"I can do much better than that. I can take you to my chamber where we can play our games like we used to…." Tears coursed down her face as her heart pounded heavily in her chest. If Kendrick went to Gardana’s arms tonight, she would have no one to blame but herself. She had held love in her hands but had coldly pushed it away. What was wrong with her?
"Nay, Gardana, and speak to me no more. That was our past and ‘tis best we leave it that way."
"You have needs, milord, that your wife is unwilling to fulfill. I can release some of your pain."
A long period of silence followed. The lump formed in her throat again as she waited for Kendrick’s compliance.
"There are something things you cannot fulfill, Gardana. My heart is empty without her and no other woman can fill it."
"’Tis not like you are in love with me. You will just be using my body. Pretend I am her if you wish."
"You do not understand, Gardana. She carries my child."
"As do I." Fury ripped through her veins. She knew Gardana carried a child in her belly as well but never inquired as to who the man was that had sired it. Naively she assumed it was one of the grooms. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined Kendrick was the father! That was before you came to Kent, her mind assured her. Isabeau wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed lightly. That was true. What ever transpired here before her arrival was none of her business. What mattered now was the future.
"You know you do not, Gardana. I have not seen your bed in weeks longer than you have had the child."
Another period of long silence followed. She could hear Gardana’s breath hitching in and out as if the fury was almost too much for the evil woman to bear. Without warning, Gardana broke the silence. "All right, milord. The child is not yours but what will your bride think when I tell her ‘tis so? Who will she believe?"
Isabeau’s breath escaped her tight chest as Gardana’s admittance to deception came to light. So someone else had sired the brat! If she were also correct, Gardana was the one who poisoned her wine and implicated the old wizard her scheme. Finally, the haze of doubt and fear cleared. Gardana had known what Kendrick would do if her life were threatened in any way. For some reason, Gardana had wanted the old man dead. Why would she do that? In the evil scheme of things, Gardana had sought Kendrick’s weakness and used it against him for her own gain. Perhaps in time, Gardana would want her dead as well. I am not going to stand by and let my life or Kendrick’s life as well as the life of our child be jeopardized. Who was to stay Gardana would not do the same thing to Kendrick once he outlived his usefulness?
Suddenly, her next move became quite clear. Drawing a deep breath, Isabeau walked out from beneath the shadows of the doorway and entered the dining room. "I will believe my husband, wench." Both sets of stunned eyes turned to her as she strode to Kendrick’s chair and laid her hand on the high back.
Gardana’s jaw went slack then closed quickly. "I carry his child, never fear."
Isabeau felt her hand clenched into a tight fist at her side. "Nay, you do not. I heard your confession quite clearly, Gardana. As a matter of fact, I may even know who the father of your child is."
Gardana’s arms crossed her burgeoning bosom defiantly and stared with a petulant look on her face. "Since you seem to be so wise, Duchess, then I anxiously await the name."
Isabeau moved around the chair and sat herself in Kendrick’s lap. His hands came around her and rested protectively on her expanding belly. "I would dare say it was the man you sent to his death." She could see the shift in Gardana’s frame, indicating her heightened anxiety.
The color fell from Gardana’s already pale face and her arms dropped. Isabeau knew immediately she made the correct assumption. "I will never tell who it is."
Isabeau held her head up. "I do not know what your plan was in making my husband think the child was his but I have a pretty fair idea," she rose from Kendrick’s lap and circled Gardana like a predator about to strike. "You thought by getting yourself with child, you would dispatch me in childbirth. Then the Duke, in his grief, would take you into his bed where you would be welcome and the child would be raised as his own without him being any the wiser. Am I correct?" The male voice whispering in her ear had grown louder from the moment she had entered the room. Suddenly, she felt strange, as though the mysterious male presence was taking over her body. "You saw into the future. You foresaw my coming and anticipated well. You knew of the child that is in my womb at this moment. You engaged Halden in your struggle because you also foresaw no child of the Duke’s would spring from your loins. With much cajolery, Halden agreed to help you. Then he outlived his usefulness. You sought to rid yourself of him forever so you poisoned my wine and blamed him for it, knowing what the Duke would do. This is the end, Gardana. From this moment on, you are cursed. Wherever you go, Halden will follow until your dying day."
Gardana’s body trembled as the fear rode along her veins like a bolt of lighting. She stood rooted for a moment and gazed straight ahead, as if she did not believe what was said.
She stopped in front of Gardana and glared at her unmercifully. "What do you have to say for yourself, Gardana?"
"W … who … told you all this?"
Isabeau stepped closer until she was almost nose to nose with the wicked woman. "Halden," issued her reply. Gardana’s face contorted into a sickened mixture of fear and anger.
Kendrick leapt from his chair with fury burning through his features as he grabbed Gardana by the upper arms. She winced from the pain he inflicted. "You are truly evil, Gardana, and you will pay the price just as others have who tried to hurt Isabeau."
Gardana’s lower lips quivered. "What are you going to do to me?"
Kendrick pushed her away viciously. "What I have in mind for you is beyond your wildest imagination, Gardana," he growled. "Leave us and go to your chamber. From this moment on, you will be in the fields and will not be allowed to be in our presence until the time comes for your punishment."
With a look of sheer terror on her face, Gardana gathered her skirts and ran from the room.
Without warning, Isabeau felt faint as the world around her spun wildly. Colors flashed by her, too fast for her to distinguish. The room tilted unevenly and she felt strong arms catch her before she fell to the floor. A cloud of hazy white misted her vision and she blinked wildly in an effort to clear it. Finally, Kendrick’s face burst through the haze and gazed at her with a pure, genuine love in his eyes. "Isabeau, are you all right?"
She nodded slowly so that her head would stop the whirling. "Aye, I think so, Kendrick. What happened?"
Bending down, Kendrick picked her up in his arms and strode to his chair, cradling her in his lap. "You seemed strange, as though the devil possessed you. You terrified Gardana when you revealed her scheme. How did you know all of that?"
Isabeau snuggled her face deeper into the warmth of his neck. "I know not, Kendrick. Someone whispered everything to me and I merely recounted it. Come let us not talk of her. There is something I need to speak to you about."
His hand stroked her hair softly as he held her tighter. A slow breath escaped his chest. "What is that, my dear?"
She looked up and lost herself in the bottomless depths of his eyes. "I was completely wrong. Forgive me. You did what you must do to protect me and our child. Just as I had to do now." Isabeau laid her head back down and twined her hands around his neck and through his hair. "Perhaps that poor man’s execution was rash but you were thinking with your heart and not your mind. Make me one promise."
"What is that?"
"In the future, please do not jump so easily to execution. Put them through a trial then the final judgment if necessary. That way, an innocent life will be saved."
His finger tilted her chin up. "That is one promise I will not have a problem keeping." His breath drew in. "I say ‘tis time for bed, Isabeau."
"But I am not tired, Kendrick, I though perhaps we could talk…."
Kendrick ch
uckled softly. "I was not thinking of sleeping, Isabeau." His lips nibbled at the lobes of her ears. "In a few minutes, talking will be the furthest thing from your mind."
Chapter 20
Days sped by with an unusual quickness. Isabeau seemed to grow larger every day. Kendrick fawned over her belly and rubbed it on nights when it seemed sore. Despite the happiness she felt, there was still the overwhelming presence of Gardana. No matter how she begged Kendrick to dismiss the girl, he always refused, never stating his reason why. He merely said he wanted to reward her for all her loyal service. Isabeau frowned as the fury built up inside. The girl tries to poison her then sends an innocent man to his death and he wants to reward her? At least once a day, they had a furious row over it. As a dénouement, they always seemed to end up spending the afternoon in bed with Kendrick making her forget her anger. What was up his sleeve?
* * * *
Early one morning, Isabeau arose and dressed in a slow manner. Her time was nearing the end now and she felt less inclined to get out of bed. Her belly was three times its normal size. The babe inside kicked and moved with regularity, sometimes surprising her completely. Several times she would wince during a meal from the babe’s violent kicks and Kendrick would whisk her up to the chamber before she could put her bread down. He was almost as nervous as she was.
With her hair braided and a bright gown on, Isabeau proceeded to the dining hall to find Kendrick sitting with a strange red-haired man. At first she failed to recognize him but when he smiled in that lecherous manner, she realized it could only be one man. Laird Ian McLeish.
Kendrick arose when she stepped into the room and let his arm sweep to the right. "You remember the Laird McLeish from Scotland, my dear?" Her gaze drifted over to the man with the stringy hair and bad teeth. Since his last visit, he seemed to grow fatter and his odor was more offensive than before, a mixture of horse, leather and sweat. She could smell it from where she stood.
"Milord," she nodded and took the seat Kendrick thoughtfully pulled out. Taking the napkin from table, she shook it out and laid it over her belly, looking up to find the Laird lost in a stare in her direction.
"Is there something amiss, milord?" she demanded in a flat tone of voice. He said nothing but continued to stare at her in some kind of dreamy oblivion.
"Ian, stop staring at my wife," Kendrick ordered in a friendly voice under laced with a tone of menace. "Do you remember that challenge you lost to me?"
Ian seemed to snap out of his trance and turned his greasy head in Kendrick’s direction. "Aye, Kendrick, I do. You wished to collect, I assume."
Kendrick laughed a hellish mirth. "Aye, that I do but I think ‘twill be a pleasant one," he turned his head toward the kitchen, "Gardana, bring out the meal."
Isabeau froze in terror as the girl’s name rang from the rafters. Why did Kendrick put her in the kitchen? Since the night of the strange happenings, Kendrick banned Gardana from both of their presences, not allowing her to touch either food or drink. The fear of poison still ran rampant in Kendrick’s mind so he had banished her to the fields. Tonight she was inside. Why?
An ashen Gardana emerged from the kitchen with the tray of suckling piglet in her hands and set it down on the table wordlessly. She turned to leave when Kendrick’s hand on her wrist stopped her. "Ian, now remember that you will do anything I ask no matter what."
Isabeau noticed Ian’s eyes hungrily raking over Gardana’s youthful but large body. Her time was nearing the end as well. "Aye so what does this have to do with this wench?"
"Because she is going to be your wife."
Ian’s mouth fell open just as Gardana’s did. Only out of Gardana, an unearthly scream emitted as she tried to tear herself away from Kendrick’s grip. "Nay, milord, I will not marry that ogre!" Isabeau was forced to cover her ears as the high pitched scream speared her body. So this was why Kendrick had waited so long to do anything about Gardana! He waited until the Laird arrived so he could force McLeish to take Gardana!
Kendrick peered up into the scheming face. "You have sought long to be the lady of the manor so here is your chance," he growled as he thrust her to Ian where she landed face down on his stinking lap. "Take your bride, Ian. I have the priest waiting so that you may wed her tonight."
Ian’s mouth spread and showed a darkened clump of teeth. "She may not be the Queen but she will do." He looked down at the writhing Gardana. "And rest assured, I will enjoy her before the night is over."
"Please do, my friend," Kendrick commented as he squeezed Isabeau’s hand under the table. Gardana was finally out of their lives forever and no longer a threat. Now she could deliver her child in peace.
Gardana scrambled from the Laird and knelt by Kendrick’s side, clutching the sleeve of his tunic weakly. "Please, milord, do not make me wed this man! I will do what you ask…."
"I am only giving you what you so desperately seek." Kendrick peered up at Ian with a malicious grin on his face. "Ian, get your bride up off the floor. ‘Tis most unbecoming."
An evil smiled curled the fattened flesh under his nose. "Get up here, wench," Ian snarled as he grabbed fistful of Gardana’s hair and pulled her to his lap. "Kendrick, I must say I will enjoy paying this debt to the fullest extent. As a matter of fact," he rose to his feet with the struggling Gardana. "I think I will start enjoying it right now." With that, Ian strode out of the hall dragging Gardana by the hair. Her scream hammered the rafters and rained down all around them.
Isabeau cast a look to Kendrick. "Do you think we have heard the last of her?"
Kendrick leaned forward and clasped her hand in his own. His thumbs turned in lazy circles on the back of her hand and sent slivers of sensation through her system. "I think so. After tonight, Gardana will be nothing more than a distant memory."
Isabeau looked toward the empty doorway as Gardana’s screams still lingered though they grew distant with each moment. "I hope so, Kendrick. I truly hope so."
* * * *
Dark clouds loomed overhead and threatened rain. Ian’s party mounted up and readied for departure. Gardana, sullen and quiet, sat quietly on the back of Ian’s horse. After the priest had wed them a few nights before, Ian had dragged Gardana back to his chamber. Every night since, Isabeau could hear the intermittent screams and only buried her face deeper into Kendrick’s chest to block them out. Part of her wanted to go and stop the atrocity but part of her realized the evil web Gardana had woven had closed in around her. It was if the entire cycle of evil had come full circle. In the end, the cycle would be Gardana’s death.
Ian swung his horse around. Gardana hung on weakly as her ravaged black tendrils blew in the gentle breeze. "Kendrick, I must say this has been a most pleasant visit. I never expected to be taking home such a prize." The gluttonous tone of his voice sent a quiver up Isabeau’s spine and she clasped hands with Kendrick. Thankfully, with Kendrick’s warning, he would never bother her.
Kendrick clapped his old friend heartily on the arm. "I take care of my friends. Take care when you return to Scotland. The wood is full of thieves."
Ian laid a grimy hand on the hilt of his large claymore. "Never fear, my friend. With one swift stroke of this blade, they will think twice. Aye, we must be going though." He cast his gaze to the sky. "I smell the rain coming. Men, let us ride!" His arm rose in gesture then fell in an act of departure. Kicking his horse in the meaty brown flanks, Ian led the rest of the party in a gallop that kicked up a cloud of dust. Gardana was silent as she hung on, jostling with each movement of the horse. Only her face betrayed the terror she felt inside.
Isabeau almost felt a twinge of pity but she suppressed the emotion. Gardana had brought of this upon herself with her lies and schemes.
Kendrick squeezed her hand and drew her close. "Are you ready to go in?" His hand patted her belly lovingly but she was only dimly aware of it. She gazed at the settling cloud of dust. What was going on in Castile at this moment? What were her people thinking about her abandoning them? They must know of
her capture but that thought did nothing to lessen the guilt she felt. She had left them without their sovereign and that was not part of her nature. Her people were her responsibility and she’d led them straight into Longshank’s hands. If that was not bad enough, the King craved the crown of Scotland for himself. Was there never going to be enough for him?
She turned to Kendrick and gazed into his face. Her mind burned every line, curve and plane into her mind. How she loved waking up to that face every morning! It gave her a sense of purpose and comfort, just as the babe in her belly did. I must return to take my rightful place in Castile and take my crown back from England. "Kendrick, would you do something for me, no matter what I ask?"
His face contorted into an expression of puzzlement then relaxed into a half smile. "Of course, my dear. There is nothing in this world that you cannot have."
She felt the rumble of fear shudder through her but she quelled it before it reached her throat. "Let me return to Castile where I belong. As much as I love and care for you, I also love and care for my people. They need me now." The strong tug of loyalty coupled with the stronger pull of love tore her heart in half. As much as she wanted to help her people, she wanted to keep the happiness she found in Kent. What road should she choose?
The anger burned across his cheeks and his hands planted themselves on his sturdy, scarlet clad hips. "And I do not need you, Isabeau? Nay, I cannot let you do so. Castile belongs to England just as you belong to me."
Isabeau stepped back as her own fury soared through her body. "Kendrick, I do not belong to you. I am your wife but that does not make me your property," she growled through clenched teeth. Her heart hammered in her chest as she stood her ground. The fear was kept at bay by the rising tide of fresh anger. How dare he think he was going to revert to his previous behavior!
His hands landed on her shoulders roughly and drew her to him. "You do belong to me, Isabeau. You carry my child and that binds you to me forever. When are you going to learn to stop fighting me?"
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