CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Josephine had been right; Madelaine did, indeed, discreetly mention the discolored stain on the linens the following morning. Doing exactly as she had been instructed, Josephine told the servant that it was her woman’s time and, from the look on Madelaine’s face, she had no doubt that information would wind its way back to the king.
It was just a suspicion she had.
Feeling somewhat lighter of spirit, Josephine was carefully dressed in an off-the-shoulder pale green silk that was embroidered very finely with tiny pearls. It was an exquisite dress that had Josephine turning back and forth, admiring herself in the mirror.
Her long hair had been pulled back in the front and secured on the crown of her head with a pearl clip, then the rest was braided and interwoven with strands of tiny pearls. She stood, staring at herself in the mirror, as Madelaine brought the single braid over one shoulder and secured pearl ear bobs on each ear.
In truth, Josephine was truly amazed at the riches she wore, and she felt a little guilty that she wasn’t ripping the garments off in protest of her captivity. These were all gifts from the earl and she knew very well she should not be accepting them. But there was a method to her madness.
Better a complacent captive with a plan up her sleeve than a rebel who bears watching.
Madelaine approached her with a bottle of perfume and Josephine eyed it. “What fragrance is that?” she demanded.
Madelaine smiled. “Exotic oils from across the sea, my lady.”
Josephine took a sniff of the very strong perfume and promptly sneezed. “That will not do,” she said. “Do you have rose?”
Madelaine went back to the vanity, fumbling about the glass phials until she brought forth a small yellow bottle.
“Here!” she crowed triumphantly. “Rose, my lady!”
Josephine crooked her finger at her. “Come here, then. I want a goodly dose.”
Madelaine obliged, and Josephine felt rejuvenated by the familiar scent. But it also reminded her of her home far way and, for a moment, she felt the beginnings of tears. But just as quickly, she fought them off and took another look at herself in the polished bronze mirror. It was a proud, strong woman who gazed back at her.
A worthy wife for a mercenary lord.
Squaring her shoulders and straightening, Josephine turned around to Madelaine and her busy little minions. Before she could open her mouth, Madelaine spoke.
“Sir Nicholas de Londres requests the honor of yer presence in his chamber for the morning meal, my lady,” she said. “He told me to bring ye as soon as ye were ready.”
Dear Nicholas, Josephine thought. My only friend in the inner circle. “Of course,” she said.
Madelaine escorted her from her chamber and led her down a long, stone corridor, past exquisite tapestries, and up a small flight of stairs before reaching Nicholas’ room. The servant knocked softly, gaining admittance for her mistress.
Nicholas was standing on the opposite end of the room, his beautiful young face smiling when Josephine entered the chamber. It looked as if he’d been waiting rather impatiently. On the table next to him were a variety of foods, and Josephine realized she was very hungry.
As she approached him, his eyes gazed at her in appreciation. “No woman in all of Scotland or England can hold a candle to yer beauty, Lady Josephine,” he said sincerely. “Ye belong in a castle.”
Josephine accepted the chair he held out for her. “But you left out the women in France and Spain,” she teased. “Are those women so beautiful that they make the rest of us look like dogs?”
He rolled with her humor. “Those women are as hairy as bears, and just as filthy,” he said. “I have been to Paris. Believe me when I tell ye that most of those women are pigs.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Nicholas!” she scolded softly. “Such harsh words from the tongue of an insufferable romantic. Remember that each woman is beautiful in her own way.”
He offered her a large basket filled with different types of bread. “Each man has a different concept of beauty,” he shrugged. “I would believe it safe to say that ye are every man’s idea of a true Scottish beauty.”
Josephine broke her bread and spread a thick slathering of butter on it. “My father used to say that about my mother.”
“Lady Afton?” Nicholas looked up from his plate.
She nodded and took a small bite. “He said that I resembled her greatly.”
Nicholas nodded. “Ye do.”
Josephine looked at him in astonishment. “How would you know this?”
He smiled as if he had a great secret. “Because her portrait hangs in the Family Hall.”
Josephine was stunned. Suddenly tears sprang to her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth. “My mother?”
“Aye.”
She blinked, and tears glistened on her eyelashes. “I was only two years old when she died,” she said. “My memories of her are wispy and vague, as if they were only a dream. Might I see the portrait, Nicholas?”
He hadn’t meant to make her weep. He was unprepared for her deeply emotional reaction, for he had only expected great excitement.
“Of course, my lady,” he said eagerly. “Whenever ye wish.”
She dabbed at her tears and smiled hugely. “I would like to see it now, please.
“Now?” he stammered.
“Now,” she said, standing.
Never argue with a woman, Nicholas thought, as he stood up and led her from the chamber. He took her back down the corridor, heading in the direction of the royal apartments and the common areas. Besides, he felt so bad for upsetting her that he was eager to make amends. If seeing the portrait of her mother was her greatest desire, then he would personally fulfill it.
The Family Hall was two flights down. It was, by far, the biggest room she had ever seen, more of a corridor, really, but it was full of portraits on wood and finely woven tapestries. The longest walls, running parallel to one another, were loaded from the high ceiling to the floor with artwork. A gallery ran along both walls so the viewer could get a better view of the portraits towards the top of the chamber.
Josephine had never seen anything like it. Some paintings were quite large, while still others were much smaller, and everything in between. The hall was so large that the faint sunlight streaming in through small windows was rather insignificant in its space, and it was difficult to make out most facial features.
Nicholas led her over to one far corner. Their footfalls were sharp in the dim light. Even though Nicholas held her hand, she felt distinctively lonely and isolated as centuries of her relatives gazed down upon her. It was as if she were in a roomful of people she didn’t know, with each looking at her and whispering secret observations.
Suddenly, Nicholas stopped. “Here it is,” he said quietly.
Josephine’s gaze fell across a face that brought hundreds of memories tumbling into her mind, from things her father had told her of her mother. The surge of emotion was strong as she stared at her mother’s beautiful, familiar face.
Afton was a mirror image of her daughter with her huge green eyes and distinctive features. Her hair was darker than her daughter’s, perhaps a bit browner, and it was stylishly coiffed in an elaborate veil. Her expression was serene and peaceful, radiating her kindness and gentle nature.
Josephine reached out a timid hand and drew a finger across the bottom of the painting, as if she were truly touching her mother. The more she looked, the more she realized that even more than herself, her mother resembled Justine. The two could have been twins.
A sudden peace swept over her; a peace that formed as if a missing part of her life had been found. By simply seeing her mother’s face, a part of her soul had been filled. This was the woman she had never really known but loved, and greatly missed. She turned to Nicholas with a smile.
“It is like looking at my sister,” she said.
Nicholas was relieved at her lightening mood. He glanced up to Lady Afton.
“It is easy to see where ye and Lady Justine inherited yer beauty,” he said.
Josephine stood at the portrait a few more moments. “I must have this portrait,” she said firmly. “I will ask the king. Do you think he will give it to me?”
Nicholas shrugged. “Possibly,” he said. “’Twould not hurt to ask.”
Josephine was smiling warmly at her mother’s portrait, as if remembering the private memories only shared between her and her father about her mother. No, it would not hurt to ask the king if she could have the portrait. All the more reason to behave herself, at least for the time being.
Josephine and Nicholas remained viewing the portrait for what seemed like ages. Josephine lost all track of time, because this was a reunion of sorts. A reunion between mother and daughter. But after several minutes had passed, Nicholas finally turned to her.
“Shall we return to my chamber and finish our meal?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I am not hungry any longer.”
“Then will ye allow me to show ye the castle?”
Josephine took his offered arm. “I was hoping you would.”
Josephine was soon to discover that castle life was much different from the life at Torridon. The structure itself was different from the stronghold of Torridon. The castle was tactically secure on the hill it sat upon, and what walls there were still afforded a view from every window. There were two gatehouses, the main gatehouse and then a second one behind it, and even the interior of the castle was compartmentalized to keep different areas safe in case there was a breach. The castle also covered twice the ground Torridon did, and it possessed several levels and dozens of rooms.
It was a massive place.
There were people everywhere. Josephine had no idea why all these people were here, or what possible business they could have. Groups of luxuriously dressed women and clusters of men seemed not to notice her or Nicholas as they crossed paths, but Josephine found herself unconsciously staring at people. Living a rather isolated life as she had at Torridon, especially after her father had died, she’d had limited contact with strangers and found it fascinating that there were so many different-looking people.
Sunlight of mid-morn streamed in like golden rivers through the windows on the east and south sides of the castle as she and Nicholas toured the various staterooms. She was utterly enthralled and was proud to be a distant part of this glory. She wished Justine were here to experience a part of her lineage.
Yet, even as she was overwhelmed by the spectacle that was Edinburgh Castle, she was wondering where Andrew was. Was he still on the ground? Had they captured him? Or was he hiding in some house or barn, waiting until his brother arrived? She wished vehemently that she knew because she wanted desperately to see him. In fact, she was so distracted thinking about him that Nicholas stopped the tour.
“Are ye well, Josephine?” he asked, concerned.
She paused and looked at him. Could he be trusted? Andrew and Sully’s lives, as well as her own, were at stake. Nicholas, for all of his friendship and gentle nature, was still the king’s nephew. She liked him a great deal and knew she had his sympathy, but she wasn’t yet ready to trust him with a secret like that. Not yet, anyway. After a moment, she simply nodded.
“Aye,” she said. “I suppose I am simply overwhelmed.”
He smiled. “I understand completely.”
Josephine began to walk again, veering off the subject of her mental state. “Where do the soldiers practice, Nicholas?” she asked. “This is such a large place. Where do the soldiers drill?”
It was an odd question from a proper young lady, but not so odd coming from a young woman who had fought like a man for the past couple of years. Nicholas motioned behind him vaguely.
“Over to the north,” he said, then looked deliberately at her. “I shall take ye there if ye promise not to tell my uncle.”
She grinned. “I swear it.”
The training arena was far larger than anything Torridon possessed. It was a big, open area by the barracks, with views from the top of the crag that went on for miles. Nicholas led her to the safety of the lists as several pairs of soldiers squared off against each other. Still others were being instructed in groups. The day was growing warm, and the dust flew as feet scuffled and blows were dealt.
Josephine was excited by the commotion, inevitably comparing the training to her own knights’ training. She passed a critical eye over each man, pointing out to Nicholas what was wrong or outstanding about each. She sounded more like a general than a fine-bred young lady, but Nicholas could see she was quite thrilled with the action.
“Do you practice much, Nicholas?” she asked while her eyes were riveted to the scene before her.
“Not as much as I should,” he admitted.
She nodded intently. “I should like to practice with you some time.”
He was taken aback. “Me? I am not a very good swordsman.”
She grinned at him. “But I am,” she said. “I shall teach you a few tricks meant for those of us who are not as strong as those mountainous beasts out there.”
He shrugged, knowing he should agree because she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, and turned his attention back to the fighting field. As they continued to gaze on the overall scene of men in training, they could see someone entering the area over to north.
Graceful and powerful, the massive figure strolled in, covered with armor attended by a pair of squires and several small pages. Josephine saw the figure and locked on to it, aware of who it was even from a distance.
“De Reyne,” she said curiously. “So he practices with the rank and file, does he?”
He was quite some distance away, but he looked over at her the exact moment Josephine said his name. Their eyes locked and he headed over in her direction.
“If it isn’t the polite maiden stealer,” she said as the man came near. “Steal any other young women lately, Ridge?”
Ridge fought off a grin at her ribbing, which probably wasn’t so much ribbing as it was some kind of dig at his sense of duty. “Not today, my lady,” he said evenly. “But you never know what tomorrow will bring. Did you have a pleasant eve?”
It was a normal question, but her paranoia had the better of her. Josephine caught something in his tone, or at least she thought she did. Even something in his eyes that unsettled her. Did he know what had taken place in her chamber last evening? Was it possible he’d seen Andrew enter? Her expression clouded with uncertainty for a split second, but was gone.
“Very pleasant, thank you,” she replied steadily. “And I have had an interesting morning; the most exciting I am sure is yet to come. Indulge my passion for swordplay and entertain me, de Reyne. I command it.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “For you, my lady, anything.”
Ridge turned away from the stand and donned his helm, slapping down his visor. His pages and attendants scattered when his squire handed him his sword. From one side of the field his opponent approached, and the two men squared off.
Josephine watched, eyes glittering with excitement, as the swords came together with a mighty sound. Within the first few minutes, it was obvious that Ridge’s partner was no match for the king’s mighty bodyguard. Ridge moved like a lion on the prowl, and he was intelligent and quick. She had seen him fight before, of course, when the bandits attacked them on the road, but this was different. It was precisely structured and was carefully executed, like a well-choreographed dance. Ridge was the center of this exercise as he moved like he had been born with a sword in his hand.
But after several minutes, Josephine was feeling less and less satisfied with what she was seeing. Although Ridge was magnificent, it would have been more thrilling had he been fighting a tree. There was no energy to the bout, and Josephine finally jumped from the stands and onto the dirt before Nicholas could stop her.
“Cease!” she bellowed as the two men came to a grinding halt. She glared at Ridge’s partner. “You, sir, are a disgrace to the order of the knight. God help you if you ever wield a sword in battle, for you shall surely perish. You may as well throw yourself on your own sword when you see the enemy approach. Now give me that sword and let me show you how it’s done.”
She reached out and yanked the sword from the man’s hand as he stood there, dumbfounded, but Ridge suppressed a grin as she verbally battered the hapless man. Still, he did not actually believe she intended to fight him until she shoved the armored man away and turned to face him in her silk dress. She bound her skirts up, tucking it between her legs and pulling it up front to lodge in the belt around her waist so she wouldn’t trip on her skirts.
Now, it wasn’t so amusing. Ridge propped his helm up and looked at her with great disapproval.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
The sword came in front of her in an offensive stance. “Shut your lips and put up your sword.”
His brows came together in disbelief. “I will not fight you in that… that dress,” he argued. “Go back to the lists where you belong.”
She smiled thinly at him. “Dress or no, you shall fight me or you shall lose your manhood. Now, pick up your sword and prepare to fight.”
Without warning, she lunged forward in a sharp arc, and had he been any slower she would have cut off his right arm. He parried but did not retaliate. Instead, he stood several feet back, his expression full of disbelief and disapproval.
“I told you I would not fight you,” he said.
Josephine acted as if she didn’t hear him. She rushed at him again, watching him put his sword up defensively. Then she spun in the opposite direction, bringing her sword to bear right at the back of his neck.
It was over in a split second. One move and Josephine could easily cut the man’s neck. But Ridge didn’t move a muscle; he didn’t even turn his head to look at her.
“Well?” he said. “If you are going to cut my head off, then get on with it.”
So he wasn’t going to play with her. Josephine lowered the sword in frustration. “I am not going to cut your head off, you silly man,” she said. “I promised to show Nicholas some tactics that smaller warriors like us can use against beasts like you. Won’t you help me?”
Ridge looked at her, his eyes glimmering with humor. “Nay,” he said flatly. “If the king saw me, I would be in for a lashing. Go back to your room, my lady. Go back there and remain there.”
Josephine frowned, and she began to run circles around him, her sword defensively positioned. “I will go back if you defeat me,” she said. “Lift your sword, de Reyne. I will not return to my room otherwise.”
Ridge sighed heavily. He wasn’t in the mood for the lady’s taunts but, on the other hand, he had to admire her bravery. She was tenacious. He could see his squires looking at the lady with a good deal of shock and he thought perhaps to give the lady a taste of what it would be like to go up against a real knight, a man who had trained for years to kill men of his size.
He knew she’d been fighting at Torridon since her father died, but he suspected her knights had kept her rather insulated from the real fighting. That made her falsely confident in her abilities. That’s what made her fight against him when he first took her from Torridon; she genuinely thought she could take him on.
She was about to learn otherwise.
Therefore, he stood there as Josephine walked around him, challenging him to a fight. He lowered his helm and his visor, and his sword remained lowered as well. He waited until she made two circles around him because he knew she was going to get careless and let her guard down when she saw that he wasn’t going to fight her. But he was about to use the element of surprise.
Quick as a flash, he lashed out his sword, tripping her as she walked around him. As she yelped and went down on the dirt, he was suddenly standing over her, the tip of his sword to her throat. He rather hated to toss her to the earth when she was so beautifully dressed, but it couldn’t be helped. Before he could demand her surrender, however, the lady brought up a foot and kicked him right in the groin. Literally, right in the balls. As Ridge grunted and stumbled back, she leapt to her feet and threw herself at him, grabbing him around the neck and using her body weight to throw him even further off balance.
Her intent was to cause him to fall to the ground, but Ridge wasn’t so easily defeated. He managed to keep his balance, grab the woman who was trying so desperately to defeat him, and sling her up over his shoulder. As she fought viciously against him, he brought a trencher-sized hand down on her buttocks and spanked her soundly. Josephine howled.
“Ridge!” she screamed. “You beast! Put me down!”
Ridge spanked her again. “That is for kicking me in the ballocks,” he told her. “If you ruin my chances of having a son, I will come for you, wherever you are. I will hunt you down and Andrew d’Vant will not be able to protect you.”
He was carrying her back over to the lists where Nicholas was standing, open-mouthed. Ridge motioned to the young man.
“Come along,” he said. “I am taking the lady back to her chambers. She is finished with the training grounds for the day. She should not have been here in the first place.”
Nicholas climbed off the lists, concerned for Josephine. “Ye’re ruining her dress, Ridge,” he pointed out. “The king will be angry.”
“Then she should not have charged me.”
That was the truth and Nicholas didn’t have much to say to that. What had started off as a lovely morning had turned into a bit of a fiasco. Across Ridge’s broad shoulder, the more Josephine squirmed, the more Ridge spanked her. Furious, as she knew she couldn’t fight the man the way he was holding her, she hung over his shoulder and reached down, pulling up the back of his mail coat.
Ridge could feel what she was doing and he spun her around a couple of times, trying to disorient her, but it didn’t work – she had the mail coat hiked up and managed to get her hands on the linen breeches he wore underneath the heavier leather ones he wore as protection. Once she got a hold of the top of the linen breeches, she pulled as hard as she could and Ridge nearly dropped her.
On top of kicking him in the groin, now she was trying to cut off the blood supply to that area. She yanked hard, seriously constricting him, and he spanked her so hard that she screamed. But she didn’t stop pulling. In fact, by the time they reached the entry to the wing where she was housed, she had pulled his breeches up so tightly that the man could barely walk.
“Let go,” he said through clenched teeth.
Josephine refused. “Not unless you put me down!”
“I cannot put you down when you have my breeches pulled halfway up to my shoulders.”
“Then we are at an impasse.”
Nicholas had been watching the entire thing and he wasn’t hard pressed to realize how brutally humorous it was. Josephine was stubborn, but so was Ridge. When two immovable objects met, there was often violence, so Nicholas walked around to the rear of Ridge and tried to look Josephine in the eye.
“Ye really should let him go, Joey,” he said. “’Tis most undignified to see ye like this. If ye could see yerself, ye would know what I mean.”
Josephine looked at him, upside-down. Her lovely hair style was all but unraveled. “He had no right to spank me.”
Nicholas thought that, perhaps, the only way around her was to be firm. “And ye truly had no business trying to sword fight the man,” he said. “I told ye I should not have taken ye to the training grounds and this is how ye repay me? Now, let the man go. I am hungry and want to go inside.”
Josephine was reluctant to agree that Nicholas was probably right. She’d jumped into the training arena where she didn’t belong, and Ridge was right to have removed her. Reluctantly, she let go of Ridge’s breeches and Ridge immediately set her to her feet. They eyed each other for a moment, stubbornly, until Josephine broke down.
“I am sorry I kicked you in the groin,” she said. “Are you hurt much?”
Ridge kicked out a leg, trying to pull his linen pants down from where they were bunched up in between his buttocks. “Nay,” he said. “And since you are apologizing, I will say that whoever trained you to fight did a good job of it. You have excellent instincts.”
Josephine fought off a smile at the compliment. Somehow, it didn’t seem appropriate to smile as the man struggled to pull his breeches out of his arse crack.
“You and I have fought each other a few times since we first met,” she said. “You are a worthy opponent.”
Ridge couldn’t help it; he grinned at the fact that she truly thought she was his equal. “I would much rather not fight you, my lady,” he said. “Can we please call a truce? My groin cannot take any more violence.”
Josephine’s smile broke through. “Indeed,” she said. “We have a truce.”
“Did I spank you too hard? If I did, I apologize.”
She shook her head. “With all of the skirts and shifts between your hand and my backside, I hardly felt a thing.”
He laughed softly. “Then we are friends again,” he said. But then, he sobered dramatically as he focused on her. “And as your friend, I would ask a favor.”
She cocked her head curiously. “What is it?”
He sighed faintly, glancing around the area to see who was out and about. The king had many spies at Edinburgh, including him, and he wanted to see if he was being watched. A brief perusal of the area showed it to be relatively safe from prying eyes.
“Stay to your chambers today,” he said, his voice quiet. “Do not come out again, not today and not any day from this point forward unless you are summoned. I have it on good authority from the spies on the outskirts of Edinburgh that the earl is approaching from his home at Liberton. He should be here within the next hour or two, so I would strongly recommend you return to your chamber and bolt the door. Do not give the man a chance to see you here, out in the open. Do you understand?”
Gone was the humor, the lightheartedness of the day. Gone was the just plain fun of scrapping with Ridge. Now, Josephine gazed back at him in fear.
“God’s Bones,” she breathed. “He has been sighted?”
Ridge nodded. “He has.”
Josephine felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut. She suddenly felt sick. “I do not know why I should feel so shocked by this news,” she muttered. “I knew he was coming. I have been told. Still… the reality of it is somewhat daunting.”
Ridge could feel the familiar pangs of sympathy for the little soldier as well as the familiar pangs of that brotherly protectiveness. “Go back to your chambers, Josephine,” he said quietly. “And if I were you, I’d keep the servants out. Madelaine is a direct line to the king. She is his mistress when the whim strikes him.”
Josephine looked at him in shock. “She is?”
Ridge nodded. He didn’t say another word, but turned her for the entrance with the silent suggestion she go inside. Josephine didn’t hesitate; she quickly entered the building with Nicholas on her heels.
Ridge stood there a moment, thinking that even if she did lock herself in her chamber, it wouldn’t do much good. All the king had to do was order her to appear before him, and before her betrothed, and she would have to appear. Ridge was supposed to practice that morning and then he had a training group he was supposed to work with in the afternoon, new Scottish recruits to the king’s army. He really had no desire to work with farmers and hunters from the Highlands.
Instead, he thought he might stick close to Lady Josephine’s chambers, just in case she needed him.
There wasn’t much he could do if she did, but still… something told him to stick close.
*
He could see the approaching army from a distance.
Using the apple man disguises, Sully and Andrew had been able to come and go freely between the castle and the inn Ermaline, Esme, and the other whores called home. It was coming to be their base of operations. Being that the inn was literally on the road leading up to the castle, it was the best place to watch the comings and goings, and that included the approach of Andrew’s brother. Since they knew he was due on this day, they’d retreated to the inn and had remained vigilant, watching the road, waiting for what was to come.
And it came soon enough.
From the east, Andrew saw it first. He was preparing to ride into the city to locate a blacksmith when the approach of the army caught his eye. Troops of the highest order moving through town, heading for the castle. The banners and foot soldiers came first, trudging up the road leading to the gatehouse. The great golden bear of Blackbank was outlined on the flag coming into focus. Andrew was so engrossed with the sight before him that he didn’t notice his white-knuckled fists clenching and unclenching passionately.
Men on horseback followed the foot soldiers, fierce-looking knights whose armor was familiar to him. Hell, he probably knew some of the men who wore it, for only nineteen years had passed since he’d left Haldane. He knew that all nine of the knights had been loyal to his father, and he was sure that given the choice between Alphonse and himself, they would be loyal to him.
It was a huge caravan that his brother had brought, no doubt, to show his strength. With the number of men he had brought, he could wreak considerable havoc on this city should he choose, should the situation not go well with Josephine.
And then, his brother was there, larger than life.
Alphonse d’Vant, Earl of Annan and Blackbank, sat astride a massive black animal that looked like it was borne of the demons of hell. But somehow, Alphonse didn’t seem as large as Andrew had remembered, and he felt oddly relieved. Over the years, Andrew’s hatred for his brother had gained him another foot in height and a hideously deformed face, but he saw that neither was certainly the case. His brother looked tamer, more vulnerable, and entirely human.
Entirely mortal.
Killing him shall be a pleasure!
But no mistaking – the man was huge. He rode on his destrier swathed in enough armor to squash a normal man, and was heading up the hill towards Edinburgh Castle. The rest of his troops followed in precise ranks, looking like a hundred trained dogs following their master obediently.
Andrew felt many different emotions as he watched his brother. It was almost as if he were dreaming because he had waited for this moment for so long. It was surreal. He felt hate and anger, but he also felt oddly relieved that the event he’d so long prepared for was finally coming to pass. Finally, his long-awaited vengeance would be realized, and he was more than ready for it.
But thoughts of vengeance turned to thoughts of Josephine, and he felt a tremendous sense of protectiveness towards her. Damn Alphonse! If he were standing in front of him now, he’d like nothing better than to wrap his hands around his brother’s throat, not only for the pain and anguish the man had caused their mother, but now for the pain and anguish he was causing Josephine.
Of course, Alphonse had no idea that the woman he was pledged to marry was his own brother’s lady but, still, Alphonse was the cause of torment for both of the women that Andrew loved.
It was time for that torment to end.
Alphonse and his entourage disappeared up the road and into the gatehouse of the castle, but Andrew continued to stare as if rooted to the spot. There was so very much going through his mind but, eventually, he came back to the world around him. Yet, his mind was still very much occupied. He thought of the coming battle, of the weapons he’d brought with him to accomplish his task.
He looked at the broadsword strapped to the saddle of his horse, a weighty thing that he’d used in battle for years. But he wanted something better. Knowing his brother had been on the approach, his intention had been to find a good blacksmith because he had some ideas about what he needed in a blade. There was something he wanted and little time to do it. For what he needed to accomplish, he needed a blade that could slice through a man’s torso like a hot knife through butter.
Aye, there were many things on his mind at the moment, but something made him look up to the second story of the inn. He didn’t know what or why, but he happened to glance up to the window of his room. Sully’s face stared down at him, his square jaw set and his blue eyes smoldering as they locked onto Andrew’s brown orbs. In that instant, Andrew knew that Sully had seen the earl as well, and was believing every cursed thing Andrew had told him about the man.
With an ironic grimace, Andrew mounted his horse and sped off into the city.
*
Ridge had told her to stay to her chambers, but Josephine just couldn’t seem to listen to the man.
She wasn’t being deliberately disobedient, but it was more the fact that she hadn’t seen Andrew since the previous evening. She thought for certain he would have come to her today, or at least make his presence known, but he hadn’t. The longer she waited for him and the more the day progressed, the more worried she became.
Surely he couldn’t have gone far from the castle. Surely he was around here, somewhere. And what of Sully? Where was he? Since Ridge had all but commanded her to return to her chambers, she’d stood at the window, watching the grounds, trying to spy Andrew somewhere amongst the many people that walked to and fro across the dirt courtyard. But he wasn’t anywhere to be found and the more time passed, the more worried she became.
At her request, Nicholas had long since left her to go about his own business. In truth, Josephine simply wanted to be alone, especially if Andrew was on the grounds. She didn’t want him making an appearance in front of Nicholas. But as the nooning hour came and went, it seemed certain that Andrew wasn’t going to show, and Josephine was growing increasingly concerned that he might have run into trouble with the king’s soldiers. Perhaps, they’d even captured him and thrown him in the dungeons. With that thought lingering, Josephine made up her mind up to look for the man.
She knew she shouldn’t. In fact, even as she slipped from her chamber, she was most reluctant to go, but the idea of Andrew in danger kept her from turning back. Slipping down the corridor, down the stairs, and out into the sunshine, Josephine began to hunt in earnest for Andrew, wherever he was hiding.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know the castle grounds very well and Edinburgh Castle was vast. She wandered into the garden area because she knew Andrew had seen her there the night before, but poking and peeking around the bushes didn’t produce him. After the garden, she walked up towards the training grounds because there were a lot of men there, a lot of outbuildings, and many places to hide.
The training grounds proved a bit more of a challenge because men had no control when they saw a beautiful woman wandering about aimlessly. They wanted to escort her and protect her, and Josephine had to run from the training grounds because of too many do-gooders. If Andrew was there somewhere, then he was a fool, because there were far too many men around. But she didn’t think he was there.
She pushed onward.
Heading away from the training ground, she came across several buildings that housed carts and carriages. There were men moving about, servants, but they didn’t seem to give her any notice. As the castle was built on the top of a rocky crag, there were many instances of rocky areas, of natural holes, and there were any number of places where a man could hide.
But Josephine still didn’t see Andrew as she walked past the cart buildings. The road curved around and down a great slope. She could see the gatehouse. She remembered the area from when she first arrived, so she more or less had her bearings. At the base of the road leading into the castle was the town, and there had been a dozen little inns and hostels crowded in and around the base of the road.
Perhaps that was where he’d gone.
Curiosity and concern drove her down the hill. Moving through the inner portcullis entry hadn’t been difficult at all. It was guarded but there were a great many people moving in and out, so she simply walked through it with a crowd of people and continued onward. But she was nearing the main gatehouse when she caught sight of a great commotion; men were shouting at each other and the first of two big portcullises in the gatehouse, which had been half-lowered, was now being lifted.
There was so much activity going on that Josephine naturally came to a halt, curious about what was happening. There were people moving through the gatehouse, but the soldiers were hurrying them through, shouting at them to make way. Josephine tried to peer through the gatehouse to see what was on the other side, but the angle of the road made that difficult. She couldn’t see much.
Then, abruptly, banners came into view.
Banners with big golden bears on them were coming up the road and the men holding them soon came into view. Heavily-armed men were at the lead and behind them came men on foot with pikes and swords. Realizing an army was about to come through, Josephine quickly looked around, attempting to locate a place she could hide. She could run back up the road to the second gatehouse, but she’d still have to hide from the incoming army, somehow, and Ridge’s words came back to haunt her.
Do not let the earl catch you out.
God’s Bones… the earl!
To her right was a wall built against the rock of the crag that the castle was built upon. There was enough of a lip at the top off the wall that Josephine knew she could hide behind it. It would be difficult, for the lip wasn’t more than two or three feet high, but it could be done. Besides, she had no choice. Hoisting herself up onto the wall, she leapt over the top of it and settled down behind the lip.
She didn’t dare peek out. Someone would surely see her head and her concealment would be discovered. In little time, the sounds of the army became apparent – footfalls, horses, and the creak of wagon wheels. The dust they were kicking up floated into the air and settled down around her, nearly making her sneeze. But she kept her hand over her nose, pinching it shut, praying that no one would spy her hiding behind the lip of the wall. She most certainly didn’t want to meet the earl this way.
She didn’t want to meet him at all.
It seemed like an eternity as the army passed by, the rumble of men in conversation, the thunder of horses. Everything was shaking, rumbling, and dusty, and Josephine remained tucked down, waiting for it to end. Eventually, the sounds began to fade, and she dared to pop her head up, seeing the tail end of the army as it passed through the second portcullis gatehouse.
The storm, for the moment, had passed.
But it wasn’t over entirely. Josephine came out of her hiding place and jumped down off the wall. The main gatehouse seemed to be operating as normal, with people once again passing in and out of it, and she walked very quickly down the hill and slipped out as the guards were talking to a merchant who was trying to come in.
Josephine lost herself in the people on the road leading up to the castle, most of them simple villeins or farmers or even merchants going about their business. The castle was a very busy place, a seat of commerce as well as the seat of the king. In fact, it was rather crowded, and as she reached the base of the hill, she could hear people speaking of the great army that had just come through.
Josephine knew without a doubt who the army belonged to and she also knew that, soon enough, they would come looking for her to introduce her to her betrothed. That made finding Andrew something she needed to do sooner rather than later, and her anxiety was beginning to mount; Andrew had to know that his brother had arrived.
Looking around, it was difficult to know where to start to look for Andrew and Sully. Directly across the road were a cluster of inns, the ones she remembered from the day she and Ridge had arrived, so she supposed it would be the logical place to start. Perhaps someone would have seen Andrew and Sully; even if they didn’t know them by name, she could at least describe them.
The inn directly across from the road leading to the castle was called The Falcon and The Flower, and Josephine presumed it was as good a place to start as any. Gathering her dirty skirts, she dashed across the road, avoiding horses and people, and headed straight for the entry door. She was about to open it when it suddenly flew open and a familiar face appeared.
“Sully!” Josephine gasped.
Sully could hardly believe his eyes as he reached out to steady Josephine. Having nearly run her over, she was teetering. But he grabbed hold and pulled her away from the door, all the while looking at her with a good deal of shock.
“Josephine!” he said, startled. “What are you doing here?”
Josephine was so glad to see Sully that it nearly brought her to tears. “I came to find Andrew,” she said anxiously. “Have you seen him?”
Sully looked around, seeing the crowds of people in the street, and pulled Josephine with him until they were wedged into a tiny ally between the tavern and another building. It was filthy, smelling of urine and feces, but it was private.
“Aye, I’ve seen him,” he said, looking her up and down as if to make sure she was unharmed. “And you? Are you well? Andrew said that Ridge de Reyne took you from Torridon to bring you to the king and…”
She cut him off. “It is true,” she said. “I saw Andrew last night and told him this.”
Sully nodded. “He told me when he returned to the tavern, very late,” he said. “We saw you and Nicholas in the garden last night. We saw Ridge, too. Josephine, what is going on? Why are you here?”
Josephine clutched him. “Because I have not yet seen Andrew today,” she said, quickly realizing how silly she sounded. “I did not mean it that way. I simply meant I thought I would see him today and I have not. He is not in trouble, is he? He has not been captured?”
Sully shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “He is not in any trouble. In fact, he was just here a few minutes ago. Surely you saw the army pass through?”
Josephine nodded, fear in her eyes. “It was the earl,” she said. “I know it was the earl.”
“Who told you?”
“No one had to. We are expecting the earl today; who else could it be?”
“It was the earl.”
The voice came from behind, towards the back of the ally. Josephine and Sully turned, startled, to see Ridge standing there. He did not look pleased.
“Ridge!” Josephine gasped. “What are you doing here?”
Ridge’s gaze was mostly on Sully as he moved forward. Specifically, he was looking to see if the man was armed, and he was. That was enough of a sight for Ridge to bolt forward and grab Josephine, pulling her back with him so Sully couldn’t get hold of her and possibly make a run for it.
But Josephine fought back, slapping at Ridge as he held on to her. “Let me go!” she demanded.
Ridge didn’t let go and he didn’t take his eyes off of Sully. “So d’Vant is here, too, is he?” he asked. “Where is he?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where?”
Sully shook his head. “I do not know,” he said honestly. “He rode off to the east about fifteen minutes ago.”
D’Vant was off in the city somewhere. Ridge couldn’t be concerned with that at the moment. He had Montgomery in his sights and needed to deal with the man.
“Truthfully, I am not surprised you are both here,” he said. “I suppose I expected you to come.”
Sully hadn’t moved from his position by the wall, and most especially now that Ridge had Josephine. “You knew we would figure out what had happened,” he said.
Ridge sighed faintly. He wasn’t angry, in truth. He was rather sedate about the entire situation but for the fact he was holding on to Josephine.
“And you did,” he said. “Now what? Where are you going to run to that the king cannot find you? Back to Torridon? Into England? No place you could go would be safe. And do you intend to run with d’Vant and the lady, now that you have a wife and Torridon Castle in your possession? The king would strip that from you faster than the blink of an eye. You are not thinking properly, Montgomery. You have not thought any of this through.”
Sully knew that. He knew that he and Andrew had come to Edinburgh to protect a woman who, more than likely, probably could not be much protected by the two of them. But much like Andrew, he’d acted on emotion. Josephine had been taken and they had to go after her.
There was no giving her up.
But they’d made connections to get them into the castle and last night, Andrew had made contact with Josephine. Clearly, Ridge did not know that. As Sully thought on a reply that wouldn’t give away the fact that they had more access to the castle than de Reyne realized, Josephine continued to beat on Ridge’s hands.
“Let me go, Ridge,” she demanded again. “How did you find me here?”
Ridge’s gaze was still on Sully. “How do you think?” he said. “I followed you. I saw you leave your chamber after I told you to stay there, so I followed you.”
She frowned and stopped trying to dislodge his grip. “That was sneaky,” she said. “You have no right to follow me!”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Aye, I do,” he said. “Evidently, you cannot be trusted to keep your word.”
“That is a terrible thing to say!”
“You told me you would stay to your chamber when I told you the earl was expected. You lied.”
Josephine was so angry that her face started to turn red, but the man was correct, so she couldn’t very well berate him for it.
“So you have found me,” she grumbled, turning away. “I suppose you are going to take me back now.”
Ridge didn’t reply for a moment. He turned to look at Sully, still standing against the wall. “Aye,” he said. “I am going to take you back. But Montgomery is coming with us.”
Josephine looked up at him, shocked. “Why?”
Ridge lifted an eyebrow. “Because he has come to abduct the betrothed of the Earl of Annan and Blackbank,” he said. “Surely you know I cannot let him go free.”
Josephine was horrified. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Put him in the dungeons for now.”
Josephine’s mouth popped open as she looked at Sully, who didn’t seem all that surprised. He was looking at Ridge.
“And if I refuse to go with you?” he asked.
Ridge didn’t seem too surprised by the question. “I will tell the king that you have come to take the lady back to Torridon,” he said. “I will tell him that d’Vant is here, also. Given that the lady’s marriage to Blackbank is an important political move, the king will more than likely send his army to Torridon and raze it. D’Vant will be an outlaw in Scotland and no Scottish laird will hire the man for fear of incurring the king’s wrath. Shall I go on?”
Sully knew the threat against Torridon was very real. He didn’t relish spending any time in Edinburgh’s dungeons, but he suspected he had no choice at the moment. He couldn’t risk Torridon, in any fashion. After a moment, he simply lowered his gaze as if resigned to the entire thing.
“Please do not do this, Ridge,” Josephine begged quietly. “I am sorry I lied to you. I did not do it intentionally. I promise I shall behave myself from now on if you will only leave Sully alone.”
She sounded sincere enough but Ridge was resolute. “Alas, I cannot leave him,” he said. “He is a threat and threats must be dealt with.”
Josephine flared. “He is not a threat,” she said. “Please, Ridge… there is more to this that you do not know. There is a reason why Sully and Andrew are here. I did not tell you before because I did not want you to know, but now you must. I do not want you to think Andrew and Sully have come to commit foolish crimes against the king. There is a reason for everything.”
Ridge cocked an eyebrow. “More lies to spare them?”
Josephine shook her head. “I swear upon my mother’s grave that this is the truth,” she said quietly. “You may or may not know that Andrew and the Earl of Annan and Blackbank are brothers.”
Ridge didn’t look so suspicious any longer. Now, he looked surprised but tried to pretend he wasn’t. “Brothers?” he said thoughtfully. “I suppose it did not occur to me. The name d’Vant is not uncommon. And except for their size, they do not favor one another.”
Josephine nodded. “I cannot speak to whether or not they look similar, for I have not seen the earl, but he is Andrew’s older brother,” she said. “When their father died, the earl imprisoned their mother and banished Andrew, so he escaped. Because of this, Andrew has sworn to kill his brother and that is why he is here. To kill the earl.”
Ridge stared at her a moment in disbelief before looking to Sully. “Is this true?”
Sully nodded slowly. “It is,” he said. “Andrew has sworn to avenge his mother by killing his brother. All of this – the betrothal, and of you bringing Josephine to Edinburgh, is simply an incredible coincidence. It is true that Andrew has come to protect Josephine as best he can, but his first objective is to kill his brother. He is not here to take her away, at least not yet. I swear this upon my oath as a knight.”
“Does the king know that Andrew and Blackbank are brothers?”
Josephine nodded. “He knows,” she said. “But he does not know that Andrew has sworn to kill the man. At least, I have not told him that. If he knows, he did not hear it from me.”
Ridge sighed heavily. This was grave and serious information, something the king needed to be aware of. With The Red Fury bent on vengeance, Blackbank’s life was in jeopardy. But given what Ridge thought of the man, and what he thought of this whole situation, maybe that was a good thing.
Maybe the king didn’t need to know, after all.
Still, the situation was serious enough that he had to do something about Sully’s presence. The fact remained that he was here to thwart the king’s plans and that, on the whole, couldn’t be allowed.
“You will come with me now, Montgomery,” he said after a moment.
Josephine was back to struggling against Ridge. “Why? We told you the truth! Sully has not done anything wrong!”
Ridge cocked a dark eyebrow. “Yet,” he emphasized. “I must make sure it remains that way.”
Josephine geared up for a verbal battle with the man but a word from Sully stopped her. “Joey, stop,” he said. “Fighting the man will not change his mind.”
Ridge could see that Sully was surrendering. It was in the man’s stance, in his manner. Frankly, he was glad he wasn’t going to have a fight on his hands. Obviously, for the lady’s sake, Sully would not resist. As Josephine unhappily backed down, Ridge spoke quietly.
“The sword,” he said. “Drop it.”
Sully looked at the broadsword strapped to his leg. “Can I at least take it inside? I do not want to leave it here in the alley.”
“I said drop it.”
With a heavy sigh, Sully unbuckled the sheath and the sword fell to filthy dirt of the alley.
“Now,” Ridge said. “Walk to the street.”
Sully turned and walked out of the alley, right into the road, and Ridge and Josephine followed, but not before Ridge stopped to pick up the sword. He wasn’t going to let it remain in the alley where someone could steal it. He wasn’t so cruel.
Together, the three of them made their way back up the road leading to the castle. Upon reaching the main gatehouse, Ridge turned Sully over to the soldiers at the gate with the instructions to treat him well but take him to the dungeon. The last Josephine saw of Sully was of the man being surrounded by four guards, who escorted him away from the gatehouse.
Her heart sank as Ridge took her by the arm and led her back to her chamber. He took her right up to the door, not taking any chance that she would deviate if he left her at the building entry and told her to go inside. Ridge was coming to learn that the lady had a mind of her own and even though she knew what her duty was, to obey the king, it was clear that she didn’t want to do it. Nothing about her was complacent to the situation and Ridge was well aware.
The pity he felt for her, the brotherly protection, was going to get him into trouble if he wasn’t careful. When Josephine entered her chamber and shut the door, Ridge could hear the sobs through the panel. As much as he thought he should comfort her and assure her that he wasn’t trying to be cruel, merely following orders, he thought it best not to. She already knew his role in all of this. It wouldn’t do any good to repeat it.
Trying to block out the sounds of Josephine’s weeping, Ridge went about his business.