Lords of Retribution (Lords of Avalon series) (45 page)

Gabriel whisked his trembling and overwhelmed lady into his arms and
carried her up the stairs.

After receiving a kiss to her cheek by Trevan
at the foot of the stairs, Wenna walked alongside her Grandfather who was being carried up in his Bath chair by two servants. Arms and ammunition were passed around to all the gentlemen who remained below. A disgruntled Lanyon Penrose was ordered upstairs by Trevan to guard the women.

“Marrek, please, be careful.”

Marrek was surprised when Kitty stopped and turned toward him.

“Kitty,
we need to get you upstairs to safety.” He took her elbow and was about mount the staircase. Her hand resting upon his chest stopped him.

“I know, but Marrek, I am worried for you and I just wanted to tell you…that I – I care about you and
I ask you to promise me that you will be careful.”

Tears welled in her
moss-agate colored eyes. She looked very upset, possibly nervous. Marrek saw she trembled slightly.

“Kitty, I
promise you, I will be careful. You must get upstairs, my dear.”

“I–I could not bear to lose you, Marrek
. I could not,” a sob escaped Catherine. “I care for you, Marrek.” This wasn’t about Charlie. This was about Marrek. She cared for him, and the feeling was growing deeper by the day. She wiped a tear from her cheek, rose on her tiptoes and flung her arms around his neck. She kissed him. It was something she had wanted to do for days and hadn’t.

To say Marrek was surprised when his wife embraced him and kissed him would be an understate
ment. When he felt her tongue move along the seam of his lips he opened to her. It was their first kiss. He kissed her deeply. It lasted for less than a minute. Reluctantly, he pulled back. Warning bells were going off in his head. Marrek had to get Kitty to safety.

He smiled down at her
several times while he hurried her up the stairs. When they were almost to the door of the parlor where the ladies and elderly gentlemen congregated, he dipped his head and kissed her quickly. He whispered against her ear, “I care for you very much, Kitty. Take care of yourself and our babe, my darling, and I shall take care as well.”

Kitty smiled, but it faded as
he urged her through the door. Gabriel was on his way out. Both he and Marrek barked their orders to the men in the parlour responsible for guarding the ladies. They closed the door behind them. Gabriel bellowed for Tristan to lock it. A click followed.

A shot sounded from somewhere outside.
Both men produced their pistols from their coats. Armed and ready, Gabriel and Marrek descended the stairs in a rush. They ran as they reached the lower floor. They instructed four of their cousins to stand guard at the stairs on their way to the library.

Senny concentrated on the intruders
. She knew she shook and trembled from the intensity of the vision. In truth, it was as if she were there.

She was vaguely aware of Elowen, Morva and Wenna’s voices around her
. She even felt the sting of someone’s palm against her forehead but she refused to let go of the connection she had. She could see nothing but the vision. She could hear Tristan’s voice, though it sounded far off. She felt him near. It seemed he was shouting at her. She couldn’t leave the vision. The men downstairs, Gabriel included, were in danger. All of them were in danger.

There was something important she had missed, something they needed to know, but try as she might, she couldn’t figure out what it was
.

Until she recognized
that one of the riders held a bow. He was on Menadue’s lawn, silhouetted against the light shining from inside the library windows. Then she saw other bows raised. The riders formed a line. She saw the bright flash of a torch and watched as arrows were lit. One by one, the flames grew, illuminating the long line of riders.

It was difficult
for her to do, it took time to push the thoughts and feelings of their attackers away; but she managed to pull herself from the vision. She had to warn them. She stared into Tristan’s blue eyes as he came into focus. He was kneeling in front of her. He had been shaking her.

“They have bows
and arrows with fire. You must tell Trevan and Gabriel, Tristan. They’re outside the library. They know the scrolls are there.”

Tristan merely nodded
. He squeezed Senny’s arm and started for the door calling for Lanyon and Julyan to lock up after him. He pulled Julyan and Lanyon into the corridor with him.

“The house is stone, but the furnishings and some of the interior walls will burn. The stairs will burn. If the house
goes up in flames get the ladies downstairs and out the side door and into the chapel as quickly as you can. You will have to carry Robert in his chair.” Tristan left them.

Tristan hurried down the stairs
. He called out warnings to the watch that the intruders were armed with bows and flaming arrows as he made his way to the library. He sent men to warn those on the outside watch.

The arrows started coming in just as Tristan
stepped into the library and shouted the warning. Glass in the large windows broke. The sound of cracking glass was followed by the sprinkling of a multitude of glass falling and shattering. Glass  shards bounced upon the floor.

It was fortunate
Harry moved the scrolls and
Secretum Domini
to a safe place after Senny’s first warning. Several of the members removed their coats and began dousing the fire as the arrows landed upon the rugs and furniture. No men were hit.

A
rrows rained in upon them again. More glass shattered. The fiery arrows were quickly beat out. Tremayne left the library to make the rounds, making certain no fires started anywhere else in the house. He gathered some of his men to spread out and do the same. He even sent three men upstairs to look out for fires.

Wyldhurst, Trevan, Marrek, Lyon and Owen along with several others began firing o
ut the now broken windows. Harry was one of several reloading and passing the arms back to the shooters. More glass cracked and fell as the growing line of Avalon Society members continued to fire.

The riders with flaming arrows and torches made easy targets
. Many fell to the ground or wheeled their horses about and rode away. The sound of frightened horses screaming, men shouting and gunfire filled the air.

The outside watch began firing from their positions they
took up on the side of the library after making their way around the large house.

The leader of the attack c
alled out for the men to remain. He ordered them to set the house afire. Many men lay dead and wounded upon the grounds of Menadue. Some of the men turned their horses about and fled.

The leader was close to the windows
. In his exasperation, he didn’t even realize how precarious his situation was.

When he
turned to face the windows, he realized his predicament. His eyes widened.

Marrek leveled his rifle at him.
He fired.

The man fell from his horse and landed with a thud
upon the ground. His horse reared and bolted.

“It would
have been useful to interrogate
him
,” Trevan sighed and quirked an eyebrow at his cousin.

“He should not be dead…yet
. I aimed for his shoulder,” Marrek shrugged and arched a black brow at Trevan.

“Jock!
” Trevan called to one of his men outside on the grounds. “Get some of your men on their leader. Do not let him get away. Take him to the cellar and lock him up, do the same for any who are alive.” Trevan’s voice rang out over the lawn. “Send a party after the stragglers, we want them alive if at all possible, but we don’t want them to get away and come back and terrorize us another day.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

A few minutes later Tremayne
entered the library. “They concentrated on the library, no other windows were broken, and there are no fires anywhere. It appears they were counting on the element of surprise. We owe our thanks, once again, to Zenny for alerting us.”

“Indeed, we do.” Trevan clapped Gabriel on the back
. “You will tell her for us, I know it is uncomfortable for her to be singled out in front of everyone.”

“I will,” Gabriel nodded.
“You are correct, cousin, it does make her uncomfortable.”

Trevan nodded and turned to the men he had summoned
. He instructed them to board up the broken windows. He turned to Marrek.

“Tomorrow I’ll have the room cleaned
. We may have to meet in the drawing room until repairs are made.” Trevan sighed heavily. “We’ll have to order more glass.” He shook his head. “I know we haven’t any wounded inside, I pray we haven’t any outside.”

About that
time, the click of heels against the parquet floor was heard in the corridor along with the swish of silks and satins.

“I thought we told them to remain upstairs
until we sent for them?” Marrek muttered.

“We did,” Gabriel offered with a grin.

“They don’t seem to listen well, do they?” Trevan added with a snort of amused laughter.

“No,” Marrek gave his cousin a mischievous smile, “but I certainly will not
be the one to tell them so.”

Tr
evan shook his head, “I won’t either.”

“That makes three of us.” Gabriel nodded.

Harry approached the trio, “Trevan you should tell the ladies to stay upstairs until we are certain it is safe.”

“Why me?”

“You’re the Duke, it’s your home,” Harry posed. He watched as the ladies began filtering into the library.

“You tell them
,” Trevan looked to Harry. He raised a brow at his friend and grinned.

Harry saw the determined look
his Angel wore. It became clearer with each passing day that his wife was something of a ringleader among the Avalon Society member’s wives.

He sighed heavily.
“No, it appears to be safe enough.” Harry shrugged. He added with a whisper, “They do seem quite determined.”

“
They do indeed, especially your little pixie, Harry,” Trevan suggested with a snort of laughter.

The gentlemen laughed
.

“I know that look
all too well,” Harry confessed to them in a low tone before turning and opening his arms to accept his lovely wife’s hug.

“Oh Harry, we were so worried.
” Rowena kissed her husband’s cheek. Then she looked around the room and said, “Look at the mess in here!”

“Yes, we must get everyone into the drawing room. There is a lot of broken glass in here.” Harry led Rowena toward the door
.

Grace and Libby approached Owen
. Grace carried a somber-faced Alice in her arms.

Though Alice wanted to see her Papa, she was enjoying seeing all
of the gentlemen too. Nearly every one of them stopped to speak to her or tousled her dark brown curls as they walked by.

“Ar
e all the bad men gone, Uncle Twevan?” Alice asked.

“They are, Alice, every last one.
Alice, you are growing like a fern.” Trevan grinned and paused to kiss Alice’s head before he embraced Wenna.

“Mr. Gabe-rell!” Alice
’s face lit up when she saw Gabriel. She held out her arms to him.

Gabriel gladly took her
. He smiled broadly when the three year old wrapped her arms about his neck and gave him a hug. He kissed her little hand and smiled down at her. He listened intently to her recount everything she had heard while upstairs in the parlour with her mother. They had formed a bond the day he and Owen had rescued Alice at the docks several weeks ago. Actually, they had formed it the week before that when Gabriel was able to connect with little Alice by holding her favorite dolly.

“I don’t yike the booms,” she en
ded her tale and shook her head of dark curls woefully.

“There will not be any more booms tonight, sweeting.” Gabriel passed her to her Papa.

“Papa!” Alice hugged her father’s neck tightly then laid her head upon his shoulder. She yawned.

“Someone is ready for bed, I
think,” Owen looked lovingly upon his daughter.

“She should be. She did not w
ant to take her nap again today,” Grace said as she arched a meaningful eyebrow at Owen.

Owen grinned
lovingly at his wife. He shrugged.

“Where is Uncle Micah
?” Alice asked as she raised her head to look about.

“Reme
mber I told you, your Uncle Micah would be gone for a few days, Alice.” Libby smoothed her niece’s hair.

“Yes, Aunt Wibby.” Alice laid her head on her Papa’s shoulder
once again. She yawned loudly this time.

“Upstairs we go, Alice.
It is Papa’s little girl’s bedtime. Libby, we will escort you and Lady Tuesday to your rooms,” Owen offered.