The Dragon Lord's Daughters (33 page)
Read The Dragon Lord's Daughters Online
Authors: Bertrice Small
“Aye,” Junia said. “He will come, and woe to Hugo de Bohun when he does.”
Elga returned accompanied by two men carrying a fine loom, and a basket of multicolored wools. The loom was set up by the chamber's single window, and with it a lovely padded bench.
“This is what my mistress sat upon when she was at her loom,” Elga explained.
“Is the master gone hunting yet?” Cadi asked innocently as the two serving men departed the chamber.
“Aye, he's just off else I should never have gotten this loom from the corner of the hall he consigned it to when Lady Anne died,” Elga explained.
“The young mistress has got to see her brother,” Cadi began, “and I got a plan.”
“If he finds out you've taken her into the dungeons,” Elga said, “he'll beat you senseless, girl. What if you're seen?”
“They'll all be below in the kitchens, Elga. You know how he is when he gets back from hunting. No one will see us so no one can tell,” Cadi reasoned.
Elga thought for a long moment. “I'll go down to the hall and keep watch,” she said. “Will your friend cooperate with you again? He'll want more than you offered last time, girl. Are you prepared to give it?”
“I knows just what I'll give him,” Cadi said with a grin, “and he'll be a very happy man, Elga, I promise you. First, however, I need a water skin for the young mistress to take to her brother.”
“There's one here,” Elga said. “When I ask for another later I'll say someone must have taken it to fill it and forgot to return it.” She took down the water skin from a peg on the far wall and shook it. “It's full.”
Junia took the water skin from the old woman. She removed her gown and put the water skin about her neck, then replaced the gown. The skin was well hidden, and only someone looking closely at Junia would have wondered what the long lump beneath her clothing was.
The three women left the bedchamber, and slipped quietly down the stairs. As Cadi had predicted there was no one about, and the castle was extremely quiet. They left Elga to keep watch, and descended the staircase into the dungeons where the single guard remained on duty.
“Stay here a moment,” Cadi instructed Junia, and then she called out to the guard, “I've come back to see you, handsome laddie.”
The guard turned. “You want to see the boy again?” he asked, grinning.
“It ain't me who wants to see him, but his sister. Let her, and I promise to make it worth your while,” Cadi tempted.
“The master would kill me if he found out,” the guard said nervously.
“The master is out hunting with all his men,” Cadi murmured, and she moved closer to the guard. “Don't you want to know what I'll give you, handsome?” she purred.
“Tell me, and I tell you if it's worth the chance,” the guard said, pulling her close.
Cadi leaned into the man, and whispered softly in his ear. Then she licked the ear.
The guard's eyes widened. “You swear you'll do that?” he asked her. One hand plunged into her chemise top, and squeezed a breast. “What about the boy's sister?”
“She'll be locked in the cell with her brother having a nice little visit, while I give you the pleasuring that you deserve for being so kind to a girl like me,” Cadi said, giving him a wink and a smile.
“All right,” the guard said, his voice filled with his excited anticipation. He took his keys up and opened the cell in which Brynn was imprisoned. “Come on, lady,” he called to Junia, and when she had slipped quickly by him into the cell he locked the door behind her, turning to Cadi with a grin. “Now, my girl, you must keep your promise to me. And do it slowly, lass. No kiss me quick, for as soon as you are done the girl must leave the cell. So if you wants her to have a good visit, you'll take your time.”
“I'll give you the best time you have ever had, my handsome laddie,” Cadi said, slipping to her knees and reaching beneath his garment for his manhood. Finding it she looked up at him coyly, and licked her lips slowly. “You're going to like this,” she said, and took the flaccid manhood into her hand, and began to lick on it with leisurely strokes of her tongue. The guard moaned softly almost at once. Damn, she thought, he would not be able to hold himself back once she got him in her mouth. She'd really have to take her time if Junia was to have time with her brother.
Within the cell the brother and sister hugged each other silently. Finally Junia put Brynn back from her, and looked at him. “Your face? What happened to your face?” she asked him.
“It was when Hugo de Bohun hit me,” Brynn said. “It hurts like the devil. I suppose it looks bad.”
“Aye,” Junia told him, and then pulling her gown over her head she lifted the water skin from around her neck, and handed it to him. “Don't drink too much,” she cautioned him. “Lord Hugo means to starve you, and give you no water. Hide the skin beneath the straw. Only drink it when you must. I don't know if I can get another to you. He's out hunting, or I couldn't have snuck down from my chamber. I am confined there.” She drew her gown back on as she spoke.
“What of Simon?”
“Filled with remorse. He does love me, Brynn, but alas, he is helpless before his father for he has naught but what Lord Hugo will give him.”
“Da will kill the de Bohuns, father and son, when he gets here,” Brynn said.
“Let him kill the father,” Junia said. “I still want the son for my husband.”
“The castle is well fortified,” Brynn noted. “You'd be surprised what you can see hanging upside down on a horse.” He gave her a small grin.
“Oh, Brynn, this is all my fault! I am so sorry!” Junia cried.
“Shut up,” he muttered. “You couldn't help falling in love, and you didn't know he was the wrong man. Da will come for us, you may be certain, sister. And then Hugo de Bohun will regret his perfidy.”
“Simon and I have in our ignorance but escalated the feud,” Junia said sadly.
“There will be no more feud after Da comes,” Brynn replied grimly. “He will wipe the de Bohuns out root and branch, and I will help him.”
“Brynn!” Junia was shocked by the venom in his voice.
“I'll never forget what was done to you, sister,” he told her grimly. “Never!”
“It wasn't Simon's fault, Brynn. By doing what he did he saved me from his father and his rough soldiers,” Junia tried to explain.
“He should have fought his father to preserve your honor before he allowed himself to be put to you like a stallion to a mare,” Brynn replied. “Do you not understand, Juni? You have been cruelly dishonored. No man will have you now.”
“Simonâ” she began, but he cut her short with a wave of his hand.
“Our da will kill Simon, sister. Pray God his foul seed did not take root in your womb,” Brynn responded angrily.
Junia pressed her lips together to keep from screaming. Her brother was right. Their father would take his revenge on all the de Bohuns for what they had done. She put her hand into the pocket of her gown, and pulled out a chunk of bread. “Here,” she said, handing it to her brother. “I don't know when or even if I can get any more food to you. Don't let the rats get it, Brynn.”
He took it from her, and began cramming the bread into his mouth. He was hungry, and he was a growing boy. He had had no food since the previous morning, and his sister was correct when she said he was unlikely to see food again soon. Outside the wooden cell door they heard the guard begin to moan and sob. Brynn looked to his sister questioningly. “What the hell is she doing to him?” he asked.
“Look if you will,” Junia said. “I don't want to know.”
Brynn walked over to the door and looked through the grate. The serving wench was on her knees before the guard, and she was sucking on his cock for all she was worth. The look on the guard's face was one of pure bliss. Brynn grinned. He had been recently entertained in such a manner by one of his father's serving girls. It was a most pleasurable experience. He would remember to see the girl was spared when his father brought fire and sword to lay waste to Agramant. “Give the wench my thanks for what she has done,” he told Junia, carefully blocking her view of the grate. “Tell her she need have no fear of the Pendragons even when they bring war to this castle.”
Junia nodded. “Take a sip of your water, and then hide the skin well,” she advised him. “ 'Tis all I'm likely to be able to get you.”
Outside of the cell they heard the guard give a muffled shout, and after a moment or two Cadi's voice said, “Now wasn't that worth the risk, handsome?”, and the guard's assent. Another moment passed, and they heard the key in the lock of the cell door. Brother and sister embraced quickly.
“You must go now, lady,” the guard said.
“Take care of yourself, Brother,” Junia told him.
“And you also,” he replied as she left him. The door was firmly closed and locked. Brynn Pendragon found himself alone again. He listened as his sister's footsteps faded away.
The two young women hurried up the winding stone steps and back into the hall again where Elga was awaiting them. Without a word the trio quickly made their way upstairs to the chamber where Junia was supposed to be imprisoned. Once there they heaved a collective sigh of relief.
“I don't know what you did to that guard, Cadi, but thank you!” Junia said. “He certainly seemed happy enough when we departed the dungeons, and you gave me time for a good visit with Brynn.”
Elga raised an eyebrow, while giving Cadi a swift look. Then she said to Junia, “How is the laddie?”
“His face is bruised terribly from where your master hit him yesterday,” Junia said, “but he will live, and his spirit is not broken.” She did not mention that Brynn spoke of nothing but revenge upon the de Bohuns. Elga and Cadi had been kind to her, but they still belonged to the de Bohuns and would have a certain loyalty to them.
“The loom is set up for you, child,” Elga said.
“Then I shall sit down and weave,” Junia replied. “It is as good a way to pass the day as any.”
“Will you be all right if we leave you for a short while?” Elga asked. “We do have other duties about the household, for there are few women to serve. We shall replace the water skin when we return.”
“I will be fine,” Junia assured the two women, and bowing, they left her, but Junia heard the key in the door's lock turn with a click. She was truly imprisoned now.
Chapter
16
16
M
erin Pendragon looked about the hall. “Where are Junia and Brynn?” he asked of no one in particular.
erin Pendragon looked about the hall. “Where are Junia and Brynn?” he asked of no one in particular.
Ysbail shrugged. “I never know where my daughter goes these days,” she said, and looked to Argel and Gorawen.
“I have not seen either of them today,” Gorawen said, and that knowledge gave her a sudden uneasy feeling. She turned to Argel questioningly.
“Brynn came to give me a morning greeting, but I have not seen him since,” Argel answered.
“This is most strange,” Gorawen replied slowly, looking past them to the windows in the hall where the sun could now be seen setting.
“I have never known my son to miss a meal,” Argel noted. “Where could they be, if indeed they are together?”
“Search the castle!” the Dragon Lord said.
“Nay, they are not here,” Gorawen replied. “I am certain of it! They are past games, and if they were here would now be in the hall for the meal.” She looked to the Dragon Lord. “My lord, you must go to the men at the keep's entrance and ask if they have seen Brynn and Junia.”
He nodded, and swiftly departed the hall. At his gate Merin Pendragon questioned the men now on guard duty. “Were you here this morning?” he asked them.
“Aye, my lord, both of us were. We will be off duty shortly,” one of the men-at-arms responded.
“Did you see my daughter or my son leave the keep today?”
“Aye, my lord,” the man answered. “The lady left first, and the young lord went perhaps fifteen minutes afterwards. Both traveled in the same direction.”
“And they have not returned?” the Dragon Lord questioned.
“Nay, my lord, they have not returned,” came the reply.
“And you did not think it odd that my son and my daughter departed here this morning and have not yet come home? Nor have you thought to inform me of this fact. You have already locked the gate!” He was shouting now.
“But the young lord and his sister always ride out,” the guard protested.
“And they also ride back,” Merin Pendragon said angrily. “When have you ever known my children to remain outside the gates after sunset, you witless boob!” He shouted for the captain of his guard, and when the man had come running he told him what had happened. Then the Dragon Lord said, “Send these two witless dullards back to the fields where they obviously belong, and gather together a troop of men with torches. I think I know where my children have gone. But whether they are still there is another matter entirely.” Then turning, he hurried back into his hall where his women awaited him anxiously.
“They both rode out this morning, Brynn a short while after his sister. I suspect he was following her, and I suspect she was going to Mryddin Water to meet with that cursed de Bohun boy,” the Dragon Lord told the trio.
“Aii! She will ruin herself, the foolish slut!” Ysbail cried.
Gorawen sent the woman an angry look, then said to her lord, “They would have come back by now. I think Junia may have just been going to tell this boy good-bye. She has always been obedient. But of course, she is in love, and young girls in love are apt to behave foolishly.”
“Brynn must have either known of her plan to go, or seen her go, and followed her,” Argel reasoned.
“Then why is he not back?” Ysbail wanted to know.
“Because he tried to protect his sister,” Gorawen responded.
“From what?” Ysbail said.
“From whatever threatened her, and it must have been a terrible threat else he would have come home and told us,” Gorawen said softly.
“The de Bohuns?” Argel paled. “Oh, God! Have they killed my son?” She began to weep wildly and tear at her hair.
“Nay, nay!” Gorawen quickly answered her. “Brynn is far more valuable as a hostage. The de Bohuns have always preferred money to anything else, Argel. Brynn will be safe. I am certain of it. It is Junia for whom we must fear. If this boy pursued his relationship with her in order to entrap her she is in far greater danger than Brynn.”
“Aii!” Ysbail wailed again. “Now who will have the bitch to wife? She has ruined herself in spite of all our warnings!”
“Be silent!” Argel snapped, recovering herself. “Do you think our revenge on the de Bohuns will be any less because Junia is a girl?”
“But if she has been despoiled, what bounty will restore her honor?” Ysbail cried. “No man of good lineage and property will have such a wife.”
“Let us not get ahead of ourselves,” Gorawen spoke up again. Her palm was itching to slap Ysbail whose care was more for herself than for her daughter. “The de Bohuns may not have them at all. They may have escaped any trap and are just hiding, waiting for our good lord to come to their rescue.” But in her heart Gorawen was far more concerned than she showed.
“My lord, the men are ready,” the captain said as he entered the hall.
“Where are you going?” Argel asked her husband.
“To Mryddin Water,” he replied. “If there was an ambush and attempted kidnapping of our children, and they did escape, they will surely be glad we have come to bring them home.” He did not address the possibility that his only son and his youngest daughter had actually been kidnapped and might at this very minute be in de Bohun hands. Turning, he followed his captain from the hall.
Ysbail sat down and began to cry.
“Do you weep for your daughter or for yourself, Ysbail?” Argel said cruelly.
“You are a wife. You hold a position of esteem,” Ysbail said bleakly. “A good match for my daughter was the one chance I had of living a comfortable old age.”
“Our lord Merin will take care of you. He loves us all,” Gorawen said softly.
“He loves you,” Ysbail said. “He respects Argel as his wife. He took me to get a son upon, and I failed him, birthing another daughter instead. He has no use for me, nor would he be sorry to see me go.”
“You do our lord a disservice,” Argel replied. “Your daughter is his daughter. Junia shares blood with both you and her father, with my children and Gorawen's daughter. For that he will always regard you with kindness. You have never suffered in this house, or been in any sort of disfavor, Ysbail. Each of us, you, Gorawen, and I have our place in Merin Pendragon's heart. If Gorawen holds a larger portion of our lord's heart, I am not dissatisfied, for Merin has been a good husband to me, and a good lord to you and Gorawen. Why should you carp and cry? For now, our main concern is the safety of our children. My son, and your daughter. Their return home is all I pray for, Ysbail. So should you instead of feeling sorry for yourself.”
“But what if my daughter has been debauched?” Ysbail said unhappily.
“Then we shall see her wed to the de Bohun boy before we kill him,” Gorawen answered her. “We cannot allow such an insult to go unavenged. The marriage restores Junia's honor. His death restores ours. As a widow Junia would be eminently marriageable, Ysbail. And she will have her full dower as well.”
“I had not thought of that,” Ysbail said. “It is not as bad as I thought.”
“It seldom is,” Argel murmured. “Let us to table, ladies. The supper grows cold as we stand here gossiping.”
The three women sat themselves at the high board, and ate the pottage of rabbit with onions and carrots, along with the rest of the day's bread with butter and cheese. Afterwards Ysbail excused herself, and hurried off to her own chamber. Argel and Gorawen were relieved. It was not easy being with Ysbail.
“Do you think the children will be found safe?” Argel wondered aloud.
“Nay,” Gorawen said frankly. “They departed this morning long before the noon hour. If they escaped a de Bohun ambush they would have been home long since. They have been taken, I fear, and we must prepare to expect the worst for poor Junia. Unharmed, Brynn will bring a goodly ransom, and the de Bohun lord knows it. He is unlikely to harm the boy, but to dishonor Junia gives de Bohun an excellent opportunity for retribution against the Pendragons. This feud should have been settled long ago. Now it must be ended, for as long as the de Bohuns go on believing that they were somehow insulted those hundred some odd years ago, neither our children nor theirs can be safe.”
“The feud had been quiet until Junia met the de Bohun boy,” Argel said. “What an unfortunate happenstance.”
“She says she is certain he did not know as she did not know, but I cannot believe it. I think he met her, told his father, and together they planned this mischief,” Gorawen answered. “Poor Junia! He is her first love. Would that he might have been her last.”
“But what if he is innocent of duplicity?” Argel asked. “If we wed them then we might end this foolishness for good and all. I say slay his father but leave the boy alive. It is only simple justice that a Pendragon daughter wed a de Bohun after all these years, and then live happily ever after.”
Gorawen smiled. “It is possible, I suppose. That decision must be up to our good lord. He will know what the right thing is to do.”
“He will know if we tell him,” Argel said with a wicked smile, and Gorawen laughed. “We could both tell him,” Argel considered, and Gorawen smiled at her friend.
“I know that Merin needed to go out tonight, and find out what he could, but I wonder what he can learn on a moonless night, even with torches lighting his way,” Gorawen responded thoughtfully. “It is not an easy ride to Mryddin Water.”
The object of her conversation was discovering that a hard trail to follow in the daylight was near impossible to find at night. Merin Pendragon and his men moved carefully, and far too slowly to suit the Dragon Lord, but there was no other choice. The trail they followed was winding and steep. In many places it was so narrow that it was hard to traverse it, but they moved onward toward Mryddin Water. Finally, after almost two hours riding they saw the clearing ahead of them.
Merin Pendragon silently signaled his men to stop. “I would go in on foot as to not disturb any evidence of what has happened here this day. Come with me to the edge of the wood, and then let me go forth with my torch.”
“I would go with you, my lord,” his captain said.
“Very well, but follow in my footsteps, Ivor,” the Dragon Lord said.
The two men moved into the sandy clearing, one directly behind the other. The evidence of a large party of men and horses was obvious. Torches held high, they saw the smaller footprints of a boy, and recognized Brynn's shoe, for the heel of his left boot was always worn down more on the right side. And then they saw it. A deep imprint in the sand of a girl's body, arms and legs spread, the knee-prints of her captors on either side. The knee-prints of her violator between her legs.
“Jesu!” Merin Pendragon swore. “Here? Before all?” And just how many, he wondered silently, had raped his innocent daughter? Lord de Bohun would pay dearly for this brutality. And Brynn had undoubtedly seen it all.
“My lord!” His captain's voice was shaking as he spoke the two words.
“We will return to Dragon's Lair now,” the Dragon Lord said. “There is nothing further we can do tonight, Ivor. But tomorrow is another thing. Do not tell the others of what we have seen. I just mean to say that my children were taken by de Bohun and his ilk. I will destroy him and his son. I will burn Agramant to ashes for what has happened to my daughter. A hundred-year-old falling-out between our families is no excuse for what obviously took place here this day.” Then Merin Pendragon turned and walked back to the woods with Ivor behind him. Mounting his horse, he signaled their return home.
After several hours more, with their torches flickering low, they reached the keep of the Pendragons. The lord of the castle dismounted, and going inside first sought out Ysbail, telling her that both children had obviously been taken hostage, and that on the morrow negotiations for their return would begin. Ysbail nodded, but she was no fool, and knew he was leaving out much. Still, she did not press him, for he was obviously both tired and angry.
The Dragon Lord found his wife and favored concubine seated together by the hearth in the hall, sewing. They looked up simultaneously at the sound of his footsteps, their single look questioning. “They've been taken,” Merin Pendragon began.
Gorawen rose quickly and fetched her lord a large goblet of wine. Then she sat back down again, and waited for what he had to say.
“It's de Bohun, without a doubt. Brynn was there. That damned left heel of his was obvious in the sand of the clearing by Mryddin Water.”
“And Junia?” Argel asked. She was no longer fearful for her son. He would be ransomed, and she had no doubt it would cost the Pendragons a pretty penny.
“There, too,” Merin said tersely, and his jaw tightened with his memory.
“What else did you see?” Gorawen probed. “Was she raâ”
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