The Bastard, page 2
I dropped a different coin pouch next to Samuel’s face. He grabbed it, continued to curse, and put on a show good enough that I could feign being unbalanced. I let him go, and he took off before anyone else could try to help me.
I ended up with one knee and one hand in the mud, but it was a small price to pay. Plastering a look of bemusement on my face, I hauled myself back to my feet and found myself looking straight at the woman in green.
She didn’t look pleased. Her eyebrows were still furrowed in anger, and I realized she wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
So I grinned very broadly. “The kid got away,” I said. “But I believe this is yours?”
With that, I presented the woman with her own pouch, completely unmuddied.
Suddenly, her anger evaporated, and she favored me with a smile so brilliant it chased all my thoughts away.
It was like looking at a sunrise after a stormy night. Like standing in a field of wildflowers just to enjoy their beauty.
Rolf’s description hadn’t done this woman justice. She wasn’t just beautiful. She was spectacular, from her brilliant, clear blue eyes to her perfect teeth.
For the first time in my life, I found myself as clumsy and tongue-tied around a woman as I’d seen Rolf become.
The Blackcoat was brutal, effective, and cunning to boot, but he had the tongue and soul of a cabbage when it came to women. Just as I did, right at that moment.
Fortunately, it was her turn to speak.
“Thank you,” she said, and held out her hand.
Automatically, I handed over the coin pouch. Then I simply stared, enraptured by the exquisite woman before me. But I wasn’t the only one. She seemed as interested in me as I was in her.
At the same time, it wasn’t exactly the height of decorum for two strangers to stare at each other in the middle of the market, and the woman was the first of us to reach that conclusion. Her smile faded just a little, and I sensed she was about to turn away from the mute standing before her.
“You have the most beautiful eyes,” I said, breaking free from the spell of her beauty, and that was enough to prevent her from leaving right away.
She blushed instead. “Thank you. You are very kind,” she said.
Then I frowned in feigned puzzlement. “But surely, a lady such as yourself would never be unaccompanied on a trip to the market. Where are your guards?” I asked her.
Her smile returned, and this time there was a hint of mischievousness within it. “They’re around, somewhere. I fear I may have given them the slip. It’s something my father has warned me about, but I can’t help it. I don’t like that they follow me all the time.”
The way she said it gave me hope. Aside from her beauty, I’d picked her as the rich, spoiled daughter of a wealthy merchant that Rolf had described, closeted and aloof. But if she liked to give her guards the slip, then maybe there was more to her than that.
I offered a laugh, and just like that, I became a co-conspirator. “And yet, that freedom comes at a cost. Would the boy have picked you to steal from if your guards were nearby?”
“A small price to pay,” she replied. “And besides, it turned out well enough in the end, thanks to you.”
“My pleasure,” I said.
I knew that even without Rolf’s promptings, I would have wanted to get to know this woman better. I studied her for a moment more, letting my smile broaden, knowing that the time had come to push things a little. “Although,” I continued, allowing a hint of mischievousness into my voice, “when a man comes to the rescue of a beautiful woman, she usually offers some sort of reward?”
The woman laughed. “Rescue?”
I offered a shrug but kept my grin firmly in place. “What else would you call it?”
The woman looked at me sideways, as if sizing me up. Apparently, she liked what she saw, because she nodded to herself.
“And what boon would that be?” she asked.
I gave her my best grin. “Two things, actually,” I said. “First, would you tell me your name?”
It wasn’t funny in the least, yet the woman laughed as if it was, an open, innocent sound that sounded like music. “My name is Anwen,” she said, and that matched the name Rolf had given me. “And you are?”
“Mordie,” I supplied.
“Mordie,” she repeated, as if it was important for her to remember. “And what was the second part of this boon you ask for?”
The way she spoke suggested she was worried I might ask too much. As indeed I may have done on another occasion. But with thoughts of Rolf and his men a million miles from my mind, I gave her a different answer.
“There’s a tavern nearby that serves an unusual drink. It’s a taste imported, they say, from a distant land. They call it cocoa, and they serve it hot with marshmallows. It’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Accompany me there for a taste.”
There really was a tavern that served such a drink. I’d discovered it only a few weeks before, yet had been back several times since, and not just because the tavern girls were buxom and willing. The drink was as I described, warm and sweet and delicious, and I didn’t know why the whole of the city hadn’t latched onto it.
A part of me hoped that Anwen would turn me down. That she would walk away, and I would ever see her again. Because this was still part of Rolf’s plan, to get Anwen away from the markets and into a place where Rolf and his henchmen could take her from me.
Even thinking about Rolf and his men felt like a betrayal. Yet I kept my smile on my lips and awaited Anwen’s reply.
“I shouldn’t…” she began.
“You shouldn’t have left your guards behind, either,” I replied, teasing her gently.
Anwen raised an eyebrow. It had been the right approach. I’d always been good at that sort of thing. Knowing when to press and when to back off, and knowing just what to say to get the result I was after.
She laughed once again, the sound of small bells. “My father will be wondering where I am–” she started, but it wasn’t really a refusal. She was asking me to come up with a reason to take the risk.
And it didn’t need to be a very good one.
“It’s not far from here. How long were you planning to spend in the market? We can be back as soon as you like.”
Still, she seemed hesitant, so I used the best, most compelling argument I had.
“You’re right,” I said, grinning broadly. It was a good grin. I knew it was, having practiced it on numerous other women. It gave me a roguish look that they found hard to deny. “You should be a dutiful daughter and return to your father with all possible haste. After all, it’s not like I just saved you from a thief or anything, is it?”
As I spoke, I held her eye, and she had the decency to look scandalized. Yet she never lost her smile either, even when she swung her purse at me in mock outrage.
“Oh! You are a beast!” she said, and once again I could tell I had pitched it just right. She knew I was teasing but also that I was correct. I’d done her a favor, and so far had gotten nothing more than her name in return.
I decided to lay it on even thicker. “It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m sure that anyone else who’d seen that street urchin take your coin purse would have acted as I did. Of course, nobody actually did, but I’m sure it was just a matter of time.”
Anwen couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.
I had won.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll try this drink you like so much. At great risk to myself, no less. But if I am late returning to my father, then beware. I cannot save you from his wrath.”
She said it lightly, but I detected a note of truth beneath her words and wondered which merchant family she belonged to. Even so, I grinned once again and offered Anwen my elbow, which she happily accepted.
Then the two of us strolled through the market, with me feeling more than a twinge of guilt that the tavern in question was the other way entirely.
4
I did my best to stay relaxed as I led Anwen into an alley that was far more grimy and unclean than anything she was used to. Her smile began to fade as she picked her way through the mire, and her uncertainty increased at the sound of something small scrabbling about up ahead. Probably a rat, or maybe a rat dragon, one of those flying, scaled beasts that preyed on the vermin and which most people put in the same category.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” she asked, and I felt another pang of guilt.
“Oh, sorry!” I said, doing my best to sound cheerful. “I shouldn’t have taken you this way. It’s just the quickest route between the market and the tavern. If you like, we can backtrack and find a more civilized way.”
It seemed to reassure her because her smile returned. “No, this will be fine. Although you lose a few points for taking me this way.”
I managed another smile and wondered if it wasn’t too late to turn around. But by now, Rolf would already know we were there. He–or one of his men–would have kept Anwen in sight from the moment I first spotted her in the market. He would know I’d done my job, would know that Anwen and I were already in the maze of alleys where he and his cronies hid.
If I was to turn around now, he would know I’d done it on purpose, and while I counted Rolf as a friend, he was a dangerous bastard with his sword and his fists. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that more than one corpse pulled from the docks had been put there by him.
And, really, it wasn’t like we planned to hurt Anwen. Just an afternoon of impromptu captivity, for a significant price.
If the woman had been less beautiful, and had failed to turn my head as she had, would I even have hesitated?
The answer was no. I would have gone through with the plan without batting an eye. Because, while I wasn’t part of Rolf’s regular crew, in all the jobs I’d done with him before, he’d paid up as promised, and the money was good.
So what was the difference?
I didn’t owe Anwen a thing. She was just another target. And I was an opportunist.
With that thought in mind, I continued to lead the way, trying not to pay attention to how heavy my feet became, or how gloomy and miserable the day had become.
Anwen seemed to catch some of my mood. She half-turned toward me as we walked and stared at my face with uncertainty. I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen her, hadn’t noticed, but couldn’t keep up the act. Before long, I sensed the space growing between us, both physical and not. Then, without warning, she stood in place, keeping her hand hooked around my elbow so I would stop as well.
“I’m starting to think,” she began. “That I shouldn’t have accepted your invitation.”
I did my best to grin, but it felt sick on my face. In the end, it was all I could do to shrug in its place.
“You might be right,” I admitted.
But it was too late. Rolf and his cronies emerged from the shadows—three large, dangerous men wearing the black coats of the city guard and evil expressions. They used their size and unexpected presence to their advantage, blocking Anwen in from each side as they approached.
The beautiful redheaded woman looked at them with an expression of hope, seeing first the black coats they wore. Then that expression faded as she understood how much trouble she was in.
She cast one look of betrayal mixed with disappointment my way, and I felt a cold knife of shame rip through my heart as her expression became one of infinite loathing.
Durstan, the biggest of the three men, a brutal looking one, reached for Anwen.
And she began to scream and fight, lashing out with a small dagger she had conjured from somewhere, catching him across the bridge of his nose and darting quickly away from his grasp, looking for an escape. But she was boxed in.
Rolf had hung back a little and laughed at his henchman’s close call. Durstan, however, let out a roar of pain and indignation, and lunged at Anwen.
I wanted to intervene. Everything in me said that I should. But that would be an unforgivable mistake, and I wasn’t prepared to have Rolf as my foe.
And besides, while I could look after myself, Rolf’s men were battle-hardened bruisers, more than capable of shunting me to one side if they wanted to. No, the time for me to change my mind had passed.
As Durstan caught Anwen’s hands in his fists, the beautiful woman began screeching like a fish wife. She hurled all sorts of colorful abuse at the men, calling them every name under the sun. She lashed out with her feet, and even tried to use her teeth.
In different circumstances, I would have applauded.
Even though he had blood running down his nose and over his lips, Durstan was doing most of the work, with Rolf and the other man hanging back. And the big, brutal-looking man was angry. I feared for Anwen’s safety.
“Don’t hurt her,” I ventured, and Durstan shot a look my way.
“Or what?” he demanded.
But to my relief, Rolf took it as a signal. He reached forward and clamped his hand over Anwen’s mouth from behind.
“That’s enough of that,” he snarled into her ear.
But Anwen simply redoubled her efforts.
“I said enough!” Rolf said, and gave her a shake. “We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if you make us. Now, stop your struggling. It won’t do you any good. You’re coming with us, and if all goes according to plan, you’ll be back with your father by the end of the day.”
Anwen didn’t seem to care for Rolf’s words one way or the other. With Durstan still gripping her hands, she tried to stomp on Rolf’s feet.
Rolf jumped out of the way. Yet he seemed to appreciate Anwen’s fire, but not in the same way I did. He was grinning, yes, but it had a malicious feel to it.
“I said stop it! If you don’t–ah!” he yelled, the last as Anwen’s most recent stomp caught him a good one. “Bitch!” Rolf said. He shot a glance at the third man. “Bryce! I’m done with this trollop! You brought the rope? Tie her up! We’ll carry her.”
With that, Rolf withdrew his hand, and Durstan unceremoniously dumped Anwen onto the ground. I winced as she fell. She seemed slightly stunned by the impact, and it took her a moment to regather her breath. When she had, she began screeching and cursing once more.
Neither Rolf nor his men seemed the least bothered by the ruckus. As quickly and efficiently as he could, the wiry, tough-looking Bryce did as Rolf asked, swiftly binding Anwen’s ankles and wrists. Then he took a length of rag from the pouch he wore at his side, balled it up, and stuffed it into Anwen’s mouth. That done, he used another piece of rope to keep it in place, tying it tight around the back of her head.
Then the three men stepped back to admire his handiwork. To her credit, Anwen still struggled, but there was little she could do, and her curses came out as muffled grunts.
I looked at her with regret and couldn’t help but notice the lingering stares from Rolf and his crew.
I had no claim on Anwen, and from the last look she’d thrown my way, any initial attraction she might have felt for me was long buried beneath a layer of hate. But I still didn’t want to see her come to any harm.
“So, am I done?” I asked, more to draw Rolf’s attention to me than anything else.
“Huh?” Rolf said, turning my way. “Yeah, sure. You did your job well. You’ll get your cut, as we agreed.” As he spoke, he waved me away, and I knew he meant to dismiss me.
I could have walked away. And perhaps it would have been better if I’d done just that.
But I’d seen how Rolf and his men had looked at Anwen and knew what they were thinking.
While I was a long way from being innocent myself, there were lines I’d never crossed. As far as criminals went, I was fairly harmless. Happy to go along with most things. I would fight when I had to, run if need be, but I’d never killed anyone in my life, as far as I knew.
And the idea of rape?
I found it abhorrent. Women were to be seduced and cherished. I could see few reasons to hurt one.
Especially one as special as Anwen.
So, instead of walking away, I ignored Rolf’s dismissal. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her,” I said.
Rolf’s ugly, square face broke into a grin. Some time in his youth, he’d ended up with a ragged scar on his cheek, beneath his left eye. Time had faded the scar, but it was still visible, especially when he tried to hide his emotions. It was like a signal of danger, and pulsed red when he didn’t like what he heard.
As it was doing then.
“So I did,” he said. “And?”
The way he said it sounded like a threat. But I didn’t back down. “And I’m hoping you still intend to honor your word.”
Rolf barked a laugh. “Ha!” he said. “Look at that! The pup has some teeth after all! And here was me, thinking you were nothing but a pretty boy with a talent for taking your dick into places it doesn’t belong!”
It was, I admitted, the first time I’d stood up to him. I was much more prone to simply going with the flow and accepting whatever opportunity came my way. But Rolf was my friend, and Anwen… I didn’t want to see him hurt her.
So I stood my ground. Rolf cast a glance at Bryce and Durstan. Then he looked back at me and gave another grin. But I didn’t feel any warmth from it.
“So be it,” he declared. “We’ll take her to a quiet spot and send her father a message, just like we planned. She’ll be fine.” He kept grinning, and I kept not trusting his grin. “That make you happy?” he asked.
Still feeling a chill from his grin, I slowly nodded and said, “I’d like to go with you.”
Rolf’s grin faded a little. “And why is that?”
I shrugged. “If you don’t plan to hurt her, why does it matter?”
Rolf cast another glance at his men, both of whom were glaring at me. But they weren’t my concern. They would do as Rolf told them. His position with the Blackcoats was surprisingly senior. Behind the brutish exterior was a cunning mind that the King himself seemed to find useful.
Rolf thought about it for a handful of heartbeats.
“Okay,” he said finally. “You can come along.” Then he turned back to his men one more time and interrupted their curses and grumbling. “Pick her up,” he said. “And be gentle about it. Or our friend Mordie here might object.”
