Onyx (23 page)

“Ye were tryin’ te steal me horse?” Aidan got up and when he offered Onyx his hand, Onyx just shook his head and stood on his own.

“Well, if ye werena hidden in those damned cloaks I woulda recognized ye two. And I must say I am glad te see ye. But what are ye doin’ here?”

“We followed ye te give ye a message,” said Aidan.

“That’s right,” agreed Ian. “We were in the Horn and Hoof when an English border lord came in askin’ if anyone kent ye.”

“Me?” asked Onyx, wiping the dust from his plaid. “Why would he be lookin’ for me?”

“His name was Earl Montclair,” said Aidan. “And he was wit’ his wife who said she had been searchin’ fer ye becooz ye are her brathair.”

“What the hell are ye talkin’ aboot?” he asked.

“His wife is yer sister named Amethyst,” said Ian. “And she looks a lot like ye.”

He knew exactly who
m they were talking about. The girl he’d met four years ago.

“Did she have dark hair and a high-spirited attitude fer a lady?” he asked.

“
Aye, thet would be her,” said Ian with a nod.

“Well,
dinna worry as I plan on findin’ me true family. Only it willna be a happy reunion.”

“What do ye mea
n?” asked Aidan, taking his pet squirrel, Reid, and placing it on his shoulder.

“What I mean is that I need te
borrow yer horse as I am headin’ to Earl Blackpool’s castle.”

“Great,” said Ian. “We’ll come wit’ ye.”

“Nay. I need ye two to go to Worcester and tell Lovelle that I didna get the plague.”

“Aye, had we kent
aboot the plague we woulda stayed in Scotland,” said Aidan. “But why dinna ye come and tell her yerself? Why are ye even apart te begin wit’?”

“It’s a long story,” he said. “But
Fenella is deid from the plague. And I plan on makin’ the earl pay fer puttin’ me in a box and tryin’ te kill me.”

“D
agger, I dinna like the sound o’ this,” said Ian. “What are ye plannin’ te do?”

“Promise ye willna tell Lovell
e and I’ll fill ye in on me plans.”

Aidan and Ian looked at each other and just shrugged.

“All right, we promise,” said Ian, “now tell us.”

“I want ye two te watch o’er Lovell
e until I return. Becooz I am on me way to Blackpool te kill the man who is me true faither.”

Chapter 19

Lovelle sat at her mother’s bedside, holding her hand, so happy to see that her illness had not been the plague after all, but rather a reaction from some of the herbal remedies she’d been making and taking herself. When the healer found out what they were, he told her to stop taking them, as they could cause one to have hallucinations as well as other reactions. So it seemed her mother was not truly losing her mind after all, but had just dabbled in things she didn’t understand and therefore paid the price. It had been three days since she’d taken the herbs and her mind seemed to almost be back to normal.

“Mother, I am sure you’d like Onyx once you got to know him,” she said.

“I’ll never accept him,” his mother answered with a shake of her head. “His mother was the one who killed your father, Loveday, and you should hate him as well.”

“You are forgetting that father was the one who killed Fenella’s husband in the first place. I would think that would make Onyx hate me, but he doesn’t. And besides, Fenella was not his real mother. He just found out recently that his real father is the Earl of Blackpool. Ironic, as that is where Charles is being fostered. I just hope my son does not get the plague.”

“Loveday, if what you’re saying is true, then that means your Scot is not Scottish at all, but one of us.”

“That’s right, mother. And while I was at the MacKeefe camp I heard that he has sisters – four of them.”

“Your father was good friends with Talbot – Earl Blackpool. You know that’s why I decided that Charles should be fostered there. He would have wanted it that way.”

“Then you already know Onyx’s family?”

“I do. And Talbot is a fair, kind, respectable man.”

“Ho
w can you say that? He put Onyx in a box and ordered him to be killed at sea.”

“
That’s not the way it happened, sweetheart. His wife died birthing a baby boy and the baby died too. His son had two different colored eyes and the earl thought it was an omen. That because of the baby, he’d lost his love.”

“But Onyx didn’t die. He’s alive. So that doesn’t make sense. Or does it?” She thought of his little dying spells and wondered if that’s what happened all those years ago. If so, the earl didn’t
try to kill him – because he thought his baby was already dead. She explained it to her mother. “Oh, mother, I can’t wait to tell Onyx when he arrives back here today. He’ll be so happy to know that his father didn’t try to kill him after all.”

There was a knock at the door and Lovell
e went to answer it. Weldon stood there.

“My lady, there are two Scots at the gate trying to get in.”

“Two?” she asked. “Is one of them Onyx?”

“Nay, my lady, but I recognize them as the ones who
were involved in your abduction. I told the guards not to let them enter.”

“Well, why are they here?” she asked.

“Something about a message from Onyx.”

“Is he all right?”

“I’m not sure, my lady.”

“Let them in at once,” she said, running down the
corridor, through the courtyard, and to the front gate. She could barely wait until they opened it, and when she saw Aidan and Ian her heart was filled with joy.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she said, thinking it was very odd they were both riding on one horse.

Aidan jumped off the back quickly, and she smiled to see his little squirrel on his shoulder. These men truly were madmen, and that’s what she liked about them as well as Onyx.

“What are you doing here?” she asked,
“and where is Onyx. Is he all right?”

“He is fine, me
lady,” said Ian, dismounting. “He said te tell ye he has no’ the plague after all.”

“I’m so glad. So will he be here soon?”

“Nay, he’s no’ comin’ until he’s done at Blackpool,” said Aidan, letting his squirrel climb from one arm to the other.

“He went to Blackpool without me? Is he going to check on Charles?”

“I dinna ken who Charles is, but he is goin’ te see his faither, the earl.”

“Aidan ye du
nderheid, ye are no’ suppose te tell her,” scolded Ian.

“Tell me what?” she asked, getting the feeling she wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

“I ne’er promised no’ te tell her,” said Aidan. “Ye did it fer both o’ us, and thet disna count.”

“Tell me before I go insane,” she said. “Why didn’t he take me with when he met his father for the first time? I don’t understand.”

“Becooz he didna want ye there,” said Aidan. “He dinna want ye te see him kill his faither.”

“Kill him? Why? What is he thinking?”

“He said his faither tried te kill him as a bairn,” said Ian. “He is lookin’ fer revenge more or less.”

“And you two just let him go?”

“We canna change Dagger’s mind once it’s made up,” said Aidan. “Ye should ken thet.”

“Besides, th
e man deserves te die fer tryin’ te kill Dagger,” added Ian.

“No
, he doesn’t,” said Lovelle. “The man thought he was already dead at the time because I believe Onyx had one of his dying spells right after he was born.”

“O
ch, thet’s no’ guid,” said Aidan.

“You need to stop him be
fore he does something he’ll regret,” said Lovelle.

They looked at each other and just shrugged. “I dinna think we’ll catch him in time,” said Ian.

“Then we’ll have to ride fast,” she told them. “Let me get my things and we’ll leave at once. It is several days ride to Blackpool, so if we don’t stop long to rest, we may be able to catch him.”

“I dinna think this is a gui
d idea,” said Ian.

“No
’ wit’ the plague o’er the land and all. Ye jest stay here and we’ll go after Dagger fer ye,” Aidan offered.

“My seven-year-
old son is at Blackpool being fostered and I’ll not stay here when his life is endangered.”

“Are ye sure ye willna change yer
mind, me lady?” asked Ian.

“I would think you boys would know by now that Onyx isn’t the only stubborn one. When I make up my mind there is no changing it, so don’t even try. Now Ian you go to the stables and get us some horses, and Aidan, come help me pack a few things and we’ll be on our way.
”

She knew she had to get there in time, because if Onyx killed his father only to realize the man didn’t try to murder him
after all, she knew he’d never forgive himself as long as he lived.

Chapter 20

Onyx made it to Blackpool very quickly, nearly a full day earlier than it should have taken him. He realized it was his determination to bring vengeance to the man who’d tried to kill him that kept him going when he should have been sleeping and resting along the way. Nighttime was closing in, and possibly he could use that to his advantage not to be seen.

That day four years earlier was vivid in his mind now. And he couldn’t forget
how angry the earl had been, and how he’d made it clear he’d dumped his baby into the sea. Onyx knew now he never should have waited four years to do something about this. But he was young at the time, and foolish, and he hadn’t believed a word of it for a second. But now that he’d heard the story from both Fenella and Clarista, he knew it was not a lie.

How could anyone hate a bab
y enough to want to kill it? He didn’t understand at all. And it made him feel so unloved and confused. And so unwanted.

He wanted this deed done
quickly, and then he wanted nothing to do with any of his real family for as long as he lived. He’d already planned to take Lovelle back to Scotland with him. That is, if she’d still have him after he hadn’t returned and helped her like he’d promised. He only hoped that Aidan and Ian were watching over her and that they hadn’t said a word about his mission to her. If she ever found out, she would hate him forever. He knew she wouldn’t understand what he was going through and how he was feeling.

He approached the castle just at dusk. A cart wheeled past him slowly, c
arrying the dead. So the plague had hit here as well. He looked over and noticed that most the dead bodies on the cart were of children. Mainly young boys.

“Ye
there,” he said to the man driving the cart. “Why are there so many deid young laddies?”

“Didn’t you hear
, you bloody Scot?” he answered, breathing through a rag tied around his face. “The young ones haven’t built up the resistance since they weren’t around the last time the plague hit. And only God knows why, but it has been killing off mostly men. Actually, young boys. They are calling this the Children’s Plague this time around.

“Is there a young laddie named Charles among the dei
d?” he asked, hoping to hell Lovelle’s son wasn’t one of the casualties.

“I don’t know, and don’t care,” said the man. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to be s
een talking to a Scot. It’s bad enough they put me on this duty of carting the dead for the crimes I’ve committed. But if I live through this, I’ll be a free man.”

The man hurried away, and Onyx knew he should have borrowed a cloak from one of his friends, as his tartan was going to stop him from getting into the castle at all.

He rode around the back, looking for a way in without being seen when he saw an old beggar woman sitting by the back wall. Her head was down.

He was going to ignore her and keep going until he hea
rd her call out.

“Are you looking for a way to
get in?” she asked.

He wasn’t sure she could be trusted. That is, until she looked up and he saw her eyes were clouded over and she was blind. This would work to his advantage. She wouldn’t run and tell the guards, nor would
she be able to give away his identity.

“Do ye ken
a way inte the castle, auld woman?”

“I do. But first you need to tell me why you are not using the front gate?”

“I am a Scot and they willna welcome me wit’ open arms.”

“Why are you here?” she asked, cocking her head.

“I’m here on behalf o’ Lady Lovelle of Worcester. I am te check on her son, Charles te see if he’s got the plague.”

He could have kicked himself for telling her that, using names. Damn, he was addled, but it just sort of slipped out. He knew he’d have to pay her now in order to keep her quiet.

He dismounted and walked over to her. He pulled a halfpenny from his pouch and handed it to her. “Here, auld woman. ’Tis a coin fer ye te haud yer wheesht.”