“Before you jump to conclusions, Rory…” Alarm in his eyes, Nate trailed off, fidgeting in growing agitation. Shuffling his feet, his soles scraped the flagstone floor. A moment later, he gave into compulsion and wrung his hands. “Umm, you know… mayhap ’twould be wise to ask your husband about it before—”
“Nay, I will do one better,” Aurora murmured, pushing from her seat.
The fuse on her temper sparked. She squared her shoulders. Muttering in dismay, Nate crossed himself and offered up a plea for divine intervention. She ignored him and, course set, marched straight out of the hall. Quick strides took her out of the keep, down the stairs and into the courtyard.
Two large silhouettes separated from the shadows and fell in behind her.
Aurora clenched her teeth. Lovely. Just wonderful. True to form, her guards never missed a beat. ’Twas beyond frustrating. Annoying in the extreme. Nigel and Tobias were forever following her around. She could understand, even see the necessity of her guards’ protection when she rode outside the castle walls. Outside the keep, after all, there were wild animals and bandits to consider. But inside Mornay?
’Twas abject idiocy.
She couldn’t comprehend the necessity. Both were important soldiers in her husband’s guard, for heaven’s sake. Did they not have anything better to do than dog her ever move all day long? She’d intended to ask Brigham that very thing. To no avail. Each time she tried he’d changed the subject, diverting her with his too-beautiful mouth and all of the marvelous things it did to her.
Her hands on her hips, she spun around and glared at the two guards. “Do you have naught else to do but follow me about?”
Skidding to a halt, both men took a large step backward. Each looked to the other to answer. Aurora tapped her toe on the cobblestones. Her eyes narrowed, she watched the pair vacillate, trying to decide who would supply their liege’s angry wife with the information she wanted.
In the end, Nigel braved her fury. “Nay, my lady.”
“Well, why not?” Aurora scowled at him, frustration overtaking any semblance of ladylike decorum. “You are both important soldiers. Surely you have other things to do.”
Tobias placed a hand over his heart. “There is no greater honor then protecting ye, my lady.”
Aurora almost snorted, but caught herself in time. God love him, he actually looked serious when he sprouted that idiotic piece of drivel.
“Fine, don’t tell me the real reason. But you are not doing him any favors, I can tell you that,” she said, her tone snappish. “Just wait until I get a hold of the brute. I will bash him over the head with one of those clubs he so favors.”
Keeping a death grip on the urge to maim someone, Aurora pivoted. She clamped her teeth together when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the guards smile and hurry in her wake. Exasperation forced a growl. She swallowed the sound, holding onto her temper. Naught would come from beating some sense into the pair. ’Twas obvious to anyone who cared to look, the guards followed Brigham’s orders. As such, no amount of cajoling would send them on their merry way. But as she stomped toward the field where the soldiers sparred, the mystery of it made her uneasy and questions circled. What was Brigham’s game? Why have her followed? What was he hiding? All good questions. Ones Aurora knew he would never answer. So…
Time for a sneak attack.
Stepping off the gravel path, she paused at the edge of the field. Her gaze swept the scene. Littered with men armored up and buttoned down, the outer bailey teemed with activity. With a quick step to the right, Aurora popped up on her tiptoes and peered over two soldiers sharpening swords, searching for…
Ah, right there. Just beyond the group practicing the spear throw.
Skirting behind a line of archers, she made a beeline across the center of the training field. Aurora called out a greeting. Camden’s attention snapped in her direction, away from the squire he instructed. She waved. He frowned and, green eyes full of suspicion, pinned her with a glance. Aurora shivered, but quelled the urge to turn tail and run. She refused to be intimidated by his warrior demeanor. She needed answers…before her brute came home. No matter how much Camden scowled at her, she would have them.
Stepping over a huge divot, she stopped beside him. “Might I have a moment of your time?”
Brows drawn in a tight line, Camden stared at her. “Of course, my lady. How may I be of service?”
“You may start by telling me about…” Raising both hands, she scrunched her fingers together. “The other one.”
Camden’s brows popped skyward. He took a step back. “The other one?”
“Aye, the other one…the one that has all the servants terrified of me.” Following his retreat, she matched him step for step. He opened and closed his mouth…twice…before glancing away. Oh, nay. Not this time. No evasion allowed. She jabbed him in the chest with her fingertip to get his attention. As he said “ow,” she crossed her arms, warning him with a look. “The viper.”
With a curse, Camden wrapped his large hand around her bicep. A gentle tug, a quick pivot, and he pulled her away from the practice field. “Walk with me.”
No doubt a good idea. Airing Brigham’s dirty laundry in front of his men wasn’t the smartest move. His privacy meant something to her, his pride even more. But she needed to know—have her suspicions confirmed—one way or the other.
Several yards from the practice field, Camden stopped, met her gaze, then glanced away. Again. “’Tis something you should ask Brigham, Aurora. Not me.”
“I know, but…” She trailed off, not knowing the best tack to take. Her husband’s best friend would protect him at all costs. Which meant she needed a sound strategy. One that would appeal to Camden’s softer side and sense of fair play. “I need to know, Cam. I can’t help…or hope to understand Brigham if I don’t. And if my suspicions are correct, he will never speak of it. Not to me or anyone else.”
With a sigh, he rubbed his hand against the nape of his neck. “True enough.”
“Then help me. Tell me what it is I don’t know and help me understand,” she said, a plea in her tone. She hoped it would be enough. That Brigham’s first in command would fold and tell her the truth. The whole of it. Not just what the rumor mill allowed.
Mistakes were made that way. Fiction always got spun into fact until the truth became lost and lies took precedence. So aye. Everything rested on Camden.
Blowing out a long breath, he flexed his hands. “His first…the viper you speak of…was his first wife.”
Her heart dropped, plummeting into her stomach. She stared at Camden, shock overriding clear thought. A moment passed before her brain whirled into action. “He was married once before?”
“Aye.”
“How long ago?”
“Seven years,” Camden said, eying her with considerable wariness.
Throat gone tight, Aurora looked away while her hands worried the frayed ends of her belt. Mind racing, she wondered whether she wished to know the answer to the question balancing on the tip of her tongue. Swallowing hard, she bolstered her courage, the need to know beating out her fear of the answer. “Did he love her very much?”
Camden huffed. His mouth curved. Quick as a cat, he reached out and grasped her chin. Tipping her face up, he forced her to meet his gaze. “He loved her not at all, Aurora. ’Twas an arranged marriage and, in truth, there was no time for him to come to know her. They were married eight short months. We were away much of that time seeing to Brigham’s other holdings.”
“Oh, I…well, what happened?”
The question pushed all the air from her lungs, making her feel lightheaded. Even so, Aurora refused to retreat. She let curiosity propel her instead. Now or never. She’d asked for the truth. Wanted to understand. Camden was about to give her both so…
Nay. No backing down. Good, bad or…aye…even ugly, she must stay the course. Her future. Her love. Her life. Everything depended on it.
EPISODE NINE
CHA
PTER THIRTY-TWO
Failure Is Not an Option
The clash of swords rang through the chilly air, cascading up and over the castle walls. Aurora barely noticed. She didn’t care about Brigham’s men-at-arms. Or that she stood in the outer bailey next to the practice field, mere feet from archers and arrows. Forget outside interference. The danger and calamity too. All she wanted was the truth. And Camden could give it to her…
If only he would answer her question.
“Please, Cam.”
A muscle twitched along his jaw. “You are sure you wish to know?”
Standing her ground, she nodded.
“’Tisn’t a pretty tale, Aurora,” he said, a warning in his tone. “There is history you do not understand.”
The news should’ve set her back a step. Nervousness almost did. But Aurora refused to heed the warning. She wished to know. Needed to hear of Brigham’s painful past. Longed to understand him—the whats, whys, and wherefores—even if part of her wanted to turn away. He deserved his privacy. Aurora understood that. All the same, if she retreated from the truth now, she knew…just knew…she would never learn the whole of it. Her husband’s pride was a fragile thing. For him to admit failure equaled throwing down his sword in surrender. It would never happen. If she gave him a choice, he would slam the door on his vulnerability so fast it would make her head spin and her heart ache.
Chewing on her bottom lip, Aurora took a deep breath. “Tell me.”
His brow furrowed, Camden paced away, pivoted to face her, then returned. He cleared his throat. “He took a bride at his father’s insistence. Lord Anselm was ailing. Like all powerful men, he wanted an heir…to see his first grandchild before he died. ’Twas a lot of pressure for Brigham. He had no wish to take a wife, but didn’t want to disappoint his father either. In the end, he agreed to a betrothal contract with a family to the south.”
“Did he and…” Frowning, Aurora crossed her arms over her chest. “What the devil was her name anyway?”
“Maria Warwick.”
“Maria,” Aurora said, the name tasting like ash in her mouth. “Did he meet her beforehand, to see if they would suit?”
“Nay, he trusted his father’s judgment. In truth, he was too concerned with the old man’s health to voice his objections.” Camden grimaced, pain in his eyes as the memories came flooding back. “Knowing the reasons for the marriage, Brigham feared if he denied his father’s wishes, it would see him in the grave all the sooner.”
“He must have loved his father very much,” she said, glancing away from Camden. The curtain wall rose behind him, a testament to Mornay’s strength and her husband’s power. Brigham was a lot like that wall, stalwart and strong, impossible to move. Yet he’d bowed to his father, ceding the right to choose his own bride. Aurora rubbed her hand over her heart. God, what that must have cost him. “But you hint at other reasons besides the old baron’s health. What were those reasons?”
“’Tis a fact Brigham loved his father. But then, no more than Lord Anselm loved him. As to the other reason…” Camden trailed off and rolled his shoulders. The move spoke of discomfort. And Aurora understood. Loyal to a fault, Brigham’s first in command didn’t want to speak out of turn. “His father refused to see his mistakes repeated and, as such, sought to ensure his grandchild was born on the proper side of the blanket.”
Aurora threw Camden an annoyed look. What was that supposed to mean? They were having a very important discussion, for heaven’s sake. Could he not speak plainly? “The proper side…what are you talking about?”
“Aurora…Brigham is illegitimate.”
“Illegitimate?” she whispered, surprise overtaking mental acuity for a moment.
Camden sighed. “He is a bastard…born of his father’s liaison with a lady’s maid at court.”
“I know what illegitimate means, Camden,” Aurora snapped, irritated with him even as she assimilated the facts. “But what of his mother? Did she not want him? Did she give him away to his father, then?”
“She gave him away to a peasant family who lived in the nearest village.”
Aurora’s mouth fell open. She shook her head, unable to fathom such coldness. Too give away one’s child bordered on…on…well, she didn’t know exactly, but…
“’Tis the way of the world, Aurora.” With a shrug, Camden brushed her surprise aside. “Besides, the maid wasn’t given much choice. She would have been put out and left to starve had the family she served known she expected a child. So she hid the pregnancy and gave Brigham away the moment he was born.”
“But then how—”
“The village priest,” he murmured. “Father Christopher knew the maid, was aware who had fathered her child. The peasant family Brigham was given to…they were poor, had too many children of their own, and not enough to feed them. Fearing the babe would starve, the priest sent word to Mornay in the hopes Lord Anselm would take over his care.”
“And he did,” Aurora said, glad the old baron had been a good man and that Brigham had been spared the cruel fate of so many unwanted children.
“Aye, Lord Anselm was overjoyed at the prospect of a son and left immediately to fetch him.”
“He didn’t have any other children…legitimate ones?”
“Nay, he fathered two babes early in his life, but neither lived to see adulthood. After their deaths, he despaired of ever having a child of his own until Brigham arrived. After that, he worried no more.” Camden smiled, a faraway look in his eyes. “To his credit, he didn’t care his son was illegitimate, but that didn’t mean others did not. Aye, Lord Anselm may have been older, but he wasn’t blind to his son’s struggles. Or the difficulties his illegitimacy created. He was well aware Brigham was taunted by his peers.”
“I see.” Aurora played with the end of her braided belt, turning the information over in her mind. “So by arranging the marriage, he thought to restore his family’s honor and protect his future grandchildren by ensuring they would be born of a wife, not a lady’s maid.”
“I suppose.” Camden frowned and glanced toward the practice field. “But then, I did not agree with the reasons behind the betrothal, so I never asked for an explanation.”
“Not ask for…did you know his betrothed was the viper Hildie called her?” She heard the dangerous lilt in her voice and pressed her heels into the ground to keep from kicking Camden. If he had known and said naught, she would— “Of course not! Dear God, had I known …” His voice cracked. Anguish flashed across his face. Hands curled into fists, he took a deep breath. “Had I known, I would have moved heaven and earth to prevent the marriage. I have never wished any ill on Brigham and will always protect him—with my life if necessary.”
“As he would you,” Aurora whispered, contrite for believing him capable of acting in such a callous manner. “I’m sorry. ’Tis just a bit much to take in.”
Camden took her blunder in stride and, with a nod, accepted her apology. “I know. The worst thing is that, in the end, ’twas all for naught. His father did not live to see them married. Come to think of it, mayhap it was better that way.”
“Why? Because there were no children?”
“Nay, because she was a viper. Her viciousness has long haunted Mornay and all its inhabitants.”
Heart aching for her husband, she ventured a guess. “She hurt the servants and castle folk?”
“Aye, and they were too afraid to speak out against her.” He flexed his fists again. The points of his knuckles went stark white. “As I said, we were away much of that time. And while Brigham was away, she ruled. She treated all who served her harshly, meting out punishments that made Brigham heartsick when he learned of them.”
“No wonder all run in fear of me,” Aurora muttered, wishing someone had given her the information a month ago. It would have made her life a whole lot easier.
“She hid her true nature well.” Lost in the past, he shook his head. “Indeed, we all thought her soft-spoken and gentle. We never once suspec
ted that cruelty lay beneath the façade of timidity until …”
Aurora’s stomach flip-flopped. Oh, no. His pause signaled trouble. “Until?”
“We arrived home to find the castle guard in confusion. The men were preparing to ride out after Maria, having just learned from a maid she’d gone to rendezvous with a man.”
“Lord above, she took a lover?” Thrown off balance by the information, Aurora swayed. Her mind boggled, unable to comprehend how a woman might prefer another man to Brigham.
“Actually, ’twas probably more than one.”
“More than…good God. What was wrong with her?” Camden opened his mouth to reply. Aurora cut him off. “And what of the maid? Why would she betray her mistress in such a way?”
“At the time, she was sleeping with the stable master’s son. She told him while…well, while in the midst of a passionate encounter.” His brow furrowed, he shook his head. “I guess it never occurred to her he would betray her confidence and tell Brigham’s commander.”
“I’m sure it didn’t.”
“But that got things rolling and…” Camden paused. A shiver slithered down Aurora’s spine. Oh lord, the tale was about to turn even uglier. She could tell from the look in his eyes. He cleared his throat. She released a long breath, preparing for the worst. “We arrived home in the midst of it. The inner bailey was a mess. Total confusion, full of men and horses. After hearing where Maria had gone, Brigham led the search and subsequent chase.”
Oh God. Here it came. Aurora stomach dipped. “Chase?”
“We found them near the cliffs east of here. The proof was there…’twas obvious why they had met.” Camden swallowed, his gaze darkening as though he were haunted by the memory. “They ran, Aurora. We pursued, and her lover…he…when he realized there was no escape, he drew his sword. It happened so fast. Brigham took him down. When Maria saw what had become of her lover, she panicked and. . .with the fog, she…she spurred her mount too close to the cliff edge. ’Twas unstable ground. Her horse lost its footing, and…they fell…over the bluff and into the sea below.”
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