soon after I was born. She lives, still, but she chooses not to have anything to do with me or with my father. That is why Mother Angel has filled the role.”
Maude looked at her, feeling rather sorry for the woman that she’d spent the better part of the evening coming to know. Annalyla was bright, and had a streak of humor in her, and seemed eager to please. Maude liked her already and she could tell that Tenner was quite interested in his new bride, which was a change from the man who had been ambivalent since receiving word of the betrothal last year.
He was ambivalent no longer.
Maude was quite fond of Tenner even though the man had usurped her husband’s position those years ago when Ivor had brought him from Surrey. But the humble and skilled knight had won them all over. Maude was glad that Annalyla was kind and earnest in her desire to please; it made Maude’s life easier, since Annalyla technically would outrank her. She was happy to be subservient to a woman she liked as opposed to a woman she would want to strangle.
“Well,” she finally said. “It seems as if everyone must look forward to a new life ahead, including your nurse and including you. Did Tenner tell you that Arlo and I are coming to Baiadepaura with you?”
Annalyla nodded, smiling at the woman that she was coming to like. “I am very happy to hear that,” she said. “I helped my father run his home of Roseden Castle, but it is a small place. Certainly not the size of Seven Crosses. It is clear you manage Seven Crosses quite competently.”
Maude grinned. “You are kind,” she said. “Truly, there is no one else to do it. When Arlo and I were married, Lady Jane was chatelaine in the wake of her mother’s death, but since her troubles began, the duty fell to me. I do not mind, except when Ivor interferes. In truth, it will be a relief to get away from Seven Crosses.”
Annalyla sensed something more to her statement, something she’d alluded to earlier. “You mean get away from the earl?” she said, keeping her voice low. “He seemed quite… solicitous earlier, but he has hardly spoken to me since the wedding.”
Maude glanced down the table to where Ivor sat between Tenner and Arlo, drinking his way into oblivion.
“That is because Arlo probably told him that his attention on a new bride would not be well met,” she said quietly. She was hesitant to continue. “I am certain that Tenner will tell you, but allow me to say that the earl can be improper at times. Since his wife died, he lives and breathes for the company of a woman. I simply stay away from him, but when you came, he saw his chance to speak to you even before Tenner had. It is not his fault; he is simply lonely. But you would do well not to be alone with him. He does not know when enough is enough.”
That explained a little about the earl’s boorish behavior. “I thank you for telling me,” she said softly. “Since we are leaving tomorrow for Baiadepaura, it will not be an issue, but I thank you for confiding in me just the same. Truly, I feel some pity for the man – a mad daughter, and with him living such a lonely existence… it must be so miserable at times.”
Maude nodded. “I agree,” she said. “But I am happy to be going to Baiadepaura with you. You and I shall be great friends, I think.”
Annalyla nodded. “I hope so,” she said. “I think we are already. It will be great fun.”
“I think so.”
“My lady?”
It was Tenner, on the other side of Annalyla, cutting into the conversation. Both women turned to see him smiling at them, with his familiar appearance of half of his hair hanging over the right side of his face. When his one eye met with Annalyla’s attention, his smile broadened.
“We have a very early start on the morrow, so we would do well to retire,” he said to her. “The escort is being prepared tonight so they will be ready to leave before sunrise.”
Annalyla nodded. “Who else is coming with us other than Sir Arlo and Lady Maude?”
Tenner pointed to the St. Lo escort across the room. “I am taking Graham,” he said. “I spoke to the man a little. He knows the area we are going to, having spent time there as a child, so his knowledge will prove valuable. I am also taking five hundred men from Seven Crosses, so it will be a rather large escort.”
Annalyla was pleased that Graham was coming with them. “I am surprised he agreed to come, considering it was he who told me such frightening stories.”
Tenner grinned. “He has little choice now,” he said. “He tried to scare you with those tales and now he must face the consequences of his actions. If my wife is climbing the walls in terror, then I will make him talk you down.”
Annalyla started laughing. “Graham has three sons and a rather fatherly manner. He did not mean to scare me with those tales. Moreover, it did not work. I was not frightened.”
“Not even a little?”
“Nay.”
“That is good.” Tenner stood up, pulling Annalyla to her feet. “Bid Maude a good eve and we shal
l see her on the morrow.”
Annalyla did, departing the table after also bidding Ivor and Arlo a farewell. Drunk, Ivor wanted to know why she was leaving her own wedding feast so early, but Tenner was able to explain the situation enough so that the earl understood. Ivor was unhappy, but he understood. Dealing with a drunk earl was not a rarity around Seven Crosses. They’d all had to deal with it from time to time.
As Ivor sat at the table to drown himself in more sweet wine, Tenner took his new wife by the elbow and began escorting her from the hall. He’d hoped to avoid the usual catcalls and lewd comments that were standard on a wedding night, but there was no such luck. The men of Seven Crosses were well into their wine, and their gambling games, and when they saw the bride and groom leaving, they immediately tried to follow as Tenner held up a hand to stave off the tide of overeager men. Annalyla, unaware of what he was doing, came to a halt as he tried to get her out of the hall.
“I was hoping to bid Mother Angel a final farewell,” she said, looking over to the St. Lo table. “She has been with me my entire life and although I have no great love for her, I feel that I should at least bid her farewell. May I?”
Tenner could see the surge of men coming towards them. But against his better judgement, he realized that he couldn’t deny her. Her sweet voice and polite request immediately had him surrendering, the speed of which surprised even him. He wasn’t the type to be swayed by a woman, in any case, but he found he couldn’t refuse her.
With a growl, he nodded and turned in the direction of the St. Lo table.
Mother Angel saw them coming. She’d been watching her charge as the woman headed towards the hall entry, but when she suddenly shifted course in her direction, Mother Angel stood up. She came away from the table as Annalyla approached and left Tenner standing a few feet away so that she could speak to the woman alone. In the noise and heat of the hall, the two women faced one another.
Bay of Fear (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 3) Page 7