The Silken Cord (27 page)

Edwin snorted. “Absurd!”

A guard stepped to Edwin’s side, his hand on
his sword. The gesture silenced Edwin.

“And what about your mother?” the king
asked.

A lone tear rolled down Markus’s cheek.
Ariana’s heart went out to him. Turning, she glanced at Wulfgar,
who also watched the boy, his eyes filled with such hope that
Ariana could hardly breathe.

“Mother told me we must leave with haste, to
go to you at Winchester. S…she said she had to stop father, before
our family was destroyed. She wanted to warn you.”

The boy’s voice grew stronger with each
word.

“That night, I was in my bed when I heard
mother scream. I went to her room and saw father with his hands
around her neck. Her eyes bulged and her face turned blue. I hid
and father carried her to the head of the stairs and threw her
down.”

A gasp filled the hall. Markus sniffed and
wiped his eyes.

Ariana watched William’s face grow hard.
Would he believe the boy?

Everyone turned to look at Edwin, who sat
still as stone, his face pale as buttermilk.

“My lord,” he said. “I would never murder my
own wife. How could I have been part of the traitor’s conspiracy? I
had no wealth and no army to come against you.”

“But you had ambition,” William replied.
“Once I made you Earl of Glyndwr, you had Wulfgar’s vast army and
wealth at your disposal. But his men deserted you and traveled to
the slave auction to bring Wulfgar back. One of my spies has
reported to me that you’ve met with Malcolm Caennmore often since
Wulfgar’s conviction. Why do you think I sold Wulfgar into slavery
instead of beheading him?”

The king leaned back in his chair, watching
Edwin like a poisonous snake. He didn’t wait for Edwin to speak,
but answered for him. “I’ve always suspected that Wulfgar was
innocent of treason, but I wanted to find out the truth. I needed
time. With Wulfgar sold as a slave instead of being executed, I
could wait and discover if he was innocent or not.”

A hum of whispers filled the great hall.
Several knights came to their feet, glaring at Edwin, their faces
dark with outrage. Edwin’s eyes widened and he shrank beneath
William’s penetrating stare.

“Then, am I to be convicted of these
crimes?” Edwin wailed. “Will I not be allowed to defend
myself?”

William’s lips thinned. “I remember another
time when I listened to what you had to say and I passed judgment
on an innocent man. Because of your lies, I took all Wulfgar had
and gave it to you.”

Staring wide-eyed with fear, Edwin lifted
his hands in supplication. “I am innocent, sire.”

“Your own son witnessed you murdering your
wife before she could warn me of your evil plans. I have no doubt
you tried to ruin Wulfgar and use his army against me.”

Ariana’s heart beat madly in her chest.
Edwin was the traitor. She knew he had always sought power, but to
conspire against his own king had been beyond her imagination.

Wulfgar took a step forward, the chains on
his hands jingling, his eyes menacing. “It’s over, Carlinham. Your
lies have seen your doom.”

Sweat poured off Edwin’s forehead. His gaze
darted about like a trapped animal.

Markus watched this drama, his face almost
as pale as his luminous hair. He stood absolutely still, but Ariana
sensed a rising fury.

“Murderer,” he shouted at his father. “You
murdered my mother. You’re not my father anymore.”

The boy didn’t stutter one bit.

King William’s voice thundered through the
rafters as he made his final decree. “Edwin of Carlinham, you will
be punished for your crimes. You will be taken to Winchester where
you’ll be executed within a fortnight, alongside Waltheof of
Huntingdon. Guards! Take him away.”

Armed men approached to take him, but Edwin
spun about and jerked Ariana out of her seat. She gasped and raised
her hands to protect herself.

“Don’t move or I’ll kill her,” Edwin
cried.

Wulfgar jumped onto the high table, jerking
at the manacles binding his hands. “Let Ariana go.”

“Stay back.” Edwin pressed a knife against
Ariana’s throat.

Wulfgar froze. Ariana gasped as the prick of
steel bit into her skin. Edwin pressed his face against hers as he
jerked her toward the wall.

“I’ll slit her throat,” he warned.

His chest pressed against her back. She
clutched the arm he wrapped across her and tried to push the knife
away. He held tight, the knife poised to take her life.

Wulfgar jumped down from the table, his
hands raised, a snarl on his lips. When he spoke, his voice sounded
dangerously quiet. “Harm a hair on her head and I’ll see the skin
flayed from your body.”

Edwin’s tone was just as chilling. “You’ll
have to catch me, first. I mean it, de Conteville. I will kill her.
I have nothing left to lose, now.”

Guards surrounded the king, protecting him.
He sat stiffly in his chair, his face puffed with fury. “You dare
this outrage, Carlinham? There’ll be no place for you to hide.
You’ll be hunted down like a mongrel dog.”

“Do you think I care about your threats?”
Edwin sneered.

“Free him.” The king jerked his head toward
Wulfgar. A guard hurried to remove the manacles from Wulfgar’s
wrists.

Edwin pulled Ariana away from the table. A
collective gasp of outrage filled the room. Drawing their swords,
several knights crowded close to Edwin.

“Stay back. He has the princess,” Wulfgar
shouted.

The knights moved back, but still surrounded
Edwin.

Wulfgar dropped the manacles and waved the
guards away as he accepted a sword from Baldwin. He’d handle this
on his own.

Wielding the sword, Wulfgar took a step
toward Edwin. Fury pounded against his temples. For some time, he
had suspected Edwin of being the traitor, but he had no proof.

Until now.

“You’ll pay for all you’ve done,” he told
Edwin. “Put down the knife. Let Ariana go and I’ll make your death
painless.”

Edwin drew the blade tighter against
Ariana’s throat. Her jaw tightened as a drop of blood wet the
blade. Wulfgar grit his teeth.

“Don’t come any closer,” Edwin barked. “I’ll
leave England and take Ariana with me. If you want to keep her
alive, you’ll pay a ransom to me. When I’m through, there’ll be
nothing left of your fortune.”

Wulfgar snarled. He cared nothing about
wealth, but he’d never let Edwin take Ariana out of Cynan. The
thought of his beloved in the hands of such a man made Wulfgar
sick.

Edwin backed around the table, pulling
Ariana with him. Wulfgar met Ariana’s gaze. Her eyes widened with
fear, her lips parted as she breathed. Would he be able to save her
this time?

Edwin panted heavily and Wulfgar sensed the
rising panic in him.

The fear.

Ariana stumbled as Edwin pulled her with
him, passing the long tables filled with angry knights. He jerked
her upright, giving her no opportunity to break free.

“Think what I’ll do to her,” Edwin said.
Without taking his gaze off Wulfgar, Edwin grinned and licked
Ariana from her chin to her cheek.

With a grimace of disgust, she shuddered and
turned her face away, squirming against his hold.

Wulfgar’s grip tightened on his sword. Fury
boiled in his gut. Edwin was a dead man. He just didn’t know it,
yet.

As Edwin dragged Ariana the length of the
hall, Wulfgar followed. Edwin turned the corner, stepping out into
the sunlight. Wulfgar was right behind them as Edwin whirled with
Ariana to face more guards standing in the bailey. The men gaped at
Edwin in confusion. They didn’t know he was the real traitor.

“Stay back,” Wulfgar told them. “He’ll harm
the princess.”

Doubt filled their eyes as Edwin pulled
Ariana down the steps to the bailey. Guards came running from the
gatehouse but Wulfgar held out a hand of caution.

The armsmen stared between Edwin and
Wulfgar, looking baffled until the king appeared. William’s
expression darkened as he shouted to the guards. “Carlinham is the
real traitor. Sound the alarm. He’ll not leave the castle.”

“Don’t come any closer,” Edwin warned as
guards wielded their swords around him. “I’ll slice her like a
plum.”

The blast of a horn filled the air. Knights
emerged from the guardhouse, armed with knives and swords. The air
filled with the grating of the portcullis being lowered.

Edwin was trapped.

“You’re not leaving Cynan alive,” Wulfgar
said.

Edwin swore viciously and swerved toward the
stable, moving faster, jerking Ariana when she couldn’t keep
up.

“Come on, witch,” he swore. “I’ll cut you if
you give me cause.”

Guards appeared in front of him and Edwin
swerved again, his head bobbing frantically as he found himself
surrounded on all sides. Tall knights clutched swords, axes and
spears, mingled with servants holding brooms and pitchforks. They
surrounded Edwin but they didn’t advance. They waited for orders
from the king or Wulfgar. Whispers sounded amongst them as word
passed through the throng of what had occurred.

“Are you daft?” Baldwin shouted at Edwin.
“Do you really think you can get away?”

Edwin gave a desperate whine. He must have
realized his fate was sealed, but a trapped animal could be the
deadliest. Wulfgar moved with caution. Above all else, he wanted
Ariana safe.

“There’s nowhere you can go,” Wulfgar’s
voice sounded calm. “Keep some bit of pride and put the knife
down.”

Edwin’s beady eyes darted this way and that
as he looked for a way out. The only path not blocked by guards was
just to his right, where the stone steps led upward to the ramparts
high above.

“You’ll never have her,” Edwin screamed. “If
I must die, then so will she. I’ve seen the way you look at her, de
Conteville. How will you feel when I kill the woman you love?”

As his hold tightened, Ariana gasped with
pain. Jerking her around, Edwin darted up the steps, pushing her
ahead of him. There was no railing. Wulfgar tried to follow, but a
guard came out of the kennels, saw Wulfgar, and drew his sword,
engaging Wulfgar in battle.

* * *

Halfway up the stairs, Ariana tripped and
almost fell over the side. A scream tore from her throat. The fall
could kill her.

Clutching frantically for the steps, she
hung on. Reaching down, Edwin jerked her onto her feet, then shoved
her roughly upward.

They reached the top walkway and Ariana
turned to face Edwin. Holding out her hands, she stepped back to
evade his grasp.

“Don’t do this, Edwin,” she pleaded. “It’s
evil. If you would die, then do so as a man.”

He snarled at her. “If I had succeeded in
seeing Wulfgar dead by the executioner’s hand, you would have been
mine.”

Ariana shuddered at the thought. Shouting
came from below in the bailey and she glanced down. Knights ran to
stop the guard from fighting with Wulfgar. Men scrambled around to
the other side of the castle where steps led up to the gatehouse.
On the other side of the battlements, men raced up the stairs
leading to the parapet, coming at Edwin from the opposite side.

Clutching his sword, Wulfgar reached the
steps and hurried up them. His presence gave Ariana courage, but
she wasn’t out of danger, yet.

Heaven help her. She prayed silently, asking
for God’s mercy one more time.

She backed up against the merlons, the high
section of the battlements cold and hard at her back. Ariana looked
down at the moat. So far down.

Her head spun.

Thinking to put distance between her and
Edwin, she edged further down the thin path until her side came up
against the wall. The end of the walkway.

Cornered!

Flattening her palms against the wall at her
back, she felt the rough stone against her fingers. On the outside
of the castle wall, men-at-arms raced to the edge of the moat,
shouting up at them. They seemed so tiny, like ants.

Ariana faced Edwin. Rivulets of sweat ran
down his high forehead and his mouth curved in a lethal smile.

“Jump,” Edwin ordered.

“What?”

His shrill laughter sounded maniacal. “Jump,
or I’ll throw you over. If I can’t have you, Wulfgar won’t
either.”

“You have lost your mind.”

His eyes glittered like a serpents. He must
be insane with jealousy, greed and fear.

With a flourish, Edwin tossed his knife over
the ledge and quickly pulled his sword, brandishing it before her
eyes. Archers stood on the opposite wall, their arrows aimed at
Edwin. Why didn’t they fire? They must fear they might miss Edwin
and strike her.

He spoke again, louder, more insistent, as
he urged her over to the ledge. “Jump, or I’ll skewer you.”

Oh, Wulfgar, please hurry.

“I won’t do it.” She shook her head,
shrinking against the wall. “You’ll have to kill me, Edwin. I won’t
make it easy for you. And if I die, Wulfgar will have you tortured
to death. There will be no where you can hide.”

A glimmer of doubt filled his eyes as he
glanced back at Wulfgar, who’d reached the pathway and ran toward
them.

Maybe she could distract Edwin so Wulfgar
would attack. She lowered her voice. “Wulfgar will place you on the
rack. He’ll torture you with hot irons.”

Edwin’s blade lowered just a bit, his brows
curved in a hesitant frown.

“What she says is true,” Wulfgar confirmed
as he skidded to a halt just a few feet away.

Edwin touched the sword to Ariana’s stomach.
"Stay back or I’ll gut her like a rabbit.”

Wulfgar froze.

“You’ll die slowly, oh, so slowly.” Ariana
tried again, twisting her voice into a soothsayer’s chant. “Begging
for the knife to end your own life. You’ll scream in pain until
your voice gives out and you can only whimper. Oh, Edwin.” She
shook her head in sorrow for him. “Save yourself from excruciating
pain. Let me go.”