Arabel was a brilliant girl. She was quite adept at game strategies, winning the last two games from her aunt. She was also quite humorous and Val laughed freely with her. Cantia could see a great deal of Tevin in the girl, but she could also see features and mannerisms that did not remind her of the girl’s powerful father. Arabel had an upturned nose and a big dimple in her chin, something that did not ring of Tevin. Thoughts then turned to the girl’s mother, a Germanic noblewoman who had abandoned her at birth.
Tevin said he would find the woman no matter what. He would discover if she was alive or dead. Were she dead, there would be no troubles and Cantia knew she would gladly marry Tevin. But if the woman lived, then the future for them would not be entirely honorable for Cantia knew, without a doubt, that she would stay with Tevin forever. She did not relish being branded a mistress. But she considered the reward well worth the risk.
The sun was nearly set when a soft knock came at the door. Hunt, nearest to the panel, thought it was Tevin bringing the evening meal and, being the starving child that he was, threw open the door before his mother could stop him. Cantia saw a strange man standing in the doorway and heard Val gasp. With that startled sound, she knew it could not be good.
The man had Tevin’s black eyes. His gaze found Hunt first and then Val as she quickly stood up. He smiled broadly at his strawberry-haired cousin and was about to speak to her when Cantia also stood up and his focus was abruptly diverted. The moment he laid eyes on her, the mood of the room exploded. They could all feel it.
“Val,” he stepped into the room, speaking to his cousin though his eyes were on Cantia. “Your brother said you were occupied. I had no idea he meant in ladylike pursuits. And who is your glorious companion?”
Cantia looked at Val, who had a rather sickened look on her face. “Greetings, Geoff,” she said with more courage than she felt. “This is the Lady Cantia Penden. My lady, this is the Earl of East Anglia, my cousin.”
Geoff was on Cantia in three strides. Reaching out, he took her reluctant hand and pulled it to his lips for a gentle kiss. “My lady,” he said in a sultry voice. “’Tis a pleasure. I had no idea the Steward had such a lovely daughter.”
Cantia wanted to shrink away from the man. She didn’t like anything about him from the instant their eyes met. “I am not his daughter, my lord,” she said. “I am Brac Penden’s wife and this is my son, Hunt.”
Geoff didn’t even look at the sandy-haired boy, now standing beside him and watching him closely. His gaze was fixated on Cantia. “I heard of your husband’s death, my lady,” he said, still holding her hand to his mouth. “Please accept my sympathies. It was a terrible tragedy to lose him.”
Cantia struggled not to yank her hand away. “Aye, it was.”
Geoff’s eyes were invading her, probing every inch of her face. “Surely so young and lovely a lady will not be widowed for long. That should bring you comfort.”
It was a horrible thing to say. Cantia pulled her hand from his grasp, taking a discreet step away from him with Hunt still in her grip. She was having difficulty forming a reply to his crass statement when Val was suddenly beside her, making an obvious attempt to distract her cousin.
“I was injured in a skirmish a few weeks ago,” she said, hoping to capture his lustful attention away from Cantia. “Since then, I’ve spent most of my time in ladylike pursuits. Tevin thinks it’s wonderful but I’ve found it boring. I’d much rather have a sword in my hand.”
Geoff’s attention was diverted from Cantia and his licentious expression morphed into one of displeasure as he focused on his cousin. His emotions were easy to read. “He told me you were out on patrol.”
Val kept her steady expression. “I was.”
Geoff just stared at her, knowing that wasn’t the truth. But no matter, he’d found what he had sought and then some. After a moment, he snorted as if he found something humorous. His gaze moved from Val to Arabel, down to Hunt and finally back to Cantia. There it remained as if nailed into place.
“My lady,” he held out his hand to her. “I have so wanted a tour of this magnificent place. Who better to grant my wish but you?”
Cantia looked at the outstretched hand with something of dread. After everything she had heard about the earl, she did not want to go with him in the least. In fact, it was an effort not to refuse and run for her life. She glanced at Val, who gazed back at her with a mixture of fear and sympathy. There was nothing she could do. There was nothing anyone could do. Geoff would not be refused.
“As you wish, my lord.”
Cantia moved towards the door but did not take the earl’s outstretched hand. She turned fully to Val as she progressed across the floor.
“You will accompany us, my lady,” she said firmly, hoping her tone would infer to the earl that she would accept nothing less. “Lady Arabel, would you please mind Hunt while we are away? He will be no trouble.”
Arabel’s dark eyes were wide. “Mind… mind him?”
Cantia forced a smile at the girl. “He is a good boy. I believe you will do a fine job.”
Arabel had never been trusted with any such task in her life. The situation in her life was always reversed. Everyone was charged with minding her. Cantia could read her naked fear, but in the next moment, there was a good deal of pleasure that someone would trust her with such a task. It was a responsibility she had never been given and she was shocked, and also grateful, for the opportunity. It made her feel grown-up.
“Aye, Lady Penden,” she looked at Hunt. “I will mind him.”
Cantia nodded confidently, holding out her hand to Val in the meanwhile. “Come along, my lady,” she decided the best way to deal with Geoff was to show that she was not afraid of him. Truthfully, she hadn’t a better plan at the moment. “I will give you a great tour also. You have been caged up inside the keep for so long that perhaps you’ve not imagined what more there is to this place.”
Val took Cantia’s hand and the women quit the room in a protective huddle. Geoff stood there a moment, not at all happy that his private little tour with Lady Penden was growing into something of a group activity. He did not give the children in the room a second glance as he followed behind the ladies and slammed the door. Hunt raced to the door and bolted it, turning to look at Arabel, sitting on the larger of the two beds in the room. The young lady’s eyes were wide as the children stared at one another.
“Hunt,” she said. “You know every inch of this place, do you not?”
Hunt nodded. “Where isth that man taking my mother?”
Arabel didn’t know. She was too young to truly fathom what the man was capable of. All she knew was what her father had told her and that was only in the simplest of terms. But they were not good terms.
“You must go and find my father,” Arabel insisted quietly. “Tell him that Cousin Geoff has taken your mother and Val. He will want to know.”
“Why?”
“Because he will!” she snapped irritably, then cooled. “Please, Hunt. This is important.”
Hunt pursed his little lips in thought. After a moment, he unbolted the door and peered into the dark landing beyond as if to make sure no one stood between him and his mission. Quietly, he slipped from the door and the big blond dog rose from his place in the corner, stretched, and followed. The door shut softly, leaving Arabel alone in the strange room.
As young as she was, her apprehension was quite adult.
*
Under the pretense of introducing Geoff to Rochester, Cantia was really on the hunt for Tevin.
Her plan was to take Geoff to the living levels, not the private chambers. She thought that any introduction to a bedchamber, even for show, would put wicked ideas in his head and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Furthermore, she wanted to stay in public areas where servants and soldiers were about. And, she hoped, Tevin.
Cantia and Val still held on to one another as they descended the steps into the entry hall. Cantia chatted non-stop about the history
of Rochester Castle, how there had been a castle since ancient times on the site, and how the current stone fortress was built by the Bishop of Rochester almost sixty years prior. Then the castle was lost to the House of de Gael twenty years later in a change of political winds and had been established with a military steward to protect both the town and the river crossing. Brac Penden’s grandfather had been that steward those years ago, which had then passed on to Charles. It would have gone to Brac had the man survived the skirmish. Now, Hunt was the next in line.
Geoff listened with veiled patience to the history lesson. He knew all of it, better than Cantia did. He walked slightly behind the women, observing Cantia with glittering eyes. He noted the delicious sway of her backside, the way her lustrous hair caught the light. And he was particularly entranced by the lavender eyes and the soft, sensual way in which she spoke. He could have listened to her all day. In fact, he suspected he wasn’t the only one interested in the woman’s charms and began to speculate that his cousin had the woman shut up simply to keep her to himself. Tevin didn’t keep mistresses, nor was he known to show particular interest in women, but Lady Penden’s aura would be enough to seduce any man.
“And you, my lady,” he broke into her prattle by gently grabbing her by the arm. “I would like to hear about you now. Tell me of your family.”
Cantia struggled not to recoil from his grip on her arm. She had been so involved in her conversation, and in Val’s presence, that his gesture startled her.
“But we were speaking of Rochester, my lord,” she said. “I am of no consequence. The Penden line is far more interesting.”
He ignored her statement. “Where were you born?”
She didn’t like the look in his black eyes and a sigh of reluctance escaped her lips. But she answered. “Darland. ’Tis south of Rochester a few miles.”
“And your family name?”
“Du Bexley. My father was descended from an old Saxon line, nobility that dates back hundreds of years.”
“Is your father still alive?”
“Nay, my lord.”
“Any brothers? Sisters?”
“Nay, my lord. Just me.”
Geoff’s dark eyes glittered. He seemed to be enjoying the interrogation. “Val,” he said to his cousin, not taking his eyes off Cantia. “Go and procure us some refreshment. Lady Cantia and I will be in the solar.”
Val’s eyes widened. “But.…”
“Go, now. I command it.”
Val watched Cantia as her cousin held out his elbow to her. Her last glimpse of the pair was as they disappeared into the solar with Cantia’s reluctant hand on Geoff’s arm.
Val knew from experience that the only person who could help Cantia was Tevin. He was the only man who had ever been remotely able to control their erratic cousin. In fact, she shuddered to think how her brother was going to react when he found out Geoff had gone on the hunt and discovered the trove of ladies. More than that, Tevin’s feelings for Cantia were bound to unbalance the normally balanced man. Where Tevin had always dealt patiently with Geoff in the past, the event of emotion could see that drastically changed.
But he had to know. She was almost panicked to tell him. Just as she turned for the great hall with the intention of crossing through the kitchens and into the bailey, the entry door suddenly flew open and smashed back on its hinges. Val started as splinters of wood from the damaged door rained into the air. But even before she looked, she knew that Tevin had arrived.
Val barely had time to turn around as Tevin stormed into the entry and straight at her. The expression on his face was nothing short of murderous.
“Where did he take her?” he growled.
Val pointed towards the solar, grabbing her brother’s arm as he shoved past her. Somewhere behind Tevin, she saw Hunt and the big yellow dog. The child’s eyes were wide with fear and Val correctly surmised that somehow, Hunt must have gone running for Tevin the moment his mother had left the room.
“Tevin, wait,” she hissed. “You must calm yourself. No harm has been done yet. Cantia is fine. There is no need for violence.”
Tevin glared at her, his nostrils flaring. Val stared back at him. Having known the man her entire life, she knew what he was capable of. He had two distinct personalities; the calm façade that most saw, and the battle-mode warrior who was sometimes more animal than man. What she saw before her was the animal and she knew she had to soothe the beast or there would be blood at Rochester this night.
“Tevin,” she shook him, attempting to snap him out of his rage. “Cantia is fine, do you hear me? He has not harmed her. And you must maintain your calm above all else. If Geoff suspects you have interest in Cantia, it will create more of a situation. He’ll see it as a competition. You know this.”
His nostrils flared again, his obsidian eyes as black as night. “There will be no competition. I will kill him first.”
He started to move past her again but she dug her heels in. It was like trying to stop a raging bull. “Tevin,” she snapped softly. “Of course there is no competition. But listen to me, please. You must attend to this with calm and stay rational. Get through this situation with tact and then send Cantia away immediately. You cannot allow your relationship with Geoff to sour over her, for there is too much at stake.”
“Aye, there is too much at stake. She is at stake.”
Val grabbed his face, something she would have never normally done. But it was imperative that he focus on her and understand. “Nay, brother,” she shook her head slowly. “Everything is at stake. Geoff controls everything. And you must be calm, for this situation is far bigger than Geoff having discovered your lady.”
He was looking at her, though not entirely calm. “What do you mean?”
She smiled weakly. “Think about it for a moment. He has always been competitive with you. He has also always been threatened by you. He loves you and envies you at the same time. What do you think he will do if he suspects you are interested in Cantia and hid her away for your own purposes?”
He glared at her unsteadily. “I’ve no time for games, Val. Tell me what you mean.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “He is unmarried, Tevin. If he thinks you are intent to claim her, he can take the competition further than you can. He can marry her and do not believe for one moment that he will not simply to emerge the victor against you.”
Some of the color left Tevin’s face then. He stared at his sister a long moment before finally wiping a massive hand over his face, struggling for composure. “Dear God,” he breathed. “You are correct. You are absolutely correct. And he would do it, just to spite me.”
Val nodded, relieved he was coming to understand. “He loves you, but he loves himself more. He would marry the widow and see nothing but good-natured victory in it. He would laugh at you the rest of his life for it.”
Thankfully, Tevin was calming. But Val could see that his big hands were shaking with the internal struggle he was feeling. She gripped his hands tightly.
“Listen to me,” she whispered. “You distract Geoff and I will remove Cantia. Tell him… tell him she is still in mourning and that it is improper for her to socialize. Then I will excuse the two of us and take her someplace where he cannot find her. I’ll take her out of Rochester this night.”
He looked at her, considering her words, knowing she was thinking more clearly than he was. In fact, he was so shaken he could hardly think. “That is more than likely the necessary answer.”
“Of course it is.”
He took a deep breath, laboring to relax. “Cantia mentioned the manor house in Darland as somewhere she and Hunt could stay until this was over. Perhaps you should take her there.”
“We shall leave tonight.”
As much as Tevin did not want Cantia away from him, he knew it was for the best. With Geoff’s discovery of her, the situation was morbidly dangerous on many levels.
“Take Simon with you,” he said quietly. “Get away from here as quickly and as quietly
as you can. I shall come when I am able.”
“You’d better not. He’ll follow you if he thinks a game is afoot.”
A flicker of pain ripped across his expression, just as quickly gone. But Val saw it.
“What is the matter?”
He averted his gaze, wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked anywhere other than his sister’s probing eyes. “Nothing.”
“I know you, brother. Why did you look so when I told you not to come?”
He sighed, his black eyes moving in the direction of the warm light emitting from the solar. He could hear soft voices inside, Cantia’s voice, and he took another deep breath, struggling for calm.
“Cantia,” he began, then shut his mouth. When he opened it to speak again, his tone was barely a whisper. “When I told you earlier that I did not know what I was feeling for her, I know now.”
Val suspected she knew the answer before she even asked. “And what is that?”
“I fear… I fear that she has my heart, Val. More than that, she has all of me.”
“You love her, then?”
“I must. I cannot explain what else I am feeling.”
“Does she know?”
He shrugged those massive shoulders. “I’ve not told her if that’s what you mean. But I… I have demonstrated my feelings.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have bedded her.”
Val tried not to appear shocked. But it was too much. “She just lost her husband, Tevin,” she hissed. “How could you…?”
He could hear the concern, the pain, in his sister’s tone and he put up a hand to silence her. “I did not force her. It was the most natural of things, as if we were always meant to be. It was the most amazing experience of my life, Val. Do not diminish it with your judgment.”
She eyed him, swallowing what was left of her admonishment. She had never heard such emotion from his lips and a hand came up to gently slap him on the side of the head. “I do not judge, brother,” she said quietly. “But I am concerned for the both of you. This is a delicate situation.”
Masters of Medieval Romance: Series Starters Volume 1 Page 57