Chapter 16
“Lady Victoria, we need to talk.” Martin walked down to the great hall, taking Victoria by the arm.
“Martin, I was hoping we’d have time to talk – in private.”
“We’ll go to the garden,” he said.
“Nay, the wind is cold today. I’d like to stay inside near a warm fire. How about your bedchamber?”
“I don’t think that would be appropriate,” he mumbled.
“Why not?” she asked. “After all, we’ve already graced your bed – and we are betrothed.”
“Nay, we’re not,” he ground out, feeling a muscle in his jaw twitch.
“I’ll meet you in your chamber,” she said, breaking out of his hold and hurrying down the corridor. Martin didn’t want to make a scene. So, instead of stopping her, he followed her into his chamber but left the door ajar.
“Victoria, why are you back?” he grumbled.
“I told you. I want to marry you.” She trailed her fingers along the furniture, making her way towards the bed.
“I’m not marrying you. I am marrying Lady Winter.”
She turned on her heel. “That blacksmith girl?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Why did you ever dress her up like a lady in the first place when she doesn’t deserve it?”
“She is a lady. And she is also a fine blacksmith. Right now, she’s constructing a sword for me that will allow me to save my brother and take down Laird Gregor of Clan Dunbar.”
“She doesn’t sound like a lady to me. I don’t know why you’d want to marry her.” She turned and strolled over to the bed. Her eyes fixated on the erotic paintings on the wall and her lips turned up in a smile. “Do you remember when we made love, Martin? These paintings are what made me so randy that day.”
“I never should have let you convince me to lie with you. I knew better.”
“That’s the day your son was conceived.” She looked at him with eager eyes. “Let’s do it again.”
“Nay! And if you knew you were pregnant, why did you leave Castle Heaton in the first place?”
“I didn’t know. I was just . . . angry with you for taking my virginity. That’s why I left.”
“That’s not the way I remember it,” said Martin. “Matter of fact, I don’t remember you as being a virgin at all.” He thought about the bloodstained sheets he’d seen after Winter left his bed. He’d never seen anything like that with Victoria.
“Not every virgin shows signs of losing her maidenhead,” said Victoria. “The important thing is that I’m back. And so is your son. Now we can be married and become a family the way we should have been from the start.”
“Nay. I don’t trust you. I want you out of Castle Heaton immediately.” Martin walked forward and took her by the arm.
“Martin? Are you in here?” The partially open door swung open. At the same time, Victoria pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard.
“Oh!” came the voice from the door.
Martin pushed Victoria away and turned to see Winter standing in the doorway dressed in her commoner’s gown. Nairnie was right behind her.
“Winter!” He hurried across the room. “What are you doing here?”
“The question is - what are you doing?” Her bright green eyes turned a shade deeper as disappointment darkened her face.
“He was kissing me, just like he used to do,” said Victoria, plopping down on the bed. The woman smiled and pointed to the walls with an open palm. “If these walls could talk, they would tell you that Martin likes the ladies. I am proof since this is where I not only lost my virginity but where our son was conceived. Right here in this bed.” She patted the pallet with her hand.
Winter’s lip quivered and she seemed to be trying to hold back her emotions. Nairnie scowled at him with her hands on her hips.
“Come on, lassie. I think it’s time we go,” said Nairnie sternly.
Winter turned and ran down the corridor without saying a word. Martin ran after her.
“Winter, wait,” he called out, grabbing her by the wrist and swinging her around.
“Let me go!” she spat, struggling against his grip.
“Release her,” commanded Nairnie, walloping him on the shoulder with her bag of herbs.
“I can explain.”
“You don’t need to explain,” said Winter. “Your actions speak louder than your words. I can see now that I meant nothing to you at all. I was naught more than another of your follies.”
“That’s not true. Don’t listen to Lady Victoria. She knows nothing.”
“You were kissing her, Martin!” Winter glared at him now. “I am not blind. I thought we were supposed to be married.”
“We will be married. She means nothing to me. Lady Victoria trapped me in there, I swear. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Is that the truth?” she asked, calming down a little, seeming to consider his words.
“It is, Winter. You’re the only one to whom I’ve given the key to my heart.”
She thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. “Nay. I can’t stay.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why not?” he asked. “I plan on sending Victoria on her way as soon as possible.”
“And what about your son? Will you send him away as well?”
This was a question that Martin was not ready to answer. He had to find out more information first. “I am not even sure he really is my son,” said Martin. “Just give me time, please. I will find out everything we need to know. But I’ll need a few days.”
“Then take the time to find out the details,” she told him. “I will finish your sword as I promised. However, it will not be here at Castle Heaton. I refuse to stay and watch you kiss your past lover.”
“Now, that’s not fair. I told you, I had nothing to do with what you just saw in there.”
“Ye were in yer bedchamber with a lassie and kissin’ her,” said Nairnie. “It sure looks as if ye had somethin’ to do with it.”
“Aye,” he said, nodding his head and running a weary hand through his hair in thought. “I suppose it does look that way.”
“I’ll stay at the blacksmith’s shop in town,” said Winter. “I’ll finish the work on your sword there. If you don’t have the answers I want to hear by the time the sword is completed, then I am sorry, but I will be on my way back home to Whitehaven.”
“You want to stay in town?” He shook his head furiously. “Nay, I can’t let you do that. It isn’t safe.”
“Let her go, darling,” said Victoria, walking up and slipping her hand atop Martin’s arm. “After all, she is used to being with commoners. Let her stay where she is most comfortable.”
“My guards will go with you,” said Martin.
“I’ll take Nairnie, Wallace, and Josef, but no one else,” bantered Winter.
“Fine,” he finally agreed, not wanting to take the chance of losing her altogether. I’ll have the town blacksmith come here for the duration of your stay, and you can use his shop. And I promise you; we will be married!”
* * *
“Follow Lady Winter and make certain she doesn’t see you,” Martin told his squire as soon as Winter and her small entourage headed out the castle gate. “Watch to make sure no one gives her trouble getting settled in the blacksmith’s shop in town.”
“Aye, my lord,” said Rock. “But isn’t it risky leaving them there alone? I know the men might be able to protect her, but they are not fighting men – just tradesmen.”
“I’ve had Sir Gawain select two guards from the castle who will be dressed like townspeople and stationed in town to keep an eye on her. I’ll not let anything happen to Winter.”
“Aye, my lord,” said Rock, hurrying toward the stable.
“Report back to me, anon, as soon as they are settled in.”
“I will, my lord,” called out Rock with a wave of his hand.
Martin felt furious at the course of events of the day. One minute he was happy and about to marry the lady he loved. Then, the next moment, all hell broke loose with a lady from his past insisting he marry her instead. He was sure Victoria was naught more than a strumpet and a liar.
He saw his past lover across the courtyard, laughing and flirting with every soldier in sight. The boy whom she said was their child was with the nursemaid in the shadows. She acted as if the boy didn’t even exist. He needed to get to the bottom of all this, but not now. Right now, his head throbbed like he’d taken a hammer to it. Perhaps, a few minutes to think was what he needed.
Making his way back to the keep, he purposely stayed in the shadows and avoided Lady Victoria. What was happening here? Now he was slinking around in the shadows of his own castle like a thief in the night? Something needed to be done to remedy this situation quickly.
He made his way back to his solar and headed to his secret room. Entering, he sat down and fiddled with the escape wheel on his clock, not able to get it to work correctly. He thought of Winter and the way she was skilled at her chosen trade. That impressed him. He’d never met a woman like her before and hell if he was going to lose her now.
“Are you still playing with time?” His father entered his secret room, having known about it since he’d built it.
“Hello, Father.” Martin didn’t bother to look up. He used his small hammer and tinkered with the pivot rod.
“I heard Lady Winter has left you.”
“She’s staying in town for now until I can get rid of Victoria.”
“Don’t let a woman leave you if you really care about her, Son.”
“She’s not going to leave me. It is just temporary.”
“Ah, like your mother and me. I understand,” he said with a smile and a nod. “You can wait with me. I’m sure both women will return soon.”
Martin’s hand froze in place. His father’s words were like a knife to his heart. He didn’t want to be like the old man, addled and always hoping for miracles. Frustrated, he threw down his tools and got to his feet. His hand slammed down on the table, causing the pieces of the clock to jump. “I’m not going to lose her, Father. And you need to stop saying Mother is coming back because she isn’t. She’s gone! Did you hear me? Mother is married to someone else now and she, as well as your daughters, will never return to Castle Heaton. It is time you accept that. It’s over for you, Father. But not for me!”
He stormed out of the room, leaving his father standing there gazing off into space.
* * *
“Lady Winter, you should have stayed at the castle,” said Wallace once they’d entered the small shop of the town’s blacksmith.
“This will be fine,” said Winter, looking around the unpleasant, dirty shop. It stank, and there was soot everywhere.
“My lady,” said a man, walking from the back room to greet them. He had a travel bag thrown over his shoulder. “My name is Hubert. Everything in my shop is yours to use.”
“Thank you, Hubert,” she said, carefully placing the sword on the anvil. It was wrapped in a blanket.
“I’ll be on my way now. I can’t believe I actually get to work at the castle.” The man left the shop with a smile on his face.
“And I canna believe a lady is goin’ to be workin’ and livin’ in this cesspool,” grumbled Nairnie, brushing off a chair with her hand. “Ye dinna belong here, Lady Winter.”
“There’s only one room in which to sleep and a pallet on the floor instead of a bed,” announced Josef, peering into the antechamber and crinkling his nose. “This is making the smithy at Ravenscar look better by the minute.”
“Lady Winter will use the pallet. We’ll sleep outside,” said Wallace.
“What about Nairnie?” asked Winter.
“I’ll use this old chair and pray it doesna break.” She sat down on the chair and it creaked under her weight.
Winter’s heart sank. After living at the castle and working in a smithy of her dreams, she wondered if she’d been too quick in making her decision to leave. “The sword is almost finished. We won’t be here more than a few days,” she told them. “Josef, get our things from the cart. Lord de Grey was kind enough to lend us the horse and cart for the duration of our stay. Please see if there is room at the stable to keep it.” She dug into a pouch at her side and handed him a few coins. “Pay the stablemaster well, so he’ll watch that it won’t be stolen.”
“Aye, my lady,” said Josef, heading away.
“I’ll start work on the sword. In the meantime, Wallace, can you take a walk down to the butcher and baker’s and buy us something to eat?” She handed him coins as well.
“I will, my lady, but I agree with Nairnie. You don’t belong here. Go back to Castle Heaton.”
“Nay! I made my decision. I won’t go back as long as Lady Victoria is still there.”
“Lady Winter,” said Wallace, “We don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing is going to happen. Now, the faster I can finish the sword, the sooner we’ll all be able to leave.”
Nairnie got off the chair and grabbed a broom from the corner and started sweeping. “Ye didna have to leave the castle. I told ye I had a vision that ye and Martin will end up together. Why are ye so stubborn, lass?”
“You also saw your own death recently and, thankfully, that proved not to be true. I am very grateful that you share your visions Nairnie, however, I like to take my fate into my own hands.”
“Hrmph,” snorted the old woman, sweeping faster and faster.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Winter.
Nairnie stopped sweeping and leaned on the broom. “If ye really wanted to take yer fate into yer own hands, ye’d have stayed at the castle and made sure Victoria kept her claws off of Martin.”
“Mayhap so,” she said, unwrapping the sword and running her hand over the blade in a loving manner. It was becoming smoother each time she used the polishing stones on it. She would work on the hilt today. “If Martin really wants to marry me as he claims he does, then he will find a way to get rid of Victoria so we can continue to be together.”
“What about the bairn, lassie? Lady Victoria will never be out of his life if he’s sired her child.”
“Martin doesn’t believe it’s true,” she told Nairnie, feeling selfish, but hoping the boy was not his. “But if it is his son, I am not sure I’ll be able to cope with the fact. It doesn’t seem as if Lady Victoria wants her child. If Martin marries me and Victoria decides she wants the boy raised by Martin – I am not sure I’ll be able to accept it.”
“Yer sister, Autumn, has five orphans she has taken under her wing. Would it be all that bad to accept the boy?”
“I don’t know,” she said, caressing Martin’s sword, wishing it was him she touched instead. She’d only had one night of bliss with him but wanted more. Perhaps she should take matters into her own hands and get Victoria out of there as Nairnie suggested. If only she had a way to do it.