Ria Cantrell - Celtic Storm 03 (30 page)

Rhianna leaned over and kissed the loveable flirt on the cheek. She hurried to meet Janelle and the town seamstress to be fitted in the beautiful gowns Randall and Erik had commissioned for their weddings.

~~~~~

Lenore was tired of being scolded by the mean old cook. Coin or no, she was not going to continue this. Her mother was just going to have to find out her gossip on her own. Throwing her apron off, she stalked out of the kitchens and stomped through the feast hall. She had a long walk to town and so she would have enough time to fashion a story to tell her gullible mother. She was not going to tell her that she was constantly being chastised for her laziness or that one of the guards prevented her from having a look around.  She would just say that they no longer had any need of her. Yes, that sounded plausible; only she had no coins to procure for any of the service that she had done.
Damn it.
She would have to go back or she would have to revert to her mother’s tricks and garner pay for some dirty deed with some man.

She passed the market place and looked for a willing man who would want to lie with her for a few loose coins. After all, it was easier than being a scullery maid, to be sure. A few quick minutes under a grunting man would earn her just as much as working in the hot kitchens for an entire day. Lenore saw just the perfect pigeon for her
wares
standing within one of the stalls. He was a gangly youth selling some produce. She supposed he would be whipped if he was found missing from his task but that mattered not to her. She saw how he eyed her ripe form and she fixed a fake smile on her lips. She approached his stall and picked up a bright red apple. Lenore batted her eyes to the youth and she leaned over, giving him a clear view of her ample bosom. The lad’s eyes nearly popped out of his head and Lenore saw him lick his lips like a starving child gazing upon warm muffins. She leaned closer and offered herself to him. He stammered that he could not leave the stall, but she coaxed him saying it would only be a few moments. They could slip away behind one of the outbuildings and find a private spot.

He slipped off his leather apron and followed Lenore behind a barn, like a man under a hypnotic spell. She got her coin from him first and she stripped him of his pants. She lifted her skirt and bent forward, bracing her hands on the wall of the barn. Good, she thought. She would not have to look at his insipid face as he rutted like one of the barnyard animals. She felt his hands grip her hips clumsily and she rolled her eyes at his rapid entry. As she suspected, it was over in a few grunts and thrusts. The young ones were the easiest because they came almost as soon as their pants were down. She stood back up and felt the
swoosh
of her skirts fall back around her ankles. She tossed a sly look over at the youth and flipped her ill-gotten coin into her pockets. Her mother would not care if she never made it back to the keep so long as there was coin in her purse.

~Chapter Thirty-Five~

Devina was furious at the whining little slut. She had gotten herself sacked at the keep and now there would be no news or access for Lord Jasper. Devina was not so stupid to think that if he did not get what he wanted, there would be hell to pay. And now the lazy little bitch was holding out a coin to appease her. She probably earned it in some alley, no doubt for she would not have been paid her wages if she was let go from the kitchens.

She rounded on her daughter and she said, “Do you know what you have done, you stupid little tramp? The lord of Morcar will have my head. What did you do to get sacked from the kitchens?”

“Nothing, Mama. They had many servants working and since I was the latest one, they did not need me.”

“That is a lie. Every hand is needed before a wedding feast.”

Lenore shrugged. “Well, they did not need me. They paid me for my day’s labor.”

“No doubt you were wasting time and causing trouble, I’d wager. Did you find out anything at all?”

“I tried, but I was found in the corridor. I feigned being lost and the knight escorted me back.”

Devina wanted to slap her daughter so hard, that her teeth would rattle in her head. Instead she said sharply, “And so they let you go and paid you the coin anyway?”

“Yes, for the time I worked this day.”

“Really? Is that so? Lift your skirts.”

“Mama, you have to be joking.”

“Lift your skirts, you little whore.”

Lenore laughed and backed up saying, “That is rich, coming from you. You have lifted your skirts for more men and you think to accuse me.”

Devina was in no mood for her daughter’s judgment of her. She grabbed her by her snarled hair and yanked with all her might. The pain of it sent tears to Lenore’s eyes and fairly brought her to her knees. Devina shoved a hand up her skirts and felt for the tell-tale sign of a man’s seed between her daughter’s thighs. She pulled her hand out in disgust and pushed her fingers under Lenore’s nose.

“You filthy slut. I should have known. You carry the stink of a man on you and now you think to lie to me. Do you know what you have done? The Lord of Morcar is not one to trifle with. I promised him aid. If I do not have word to give him, he could have me killed.”

Lenore cared not what would befall her mother, honestly, except that it would mean her meal ticket would be lost and she doubted she could whore herself for the rest of her life.

“You will go back and beg for a second chance. Do you hear me?”

Lenore nodded, reluctantly.

“And you will keep your ears and eyes open and your dirty mouth shut. Am I understood?”

Again, Lenore nodded.

“Now get out of my sight. Your stink offends me.”

Devina yanked the bedraggled hair of her daughter one more time to make her point. As Lenore skulked away, Devina paced with worry. Things had gone from bad to worse quickly. If Aaron Jasper got word that she had failed, no doubt he would have dubious retaliation against her. She shuddered to think what he could do to her for she had born witness to what he was capable of. She had heard the wails of those imprisoned in Morcar’s dungeons when she was there and it never really bothered her. She cared not for the fools that lined the cells. But now, as she thought about Jasper’s penchant for cruelty, Devina was worried in earnest. She had promised a service that she was not going to be able to deliver and Aaron Jasper would see her dead, but not after inflicting the most horrible pain and suffering. Devina trembled at the thought. There was a degree of pain that she found pleasurable, but she knew that the lord of Morcar was a sadistic bastard and she had turned a deaf ear to the screams of the tortured souls in the hold of the bowels of Morcar Keep. They resonated in her mind, now and she felt ill at the thought of what he could do to her.

Devina suddenly felt fear at her decision to aid the lord of Morcar. She thought to mayhap pack her things and make a run for a different town, but she knew that Aaron Jasper’s reach was far and that he would find her, no doubt. If she did not give him what she had promised, she and Lenore would be in great danger. She thought about setting a trap for Aaron at du Montefort and then she would appear to be a hero. While she thought to carry news of his interest to the lord of du Montefort, she might be able to have Aaron caught at his own game. Perhaps she could play the ally to the lord and lady and they would seek to destroy the threat that was clearly Aaron Jasper. Only now, Lenore had seen to ruining that, no doubt, with her lazy carelessness. No, she had to make good her promise and procure the information about the weak and vulnerable aspects of du Montefort. Her life depended on it.

Still she was supposed to deliver the final order of casks before the wedding feast. Mayhap there was still a way to trade one ill for an evil. She had made a pact with the devil himself, and now she regretted it, if only to save her own hide. Yes, she hated the highborn and yes she was more kindred to the likes of Aaron Jasper, but if it came down to her life or his; she would gladly pretend to be a friend to the high and mighty du Monteforts. Devina could easily gain entrance, as she was already expected to be there on the morrow. Then if she could speak to one of those protecting the keep, she would cast shadows of doubt and fear against the lord of Morcar.

~~~~~

The next morning, Devina was up before the first rays of sunlight warmed the day. She began loading the barrels needed for the wedding feast. A chill wind blew over her and she shivered. This was a morning like no other, she thought. The sooner the sun streaked the sky with pink, Devina would feel better about her task at hand, but it seemed it was late in coming. In fact, clouds brought the threat of another rain storm. She was about to mount the wooden seat fashioned into the mule cart when a hooded figure moved out of the shadows. Despite the darkness, there was no doubt who that figure was. His girth gave his identity away. Devina swallowed hard, and thought to run, but she schooled her face to hold a bland expression and she greeted the lord of Morcar coolly.

“You are off rather early today, Devina.”

“I have many deliveries to make this day. What are you doing here?”

She knew what he was doing there, but she had to appear naïve to his motives.

“I had thought that you would have been quick to gather the information I requested. I am not a patient man. The wedding approaches and I want to be certain that my gift is well received.”

“I c-can take the gift to them. I am heading there now.”

“Are you? You would not be thinking about betraying my surprise, would you? You would be well to not try to use any of your harried old tricks upon me. Remember, it was you who said we were of the same ilk.”

“I was not thinking to betray you,” Devina lied. Lies came easily to her lips, but this time, she knew her words were not convincing.

“And what about your daughter? I thought she was working inside the keep. How is it that I have no news on her findings?”

“My daughter is slow witted at times. She has not yet gathered any useful information for us. That--that is why I was trying to make an early start, so I could do the job myself.”

Aaron Morcar nodded and fingered the jagged scar on his cheek. This harlot was trying to deceive him, he was certain of it. He grabbed her by her scrawny turkey-like neck and he squeezed just enough to staunch her air flow and he said, “Do not think to thwart me, for I have eyes and ears everywhere. I already know that your daughter does not work in the keep.”

He released her, sending her to the dirt beneath the cart wheels and she gasped for breath. Purple marks stood out along her throat where his meaty fingers dug into her flesh.

He procured a vial containing a viscous looking liquid and he said, “Your early start shall have to wait. Take this and paint the inside of a cask with it. See that the contents are hidden with ale or mead and get it to the head of the guards.”

“I--I am not privy to such things.”

Her voice rasped in the aftermath of his warning.

“Ah, but you told me how you have been ingratiated to the du Monteforts. Now your story is greatly changed. No matter. You will do as I say or you will pay the consequences. Now get me your finest crafted cask. A wedding present must appear to be of the best quality.”

Aaron dragged Devina back into the cooper’s croft and noticing the sleeping figure of the girl amid her bedding, he landed a swift kick to her and growled, “Wake up, you useless chit.”

Lenore bolted awake in horror and she fairly screamed at the presence of the one-eyed man standing over her. His face was hideously deformed with a scar and an eye patch that covered an empty socket. He was gruesome, with his lank hair and pocked skin. His fat seemed to ooze below his chin so that there was no semblance of a neck below his dreadful head. As Lenore scrambled to the far wall of the croft, the repulsive man leaned down to her, showing his pointed and rotted teeth in a grimace that would scare the devil himself. His voice sounded like burnt refuse and he said, “You were to gain something I needed and your mother tells me you have failed. I do not like when people fail me. Did you not realize the import of your quest?”

Lenore shook her head in terror. She realized her lack of focus had caused this deadly visitor to seek them out. She sat frozen in fear. Suddenly, this was no longer the game she had taken it to be. With another kick to her side, Aaron Jasper turned his back to the lazy churl and pinned Devina with a look that sent her scurrying to bring him her finest honed cask. She opened the stopper and said, “Here it is…this is the best one I have.”

Aaron, looked at it with distaste and said, “It will have to do. Dip a swab into the potion I have shown you and swipe the insides of the cask. Then, when it has dried, fill the cask with mead and bring it with you as a wedding gift to the
happy
couple.”

“What--what will it do?”

Devina was now more than terrified of her decision to form a liaison with this man. It was one thing to wish ill to your betters. It was entirely another thing to be the cause of their murders. She would, no doubt, hang for her part in it.

“Never mind about that. Do as I say.”

With trembling fingers, Devina did as she was bidden while Lenore stared on like a hare caught in a snare.