woods a daynay, best make it two days, until the furor dies down. I will join
you then.?
Rowena hugged her in relief.
?Thank you.?
?Thank me after you have to listen to me telling you all the way to Tures how
foolish I think you.?
Mildred grumbled.
Chapter 34
The woods were not a welcoming haven for a woman alone, not when every little
sound was an imagined thief or murderer about to pounce on her. The sky had
clouded over with the threat of rain ere the sun set, so there was no moon to
mark the passing of time, but time crawled for Rowena. Hours passed while she
tried to sleep and could not, her only consolation that it did not rain.
She felt no sense of exhilaration for having made good her escape. The ground
was too hard for comfort, even with her serf?s woolens spread out for a thin
pallet, and she was cold. She had changed into her own clothes as an act of
defiance, one that would not last past the morn, when she would have to don her
serf?s garb again for what little protection it afforded. The bright yellow
bliaut and scarlet mantle that she wrapped herself in gave her back a sense of
herself, which had been shaken by the Lord of Fulkhurst?s intimidations.
Fulkhurst? she wished she dared wait for his return, but she had none of Mildred?s
certainty where he was concerned. He might not be as cruel as she had first
thought him to be, but he was still capable of brutal retaliations and judgments,
and she doubted not that if he believed she had stolen that twice damned
necklace, the fact that she was sharing his bed and carrying his child would not
stop him from meting out the same punishment he would give anyone else found
guilty of the crime.
There was the chance that he might believe her if she was given the opportunity
to declare her innocence. But ?twas a slim possibility considering what he knew
about hernaught much good, thanks to Gilbertand she was not willing to risk a
whipping or worse just so his daughter could have her revenge against him.
She discovered she had a few vengeful thoughts herself for that young lady for
forcing her out into a lawless countryside. Ladies never, ever left their homes
without armed escort to accompany them. Most often even female serfs were given
a guard or two if they were sent out on errands. But here she was completely
alone, with only the small dagger she had found in Mildred?s sack to protect her.
Mildred had included another of her fine bliauts, which Rowena could sell to buy
escort if she could reach a town, but ?twas a big word ?if,? and any number of
unpleasant things could happen to her in the meantime, especially once she left
the concealment of the woods.
When she thought of some of those unpleasant things, she found how easy it was
to hope that Beatrix de Chaville received some just reward for what she had
instigated. If Rowena should die ere she reached an end to this misadventure,
mayhap she could come back and haunt Beatrix? aye, now that would be a just
reward, eternal revenge. Warrick would love the idea.
The thought put a smile on her lips that was still there when she finally
drifted to sleep moments later. But the noises of the woods still gave her no
peace, waking her again and again in what little was left of the night, until
she opened her eyes to the dim light of a lavender dawn and a man standing over
her.
She sat up so fast, pain stabbed at her temples. But ?twas no dream. The legs
were still there next to her, and the sound of horses that had woken her. She
turned to see other men dismounting near her, nigh a dozen who would be within
reach of her in moments.
She did not wait to learn who they were. After her nerve racking night, Rowena
panicked, grabbing the dagger she had stashed at her waist and slashing wildly
at the legs next to her. The man howled, but ?twas cut off as one of his
companions leaped toward him and clapped a hand over his mouth. Rowena did not
see this; she had shot to her feet and was running deeper into the woods, where
giving chase, laughing for the sport of it, which frightened her more than
anything else. She knew what happened when men chased women through field or
woods. They ended wanting a reward for their effort.
They were gaining on her. She could hear it over the violence of her heartbeat,
now pounding in her ears. They were encumbered by armor, which she could hear
clanking, but she had her long skirts to hamper her, and could not manage to
grasp them with her one free hand to lift out of the way. She kept trying, for ?twould
be the worse luck if the damn skirts tripped her up. Then they did, her toe
catching in the hem of her chemise enough to throw her off balance.
Her dagger fell from her hand as she braced herself for the fall, but she merely
stumbled a few steps, then regained her footing. There was no thought to
retrieving the weapon, however, and with both hands free now, she was able to
yank her skirts out of the way. But the advantage was too late gained because
one man was close enough behind her that he took the chance to dive at her. Had
she seen him do it, she could have jumped out of his reach, for ?twas mere
inches that undid her. He grasped only the very edge of her mantle ere he hit
the ground facefirst, but that was enough to jerk her to an abrupt halt and
right off her feet to land hard on her backside. Had the mantle been clasped at
her throat instead of around her shoulders, she would likely have broken her
neck. As it was for the first few seconds she was sure she hac broken her spine,
so painful was her landing
And before she realized that she could move/twas too late to do so.
The other two men had arrived, panting, one stopping in front of her, one at her
side. And the one behind her was getting to his knees, so angry at the smarting
from his own fall that he jerked again on the mantle still in his hand.
Rowena fell back the rest of the way, her head hitting the ground. But she was
not so dazed that she could not kick at the man in front of her as he bent
toward her, nor did she forget to scream. This she did shrilly, and it changed
their minds about what they might have done with her first. Their concern now
was to end the noise she was making, and they nearly collided with one another
in their haste to reach and cover her mouth. She bit one hand, threw aside
another, but then a third slapped her, and was about to do it again when that
arm was caught and held by one of the others.
?Wait, I know her.?
?You are daft, man. How can you??
?God?s truth, she is our lady.?
This was said with a great deal of surprise, but Rowena felt even more. Their
lady? She thought of Tures, but she did not recognize the faces leaning over
herthen she did remember one and groaned inwardly. She even had it confirmed by
a fourth visage looking down at her, and an incredulous voice she had hoped
never to hear again.
?Rowena??
He did not expect an answer. He had come upon the scene as she was being struck,
and as
the memory of that intruded on his surprise, his fist knocked back one of
the three still crowded ?round her head. Then her stepbrother was lifting her up
and holding her so tightly to his chest she could barely breathe.
?How came you to be here??
The question broke through her thoughts, which were a jumble of fear mixed with
annoyance. If someone had to find her, why did it have to be Gilbert? And she
knew not what to tell him, except naught of what had truly happened to her in
the month since she had last seen him.
But she could tell him one truth, and did.
?I was held prisoner at Fulkhurst Castle, but was finally able to escape?
?He had you? I have been mad with grief, when all this time he had you?? He had
shoved her back as he questioned her, but now he crushed her again to say with a
trace of the genuine regret he had felt ?I thought you dead. There was no one at
Kirkburough to tell me what Fulkhurst had done with you.?
That he was serious in his concern made Rowena feel strange considering how much
she hated him.
?I am not surprised,? she answered carefully.
?He had sent me straightaway to his?dungeon ere the servants at Kirkburough came
out of hiding to witness it.?
?His dungeon!? Gilbert roared in his amazement. His men hissed at him to be less
vocal, but he merely glared at them, then brought that glare down to Rowena.
?The man must be mad. Did you not tell him who you were??
She glared back at him for his stupidity.
?You F?
y? would have had me confess all when you know he means to destroy you and all
you hold? He had already taken properties of mine because you held them. Think
you he would not have murdered me to take the rest from you in so easy a way? So
I told him naught other than what he assumed, that I was Lady of Kirkburough.?
Then she lied to support his original assumption that Warrick had come to
Kirkburough for him.
?He gent me to his dungeon because he was so furious that you were not there for
him to kill.?
Gilbert actually looked guilty, then confirmed it by saying ?I am sorry, Rowena.
I did not think he would harm you, or I would not have left you there, but I was
not thinking clearly that day.?
When did he ever think clearly, or without greed uppermost in his mind? she
wanted to ask, but he was leading her back the way she had come, and so she
asked instead ?What do you here, Gilbert? You cannot think to lay siege to his
strongest castle.?
?Nay, not that, yet will I have control of it by nightfall.?
She stopped, only to be dragged along again when he did not.
?How??
?I sent him a challenge. If he is not stupid, he will have suspected a trap and
so taken most of his men with him.?
Now he stopped to demand excitedly ?Can you confirm this? Know you how many men
he took with him??
?I did not see him leave,? she replied crossly ?nor did I have time to count how
many were left behind when I was leaving myself.?
He was disappointed, and so continued on dragging her behind him again.
?No matter,? he finally said.
?He would take most of his men. Why would he leave them behind when, as you
pointed out, Fulkhurst is his strongest castle, capable of holding an army at
bay with just a handful of men??
?Then how do you think to take it??
He turned his head to grin at her.
?With a handful of men.?
?Ah, of course. So stupid of me to ask.?
He jerked on her arm to show he did not like her sarcastic tone.
?I had planned to approach at dusk for shelter.?
?They have a village they will direct you to,? she predicted.
?Nay, not when I am on Stephen?s business, with a message bearing his seal to
prove it.?
?Are you??
?What??
?On the king?s business??
?Of course not,? he replied impatiently.
?But the message is genuine. I had the good fortune to find it, since ?twas a
message going nowhere with the bearer dead.?
?Did you kill him??
He stopped once again to snarl at her.
?Why must you put every black deed at my door??
?Nay, only what you are capable of,? she shot back.
He scowled at her.
?What matters how I came by it? Twill gain me entrance to Fulkhurst. Or mayhap I
will return an escaped prisoner instead,? he added nastily.
She wished he would. She would give warning to those inside the castle no matter
what it cost her, as long as it thwarted Gilbert?s plans.
He must have thought he had managed to subdue her with his threat, for she said
no more until they reached the other men who had been left with the horses. She
recognized a few of them from Kirkburough, Lyons knights, men who should
rightfully be serving Godwine?s brother now, not Gilbert.
Rowena became very still when she realized that. God?s mercy, did they even know?.Or
were they following Gilbert blindly, under the mistaken belief that he had some
claim to Kirkburough through Rowena simply because Lyons had ordered them to
fight for Gilbert?s cause ere he died? They must know Lyons was dead, for
Gilbert said he had returned to Kirkburough after the keep had been destroyed.
Was the marriage contract binding them, then? But that contract had been voided
when Lyons failed to consummate the marriage. And no one knew that except her,
Gilbert, and Mildredand Warrick. Gilbert certainly would not have told them.
More like he had hinted that a child had been conceived?
She wondered why he had not asked about that yet, but suddenly she knew. Gilbert
still had what he wanted, what he had gained through her marriage Lyons army.
And he was about to strike a brutal blow against Warrick, the capture of his
stronghold as well as his daughters. Gilbert was about to win the war between
them, and she had given him the means to do it. Because he had been able to act
so quickly, Kirkburough no longer mattered, so neither did a child to hold it.
Warrick? he would be devastated. He would be crazed with rage. And Gilbert would
be able to demand any terms for the release of his daughtersincluding his life.
She had to do something. She should not care what befell Warrick, but she
remembered his laughter, his passion, and that tender kiss in parting; and, damn
him, she did careleastwise, she did not want to see him die. Nor did she want to
see Gilbert win this war of theirs.
She wanted to blurt out to Lyons men that they did not belong here, that the
contract that had put them here was never valid. But did she do so, Gilbert
would beat her senseless; she doubted it not. He might even kill her in his
anger, and little good she could do then. But what could she do? Warn the castle,
or convince Lyons men, without Gilbert knowing, that they did not belong here?
Verily, she needed to do both, for even if Gilbert were reduced to only his own
men, he still might try to take Fulkhurst while it was so undermanned.
The man she had cut, as well as one other, had left the area, likely to return
to their camp. Rowena waited until Gilbert was watching her to glance over those
men remaining.
?Is this your army, then??
she asked innocently.
?I thought my marriage had gained you much more.?
He could not really fault her for that observation, though he did not like it.
?Do not be foolish. My army is concealed deeper in these woods. Two hours after
dark, they will move toward the castle to await my signal that the gates have
been opened.?
?That is //you can get inside. I still think you will be turned away. They will
be cautious without their lord in residence. Likely he warned them, too, to
watch for trickery, since ?twas you who lured him out with your ruse of
challenge, and he trusts you not. Fulkhurst is a smart man.?
?Are you trying to annoy me??
?Certainly. Think you I have forgotten what you forced me to do??
?Be quiet!? he hissed, dragging her away from the others hearing to hiss again ?If
you remember so much, remember also that I hold your mother still.?
Twas unnecessary to say more. Rowena nodded, feeling a depression settle on her
shoulders. What had made her think she could do aught to prevent the disaster
Gilbert was set on creating? With her he always won in the end, always knew just
what to say to take the fight out of her, leaving her utterly defeated.