A Witch's Tale (35 page)

Rohan
was furious and worried sick, but recalled his little witch had the means to
defend herself and saw to Goldwyn for the journey. Burroughs arrived with food
provisions. The young man appeared quite worried, eyes grim with concern.

“You
will find her, my lord. My guess is she goes to your keep in the north,” the
young man said matter-of-factly.

Rohan
raised a golden eyebrow at his words. “And how would you know that?”

Burroughs
smirked and puffed himself up with pride. “She took the liberty of ripping out
the map to it in your book before she left. Just happened to leave it open
too.”

“You
did well and saved us days of searching, lad,” Rohan said and was pleased the
younger man was so observant.

Rohan
felt relief to know his wife headed to his northern keep, but cursed her for
running away before speaking with him. He thought of how de Mortaine saved her
from the villagers of Valmont once and knew she wasn’t thinking. If he was
discovered anywhere near Madeline now it was treason. He no longer cared. He’d
not let anyone harm his wife. Thoughts of sending word to his liege lord were
dismissed. Gavin was more than a little obligated to their king. He couldn’t
talk Madeline out of this any more than he could.

Thoughts
of his wife going to the tower for examination made him stiffen in outrage. He
knew they would torture her to confess what she was. It was rare that one
dragged there for examination survived the ordeal to be publically burned. Few
walked away from such charges. He cursed Robert Lunley and vowed to pay the man
a visit one day. He took the remaining gold and left a half dozen men to guard
the manor in his absence and await Lord Rivenhahl.

Rohan
had no intention of letting them take his wife to the tower. He’d die himself
before they’d touch one hair on her head. They would run, he determined grimly
as he packed all he dare carry. His men refused to leave him. He informed them
they would be outlaws if it was discovered what they did.

None
of his men desired to stay behind. Even Burroughs showed up, wearing a bag
about his neck with both cats inside, both hissing and struggling within. He
grinned at his master’s look of disgust.

“Lady
Rothford would be upset if we left her cats behind, my lord.”

The
sixteen riders left Rothford in a dead run going north. Rohan knew the thieves and
outlaws preyed on the main roads, so they remained off the road in the woods
during their flight. They stopped by a stream at midnight and his man arrived
to show him a piece of muslin from a woman’s skirts found snagged in a bush.
Relief filled him to think he was on his wife’s trail.

By
midday the next day, they found signs of Madeline’s cook fire that gave Rohan
relief she stayed off the road. He was fuming as they road on, aware into the
second day she had a considerable head start on them.

The
third day he was anxious to catch up with his wife. Burroughs appeared to be
overwhelmed handling his wife’s unruly pets. The men were good natured despite
the uncertainty they faced following Rohan. Most would agree they knew not what
they came back to, if they returned at all. Rohan had much time to think. He
didn’t think it likely he would return.

Burroughs
rode alongside him. He petted Lady Blythe until the feline purred loudly.
Gerwin peered out of the bag with narrowed eyes. He chuckled to see the cat’s furious
expression.

Madeline
would be pleased the boy brought the pair. He still couldn’t believe his former
lover was once now the fluffy white cat who showed distinct signs of having a
litter of kittens soon. Blythe might have been miserable in life as a woman,
but she appeared happy as a feline.

“We
run now, don’t we, my lord?” the younger man asked sadly, looking like all his
dreams of being a knight were well and truly dashed.

Rohan
said nothing for several moments as they travelled down the path. “Once I
collect my wife; we sail to France. You and the others can return.”

Burroughs
looked outraged. “You don’t mean to send us back?”

“When
Lord Rivenhahl is aware of our flight, you will all be charged as mine and my
wife’s accomplices. You all must go back,” he said quietly. “I’ll not deny you
your spurs one day, Burroughs. You have served me well, but I don’t ask you to
give up all.”

“Where
will you go?” he asked and looked sad. “The men will not leave you, nor will
I.”

Rohan
smiled and looked away. “It is your choice. I mean to take my wife and flee.”

“They
will not let her live, will they?” he asked hesitantly.

Rohan’s
lips tightened. “Her death warrant was signed months ago. The king would honor
it. No, I think it unlikely King James will listen to Lord Rivenhahl, much less
a meager baron like myself.”

“Lady
Rothford was blessed to have found you then, my lord. Tis’ obvious how much you
love her.”

Rohan
was too surprised by Burroughs words to respond. Everything he’d done since
discovering Madeline was not a groom in the barn reminded him how caught up in
her he was. It was as if he was under a spell she never bothered to cast upon
him, but one he couldn’t ignore now. Love her? Yes, he supposed he did, if
that’s what made him consistently lose his life’s ambitions over her. What had
he not given up for her? Now he gave up his meager barony and became an outlaw
to keep her safe. Was love a strong enough word? He thought not.

Rohan
rode ahead and they soon found Madeline’s trail once more. He was relieved to
know they weren’t far behind. He left his men by a stream to water their mounts
and went ahead on foot, listening to the sounds in the woods.

He
grinned when he heard his wife muttering beyond the trees. He peeked through
some foliage and saw she was having difficulty with her mount. The horse kept
backing away when she tried to climb up. She was so distracted by the horse;
she hadn’t heard him or his men approaching.

“Come
on, you silly horse, we haven’t all day,” she fumed and pulled the animals
reins, glaring at it.

“I’m
afraid if you want to get it to move, you have to say the magic words,” Rohan
informed her, making her jump as he entered the clearing and whispered a couple
words in Gaelic that made the horse more agreeable. “Next time you steal a
man’s horse, be sure you can control the damn thing. I’m surprised you made it
this far on the animal.”

Madeline
glared at him. “You shouldn’t have come, Rohan! Turn back around and go back.
This is not your problem, but mine.”

Rohan
came forward and snatched the reins from her, his dark eyes filled with fury.
“I am your husband. It is my problem too.”

She
looked upset then, eyes filling with tears. “You have lost enough because of
me! They will arrest you too if they catch us! What of all you worked for these
many years? You would throw it away?”

“They
haven’t caught us yet.”

“You
are a fool! When the guards come for me and you’re gone; they will likely know
we fled together. Go back while there is still time. Gavin and the king will
not hold this against you if you go back,” she implored him, blue eyes filling
with tears.

“The
king’s guards have already come for you once,” Rohan replied and shrugged.
“Lord Rivenhahl is at court still and no doubt heard of all while there. The man
will plead your case, and mine, but we both know that will not appease the
church.”

“Think
of yourself, Rohan!” she snapped, angry he refused to think of his future. “You
would be hunted as well as me.”

“My
men are with me,” Rohan added with a smile. “And we’ve brought Gerwin and Lady
Blythe. It appears we are all fugitives from the king’s justice, sweet witch.”

Madeline
looked outraged to know he dragged his men into her matters and shook her head.
“Why do you do this? You will lose everything, Rohan. You could likely burn
with me if you’re caught.”

“You’re
my wife! That is why!” he barked, his dark eyes filled with anger. “I go where
you go, and my men follow. What do you expect me to do? Do you think I could
sit by and see you go to the tower? What kind of man do you think me?”

Madeline
looked away from his fierce expression, hugging herself around the middle.
Rohan saw her frail shoulders shake and knew the days of being on the run
caught up with her. He reached for her and snatched her to his chest, hearing
her sob.

“We
will make due,” he assured her and his hand tangled in her hair, feeling her
tremble under her cloak. “I know of many places we could go to hide. There are
many who would take me in for my sword arm. The men agree it is our best recourse.”

Her
head shot up and her blue eyes were angry. “Mercenaries? You are all knights!
What are you thinking, Rohan? If you walk away now, the king would forgive the
matter and you could marry another.”

Rohan
caressed her back under the cloak and shook his head. “I want no other so stop
trying to get me to leave. I’ll not leave you to run alone.”

“How
do you propose we hide in a party this large, Rohan?”

He
grinned. “We go to my keep in the north until I can find us a ship. You just
don’t worry.”

“How
can I not? I have brought this upon you all!”

“My
men didn’t like chasing Scottish outlaws anyway, Madeline. They were hardly
pleased with my consolation.”

“You
will regret this one day,” she fumed and shook her head.

He
dropped a kiss on her brow. “No, I would only regret letting you go, so stop
your complaining. We have another day’s ride until we reach the keep. I will
send Sir Kildare and Sir Markham to Edinburgh to secure a ship.”

“Where
can we go that the king cannot find us eventually?” she asked in a tormented
voice.

Rohan
grinned. “There is France to consider. I certainly don’t wish to turn traitor,
but we have to live somewhere. They will find us in Ireland.”

“You
don’t have to do this,” she said sorrowfully, eyes wide to know her husband
would be forever a traitor if he crossed the channel into France.

“I
don’t have to do anything, Madeline,” he agreed in an even tone. “You are
right. I could go back and chase Scottish rebels until I’m an old man and kiss
Rivenhahl’s boots for the rest of my life. I might even find another wife one
day. What I can’t do is the feel the way I do right now.”

Her
eyes were filled with stunned amazement. “What are you saying?”

“I
love you, my silly little witch,” Rohan replied and tilted her chin up to stare
into her eyes. “Why else would I flee home and country? You are all I would
ever want.”

“Rohan,
you could never come back here! What of your men? What of their families?”

“They
were given a choice when we last stopped to eat, Madeline,” he informed her
with a shrug. “They would rather go with us than stay here. They’re not all
English, even if they were trained as such, Madeline. Most are Scots or Irish.
They have no ties to England and either do I.”

“You
would turn traitor for me?” she asked in shocked outrage.

“Technically,
I turn only accomplice and witch’s familiar,” he argued with a grin. “It
remains to be seen the French king will even hire seventeen displaced knights
from King James court and a squire.”

“You
mean to go to France?” she asked, unable to hide her dismay. “Is there no other
way?”

“Unless
you have a spell to make this all go away so we can go home, I don’t think so,
my love,” he said sadly.

“My
grandmother might have known what to do, but I do not,” Madeline said sadly and
walked to the horse and delved within her bundle to pull out her grandmother’s
book. “Somewhere in this book is the answer. I have looked at every spell I can
think of to stop this.”

“There
is another matter,” he said with a frown. “When it is known we have fled
Rothford; de Mortaine will be sworn to hunt us down, Madeline. He and his men
will come for us. I know you think them your friends; but they will do their
duty.”

“Why
do you tell me this?” she asked and her eyes filled with sadness.

“If
it should come to a battle; I would warn you now I see no friend should they
try and take you back,” Rohan replied and his dark eyes filled with regret.
“I’ll not let them take you from me, Madeline.”

 Madeline
thought of Gavin and the five foundling knights, four since Miles went with his
father. The thought of Rohan cutting down Gaston or Jasper brought tears to her
eyes. Thoughts of Gavin and her husband coming to swords made her eyes fill
with pain.

“Perhaps
it won’t come to that?”

Rohan
made a noise of disgust. “Lord Rivenhahl will be dispatched to Rothford. When
he learns we have all left, he will know. The keep is the likely place he would
think we would flee.”

“How
much time do we have?”

Rohan
frowned as he saw her face pale. “Three days ago the king’s guard left
Rothford. I can expect when they came back to London empty handed, de Mortaine
was sent from court to collect you. He is perhaps three days behind us, maybe
four. We have hardly covered our trail.”