Sapphire - Book 2 (5 page)

“Answer me, Auley. Why won’t my father be
able to help me?”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence
before the short man answered. A silence that would stay with Roe
and haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Because, milord,” answered Auley with a
slight shake of his head, “yer father is dead.”

Chapter 3

“Lady Sapphire, wake up.”

Sapphire rolled over in the hay of the stable
and opened one sleepy eye. Dugald shook her and looked down at her,
the first rays of sun shining around his body from the opened
door.

“Dugald?” She sat up and tried to get her
bearings. Then she realized that she’d slept in the stable last
night rather than to have to go to her solar and sleep with her
wretched husband who was entertaining another woman in their bed.
After she’d changed back into the gown of a lady in the stable
where she’d hidden her clothes, she’d hurried back to her own
bedchamber. She’d stood outside the door and heard the noises from
within and decided she would not sleep with this man ever again,
even if she were married to him.

“Lady Katherine has been looking for you all
morning, and your husband is angrier than a mad hornet that you
didn’t come back to the bedchamber last night.”

“I will never sleep with that vile man again,”
she said, standing up and brushing off the hay that was used to
feed the animals, from her blue velvet gown.

“What happened last night at the pub?” asked
the boy, going over to one of the horses and brushing it
down.

“I met a man, Dugald. A knight.” She just
smiled and nodded her head, remembering the pure bliss she’d shared
with this stranger. “A wonderful knight.”

“I know how you feel,” said the boy. “I shared
a wonderful night with Erin as well. We made love. Did you make
love with the knight too? After all, I heard he took you up to one
of the rooms.”

“Dugald! That is not a proper question to ask
a lady.”

“Many pardons, m’lady. I didn’t mean to
pry.”

“Please do not say anything about this to
anyone.”

“Don’t say anything about what?” came a voice
from the door to the stable. Lady Katherine, Lord Henry’s wife,
walked in with her long russet taffeta gown trailing behind her and
making her look like a queen. The woman was tall and had dark hair
coiled around each ear with a golden caul, or hairnet that
encircled each braid. It was secured by a jeweled metal circlet
around her head with a short veil trailing down the back of her.
She was one of the most beautiful women Sapphire had ever seen. And
one of the kindest as well. She reminded Sapphire of her own mother
whom she missed dearly.

“Excuse me, m’ladies but I need to be getting
to Lord Henry’s side to tell him his horse is prepared for his
morning ride, if you don’t mind.” Dugald headed toward the door of
the stable.

“First tell me what you were talking about,”
said Lady Katherine, causing Dugald to stop and turn, shifting
nervously from one foot to the other.

“He was telling me I shouldn’t have been
sleeping in the stable,” said Sapphire, picking a stray piece of
straw from her shoulder and throwing it to the straw-covered floor
where it was used to walk on, as well as for the animals’ bedding.
“That’s all. Now go on, Dugald as you don’t want to keep Lord Henry
waiting.”

The boy bowed quickly and took off at a run,
and Sapphire knew he was only too glad to be leaving here right
now. She was glad for the boy’s departure as well, as she didn’t
want the boy spilling any secrets.

“You are a horrible liar,” said Lady
Katherine. “And I know you went to town with the stableboy last
night in disguise because I saw you leave, though you didn’t think
anyone noticed.”

Sapphire froze, not knowing what to say. She’d
been discovered and she knew this could only mean trouble for
her.

“Sit down,” said Lady Katherine, settling
herself atop a wooden bench in front of a horse’s stall, and
motioning for Sapphire to join her. “Your secret is safe with me,
dear.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” she said, settling
herself down on the bench and reaching back to pet the horse on the
nose as it tried to nibble at her since she smelled like hay. “If
my husband found out he would beat me again.”

“Again?” she asked, her brows dipping and her
mouth turning down into a frown.

“Sapphire, darling, are you telling me that
he’s raised a hand to you before?”

“On more than one occasion, my lady. And only
because I could not bear him an heir.”

“That wretched man,” she said with conviction.
“I told Lord Henry not to let him marry you, but he insisted ’twas
for the best. No wonder you sleep in the hay, my dear. I don’t
blame you for not wanting to be anywhere near him.”

“He takes many women to his bed constantly,
and beats them all when they do not conceive.”

“I will have to see about this matter.
However, my husband is fond of the man and I fear he’ll do naught
to stop it.”

“Wife!” came a bellow from the doorway.
Sapphire’s heart jumped when she realized the baron stood there
with a scowl on his face. She gripped Katherine’s hand tightly, and
the woman patted her hand with hers in a reassuring gesture, and
then got to her feet.

“Baron Lydd, what brings you to the stable
this early?” asked Lady Katherine, walking over to meet
him.

“I come looking for my wife who has not been
to my bed at all last night.” Sapphire could see the anger in his
dark eyes. Her body tensed, as she highly anticipated another
bruise or two coming her way from his iron fist. Still, she would
not crumble in his presence, instead she would be
strong.

“I found it hard to concur, my lord, when our
bed was already occupied with one of your latest follies,” she
spoke up bravely, hoping she wouldn’t regret this action
later.

“You dare to speak to me that way?” he asked.
“I will take the back of my hand to you if you say another word
about it.”

“Let her be,” said Katherine, stepping forward
to block him from Sapphire.

“Get out of my way, woman,” he snarled. When
Katherine stood her ground, Sapphire knew she was in for trouble.
The baron grabbed a hold of Lady Katherine’s arm and threw her to
the ground.

“Nay!” shouted Sapphire, meaning to rush
forward to help her, but before she could, the silhouette of a man
standing in the doorway illuminated by the sun called
out.

“Stop!” The man pulled his sword from his side
and rushed forward, holding it to the baron’s neck. “I should kill
you right now for even touching my mother.”

“Roe?” Lady Katherine pushed up from the
ground and started crying. “Roe, is it really you, son? I thought
you were dead.”

Sapphire looked to the face of the man who’d
entered the stable, and her heart stopped for a beat. There,
holding his sword against the throat of her husband was none other
than the knight she had coupled with at the Bucket of Blood last
night. And to make matters even worse, Lady Katherine had called
him Roe – her son.

Sapphire froze, unable to move, as she
realized this was the man she was supposed to marry. The man to
whom her father had betrothed her. Tears welled in her eyes, and
she turned away before he could see her face.

“What’s going on here?” Lord Henry Sexton
rushed into the stable next, followed by Dugald.

“Hello, Uncle.” Roe kept the sword steady at
the tip of the man’s neck as he greeted his uncle with nary a
glance. He was glad he’d made it to the castle just in time to save
his mother from being beaten by a cur he was ready to
kill.

“Roe?” said his uncle, sounding surprised to
see him. “What are you doing with your sword to the baron’s
throat?” Henry Sexton was a tall, gangly man, with a long nose and
a high forehead. He had dark hair, like Roe’s father, and tho he
was the younger of the brothers, the man was already graying at the
temples. He wore a dark green gypon with golden buttons down the
front as well as down the long sleeves that covered his knuckles.
And while he looked the part of a noble, Roe knew the man could
never measure up to his departed father.

“He pushed my mother, and he shall pay for
this with his life,” Roe ground out.

“Nay, lower your sword. Katherine is my wife
now, and I shall not hold the baron responsible for his
actions.”

“Your
wife?” Roe lowered his sword, not from want but
out of shock, shaking his head, not being able to believe what he
was hearing.

“Roe, your father died six months ago,” his
mother said, standing and coming toward him with outstretched arms.
“And when you didn’t return in over a year, we thought you had died
as well.”

Roe embraced his mother in one arm, his sword
still gripped in the other. His mother’s tears fell quickly, as she
buried her face against his chest.

“I am saddened by the death of father,” he
told her. “I only wish now that I had returned sooner. I’m sorry,
mother, but I was in the service of the king.”

“You should have sent word you were well and
alive,” she told him. “And then I would have known where to find
you to tell you that your father was sick and dying.”

Roe realized his mistake now, and knew he’d
regret it for the rest of his life. He should have dropped the
grudge against his father and returned sooner. Now, he’d never see
his father again, and this disturbed him deeply.

“How did he die?” he asked his mother in a low
voice.

“My brother was always sickly, you know that,
nephew,” said Henry. “His heart was weak and so was his
mind.”

“Father may have had a weak heart but there
was naught wrong with his mind,” Roe told him. Of course, mayhap he
was wrong, as his father did keep Roe’s uncle at the castle and
that was a bad decision, even if the man was his own
brother.

“He made some wrong choices,” said Henry. “But
I was sure to correct them. I have been in control of Castle Rye
since his demise.”

“I see,” said Roe. “And I also see you’ve
wasted no time in marrying my mother, hoping to gain control of his
estate.”

“I thought it best for your mother to have
someone to look after her,” said Henry, coming to his
side.

“And I see how well you are doing that, as I
return to find a man raising his hand to her and yet you stand
there and tell me not to kill the bastard!”

“This is Baron Walter Poussin from Lydd,” said
Henry. “He has been living here since he married Earl Blackpool’s
daughter.”

“Your father made the alliance with Earl
Blackpool before he died,” his mother told him. “But Lady Sapphire
was to be your betrothed, Roe. And when you didn’t return, we
thought you were dead. Henry decided ’twas best to marry her to the
baron, and keep alliances with not only Blackpool but Lydd as
well.”

“My
betrothed?” Roe asked in surprise, having had no
idea of his father’s plan. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I will choose
my own wife and make my own alliances. I am the sole heir of my
father’s estate, so you can step down now, Uncle, as I have
returned. And Baron Lydd, you will collect your wife anon and go
back to your own castle. And if you aren’t gone come morning, I
will see to it my sword pierces your neck by my own hand for having
raised a hand to my mother.”

“I’m sure the baron meant your mother no
harm.” Henry walked over and stood next to the baron. “But if you
really want him to leave, then I am sure he will abide by your
wishes instead of causing trouble.”

He gave the baron an odd look that Roe could
not decipher. Then the baron straightened his clothing and
nodded.

“Of course, I will leave come morning,” he
said. “Come wife!” he called, looking to the other side of the
stable.

Roe hadn’t even known anyone else was inside
the stable, as the woman hadn’t come forward or said a single word
the entire time. He thought it odd the baron’s wife didn’t come as
he’d ordered, but then again, if the man took to beating women, he
could see why the girl was hesitant.

“Sapphire, you need to go with the baron now
and ready yourself to leave for Lydd tomorrow,” Henry talked into
the shadows.

Slowly, she came forward, and Roe strained his
eyes to see the face of the girl who was supposed to have been his.
As she stepped into the beam of sunlight streaming into the stable,
the first thing he noticed was her bright blue velvet gown, trimmed
in gold, and her long mahogany hair that fell in gentle waves like
a cascading waterfall, down to her waist. She was petite, but had
some very alluring feminine curves.

The sunlight illuminated the top of her head,
but she kept her face turned toward the ground. Roe was curious and
needed to see whom his father had meant for him to marry. Was she
fair and comely, or did she have the face of an aged wild boar?
Either way it no longer mattered because she’d already been given
to the wretched baron. He pitied the poor girl to have to be
married to a man who obviously thought naught of raising his fist
to her whenever he pleased. He would never do that to a lady, and
felt poorly that he was sending her away with the man, but he had
no choice.