Wildly Romantic: A Multi-Genre Collection

by Lana Williams

  “What I mean is that I need te borrow yer horse as I am headin’ to Earl Blackpool’s castle.”

  “Great,” said Ian. “We’ll come wit’ ye.”

  “Nay. I need ye two to go to Worcester and tell Lovelle that I didna get the plague.”

  “Aye, had we kent aboot the plague we woulda stayed in Scotland,” said Aidan. “But why dinna ye come and tell her yerself? Why are ye even apart te begin wit’?”

  “It’s a long story,” Onyx said. “To make it short - Fenella is deid from the plague, and I plan on makin’ the earl pay fer puttin’ me in a box and tryin’ te kill me.”

  “Dagger, I dinna like the sound o’ this,” said Ian. “What are ye plannin’ te do?”

  “Promise ye willna tell Lovelle and I’ll fill ye in on me plans.” Onyx looked from one friend to the other.

  Aidan and Ian looked at each other and just shrugged.

  “All right, we promise,” said Ian, “now tell us.”

  “I want ye two te watch o’er Lovelle until I return. Becooz I am on me way to Blackpool te kill the man who is me true faither.”

  Chapter 19

  Lovelle sat at her mother’s bedside, holding her hand, so happy to see that her illness had not been the plague after all, but rather a reaction from some of the herbal remedies she’d been making and taking herself. When the healer found out what they were, he told her to stop taking them, as they could cause one to have hallucinations as well as other reactions. So it seemed her mother was not truly losing her mind after all, but had just dabbled in things she didn’t understand and therefore paid the price. It had been three days since she’d taken the herbs and her mind seemed to almost be back to normal.

  “Mother, I am sure you’d like Onyx once you got to know him,” she said.

  “I’ll never accept him,” his mother answered with a shake of her head. “His mother was the one who killed your father, Loveday, and you should hate him as well.”

  “You are forgetting that father was the one who killed Fenella’s husband in the first place. I would think that would make Onyx hate me, but he doesn’t. And besides, Fenella was not his real mother. He just found out recently that his real father is the Earl of Blackpool. Ironic, as that is where Charles is being fostered. I just hope my son does not get the plague.”

  “Loveday, if what you’re saying is true, then that means your Scot is not Scottish at all, but one of us.”

  “That’s right, mother. And when I was at the MacKeefe camp I heard that he has sisters – four of them.”

  “Your father was good friends with Talbot – Earl Blackpool. You know that’s why I decided that Charles should be fostered there. He would have wanted it that way.”

  “Then you already know Onyx’s family?”

  “I do. Talbot is a fair, kind, respectable man.”

  “How can you say that? He put Onyx in a box and ordered him to be drowned at sea.”

  “That’s not the way it happened, sweetheart. His wife died birthing a baby boy and the baby died too. His son had two different colored eyes and the earl thought it was an omen. He thought that because of the baby, he’d also lost his love – his wife.”

  “But Onyx didn’t die. He’s alive. So that doesn’t make sense. Or does it?” She thought of his little dying spells and wondered if that’s what happened all those years ago. If so, the earl didn’t try to kill him – because he thought his baby was already dead. She explained it to her mother. “Oh, mother, I can’t wait to tell Onyx when he arrives back here today. He’ll be so happy to know that his father didn’t try to kill him after all.”

  There was a knock at the door and Lovelle went to answer it. Weldon stood there.

  “My lady, there are two Scots at the gate trying to get in.”

  “Two?” she asked. “Is one of them Onyx?”

  “Nay, my lady, but I recognize them as the ones who were involved in your abduction. I told the guards not to let them enter.”

  “Why are they here?” she asked.

  “Something about a message from Onyx.”

  “Is he all right?”

  “I’m not sure, my lady.”

  “Let them in at once,” she said, running down the corridor, through the courtyard, and to the front gate. She could barely wait until they opened it, and when she saw Aidan and Ian her heart was filled with joy.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she said, thinking it was very odd they were both riding on one horse.

  Aidan jumped off the back quickly, and she smiled to see his little squirrel on his shoulder. These men truly were madmen, and that’s what she liked about them as well as Onyx.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. “And where is Onyx? Is he all right?”

  “He is fine, me lady,” said Ian, dismounting. “He said te tell ye he has no’ the plague after all.”

  “I’m so glad. So will he be here soon? I can’t wait to see him.”

  “Nay, he’s no’ comin’ until he’s done at Blackpool,” said Aidan, letting his squirrel climb from one arm to the other.

  “He went to Blackpool without me? Is he going to check on Charles?”

  “I dinna ken who Charles is, but he is goin’ te see his faither, the earl.”

  “Aidan ye dunderheid, ye are no’ suppose te tell her,” scolded Ian.

  “Tell me what?” she asked, getting the feeling she wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

  “I ne’er promised no’ te tell her,” said Aidan. “Ye did it fer both o’ us, and thet disna count.”

  “Tell me before I go insane,” she said. “Why didn’t he take me with when he met his father for the first time? I don’t understand.”

  “Becooz he didna want ye there,” said Aidan. “He dinna want ye te see him kill his faither.”

  “Kill him? Why? What is he thinking?”

  “He said his faither tried te kill him as a bairn,” said Ian. “He is lookin’ fer revenge more or less.”

  “And you two just let him go?”

  “We canna change Dagger’s mind once it’s made up,” said Aidan. “Ye should ken thet.”

  “Besides, the man deserves te die fer tryin’ te kill Dagger,” added Ian.

  “No, he doesn’t,” said Lovelle. “The man thought he was already dead at the time because I believe Onyx had one of his dying spells right after he was born.”

  “Och, thet’s no’ guid,” said Aidan.

  “You need to stop him before he does something he’ll regret,” said Lovelle.

  They looked at each other and just shrugged. “I dinna think we’ll catch him in time,” said Ian.

  “Then we’ll have to ride fast,” she told them. “Let me get my things and we’ll leave at once. It is several days ride to Blackpool, so if we don’t stop long to rest, we might be able to catch him.”

  “I dinna think this is a guid idea,” said Ian.

  “No’ wit’ the plague o’er the land and all. Ye jest stay here and we’ll go after Dagger fer ye,” Aidan offered.

  “My seven-year-old son is at Blackpool being fostered and I’ll not stay here when his life is endangered.”

  “Are ye sure ye willna change yer mind, me lady?” asked Ian.

  “I would think you boys would know by now that Onyx isn’t the only stubborn one. When I make up my mind there is no changing it, so don’t even try. Now Ian you go to the stables and get us some horses, and Aidan, come help me pack a few things and we’ll be on our way.”

  She knew she had to get there in time, because if Onyx killed his father only to realize the man didn’t try to murder him after all, she knew he’d never forgive himself as long as he lived.

  Chapter 20

  Onyx made it to Blackpool very quickly, nearly a full day earlier than it should have taken him. He realized it was his determination to bring vengeance to the man who’d tried to kill him that kept him going when he should have been sleeping and resting along the way. Nighttime was closing in, and possibly he could use t
hat to his advantage not to be seen.

  The incident four years earlier was vivid in his mind now. He couldn’t forget how angry the earl had been, and how he’d made it clear he wanted to kill Onyx since he blamed Onyx for his wife’s death. Onyx knew now he never should have waited four years to do something about this. But he was young at the time, and foolish, and he hadn’t believed a word of it for a second. But now that he’d heard the story from both Fenella and Clarista, he knew it was not a lie.

  How could anyone hate a baby enough to want to kill it? He didn’t understand at all. It made him feel so unloved and confused. And so unwanted.

  He wanted this deed done quickly, and then he wanted nothing to do with any of his real family for as long as he lived. He’d already planned to take Lovelle back to Scotland with him. That is, if she’d still have him after he hadn’t returned and helped her like he’d promised. He only hoped that Aidan and Ian were watching over her and that they hadn’t said a word about his mission to her. If she ever found out, she would hate him forever. He knew she wouldn’t understand what he was going through and how he was feeling.

  He approached the castle just at dusk. A cart wheeled past him slowly, carrying the dead. So the plague had hit here as well. He looked over and noticed that most the dead bodies on the cart were of children. Mainly young boys.

  “Ye there,” he said to the man driving the cart. “Why are there so many deid young laddies?”

  “Didn’t you hear, you bloody Scot?” he answered, breathing through a rag tied around his face. “The young ones haven’t built up the resistance since they weren’t around the last time the plague hit. And only God knows why, but it has been killing off mostly men. Actually, young boys. They are calling this the Children’s Plague this time around.

  “Is there a young laddie named Charles among the deid?” he asked, hoping Lovelle’s son wasn’t one of the casualties.

  “I don’t know, and don’t care,” said the man. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to be seen talking to a Scot. It’s bad enough they put me on this duty of carting the dead for the crimes I’ve committed. But if I live through this, I’ll be a free man.”

  The man hurried away, and Onyx knew he should have borrowed a cloak from one of his friends, as his plaid was going to stop him from getting into the castle at all.

  He rode around the back, looking for a way in without being seen when he saw an old beggar woman sitting by the back wall. Her head was down.

  He was going to ignore her and keep going until he heard her call out.

  “Are you looking for a way to get in?” she asked.

  He wasn’t sure she could be trusted. That is, until she looked up and he saw her eyes were clouded over and she was blind. This would work to his advantage. She wouldn’t run and tell the guards, nor would she be able to give away his identity.

  “Do ye ken a way inte the castle, auld woman? If so, tell me.”

  “I do. But first you need to tell me why you are not using the front gate?”

  “I am a Scot and they willna welcome me wit’ open arms.”

  “Why are you here?” she asked, cocking her head.

  “I’m here on behalf o’ Lady Lovelle of Worcester. I am te check on her son, Charles, te see if he’s got the plague.”

  He could have kicked himself for telling her that, using names. Damn, he was addled, but it just sort of slipped out. He knew he’d have to pay her now in order to keep her quiet.

  He dismounted and walked over to her. He pulled a halfpenny from his pouch and handed it to her. “Here, auld woman. ’Tis a coin fer ye te haud yer wheesht.”

  “So, you’re paying me to keep quiet? Interesting.” She reached out and grabbed his plaid, feeling the cloth.

  “That is me plaid, this is the coin.” He held it right against her hand but she grabbed his hand next and then she reached out and touched the dagger at his side as well.

  “What are ye doin’?” he asked, throwing the coin into her lap and moving away.

  “That felt like a gemstone dagger,” she commented.

  “So what if it is?”

  “It felt cracked.”

  He was amazed at how much she knew from just a quick touch.

  “’Twas always cracked, e’er since I had it from when I was a bairn.”

  She chuckled then, showing her stained teeth. “I knew you’d come back eventually,” she said. “My daggers always come back home.”

  “I dinna ken what ye mean, auld woman. Now jest tell me how te get inte the castle. Is there a postern gate hidden here somewhere?”

  “So, do you love this Lady Lovelle of Worcestershire?” she asked.

  Onyx was taken aback at the woman’s question. “I dinna love anyone,” he said.

  “Not even your own mother?”

  “I have no mathair. And I dinna need te answer any more o’ yer doitit questions. Now are ye goin’ te tell me where the postern gate is or no’?”

  “My questions are not stupid, I assure you. Now, give me the dagger and in return I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

  “Nay. Ne’er.”

  “Why not? Does it mean something to you, perhaps?”

  “Ferget it,” he said. “I’ll find me own way in.”

  “Mayhap you will, but you’ll never accomplish what you’ve come to do.”

  “What do ye mean, auld woman? I’m here te find a laddie, nothin’ more.”

  “Oh, you’ll do that, and you’ll find you’re father as well. But you won’t kill him, especially not with that dagger.”

  He was shocked by her words. How could she know what he’d planned on doing? He’d only decided on the ride over here to use the dagger instead of his sword to kill his father, and hadn’t told anybody. He figured his father put that dagger in his so-called coffin for some reason, and he wanted it to be the last thing he saw before he lost his life.

  “I’m no’ here te kill anyone,” he tried to convince her.

  “You’re a horrible liar,” she said with a chuckle, and that only made him think of Lovelle and how he always knew when she was lying. “Mayhap you should give your father a chance to explain himself before you slit his throat,” she said. “If not, you’re no better than him for putting you in that box and ordering you to be drowned in the sea.”

  He froze. How could she possibly know this? She was a witch of some kind. She had to be. And Onyx didn’t like witches. They scared him.

  “Here, take back your coin,” she said, throwing it to him. He caught it in one hand and put it back in his pouch. “I don’t want blood money. The postern door is in the vines right next to me,” she said. “But you’ll have to leave your horse here.”

  He tied the horse to a tree, then felt along the wall under the ivy next to her. Sure enough, he found a lever, and when he pulled it, a secret door opened leading into the back courtyard.

  “You’ll never truly understand love until you’ve lost someone who means the world to you the way the earl has,” she said as he slipped inside.

  “No more, auld woman.”

  “Think before you do something that you might regret for the rest of your life. Give the man a chance . . . Onyx.”

  That’s all he needed to hear. He quickly closed the gate behind him, wanting to be away from the blind old witch who seemed to know more of what was inside of him than he knew himself. He didn’t care about love, not really. He’d lived his entire life without it, so what should it matter? The only person who’d ever cared about him was Fenella. And she had taken twenty years and her dying breath before she’d told him she loved him. He didn’t need this in his life. Nay, and he didn’t want anyone to love him.

  “Think about your Lady Love,” he heard the witch’s voice as he hurried toward the castle in the dark. He didn’t want to think about her right now. Because he realized she had told him she loved him, from her heart. But as soon as he killed his father, and if she found out, he knew that would change as well.

  Cha
pter 21

  Lovelle had been quiet during their trip to Blackpool. Aidan and Ian were quiet as well, and she was only too glad they’d stopped at inns at night instead of camping on the cold ground like she knew they were used to. Still, they’d stayed in the stables while she’d taken a room. But she hadn’t slept in one of them long at all, as she was anxious to keep going and to find Onyx before it was too late. They’d made good time, and with any luck they’d catch up to him before he entered the castle.

  They approached Blackpool now, and she couldn’t wait to see her son, Charles, and only hoped that he was healthy, or she didn’t know what she’d do.

  They’d seen more death on their journey here from the plague, but it was nothing compared to the last time the plague hit England when she was a child. Those horrific memories would stay with her forever, as well as the scars this revisit of the Black Death was taking.

  She wondered how Charles was faring, and as his mother she wanted more than anything to be there for him. To hold him and hug him and tell him everything was going to be fine, even if she wasn’t sure it really would be. He was just a young boy, and though he was strong, she didn’t know what was happening when she was so far away, and this bothered her to no end.

  “Me lady,” said Ian. “I see Blackpool Castle up ahead.”

  It was dusk, and as they approached, the guards noticed them from atop the battlements.

  “I wonder if Onyx is already here,” she said as they rode up to the drawbridge.

  “I ken he’s here,” said Aidan.

  “Aye, no doubt in me mind either,” said Ian with a nod of his head.

  “How can you two be so sure? Do you see his horse somewhere?” She looked around but didn’t see it.

  “I dinna think he could take his horse wit’ him where he is goin’,” said Aidan.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Look up high past the battlements te the back wall by the tower,” said Ian. “But dinna make it obvious, as I dinna think he wants the guards te see him.”