Each word Humphrey said stirred William’s anger.
“It was all your work.”
“I don’t deny it,” he laughed. “It was my revenge for losing Elizabeth. You got the woman I wanted but you had to pay for it. And now you will lose your life. Is she worth it?”
“Yes,” William said through clenched teeth. “If she wasn’t worth it, you wouldn’t waste so much time and effort trying to get her back.”
“I’ve had enough talking.” Humphrey withdrew his sword and immediately charged William.
William bared his sword, stood up in his stirrups, and accepted the fight. Soon, they were in the middle of the road, their swords meeting with a clang of steel on steel.
The duel was fierce. Each of the rivals tried to wound each other or to unseat his opponent. Equally matched in sword fighting, they defended and landed blows equally.
Humphrey’s men on one side and Stephen on the other side of the road stood, watching.
Suddenly, William’s horse took a false step and Humphrey used the opportunity to wound it. The horse stood still for a short moment before falling to the ground. William managed to jump off it at the last minute. Just a second slower, and the horse would have crushed him.
Once on his feet, William gave his horse a quick glance. It was dead.
William concentrated his entire attention on the enemy. Still in the saddle, Humphrey was in a better position, while William was a good target. William backed away from the fallen horse on the centre of the road. Humphrey slowly followed him, a victorious smile playing on his lips.
“You haven’t won, yet,” William said, and took his sword with both hands, preparing for the attack.
“Don’t underestimate me, William Stafford,” Humphrey spurred his horse and charged William.
Suddenly, William stepped aside, letting Humphrey pass by, and hit his horse in the neck. The horse instantly fell to its knees, but the speed was still enough that the horse made a dangerous move before falling dead. A miracle saved Humphrey from being pinned to the ground by the fallen animal, just as it had William. He jumped out of the saddle and rolled several times on the ground before jumping to his feet. His sword lay at some distance from him.
William ran towards Humphrey. “Pick up your sword, he commanded. “I won’t kill an unarmed man.”
Humphrey grinned and went to pick up his sword, his eyes firmly fixed on William.
“You might regret that you didn’t kill me,” he said, as he picked up the sword. “When I kill you, I will get Elizabeth. And I will show her what a real man is like in bed. I will make her moan with pleasure under me.”
Rage pulsed through William’s veins. When he heard the words, William could control himself no longer, and he attacked.
However, Humphrey was ready and repelled the attack, his mouth twisted in a mocking grin. The smile on the enemy’s face made William breathless with fury. He lifted his hands for another blow. Still, Humphrey managed to get away unharmed.
One blow followed another. William, infuriated, gave his opponent no chance to attack. Only to defend. Humphrey’s joy quickly faded. He stared at William with eyes full of surprise.
William pushed Humphrey to the edge of the road and Humphrey had no choice but to be pushed back. Suddenly, fortune smiled on William. After another blow Humphrey tripped over a stone behind him and fell to the ground, dropping his sword.
Now, it was William’s turn to smile at the defeated enemy. This time he decided to end it. Not giving Humphrey a chance to pick up his sword, William walked to his nemesis and pointed his sword at the enemy’s throat. “Who told you we were going this way?” he growled, suppressing the desire to slaughter Humphrey right there.
Humphrey grinned at him. “What makes you think I will tell you?”
William pushed the point of his sword and scratched Humphrey’s throat causing a small drop of blood to appear on his skin. “Who told you we were coming here?” William repeated his question, rage running through each word he pronounced.
Humphrey’s men made a move to help him. “Stay still,” William commanded, loud enough for them to hear. “If you take one more step, I will kill your lord before you can stop me.”
The men stopped, helplessly watching their lord.
Humphrey paled when he realized that William wasn’t joking. “You will not believe me,” he whispered, his eyes on the sword.
William was losing his patience. “You will not tell me, will you?”
“No,” Humphrey whispered.
Silently, William swung his sword, ready for the fatal blow.
“Elizabeth,” Humphrey cried in an instant.
This name took William aback. The sword froze in the air. William expected anything but this name. The woman who slept with him, who had told him about love, betrayed him? No, William shook his head in disbelief.
“It cannot be true,” William muttered.
Humphrey used William’s hesitation. He grabbed his sword and sliced across William’s hip. William cried with pain and fell to the ground. Humphrey stood over him. “I promised you that one day Elizabeth would be mine. The day has come.”
He lifted his sword to kill William, but, suddenly, a dagger hit him in the right shoulder. Humphrey dropped his sword. Wincing with pain, he lifted his eyes and saw Stephen, who was galloping towards Humphrey, his sword drawn. Humphrey swore, took the dagger out of the wound and threw it to the ground. He picked up his sword with his left hand and started running back towards his own men.
“Kill them!” he screamed, “And give me a horse.”
One of the knights dismounted and Humphrey took over his saddle. The rest of the knights attacked Stephen, while Humphrey stayed behind, watching.
William picked up his sword and tried to get up, but the pain kept him fixed to the ground. They would die, he knew it, but he refused to be killed without a fight.
Suddenly, they heard a sound of galloping horses approaching. Friends or foe? Looking at the confused faces of Humphrey’s men, William realized that it must be someone from the castle. But how did they know he needed aid? The enemy stopped their approach, waiting in uncertainty of what was to come.
About two dozen knights, fully armed, appeared from the bend of the road, led by James. William smiled and relaxed as much as he could. They were just in time.
Humphrey’s men started turning around one by one and riding away from the site. But James would not allow them to do so.
“Attack them!” he commanded. “Avenge your lord! Leave no one alive!”
The knights needed no more encouragement. They attacked the enemy with the coolness of well-trained killers, while Humphrey’s men behaved like untrained youth. A fight started, and William knew who would win. He had trained his men well.
Stephen dismounted next to William and threw an assessing look at his eldest brother. “You need to go to the castle; your wound is bad,” his brows dew together.
William knew he needed aid as soon as possible.
“Here, take my hand,” Stephen said and helped William get to his feet.
A sharp pain ran through William’s body like lightning. He growled through clenched teeth, his face twisted in agony. He fought an urge to fall back to the ground. Instead, he mounted the horse clumsily. He was rapidly losing his strength. Once on the horse, he leaned to the horse’s neck and shut his eyes.
Darkness swallowed him.
***
It was painful to open his eyes. Still William managed to do it. He was in his chamber. In his bed. Alone. It was late at night, but the room had been lit well enough to see his surroundings. Fire peacefully crackled in the fireplace, many candles burning across the chamber. Silence reigned in the castle.
William tried to remember how he had gotten here, but his memories were foggy. He was feeling sick and his hip was burning with pain.
“Elizabeth,” William called his wife, but his voice was so weak that he could hardly hear himself. Suddenly, Humphrey’s words
came to mind and William bit his bottom lip in frustration.
Eventually the door to his chamber opened and James entered. “William, you’re awake!”
He rushed back to the solar. “He’s awake!” he screamed and returned with Stephen.
“You scared us,” Stephen said and sat down next to William. “Elizabeth has worked a genuine miracle to bring you back to life.”
“We thought we had lost you,” James confessed.
A door slowly opened, and Elizabeth entered.
“William, good Lord you are awake,” there was so much happiness and relief in her voice that for a moment William doubted Humphrey’s words.
But why would he lie when his life was in danger? Besides, he had told Elizabeth about the trap. No one else could have told Humphrey about it, but her. Yes, Humphrey had told him the truth. Elizabeth was the traitor they had been searching for.
William looked at his brothers. “Tell her to leave,” he said as loud as he could.
Elizabeth knelt by his bed and looked at him, frowning. Bewilderment clouded her features.
“I am your wife,” Elizabeth said, her voice broken by tears, “You need my help.”
“I’ve had enough of your help,” he cut her off, avoiding her eyes. “Now leave.”
“May I ask why?” her voice hardened.
William kept silent.
Elizabeth waited there, on her knees for several long minutes, expecting an answer, but William would not say anything. This woman had broken his heart and had betrayed him. How could he possibly talk to her after that?
“Well, I will do as you wish, my lord,” her voice was quiet, tears shimmering in her eyes. Elizabeth lifted her chin, her lips tightened, and she turned and left without saying another word.
“What’s wrong with you?” James looked at William with disbelief when the door shut behind Elizabeth. “She helped us to get you back from the dead. What happened between you two that you speak to her this way?”
“Humphrey told me everything.”
“Told you what?” James was sarcastic as usual. “That man desires your wife. I would never believe a word he said.”
William looked up at the ceiling. He didn’t want his brothers to see how much he had been hurt. “He named the traitor. It is Elizabeth.”
Stephen burst out laughing. “And you believed that? I bet he did it just to make you mad.”
“I thought so too,” William admitted, “But then, Elizabeth was among those who knew about our plan. Apart from her only three of us and Hugh knew about what was about to happen. I will never doubt Hugh’s loyalty.”
“And I will never doubt Elizabeth,” James said. “She loves you. And it was the thought of marriage to Humphrey that made her run from her home and seek safety with us. Why would she take his side now?”
“I don’t know,” William had to admit it seemed irrational, but the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Elizabeth was guilty.
“If Elizabeth is the traitor, as you say,” Stephen said, “Why would she raise an alarm? You have her to thank for being alive, as do I. She saw Humphrey from the castle wall and told James about the danger that we were in. If not for her, we would be dead by now.”
William wanted to believe in her innocence, but he could not.
Indeed, why would she do it?
***
Elizabeth was pacing in the dark solar behind the door to William’s chamber, anger welling in her chest. Tears ran down her cheeks. She could not understand what had happened with William. She had spent countless hours by his bed when he had been feverish, teetering on the edge of life and death. He was alive because of her. But instead of being grateful he forced her out of the chamber as if she were the most hateful creature ever.
The door opened and some light poured from the chamber into the darkness. Elizabeth wiped the tears off her cheeks before anyone could see them.
James was the first to enter the solar. He went straight to Elizabeth, took her elbow and walked deeper into the darkness, away from William’s room.
“I don’t know what is going on with William,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t recognize him.”
“I need to talk to him,” she said, avoiding James’s eyes. She did not want him to see she had been crying.
“I wouldn’t go back in there if I were you. He is not in the best mood. He might tell you things that he will regret later.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath, fighting tears that were about to break free. Again. She understood that James meant well, but she could not live like that. She needed to know the truth.
“All right,” she agreed. “I will do as you say. Have a good night.”
She made a curtsy and went to her chamber, watching as both brothers left William’s chambers and headed toward the great hall. Elizabeth stopped, listening. When their steps reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned around and walked to William’s chamber. Quietly, she opened the door and slipped into the room.
William lay in his bed and seemed to be in a deep asleep. His skin was still pale, but his life wasn’t in danger any longer.
“Why did you come?” he asked, eyes still closed. “I asked you to leave.”
“Why are you so angry at me?” she asked, and her voice broke as tears came back. She didn’t expect him to be so cold to her. She tried her best to fight the tears.
“You have betrayed me,” his voice was weak, and Elizabeth had to strain her ears to hear him. “I don’t want to share my chamber and my bed with a traitor.”
Shivers of fear ran down her spine when she understood the meaning of his words. She was being accused of things that she had never done. If someone else told her these words, she wouldn’t pay any attention to them, but it was William, the man she loved. Her husband.
Elizabeth wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and looked at William with dignity. “You are my husband and I love you. I would never betray you.”
She whirled around and left. If he wanted her to live in her own chamber, she would do as he wished.
Chapter Eleven
Harmton Castle
Jane was impatiently pacing her chamber, casting eager looks at the door over and over. Where had that silly girl disappeared? Was it so hard to bring an old woman from the village? She jerked open the chamber door. No sign of her maid. Damn it. Jane needed her. As soon as possible. As her maid had told her, that woman could treat any illness. Her baby was an illness that needed an instant cure.
It was late, and the halls were crowded with people seeking their beds– an ideal time to bring the woman to Jane’s chamber unnoticed. She did not want rumours to spread within the castle.
The door slowly opened, and the maid entered, holding an old woman’s hand. The wrinkled face said that she was no less than fifty years old. Jane wondered whether the woman still understood what she was doing.
The woman wore all black and was holding a large sack.
“My lady,” the maid said. “Here she is.”
“Leave us,” Jane commanded, and the maid obeyed.
“Your maid told me you wanted to see me, my lady,” the woman said in a rasping voice. “How can I help you?”
Jane hesitated. She did not know whether she could trust this woman. What if she told the earl everything?
“Do not be afraid,” the woman said as if reading her mind. “I can keep secrets.”
Jane’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“I keep more secrets than you can imagine,” the woman continued. She looked at Jane with her light blue, almost white, eyes and it seemed that the woman was looking right into her soul. “Is it the baby that you want to get rid of?”
Jane had to sit down to keep from stumbling. This woman scared her.
“Are you a witch?” she asked, her voice weak with fear.
“No,” the woman smiled. “I just have a gift from my childhood. I can heal people and I see what is going on in their souls.”
Jane wrapped
her arms around herself and nodded. She tried to concentrate, but it was hard. This woman was as powerful as the maid had said. “You are right. I need to get rid of the baby.”
The woman grinned. “You know what makes me smile? I have helped many women in the village to get rid of Harmton’s babies. Now I am doing the same favour for his wife.”
She shook her head, still smiling. But there was something evil about that smile. The woman opened her sack and started looking carefully through what she’d brought with her.
“Here,” she took a pouch of herbs from the sack and handed it to Jane. “Take this. Boil these herbs in water to make a broth, and drink before going to sleep. The next morning the baby will be gone. There will be a lot of blood. Just make sure no one sees it if you want the babe to be a secret.”
Jane took the herbs and looked at them, her hands starting to shake.
“What do I do with the baby?” Jane asked, this talk making her feel unwell.
“You have a wonderful garden here. Bury the baby under a tree.” With these words the woman turned around. “If you need some help – just call me,” she said and moved to the door.
“Here,” Jane took a gold coin from a pouch at her waist and handed it to the woman. “I remember people who help me.”
“’Tis my pleasure to help you, my lady.”
The woman took the coin and started towards the door.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Edward entered. Quickly, Jane hid the herbs behind her back.
Edward almost bumped into the woman and stopped. He stood there for a long moment, staring at the woman, then to Jane, and back to the woman. First, his eyes widened with surprise, then went dark with anger. He clearly understood what she was planning to do.
He looked at the woman, his eyes cold. “Leave. And never come back again. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord.” She quickly disappeared behind the door.
When the woman left and the door closed behind her, Edward looked at Jane.
“What was she doing here? You are trying to kill our child, aren’t you?”
His Rival's Daughter (Stafford Family Book 1) Page 19