A VOW TO KEEP (The Vengeance Trilogy)

by Lana Williams

  “I’m afraid I cannot break my betrothal to Alyna.” Tegmont took Alyna’s hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm. “After all, it was made first. But, if you’d like, you can stand as a witness to our vows.”

  Florence sputtered in outrage. “After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? I thought it was Royce you were after, not her. You promised me you’d set her aside. Does your word mean nothing?”

  With a lopsided smile on his handsome face, Tegmont answered, “I meant what I said at the time. Now, if you’ll excuse us–”

  “I will not!” Florence glared at Alyna. “Why would you want her for a wife? Has she told you she’s given herself to another man? To Royce? Did she tell you that?”

  Alyna gasped. How could Florence possibly know?

  A flush of rage filled Tegmont’s face.

  Florence’s expression turned from anger to triumph. “You’ve been less than honest with Lord Tegmont, haven’t you, Alyna?”

  “I was just–”

  “You know not of what you speak.” Tegmont waved a hand in dismissal at Florence, not giving Alyna a chance to talk.

  Alyna tried again. “Lord Tegmont, I told you I have not been honest with you.”

  “See?” Florence pointed at Alyna. “Listen to her.”

  “You just advised me not to believe what she says,” Tegmont reminded Florence.

  Alyna tugged her hand from Tegmont’s arm, wondering if there was a chance of escape while the two of them argued.

  “Well, now she’s trying to tell you the truth,” Florence argued, her face flushed. “Can’t you see for yourself? She gave herself to your nephew, the very man you’re trying to kill.” Hands on hips, Florence waited for his reaction. “How can you be sure she’s not carrying his bastard?”

  Alyna caught herself before she put a hand on her stomach. She’d nearly forgotten that possibility. Could it be true?

  “Shut your mouth, Florence. You know nothing.” Tegmont’s face tightened with rage. He turned to Alyna. “That cannot be true.”

  “I told you I will not marry you. My heart belongs to Royce.”

  “Nay!” Tegmont yelled. “I will not have it! You will pay for your treachery.” He shoved Florence back and raised his hand to strike Alyna.

  ***

  Royce paused as he, Samuel, and Nicholas entered the great hall. Memories of his parents swirled about him.

  His mother smiled down at him, her vivid blue eyes full of laughter. His father shared a look with her, smiling in return, then ruffled Royce’s hair, something he’d done frequently. Royce swore he felt his hair stir under the pressure of his father’s hand.

  “Royce?” Nicholas touched his hand. “Let’s find Mama.”

  Royce looked up at the wooden beams overhead. No evidence remained of the fire that had destroyed his home and nearly taken his life.

  “Lord Royce? Are you unwell?” Samuel studied him with concern.

  “Nay. I’m fine.” Royce scrubbed a hand over his face. How odd to be called Lord Royce after all these years. “There are many memories here.” He looked at Nicholas. “Let us find your mother.”

  Royce kept the boy’s hand firmly in his and followed Samuel outside to the small chapel in the bailey.

  He flung open the door to find Tegmont’s hand poised above Alyna, preparing to strike. “Halt!”

  Tegmont looked up and saw Royce. An incredulous expression came over his face. “Nay!”

  Royce wondered if his uncle denied Royce’s entrance or his existence.

  Tegmont grabbed Alyna and held her before him. “How did you get in?”

  “Let her go,” Royce commanded. He gestured for Nicholas to remain beside Samuel then walked forward slowly.

  “Stay back!”

  “Let her go.” Royce continued forward.

  “Nay. She is mine. The betrothal agreement holds. She is mine.”

  Fear lit Alyna’s eyes. She wore a faded blue gown that looked oddly familiar. The tightness in his chest eased for the first time since he’d learned of her disappearance. He hoped his presence brought her the same comfort.

  Royce glanced around the room and was not surprised to see Florence with Hilde behind her. He did not bother with a greeting, for they would be dealt with soon enough. He briefly wondered what lure his uncle had used to gain Florence’s loyalty.

  “Your quarrel is with me,” he told Tegmont. “Release Alyna.”

  Tegmont regained his composure. “Well, if you insist, you can stay and witness our vows along with Lady Florence.” He looked down at Alyna. “See, my dear, I told you the boy would be here.”

  Alyna tried to wrench free, but he held her firmly.

  “Mama?” Nicholas seemed to sense the danger and remained behind Royce rather than going to his mother.

  “Stay with Royce, Nicholas,” Alyna said.

  “There will be no wedding vows said here today.” Royce glanced at Nicholas to make sure he stayed back, then took another step closer. “Alyna, come to me.”

  Alyna moved forward, only to be jerked back by Tegmont. He put his arm around her neck to keep her more firmly in place. “I just heard the strangest thing, Royce.” Tegmont stroked a hand down Alyna’s veil-covered hair. “I heard you forced yourself on my betrothed. I believe the law allows me to punish you for that.”

  Royce looked at Alyna. Had she told him of their afternoon together? Surely not. Did she understand how he felt? That he loved her? That he would give his life for her? He needed to make certain he had the chance to tell her all that and more.

  “I suggest we make a trade,” he offered Tegmont.

  “What could you possibly have that I want?” Tegmont drew his hand slowly down the front of Alyna’s body as he smiled at Royce.

  Royce’s hand found the hilt of his sword. It was all he could do not to stride forward and wrest Alyna from the man’s arms. Apparently, some of his desire must’ve shown on his face, for Tegmont smiled and curled his arm tighter around Alyna’s neck.

  Royce tried to keep his focus on Tegmont. “I have someone I think you know well.”

  Caution filled Tegmont’s eyes. “Who might that be?”

  “His name is Daniel. He has many colorful tales, all about you.”

  Tegmont scoffed. “I don’t know anyone named Daniel.”

  His denial was a bluff, Royce was certain. “He has some interesting details about a band of thieves that have caused Lord Blackwell much distress.”

  Tegmont’s eyes narrowed.

  The nervous priest who stood behind Tegmont took several steps back toward the alter.

  “Why are you bothering me with this?” Tegmont caressed Alyna again. Alyna flinched; disgust warred with fear on her face. “I have more important matters to attend to.”

  Royce clenched his teeth. Protesting Tegmont’s actions would only give him more power, something that would not aid Alyna. “I think Lord Pimbroke would be interested in speaking with Daniel if you’re not.”

  Tegmont’s composure disappeared at the mention of Pimbroke. “You bastard!”

  “Let Alyna go. Now.”

  “Let her go, my lord,” Florence pleaded. “You and I can continue with our plans.”

  Tegmont shook his head. “You are of no value to me anymore. Be gone with you.” He looked back to Royce as he withdrew a knife from his belt and held it at Alyna’s throat. “She will die before I let her be yours.”

  “Is that why you killed my mother?” Royce eased closer. “Because she wouldn’t agree to become yours?”

  Tegmont’s eyes went wide with alarm. “You know nothing of what you speak.”

  Royce took another step. “I think I do. I have had many years to consider what you did and why.”

  “I did nothing! They were killed in a terrible fire.” The whine in Tegmont’s voice disgusted Royce.

  “A fire you set before you murdered them both. Have you forgotten I was there? A witness to your crime. Surely you remember, because you left me pinned u
nder a burning beam to die.” Royce held Tegmont’s gaze as he moved closer still.

  Tegmont’s gaze darted around the room nervously. He jerked the knife against Alyna’s throat, and she gasped in pain. “It was an accident. It was all an accident.”

  “Nay. It was all you.”

  “Your mother was a beautiful woman. She should’ve loved me, not my brother. He had everything. Why should he have had your mother, too? She was supposed to be mine. Our father was making the arrangements when my own brother stole her from me.”

  Royce gripped the hilt of his sword, wanting nothing more than to yank it free of its sheath and thrust it through Tegmont. “He did not steal her. She loved him.”

  “It all should’ve been mine–this keep, your mother, even you, Royce. You should’ve been my son.” Tegmont cursed at his loss. “The deaths of your parents cursed me. I’ve had nothing but bad luck since. I haven’t sired even one heir. I’ve tried to break the curse, but nothing works.” He turned his attention to Alyna once again. “But this one. She will break it. I’ve known it since the moment I saw her. She’ll give me fine sons.”

  “Dressing Alyna in my mother’s garments will not break the curse.” Royce was certain the kirtle had been his mother’s. “What happened to your other wives? Did you kill them, just like you killed my mother?” Royce stole a glance at Alyna, trying to reassure her that she would soon be free.

  Tegmont shook his head. “They were nothing. They didn’t matter. When they failed to provide me with an heir, an accident befell each of them. Accidents aren’t my fault.”

  “You are mad!” Florence exclaimed. Royce glanced at her and saw even Hilde looked horrified.

  Royce felt the same way. His uncle was more of a monster than he’d realized. “Let Alyna go. I’ll give you Daniel in her place.”

  Tegmont seemed to consider the trade for a moment. He sneered at Royce. “Never! Alyna is the key to my future. Soon a new king will be in power and I’ll be richly rewarded.” He shifted, bringing the blade against Alyna’s throat. A trickle of blood emerged. “Leave us else I’ll kill her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “Use the juice of chicory blended with

  oil to gain a wish more easily.”

  Lady Catherine’s Journal

  Alyna’s cry was nearly Royce’s undoing. “Let her go!” he demanded again. “I will give you my silence about what you did to my mother and father. You can keep Larkspur.”

  Tegmont tightened his grip on her as he dragged her to the wall, his gaze on Royce. “You were supposed to die that night. You can’t imagine my surprise when I heard the rumors of your survival.” He glanced at the wall behind him, then quickly back at Royce. “I could not determine whether they were true. When you finally returned to England, I decided it didn’t matter. I’d kill you anyway.”

  Tegmont reached the wall. Torchlight cast shifting shadows across his features. “Daniel and his band of thieves were supposed to draw you out, to make your death look like the result of a fight. Alas, he was unsuccessful.”

  His blade still at Alyna’s throat, he reached up with his free hand and took a torch from the wall.

  Royce froze, unable to believe his uncle would repeat the past.

  Alyna tried to jerk free, but Tegmont used the knife to hold her fast. He eyed the flame of the torch as though he looked into the face of a lover. “Do you remember the fire, Royce? Do you remember the feel of the heat? The roar of the flames? The power of it? Tonight, I’ll remind you.”

  Alyna’s eyes widened in horror as the flame neared her face. “Nay!”

  “Quiet!” He dropped the torch near the foot of a timber. The pitch in the wood caught fire quickly and flames raced up the beam, crackling and snapping as they grew. He chuckled as he watched it spread.

  Florence bolted past Samuel, screaming as she ran out the door with Hilde and the priest right behind her.

  “Tegmont! Let her go.” Royce called out. The fear in Alyna’s face made his heart race, but he didn’t dare make a move while Tegmont had the knife at her throat. He remembered only too well what Tegmont had done to his mother. Royce hadn’t gotten this close to rescuing Alyna only to lose her.

  “Mama?” Nicholas’s voice held the same fear Royce felt.

  “It’s all right, Nicholas.” Her voice quivered as she instructed her son. “Stay behind Royce.”

  Royce knew she had to feel the heat from the fire. He knew how it felt. Alyna’s gaze moved from Nicholas to Royce.

  He could see the determination in her face. She held his gaze, as though she wanted him to read her mind. He tensed in anticipation, trying to grasp her intention.

  She glanced down and Royce saw a glint of metal in the firelight. She raised her fist and thrust a small knife into the arm wrapped around her neck.

  Tegmont cried out in pain, releasing her.

  It was all the opportunity Royce needed. He yanked his sword free of its scabbard as Alyna ran behind him. She gathered Nicholas in her arms and held him tight, moving toward the door.

  The fire spread to the ceiling of the chapel and smoke rolled through the room. Heat filled the small space quickly.

  “Damn you!” Tegmont cursed Alyna. “Return to me!”

  Royce backed up with Alyna and Nicholas behind him to where Samuel stood near the door. “Tegmont, we must get out.”

  Tegmont laughed in response. “Nay! We will all die in this fire. Samuel, shut the door!”

  The old servant looked in confusion at Tegmont, then back at Royce as though unsure who to believe.

  “Samuel, get out!” Royce told him. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Shut the door. Lock it!” Tegmont ordered.

  “We must leave now, Lord Royce!” Samuel called out, ignoring Tegmont’s command.

  Royce turned back to Tegmont. His uncle drew his sword and advanced toward Royce. “You are not going anywhere. You will die in this fire as you were meant to all those years ago.”

  “We’re leaving, and if you have any sense you’ll come with us,” Royce answered. He backed slowly toward the door with Alyna and Nicholas, confident Samuel would not lock them in.

  “Halt!” Tegmont lunged forward, his sword pointed at Royce’s chest.

  Royce blocked him, then struck Tegmont’s sword, trying to dislodge the weapon from his uncle’s hand.

  But his uncle was quicker than Royce anticipated. He dodged the blow, then lunged at Royce again.

  “Alyna, take Nicholas and leave,” Royce ordered.

  “Not without you,” Alyna argued. She stepped toward Samuel to give Royce more room but held her ground.

  Royce turned his attention to Tegmont, determined to get them all out. His uncle’s eyes held a hint of madness in them, much as they had that night so many years ago. Royce swore this night would end much differently.

  The fire rumbled in his ears; the heat was suffocating. He moved back toward the door in the hope that Tegmont would follow, and they’d all get out alive. A fire was no place for anyone to die.

  “Stay where you are!” Tegmont demanded as he shifted to Royce’s side.

  Determined not to allow Tegmont between him and Alyna, Royce lunged again, driving Tegmont back toward the flames. “Surrender and you can walk out of here alive.”

  “Never!”

  Royce clenched his jaw in determination. “Then you leave me no choice.”

  Royce attacked but his uncle matched him stroke for stroke.

  “Yield!” Royce demanded.

  “Nay!” Tegmont’s chest heaved and his sword arm lowered slightly, evidence of his exhaustion. The smoke was taking its toll on both of them.

  Royce struck again, at last knocking the sword from Tegmont’s hand. The weapon skidded across the floor out of reach.

  Tegmont stared at Royce with a perplexed look upon his face. He touched his shoulder and drew his hand back covered in blood; sweat trickled down his face. “Finish it.”

  Royce raised his sword. It wou
ld be so easy. Visions of his mother and father flashed through his mind, but this time, he saw them as they’d lived and loved, not as they’d died. He felt Alyna’s presence behind him, waiting for him.

  He lowered his weapon. “Nay. I will not take your life, for that would make me no better than you.” Royce picked up Tegmont’s sword. “We are all leaving. Now.”

  Royce turned to look at Alyna.

  Her face lit up with relief and joy.

  Royce returned her smile. “Let us go. Hurry!” He bent to take Nicholas from her.

  “Royce!” Alyna screamed.

  He spun around as Tegmont came after him with the knife he’d had at Alyna’s throat. The blade glanced off Royce’s shoulder. He shoved Tegmont back and drew his sword just as Tegmont lunged forward to stab him again. Royce’s sword sank deep into his uncle’s chest.

  “Oh!” Alyna cried out as she spun Nicholas away from the sight.

  “Nay!” Tegmont screamed. “What have you done?”

  Royce shook his head. “It’s you. You made the choice.”

  Tegmont staggered back, the sword in his chest. He put his hands on the hilt and pulled it out. The sword clattered to the stone floor. Tegmont looked at Royce, then at Alyna. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out except a trickle of blood. He collapsed onto the floor, eyes wide, blood seeping through his tunic.

  Samuel touched Royce’s sleeve. “Lord Royce? We must go.”

  “Aye,” Royce agreed. He bent to pick up Tegmont’s body.

  “Nay, my lord. Let him be. ’Tis best this way.” Samuel looked down at Tegmont, shaking his head. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.” He retrieved Royce’s sword, wiped it clean, then handed it to him.

  They hurried out the chapel door and into the fresh air as Lord Blackwell and Hugh arrived with the men.

  “Are you all right?” Hugh demanded.

  “Indeed,” Royce answered. “Let’s get this fire put out.”

  Hugh stepped away to bark orders and men scrambled to comply.

  “Thank God,” Lord Blackwell said as he took Alyna in his arms and held her and Nicholas close for a long moment. At last he leaned back to look at her face, his gaze taking in the cut on her neck. “What of Tegmont?”