One of the women, a very tall female with a big white wimple pulled tight around her head, motioned to the wall near the entry door. Diamantha noted the two rather large leather satchels and she nodded, satisfied.
“Excellent,” she said. “Where is my daughter?”
One of the women hustled over to the narrow spiral stairs and disappeared up the well. The woman with the white wimple spoke in a nervous voice.
“Do you truly plan to leave, m’lady?” she asked.
Diamantha nodded. “I do,” she said, glancing to the group. She spoke with more bravery than she felt. “I became Lady de Bretagne this morning. I plan to travel now with my husband to retrieve Robert’s body, as I told you I would. You listened to me as I reasoned out my plan before presenting it to de Bretagne. I must do this, ladies. I told you as much, so worrying over it will not change the way of things. It is done.”
One of the women teared up, wiping at her nose as she turned away and went to stand in the shadows to shield her loss of composure. Diamantha was struggling not to become weepy as well. If she were to cry, then her women would become positively hysterical and she couldn’t deal with it. So she squared her shoulders and went to check her bags. Crouching down, she tossed her cloak back to remove the magnificent silver collar. She didn’t want to wear it while traveling and ended up tucking it carefully into one of her satchels.
“I am not entirely sure how long it will take us to travel to Scotland,” she said as she finished packing the necklace into the larger of the satchels. “I can only imagine it will take us several weeks at the very least. I will even ask to visit my father in Northumberland. He is at Norham Castle, you know, and it is along the path we will take. My mother wrote me several months ago and told me that Papa no longer lifts a sword. He leaves it to my brothers to guard the border. She says Papa is feeling his age, I suppose. He has knots in his hands, so severe that he can hardly hold anything at all. I miss him.”
Diamantha reflected on her father, the tallest man she had ever seen, who had once been a very fine knight. Sir Michael de Bocage had served under the illustrious William de Wolfe for many years and earned himself a fine reputation in the process. But those days of glory along the Scots border were long gone for her father. Now, he relied on his sons and the sons of other great knights to keep the Scots at bay. De Wolfe, de Norville, Hage, de Bocage, and de Longley were great names along the border from Berwick to Kelso. They kept watch for the Crown and no one dared challenge them, not even the Scots. Diamantha had grown up in the shadow of England’s greatest knights.
She was therefore eager to return to the north where she had been born. As much as she loved Corfe and the town’s folk, she was a northern lass at heart. As she re-secured the ties on Robert’s satchel, Annie emerged from the stairwell with Sophie in her arms. Diamantha smiled broadly at her child and reached out to take her from her nurse.
“Greetings, sweetheart,” she said softly, kissing her little girl’s cheek. “Have you eaten this morning?”
Sophie was tired, rubbing her eyes wearily. “Aye,” she said. “Annie gave me mush. Mama, can I see General?”
Diamantha’s smile faded. “Of course, my love,” she said, setting the little girl to her feet. She noted, per her instructions when she had left the keep in search of Cortez that morning, that the child was dressed heavily in gray wool for travel. She had a little cap on her head to keep it warm, snuggly tied. “Would you like to go see him now?”
Sophie nodded eagerly, dragging her poppet along the ground as her mother guided her towards the door. Diamantha paused a moment, her gaze moving along the dark entry to the stairwell to the hall beyond. It would be perhaps her last glimpse of it. She could still hear Robert within the walls, his laughter echoing. The memories tugged at her heart but she fought them. It would do no good to make herself miserable. It is done, she reminded herself. You cannot look back, not now. She had to bring Robert home and marrying de Bretagne had been the only way to accomplish it.
Asking one of her women to collect the two satchels and follow her out of the keep, she was just opening the door when George appeared, coming off the stairwell. He looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. In fact, George was a poor sleeper and usually did most of his sleeping in the early morning hours, so it was difficult for him to rise early. Diamantha had counted on that. But she could see the man was alert, and he appeared stricken. He headed right for her.
“Where are you going?” he demanded. “De Bretagne’s army is prepared to depart. I could see them from my window. God’s Blood, Diamantha… you are not really going with him, are you?”
Diamantha tried not to look too remorseful. She had purposely kept her plans from George. The last he’d seen of her interaction with Cortez had been the night before in the feasting hall. He had no idea what had transpired since then. But she could see now that she needed to tell the man something, anything at all, for he was about to lose his entire family. First his son, and now his granddaughter. Like a coward, she’d hoped to depart before he awoke but that was not to be the case. She didn’t want to listen to him tell her what a bad decision she was making. Turning Sophie over to Annie, she grasped George by the elbow and pulled him into the vacant hall beyond.
When they were well away from the ears in the entry and on into the dark, cold hall, she turned to the man.
“Listen to me, George,” she whispered, somewhat sorrowfully. “Much has happened since last night. You must listen and remain calm for I swear upon our Holy Mother that I cannot take any more emotion this day. I’ve had quite enough of it already.”
George looked traumatized but he nodded. “I will listen calmly,” he assured her, though he wasn’t sure if he meant it. “What has happened?”
Diamantha sighed faintly. “It is quite simple, truly,” she said quietly. “De Bretagne has agreed to return to Scotland to find Robert’s body and bring him back for a proper burial. I am going with him to make sure he finds the right corpse and Sophie is going with me.”
George’s eyes widened. “De Bretagne is… he is going to find Robert?”
“Aye.”
The old man was having a difficult time controlling himself. “But why?” he hissed. “Did you ask him to do this?”
Diamantha was patient. “I told him I would marry him if he did,” she said. “In fact, I have already married him. We were wed this morning. We are going to Scotland and I swear to you that I will bring Robert back. He will be buried at St. Edward’s next to his mother. Does this please you, George?”
George was looking both horrified and relieved. It was an odd expression, truly. He tried to speak but no words would come forth. Finally, he reached out and grasped her by the arms.
“Oh, my dearest lass,” he breathed in one big sigh. “You would do this simply to bring Robert home? You would make a deal with the devil?”
Diamantha shrugged. “I had no real choice in the matter,” she said truthfully. “But de Bretagne wanted to marry me now. He did not wish to wait. I used his impatience to my advantage. I told him I would marry him this day if he would escort me to Scotland to bring Robert home. It is a great questing he and I will undertake, George. This is something I think we both must do.”
George was still struggling to come to terms with it. “Why is it something de Bretagne must do?”
Diamantha’s expression turned distant. “He was the last man with Robert before he died,” she murmured. “He left him on the field of battle to die alone. I believe he feels the need to right that sin and return him home to those who love him.”
George’s gaze lingered on her. “Are you certain of this?” he asked softly. “Or did he simply agree to do it because you promised to marry him if he did? He could go back on his word, you know.”
Diamantha met his gaze. “He will not go back on his word,” she said. “Do you truly believe I would let him? We made a bargain and he has what he wants; he has married me. Now, we will go to Scotland and find Robert, an
d that is all I care about.”
George was calmer now, absorbing the reality of the situation. He had to admit that he was relieved to the point of tears to know that Robert would soon be returning home for a proper burial, but the cost seemed to be Diamantha herself. It was an overwhelming realization. He let go of the woman’s arms, now feeling suddenly weak and defeated. He sank down on the nearest bench.
“So you have already married him?” he asked.
Diamantha nodded. “Aye.”
George pondered that, raking his fingers through his graying hair. “And Sophie?” he ventured. “You are taking her with you?”
Diamantha nodded firmly. “I will not be away from my child for the amount of time it takes to go to Scotland and back,” she said. “Moreover, this will be Sophie’s questing also. Robert was her father. Let her be a part of the mission to bring him home. Let her know that the man rests in peace. It may not mean anything to her now, but it will in time.”
George wasn’t in full agreement but he didn’t argue. He simply sat there like a man who had just had all of the life sucked out of him.
“Are you sure of this?” he begged softly.
“I am.”
There was nothing more to say. George fought back the tears. “Very well,” he finally muttered. “May I at least bid Sophie farewell?”
Diamantha nodded. “Of course you can,” she said, turning towards the archway that led into the keep entry and calling out. “Annie? Will you please bring Sophie to me?”
There was some hissing and Diamantha swore she heard a screech. Annie suddenly appeared in the doorway, wringing her hands nervously as she always did. The woman had wrung her hands into blisters at times.
“I turned my back for a moment, my lady,” she wept. “She was there one moment and gone the next!”
Diamantha stared at the woman a moment before bolting past her. “She has gone to see General,” she hissed. “God’s Blood, she has escaped us again!”
Diamantha fled the keep with her women. In the mists of the early morning, they knew exactly where one little girl would be.
George, however, remained behind. He found that he couldn’t muster the strength to follow; everything that was dear to him was either dead or departing. It was a difficult thing to reconcile. All he could think of was that he was now alone, so very alone. He had nothing left to live for except the hope that his son would indeed be returned to him for a proper burial. He would live for that day but when that day had come and gone, he wasn’t sure he wanted to remain in the land of the living after that.
He seriously wondered if he could go on with nothing left to him but memories.
*
Cortez wasn’t sure he was seeing correctly.
In the white mists that were lingering so close to the ground, he swore he saw a ghost near the massive wall of the inner bailey. It was a tiny white wisp, moving through the fog, and he focused on it, trying to make it out. He could see legs and little feet. When a patch of fog lifted slightly, he could see that it was Lady Sophie heading straight for the stables and she was quite alone. Another escape, he thought. Swiftly, he went in pursuit.
Cortez caught up to the child just as she reached the stable yard, enclosed with its big oak fence and smatterings of dried grass strewn about. The smell of animals was heavy in the dense fog. He reached out to gently grasp her, stopping her momentum.
“Good morn to you, little one,” he said. “Where do you go in such a hurry?”
Sophie turned to look at him, her sweet little face framed by the woolen cap. “To see General,” she told him what he already knew. “He is waiting for me.”
Cortez held out his hand to her, which she immediately snatched. “Where is your mother?”
Sophie shrugged and yanked on his hand, pulling him with her as she made her way towards the stables. Cortez, however, slowed his pace and gently but firmly pulled her to a stop.
“Sophie,” he said, more plainly. “Where is your mother?”
Sophie looked up at him. “Inside,” she told him. “She is speaking with Grandfather.”
Cortez wasn’t particularly concerned about a conversation between Diamantha and George, but he was unwilling to delay too much longer before departing. Already, the day was here and time was passing quickly. He tugged on the little girl’s hand.
“Let us go inside and get your mother,” he said. “I am sure she would like to see General, too.”
Sophie’s brow furrowed as she looked between Cortez and the stalls several feet away. She was far too close to General to be willingly taken away from him. After a moment, she shook her head.
“I want to see General now,” she told him.
Cortez could see a battle with a three-year-old coming on and, to be frank, nothing could intimidate him more. He didn’t want to be on the child’s bad side now when he was just coming to know her, and perhaps love her just a little. He didn’t want her to view him as anything other than a kind man who took interest in her pony. It was selfish, he knew, but let the mother be the one she viewed as the disciplinarian. He didn’t want any part of that role in her eyes.
“If I take you to see General first will you then go with me to retrieve your mother?” he bargained.
Sophie’s features brightened. “Aye.”
Resigned to the will of a toddler, and the fact that he was a coward, Cortez allowed her to lead him into the stable where the horses were being fed their morning meal by the stable servants. The air smelled of dust and grass, and Sophie let go of Cortez’s hand as she scurried over to the stall where General was munching his grain. She slipped right into the stall and began petting the pony as it ate.
Cortez leaned against the stall door, a faint smile on his lips as he watched the child hug and pet the pony, who was more interested in his food. His thoughts turned from those of his cowardice to those of warmth and contentment. This child belongs to me now, he thought as he watched her giggle. It was an odd but wonderful sensation and one that made him feel whole in a manner he couldn’t begin to describe. For the past three years he had been so alone, and now he had a wife and a child. He was a knight, and an excellent one, and the true mark of a male by any standard. But now… now, he felt like a man. He had dependents. He had a family. He had what he had lost three years ago, something he had always wanted. He couldn’t describe it any better than that.
As he stood there and pondered the course that his future had taken, he heard a soft voice come up beside him.
“So she dragged you in here, did she? I thought as much.”
Cortez turned to see Diamantha standing next to him, her gaze on her child as the girl fussed over her pony. “Indeed she did,” he replied. “Truth be told, I found her as she was running to the stables. Can I surmise that she escaped you again?”
Diamantha’s attention was still on her daughter. “You can,” she said. “She has always been that way, as soon as she learned to walk. If you turn your back on her, she will disappear before you know it.”
Cortez grinned. “Mayhap you should tie a bell around her neck so you will always be able to find her.”
Diamantha couldn’t help but smile. “I can just see her running around with a big bell around her neck, dragging her down. I do not think she would be a very happy child.”
Cortez laughed softly, watching Diamantha as she, in turn, watched her daughter. She was such an exquisite creature and the infatuation he had felt for her since nearly the moment he first saw her in George’s solar seemed to be growing by the second. It made his heart skip a beat, the queasy, giddy feeling he was coming to associate with her.
Diamantha could feel Cortez’s eyes on her. The liquid heat was palpable, reaching out to caress her with invisible fingers. It made her uncomfortable and interested at the same time, this magnetism that she seemed to be unable to resist. After a moment, she turned to look at him, feeling a jolt when their eyes met.
“Actually, I am glad she found you,” she said quietly. “W
e must have the pony saddled for her.”
Cortez lifted a curious eyebrow. “Why?”
Diamantha made sure to look him in the eye when she spoke. “Because he is going with us,” she said. “So is Sophie.”
The warmth in Cortez’s eyes vanished. “What do you mean?”
Diamantha didn’t back down; truthfully, this was the best possible atmosphere in which to tell him something he would undoubtedly not want to hear. She suspected he wouldn’t raise his voice or become too angry with Sophie just a few feet away. It was all very calculated on her part. She saw the opportunity and she took it.
“I mean exactly what I just said,” she explained, her voice soft. “Sophie is coming with us on our quest north and since I know she will not leave General behind, he is coming with us, too.”
Cortez’s jaw flexed dangerously and the onyx eyes flashed. “Are you mad?” he hissed. “I am not taking a child over hundreds of miles of road, through situations that could possibly be dangerous or even deadly. I cannot believe I am hearing this from you, her own mother!”
He was doing a good job at keeping his voice down but Diamantha could see that he was positively furious and it was a struggle not to become intimidated by it. She looked back over at her daughter.
“Let me state this to you quite plainly,” she said evenly. “As I am going with you to retrieve Robert’s body, I do not plan to be separated from my daughter for an unknown length of time. It could be weeks or even months before I see her again, and I will not be kept from her for that long. Therefore, it is the logical solution that she goes with us. You will be able to protect both of us quite ably. I have faith in you. Besides, Robert is her father – this is as much her questing as it is yours or mine. In time, she will appreciate that we allowed her to go. It is her right.”
His cheeks were starting to turn red. “This is utter and complete lunacy,” he growled. “I forbid it.”
“You cannot. It is my decision, as she is my daughter.”
Border Brides Page 153