Sworn Loyalty - A Medieval Romance, page 15
Her grin sharpened. “Do you truly think Erik’s loyal staff would turn him out now, no matter what you said? And do you think Erik, after all the sacrifices he has made to win me, would give up on me now, when his dream was just within reach?”
Mary’s heart thundered in her chest. She knew Lynessa was a master at manipulation. And yet, there was a thread of truth to what Lynessa was saying. Her throat closed up, but she forced herself to speak.
“I am sure Erik –”
Lynessa burst into laughter, cutting Mary off, and it was a moment before the blonde could speak. “If you know anything about Erik, you know how he values loyalty. I get the sense that you dallied with him during your two weeks together. And yet, the moment my men-at-arms walked in the door, you were practically climbing into their arms. Erik all but burst into flame with his disappointment in you. How could you have missed his reaction?”
Iron bands constricted around Mary’s heart. She had known she would upset Erik with her plan, but she had figured the end result would be worth it. Had she lost sight along the way of what truly mattered?
Lynessa shook her head in amusement. “The whole keep knows how you and Bronson have been at it. Half the guards saw you in that indecent crimson dress that not even the lowest wench would wear. Even if Erik had been inclined to believe in you, how could he hold out against the voices of those he trusted, those he had known far longer than you?”
Mary could barely breathe. She knew Lynessa was far from trustworthy, but the blonde’s smile was just too bright. She was telling the truth.
Lynessa dropped her voice to a seductive purr. “When my darling Erik was told that you and your lover had run off for the Scottish border, with half of my jewelry stolen as well, he was beyond furious. Within minutes every spare man was streaming north to bring you and your paramour to justice.”
Mary fought desperately to find a hole in Lynessa’s story. Lady Cartwright had trained Mary for years for this very purpose. Mary knew just how devious Lynessa could be.
Michael.
She sighed in relief, unclenching her fingers. Michael knew the truth of it all. Surely, the moment Michael and Erik had realized she had been taken hostage, Michael would have revealed the whole situation to Erik. Lynessa was twisting the truth simply to keep Mary quiet until Bronson could safely get her to Caradoc’s dungeon.
Lynessa raised a brow at the change in Mary’s mood. “Thinking of Michael, are we?”
Mary paled, her heart stopping.
Lynessa patted her gently on the cheek. “Oh, child. You do concoct such rosy fantasies. I’m afraid Michael was out after you long before Erik and I returned to the keep. By all reports he drove hard north, aiming to cut Bronson off before he got you across the northern border. The man was in such a state that he didn’t stop to leave a message at all.”
She gave a delicate shrug. “So whatever you think Michael might have told Erik, that won’t happen for weeks. Not until Michael gives up the chase.”
A chill settled through Mary’s body, settling into her very bones. It had not seemed that one word Lynessa had spoken was false. It was as if the woman felt there was no need to lie – that the truth was damning enough.
Lynessa ran a hand through her golden tresses, smoothing them into place. “So, for now, it will be just me and Erik in the keep. It won’t take me more than a day or two to convince him that you and your bandit lover are gone for good. After that, I will cling to him with misty eyes and whisper how all the chaos has shown me just how brief life truly is. That we should wed immediately.”
She brought her hands together in an attitude of prayer, placing them just over her heart. “After all these long years, I know how thrilled he will be. He will want to wed as quickly as possible before something else separates us.”
Mary lowered her gaze to the ground, desolation pouring into every corner of her being. Lynessa had Erik wrapped around her finger. Mary could imagine the days playing out exactly as Lynessa had described. Lynessa would know exactly what to say to Erik and the perfect tone to draw him in. The accomplished liar had benefitted from decades of practice.
Only the iron core forged by Lady Cartwright’s years of training insisted that there must be some way – any way – to ruin Lynessa’s well-laid plans. Mary sorted carefully through all she had learned over the past few weeks, searching for a path out of her predicament.
Ah – Lynessa had seemed far from bosom buddies with Caradoc. Maybe this could serve as the lynchpin. Any delay Mary could cause would give Michael a chance to turn back, to meet up with Erik and put things right.
She set her face to hold rational calm when she looked up to the blonde. “You are hardly in need of money now, between your stolen funds and your access to the full keep’s resources. Why not keep me yourself as a hostage? Play me off of Caradoc and Erik. See who would grant you more concessions in return for handing me over. Within a short time you might have doubled your land holdings, or gained who knows what other accomplishments.”
Lynessa laughed out loud. “Oh, you would enjoy a delay, wouldn’t you,” she grinned. “But I am afraid that, after so many years of waiting, I want my wedding day over as quickly as possible. No negotiations or other distractions will interfere with that.” She glanced at Bronson. “You see how quickly she turns on you? Now she wants to cheat you out of your reward.”
She tapped a finger to her lips. “Speaking of which, I would appreciate having my jewelry back now.”
Bronson shot a sharp look at Mary, then his shoulders fell and he nodded. In a moment he had retrieved the bags from the shed and brought them over to Lynessa. She knelt by the fire and went carefully through each bag, checking over the items within. At last she nodded in wry satisfaction.
“Nothing missing. Good.”
She stood, hefting the bags over her shoulder. “Bronson, you get her safely back to the old keep and into Caradoc’s hands. I will be by as soon as I can.” Her grin sharpened. “I wouldn’t miss this event for all the fish in the ocean. It will make the perfect wedding present.”
She turned on her heel, and in a moment she was lost in the depths of the forest.
Bronson gave a low chuckle, then sat back against the aging lean-to. “Sleep well, Mary,” he advised her. “It might be the last good night of rest you have left in life.”
Chapter 16
Mary slowly blinked her eyes open. She took in the familiar damp stone walls, breathed in the dense, musty stench, and winced at the guttural laughter of her guards. The men sprawled around the same worn table she herself had sat at only a few weeks earlier.
Her arms were throbbing in pain, and she tugged uselessly at the ropes to try to bring even slight relief to her state. Her wrists were tied high and out in a Y position. Torches guttered in iron brackets on the walls. She had no idea if it were dawn, dusk, or the darkest depths of night.
It had been but a few hours’ ride the morning after her capture to reach Caradoc’s base, but after that her memory became hazy. They had fed her mead with an herbal flavor to it, and she sensed it was drugged, based on her foggy perception. Guards had come and gone, the torches had flickered, and it could have been one day that passed or five.
She turned her head toward the table. Bronson was waving his mug before him, holding court with the four guards who hung on his every word. He was re-telling the grand adventure he’d had at the keep, presenting an embellished and self-aggrandizing version that Mary barely recognized.
Mary swept her gaze across the dust-caked floor to the heavy, barred door, and the small, grated window in its center. The landing beyond was dark. No sound came from the stairs.
Thank all that was Holy that Caradoc had not arrived yet, but Mary knew her luck could not hold out forever. He would be here, soon enough, and then she might desperately wish for the luxury of her time bound in the wooden chest. She knew the only reason the guards had not abused her in any way was that Caradoc had far worse planned for her.
She swallowed. She had been around Caradoc and his men long enough to know just how ruthless they were. She would be made an example of. She would be used to show others just how important it was that they stay in line.
And then, eventually, of course, she would be dead.
A sense of clarity kindled within her, small at first, then growing with every passing moment. She had done her best. She had dedicated her life to following Lady Cartwright’s orders. She had taken on every challenge presented to her. She had unraveled the threads to show Lynessa for what she was. Surely Michael would quickly realize that he was chasing a ghost and would return to Erik. Michael would reveal the entire situation to Erik, and Erik would drive Lynessa from the keep. The blonde was, after all, just one woman. She could not hold out against the combined forces of Erik, Michael, and Lord Paul.
Mary’s job was done. Her time of living her life for Lady Cartwright must be over. For the first time in over ten years, Mary would forge a path of her own. She would act as she believed with all her heart.
All else had been stripped away. All other doors had been closed. The one thing left available to her was to die with honor.
She smiled. It would be enough.
She would have to watch carefully for her opportunity. Maybe a guard would have a knife which came within reach of her bound fingers. Maybe Caradoc would be less than alert when he first handled her.
However she managed it, she had to draw them into a fight, and either escape or be slain. It was a far better option than to let herself linger.
She closed her eyes, soaking in the calm. Somehow she would find that option.
And with it, peace.
The quiet thud of footsteps came to her ears, and she nodded. It had begun. Caradoc was finally here to extract revenge for the death of his brothers. Somehow she would convince him to release her right hand. Just one hand would be enough. And then she would either kill him – or make sure she herself was slain.
The steps drew down to stop on the landing.
There was the softest shimmer of sound.
Mary’s heart stopped. She intimately knew that sound. As a young child she had fallen asleep to it when her mother sang her lullabies. She knew exactly the number of small metal cymbals, knew exactly the feel of the worn wood within her hand.
Her eyes flew to the barred window. It could not be –
Erik’s blue-grey eyes held hers, calm, steady, and determined.
Mary’s face paled in shock. No. He could not do this. He could not walk into this room, not after all she had done to set him free. She had already accepted her fate.
She gave the slightest of shakes to her head.
He smiled at that, a wry smile that nearly broke her heart. And then he knocked on the door.
Bronson glanced up in surprise, and his eyes hardened to marbles when he realized who was standing there. His hand fell to the hilt of his sword, and he strode over to the door. Before he could say anything, Lynessa’s voice floated through the bars. “Bronson, it is me. Open up for us, please. We have some important business with your captive here.”
Bronson’s brow creased in confusion, and he glanced back at the other men who were now standing as well. His voice was gruff. “Caradoc’s orders were clear,” he growled. “No arms within this room, except for our own guards.”
Lynessa’s voice was lightness itself. “Of course,” she agreed. “We spoke with Caradoc personally, in the courtyard just now. Erik left his sword in Caradoc’s care.”
Mary’s heart thundered in her chest. It could not be true. Erik had come down completely unarmed, a sheep to the slaughter?
Bronson’s grin grew at that, and his shoulders relaxed. He looked again to his men, and they ranged along either side of him. Then he pulled open the door and stared at the two people standing on the other side.
Lynessa stepped forward and gave Bronson a grateful hug. “My dear Bronson, Sander realized that what he first told us was incorrect. He had thought Michael was chasing after a pair of fleeing lovers. But then, after talking with me, he realized that Mary here was the real thief – and that you were simply bringing her here for proper justice. It is all due to your quick thinking that you were able to discover who had stolen my jewelry. Words cannot express how grateful I am that you captured her.”
She made a fluttering hand motion to Erik. “I have explained everything to Erik here. How Mary had been routinely stealing from Caradoc, and how you and I had been watching her carefully since our arrival. How it was only right to bring her back to Caradoc, given the enormous harm she has done to him during these past weeks.”
She flushed in embarrassment and looked to Erik. “And of course, Erik now understands that his previous challenge with Caradoc was just a misunderstanding. We have that misfortunate affair all resolved now. He reassures me that far worse confusion happened in the Holy Land, and that the important thing is to put it behind us.” A look of angelic sweetness came into her gaze, and she folded her hand into his arm. “Especially now that we are to be married.”
Mary’s heart nearly hammered out of her chest in panic. It could not be true. It simply could not be.
Bronson looked between them with a carefully neutral gaze. “Congratulations are in order, then. How can I be of service?”
Lynessa gave a wide smile. “It turns out there was a minor legal hurdle to our marriage,” she explained. “Despite all of Mary’s heinous crimes, somehow the woman is, technically, still Lady Cartwright. Erik’s poor mother was probably taken in by the girl’s swindling as well. It is time to wrench this chit’s grasp from the Cartwright family for once and for all.”
She gave a delicate shrug. “So we just have to get her to sign a release, to turn the keep over to Erik, the man who rightfully owns it. Once that is done, we can at long last marry and have full ownership of our keep.”
Mary’s body was trembling with emotion. There was no way on God’s green earth she would turn over the keep to that vixen. No matter what it took, no matter how she was tortured, she would refuse to sign. Her eyes moved to Erik’s, hoping for even the slightest sign that he was not fully under Lynessa’s manipulative spell.
There was a soothing in his gaze, a reassurance, and a kindle of hope swelled within her chest. Could it be that Michael had talked with him? Did he realize the fullness of what had gone on these past few weeks? The thought brought a tangled mixture of hope and agony. If it were true, then he was here to try to rescue her. Her eyes dropped automatically to his hip, to where his sword should have hung.
The space was empty.
Bronson’s eyes were also directed at the bare spot at Erik’s side, and a relaxed chuckle came from him. “So that’s all you need? Just a signature, eh? Sounds easy enough.”
Erik’s gaze was neutral when he turned to Bronson. “Just a few minutes, and we’ll be out of your way for good,” he agreed. “But in order for her to sign this legally, you’ll need to untie her right hand.”
Bronson shrugged. “Sure thing.” He stepped forward to stand before Mary, carefully unknotting the heavy rope. It took him a few minutes, but at last it came undone.
Mary only half-feigned the exhaustion which cascaded along her muscles when the support was freed. She slumped wearily down against Bronson.
He smiled at that, pressing his body in against hers. He murmured low in her ear. “One last time, my dear, before the true fun begins.”
That was all Mary needed to hear.
She lunged for the hilt of his sword, drew it in one long pull, and tossed it into Erik’s waiting hand. He spun, slashed, and two of the guards went down in geysers of blood. Erik leapt to put himself before Mary, and Lynessa vanished up the stairs without a sound. Less than ten seconds had passed.
Bronson grabbed the sword of one of the fallen men, then turned to his two remaining companions. “What are you waiting for? Get him!”
A pair of yells, a flurry of action, and both lay bleeding in twisting agony on the floor.
Bronson’s grin grew wolfish. “This is perfect,” he taunted Erik. “Now I kill you, and there are no witnesses left to see what I do to your beloved Mary. Lynessa is undoubtedly a county away by now; it could be hours before the next guards come down to check on us. By then, I would have had my fill of this whore and killed her.” His eyes sparkled in delight. “And then I will simply knock myself out and claim you were responsible for everything.”
Erik’s gaze darkened with emotion, but he did not say a word. He held still before Mary, guarding her. He waited, steadily, for Bronson to approach.
Bronson raised his sword high, gave a screech, and then dove in. The men were a flurry of motion, twisting, slicing, jumping back, moving over the tangle of bodies at their feet.
Mary tugged desperately at her left hand, but she could not release the rope which still bound her to the iron ring on the wall. She looked desperately for anything within reach – a knife, a sharp piece of metal – but there was nothing she could get to. All she could do was watch, heart pounding, as the two men battled for their lives.
Bronson was edging his way left, trying to get closer to Mary, but Erik resolutely held himself between the two. Bronson’s foot slipped in a pool of blood, and he caught himself, his breath coming in long draws. He looked up at Mary, and his eyes grew crafty.
He slid his eyes down the low-cut front of the crimson gown she still wore, directing his question to Erik. “Did she tell you?” He gave a guttural laugh. “Did she tell you how eagerly she came into my arms at night, how sweet those curves felt under me?”
Erik gave a low growl, but he did not move forward from his guard position.
Bronson’s gaze darkened. “She is mine,” he challenged. “And after I’m done with you, I will prove it!”
He dove at Erik, bringing his sword high and right, aiming to take off Erik’s head with one massive strike.
Erik dove forward into the attack, driving his sword straight into Bronson’s chest, forcing their momentum to send them backwards. Bronson’s outswept sword shaved a thin line in Mary’s dress as they tumbled to the ground.
