by McCall, Mary
“I went to see Cora and learned she was with Leof, so we went to the stables.” Melita snorted then favored him with an ironic smile. “Cora is tending Hugo’s head right now, because someone tried to bash in his thick skull. I made an interesting discovery apart from the fact that I can fly, milord. It may intrigue you to know that we have two lords here at Strangclyf and one of them wants me dead.” She punched his chest. “At first I thought he just wanted me because of how he grabbed me, but I changed my mind after he pushed me in the stall. I am just glad Leof built me all those escapes.”
“I will kill the snake with my bare hands,” Aurick declared, his eyes narrowed to slits.
“Nay, I will,” Bernon replied, as fury blazed through his veins.
“Why don’t you each hold him by opposite arms and pull him in twain, so you both can kill him.” Melita snorted. “Medwyn, please go find my mother. I do not want her left alone until we find the snake. Balen, you will have to wait to go for the priest. You can switch off guarding my mother with Medwyn. Geno, you go tell the king that he has to hurry. I do not trust the no-good reptile not to go after him. Bernon, you have to stay with me, so—”
“God’s bones, quit giving out orders. I am lord here,” Bernon said with an angry scowl.
Melita crossed her arms and set her jaw, indicating without words that she expected him to get on with his job.
“My first order is for you to take a bath.” He glowered down at her.
She rolled her eyes. “You need to make a plan to catch him.”
She had too much confidence if she thought to order him. He might just have to take her name back. “We will have one. Now go.”
“But I already have one.” An excited fire burned in her eyes. “I will be the bait, but you will be there too. So when he gets me, you can get him.”
“Do not even think about it.” Damnation! He turned and walked toward the desk.
“Where do you think you are going, Bernon?” she called, following him. “I am not through yet.”
“I am going to free myself of Intrepid before I use the sword on you.” He unfastened his scabbard and placed the weapon on the massive desk then turned around and glared at her for following him.
“I just thought of something else,” Melita said, nodding to herself and not looking at him.
“Jesu, save us.” Bernon wiped an exasperated hand over his face.
“Sidney must want you dead too and was probably behind the attempts to kill you.” She raised wrathful eyes. “I may have to be the one who kills him. And do you know Gremian was one of Sidney’s favorite warriors the last few months?”
“Aye, lamb,” Aurick concurred. “Do you also realize Gremian did not come into favor until you cut him and escaped into the maze?”
Melita gasped and turned to Aurick. “You think he wasn’t truly unconscious and saw me open the wall?”
Aurick nodded. “’Tis exactly what I think. Sidney was happy with Bernon as son-in-law until that time. Why would he suddenly decide to tell Hadwyn that you were heir and not him? Sidney knew how Hadwyn would react.” The commander narrowed speculative eyes. “And how else could he still be alive when more than one person saw him felled?”
“But Hadwyn was one of Orlege’s men,” Melita pointed out.
“Aye.” Aurick slammed one beefy fist into the other. “And I look for Orlege to arrive any time.”
Fires of anticipation sizzled through Bernon’s veins. Orlege better give him a good fight. He needed a battle to keep himself from throttling his audacious little wife. Kill the snake herself indeed! He glowered at her. “How bad is Hugo, ma petite?”
“Dazed.” She faced him and took a nervous step back. “He should be fit in a day or two.”
“Where is Druce?”
“Watching the men train.” She swallowed and raised a shaky hand to her gunky hair then dropped her fist to her side. “He and Hugo are taking turns watching all the warriors train, so they can pick my century.”
Bernon saw her slight trembling and sighed. “Balen, stay with her and do not let her out of your sight.”
“Nay!” Melita protested as her cheeks flamed.
Bernon scowled down at her.
She scowled right back up at him and put her hands on her hips. “I will not bath with Balen watching me. I am barely used to you doing that.”
Bernon closed his eyes and counted to ten. “Geno, go alert William. Aurick, seek out Lady Brianna and make sure she is safe. Medwyn, find Druce and alert him. Balen, track down Gremian and find out if his guard has noticed anything suspicious. We will meet back here in a half hour. Come, ma petite. Let’s get rid of your stench.”
Melita huffed and hurried to keep up with Bernon’s long strides. “Welladay, I would think you should know I have short legs since you keep calling me petite instead of by my new good name.”
Bernon grinned and slowed his pace. He would have to see about sending someone for a priest before the day was over. Balen was right. His overconfident, audacious wife might just set out for a cleric herself if he didn’t.
~ * ~
Balen rounded the side of the keep with a quick step, praying he wasn’t taking another false direction. He had covered most of the outer bailey then he ran into Rodor, who thought he saw Gremian head this way with Damon on his trail. Approaching a hedgerow that ran between the great office and the lord’s tower, Balen spied a pair of boots on the ground and leaned over to investigate.
Tugging on the boots, he pulled Damon’s lifeless body from the scrubs and saw a trail of blood flow beneath the corpse. “Oh God, not you, my friend.”
He turned the body and found a massive knife wound in Damon’s back draining the last drops of lifeblood. Bellowing his rage, Balen pulled his dead friend into his arms and fought the tears blurring his vision. “Ah, Damon, the pig could not even face you and kill you like a man.”
A moan arose from the opposite side of the hedges. Balen wiped his eyes with his sleeve then gently lay his friend upon the ground. “Your death will be avenged, Damon. I swear it.”
Making his way around the hedgerow, Balen entered the small garden. His chest constricted at the sight of Lucretia’s body crumpled facedown near a bench. He clenched his jaw at his heart’s response. How could he still feel anything after the way she had betrayed him and all the despicable things she had done to his new sister?
“Damn it, I do care,” he said and went to her side. Kneeling down, he felt a thin thread of life beating in her neck. He released a pent up breath and carefully eased her over. She tensed and released a moan then her body went limp. Bruises discolored her right cheek and the pale flesh around her throat. The dagger protruding from her midriff might as well pierce his gut, so badly did it wrench. Slipping an arm behind her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, he lifted her close to his chest and rose.
Lucretia stirred and opened her eyes. “Balen?” she asked in a hoarse bewildered voice.
“Aye, Lucretia,” he said gruffly, suppressing the urge to crush her against him. “I am taking you to Lady Brianna. Just stay with me.”
Her eyes became frenzied and she clutched at the front of his tunic. “Must stop them...Warn Bernon...Please, Balen. I tried to...to get to him, but...they caught me.”
“Stop who?” he asked, easing her out of the garden through the narrow opening in the hedgerow.
“Sidney and Gremian,” she rasped then grimaced. “They plan to stage accident...lure Lady Strangclyf into the bath.”
“Are you sure?” he asked then a searing pain tore at his gut as if her pain were becoming his. God, help him keep a clear head. He would not lose his heart to her again—especially when Bernon and Melita were already in the bath.
“Heard them making plans. They want to get...the riches from the coffers...before Orlege arrives.”
“When does Orlege come?” Balen asked, carrying her toward the front of the keep.
“Sometime today. Not sure.” Lucretia placed a palm agains
t Balen’s cheek and tears slid down her face. “Please forgive me, Balen, for...for being a greedy fool.”
He looked into her eyes and read her love for him. Was it only a few short weeks ago that she betrayed him? He felt as if a lifetime had passed since he last held her in his arms. “God, Lucretia. I’ll not let you get away from me again.”
Her eyes clouded over and she seemed to withdraw. “You will have no choice. King William will...see me executed for...what I’ve done.”
“What are you taking about?” He halted and gazed into her dark-blue eyes as her words sent fear clutching at his heart.
“I sought protection...from Orlege after my...husband’s holding was seized,” she admitted and averted her gaze. “He sent me to...William’s court...to ferret out information.”
“You’ve been spying,” he said angrily.
“I never sent...any information he could use.” She raised a pleading expression toward him. “I swear. I just wanted to be safe...” She hissed in a painful breath and dropped her eyes, “...no matter who won.”
“So you played both sides?” he probed.
She nodded and wouldn’t meet his eyes again.
By God, he wasn’t giving her up again even if he had to fight William. He set his jaw with determination. “You are not to tell anyone else about your connection to Orlege. I shall speak to William and handle this.” He nudged up her chin and made her look at him. “Do you understand me?”
“Aye.” She lay her head against his shoulder.
Balen tightened his hold on her, hoping he wasn’t once again making a fool of himself for the sake of his heart. Rounding the keep, he took his love to Lady Brianna.
Twenty
Melita stepped out of the water, grabbed a bath sheet from the bench, and began drying. She peeked up through her lashes at Bernon who stood by the screen with his arms folded across his chest while his eyes blazed over her. The man could make her feel brazen just by looking at her. She couldn’t resist, so she winked at him.
“I feel much better, Bernon. I can even stand to smell myself again.”
“I can stand to smell you too, wench.” He gave her a salacious grin. “You’re stirring up my appetite.”
“Look at this, Bernon,” she said, leaning forward and splaying her hands over her belly. “I am pretty sure I’m bigger. What do you think?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I think we should keep working at putting a babe in you until you grow as round as you are tall. Then we shall know for sure. Now hurry and dress. We should already be meeting the others in the great chamber.”
“I shall have to dress when we get to our chamber,” Melita said, wrapping the bath sheet around herself toga-style. “I have only two kirtles left. I never went through so many gowns in all my life until I met—”
Melita broke off, hearing a thud behind her. She spun around and saw Gremian holding a cudgel over Bernon’s prone body. Grabbing her dagger from the bench, she threw the blade and hit Gremian between his eyes, throwing him backward onto the ground.
“Bernon!” Melita cried, running toward him. “Oh, Lord, please let him be all right.”
Going on her knees beside him, she placed one palm on his chest. His heart beat under her fingers as tears gushed from her eyes. “Bernon, can you hear me? Bernon!”
She ran her fingers over his scalp and felt dampness in his short locks over a huge lump forming above his left ear. She winced, imagining his pain and pulled back her hand. Through a blur, she saw his blood on her fingers and fear immobilized her. “Oh, Lord, please do not let him die!”
Two beefy hands grabbed her from her left side where she couldn’t hear, hauling her to her feet. Her assailant twisted one of her arms behind her back and cold sharp metal pressed against her throat.
“You will do exactly as I say, Barwolf,” Sidney’s sinister voice ordered, sending chills through her bones. “Or I will finish what Gremian started.”
Melita sucked in a gasp. Oh, Lord, please help her keep her wits.
“Wha...what do you want?” she stammered as her heart slammed against her ribs.
“The emeralds,” he demanded.
Her eyes widened. “But they cannot be taken from Strangclyf, or—”
Sidney jerked on her arm, drawing a whimper from her. “You will take me to the real coffers. Then you will show me a safe escape from the maze, or I’ll kill your precious Bernon.” His voice took on a mocking quality. “He turned out to be such a disappointment. He seems to think you have value.”
“I will take you. Please...my arm.” She hated to beg, but she couldn’t think. Sidney eased his grip a fraction. “May I get my slippers, please? My bare feet will slow us with all the debris in the maze.”
“You will go as you are.” Sidney pricked the white flesh at her throat with the tip of his blade. “I’ll not give you a chance to get near any daggers. Which way?”
His voice held a crazed quality. Melita took a deep breath, fighting the suffocating feeling of all her life’s fears surging through her in this instant. She had no choice but to cooperate, so he wouldn’t harm Bernon further. “The far corner on the other side of the pool leads to the ruins. We’ll walk through them and enter the maze on the other side.”
Sidney jerked up on her arm one time for good measure then shoved her toward the alcove across the room.
~ * ~
Water splattered on Bernon’s face, gushing up his nose. He awoke sputtering and coughing.
“See there, Topaz. I told you ‘twould work,” Sapphire said, setting down the empty urn with a resounding clunk.
“Papa, go save Mama,” Topaz ordered.
Bernon raised a hand to the left side of his head, attempting to determine if an axe was lodged there. Finding none, he opened his eyes and looked vacantly at the two girls hovering over him and tried to figure out why his skull felt like ‘twas split.
“You need to hurry, Papa,” Sapphire urged, her pitch rising. “He had a dagger and was twisting her arm.”
“She looked like she was hurting and scared,” Topaz said and her lips quivered. “He hit her too.”
“Wait,” Bernon rasped out. He raised upon one elbow and flattened a palm against the side of his head, trying to unwhirl his senses and stop the pounding. Swallowing hard against a wave of nausea, he closed his eyes a moment then redirected his gaze on the girls. “Start over and tell me what happened,” he rasped.
“We saw the mean old lord with Mama,” Sapphire said. Fear tugged at the corners of her eyes as she dashed a hand at a rolling tear.
Fear for Melita twisted his gut with a painful intensity.
“He is making her take him to the coffers.” Topaz grabbed his arm and tried pulling him up. “Genius followed them to take Mama some daggers and a spear, but he says you should come too. He is leaving the way into the maze open for you.”
“The mean snake told Mama if she did not do like he says, then he will kill her,” Sapphire added with tears streaming down her face. “You got to hurry. If Mama gets unfortunate with her temper, then she may not do like he says.”
Bernon heaved himself to a standing position and held onto a pillar while the world revolved around him. Clenching his jaw, he opened his eyes and hissed in a breath. Gremian’s body with the pearl hilt protruding from his head lay several feet away. Damnation, his most important duty was to protect her, and she’d had to defend herself. Almighty God, forgive him for failing her.
“You two stay here. I’ll bring her back,” he promised in a tone harsh with conviction. Pulling the dagger from Gremian’s head, Bernon staggered across the bath and entered the ruins.
~ * ~
“I cannot find Genius anywhere,” Medwyn furiously called out, entering the great chamber where Aurick, Druce, and Balen were discussing strategies for the upcoming encounters with the old lord and Orlege of Strathmore.
“Are you sure he is the only one who can guide us into the maze, Aurick?” Balen asked, casting a glance toward th
e corner where Lady Brianna tended Lucretia. She had passed out when he removed the dagger from her midriff, and he wasn’t about to leave her unguarded with Gremian and Sidney roaming the holding.
“Aye,” Aurick replied, rubbing his stubbled chin. “The lamb has told no one else the secret except his lordship. I know of one entrance in the shed the children used to live in, but I do not know the way through the maze.”
“Have you men found Bernon yet?” King William asked, arriving in the great chamber followed by Geno and Manuel.
“Nay, Sire,” Medwyn answered. “The boy, Genius, is missing and he is the only one who can guide us. Ravyn and Karl are with Cora. They say he went off with the two younger girls to play on the sun, but no one can tell me how to get there.”
Manuel gasped and tugged on Geno’s tunic, earning an irritated frown. “Not now, Manuel. This is important.”
“With the time that has passed, Sidney and Gremian may well have both our lord and lady,” Druce said, ignoring Manuel’s disgruntled huff. “We know there is an entrance somewhere in the lord’s chamber. Mayhap we should go search for it.”
“’Twould appear we have no choice,” Aurick agreed. “Medwyn, alert the centurions to arm for battle. We shall meet Orlege with a full legion.”
Manuel tugged on Geno’s tunic again. “Pssssst. Uncle Geno, I kno—”
“Manuel, if you do not quit interrupting, I shall send you to clean the stables.” Geno glowered down at the boy then returned his attention to the conversation.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Manuel set his stubborn chin and glared at the adults, who continued making plans without letting him say anything. He had even tried to get permission like a good kid with manners, hadn’t he? Well, they could just ignore him all they wanted. He had a mission and he had better go before it was too late to save his Mama and Papa. He would need a good weapon though. His wooden sword wasn’t going to work on the old snake. Glancing around the room, his eyes grew huge and he nodded once. Aye, ‘twas the perfect weapon.