Medieval Rogues (52 page)

Disquiet rippled through him, akin to the aftereffects of a stone hurled into the river. The chill in his palm spread. “You have shown me rocks and earth. We have yet to find the treasure.”

She tucked hair behind her ear. Then, holding the lamb against her chest with both hands, she whirled and strode toward the horses.

“God’s blood!” He stared at the proud line of her back. He didn’t mistake the purpose in her strides. “Faye, come back.”

Her posture stiffened, but she didn’t stop walking. A few more strides and she would reach her mount.

With an angry shove, he rose to standing. “Where are you going? We are not done.”

She abruptly halted. Spinning around, she glared at him. “Aye, knave, we are.”

“
What
?” He struggled to control his rising fury. “We had an agreement.”

“
Had
,” she agreed.

“Faye!” Brant growled.

“Keep the goblet. Take whatever riches you find. I never want to see you again. Angeline is worth more than any wretched treasure, and I will rescue her on my own.”

***

Faye sensed Brant’s outrage, heard his foul curse. She caught her mare’s reins and swung up into the saddle. After tucking the lamb against her thigh, she spurred her mount toward the road.

Her heart thumped like a wild creature against her breastbone. She half-expected to hear Brant’s running footfalls, to feel his hands grabbing for her.

With a nudge of her heels, she urged her horse to a canter. When she rode over the bridge, the mare’s mane whipping into her eyes, she dared a glance back.

Brant stood where she’d left him, watching her, his arms folded across his chest. A silent figure all in black, frightening, but also beautiful—in the same way lightning split apart the heavens, yet also illuminated them with awe-inspiring brilliance. The scar on his cheek was brutally stark in the morning light. He didn’t gesture, didn’t call to her, but his rage crackled across the yards between them.

Tearing her attention away, she stared ahead down the road. “Ha!” she cried, urging her horse to a gallop. Bending closer to the animal’s warm neck, inhaling the comforting scents of leather and horse, she rode from the river.

From
him
.

She surrendered to her mare’s rhythmic gait, grateful for the strength beneath her when her body shook with emotional exhaustion. She struggled to subdue a wave of guilt. How rash of her—and foolish—to have given the knave the goblet. She prayed Elayne would forgive her. However, from the moment Angeline had unearthed the gold cup, it had become a tremendous responsibility, a burden that had fallen upon Faye when Elayne died.

Faye trembled. No longer was she responsible for keeping the vessel, and the location of the find, a secret. Yet, she also didn’t have it to barter for Angeline’s freedom. Celtic gold would be far more tempting to the abductors than aught else she could offer them.

Steeling herself against rising worry, she reminded herself the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of silver, not gold. While she didn’t know for certain, she suspected Brant hadn’t told them of the cup; he likely aimed to keep it and any more riches he discovered for himself.

Greed had vanquished Brant’s loyalties to his fellow criminals. If he
had
informed them of such a treasure, ’twould not still be in his possession. The abductors would have seized it—or killed him to possess it.

Unless he’d told them of the goblet, as well as more gold to be found, and they were in on his scheme to find it. Through his arrangement with her, Brant might be working on behalf of them all to locate the riches.

Which meant his only motive for his bold, passionate, magical kisses was to seduce his way into her confidence, to make her trust him with the secrets of the gold. That way, she’d willingly lead him to the treasure.

Would he . . .
could
he . . . be so ruthless?

’Twas entirely possible. The man was a rogue.

Why, of all idiocy, did the notion of him manipulating her hurt so much?

Tamping down her resentment, Faye struggled to refocus her thoughts. The plot she imagined could well be true, but she had no evidence Brant was a fortune seeker for anyone but himself.

Moreover, she didn’t know his exact relationship to the kidnappers. He’d seemed shocked to learn Angeline was a child. Such a vital misunderstanding implied that he wasn’t involved in organizing the kidnapping—as he’d told her—and that he hadn’t seen the little girl with her abductors. Would he not have done, if he were part of the scheme? At the very least, he would have known Angeline was a child.

Also, his efforts to convince her that Angeline was well, and unharmed, showed concern for the little girl’s welfare.

Only the most foolish, smitten fool would be swayed by a knave’s compassion
, a voice inside her cautioned.
His attentiveness could be merely a ploy to furrow his way deeper into your trust, because he sensed your reluctance to share what you knew about the gold
.

True. Still, his reactions at the lake had seemed spontaneous, rather than rehearsed. In those moments, he’d seemed . . . genuine.

Shifting in the saddle, she glanced over her shoulder. Far behind her glimmered the river. There was no dark figure, his cloak whipping about him, thundering down the road behind her.

Facing forward again, she sighed. Brant must have accepted that their arrangement had ended. Realizing she wouldn’t be swayed, he’d thus chosen not to pursue her.

With a gentle tug on the reins, she slowed her horse to a canter. On the faint breeze, she caught the acrid smell of wood smoke. Not far ahead, smoke-encircled cottages lined the roadside. She approached the outer fringes of the village.

Whether her suspicions about Brant were right or wrong didn’t matter. She’d told him where the goblet was found, and given him the gold. She never had to see him again.

Even if he returned uninvited to her chamber.

Even if he threatened to say he was her lover.

If he were so bold as to visit Caldstowe Keep again and confront her, she would make good her threat to scream, and he would face the consequences.

As Faye headed toward the village, she fought the unwelcome heaviness stealing through her, the weight of new responsibility. Her quest to rescue Angeline might be more difficult working alone. Yet, she wasn’t without wits or resources.

Especially if she went to Torr.

A dangerous notion, especially when the kidnappers had told her not to tell anyone. However, if she explained the situation to Torr, and told him how important it was to keep it secret, the abductors would never know.

Being Angeline’s father, did he not deserve to be aware of the kidnappers’ demands? Was she wise to keep what she knew from him, when he must be gravely concerned?

Looking up from her mare’s neck, she recognized the familiar part of the road. Instinct had brought her to the place where she always felt welcome. Wispy smoke rose from the wattle-and-daub cottage enclosed by an uneven wooden fence. The stoked fire told her Greya was home, as did the painted sign depicting a bunch of rosemary that hung from the lowest branch of the hazelnut tree.

Grasping the little lamb, Faye drew her horse to a halt and dismounted. Patting her mare’s neck, she led her through the gate made from wooden sticks bound together, then closed it behind them, taking care to secure the latch.

She headed to the thatch-roofed shelter, where chickens nested in wooden boxes stuffed with straw and a sway-backed cow chewed cud. After tethering the mare to one of the posts, Faye crossed to the wooden door and knocked.

The panel creaked open. From the muted shadows inside, Greya smiled.

“Lady Rivellaux.” She drew the door open wider. “I knew ’twas you.”

A smile tugged at Faye’s lips. “Somehow, you always know.”

“I do, for you—” Greya’s motherly smile faltered. “What happened to your cheek? Let me have a look.” Stepping back, the old woman motioned Faye in. Today, Greya wore her silver gray hair, the hue of winter sunshine grazing a cold lake, braided and pinned around her head. Her tresses glimmered in the light of candles clustered on a nearby wall shelf.

For a moment, Faye hesitated. In all the morning’s commotion, she’d forgotten about her injury. While she was glad of Greya’s willingness to inspect the wound, she didn’t wish to explain how she got it.

“Come,” Greya insisted. “Please. Before all the fire’s warmth leaves the cottage.”

Faye nodded. She couldn’t very well leave now, could she? The bruised part of her soul reminded her she was exactly where she wanted to be. She stepped over the threshold.

Greya closed the door. The breeze rustled bunches of lavender, rosemary, dill, and other herbs hanging upside down from the ceiling. The drying herbs gave the cottage’s interior a comforting fragrance, a scent Faye always associated with Greya. Faye breathed in deep, and felt some of the morning’s strain slip out of her.

An oak table stretched across half of the room. By the fire in the center of the dirt floor, an ancient, orange tabby raised his head from where he lay curled up in a blanket tucked into a woven basket. Blinking his golden eyes, he stared at Faye—a very direct look, akin to a greeting.

“Hello, Merlin,” Faye murmured.

Her strides smooth and elegant despite her many years, Greya came to her. “Now, milady, what did you do to your cheek?”

“I . . . fell from my mare.”

The old woman tsked. “It looks painful.” Guiding Faye toward the table, Greya said, “Sit, milady. I will fetch you an herbal infusion, then find my best ointment.”

“Thank you.”

Greya raised a slender, protesting hand. “I am glad to be of help. You do not look well. I hope you do not mind me saying so, milady, but you look quite wretched.”

Faye laughed, despite the weariness pressing upon her. “Oh, nay.”

Gliding over to the fire and carrying a small iron pot, Greya chuckled, a sound like dried leaves scraping over frosty ground. “Tell me what happened.”

Faye rubbed her chapped lips together. How she longed to confide in Greya all that had transpired over the last few difficult days. But she couldn’t. If she told, the kind-hearted woman would feel compelled to help. A word or two to the wrong person could put her in grave danger, as well as Angeline. A risk Faye wouldn’t take.

With stiff fingers, she unfastened her mantle, keeping her gaze on her hands rather than Greya. “I was thrown from my horse the day of the storm. I hoped to come visit you, but the tempest overtook me. The thunder frightened my mare and she galloped off.” Faye dropped onto the bench at the table, fighting the compulsion to look up and meet the healer’s gaze. “I spent the night in the storm’s wrath, waiting till the weather cleared. Torr’s men found me the next morn and escorted me back to Caldstowe.”

“You spent the whole night alone in the storm?” Greya sounded aghast.

In truth, I lay in a tavern room, in the care of a handsome, arrogant knave.

Somehow, Faye managed a soft “Mmm.”

Shaking her head, Greya hung the cauldron over the flame. Reaching up, she snapped dried leaves from the herbs hanging overhead, muttering to herself as she went along. “—a little of this. Aye, a bit of that.” She dropped the handful into the pot, then stirred. A piquant scent wafted from the fire.

Faye leaned her cheek on her hand. “’Tis a lovely smell.”

“’Twill be ready in a moment.” After one more stir, Greya set her wooden spoon aside. She crossed to a small cupboard, withdrew a glazed, earthenware pot, and came to Faye’s side. As the old woman removed the wooden lid, the soothing scents of lavender and comfrey enveloped Faye.

“Is aught else bothering you?” Greya asked, her voice gentled by worry.

Faye bit her lip. The little lamb, clasped between her palms, scratched her skin. If only she could share her turmoil with the old woman, her closest friend. Without Greya’s comfort, Faye didn’t know how she would have survived the despair of losing her babe. What a blessed relief ’twould be to release her pent-up emotions.

She could not.

Must
not.

Faye forced a lie, hating each false word. “I am . . . weary after my ordeal in the storm.”

“Of course.” Greya tilted Faye’s face with tender, skilled hands. With light touches, she massaged the ointment into Faye’s cheek. Then, with a satisfied nod, she set the lid back on the pot. “Take the rest with you, if you like. ’Tis good for curing all manner of injuries”—her voice dropped to murmur—“except, I fear, a wounded heart.”

Tears burned Faye’s eyes. Raising her head, she looked at Greya. The old woman’s mouth formed a compassionate line. She squeezed Faye’s clasped hands.

Tears spilled down Faye’s cheeks. “Oh, Greya.”

“I know how much you miss your babe.” The healer settled on the bench beside Faye. “She will always be with you, though, milady. As close as your own whisper.” She tapped wrinkled fingers to her chest. “Here.”

Faye managed a jerky nod.

“There, now.” Greya patted Faye’s hands. So smooth, her palms. Like the softest linen. “’Tis no wonder you are upset, with Lady Lorvais dying not long ago. I know what close friends you were. And little Angeline, without a mother now.” Greya paused before exhaling a troubled sigh. “No doubt what has happened to that sweet child is worrying you as well.”