But he did.
Not only did the man escape, but he went out to the steps of The Lyceum’s keep and began shouting to the soldiers who were on duty, ordering them off the wall. They began to gather around him and by the time Jess heard what was happening and came around from the rear gate where he’d been preparing to lock up for the night, Lionel had gathered about half of his army and was giving them a rousing speech about the Scots, the trouble they cause, and that it was time to attack them before they could destroy The Lyceum.
Jess stood there, his eyes wide, listening to Lionel order his men to battle. Emerging from the keep about halfway through Lionel’s battle speech, Lance was sincerely trying not to appear shocked as Lionel told his men that total defeat of Douglas Kerr was necessary.
The insane old man was still crafty.
While the knights had been trying to keep him bottled up and watched, he had plans of his own and he’d delivered them directly to the men without benefit of relaying them to the knights first. That way, his army had their orders directly from the man they knew as Great Caesar.
They had no choice but to obey.
And with that, the army from The Lyceum began to muster for war. Because Luckenburn was so close, about an hour away due north, it would take little time to get there once the army mobilized.
They would be at war by the light of the moon if Lance and Jess didn’t do something.
The problem was that Lionel was convinced he was right. He showed the knights his scribbled map, insisting his plan of attack was foolproof. He scolded Lance and Jess for not being more supportive, demanded that Torston be summoned, and then forgot about Torston and focused on his army. Unlike previous battles, Lionel was determined to be involved in this one.
Lance and Jess were helpless.
“Now what?” Jess hissed as the soldiers, prepared for battle, began to assemble in the bailey. “Harringham is going to take us straight into war.”
Lance knew that Torston was in Scotland even now attempting to save Alyx. Perhaps he already had, perhaps not. Exasperated, he shook his head.
“There is nothing we can do,” he said, watching the men as the master sergeants began to form ranks. “If we go against Lionel, we cause chaos. It would be a breach in the chain of command that would destroy the integrity of the army. You know as well as I do that the army must see a unified chain of command. Lionel has given the command and, like it or not, we are marching on Luckenburn Tower.”
Jess was nearly beside himself. “Where is Torston?” he said. “The last I heard, the man was heading into Scotland to rescue Alyx. Is he still there?”
Lance lifted his shoulders. “He must be,” he said, omitting anything about the fact that Torston had rescued his young son from Lady Antonia’s henchman that morning. “He must still be there. I cannot imagine he would go to Makendon first, knowing of the fragile situation here at The Lyceum. He would not abandon us.”
“But now we’re bringing an army to march on Luckenburn,” Jess said grimly. “What if Torston hasn’t been able to rescue Alyx yet? If the Scots see that The Lyceum is marching on them, it will not go well for her. They’ll use her as a bargaining tool against us and Harringham won’t care.”
Lance knew that. His gaze was on the inevitable, on the army preparing for war. “Lionel does not usually go on a battle march,” he said. “We could march out of here and hold station between The Lyceum and Luckenburn, not going any further.”
“For what purpose?”
“To find Torston before we start our siege.” Lance shook his head. “Mayhap Torston can turn the army around and then talk some sense into Lionel. Either way, you and I have no choice. We must lead this army. Lionel has spoken and everyone knows it.”
Jess was quite aware of that. He was just hoping Lance had another solution. “Very well,” he said unhappily. “I will dress and gather my gear. I’ll meet you at the gatehouse.”
Lance nodded wearily. Already, this day had been extremely taxing without the addition of a battle march. “I’ll be there shortly.”
The knights went their separate ways, knowing nothing could be done, knowing the only thing they could do was follow orders like good knights would. As Lance said, they had to show a unified front with Lionel. Whatever reservations they had would have to be put aside as they marched out into the dusk, praying that wherever Torston was, he had Alyx and was heading home.
Neither one of them relished marching on Luckenburn and jeopardizing Alyx.
Or Torston.
The only problem was that, contrary to his usual behavior, Lionel demanded to accompany the army. That meant Lance and Jess had to go through with the battle. There would be no stopping the army while they searched for Torston. Lionel was determined to lay siege, and lay siege he would. In full Caesar regalia, and riding astride his snow-white stallion that he only reserved for special occasions, Caesar led his army from The Lyceum.
The path was set.
As The Lyceum’s army left the great gates and headed out into the twilight, Lance had never prayed so hard in his entire life.
Alyx should have been running but, somehow, she couldn’t seem to muster the all-out panic required to flee her captor.
Where would she be running to?
Who would she be running to?
Torston?
Like it or not, Douglas had gotten into her head. He had her thinking. The more she thought on his arguments against Torston, the more sense they seemed to make. But it was difficult to change nine years of a love affair, even if it had been one-sided until only recently. Alyx had known Torston for nine years and, in that time, he’d only proven himself to be honorable, trustworthy, and talented.
That was the Torston she knew.
But it was apparent that the Torston she knew had secrets and therein was the problem.
Secrets he’d kept from her.
It was sunset across the moors now and Alyx had been heading south, having entered a forest that wasn’t particularly dense. She could see light coming through the canopy, even at sunset. A brook meandered through the rocks and trees, and Alyx planted herself on one of the rocks overlooking a small waterfall, wondering how her life had come to this moment. Lost in thought, she didn’t know how long she sat there as the forests around her grew darker and darker. Soon, it would be nightfall and even though the moon was full at this time of the month, it would still be difficult to see.
But she didn’t care.
The trees, the woods, were the only friends she had.
And then, she began to hear it.
“Alyx!”
Someone was calling her name and it sounded suspiciously like Torston. She knew his voice. She’d know it anywhere. Instinct took over at that point and she stood up from the rock, looking in the general direction of the sounds. She heard it again.
“Alyx, answer me!”
It was Torston. Her heart surged into her throat.
“I’m here!” she called.
“Where?” came a booming voice. “Speak to me! Let me hear you!”
Alyx stood on the rock she’d been sitting on as if it would somehow magnify her voice. “Here, here!” she cried. “I’m by the brook! Here I am!”
She began to see movement off to the east, a shadow moving in her direction. She was still clad in the pale muslin gown and easily seen in the darkness. Torston burst through a cluster of bramble, his eyes wide on her.
“Christ,” he hissed. “There you are. Are you well? You’re not injured, are you?”
Alyx shook her head. “I am fine,” she said. “The forest would never hurt me. The trees, the flowers… they are my friends.”
Torston came near, looking up at her as she stood on the rock. His features softened, a smile tugging at his lips.
“You look fine,” he murmured. “You look beautiful. You’re well, then?”
“Completely.”
She wasn’t falling into his arms, which was unusual. The woman had been abducted, an
d now located, and she wasn’t jumping into the arms of her rescuer in a hysterical mess. She should have been all over him. Torston must have sensed something was off because the warmth in his expression faded.
“Douglas abducted you,” he stated the obvious. “How did you escape him?”
Alyx lifted her shoulders. “I simply walked away, as I have done so many times from Makendon and The Lyceum,” she said. “Were you really worried about me?”
He frowned. “Of course I was,” he said. “How could you ask such a thing?”
“Because your betrothed is at The Lyceum.”
“What difference does that make?”
Alyx took in a long, slow breath, staring at him intently. “I am not sure,” she said. “I am not sure if know you any longer, Torston.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I will answer your question with one of my own. Why did you not tell me about your bastard son?”
His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Oh,” he said calmly. “I see. Who told you?”
“Then it is true?”
“It is true.”
Alyx felt a stab of distress. Did that mean everything else was true, too? “Lady Antonia told me,” she said, hurt in her tone. “So did Morley. They called me to Lady Lilia’s room to tell me that you had gone to her to demand your husbandly rights. When Lilia refused, you beat her. That’s when I found out about the child.”
Torston’s features were twisting with confusion. “What are you talking about?” he said. “I never went near Lilia.”
“Ever?”
“Ever. I swear upon my oath.” He could see that she was still doubtful and hastened to clarify the situation. “Alyx, what is this all about? I never went to Lilia and I certainly never laid a hand on her. Morley told you I did?”
Alyx nodded. “He said you were not who everyone thought you were,” she said, seeing the genuine bewilderment on Torston’s face. “He said that beneath the noble knight, you were the devil and everyone was afraid of you.”
Torston sighed heavily. Antonia’s co-conspirator was evidently conspiring to drive Alyx away from him to ensure the betrothal remained intact. Now, he was getting a greater sense of the damage The Lyceum’s majordomo had done. It wasn’t only Antonia he’d should have worried about.
He should have worried about someone much closer to home.
“It’s not true, Alyx,” he said softly. “I swear to you, none of it is true.”
Alyx came down off of her rock and sat down on it, thinking that Torston didn’t have the look of a devil or a guilty man. When she’d asked him about the child, he’d confessed right away. But when it came to Lilia and what Morley and Antonia had told her, he seemed quite perplexed.
She was growing confused.
“Morley told me that the serving wench who bore your bastard died shortly after the birth,” she said. “He intimated that you had a hand in her death.”
Torston’s eyebrows shot up. “That I killed her?”
“That is what he wanted me to believe.”
Torston shook his head. “She died giving birth,” he said. “I have a physic and half the kitchen servants who can verify that. I had no hand in it, other than it was my child who killed her.”
He was being straightforward, like the Torston she knew. The whole situation was as baffling to her as it was to him.
“Torston, why would Morley tell me these things?” she wanted to know. “I saw Lady Lilia. Her clothing was torn and she was beaten. Lady Antonia had the signet ring of the House of de Royans. She told me that you had given it to Lilia before you demanded your husbandly rights. Why would they tell me all of these things?”
Torston could see it even if she couldn’t. “It is simple,” he said. “Morley and Lady Antonia were in league with one another. Morley is her half-brother, you see. He’s the one that arranged to send my child to the House of de Weese, which happened to be his sister’s house.”
“But I thought you said the House of de Weese was an ally of your father?”
“That’s the irony, they were,” Torston said. “It was a perfect arrangement, really. Those two must have come up with this entire betrothal scheme and they were trying to drive you away from me so I would not break the contract.”
Alyx appeared quite shocked. “I can hardly believe it. Morley and Antonia are related?”
Torston nodded. “They are,” he said. “But I have been wondering what could have driven Morley to act against me like this and all I can come up with is something that happened years ago. When I first came to The Lyceum, Morley expressed feelings for me. I rejected him, as my tastes do not include men, but he was quite hurt by it. I am sure he was trying to punish me for rejecting his advances with this plot.”
Alyx was completely lost. “You rejected Morley?” she said, greatly surprised. “But what plot are you speaking of? What more is there?”
He looked at her, then. “I discovered that Lady Antonia is not Lady Antonia at all, but Lady de Weese,” he said. “Moreover, Lilia is not her daughter, but an imposter. The real Lady Lilia de Weese died years ago and Lady de Weese, fearful of losing the betrothal, found a serving wench to take Lilia’s place. The entire thing was a lie, Alyx, and I intend to have Morley and Lady Antonia punished severely. Most importantly, however, is that the betrothal is null. I am no longer a betrothed man.”
Alyx forgot all about Morley and his scheming. “Is this true?” she asked. “Your betrothal… it is broken?”
“Indeed, it is. It has been for years, evidently. While you were off being abducted by Douglas Kerr, there was a good deal going on at The Lyceum.”
That was an understatement. Torston almost told her about her father, too, but held off. They were hashing out a situation of their own and, selfish as it was, he wanted to settle it before he broke the news about her father. Nothing could be done for Winslow, but for Alyx and Torston… it seemed as if something needed to be repaired.
He very much wanted to repair it.
“But how did you find this all out?” Alyx asked, still reeling in disbelief. “Who told you about Antonia and her plan?”
“Lilia herself,” Torston said. “She confessed everything to me. It was a scheme concocted to gain control of my family wealth, apparently, but the joke is on them. That is something my brother controls. Lilia’s real name is Nell, by the way, and I have Nell hidden away and protected so that she can testify against Antonia when the time comes.”
“And when will the time come?”
“As soon as we get back to The Lyceum,” he said. “Alyx, I told you I loved you. That has not changed. It has never changed. I may have made mistakes in my life. I am not a perfect man. But loving you is the best thing I have ever done. Whatever you have been told by those seeking to destroy me, destroy us… sweetheart, I swear to you that I have answered you truthfully about everything. If you do not believe me, there is nothing more I can say.”
Alyx looked at him. This was the Torston she knew, the man she loved. So many people had been trying to separate them and there had been times when she had been uncertain about him with what she’d been told. She fully admitted that. Perhaps she’d even had doubts. But the doubts had been momentary, for she knew Torston. She knew his heart and it was a good one.
If he’d made mistakes, it didn’t matter.
As he had said, and as Winslow had said, no man is perfect. Alyx was hoping Torston was the exception to the rule, but that was when she looked at him through the eyes of an adoring child. Now, she looked at him through the eyes of an adoring adult. She knew that men had frailties. But the mark of true love, and true faith, was accepting those frailties.
She accepted Torston’s wholeheartedly.
“I believe you,” she murmured. “I will admit that I had doubts, but those doubts are gone. Forgive me for ever doubting you, Torston. I am not perfect, either.”
He smiled at her, a genuine and loving smile. He moved to take her into his arms but noise in the dista
nce suddenly caught his attention, reminding him of why he’d come hunting for Alyx in the first place. The sounds of the army were faint but unmistakable.
Their sweet reunion would have to wait.
“There is much more to tell you, but we cannot do it now,” he said, somewhat urgently. “I must get you to safety because you stand between The Lyceum’s army and Luckenburn Tower.”
Alyx didn’t hear the army like he did. “What do you mean?” she asked, confused. “What army?”
Torston turned his head in the direction of the sounds. “Can’t you hear it? The drums of The Lyceum?”
Like any good Roman army, The Lyceum troops were given cadence by a man with a single drum. Alyx came off the rock and went to stand next to Torston, listening. Faintly, she could hear it.
“But why?” she asked, suddenly afraid. “Why are they here?”
Reaching out, he took her hand. “I can only guess that Lionel somehow convinced Jess and Lance to move on Luckenburn,” he muttered. “I know they would have stopped him if they had the power, but something must have happened. In fact, I…”
“I see ye found her.”
A voice in the trees cut Torston off and both he and Alyx turned to see Douglas coming through the foliage. He was looking straight at Torston.
“So ye told her everything, did ye?” It was a rhetorical statement considering he’d heard a good portion of the conversation as he approached. “Did she believe ye?”
Torston looked at Alyx. “I hope so.”
Alyx had him by the hand, gripping him tightly. “I believe him,” she said firmly. “I know you wanted to keep me at Luckenburn, but I cannot stay. I told you I wanted to go home and I told you I love Torston. That has never changed, Douglas, no matter what you said or did. I cannot change my feelings no matter how much you want me to.”
Douglas lifted his big shoulders. “I’ve never lied tae ye or tried tae hide anything from ye, unlike Torston,” he said. “I’ve always been honest with ye. Ye knew my feelings and intentions from the start.”
The Centurion Page 34