by Wood, Lynn
A heavy silence descended over the hall after Rhiann’s disheartened exit. No one spoke. No one moved. All eyes were directed at the partially eaten meals in front of them, but no one made a move to resume eating. Nathan stood staring at the closed door his wife just passed through, then turned back to the table and seeing his men’s averted glances, and having no way to give voice to the feelings coursing through him he picked up a pitcher of full ale and threw it in a single violent motion against the stone heath. The vessel shattered in a loud explosion that effectively dispelled the silence in the hall. Nathan didn’t know what stunned him more. The loss of his treasured self-control or the depths of his arrogance in presuming Rhiann was exempt from the realities of life.
Over the past months his wife confronted one painful loss after another, yet remained untouched by the bitterness of the very woman who labeled her a whore. When the truth was Rhiann had more cause than any he knew to wrap hatred and resentment around her like the cloak she was always neglecting to put on. Instead she welcomed him into the warmth of her arms, offered him her love, and smoothed his way among her father’s people by her obvious affection and loyalty to him.
As much as he wished to follow her now, his responsibilities towards his friend and his king weighed heavily on him. There was no time to comfort his wife. He needed to find her sister and bring her home. Unfortunately the only person who apparently had an idea of Melissa’s direction was not speaking to him at the moment.
He turned to where Archibald sat to his left. “Ready a search party. Our efforts will likely prove for naught and we will no doubt be forced to endure a long and futile search, but I have no choice but to undertake it. Lady Melissa is under my protection, as inadequate as that has proven.”
“Yes, baron.” Archibald rose and hurried to the exit to see his lord’s command carried out. Nicholas, the duke’s former commander, rose from his place at the other end of the table.
“With your permission, baron, I would like to accompany you on your search.”
Nathan held the other man’s direct glance. “Before I decide upon your request, I would ask you a question first.”
“Of course.”
“Were you aware of Lady Melissa’s plan to leave the keep?”
“No baron, I give you my word of honor I had no knowledge of Lady Melissa’s intent, either today or the previous time.” When Nathan made no response, but merely stood holding Nicholas’ unflinching glance, Nicholas added, “I realize it is difficult for you to believe I didn’t know. I know it is my duty to know…to protect the ladies of this house.”
“It is my duty now, Nicholas. Yes, you may accompany us. Choose five of your men to join us. We will leave immediately.”
“Yes, baron. Thank you.” Nicholas bowed and excused himself from his new lord. When he reached the door, Nathan called after him.
“Nicholas.”
Nicolas turned. “Yes, baron?”
“I do not find your truth difficult to belief at all.”
A slight smile curved Nicholas’ lips. “Thank you, baron.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
After weeks of fruitless searching, it was beneath the lash of a driving rain that mirrored his dark mood that Nathan and the party of men who accompanied him on his search for Melissa returned to Heaven’s Crest and rode their tired mounts through the massive iron gates. Seething with frustration at his failure to find Melissa and return her to her ancestral home, Nathan threw open the doors of his new home and startled his wife, who was placing fresh flowers in a large vase above the hearth. Seeing her there, dry and warm, and lovelier than the flowers she was arranging so artfully, sent his bitter resentment and driving lust for his young wife on a collision course that left his lips in a query of icy disdain. “Have you received word from your grandmother that Melissa reached her safely?”
Rhiann warily met his eyes and could summon only a stuttered, surprised response to her husband’s unannounced arrival and the harsh question he threw at her by way of greeting after their long weeks of separation. “Yes…Nathan…” The rest of the words she would have offered died in her throat at his cold expression and stilted nod. Without another word, he strode passed her towards the kitchens and Rhiann could hear him calling for the housekeeper to prepare a meal for him and his men who just returned with him. She understood by his attitude towards her she would not be a welcome companion at such a meal, so with shaking hands she finished arranging the bouquet she was fashioning in the large glass vase over the hearth, and then brushing tears from her eyes, she hurried across the hall and up the stairs to their rooms.
Upon the lord’s return to the keep a heavy expectant silence settled over Heaven’s Crest. Whether its occupants were expecting Nathan’s retaliation against his young wife for her defiance or to wake the next morning and find Lady Rhiann had followed her sister and fled the keep, no one was willing to give voice to their own suppositions. No matter the leanings of their anticipation all were aware of the stiffness of the aura surrounding the great estate, if only because it was in such great contrast to Lady Rhiann’s previous joy in her husband and at finding herself home again.
For her part, Rhiann went quietly about her daily duties, seeing to the running of the keep, the needs of the villagers, attending daily Mass and tending her family’s graves. She was careful to rest each afternoon and joined her husband and the higher ranking soldiers given the honor of taking their meals with their lord in the great hall for the evening meal. If the two of them exchanged conversation it was largely focused around menial matters, a problem in the village or a repair needed around the keep.
Noticeably absent was their previous ease and joy in each other’s company. Most painful of all was Nathan’s absence in their bed. He’d taken to sleeping in one of the empty bedrooms of the keep. He had not once touched her since what he obviously viewed as her unforgivable betrayal of his trust in her. Rhiann offered no apology for her perceived breach. Any more than she would in the sacred confines of the confessional, she would not plead forgiveness for an act she did not regret. For that would be a true betrayal, to lie to her husband and tell him she regretted helping her sister leave the keep and would not do so again if the opportunity presented itself. For the fact was she wouldn’t do anything differently, even now understanding the consequences of her perceived sin. Melissa was safe and hopefully happier now away from the evidence confronting her each day of all she’d lost, and seeing those responsible for that loss in control of her ancestral home.
Rhiann could admit she was struggling with the same resentments, the loss of her family and the fact her husband and his men now occupied chambers in the keep her family previously slept in. She loved Nathan, but she did not love his duke’s war and the price she paid to find herself wed to him. So it was something of a relief when Nathan didn’t return to their room and to their bed. Her emotions were confused. She still felt guilty about falling in love with a Norman knight and still wondered if her parents were indeed turning over in their graves each time she gave herself up to the joy of her husband’s lovemaking. Now she carried his child. Would her parents be pleased she was mistress of Heaven’s Crest or would they be ashamed she carried a child of their enemy’s blood? Was she a whore or a dutiful servant of the church and the new king?
It was so easy for her to help Melissa run from her own confused feelings and seek their grandmother’s comfort because Rhiann knew that door was closed to her. Perhaps if Melissa found peace from her grandmother’s counsel, when she returned home she could help Rhiann find her own.
Rhiann tiredly climbed the stairs for her afternoon nap. It was later than usual. She spent long hours with the housekeeper and kitchen staff going over the week’s meals and seeing to it her husband’s household ran as orderly as possible. Nathan liked order. Since she’d proven to be such a disappointment in her other wifely duties, she felt the least she could do was give her husband the peace and disciplined household he longed for. She was just clo
sing the door of the room she now slept in alone when she heard a loud crash from the direction of the great hall. She turned at the sound and hurried out the door.
“Addy, is everything all right? Is anyone hurt?” She called out as she raced down the hall and stood at the top of the stairs. The older woman stood in the middle of the room with the shattered pieces of a large platter she’d been carrying scattered around her feet. She was staring at the entrance beyond Rhiann’s line of vision as if she was seeing a ghost. Rhiann hurried down the stairs, thinking maybe Melissa had returned, or perhaps Luke arrived looking for his wife and Addy didn’t know how to answer him. Since Rhiann was responsible for his wife’s absence, she felt she should be the one to bear the brunt of his husbandly outrage.
It was fortunate she was holding onto the railing as she hurried down the first few steps otherwise she was certain she would have fallen the rest of the way down the long staircase. Luke had indeed arrived at Heaven’s Crest. And so had Michel. Rhiann pressed a fist against her mouth to stifle her shocked cry and then she was flying down the stairs and into the outstretched arms of her youngest brother. They closed around her, and she burst into chaotic tears, her sobs shaking her no longer slender form, her arms locked around his neck as if she would never let him go again. He lifted her off the ground and bore all her slight weight as she clung to him. He whispered words of comfort in the Salusian tongue in her ear, but Rhiann was beyond summoning the effort to interpret them. The tenor of her brother’s voice and the strength of his arms was enough comfort for her.
Luke stood silently next to Nathan near the entrance watching the reunion between brother and sister. He watched as Michel pulled away slightly from his sister’s restraining arms and stared down intently into the tear-stained face she raised to his searching glance. With a gentle hand, he brushed the tears away and spoke to her in a soft voice in the Salusian tongue, Luke could not interpret.
Luke commented drily from his place at Nathan’s side. “He is no doubt asking your wife if she wishes him to kill you now or wait for a more opportune time.”
Nathan turned for the briefest moment to meet his amused glance. “No doubt. I only wish I could be certain of Rhiann’s answer.”
Nathan ignored his surprise at his response and turned his attention back to his wife and her brother. Even though he couldn’t understand the words they exchanged, he was aware when Melissa’s name was brought into the conversation and Michel’s shock and disapproval at Rhiann’s hesitant answer.
“Where is my wife?” He demanded, suddenly suspicious over Melissa’s absence.
Nathan admitted with obvious reluctance. “She left the keep. She’s with her grandmother.”
“What?!”
Luke’s stunned reaction attracted Michel and Rhiann’s attention. They both turned to face him, and with his hands resting protectively on his sister’s shoulders, Michel led Rhiann’s reluctant steps to where Luke and Nathan watched them from the entrance.
The four of them stood staring at each other for a moment and then the eyes of the three men settled on Rhiann. Aware of their attention and knowing there was no way to escape their probing questions Rhiann turned to Luke and tried to explain. “Melissa knew you only married her because you felt guilty about what your brother did to her. She didn’t want you to feel obliged to remain married to her against your will.”
“Her conclusions were wrong on both points.”
“Were they? So you didn’t feel responsible for your brother’s actions?”
Luke thrust an impatient hand through his hair. “Of course I felt responsible. My brother was a monster. He almost killed her.” At Rhiann’s knowing look, he added, “But that was not the reason I married her.”
“Yes, that’s what Nathan says too. How he values me above the lands he received when we exchanged our vows. Nathan says you’ve known each other since you were boys, that you are closer than a brother to him. Do you believe he would have agreed to marry me without the inducement of my father’s lands?”
Luke wasn’t certain how Rhiann turned the tables on him so neatly, and he shot a quick glance in Nathan’s direction seeking his assistance in how to respond to his friend’s wife. When Nathan never turned his attention from his wife’s face, Luke was forced to muddle through the maze she wove around them both on his own. “I hardly see how your marriage to Nathan is relevant to the issue of why my wife left the protection of her family home in such dangerous times for a visit with your grandmother.”
“Melissa’s pregnant.”
Three shocked pairs of eyes turned to Michel at his calm announcement.
“What? How can you know that?” Luke’s harsh whisper broke the silence. Then his frustration erupted in his friend’s direction. He turned to Nathan with eyes blazing evidence of his struggle to maintain his control. “Have you no control over your wife or your household? You allowed my wife to leave the protection offered her behind these walls when she was carrying my heir?”
Nathan made no move to defend himself. Luke noticed he was too busy listening to the hushed exchange going on between his wife and her brother, which surprisingly enough was not being carried out in the Salusian tongue. “How do you know that? I didn’t tell you? Have you seen Melissa?”
“No, I haven’t seen our sister. What makes you think I would need to see her or hear such news from another’s lips?”
Rhiann bowed her head, almost in shame, Luke thought, even as he tried to unravel the odd meaning behind Michel’s astonishing claim.
“I’m leaving. I need to find my wife. Obviously it was a mistake to entrust her safety to you.”
Luke stormed towards the door, intent on finding Melissa immediately and placing her under the guard he threatened her with on their wedding night. It was impossible she could have done this to him again. She swore to him she would be here upon his return. Did the woman have no conception of what a promise meant? His three companions made no move to prevent his hurried exit. It was Michel’s voice that gave him pause. “If you feel compelled to spend another night wandering around in the wilderness feel free to leave now, but you will not find your wife though I’ve no doubt my grandmother’s men will be quite entertained leading you around in circles.”
Luke turned back to face his brother-in-law barely in control of his rage and frustration. Michel added in the same even tone, “And it is quite foolish of you to blame Nathan for Melissa’s absence. If you really believe you could have prevented her from leaving if our sister had her mind set to go, then you delude yourself. If anything, you owe Rhiann your gratitude rather than your derision for exercising some restraint over our sister. She persuaded Melissa to delay her plans long enough for a Salusian guard to be summoned to escort her to where our grandmother was, thus assuring her safety. Had Melissa confided in Rhiann the first time, it is likely the two of you never would have met. In fact, had Rhiann left when she was ordered to, neither of you would have met your wives.”
Luke barely managed to swallow the vivid curse on his lips. He turned to Nathan, wondering if his friend shared in his frustration and discovered he was staring as if mesmerized by his wife. She whispered softly, her eyes holding his, “Maybe I should have left with Melissa that first time, but mother refused to leave. I thought I could persuade her to change her mind. Melissa became more and more frustrated with our mother’s devastation and the fact she seemed to just give up on life. She left without even summoning the guard. She thought because she was trained as a warrior she could brave the evils of the world on her own. Michel’s right. If I had accompanied my sister, you wouldn’t be stuck with me for a wife.”
“For the last time, Rhiann. I was not stuck with you.”
“But you cannot deny I have proven to be a rather troublesome wife to you.” In the silence that followed, Luke watched Rhiann stare past her husband’s shoulder, as if looking back on a time that no longer existed. “We are not like other women. We are a product of two opposing cultures. Though we were ra
ised in a gentleman’s household we do not understand your wars and endless conflicts over a piece of ground. Is there not plenty of land for all? Does not our heavenly Father provide sufficient abundance for all of His children? What drives a man to be unsatisfied with what he is given no matter how much he has, so that he envies what another has, even if it is not as valuable as what he already possesses? What makes a man sacrifice the lives of so many so he can claim title to the possessions of another? Is such a man ever satisfied? Or do his demons forever lash at his back for more and more? Does he never know peace? Is that the price of wealth? If so, then the price is too high.”
Rhiann returned to the present and met her husband’s intent glance. “You seem to believe you are the only one who has made compromises in this marriage. Do I not dress as you expect? Wear my hair the way a lady should? Do I not run your household and see to the needs of your people? Do I not obey your dictates about remaining behind your walls when my heart yearns for the freedom of flying over the hills on the back of a young stallion?” Luke instinctively prepared to defend himself when she turned her direct gaze on him. “Is it so hard to understand my sister would seek the comfort of the only mother she has left when she discovered she was carrying the child of man who married her out of a sense of obligation rather than love? Is it so hard to comprehend that though we are different from other women, we share the same dreams of finding the kind of love our parents knew, a love our mother surrendered her life for rather than to continue living without her beloved.”
“Do you believe it was our dream as young girls to grow up to be married out of hand to enemy knights, without the benefit of our father’s, or even our brothers’ consent and approval of the matches arranged for us? Without our benefit at heart, but as booty of war, as if any woman would have satisfied you, as if every woman is the same?” Rhiann fell silent and seemingly defeated, turned in the direction of the stairs.