The Legend (37 page)

       Alec could only stare at
his father, dumbfounded at his reasoning. "She doesn't care about any of
that. Da, she is the first woman who has been able to tolerate the color of
Ali's skin and.... Christ, what are you going to tell him? He shall go
mad!"

"I am not going to tell him
anything," Brian said quietly, his lips turning a faint shade of blue
underneath his silver and black beard. "You and Olphampa are going to ride
out and intercept him. If He is going to rage, let him do it in the open with
only you and the wildlife to hear him. When he returns to Blackstone, it will
be as a calm man resigned to do the bidding of his liege."

Alec shook his head with disgust,
refusing to believe that his father had gone back on his word. His father had
always been a man of firm decisions and reason, not at all like the man of
confusion in front of him. Alec was not only angered, he was puzzled to the
core and he worried Ivy's reaction, not to mention Peyton's.

Foremost, however, he was grieved
for Ali. The man had been treated like dirt for most of his life, but never
from his own. It would seem that even Brian was apt to follow the lead of
others who had left their footprints on Ali's pride.

Alec gazed at his father a
moment, noting the pale color, the shaken state, and he knew exactly where the
blame lie. Nigel Warrington must have done or said something terrible to cause
Brian to refute a decision of this magnitude, but for the life of him, Alec
could not reason what that action might have incurred. Alec refused to believe
that Brian had changed his mind for the very reasons he listed.

The genesis of an idea suddenly
sprang to Alec's mind, the beginnings of something pronounced and deep. Were
Ali standing in Alec's position and the situation reversed, he knew exactly
what Ali would have done without hesitation. And Alec knew without a doubt that
he could not allow his friend to be devastated in such a cruel fashion. By a
trusted friend, no less.

To hell with the consequences.
Ali and Ivy were meant to be together, and Alec would do anything in his power
to provide for that wish.

He eyed his father a moment as
his plan took root and blossomed. Hopefully, his father would not read his mind
as he had done so ably in the past. "Rest a moment, Da. Nigel has you
worked up and you are already feeling ill. I shall take care of my wife and her
sister until you can calm yourself." Or at least until I can get Ivy a
safe distance away from Blackstone.

Brian sank into the nearest
chair, his hand still on his chest. "Bring Lady Ivy to me and I shall
inform her myself. But.... give me a few moments, if you please. This day has
taxed me sorely."

Alec nodded, moving swiftly for
the door as his father called to him once again. "I am sorry, Alec. I wish
things were not as they appear to be."

It was a queer statement and Alec
eyed his father with puzzlement. "And how is that?"

Brian did not look at him.
"That I am a weakling, a confused old man. I am not, you know. What I do,
I do to preserve the sanctity of the Summerlin line."

Alec's eyebrows furrowed and his
hand left the door latch, instead, moving back into the room towards his
father. "And what, may I ask, does this decision have to do with the
Summerlins?"

Brian shook his head faintly and
slouched against the chair. "More than you know, lad. You must trust me on
this. Lady Ivy must marry Colin."

Alec's grand scheme to whisk Ivy
away was suddenly in peril of being crushed. What in the world did his father
mean? "What would happen if she did not?"

Brian closed his eyes, laboring
for breath. "Catastrophic things, Alec. Please do not ask me
anymore."

Alec was by his father's side,
kneeling beside the bear of a man. His sky-blue eyes were questioning. "I
must. Has Nigel threatened you? What has he done?"

Brian peeped an eye open and
observed his proud, strong son. The sight of Alec's concerned face was almost
the shove he needed to confess the sins of the past, but he stopped himself. He
simply couldn't bring himself to admit to his son that the Summerlins were less
than perfect. That he was less than perfect.

He closed his eye. "Nothing,
lad. Get on with my request."

Suddenly, Alec was greatly
indecisive. Would spiriting Ivy away jeopardize some secret treaty that his
father was struggling to conclude, something Alec was unaware of? He had no
idea what that could possibly be, but Brian seemed far more exhausted and
serious than Alec had ever known him to be. And that deeply concerned him.

The longer he knelt next to his
father, the more uncertain he became. Family came above all else, even Ali, and
if Alec's rash action would hazard Brian, then Alec would not be a party to it.
No matter how deeply he felt to the contrary.

"Da," he said softly.
"Why won't you tell me what Warrington said to make you change your mind? Do
you not trust me?"

"With my life, Alec, as you
well know," Brian said quietly. "But, truthfully, I cannot tell you.
You must trust me on this, lad. You simply must."

"But...."

"No," Brian held up his
hand sharply, moving to grip Alec's trencher-sized hand tightly. "No
questions. You must trust me."

Alec looked miserable and Brian
felt the pain of his secret to his soul. Deeper, in fact. He felt as if an
unseen hand was wrenching his guts violently. The look in Alec's eyes was the
force behind the unseen hand, Brian realized, and he closed his eyes against
him. He couldn't stand to see the beseeching look on Alec's face.

"Go," he rasped.

Alec rose unsteadily, wanting to
press his father for the answers he sought. But Brian was weak, as his heart
condition often rendered him, and Alec would not harass him. His only hope was
that the wedding could be delayed until some sense was pounded into Brian's
head.

It was his only hope and a weak
one at that. As much as he wanted to take Ivy to Ali, he could not. His father
had asked him to trust him, and trust him he would.

Alec opened the door to the small
room in time to see Toby marching rapidly down the hall, heading straight
toward him. Much to Alec's concern, Toby appeared agitated.

"What's wrong?" he
demanded of the younger knight.

"Where's Lord Brian?"
Toby countered.

"Resting," Alec passed
a glance into the room. "What's happened?"

Toby took a deep breath.
"Lady Rachel delivered a dead son a few minutes ago. Lady Celine is with
her now, but your wife was present at the birth and she is.... well, she is
hysterical, Alec. I returned her to her chamber."

"Christ," Alec muttered,
passing another long glance at his father. Brian was looking at him, his pale
face even more ashen. Alec waited for his father to bound out of the chair and
demand to see the dead infant, as he had with the other two children Rachel had
delivered, but instead his turned his head away and Alec swore he saw the great
shoulders heave in sorrow.

Swallowing his own grief, Alec
softly closed the door. "You mentioned that mother is with Rachel?"

Toby nodded. "Aye."

"Where is Paul?"

"Olphampa and Sula are comforting
him."

"What of Thia?"

"With Lady Celine."

Alec nodded shortly, relieved
that he was not given the duty of comforting his dim-witted brother. Paul could
barely comprehend what was transpiring and there was no talking sense into him.
Alec knew this for a fact; he had tried on two previous occasions to ease his
brother's grief, but it was beyond Paul's capacity to accept consolation and
move beyond his pain.  Alec had quite enough pain of his own at the moment.

"Tell Pauly my father is in
need of a soothing potion for his heart when the circumstances allow," he
said quietly, already moving down the hall with Toby by his side.
"Futhermore, I want you to personally see to the containment of the
Warringtons; they need watching. As for me, I am going to see my wife."

The men split up at the top of
the staircase. Alec continued down the corridor, mentally bracing himself for
the confrontation that was to come with Ivy and wondering in a moment of
weakness of he should not simply follow through with his original plan. After
all, Ali and Ivy could be married and flee until such a time when it was safe
to surface again. Mayhap by that time, the Warringtons would forget about the
de Fluornoys and time would have healed over any enmity.

Alec was terribly torn; his
loyalty to Ali, his loyalty to his father. He had already disobeyed his
father's wishes once regarding the de Fluornoys; were he to do it twice, he
wondered if Brian would be so forgiving. Right or wrong, Brian was still his
father and as his son, he was obligated to obey.

He was met by Jubil at the door.
Her eyebrows rose at the sight of him. "Do you know what you mother did?
She forced Peyton to witness the birth of a dead child!"

Alec eyed the woman and pushed
his way into the room, his gaze falling on the sleeping form of his wife.
Gently, he sat on the edge of the bed and put a soothing hand to Peyton's head,
his face terribly tender.

"Jubil gave her a potion to
soothe her nerves and it put her to sleep," Ivy said softly.

Alec tore his eyes away from his
wife long enough to look at the blond sister, seated in a chair by the bed. Out
of guilt, he could not maintain his gaze and turned back to his wife.

"Her eyes are red," he
whispered.

"She was hysterical,
Alec," Ivy said quietly. "What did you expect? She has never attended
a birth before."

Alec stroked the red hair and
Peyton sighed raggedly in her sleep. He would have liked to have sat by her all
afternoon, caressing her beautiful head, but out of the corner of his eye he
could see Ivy and he knew he must deliver the news of her future. The sooner
the better, and considering Peyton was passed out like a drunkard, he would be
better able to deal with Ivy alone. Kissing the red head tenderly, he rose from
the bed and motioned to Ivy.

"I have a need to speak with
you," he said softly.

Dutifully, Ivy rose and went to
him, her pretty face expectant. Jubil took her place next to Peyton and began
singing a faint, sweet lullaby, and Alec recognized it as the same melody his
wife had sang to him the previous night in the monastery. The warmth of the
memory filled him for a moment, a sweet flicker of time when he and Peyton had
been closer emotionally than he had ever been to anyone. But Ivy was waiting
and Alec gazed into her blue eyes, faltered on his words, and tried again.

"Ivy, something has
occurred," he said softly. He had decided that being honest was the very
best option he had, and he grasped her arm gently as he spoke. "My father
has been speaking with Nigel Warrington and, needless to say, the man is quite
angry over the broken betrothal. However, he and my father agreed on several
valid points, one being that you would be an excellent chatelaine for Wisseyham
Keep since Nigel is a widow and there are no female relatives to fill the
position. Secondly, Colin is heir to a substantial fortune and you, as his
wife, would be in a far greater social position than if you were the wife of a
mere soldier."

Ivy's face darkened immediately
and she jerked her arm free from his grasp. "I Do not want to marry Colin.
I want to marry Ali and I shall. You said...."

"I know what I said, but
that was before my father had a chance to dwell on your future. He feels that
he is providing you with the very best possible life by wedding you to Colin, 
a life of prominence and wealth, whereas with Ali, you would have none of this.
He must do as he believes your father would have wanted and...."

"My father hated the
Warringtons!" Ivy shrieked. "They pleaded for Peyton's hand several
years ago and father refused them outright! He would have never wed me to
Colin!"

Jubil overheard everything; it
was difficult not to. Swiftly, she rose from her seat by Peyton and stood
beside her youngest niece. "She cannot marry the Warrington heir, Alec.
She already carries a black son and the child will not fair favorably in the
House of Warrington."

Both Alec and Ivy looked at the
old woman as if she were mad. Alec almost responded but caught himself,
focusing on Ivy in an attempt to calm her before she flew out of control.
"I realize what this appears, that my father is weak and easily swayed,
and that his word cannot be trusted. But I assure you that this is not the
case; my father is a wise, intelligent man and he must do for you as he decides
best. You might not agree with him, but given time you will understand his
actions."

Ivy was ashen. Her mouth hung
open and she took another step back from him. "He is already promised me,
hasn't he? He only pretended to relent and sent Ali away on a false errand so
that he would be out of the way while the real marriage took place."

Alec shook his head. "Not at
all. He was sincere when he sent Ali for the lawyer. However, he has had time
to think and has come to the conclusion that 'twould be best that you to marry
Colin and become chatelaine of Wisseyham."