Seeking The Truth - A Medieval Romance (The Sword of Glastonbury Series Book 11)

by Shea,Lisa

  Morgan shook her head, staring at her mead. “Everything traces back to that quiet fishing village. Those contracts all claim to have originated there. She could always claim that the contracts for Giles and Eli were the fake ones, that Sean’s is the one true item.”

  Peter’s brow set in determination. “We can leave first thing in the morning, then, and go directly there.”

  Morgan shook her head. “It is imperative those contracts make it back to the keep before the wedding. If nothing else, they will show something fishy is going on, even if it takes me another day or two to arrive with the additional evidence.” Her face hardened. “I want that wedding day to culminate with the contracts being shown, in front of all of the witnesses and guests. Eli and Giles deserve that.”

  Peter’s face grew solemn. “You are not going to Ferring unaccompanied. That is non-negotiable,” he stated firmly. “I was entrusted with your care, and I will see it through.”

  “Lady Donna’s keep is on the way to Ferring,” pointed out Alexandria, considering. “Why not get back to the keep as soon as possible. I imagine you could make it there by tomorrow nightfall. Then you can reevaluate your choices, and the contracts will be safely ready for the grand unveiling.”

  Morgan nodded. “I think you are right,” she agreed. “That is the safest course of action.”

  The trio talked deep into the night, and it was quite late when Morgan was shown to her guest room. She knew she should get to sleep, but she tossed and turned in bed. She found herself imagining Cassandra melting in Sean’s arms, his lips passionately pressed against hers, his hands tracing their way down her body …

  Morgan burrowed her face into her pillow. Only a few more days and the woman would be away from him forever. In a few days she would be able to lose herself in his powerful arms, soak in the sensation as his kisses drenched her soul, welcome him into the sanctuary of her room, tumble together into her bed, completely lost in each other …

  Longing swept over her, desire flushed tumultuously through her veins, coursing throughout her entire body. She drew in deep, shaking breaths, forcing herself to focus on her current tasks.

  Only a few more days and they could be together. She only had to survive a few more days.

  *

  Sean’s strong, lean body lay beneath her, and a shiver of pleasure coursed through her as she looked down at him. God’s teeth, the man was magnificent. His eyes were smoky with passion, but he lay still beneath her perusal, waiting for her. She lowered her head slowly toward his, anticipation building within her as his lips came closer …

  A loud knocking came at the door, and he rolled protectively on top of her, shielding with her body. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she wanted time to stop … to just stop ….

  “Morgan, we need to get going,” came Peter’s voice gently but firmly through the door, and another series of raps echoed on the wood. Morgan shook herself groggily awake. She almost considered pulling the thick covers over her head, immersing herself again in the strength of Sean’s arms, in the rich pleasure of his kisses.

  The rapping came again, and she ruefully called out, “I will be ready in a few minutes, Peter.” Footsteps receded down the hall. She drew in a deep breath, reluctantly relinquishing the lingering feelings from the dream. There was scant enough time as it was to make the trip to Ferring and back. She could not retreat into that false reality. She had to plow ahead, to bring Cassandra to justice.

  A thought came to her, and a smile spread across her face. Once she successfully pulled this off, her future with Sean might exceed her dreams, be beyond her wildest imaginings. It was time to get on with it.

  She dressed quickly and headed down to the main hall. Alexandria and Peter were waiting there for her; Peter had a leather pack of food draped over one arm and was talking quietly with Alexandria. He turned at her approach.

  “Are you ready to head out now?” he asked with concern. “I know you are still healing up, but time is of the essence.”

  “Of course,” she agreed promptly. “The rain is not going to make this any easier. The sooner we head out, the sooner we get back to the keep.”

  Alexandria, stepped forward to embrace her in a hug. “You take care of yourself,” she murmured. “I cannot put into words how proud I am of what you two have already accomplished. If there is anything I can do to help – anything at all – please let me know.”

  “Just be there for the wedding,” offered Morgan with a grin.

  Alexandria nodded. “Wild horses could not keep me away from that,” she agreed in a low voice. “To see Cassandra’s crimes brought to light so publicly – it will do me a world of good, and hopefully Matthew as well.”

  Peter gave Alexandria a tender hug. “We will see you in a few days, then,” he affirmed quietly. He turned with Morgan, and in a few minutes they were mounted on their steeds, pulling their hoods up over their heads and faces, steering out into the deluge.

  They moved as quickly as they dared through the rain and mud, kicking into a canter when the road ahead seemed firm, pulling back to a slow walk through boggy areas which pulled at the horses’ hooves with loud sucking noises. Morgan was ready for a break when they reached the small tavern from the previous day, taking a grateful pull on the ale, laying her cloak by the fireplace to dry out.

  Peter took a bite of his stew. “So,” he mused, “we get to the keep and drop off all three contracts so Sean has them. Then we need to head out immediately for Ferring.”

  Morgan shook her head, leaning back in her chair. “Surely Cassandra is going to start being suspicious at some point. First I am going out for rides with Roger, then multiple rides with you, for multiple days? All of this while Sean is preparing for a wedding ceremony? She is going to wonder why his best friends keep abandoning him with me.” Her eyes sparkled in delight. “Even my assets cannot be that appealing.”

  Peter’s eyes sharpened on her. “You are not going alone,” he insisted. “Coll is loose and there are other dangers on the road. You have barely recovered from the last fiasco. There is no way any of us would allow you to go on that type of trip without an escort.”

  “Still, you must agree that this all looks very suspect,” pressed Morgan. “It would be one thing if I was down at the Rusty Nail drinking every night. That might be typical. We are talking about multiple trips to far away locations – one right after another – with Sean’s friends at my side. At some point her mind is going to start making guesses.”

  “Well, what do you suggest?” asked Peter, finishing off his stew.

  Morgan pursed her lips for a long while. “Lady Donna has already thrown me out of the keep. What if I were just to leave tonight? Get completely out of the picture? That way I would be out of sight, out of mind. It would not even occur to them to ponder what I was up to.”

  Peter looked skeptical. “You spent one day hanging all over Roger, and now you will be just returning from two days straight with me. Is Cassandra going to believe that you are giving up on men you are so fond of without a fight? Never mind Oliver and Christian. Would you just meander out of their lives without a backwards glance?”

  “Christian has a new lover,” pointed out Morgan with a grin. “Letitia, that pert young maid, has apparently caught his eye.”

  “You know what I mean,” prodded Peter.

  Morgan sighed and nodded. “Yes, I do,” she agreed. “With everything else I have done, it would be extremely suspicious if I just gave up the fight and headed home or elsewhere. Cassandra would immediately suspect me of plotting something and would go on full defensive.”

  “So, what are our options?” mused Peter, giving a long stretch.

  Morgan’s eyes twinkled. “I have to leave, and not of my own volition. I have to get thrown out.”

  Peter’s eyebrow quirked up. “I thought you already had been asked to leave?”

  Morgan nodded, her grin growing. “Yes, but Lady Donna gave me time to move out at my leisure. I need to do somethi
ng so egregious that she tosses me out immediately, that very instant, so that I can then stomp out in a huff.”

  Peter’s brow creased. “You will not go on your own,” he reminded her.

  “Well, maybe Christian could go after me, to make sure I got home all right,” agreed Morgan, thinking the process through with focus. “If he was gone for a few days, I doubt Cassandra would even notice. Word could be put out that I was completely drunk and that Christian was tending to me.” She grinned merrily. “That would be quite believable to everyone, and would put me safely out of their minds.”

  Peter looked her over for a long moment, a smile slowly forming. “I think that might in fact work,” he sighed at last. “Cassandra would be immensely pleased that you were absolutely gone. She would love the public ignominy of your being tossed out on your ear. That would allow you to leave for Ferring immediately, and nobody would even think to wonder what you were doing. It seems like a perfect solution.”

  “Now to figure out how to get myself thrown out so violently,” pondered Morgan, tapping a finger to her lip in concentration.

  Peter stood, laughing, offering her a hand. “Somehow, I think that will not take much effort at all,” he smiled down at her. In a few minutes they were back on the road, riding through the rain, covering the final miles between them and the keep.

  *

  Morgan looked up at the keep as they moved steadily toward it, her heart pounding more heavily in her chest. Depending on how this went, she might not get to see Sean before she was thrown out, not get to talk with him before her long trip to Ferring. The next time she saw him could be at his wedding, with him standing at the altar, Cassandra by his side.

  Her throat went dry. Only three scant days stood between her and that day, between her efforts and the finality of his exchanging vows with that woman. She knew in her heart that he would never do it, would never say “I do” even if something went awry with her plans. The contracts Peter carried in his tunic would ensure that. Even so, the visual image of Sean and Cassandra standing at the altar burned into her, seared into her mind, and she flushed with jealous fury.

  She walked her horse slowly through the pounding rain, trying to cool her hot emotions, crossing through the main gates, moving slowly across the courtyard. Morgan looked ahead to the stables, and her mind instantly flashed to the day she had found Sean in there, half undressed, his muscles rippling. She remembered how he had flipped her effortlessly, how he had pressed down against her, his lips teasing hers, his musky scent filling her nose …

  She closed her eyes, fighting off the longing. Three more days. She could not seek him out. She had to pursue her plan, focus on Ferring, get any additional evidence she could. Just three more days.

  She let out a long sigh as she moved from the deluge of the sky into the quiet sanctuary of the stables. She reined in with relief, Peter coming up alongside her, shaking off his cloak.

  Morgan shifted in her saddle to dismount, felt a steady hand at her side, took it and came down to the ground. She turned …

  Sean’s eyes swept down her body in relief and desire, his heat so close to her, and she stepped back into the stall, drawing him with her, drawing him up against her. The stable wall hit her back, and she was kissing him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, pulling him in against her, arching her body hard against his in a flood of longing.

  He held back for a long moment, gazing down with her with glowing passion reined in under the tightest of grips. She drew him in again, kissed him more deeply, not holding anything back in her encompassing desire for him.

  His resistance snapped; a soul-deep groan shuddered through him, and he was pressing his lips hard against hers, pressing his entire body down the length of hers, his desire glowing like a white-hot heat.

  She was burning up, her breath came in desperate heaves. Their clothes had to come off – now. She slid her hands quickly down his torso, seeking the bottom of his tunic.

  Peter’s voice was a distant snap. “Not here, for God’s sake,” he bit out, moving to the entryway of the stables, scanning the courtyard. “Three more days!”

  Morgan hefted Sean’s tunic, pulling it up over his head, sighing with pleasure as she pressed herself closer against the thin shirt he wore beneath, tracing the muscles of his back, kissing his lips, his neck, his throat. In another moment she had found the bottom of the shirt, had drawn it up and over his head, was pressed against his bare flesh with a groan of delight.

  “You have bewitched me,” growled Sean, his eyes hot on her, and he dropped to one knee, sliding his hands beneath the outer layer of her dress. He stood suddenly, lifting the dress up over her head, and she stood before him in her thin, white chemise, the cloth barely concealing the shape of her body within. He let out a long breath, staring at her in half agony, and then they were in each other’s arms again, his hands pressing her in against him, kissing her hard. Morgan’s entire body was burning, as if he were made of flame, searing her, branding her. She wanted him now, nothing else mattered. She bent down to lift off her chemise, and Sean felt her motion, dropped to one knee again, his hands taking the lower edges of the light fabric.

  There was a frantic running noise from the cobblestone courtyard, and Peter’s voice burst out in a rough oath. “God’s teeth!” he shouted in near panic, and in two steps he had bowled Sean over, sending him tumbling into the hay at the back of the stall. He grabbed Morgan’s hand, pulling her hard. She spun, toppled, and flailed, falling hard against his chest, caught up by his strong arms. The horses sidestepped back as they came into the center of the stables.

  The stable door flew open, and Cassandra burst into the room, her breath coming in heaves from her short run. Her face lit up with delight as she spotted Peter and Morgan, her gaze raking in Morgan’s disheveled hair, her barely clothed state, her swollen lips.

  Cassandra laughed with amusement. “Two days out were not enough for you, Morgan?” Her eyes glittered. “You have to rut with your new lover in the middle of the stables like a farm animal?”

  There were heavy footsteps behind her, and Oliver strode into the stables, his face tense. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Peter standing alongside Morgan, then began to shake his head as he took in more of the scene.

  Cassandra turned to him with a superior smile. “Yes, you see it is just as well Lady Donna instructed someone to go to the stables immediately,” she commented. “I wonder if you or the other men would have honestly reported what you found, though. The wench seems to have you all wrapped around her little fingers.”

  Her eyes scanned the room, and she spotted the edge of Morgan’s dress lying at the corner of the stall.

  “Well,” said Cassandra, “Let me get you your clothes and we shall go in to face Lady Donna together.”

  Peter’s voice was tight. “I can get that.”

  Cassandra shook her head. “You have done quite enough, I think. I would like to see for myself the state of your love nest.”

  Morgan’s heart leapt into her throat. If Cassandra saw Sean, she would realize at once what had happened. If she felt Sean would not marry her, she would leave, vanish into the world, never be brought to justice for her deeds. Cassandra must have no doubt of Sean’s loyalty.

  “I will go in as I am,” she announced heartily, turning to stride toward the stable door.

  Cassandra’s head turned sharply, her hand on the edge of the stall. “Really?” she called out, delight and amazement glowing on her face. In a moment she had returned toward the main door, coming alongside Morgan. “Oh, this I must see,” she chortled. “Come on, no dragging your feet now.”

  Morgan took in a deep breath as Peter and Oliver fell in behind her. She had done some crazy things in her life, had crossed the line on many occasions, but this was a new record for her. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she walked across the courtyard, pressed open the main doors to the keep, infinitely aware of just how thin the outfit she wore was. If this did not get
her instantly thrown out of the keep, she was not sure what would.

  The room was half full of household members as she strode in, a congenial buzz of conversation filling the room. Roger was watching the door, and he stood, startled, knocking his chair over, staring at her in shock. Suddenly the room was completely silent, all eyes pointed at her.

  Cassandra’s voice carried easily in the stark silence. “You would never guess how I found her, Lady Donna,” she called out sweetly.

  Peter came up to stand beside her, and Morgan gave her head a slight shake. She could not drag him down with her. He held the contracts; he had to be at the wedding to vouch for what happened should she not return in time.

  Peter hesitated for a long moment, remaining by her side, then his shoulders slumped with acceptance. He walked forward to stand alongside Roger, his head down. Oliver gave her a gentle touch on the arm as he passed, moving to meet up with Lady Donna.

  Lady Donna’s face was set in stone as she made her way through the throng, coming to stand before Morgan. When she finally spoke, her voice was ice cold.

  “I used to think of you as a woman of fire, of passion,” she ground out. “Now I see you are simply a rutting animal, eager to let any man touch you who passes by. I can hardly blame the victims who you draw into your web.” She sent a dismissive glance back at the men who stood behind her.

  “It appears it takes a woman to do some jobs. Cassandra and I will escort you back out to the stables, and you will leave immediately. We will have your things sent to you once the ceremony is over and we can spare the servants.”

  Morgan let her eyes sweep beyond Lady Donna, to Roger, to Peter, to Oliver, acknowledging each man with a solemn look.

  “I will not let them interfere with my judgment,” snapped Lady Donna, seeing the direction of her gaze, her lips tight. “We have already seen how they will cover for you, sway to your wishes. No, it will be us two women who get you on your way.”

  “As you wish,” agreed Morgan in a low voice, turning and heading out the way she had come. She walked across the puddled cobblestone courtyard with slow steps, praying that Sean had the sense to get out of there as soon as the coast had been clear. Her heart thundered in her chest as they approached the stall.