Mercenaries and Maidens: A Medieval Romance bundle

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Justine rolled her eyes but she didn’t try to nod or even shake her head, and Andrew was momentarily unsure as to how to proceed. She just stood there, stubbornly, and Andrew began to feel foolish. He was a man who handled a thousand men with ease, yet now he was befuddled by two small women. This was uncertain territory for him, not something he ran into every day. But he had to show that he was in command here or he was certain these women would run all over him. He knew for a fact that Lady Josephine would. But he had to be honest with himself – he was afraid that if he released one or both of them, the fight would start up again.

  But he couldn’t show that concern. He had to trust that the ladies would at least be sensible and was preparing to release Justine when Thane and the two women came back into the chamber.

  “Thane,” Andrew said with relief. “Attend me.”

  Thane was at his side instantly, his face a mirror of confusion. “Lady Josephine has awoken?” he asked with surprise, but it was more than that. He was looking at Andrew with Justine and Josephine clutched in each arm, his hands over their mouths. This wasn’t how he had left them. “What has happened?”

  Andrew gave him a lopsided smile. “Just a little sibling rivalry,” he said. “Please escort Lady Justine back to her room and see that she stays there.”

  Andrew removed his hand from Justine’s mouth and Thane took firm hold of the girl’s arm as he led her from the room. Then, with the younger sister safely out, he turned to Oletha and Ola.

  “Out,” he said quietly.

  The women fled. When the door shut softly behind them, he released Josephine.

  Rubbing her face where he’d clamped a hand over her mouth, Josephine stepped away from Andrew, her expression wary. He saw her expression but it had no impact; he crossed his massive arms over his chest and set his jaw, looking disapprovingly at her. Still, Josephine was uncomfortable under his gaze. Uncomfortable… but strangely intrigued.

  “You should not be in here with me, alone,” she said after a moment. “Please leave.”

  He suddenly grinned and Josephine’s heart jumped at the sight of the big smile across his face. Straight, white teeth and a large dimple in his left cheek made him unexpectedly appealing.

  Handsome, even.

  “I am pleased that you find compromising my reputation so humorous,” she said defensively.

  Andrew sobered, knowing she was serious about the two of them alone in her room with the door closed. To compromise her was not his intention, at least not at this point.

  But that lovely woman had possibilities.

  “Forgive me, Lady Josephine,” he said apologetically. “I was not laughing at the possibility of damaging your reputation. I was laughing at your idea that I would wait until now to attempt to ravish you, considering how long I have actually been alone with you. If I was going to do it, I should have done it while you slept. To do it now would guarantee me, at the very least, a blackened eye. You are not the least bit reserved in the use of your fists.”

  Josephine considered his statement. Since he had arrived three hours earlier, she had hit him twice and had fought with her sister in his presence. To him, she most certainly was a bit of a ruffian and a hesitant grin crept over her lips.

  “You must believe me quite the brute,” she said, perhaps with a bit of embarrassment.

  “Quite,” he replied, rubbing his throat. “But I truly believe you defend Torridon, mayhap singlehandedly.”

  A chuckle escaped her. “Nay, not singlehandedly. I do have some help.” She paused and looked up at him, perhaps allowing herself to openly inspect him for the first time. Perhaps, it was time. “I… I fear we got off to a bad start and I apologize for striking you – both times. When my emotions run high, which they do on occasion, I become very… demonstrative.”

  Andrew could see her guard go down, as if someone had lowered a curtain. The change in her manner was dramatic. Pleasant, even. Now, he thought he might be seeing the real Lady Josephine – the intelligent, caring, and sensitive side. He had already seen the no-nonsense, feisty side, and he liked this new side just as well. Well, almost.

  He liked a woman with fire.

  “There is no need to apologize,” he said. “No harm done, although you have a powerful punch. I rather enjoyed it.”

  Her eyebrows flew up in surprised amusement and she snorted. He was either flirting with her or simply being humorous; she couldn’t tell which. Either way, he was causing her to blush, something she was quite uncomfortable with.

  But it was rather fun.

  “You are a fool, Andrew d’Vant, jesting with me as such,” she said. “Now, get out before I enjoy you to death!”

  Andrew had to chuckle at the woman. He could see her red cheeks, appreciating that he had put that color there. He’d seen it creep in. He rather liked teasing her because she was quick to respond. He realized very quickly that he liked to get a rise out of her. But he dutifully moved for the door, intent on obeying her command. With a gloved hand on the latch, he turned one last time to the figure in red silk standing in the center of the room.

  God’s Bones, she was lovely.

  Josephine saw his gaze as he stood by the door, a rather appraising expression on his face. There was such heat in his eyes that she could feel her limbs tingling at the mere look – it was saucy, cocky, and seething with mischief. She wanted to run, melt, or slap him all at the same time.

  She’d never known anything like it.

  “Now, get to bed and go to sleep,” Andrew commanded with mock seriousness. “I expect a full tour of Torridon on the morrow.”

  Josephine lifted an eyebrow. “Then be sure to inform Sully,” she said. “I would not want you wandering Torridon alone.”

  So she was not going to fall for his charm. That was something that amused Andrew greatly. He was used to women falling at his feet. But it was of little consequence; there would still be time for him to put her under his spell. Therefore, he cast her a rather bold wink as he exited the chamber and closed the door quietly behind him.

  With Andrew gone, the chamber was abruptly still and quiet. Josephine stood a moment, looking at the closed door, lingering on the memory of that bold wink. Oh, but he was a devil and he knew it. She could see it in his face. He was a scoundrel and he didn’t care. But none of that seemed to matter; somehow, she couldn’t fight off a grin as she removed the red robe and crawled into bed.

  The clean linen bedding that Ola and Oletha brought in lay folded carefully at the foot of the bed, but she ignored it as she snuggled down under her coverlet and closed her eyes. It couldn’t have been an hour or two at most before dawn, and she was exhausted. It had been a very busy night.

  Sleep claimed Josephine almost in an instant, a sleep so deep that she didn’t even hear Ola come back in the room and glance timidly at her mistress before retiring herself.

  Ola went to sleep wondering why Lady Josephine had a smile on her face.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Within three days, the wall had been repaired and the main gate reset. Andrew had put his men to helping Torridon’s men in the repairs, for it was evident that there were woefully few for such a large job. Fortunately, several of Andrew’s soldiers were handy craftsmen and carpenters, and the task was completed with relative speed.

  The past three days had also been an adjustment period for Andrew, and he spent most of his time with Sully, Thane, and various other Torridon knights, learning all that he could about the Dalmellington army and their tactics. He ate, slept, and pissed Dalmellington. He talked to everyone he could, even the lowliest soldiers, to learn everything he needed to know. In order to fight an enemy, he had to know the enemy, so Andrew spent his days learning about the army he was being paid to destroy.

  In fact, he found himself almost wishing that the Dalmellington army would come again and lay siege, for he wanted to see them in action to confirm what he had been told. But three days of peace passed, and so did a fourth, and Torridon was repaired to withsta
nd another battle. But Andrew knew, instinctively, that the peace wouldn’t hold. If everything he’d been told was true, then the Dalmellingtons would come again, soon enough.

  The Dalmellington patrol Sully had ridden to intercept the night Andrew had arrived had managed to send an advance messenger to Burnton Castle. They’d discovered that very quickly when a Dalmellington man they captured was quick to inform them. It was therefore assumed that Colin Dalmellington knew of The Red Fury’s army at Torridon, which changed the dynamics of the situation considerably. What Colin would do with that knowledge remained to be seen.

  So they watched and they waited, Torridon men alongside d’Vant men, and Andrew and Sully right along with them. There was a tension in the air that never seemed to go away, the apprehension of men who found themselves in a battle every time they let their guards down. Andrew understood that apprehension well. But all the time he was spending time with Sully and Etienne and the knights of Torridon, there was one person he wasn’t spending time with.

  That little spitfire who liked to slug him in the throat.

  Josephine hadn’t been around much at all, much to Andrew’s disappointment. He never saw her during the day, only at night when they would feast on any number of culinary delights from Torridon’s stores. She would sit on the dais, the lord’s table, in the most resplendent of gowns while he sat down the table or across from her, hardly speaking with her, mostly speaking with Sully or any number of other men.

  He was rather tired of speaking to other men.

  Justine, in direct contrast of her sister’s fine gowns, always sat on her sister’s right hand and always looked as if she were wrapped in black sheets. But the two girls constantly seemed to be isolated, talking only with each other or, occasionally, to a Torridon knight. For Justine, it was probably true to character. But for Josephine, he wondered why.

  The day he’d arrived, she seemed to be very much aligned with her knights, and they with her. She did not seem to be the withdrawn type. He wondered if her bout with her sister’s potion was still affecting her, though it turned out to be harmless. Through Oletha, Andrew discovered that Justine had mistakenly put dill in the potion rather than hemlock, for the two flowers looked very similar, yet dill was yellowish-green instead of white. Oletha had had a good laugh at Justine’s amateurish mistake, though she never let on to the young witch-hopeful.

  Still, Andrew thought Josephine seemed withdrawn and tired, at least from the little he saw of her. He was disappointed, hoping to at least pick up with the flirtatious repartee they’d had the night of his arrival. But the days passed and there was no interaction, and he was coming to wonder if Josephine’s health was poor in general, although she appeared robust enough. He mentioned it in passing to Oletha, but the little woman had shrugged and stated gaily that the mistress looked well enough to her.

  This brought him to the subject of the mysterious Dewey. He had yet to be found, but nobody seemed particularly concerned. Sully mentioned that, sometimes, Dewey would disappear for days on a supply hunt, combing the woods and hills in an attempt to restock his vast array of herbs, flowers, and fungi.

  Sully also mentioned that Dewey was quite ancient, an old man who had learned the art of healing and alchemy from his father, who had learned such things from his father. Dewey evidently had ancient books bound in human skin, and some whispered that he had a ghost in a bottle hidden somewhere in his chamber. It was enough to keep people from wandering into his rooms, in any case.

  A withdrawn lady notwithstanding, Andrew thought it was all quite curious. Truly, what an interesting place Torridon Castle was turning out to be.

  *

  Josephine had, indeed, been remote, she knew, but it wasn’t for the reasons people thought. It had nothing to do with the arrival of the mercenary army, or even Justine’s attempt to poison her. It all had to do with the fact that the day following Andrew’s arrival, she had received a dispatch from King Alexander. A royal rider had come and gone, leaving a message that Sully had inquired about, once, and Josephine had refused to elaborate on. He’d dropped the subject but, to Josephine, it wasn’t a subject easily put aside. In, fact, it was quite important. The message she’d received had informed her that the king would be visiting around the third of the next month, which was a mere week away.

  At first, she had been thrilled with the prospect of entertaining the king, her distant cousin through her mother’s side of the family. Colin wouldn’t dare attack so long as the king was at Torridon. But the euphoria soon gave way to darker emotions, for she began to suspect this would not be a social call to resolve the feud between the Dalmellingtons and the de Carrons. At her age, and unmarried, a sure way of resolving a feud was marriage. If King Alexander ordered her to marry Colin Dalmellington, which had been proposed before, she could not refuse.

  Frightened, and sickened at the thought, the next few days passed in a blur for Josephine. Only she and Justine were aware of the contents of the letter, for she had not even told Sully. To be truthful, she was afraid to. With the hatred he had for the Dalmellington, she was unsure of what his reaction would be and she wanted to think through all of the possibilities before broaching the subject. It wasn’t as if he could fight off the king, either.

  They would both be at his mercy.

  And then… there was The Red Fury.

  Good Lord, the man was proving to be a tremendous distraction for her. The second day after his arrival, she had watched from on high in the west tower down to the practice field in the outer ward where Andrew d’Vant was mock sword-playing with a few Torridon knights, as well as a few of his own commanders.

  What she saw utterly amazed her.

  For such a large man, he moved with the speed of a hummingbird and had the skill to match God Himself. He was so quick and so strong, that most men didn’t have the chance to see what had hit them before they fell to the soft earth. Josephine had always considered Sully the best knight she’d ever seen, but not any longer. She was certain The Red Fury could outfight even Sully.

  Yet, as she watched, there was something more she sensed in Andrew’s movements. He seemed so… angry. There was violence behind every thrust and every parry. It was as if he were truly trying to kill someone and kill them again, with every movement of the sword. In his business, he had to make every effort count, and it was obvious that he did just that.

  Still… it seemed to her that it was more than a business to him. What he did, the way he moved… it was personal.

  But he was enthralling to watch. She was riveted to the flash of his sword as he fought with a madness that set an uneasiness in her chest. He frightened her with his intensity. And then, it hit her – fury. He was fighting with fury. Now, it became clear how he received his nickname. It was clear in every move he made. It was then that Josephine began to believe that, mayhap, the man called The Red Fury was worth five thousand marks. There was something about the man that made him seem worth every pence.

  And she felt interest in him that wouldn’t seem to go away.

  The only time Josephine was ever in the same room with him was at the evening meal in the great hall, where she had had an unobstructed view of Andrew as he sat with his men at the same table. But he seemed not to notice her. Instead, he was very engaged with the big blond general that followed him around like a dog. Or, he was engaged with Sully. Although she was not in a particularly social mood, somehow it irked her that he did not so much as acknowledged her presence at the meal.

  Not that she was going to be the first one to make a move.

  Therefore, the evening meal was an odd standoff, but Josephine had more important things on her mind. Now, on the fourth day of The Red Fury’s arrival, she was coming to feel resignation with the king’s impending arrival. Andrew d’Vant or no Andrew d’Vant, that would not change the motive behind Alexander’s visit. In Josephine’s mind, she was convinced it was for a marriage to bring together two houses and end their nasty feud. In this case, there were two c
hoices – Colin could either marry her or Justine, and she knew that it had to be her.

  And there was nothing she could do about it.

  It would be with great reluctance that she would marry Colin if the king wished it, but she would never love him. She couldn’t. She might even present him with children for the rest of his life. So what if she was miserable? She had to think of the greater good – Torridon, her sister, and her knights would be spared. But she wondered how Sully would react to taking orders from Colin Dalmellington. Most likely, he would do something foolish and get himself killed. She shuddered at that thought. She would have to talk to him and convince him, for her sake, to behave.

  On this rather cool and blustery day, it was just before the nooning meal and Josephine descended into the foyer and crossed into the great hall on her way to the kitchens. The kitchens of Torridon were on the ground level of the keep, a low-ceilinged series of rooms that were always hot and smoky, at any given time of the day or night. The cook was just setting out huge platters of boiled beef. She looked up as her pretty little mistress entered, her attention on the steaming meat and huge bowls of peas and onions. Josephine caught the woman’s eye as she looked up.

  “You know that I love boiled beef,” Josephine grinned. “Is there enough for the evening meal, too?”

  The woman nodded. “This is from the meat we butchered last month, the same meat that has been in the cold vault since then,” she said. “There is plenty for tonight, too.”

  That pleased Josephine greatly. Dora was the best cook who ever graced a kitchen and could make a spiced crab apple pie that sent Josephine into a virtual feeding frenzy. As children, she and Justine and James would practically thrash each other for the largest piece.

  But now, there was no such competition and Josephine picked up a large hunk of freshly baked brown bread, dipping it into a bowl of honey before taking a healthy bite. The door to the kitchen yard was open, emitting light into the dingy kitchens and giving the smoke somewhere to evacuate, and Josephine chewed on her bread and engaged Dora in a light conversation. It wasn’t often that she was able to come to the kitchens with Justine as chatelaine. But she was so preoccupied with food and conversation that she didn’t see the two little villein children stealthily creep in through the open kitchen door.