Lords of Retribution (Lords of Avalon series) (46 page)

Libby and Tuesday followed Owen, Grace and
Alice from the room.

“Where is Zenny?” Gabriel asked Wenna.

“She insisted on returning to her room since she was not dressed. She had no shoes on. Poor Senny, I think it embarrassed her to have a vision in front of so many people,” Wenna told Gabriel in a whisper.

“I must go to her.”

Trevan nodded, “Yes you must make certain she is well.”

As Marrek
stood speaking to Wyldhurst, he felt Catherine’s slender fingers entwine with his. He looked to his wife and smiled. He lightly squeezed her fingers. The genuine, happy smile she gave him caused his heart to skip a beat.

“Marrek, will you be joining us for the interrogations?” Trevan asked.

He watched as Catherine hid a yawn behind her hand. “Yes. In ten minutes after I escort my wife to her chamber. In the cellar, cousin?”

“Yes,
” Trevan said.

“I’ll be there shortly.” Marrek gave him a nod and placed his large hand at the small of his wife’s back
. “Come Kitty, you need your rest.”

He escorted his wife upstairs and into her
chamber. Marie, her maid, excused herself and said she would return with some fresh water for her lady to wash with.

“Get some rest, Kitty. Will you be able to sleep?”

Catherine nodded. “I hope so, it was all so unnerving. You won’t be gone long, will you?”

Marrek saw the worry in her eyes. “No
. I hope to be back in about a half hour, perhaps a little longer. I will look in on you when I return.”

She smiled and nodded.

“I will see you shortly, Kitty,” Marrek turned to leave her at her bedside. Her hand upon his arm stopped him. He looked to her.

Catherine
rose up on her tiptoes and rested her hands upon his hard, muscled chest. She stretched and pressed her lips to his.

Marrek stood completely still for a moment, his first instinct was to gather her tight
ly to him and kiss her deeply.

He could not
. He instead allowed his wife to set the pace. He opened to her and kissed her tenderly. When she pulled away, he allowed it and removed his hands from her waist. As his hand brushed against her, he could feel the gentle swell of her belly. He wanted to touch her belly to feel the life inside her, the child who would become his. He didn’t do that either. He knew it was still too soon.

The beautiful smile Kitty gave him warmed him to his toes
.

“I will see you shortly?”
she asked him in a whisper.

“Yes, as soon as can be,
” he nodded.

He left her with a smile and hope in his heart that someday,
their relationship would deepen into something much more than friendship. He was suddenly very anxious to finish his business downstairs and get back to his wife.

Gabriel found Senny pacing the floor, her arms crossed over her chest. He could see she was nervous and agitated, “Zenny?”

“Gabriel!” Senny sighed in relief
.

His lady looked miserable. He opened his arms to her. “What is the matter
, Zenny?” He drew her into his arms as she came to him.

“Everyone in the parlour saw me have my vision
. I couldn’t let it go until I saw what I needed to see. When I came out of it, I felt everyone was staring at me. I felt so uncomfortable. Afterward, everyone thanked me and comforted me, though. I must get used to this, I suppose.”

Ga
briel gave her a squeeze as he smiled down at her.

“
Zenny, your visions save lives, mine included. I am proud of you. Embrace your gifts and accept that they are part of who you are. I assure you, the household is very thankful that you have saved them numerous times with your gift of sight and hearing.”

Senny looked at him skeptically
. She nodded slightly. “You are right, of course. I just wish the visions would come when I am dressed.” She shrugged.

He grinned.
“It matters not, we are most of us family here and the rest of them are good friends,” he whispered as his hand caressed her cheek and he dipped his head to kiss her.

He gave her a
slow, lingering kiss but pulled back before he slid beyond the veil and they connected. He knew the next time he connected to her he would lose every bit of self-control he possessed. He would not be able to resist making her his. He was growing weaker by the day. He already knew he would need to sit with her tonight to keep her calm after the incident of earlier. She was still healing and needed her rest. Gabriel knew he was Senny’s rock.

What Senny didn’t know, was that she was
his rock
, his calm, his peace. She was his anchor. Someday, he hoped to make her see this.

“We need to change your b
andage and you need your rest, Zenny.”

“Yes
. We must marry on Tuesday,” she gave him a small smile.

“I will
stay with you until you fall asleep, if you like,” he offered as he kissed the tip of her nose.

Senny nodded
. The power of the visions had always frightened her. Tonight, she felt stronger and more at peace about what had happened.

“
Thank you, but if you need to be downstairs, I think I am fine.” Senny looked into his crystalline blue eyes. His eyes were ice blue and glittered like diamonds. Looking into Gabriel’s eyes always calmed her. She smiled up at him.

He slid his hand behind her neck and leaned in to kiss her forehead
.

“
I’ll stay for a little while. Come sit for s spell, Zenny.” He took her hand and gently pulled her toward the chairs.

“What is your name?” Marrek asked the man tied to the chair.

“I don’t have o
ne,” the man said with a mocking grin.

“That is what he told you before, am I correct?” Marrek looked to Wyldhurst, Trevan and Tremayne.

“Yes. That’s how he came to have that black eye,” Wyldhurst slammed his large fist into his palm.

“Hmm.” Marrek paced before the man
. He pulled on his chin. Then without any warning, he whacked the man across his knees with his cane.

The mockery left the man’s face
. He winced in pain. He struggled against the strong bonds that held him to the chair.

“Broken legs or broken arms?” Marrek
asked casually as he looked to the other gentlemen present.

“Myself personally, I favor broken arms
because your opponent can’t swing back,” Wyldhurst offered with a shrug.

“I like broken legs, because the only way he can escape is by crawling
. They’re easier to catch that way,” Trevan offered.

Marrek looked to Tremayne
. Tremayne offered a smile, “I like both broken arms and legs. One at a time. By the time you get to the last limb, they usually give in, for the pain is so great.”

Wyldhurst and Trevan enthusiastically agreed.

Marrek’s gaze rested on their prisoner, the leader of the raid upon Menadue. “I’ll give you one more opportunity. What is your name?”

The man gave him a wary look at first
. After a moment, some of his cockiness returned, “John Smith.”

Marrek looked to his colleagues
. “Well, I prefer to cut his throat, for he is no use to us. He lies.” He looked back at the man.

“This is the last time I will ask you
. What is your name?”

“You won’t kill me, you need me,” the man said confidently.

Within seconds, Marrek’s cane tip was lifted from the floor. A ten-inch blade rested against the man’s neck.

“Wrong
. We do not need you. We have seven other prisoners, two of which have given us some very useful information. Three succumbed to the wounds inflicted upon them while we were trying to get information from them. If you have nothing useful to tell us, your body can be added to the trash heap with the others. It may be anyway with your shoulder bleeding as badly as it is.”

August Trevelyan slipped into the room as Marrek spoke. He added. “That would be four who succumbed to their wounds. My
brothers and cousin are working on the last one now. Either he will talk or die.”

Marrek removed his watch and opened the cover
. “You have three minutes to decide whether or not you wish to cooperate and live. If you give us the information we want, you will be sent to Australia, but will be alive. Or your body shall be tossed upon the heap in the yard with the others. What is your choice,
John Smith
? The first thing you can start with is your real name.”

“They will kill me, they are very powerful,” the man protested.

“So am I. I represent the King. If you cooperate, you will be guarded and sent upon the next available ship to Australia. There are two minutes remaining before I sever your head from your body.”

The man swallowed. His eyes widened in fear.
“I’ve two little sisters, they need me to survive. Molly is eleven and Fanny is fourteen. Our mother was a whore. My sister Rose went into the trade of my mother three years ago. She was beaten and died. She was seventeen. I’m all they’ve got. I only took this job because the gentleman offered me a great deal of money. Enough so I could maybe get my sisters out of London and into a small cottage in a village or the country somewhere.”

“Tell me your name and what I want to know, and I will send for your sisters. They will travel with you to Australia and I will make certain you have enough money to secure safe lodgings
. I know a man who will employ you. He pays a fair and honest wage.”

“Will you give me your word?”

Marrek nodded. “You have it. Give me the direction where I can find your sisters, and I will see they are cared for either way.”

The man
sighed then gave a nod of his head. He gave the direction for his sisters. “I must get word to our cousin, Felicity. Our mothers were sisters. Felicity is the natural daughter of some Lord, though she don’t know his name.”

He continued, “
But he paid for her to go to a school for young ladies, and she’s got herself a job as a governess in a fine house. She visits us on Sundays and gives m’sisters gowns tossed away by the fine ladies. She taught us to read and write. She gives us coin for I’ve never made enough to feed the girls well. What she gives us keeps them from having to work. She will be frantic if we just disappear. I was hoping to repay her for all of her kindness to us someday.”

Ma
rrek nodded.

One of his men added
her direction to the piece of foolscap along with that of his sisters.

“
You have thirty seconds. Start with your name.”

“Sam
. Samuel Potts. My mother was Mary Potts.”

Marrek kept the blade against his throat
. “What is the Leader of the Knights of the Brown Order’s name?”

“I don’t know.” His eyes grew wide with fear as he looked to Marrek
. “You got to believe me, sir. No one does. He is always robed and hooded at their meetings. Madingly told me only a handful of men know his identity and that it isn’t a good idea to know it. Some have died who do know. I’ve only been allowed to attend their meetings recently when I agreed to lead a group of men ‘ere in Cornwall.”

Samuel Potts continued, “
I was recruited by Madingly. Isaac Madingly. He said he could see my drive to better myself and he said I was far too educated to be a dockside rat, so he offered me this position. He was supposed to be here, but I haven’t ‘eard from him since I arrived. I received an order from the leader by way of a letter.”

“Do you still have the letter?” Marrek asked.

Samuel nodded. “I was supposed to burn it upon receiving it, but I kept it. It’s at the lodgings.”

“Where are your lodgings?”

“In Liskeard.”

“Wi
ll you take us to your lodgings?”

“Of course
. I would do anything to save my sisters and cousin Felicity.”

Marrek removed the blade from Samuel Pott’s throat. He asked, “Were you aware that the men you led have lousy aims?”

“Actually they have fairly good aims. I am not a murderer. Madingly wasn’t anywhere to be found. I was instructed in the letter to get into Menadue, get the scrolls and a diary or journal and do whatever was necessary to get them. I had hoped the element of surprise would be in our favor. I figured that if the arrows started fires with your ladies in the room, your first priority would be to get them out. We could have gotten in, grabbed the scrolls and I was hoping to get out without any or at least very little loss of life. I ordered that no one be killed unless it was necessary.”

He added,
“In fact, since there was no one else in Cornwall in charge save me, I told the men if they killed anyone they would answer to me. I, ah, allowed them to think the leader had ordered the same. I was hoping to get what the leader wanted, receive my pay and get my sisters out of London.” Samuel swallowed hard. “’Tis why I was so frustrated when the men retreated. I just wanted enough money to get the girls away from the horrible place we live in.”