Strangclyf Secret (41 page)

“
Damn it, I do care,” he
said and went to her side. Kneeling down, he felt a thin thread of
life beating in her neck. He released a pent up breath and
carefully eased her over. She tensed and released a moan then her
body went limp. Bruises discolored her right cheek and the pale
flesh around her throat. The dagger protruding from her midriff
might as well pierce his gut, so badly did it wrench. Slipping an
arm behind her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, he lifted
her close to his chest and rose.

Lucretia stirred and
opened her eyes. “Balen?” she asked in a hoarse bewildered
voice.

“
Aye, Lucretia,” he said
gruffly, suppressing the urge to crush her against him. “I am
taking you to Lady Brianna. Just stay with me.”

Her eyes became frenzied
and she clutched at the front of his tunic. “Must stop them...Warn
Bernon...Please, Balen. I tried to...to get to him, but...they
caught me.”

“
Stop who?” he asked,
easing her out of the garden through the narrow opening in the
hedgerow.

“
Sidney and Gremian,” she
rasped then grimaced. “They plan to stage accident...lure Lady
Strangclyf into the bath.”

“
Are you sure?” he asked
then a searing pain tore at his gut as if her pain were becoming
his. God, help him keep a clear head. He would not lose his heart
to her again—especially when Bernon and Melita were already in the
bath.

“
Heard them making plans.
They want to get...the riches from the coffers...before Orlege
arrives.”

“
When does Orlege come?”
Balen asked, carrying her toward the front of the keep.

“
Sometime today. Not sure.”
Lucretia placed a palm against Balen’s cheek and tears slid down
her face. “Please forgive me, Balen, for...for being a greedy
fool.”

He looked into her eyes
and read her love for him. Was it only a few short weeks ago that
she betrayed him? He felt as if a lifetime had passed since he last
held her in his arms. “God, Lucretia. I’ll not let you get away
from me again.”

Her eyes clouded over and
she seemed to withdraw. “You will have no choice. King William
will...see me executed for...what I’ve done.”

“
What are you taking
about?” He halted and gazed into her dark-blue eyes as her words
sent fear clutching at his heart.

“
I sought protection...from
Orlege after my...husband’s holding was seized,” she admitted and
averted her gaze. “He sent me to...William’s court...to ferret out
information.”

“
You’ve been spying,” he
said angrily.

“
I never sent...any
information he could use.” She raised a pleading expression toward
him. “I swear. I just wanted to be safe...” She hissed in a painful
breath and dropped her eyes, “...no matter who won.”

“
So you played both sides?”
he probed.

She nodded and wouldn’t
meet his eyes again.

By God, he wasn’t giving
her up again even if he had to fight William. He set his jaw with
determination. “You are not to tell anyone else about your
connection to Orlege. I shall speak to William and handle this.” He
nudged up her chin and made her look at him. “Do you understand
me?”

“
Aye.” She lay her head
against his shoulder.

Balen tightened his hold
on her, hoping he wasn’t once again making a fool of himself for
the sake of his heart. Rounding the keep, he took his love to Lady
Brianna.

Melita stepped out of the
water, grabbed a bath sheet from the bench, and began drying. She
peeked up through her lashes at Bernon who stood by the screen with
his arms folded across his chest while his eyes blazed over her.
The man could make her feel brazen just by looking at her. She
couldn’t resist, so she winked at him.

“
I feel much better,
Bernon. I can even stand to smell myself again.”

“
I can stand to smell you
too, wench.” He gave her a salacious grin. “You’re stirring up my
appetite.”

“
Look at this, Bernon,” she
said, leaning forward and splaying her hands over her belly. “I am
pretty sure I’m bigger. What do you think?”

He chuckled and shook his
head. “I think we should keep working at putting a babe in you
until you grow as round as you are tall. Then we shall know for
sure. Now hurry and dress. We should already be meeting the others
in the great chamber.”

“
I shall have to dress when
we get to our chamber,” Melita said, wrapping the bath sheet around
herself toga-style. “I have only two kirtles left. I never went
through so many gowns in all my life until I met—”

Melita broke off, hearing
a
thud
behind
her. She spun around and saw Gremian holding a cudgel over Bernon’s
prone body. Grabbing her dagger from the bench, she threw the blade
and hit Gremian between his eyes, throwing him backward onto the
ground.

“
Bernon!” Melita cried,
running toward him. “Oh, Lord, please let him be all
right.”

Going on her knees beside
him, she placed one palm on his chest. His heart beat under her
fingers as tears gushed from her eyes. “Bernon, can you hear me?
Bernon!”

She ran her fingers over
his scalp and felt dampness in his short locks over a huge lump
forming above his left ear. She winced, imagining his pain and
pulled back her hand. Through a blur, she saw his blood on her
fingers and fear immobilized her. “Oh, Lord, please do not let him
die!”

Two beefy hands grabbed
her from her left side where she couldn’t hear, hauling her to her
feet. Her assailant twisted one of her arms behind her back and
cold sharp metal pressed against her throat.

“
You will do exactly as I
say, Barwolf,” Sidney’s sinister voice ordered, sending chills
through her bones. “Or I will finish what Gremian
started.”

Melita sucked in a gasp.
Oh, Lord, please help her keep her wits.

“
Wha...what do you want?”
she stammered as her heart slammed against her ribs.

“
The emeralds,” he
demanded.

Her eyes widened. “But
they cannot be taken from Strangclyf, or—”

Sidney jerked on her arm,
drawing a whimper from her. “You will take me to the real coffers.
Then you will show me a safe escape from the maze, or I’ll kill
your precious Bernon.” His voice took on a mocking quality. “He
turned out to be such a disappointment. He seems to think you have
value.”

“
I will take you.
Please...my arm.” She hated to beg, but she couldn’t think. Sidney
eased his grip a fraction. “May I get my slippers, please? My bare
feet will slow us with all the debris in the maze.”

“
You will go as you are.”
Sidney pricked the white flesh at her throat with the tip of his
blade. “I’ll not give you a chance to get near any daggers. Which
way?”

His voice held a crazed
quality. Melita took a deep breath, fighting the suffocating
feeling of all her life’s fears surging through her in this
instant. She had no choice but to cooperate, so he wouldn’t harm
Bernon further. “The far corner on the other side of the pool leads
to the ruins. We’ll walk through them and enter the maze on the
other side.”

Sidney jerked up on her
arm one time for good measure then shoved her toward the alcove
across the room.

~ * ~

Water splattered on
Bernon’s face, gushing up his nose. He awoke sputtering and
coughing.

“
See
there, Topaz. I told you ‘twould work,” Sapphire said, setting down
the empty urn with a resounding
clunk
.

“
Papa, go save Mama,” Topaz
ordered.

Bernon raised a hand to
the left side of his head, attempting to determine if an axe was
lodged there. Finding none, he opened his eyes and looked vacantly
at the two girls hovering over him and tried to figure out why his
skull felt like ‘twas split.

“
You need to hurry, Papa,”
Sapphire urged, her pitch rising. “He had a dagger and was twisting
her arm.”

“
She looked like she was
hurting and scared,” Topaz said and her lips quivered. “He hit her
too.”

“
Wait,” Bernon rasped out.
He raised upon one elbow and flattened a palm against the side of
his head, trying to unwhirl his senses and stop the pounding.
Swallowing hard against a wave of nausea, he closed his eyes a
moment then redirected his gaze on the girls. “Start over and tell
me what happened,” he rasped.

“
We saw the mean old lord
with Mama,” Sapphire said. Fear tugged at the corners of her eyes
as she dashed a hand at a rolling tear.

Fear for Melita twisted
his gut with a painful intensity.

“
He is making her take him
to the coffers.” Topaz grabbed his arm and tried pulling him up.
“Genius followed them to take Mama some daggers and a spear, but he
says you should come too. He is leaving the way into the maze open
for you.”

“
The mean snake told Mama
if she did not do like he says, then he will kill her,” Sapphire
added with tears streaming down her face. “You got to hurry. If
Mama gets unfortunate with her temper, then she may not do like he
says.”

Bernon heaved himself to a
standing position and held onto a pillar while the world revolved
around him. Clenching his jaw, he opened his eyes and hissed in a
breath. Gremian’s body with the pearl hilt protruding from his head
lay several feet away. Damnation, his most important duty was to
protect her, and she’d had to defend herself. Almighty God, forgive
him for failing her.

“
You two stay here. I’ll
bring her back,” he promised in a tone harsh with conviction.
Pulling the dagger from Gremian’s head, Bernon staggered across the
bath and entered the ruins.

~ * ~

“
I cannot find Genius
anywhere,” Medwyn furiously called out, entering the great chamber
where Aurick, Druce, and Balen were discussing strategies for the
upcoming encounters with the old lord and Orlege of
Strathmore.

“
Are you sure he is the
only one who can guide us into the maze, Aurick?” Balen asked,
casting a glance toward the corner where Lady Brianna tended
Lucretia. She had passed out when he removed the dagger from her
midriff, and he wasn’t about to leave her unguarded with Gremian
and Sidney roaming the holding.

“
Aye,” Aurick replied,
rubbing his stubbled chin. “The lamb has told no one else the
secret except his lordship. I know of one entrance in the shed the
children used to live in, but I do not know the way through the
maze.”

“
Have you men found Bernon
yet?” King William asked, arriving in the great chamber followed by
Geno and Manuel.

“
Nay, Sire,” Medwyn
answered. “The boy, Genius, is missing and he is the only one who
can guide us. Ravyn and Karl are with Cora. They say he went off
with the two younger girls to play on the sun, but no one can tell
me how to get there.”

Manuel gasped and tugged
on Geno’s tunic, earning an irritated frown. “Not now, Manuel. This
is important.”

“
With the time that has
passed, Sidney and Gremian may well have both our lord and lady,”
Druce said, ignoring Manuel’s disgruntled huff. “We know there is
an entrance somewhere in the lord’s chamber. Mayhap we should go
search for it.”

“’
Twould appear we have no
choice,” Aurick agreed. “Medwyn, alert the centurions to arm for
battle. We shall meet Orlege with a full legion.”

Manuel tugged on Geno’s
tunic again.
“Pssssst.
Uncle Geno, I kno—”

“
Manuel, if you do not quit
interrupting, I shall send you to clean the stables.” Geno glowered
down at the boy then returned his attention to the
conversation.

Crossing his arms over his
chest, Manuel set his stubborn chin and glared at the adults, who
continued making plans without letting him say anything. He had
even tried to get permission like a good kid with manners, hadn’t
he? Well, they could just ignore him all they wanted. He had a
mission and he had better go before it was too late to save his
Mama and Papa. He would need a good weapon though. His wooden sword
wasn’t going to work on the old snake. Glancing around the room,
his eyes grew huge and he nodded once. Aye, ‘twas the perfect
weapon.

Squaring his shoulders,
Manuel walked to the massive desk. He reached up and grabbed
Intrepid’s hilt with both hands. The tip of the heavy sword
clattered on the stones as the blade crashed against the floor.
Then Manuel headed for the door, dragging the gleaming weapon along
with him.

“
Manuel, what do you think
you are doing with that sword?” Brianna called, firm rebuke in her
tone.

“
I am going to save my Mama
and Papa,” Manuel muttered over his shoulder without
stopping.

Aurick, surprised, spun
around and peered at the boy. “You know the way?”

Manuel halted and huffed,
wiping his hand over his face as he had seen Bernon do. “’Tis what
I have been trying to say, but I couldn’t get permission to talk.”
He tossed an accusing glare at Geno. “The bath is down a little
ways from the sun, and I memorized the way there, ‘cause of I was
not supposed to.”