Chapter
13
The braying of the hounds welcomed our horses through the gatehouse. The dogs were likely complaining they hadn’t been allowed to accompany us, believing like everyone else that we’d gone hunting. Rather, our riding expedition over the past few days had taken us near the border so we could spy on the clandestine dealings the Marcher barons continued to have with the Welsh.
We’d returned with a half a dozen hare and several quail, which weren’t nearly enough to account for the length we’d been away. Nevertheless, the game would provide a cover if anyone asked of our whereabouts.
The past few July days had been hot. Grit filled every crevice of my face, and my tongue was parched. I would relish a cool splash and drink from the well.
But even as I nudged my horse into the inner bailey toward the well, the downturned gazes of several of the knights by the barracks set my nerves on edge. If they were avoiding making eye contact, then something was amiss.
Immediately I veered toward the men, studying their faces and attempting to read their expressions. Anxiety and wariness were clearly written there.
“What is it?” I called to the cluster.
Before they could answer, Sir Darien and Sir Robert stepped out of the armory and strode toward me.
“What news have you?” I said as I scanned the castle grounds for any signs of distress. Had they engaged in a skirmish or fended off an attack?
“Welcome back, Sir Aldric.” Darien reached to take the reins of my horse. I handed them over and slid from my mount.
“Don’t waste time with pleasantries, Darien,” I rebuked.
“Three days past, Lady Glynnis caught Lady Olivia stealing from Lord Pitt’s treasury and had her locked in the dungeons.”
A knot cinched in my gut and pulled taut with both anger and frustration—mainly at myself for not anticipating that something like this might happen. After catching Olivia rummaging in my chamber, I should have known she’d get herself into further trouble, that she wouldn’t be happy with just her mother’s brooch. I should have forced her to finally tell me what she was searching for.
“That’s not all, sir,” Darien continued, his young face solemn.
“Go on.”
“Lady Glynnis has petitioned Lord Pitt to hang Lady Olivia as a thief. We’ve heard rumors the execution will take place on the morrow.”
If Pitt had agreed to the execution then the charges against Olivia were indeed substantial and credible. Pitt wouldn’t move forward otherwise.
Lady or not, he wasn’t afraid to administer justice where it was due. Only last year, Pitt had almost burned Sabine at the stake to determine whether she was a witch. Bennet had denied the charges against her. And although I hadn’t been sure what the markings on Sabine’s arms meant, whether she was truly innocent, I’d fought for her freedom alongside Bennet because he’d loved and believed in her.
If Pitt could threaten Sabine’s life, I had no doubt he’d kill Olivia in order to administer justice as well as show his strength and superiority. I understood he couldn’t allow a crime like Olivia’s to remain unpunished. He had to exact swift justice, or he would only encourage others to question his authority.
I spun and began to stalk toward the keep. I had to convince Pitt not to execute Lady Olivia. Surely he could find some other way to punish her besides taking her life.
My pulse thudded a hard tempo that matched my heavy steps. By the time I entered the dark interior, a quiet desperation had gripped my muscles, making me turn my steps in the direction of the stairwell that would take me to the dungeons.
As I descended with several knights following closely behind, I held up a hand to halt them. “Wait for me here,” I said tersely, as I took the torch from the closest guard and resumed my descent.
When I reached the bottom of the long stairway, I held the torch up and scanned the cells for her.
“Lady Olivia,” I said softly. “It is I, Sir Aldric.”
At my voice, a scuffling in the first cavern drew my attention. I shifted the torch so that its light fell past the grated door. Inside, Lady Olivia rose to a sitting position on a pallet. She blinked, her eyes not accustomed to the light. Her hair had come loose from her usual neat plaits and coils and now fell in disarray over her shoulders hanging almost to her waist.
She hugged her arms to her chest. “Sir Aldric, I have been waiting for your return.” Her words came out stilted through chattering teeth.
A quick scan of her cell revealed its barrenness. She had no blanket, not even a cloak to keep her warm. Although the July day was hot, the temperatures down in the bowels of the earth were always cold and damp.
That she was in the dungeons instead of one of the tower rooms made me angry enough. Surely a woman of her stature should have been given the honor of staying in the tower. The accommodations were sparse but would have been brighter and warmer. To find her here in the dark and cold without any comforts turned my stomach. We weren’t brutes, and we would treat ladies, even those accused of thievery, with the respect they were due.
In two long strides, I was at the base of the stairs calling up to my men, “I want several blankets and a cloak brought to me at once.” I would, in fact, take her to the tower just as soon as I had the chance to speak to Pitt regarding the transfer.
In the meantime, I would provide her with warmth and light.
“Has anyone fed you?” I said returning to the grate and studying her through the darkness.
“Yes,” she stammered, her body visibly shaking. “Several of your men have done what they could to alleviate my discomfort.”
I could guess which of my men had done so, and I would reward them later. For now, I needed to release her from the dungeons. I stalked back to the stairs. “Bring me the keys to the cells.”
“Lady Glynnis has the keys,” Sir Darien called down. “She has made it known that she plans to keep them until it’s time for Lady Olivia to receive her punishment.”
I wanted to curse Lady Glynnis but swallowed my retort. What reason did her ladyship have to get involved? Had Olivia done something to offend her?
“Where are those blankets?” My voice rose to a shout, but I didn’t care.
“They are on the way, sir.”
“Send a servant to fetch a hot meal and warm ale for the lady.”
“Right away, sir.”
I returned to the cell to find that Olivia had moved to the grate and stood only a half a dozen paces away. At the proximity, I could see the smudges of dirt on her pale face, the bits of hay and dust that coated her gown, the evidence that she’d attempted to cover herself with the stale straw for warmth. Her body still shook even as she rubbed her hands over her upper arms in a futile effort to elicit heat.
I was tempted to peel off my hauberk and offer her the tunic underneath. But I was layered in dust and sweat and my garments would smell of the sourness of my travels.
“Come here.” I beckoned her closer as I placed the torch in the wall mount.
Thankfully she obeyed without her usual questions or resistance. I reached through the bars, took hold of her arms, and began to slide my hands up and down. Even through the layer of sleeve fabric, her body gave off a chill.
If the bars hadn’t stood between us, I would have pulled her into my arms and gladly given her my own heat.
“Here are the blankets, sir.” Sir Darien’s voice echoed down the corridor, and his footsteps slapped the stairs in his haste.
I released Olivia long enough to grab the blankets and when I returned to her cell, I rapidly unfolded the first coarse linen and wrapped it around her. When I finally had her bundled beneath three blankets, I began rubbing her arms again, this time over the wool.
“How is that?” I asked.
“Much better,” she said, her voice less wobbly. She was leaning against one side of the bars and I leaned against the other, the cold beams the only thing standing between us. “I am most grateful.”
In the quietness of the dungeons, my breathing was heavy and hers was jagged, filling the thin space between us.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to prevent you from being locked up down here,” I whispered.
“I brought this upon myself,” she whispered back.
“Then Lady Glynnis’s accusations are true?”
“I was in Lord Pitt’s treasury,” she conceded. “But I was not stealing. At least not at the moment they found me.”
“Lord Pitt will find you guilty for simply being in his treasury.”
“I suppose that is what Lady Glynnis would like to see happen.”
My pulse gave a lurch. If what my men told me was true, then Pitt had already declared Olivia guilty based on Lady Glynnis’s testimony, and made plans to execute her.
I released Olivia’s arms. “I must go speak with Lord Pitt.”
She lifted shaking hands as if she meant to grab hold of me.
Again as before, I reached through the grates. This time, I grasped her hands in mine. Her fingers were frigid. I pulled them through the bars at the same time that I bent and breathed out hot air over her fingers.
For several moments, I bathed her hands in my warm breath, hoping once again to ease her chill. I could feel her beautiful green eyes upon me, watching my every move.
When I finally straightened and started to release her, she squeezed my hands and prevented me from leaving. “I want you to know,” she whispered. “You are the kindest man I have ever known.”
“I don’t deserve such praise, my lady.”
“And I do not give praise unless I truly mean it.”
I held her hands for a moment longer, suddenly loathe to leave her in the dungeons alone. However, I couldn’t disregard the proper protocol lest I make the situation worse for her.
That’s all my concern amounted to, I told myself as I ascended the stairs a few seconds later. I was only acting as any captain would toward a prisoner he’d captured. Since I’d been the one to take her into captivity, she was my responsibility. And she certainly didn’t deserve to die like a common criminal.
Surely I could make Pitt see that.
I hurried to the great hall, and the aromas of the evening meal greeted me—thick smoky venison and yeasty rye bread. The scents reminded me I hadn’t eaten properly in over three days. I would relish a fine supper, but only if I was able to convince Pitt to spare Olivia’s life and move her to the tower.
As I strode to the front where Pitt was playing chess with one of his trusted older friends, Sir Frank, my mind spun with all the ways I could rise to Olivia’s defense, any way I could possibly change his mind about executing Olivia.
I was relieved Lady Glynnis and the other women had dispersed from the corner where they sewed, likely retiring to their chambers to ready themselves for the evening meal and activities. I would have a hard enough time pleading Olivia’s case without having to contend with Lady Glynnis’s accusations.
I halted a dozen paces away from Pitt out of respect and waited for him to notice and address me. He finished his move, sat back in his chair, and studied the chessboard while his opponent did the same. I had no doubt he knew I was there and was making me wait as a test of my patience. Under normal circumstances, my patience was unmatched. I could endure high levels of agony without complaint.
But with Olivia languishing in the dungeons, I was anxious to see her removed as soon as possible. I shifted so that my sword clanked. When that elicited no response, I coughed into my hand.
“She’s a thief,” Pitt growled, apparently knowing exactly what I wanted to discuss.
If he wished for no preamble, then I would give him none. And if he had no qualms about discussing this matter in the presence of Sir Frank, then neither did I. “I’m told she took nothing.”
“She picked the lock of one of my chests and was digging through it when Lady Glynnis discovered the treachery.”
“She’s been searching for something since the day she arrived,” I replied. “I know not what item she seeks. But I have observed her searching at other times.” I decided against revealing I’d caught her in my private chambers. I didn’t want to besmear Olivia’s reputation any more than it already was.
“Then she is a sneak as well as a thief.”
“If she really wanted to fill her family’s coffers by taking from you, then she would have stashed the stolen goods away. But she had nothing in her chambers, as I’m sure you discovered.”
“Yes, the guards searched her rooms and found nothing. But that doesn’t mean that she didn’t hide the stolen goods elsewhere.”
“Is anything missing?”
“No.”
“Then everything is accounted for?”
Finally, Pitt shifted his attention away from the game board to me. His eyes were dark, making the pale scar running down his face stand out. “She was caught in my treasury up to her arms in one of my chests. I must punish her with a hanging as I do other thieves.”
“She’s a noblewoman, not a criminal.”
Pitt crossed his arms and reclined in his high-backed chair, stretching his legs out in front of him, his expression much too calculated for my liking.
My nerves stretched like limbs on the rack. I couldn’t let him go through with his plans to hurt Olivia. She didn’t deserve it. No woman did.
“If you hang her, you’ll start a war,” I warned. “Her father will gather his allies and attack Tolleymuth.”
“Then we’ll fight and destroy them.”
“In so doing, you’ll risk harming the king’s efforts to bring the Marcher barons into submission.”
Sir Frank spoke for the first time. “Sir Aldric is right. You would cause a war.”
I nodded my thanks to the older man. We all knew the king didn’t want to start a war if we could bring about peace some other way.
Pitt steepled his hands beneath his chin and regarded me through narrowed eyes. “If not hanging, then what punishment shall I give the earl’s daughter?”
“Move her to the tower and keep her locked there.”
“And . . .”
My mind returned to the idea that had fostered at the tournament. If we threatened her match with Lionel Lacy, we would alarm her father and draw him to Tolleymuth. “We can threaten the earl’s alliance with Marquess of Clearwater.”
Pitt didn’t respond but watched me intently as though waiting for me to continue with my plan. I took heart that he was considering other options for Olivia.
“As you know, the earl is in the process of betrothing Lady Olivia to the marquess’s son. Such a union will increase the earl’s power among the Marcher barons. If we interfere with her betrothal to the marquess’s son, her father will finally come and pay her ransom. He wouldn’t risk losing such a prestigious match.”
“And how is that punishment for her?”
“She’s loyal to her father and won’t want to lose the match either. Besides, she’s proud. If you give her to a landless knight without status, she’ll be appalled and humiliated. I can think of several of my knights who might agree to the plan.” Perhaps I could persuade Darien or one of my other faithful knights to do the deed, more so if they knew Olivia’s father wouldn’t allow her to go through with the marriage. Or at least I hoped her father wouldn’t allow it.
“So you’re suggesting I shame her?”
“Yes. Such a betrothal would be beneath her, and she’d loathe it.” While I didn’t want to expose Olivia to any shame, she must suffer or Pitt wouldn’t consider the punishment sufficient.
Pitt studied me with the same calculation that again set my nerves on edge. “I expected that once you discovered her life was in danger, you’d offer to marry her in order to save her.”
He’d expected me to marry her? I shook my head. “No, my lord.” My mind scrambled for an excuse. “I couldn’t possibly—”
“I took you for a jealous man, Windsor. I’ve noticed the way you regard her, and I didn’t think you could hand her over to another so easily.”
“I’m not jealous, my lord. Besides, the betrothal won’t last.”
“And if the earl chooses not to ransom his daughter, then you won’t mind one of the other knights marrying Lady Olivia?”
My mind flashed with the image of Darien bending in to kiss Olivia’s pretty lips. The mere thought of it sent a sharp, almost violent streak of protest through my blood.
Pitt was gauging my reaction. With a satisfied smile, he sat forward and moved a knight on the chessboard. “I shall grant your request, Windsor, and shall stay Lady Olivia’s execution. But only if you agree to the betrothal for yourself.”
I couldn’t speak past my frustration. Had I played right into Pitt’s ploy? Had he planned to entrap me all along?
When he’d told me he would drop the matter of my taking a bride, I should have realized he wouldn’t cease his scheming, should have known he was too cunning. But why not force my hand with one of the other women? Why Olivia?
“Surely you don’t want me to unite with our enemy?” I offered.
“Keeping the enemy close is oft a wise strategy.”
“Very true,” remarked Sir Frank as he lifted his pawn and moved it within striking distance to Pitt’s queen.
Pitt was quiet as he studied the board.
“At the very least,” I said, “allow me to move Lady Olivia to a tower room.” I couldn’t bear the prospect of her languishing in the dungeons, shaking and cold and hungry any longer than necessary.
“I shall allow the move only after an official betrothal ceremony.” His voice contained a finality that told me he wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise.
I stifled an exasperated sigh. “Then I shall make the arrangements for the ceremony right away.”
“Good.”
Good? I quelled my irritation, certain now Pitt had meddled and had me in the exact position he’d wanted.
“You needn’t worry,” Pitt said as if sensing my irritation. “You said yourself the betrothal won’t last.”
“And if it does?”
“Then you may find yourself deliriously happy again, my friend.” When he looked at me this time, his eyes brimmed with sincerity. And I realized he thought he was doing this for my good. He believed I cared about Olivia and that somehow she’d make me happy.
Although I wasn’t pleased with his stipulations, I knew he meant well. And I couldn’t fault him for that. Even if he was wrong.