The Maiden and Her Knight (23 page)

His blood boiling with the longing to do battle, he did not care what happened to him, as long as she was free of this parasite. “They would be right.”

“The charge would be
murder
, Connor, and you would be executed.”

“I would be saving you from this blackguard and defending myself.”

“Is that how it would look to Lord Oswald and other Norman nobles, or like you killed the man I was to marry for our own selfish, dishonorable desire? Can you expect them to sympathize or understand?” She clasped her hands together in supplication. “Please, Connor, put up your sword and go. Do not risk a disgraceful death for me. The only thing that will give me any happiness in the time to come is knowing that you live.”

“Listen to her, Welshman,” Rennick sneered, “and take the opportunity to leave while you can. I am a patient man, as Allis well knows, but even mine eventually wears thin.”

Allis looked at Connor with love and blatant yearn
ing, as well as hopeless despair. “Go, Connor, and live for me.”

Their gazes met and held as they had that first night. But this moment stretched into an eternity of regret and longing. She could not be his, not while Rennick DeFrouchette stood between them, yet he must do as she asked—or seem to. Regardless of Rennick, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. His kiss was a promise and a pledge, even if she did not know that.

But as he had sat in the garden where they had first kissed, he had made a plan. He would save her by going to the king and seeking his help, even though doing so would be risking his life. Richard might make good his threat to have him charged with treason and executed for daring to come into his presence again, but that was a risk he was willing to take.

“Good-bye, my love,” he murmured as he broke the kiss.

“God go with you,” she whispered, choking back a sob. “My love, my heart.”

“Since I am willing to be merciful, Welshman,” Rennick growled, “I will give you until the noon tomorrow to be gone from Montclair.”

As Connor stepped away from Allis, he smiled once more—coldly, deliberately. He knew as well as DeFrouchette that great harm could be done without raising a weapon. “I go now because Allis asks me to, but I swear before God, His Son and all the host of heaven, that I will not forget you and what you have done. Do not sleep too soundly. You are not the only one who knows how to bring death swiftly, before a man's proper time.”

Rennick colored and his hand moved toward his sword. “If I die unexpectedly before my marriage to your lover, you will be suspected.”

Connor walked slowly toward him. “You assume
I
have no patience, do you? That I am still that impetuous young man who dared to upbraid his king? Well, perhaps I am, and so if I ever hear that you have harmed the woman I love, or any of her family—if you render her sacrifice useless—I may impetuously come for you and just as impetuously kill you.”

“Get out!”

Connor bowed insolently, then he gave Allis one last, longing look before he strode from the garden.

The gate slammed shut, like the thunderclap of heaven, ending her paradise on earth with a blow that smashed her heart.

But then, as Rennick crept toward her like an upright snake, so different from Connor, the broken remnants of her heart shifted and reassembled into something stronger, bolder, more resolute than before, forged in the heat of her passion and tempered by the elements conspiring against them.

Before, she had been a coward, despite all her words about duty and sacrifice. She had feared not what Rennick DeFrouchette would do, but what he
might
do.

Connor was right. She had doubted his ability to protect her and her family. She had not trusted him, or been willing to count on anybody except herself, despite all that he had said and the love she claimed to feel for him. Instead she had renewed her promise to marry this odious blackguard standing before her now.

What a fool she had been not to accept Connor's love and protection! But it was not too late. He was
still here in Montclair and she could go to him, and bring Edmond and Isabelle, too. Let Rennick have Montclair; he would not have them.

Rennick continued to ooze toward her, sly and slick. “So Allis, now we will have no more foolishness.”

Blatant, greedy lust gleamed in his cold blue eyes, but she was not afraid of him anymore, not even when he grabbed her and hauled her close. “Let go of me, Rennick.”

He eyed her, wary and surprised. “You are mine, Allis, to do with what I will.”

“The chivalrous Baron DeFrouchette! Do you think to rape the lady of Montclair?”

The lust glimmered in his eyes as he shook his head. “Rape? No. I am not going to put my seed in you until I am sure you're not with that lout's child.”

He shoved her away so hard, she fell to the ground. He put his foot on her back and pressed her body down. “There are other ways you can pleasure me that will not get you with child, Allis, but not now. Still, it's nice to see you groveling at my feet, where you belong.” He pushed down harder. “Remember this position, Allis. As my wife, that is where you had better imagine yourself, or it will be all the worse for your brother and sister. Now go and change your gown. That is no fit way for a lady to look.”

He left the garden, and after the gate closed behind him, she slowly got to her feet.

Rennick believed he had won.

More fool he.

C
areful not to wrench his left arm, Connor tore out the pegs holding down the sides of his tent, then tossed them into a leather pouch on the ground nearby. In the diminishing daylight, Demetrius whinnied as if shocked by the violence of his actions, but he ignored his horse as he started to haul the fabric off the poles. They were leaving as soon as he could take down his tent and gather his things, for he couldn't let Allis marry that disgusting, loathsome, greedy nobleman and he knew what he must do. His pride, his honor, his life—he was willing to give anything for her freedom.

Out of the corner of his eye, he realized someone was approaching. Begrudging any interruption, he looked impatiently over his shoulder to see Lord Oswald sweeping across the grass of the ward.

“I have heard that you have been ordered to leave by the noon tomorrow. You do not look to be waiting even that long.”

Connor let go of the tent fabric. “I want to be on my way as soon as possible,” he said, in too great a hurry to couch his words in the mantle of calm politeness.

“I think that is for the best. Where will you go? Home to Llanstephan?”

He saw no need to tell anyone his plan, not even Lord Oswald. If Allis learned what he intended to do, and he failed, he would be adding to her despair. “No, my lord.”

“Ah. Too difficult, eh? Your justified denunciation of the king has caused them much suffering. In that case, I invite you to stay at my home in Wessex until you are healed.”

This offer was completely unforeseen, unexpected and unusual enough to raise his suspicions. “What will the baron think? You are his friend, and you invite his enemy to your home?”

Lord Oswald smiled. “The baron doesn't have to know about it, does he? I certainly won't tell him.” The nobleman clapped a beefy arm about his shoulder. “I am saddened by all that has happened to you at our greedy sovereign's hands.”

Connor's mind urged caution as Lord Oswald removed his hand. “It might have been better for me never to have left my home in the first place.”

“Oh, a fine warrior like you would never have been content to stay in Wales! Yet you could have avoided the Crusade and fought for a better cause. I'm sure many a king or lord would have paid well for your services.”

To suggest that he should have been enriching him
self instead of freeing the Holy City from the infidel added to his doubts about the man before him, for it was not with the purpose of the Crusade he quarreled, as least in the beginning. It was the leadership of the army that first caused him to question the supposedly holy mission. “What better cause, my lord?”

Oswald leaned closer. “A better king for England.”

Maybe this was a test of his loyalty—a notion that filled him with ire. He had spoken the truth to Richard's face out of outraged ideals, not thwarted ambition or greed. “Such talk is treason, my lord.”

“After all Richard has done, you would still be loyal to a man who has robbed and wronged you? Aye, and England, too?”

If Oswald blamed Richard for his brother's death, that could drive him to vengeance, yet to plot against God's anointed king was heinous treason. “I am a loyal subject of my king, my lord.”

“But in your heart, you agree with me, I think,” Oswald prompted. “And the man who would rid England of this blight of a ruler who is bleeding it dry could be sure that there are those who would reward him, perhaps who would even see to it that he be given that which he desires most.”

This was an offer, plain and simple: kill Richard, and Allis would be his.

Temptation, hot as fire, strong as a desert whirlwind, flashed through him. Kill Richard, the vainglorious bane of his life, and he could have Allis for his wife, to love and cherish always. It sounded so simple, so easy.

“You need make no decision today, Connor. Go to my estate in Wessex and consider. But if you do decide to help England, you will be rewarded, that I promise.”

“Yes, my lord. I understand, and I thank you for the offer of your hospitality.”

His eyes glittering with pleasure, Oswald smiled. “The least I can do, my boy. Now if you will excuse me, the dew is not good for my old bones. This invitation is, of course, between the two of us, so say nothing to anyone as you go.”

“I will not, my lord.”

 

Edmond rubbed his sleepy eyes and nearly tripped as Allis led him to the bedchamber she shared with Isabelle.

“It's the middle of the night,” he protested, yawning. “What are you doing?”

“Hush until I've got the door closed. I'll explain when we're alone,” Allis whispered, and the intensity and tension in her voice silenced his whining. They had to be quiet if they were to succeed.

Once in the bedchamber, Edmond blinked in the bright moonlight, then stared at Isabelle who sat upon her bed, fully clothed. He was dressed only in his long shirt and stockings.

“What's going on, Allis?” he demanded, more awake now as he faced her. “Haven't you made enough trouble already?”

“Yes, I have. And I'm not finished yet.” She saw their uncertainty and smiled to reassure them. After all, she had never roused them in the middle of the night before to take them from their home and all they knew.

Edmond looked at Isabelle. “What's she talking about?”

Isabelle shrugged her shoulders, puzzlement on her face. “I have no idea. She woke me up and told me to dress, then said she was going to fetch you. Before I
could ask questions, she was gone. What
are
you doing, Allis?”

“We are going to go away with Connor, and we must leave before dawn, so you must dress.” She pulled some clothing from a large leather pouch she had hidden beneath her bed. In it she had put some of their clothing, and all their jewels, leaving room for food they would get from the kitchen as they fled. “While you were eating, I was gathering some of our things to take with us.”

“What?” Edmond cried as Isabelle gaped. “Go where? Why? I don't want to go anywhere.”

“Please be quiet. Sit beside Isabelle and I'll explain.”

“We can't leave Montclair. I'm the earl now and—”

“Sit down, Edmond, and let me explain,” she said firmly, still in a whisper but determined that he understand. From now on there would be no secrets or hiding the truth from them.

Despite her determination, she was relieved when he obeyed.

“I have kept many things from you both,” she began. “Ever since Mama died and Father became as he was, the baron has been slowly, carefully taking command of Montclair. I truly believe that Rennick DeFrouchette will never give Montclair up.”

Again Edmond started to protest, but she held up her hand to silence him. “Please, hear me out. For some time I have also been learning about his evil deeds on his own estate. He is a vicious, greedy brute, yet I thought that if I agreed to be his wife, I would be able to protect you from the worst of his machinations. As his wife, I would have the right to question things, and to learn some of his dealings, either directly or by subterfuge of my own.

“Now I think otherwise. I have come to see that he may be more evil and more determined than even I believed. And the situation has grown worse, because Rennick has been made our guardian, confirmed by the king himself. Any restrictions he may have felt are gone. In fact, his threats are no longer implied. When I asked him to break our betrothal because I have fallen in love with Connor, not only did he refuse, he told me to my face that if I do not marry him, he will have his vengeance not just on me, but on you both, and even Connor's family. I believe Rennick is capable of harming anyone, for any reason. Although Connor offered his protection, I asked him to leave for his own safety.” Her voice softened as she remembered those last poignant moments. “And he finally agreed.”

Then her resolve and her voice grew in strength. “But afterward I realized that was a terrible mistake. If we stay, we will never be free. Not me, not you, Isabelle, or you, Edmond. We will be Rennick's prisoners. Nor do I believe that Rennick will let Connor and his family escape his wrath. He will move against them whether I marry him or not.”

“What about Montclair?” Edmond asked, jumping to his feet. “This is my estate.”

“Montclair is yours in point of law, and nothing Rennick can do will change that. But if we stay here, we will be little more than hostages. He will rule, not you.”

“When I come of age—”

She gazed at him steadily, willing him to see the truth of her words, to suddenly understand that the world could be a vastly different place from what he knew. “
If
you come of age.”

“He wouldn't dare to kill the earl of Montclair!”

“He may dare.” Holding onto his slender shoulders, she bent down so that they were eye to eye. “Either way, we will never know what he might do, should we cross him. That is what I'm trying to tell you, Edmond. If we go with Connor, we will have a measure of safety and freedom. If not, we are condemned to be Rennick's prisoners, for as long as he decides.”

“You just want to be with your lover!” Edmond declared with disgust as he twisted away from her.

“Yes, I want to be with my lover,” she agreed quietly as she straightened. “And I will make no apologies for that. I have done all I could to keep you safe, and it has not been enough. Now I will accept his offer of help.”

“Then go with him and leave us here in our home!”

Resistance from her proud and stubborn brother didn't surprise her—but she could be stubborn, too, especially when she feared for their lives. “I won't abandon you.”

“I won't go!”

Isabelle looked from Allis to Edmond and got to her feet. “She's right, Edmond. We have to leave. The baron is an evil man.”

“You just want to be with Connor, too! I've seen the way you look at him!”

“I don't want Connor. He loves Allis.” She clasped her hands together and spoke with insistent fervor. “Allis has always put our needs and our safety before her own, and if going with her means she can be happy, we should not begrudge her that. You are not the only one giving up something, Edmond. You at least will be able to reclaim the estate. Who can say what dowry might be left for me? But I will give it up,
and gladly, because of all that Allis has done for us. I would go with her now simply because she asked it of me, even if I didn't know the kind of enemy the baron is to us.”

“Father didn't think he was bad, or he would never have made the baron our guardian.”

Again her past reticence rose up to haunt her. If she had told Edmond even a part of what she suspected, he would be more willing to believe her now. He had to believe her now, and come away. “His grief made Father no fit judge, especially at the end, and I did not voice all my concerns to him, to my regret. Besides, you like Connor. He can continue teaching you how to be a knight. Think of the day you ride back into Montclair and claim it, wearing armor and on a fine war horse.”

“I'm not a little child to be bribed with fairy stories,” Edmond grumbled. “I understand what you are saying.”

But still he did not agree.

Sweat trickled along her sides as her desperation mounted. They could not linger much longer. They had to leave before first light.

She knelt in front of Edmond and took his hands in hers. “As I love you, I beg this of you. You must leave Montclair. It is the only way we will ever be free. You will still be the earl of Montclair, and one day, the estate will be yours. Will you come with us?”

He looked at her for what seemed a lifetime before he nodded his head. “If I must.”

Weak with relief, she got to her feet. “Believe me, Edmond, if I thought we could stay here safely, we would.”

He began to dress, while Isabelle helped Allis tie the leather pouch. “How are we going to leave without the
guards seeing us?” she asked. “And when the baron realizes we have gone, he will surely search for us.”

“We shall go to the kitchen, and from there to the stables. I shall saddle the horses, while you and Edmond go to Connor and tell him we are going with him after all.”

Isabelle straightened abruptly. “He isn't expecting us?”

She shook her head. “I realized my mistake after he had gone and didn't dare risk trying to speak with him. It was too late for him to be on his way before dusk, or he would have been benighted on the road. Rennick gave him until the noon to go, but we should slip away before first light.”

“What if he refuses to take us?”

“He won't,” she replied, believing that to the very core of her soul.

“How will we get past the guards?” Edmond asked warily.

She blew out the candle, so that only the bright moonlight illuminated the chamber. “There is a way to the inner ward beneath the wall in the stables,” she said as she picked up the pouch and slung it over her shoulder. “Originally it was an error in the building, and some stones fell away. Father showed it to me once, shortly before Mama died. As a temporary measure they had piled some old beams in front of it. I made sure they are still there, so it was never repaired. I don't think the baron knows about it. I have certainly never heard him mention it, or anything about fixing it. You will go to Connor and rouse him, and I will bring the horses.”

“How are you going to get three horses past the guards at the gatehouse?”

“I am still the lady of Montclair, so I hope they will not try to stop me. If they do and you hear the alarm being raised before I can reach you, go without me. She took off the crucifix of gold and rubies she wore around her neck and pressed it into Isabelle's hand. “Sell this if you must, for food or horses. Connor will watch over you, and I have every faith that he will keep you safe.”

Isabelle's lower lip started to tremble. “We won't go without you.”

“Tell him that I said you must, and make him take you away from here. Otherwise, all my planning and concern for you will be for naught. Either way, I expect an alarm to be sounded as soon as we are discovered to be missing, but it takes time to mount a troop of men. Then they will expect us to ride for Wales, and I have another plan.”