“All I could think to do was to get William to you. You weren’t so far away. But I couldn’t just send you a message to come and fetch him. I knew that wouldn’t end well.”
“I can only imagine your worry over what course of action to take,” Nicholas said.
She laughed, well aware it was not a sound of mirth. “I had to do something quickly. William wasn’t getting any better. Robert and Margaret were helping me as best they could, even though they, too, were defying Father’s commands to ‘let that damned knight rot’.”
She looked up at Nicholas. “William spoke of you so fondly during his more coherent moments. I was sure you were the answer. But I didn’t know how to get him to you without bringing my father’s wrath down on all of us. Or yours.”
“You took a great risk by bringing him to me.”
“Robert helped me take him to you, much against his wishes. We made William as comfortable as we could and then timed our arrival so darkness would hide us.”
“Why not announce yourself at the gate of Staverton?”
She shook her head. “From the little William told me of you, I was certain you’d never let me go.”
“Thank you.” His quiet words took her by surprise.
“For what?”
“For doing your best by William. For bringing him to me. I don’t think he would’ve recovered without you.”
Warmth filled her heart. “I did as much as I could, but it wasn’t enough. We both know that. Mildred is the one who deserves your thanks.”
“Deny it if you wish, but I know the truth of it.”
“You’re being too kind.” She pushed his thanks aside, uncomfortable with it. “Now, what is our plan when we arrive at Amberley. Are you certain I shouldn’t – ”
“Do not even suggest sneaking in.” He was quiet for along moment. “I think we should act as though we’ve come for a visit.”
“But if Father is in danger, then what?”
“The men will stay at the stables and wait for our word. If they don’t hear from us, they’ll know something’s wrong.”
Unease filled her, both for her father’s safety and their own. The plan seemed risky, but she could think of no other option. She pushed her worry aside as she trusted her husband completely.
*
Nicholas watched the guards closely as their small party passed through the gate of Amberley shortly after mid-day, but detected no sign of upset. Perhaps his second sight had once again misled him. He hadn’t forgotten the vision of Crefton covered in blood, though he’d decided against telling Elizabeth about it. She was worried enough already. His instincts told him that the message she’d received of her father’s illness was false. However, he couldn’t say if that was because of the vision he’d had of Crefton in danger or merely a gut feeling.
He still wasn’t certain how he felt about Elizabeth knowing his secret. Her calm, accepting response had been surprising – stunning in fact. When he’d expected horror or revulsion, she’d shown understanding. Only time would tell how she’d react in truth to the oddness of his second sight.
Her suggestion that he be on watch rather than take action was...interesting. How many times had he acted on what he’d seen only to discover his assumption of what was happening had been wrong? More times than he cared to count. He would try to do as she suggested and see if it yielded better success.
He gave a quick nod to Stephen, their signal to keep him and the other men at the gate where they would await word from Nicholas. If no message came, Stephen would send someone to Staverton to get more men.
“Lady Elizabeth!” villagers called out, waving cheerfully as she entered the bailey. Everyone seemed thrilled to see her. Their reception of Nicholas was cooler. Much cooler. Not surprising when one considered the circumstances surrounding their departure.
Elizabeth returned their greetings, her smile attesting to her pleasure at the warm reception, but she didn’t pause until they neared the keep. He knew she was anxious to see her father. A servant came forward to take their horses, and they were soon walking up the steps to the keep.
Nicholas shook his head in disbelief. Less than a month had passed since he’d first climbed these stairs. How could so much have happened in so little time?
Elizabeth took his arm as they climbed the stairs, her gesture easing his tension. “What is it?” she asked.
He covered her hand with his own. “I was just thinking of how much has changed since we met.”
“Very true, my lord.” She smiled up at him.
Though tempted to reassure her as to her father’s health, he held back. How could he when he didn’t know for certain? Instead, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “The mystery as to your father’s well-being will soon be over.”
And then what? a small voice asked. Would Elizabeth remain here, as he knew her initial intention had been? She deserved a family – something she’d always wanted, and he wasn’t certain he could give that to her.
Where did that leave their marriage? Did he have the strength to set her free? She deserved a lifetime of happiness and if he couldn’t provide her with that, he had to let her go. A heavy weight settled inside him at the thought, for he could see no other choice.
Before they’d progressed half-way up the steps, the door of the keep swung open to reveal Lady Margaret. Her expression filled with joy as she caught sight of Elizabeth. She hurried down the steps. “Elizabeth! Thank goodness you’ve arrived.”
“Margaret! Is all well?” Elizabeth asked. “How is Father?”
Margaret’s hands trembled as she reached out for Elizabeth. “I’m so glad you’ve come.” Her tearful gaze searched Elizabeth’s before she pulled her into a tight embrace.
Over Elizabeth’s shoulder, Nicholas observed the older woman’s face, her eyes squeezed tight, her lips quivering as she held Elizabeth. She’d obviously missed her niece terribly, but why did she not answer Elizabeth’s inquiry of her father? Was it bad news or was something else afoot? Something told him it was the latter.
Margaret’s eyes opened, and her wary gaze rested on Nicholas. “My lord,” she said, her disapproval obvious.
Nicholas nodded in return.
She pulled back from Elizabeth. “Your father is...doing fairly well. He’ll be so happy you’ve come. We weren’t certain you’d be able to escape – er, I mean, leave.” She cast an accusing glare at Nicholas.
“What was wrong with Father?” Elizabeth asked.
“All will be clear soon enough,” Margaret answered vaguely, dismissing Elizabeth’s question with a wave of her hand. “You’re not to worry.”
Elizabeth glanced up at Nicholas as though seeking his opinion of her aunt’s behavior.
He gave a small shake of his head, unable to read the woman’s odd performance. Something was definitely awry.
Margaret wrapped her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and started up the steps. “Your cousin, Gerard, is here.”
Elizabeth halted immediately. “Oh? Has he been here long?”
“Several days.” Margaret smiled as she urged Elizabeth toward the keep. “He’s quite lifted your father’s spirits.”
“Really.” A frown creased Elizabeth’s brow.
The door to the keep opened before they reached it, and Robert emerged. “Lady Elizabeth!” he cried with delight. “You received my message?”
“Aye, I did.” Elizabeth held out her hand to the steward as they reached the door. “Margaret says Father is doing better?”
The look the steward cast Lady Margaret convinced Nicholas that the two were guilty of some foul deed. “Umm...he does seem better,” Robert answered as he took her hand briefly, then he turned to Nicholas and bowed. “Greetings, Lord de Bremont.”
“Robert,” Nicholas said, still trying to grasp the undertones of the situation.
“We rather expected Lady Elizabeth would come alone.”
Elizabeth tilted her head as she studied the steward. She seemed
to find his behavior strange as well. “I’m most anxious to see Father.”
As Nicholas passed by Robert, the steward’s eyes narrowed with a less than friendly look.
Elizabeth had eyes only for her father as they entered the great hall. Crefton sat at the head table not far from the fire with Gerard by his side. The old lord looked much the same to Nicholas. He rose unsteadily from his chair as Elizabeth made her way around the table, his expression filled with joy. “My daughter!”
“Father, how do you fare?”
Crefton laughed as he embraced her for a long moment. “Where’ve you been, Izzie? I’ve not seen you for most of the day.”
She froze for a brief moment then eased back to look up into his face. Relief mingled with worry as though she was glad that her father had hardly noticed her absence yet concerned that he hadn’t. “’Tis been a busy day, Father.”
Nicholas’s own guilt eased as he realized Crefton hadn’t suffered to the extent Nicholas had initially intended when he’d taken Elizabeth.
Gerard rose as well, his dark eyes assessing Nicholas as he stepped forward to hug Elizabeth.
Jealousy, sharp and piercing, shot through Nicholas. Though the man was Elizabeth’s cousin, his embrace complete with roaming hands looked far from familial.
To Nicholas’s relief, Elizabeth’s greeting was much cooler than Gerard’s. “Cousin,” she said, her customary reserve firmly in place as she drew back a step. “I didn’t know you were coming here after your visit with us.”
Gerard shrugged. “An impulse on my part. I wanted to see how your father was faring with you absent.”
Elizabeth turned to her father. “I understand you’ve been ill. Are you feeling better?”
Lord Crefton frowned. “I’m well enough for these old bones. Why do you ask? Do I look poorly?” he asked as he sank back down in his chair.
Elizabeth darted a puzzled look at Nicholas and turned to Robert. “What’s going on here? Why did you send the message?”
Gerard laughed as he caught Elizabeth’s hand in his own and brought it to his lips. “I fear there’s been some confusion. If I could have a word in private, everything can be easily explained.”
”Elizabeth will go nowhere with you.” Nicholas stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I shall see you run through first.”
“I beg to differ,” Gerard retorted, a confident smile upon his face.
Cold steel pricked the back of Nicholas’s neck. He didn’t have to turn to know Gerard’s man wielded the blade that threatened him.
Elizabeth gasped in horror.
“Please, sit, Lord de Bremont,” Gerard said.
The knife pressed firmly into Nicholas’s flesh, urging him to do as ordered. A chair pressed against the back of his legs. The long table separated him from the rest of the occupants of the hall. Clever of Gerard.
Hidden from Elizabeth’s view, Gerard slid his own dagger from his belt and held it at Lord Crefton’s shoulder. Thankfully, the old man remained unaware of the threat for the moment. Gerard raised a brow at Nicholas, his annoying smile still in place.
Nicholas sat, knowing he must bide his time lest the old man, or worse Elizabeth, be harmed. He turned his head slightly and caught the eye of Sir Matthew Alred who grinned, his rotted teeth making him appear even more sinister.
“Such a pleasure to see you and your beautiful lady again, my lord,” the burly knight murmured. “I look forward to paying my respects to her, personally. Young widows oft need a shoulder on which to cry.”
If the man dared to lay so much as a finger on Elizabeth, Nicholas would take great pleasure in killing him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Do not worry, Elizabeth,” Margaret whispered as she attempted to pull Elizabeth aside.
Elizabeth spun to look at her, fear and anger waging through her. “How can you say that?”
“All is well, my dear,” her aunt said, her quiet tone confident. “You will see. Gerard has an excellent plan.”
“To do what?” Elizabeth was quite certain the woman had lost her wits. How could a knife held to her husband’s throat be a good plan?
“To save you,” she answered.
Robert moved to the other side of Elizabeth. He glanced around to make certain no one overheard them. “Gerard suggested I send the message to you. We could think of no other way to get you here.”
“I do not need to be saved and certainly not by Gerard,” she said, unable to understand why Robert or Margaret would support such an idea.
“He assured us no one would be hurt,” Margaret said, but her brow wrinkled with doubt as she eyed the knight threatening Nicholas.
“Spiced ale!” her father cried from his chair. “We must have a drink to celebrate this gathering. Robert, have someone fetch the ale.”
When no one moved, Lord Crefton shifted in his chair to glare at Robert.
Elizabeth gasped when her father’s movement revealed the knife Gerard held at Crefton’s back. Nicholas’s vision had been right after all. “Father! Wait!”
“Gerard!” Margaret cried out. “That was not part of the plan.”
Her father froze, taking note of Gerard’s blade. “Faith, man. If you’re that hungry, then take my seat,” he said as he stood. “The roast pig is tender as a woman’s arse.”
Oh, dear God, he truly had lost his mind, Elizabeth thought, and Gerard along with him.
“Gerard.” Nicholas’s calm voice cut through the tension-filled atmosphere. “Why don’t you enlighten us as to what this is about?”
Gerard’s smile tightened. “You stay where you are. Cousin, sit down.”
Her father took another look at the knife and promptly sat, his brows wrinkled in confusion. “Aye, what are you doing?”
Gerard addressed Elizabeth. “Surely you can deduce the purpose of this meeting, my dear.” His smile made her skin crawl.
“Nay, I cannot,” Elizabeth responded, angrier by the moment.
“I’m here to rescue you.”
“From what, pray tell?”
“From your husband. I’ve already requested dissolution of your marriage from the bishop. You’ll soon be free of Lord de Bremont.”
Elizabeth froze horror-struck, unable to comprehend why he’d do such a thing.
Margaret patted her arm. “We told him your marriage wasn’t consummated,” she said with a meaningful glance.
“See, my lady,” Robert added. “Your cousin has an excellent plan.”
“Izzie, that does indeed seem like a sound idea,” her father said with a frown toward Nicholas. “Especially if the man can’t service you like he should.”
Alarm held her rooted to the spot. This couldn’t be happening. She was surrounded by absolute lunacy.
She looked to Nicholas, afraid he would think she had arranged this, but his steady gaze eased her fright. Together, they would wade through this madness.
*
This was pure madness. Nicholas looked from Lord Crefton to Gerard and back to Elizabeth. She appeared stunned, and he was fairly certain she’d forgotten to breathe. Unthinking, he attempted to rise to go to her only to feel Matthew’s blade on his neck. Rage flooded through Nicholas as blood trickled down his skin, yet he restrained from striking the man.
He eased back, prepared to bide his time for the moment since Elizabeth was safe. Before making his move, he first needed to discern what Gerard’s intention was and how he hoped to carry it out. With only two men to execute it, the odds were against him.
Nicholas’s thoughts raced, trying to determine the best way out of this situation so no one would get hurt. If Elizabeth told them the truth, that their marriage had indeed been consummated, Gerard might do much worse than merely threaten her father with the knife, just as his vision had shown.
He caught her gaze and shook his head, hoping she understood his wish for her to keep silent. She nodded ever so slightly.
Margaret and Robert continued whispering to her. Unease filled
him at the sight for they obviously supported Gerard.
Gerard bent over to speak to Crefton. Would he convince the old lord to go along with his plot as well?
None of that mattered. The only person in this hall whose opinion mattered was Elizabeth. What was going through her mind? Would she seize this chance to end their marriage? Could Gerard convince her to do so?
Nay. Nicholas didn’t believe it. She was no fickle wench whose affections changed with the phases of the moon. She loved him. For the first time in a long while, he would trust, both in her and in his feelings for her.
A brief flash of a vision struck him – a glowing Elizabeth heavy with their child. Nicholas’s heart thundered, for he now knew exactly what he wanted. He had a chance for happiness, something most only dreamed of. It was worth the risk. Love swelled within him as he looked at her.
Crefton gestured broadly as he spoke to Gerard who continued to bend over him. Nicholas couldn’t hear what he said. Still in his chair, the old lord grabbed him by his shoulder and shook him, whether in encouragement or anger, Nicholas couldn’t tell.
Gerard’s face paled and his teeth clenched as he jerked back from Crefton. Ah, yes. Evidence of Gerard’s injured shoulder at last. Another vision proven true.
Shock seeped through Nicholas as realization dawned. Here was the man who’d nearly killed William and who’d murdered Elizabeth’s brother, Gregory. It all made perfect sense. Fury filled him, hot and burning. But how best to prove it? Revealing Gerard’s injury, though it matched William’s, would not be enough. He needed Gerard to confess to killing Gregory.
“Gerard, how did you hurt your shoulder?” Nicholas asked.
Gerard’s expression was wary as he held his hand on his injury. “I received it in a tournament several weeks past. ’Tis of little consequence.”
Nicholas knew better. “My brother, William, sends his regards.”
Elizabeth frowned at the change of subject, her expression puzzled.
“William? I don’t believe I know him,” Gerard replied.
“Surely you remember him. You have several things in common. The first of which is that same injury.”
Vengeance 02 - Trust In Me Page 28