Strangclyf Secret (40 page)

Melita assumed the pose of
a little commander. “You will walk to the window five times today.
Then you will walk all the way around the room at least six times
tomorrow. Tyrel will help you and all of your friends will start
spending more time with you. Next week you will move into the
barracks with the other warriors. Betia will not be coming anymore,
because Bernon took her duties away. He wants her to
rest.”

“
Think she might come for a
visit?” Jerold asked, an anxious timbre in his tone.

“
If she wants to come she
can, but do not get attached to her. I am arranging a match for her
with Geno. And if I hear of anymore surliness from you, I am coming
back for the leg.” Melita turned and marched toward the door.
“Hugo, come with me.”

~ * ~

Bernon, suppressing his
mirth, moved down the corridor and slipped into an alcove so his
wife wouldn’t see him. Having a woman’s name gave her a new sense
of self-worth, and he liked seeing her confident and happy. Honest
to God, he wished he had seen the look on Jerold’s face when she
told him she was there to cut off his leg. And wouldn’t it be
revenge and more when Geno discovered she seriously expected him to
marry Betia?

He heard the door to
Jerold’s chamber
clack
. “Hugo, was I too mean, do you suppose?”

“
Nay, milady. You were just
perfect. Snapped Jerold right out of his melancholia.”

“
Oh good. I want to find
Cora now, so...”

Bernon lost their
conversation as they moved away. He chuckled to himself then headed
off for his meeting with William. Finding the king busy, Bernon
descended to the hall where Aurick, Balen, Medwyn, and Geno were
bound by heavy discussion.

Aurick glanced up and
called out, “A word with you, milord, in your great chamber away
from ears?”

Bernon nodded and entered
his office followed by Aurick and the others. A small smile played
about his mouth as he glanced toward a screen that partitioned off
the small area where Melita kept the Strangclyf records. She worked
at a small wood table, using a rickety stool for a seat, and had a
small box of writing supplies and an old scroll cabinet for record
storage. ‘Twas a stark contrast with the opulence of the rest of
the great chamber, which held elaborately carved furniture,
colorful tapestries depicting various periods of the holding’s
history, as well as fur-padded chairs and floor
coverings.

He guided the men to a
gathering area near the hearth on the right side of the chamber.
Facing them, he clasped his hands behind his back. “What do you
wish to discuss?”

“
Melita asked me to ride to
the abbey for a priest,” Balen said.

“
The lamb wants her mother
and me to wed, and Brianna and I want to. Problem is—” Aurick
paused and sighed.

“
Lady Brianna is still
wed,” Bernon finished for him.

“
Aye,” Aurick grimaced.
“’Tis the rub.”

The men were silent for a
moment, then Medwyn snapped his fingers. “Balen, what did you tell
our lady when she made the request?”

“
That I would speak with
Bernon first, and, with his approval, I would see the duty
done.”

“
What are you thinking,
Medwyn?” Bernon asked, observing his vassal’s calculating
expression.

The warrior casually
shrugged. “The king sails in a few hours. Why not send Balen with
him to do his scutelege?”

Balen frowned at the
notion. “I have already given the king forty days this year. ‘Tis
Bernon to whom I owe service now.”

“
True,” Aurick said,
rubbing his jaw as he contemplated the suggestion, then he grinned.
“But the lamb doesn’t know that. She wouldn’t take offense at your
not carrying out her request if you are doing the king’s
bidding.”

Geno chuckled at Balen and
flashed him a devilish grin. “You can always come to Normandy with
me, Balen. I have a feeling I shall need all the help I can get.”
Geno dramatically sighed a martyr’s wariness and placed the back of
his hand to his forehead. “King William told me that I am to keep
young Henry from mischief. Is it not ironic? A holy rogue sent to
keep a royal rogue out of mischief.”

“
I will consider the time
part of the service you owe me,” Bernon said, closing the
trap.

“’
Twould not be necessary
for me to go anywhere if we would find the dastard and kill him,”
Balen irately pointed out. “And in case none of you have learned, I
will tell you. If Melita wants a priest at Strangclyf, then she
will damn well have one—even if she has to walk to the abbey
herself. Name me another woman who would travel from here to
Londontown by herself to save her people then back to save her
lord. Besides,” his expression turned sheepish, “I do not wish to
disappoint her.”

“
Aye, Balen is right,”
Aurick agreed. “She would go herself, though ‘twould take a
disaster to disappoint her right now.” Aurick nodded once to Bernon
and favored him with a grin of approval. “Melita is a fine name for
her, milord.”

“
Aye, Bernon,” Balen said.
“I have never seen anyone as joyful as her when she told
me.”

“
Is it just me or do any of
you smell something odd?” Medwyn asked, sniffing the air with a
disgusted frown.

“
Santa
Anna!”
Geno exclaimed, covering his nose.
“’Tis not odd. ‘Tis god-awful.”

“’
Tis
called
merde
in
French,
stercus
in Latin,
faeces
in Greek,
keck
in Gaelic, and manure in English,” Melita gritted out, barely
containing her fury.

Bernon turned with the
rest of the men. His wife stood at the entrance with her breasts
heaving, nostrils flaring, and hands fisted. Her left sleeve hung
by a thread on her pale-yellow kirtle. Smudges of brown gunk
covered the gown. Grimy straw stuck to her hair and right
cheek—held in place by more of the brown gunk.

“
What in perdition happened
to you?” Bernon yelled and walked toward her.

She met him halfway, hands
on hips, and glared up at him. “I decided to roll in a pile of
horse dung, milord. ‘Twas the only way I could get away from your
destrier’s hooves after I was pushed into his stall.”

A chill settled around his
heart at the vision her words created in his mind, then his rage
surged. He placed his fists on his hips and glowered down at her.
“What in perdition were you doing in the stables and where is
Hugo?”

“
I went to see Cora and
learned she was with Leof, so we went to the stables.” Melita
snorted then favored him with an ironic smile. “Cora is tending
Hugo’s head right now, because someone tried to bash in his thick
skull. I made an interesting discovery apart from the fact that I
can fly, milord. It may intrigue you to know that we have two lords
here at Strangclyf and one of them wants me dead.” She punched his
chest. “At first I thought he just wanted me because of how he
grabbed me, but I changed my mind after he pushed me in the stall.
I am just glad Leof built me all those escapes.”

“
I will kill the snake with
my bare hands,” Aurick declared, his eyes narrowed to
slits.

“
Nay, I will,” Bernon
replied, as fury blazed through his veins.

“
Why don’t you each hold
him by opposite arms and pull him in twain, so you both can kill
him.” Melita snorted. “Medwyn, please go find my mother. I do not
want her left alone until we find the snake. Balen, you will have
to wait to go for the priest. You can switch off guarding my mother
with Medwyn. Geno, you go tell the king that he has to hurry. I do
not trust the no-good reptile not to go after him. Bernon, you have
to stay with me, so—”

“
God’s bones, quit giving
out orders. I am lord here,” Bernon said with an angry
scowl.

Melita crossed her arms
and set her jaw, indicating without words that she expected him to
get on with his job.

“
My first order is for you
to take a bath.” He glowered down at her.

She rolled her eyes. “You
need to make a plan to catch him.”

She had too much
confidence if she thought to order him. He might just have to take
her name back. “We will have one. Now go.”

“
But I already have one.”
An excited fire burned in her eyes. “I will be the bait, but you
will be there too. So when he gets me, you can get him.”

“
Do not even think about
it.” Damnation! He turned and walked toward the desk.

“
Where do you think you are
going, Bernon?” she called, following him. “I am not through
yet.”

“
I am going to free myself
of Intrepid before I use the sword on you.” He unfastened his
scabbard and placed the weapon on the massive desk then turned
around and glared at her for following him.

“
I just thought of
something else,” Melita said, nodding to herself and not looking at
him.

“
Jesu, save us.” Bernon
wiped an exasperated hand over his face.

“
Sidney must want you dead
too and was probably behind the attempts to kill you.” She raised
wrathful eyes. “I may have to be the one who kills him. And do you
know Gremian was one of Sidney’s favorite warriors the last few
months?”

“
Aye, lamb,” Aurick
concurred. “Do you also realize Gremian did not come into favor
until you cut him and escaped into the maze?”

Melita gasped and turned
to Aurick. “You think he wasn’t truly unconscious and saw me open
the wall?”

Aurick nodded. “’Tis
exactly what I think. Sidney was happy with Bernon as son-in-law
until that time. Why would he suddenly decide to tell Hadwyn that
you were heir and not him? Sidney knew how Hadwyn would react.” The
commander narrowed speculative eyes. “And how else could he still
be alive when more than one person saw him felled?”

“
But Hadwyn was one of
Orlege’s men,” Melita pointed out.

“
Aye.” Aurick slammed one
beefy fist into the other. “And I look for Orlege to arrive any
time.”

Fires of anticipation
sizzled through Bernon’s veins. Orlege better give him a good
fight. He needed a battle to keep himself from throttling his
audacious little wife. Kill the snake herself indeed! He glowered
at her. “How bad is Hugo,
ma
petite?”

“
Dazed.” She faced him and
took a nervous step back. “He should be fit in a day or
two.”

“
Where is
Druce?”

“
Watching the men train.”
She swallowed and raised a shaky hand to her gunky hair then
dropped her fist to her side. “He and Hugo are taking turns
watching all the warriors train, so they can pick my
century.”

Bernon saw her slight
trembling and sighed. “Balen, stay with her and do not let her out
of your sight.”

“
Nay!” Melita protested as
her cheeks flamed.

Bernon scowled down at
her.

She scowled right back up
at him and put her hands on her hips. “I will not bath with Balen
watching me. I am barely used to you doing that.”

Bernon closed his eyes and
counted to ten. “Geno, go alert William. Aurick, seek out Lady
Brianna and make sure she is safe. Medwyn, find Druce and alert
him. Balen, track down Gremian and find out if his guard has
noticed anything suspicious. We will meet back here in a half hour.
Come,
ma petite
.
Let’s get rid of your stench.”

Melita huffed and hurried
to keep up with Bernon’s long strides. “Welladay, I would think you
should know I have short legs since you keep calling me
petite
instead of by my
new good name.”

Bernon grinned and slowed
his pace. He would have to see about sending someone for a priest
before the day was over. Balen was right. His overconfident,
audacious wife might just set out for a cleric herself if he
didn’t.

~ * ~

Balen rounded the side of
the keep with a quick step, praying he wasn’t taking another false
direction. He had covered most of the outer bailey then he ran into
Rodor, who thought he saw Gremian head this way with Damon on his
trail. Approaching a hedgerow that ran between the great office and
the lord’s tower, Balen spied a pair of boots on the ground and
leaned over to investigate.

Tugging on the boots, he
pulled Damon’s lifeless body from the scrubs and saw a trail of
blood flow beneath the corpse. “Oh God, not you, my
friend.”

He turned the body and
found a massive knife wound in Damon’s back draining the last drops
of lifeblood. Bellowing his rage, Balen pulled his dead friend into
his arms and fought the tears blurring his vision. “Ah, Damon, the
pig could not even face you and kill you like a man.”

A moan arose from the
opposite side of the hedges. Balen wiped his eyes with his sleeve
then gently lay his friend upon the ground. “Your death will be
avenged, Damon. I swear it.”

Making his way around the
hedgerow, Balen entered the small garden. His chest constricted at
the sight of Lucretia’s body crumpled facedown near a bench. He
clenched his jaw at his heart’s response. How could he still feel
anything after the way she had betrayed him and all the despicable
things she had done to his new sister?