“Forgive me, I forgot what stalwart warriors you Normans are.”
“Brynn!”
She turned to see Delmas hurrying toward her across the courtyard. A wave of revulsion went through her as she saw the almost desperate eagerness of his expression. He thought because she had returned he could make use of her again. She had been away from him so long, she had forgotten that sickening feeling of helplessness.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Gage’s eyes were narrowed on her face.
“Nothing. It is only my husband.”
Malik gave a low whistle,
“Husband?” Gage asked with deadly softness.
“Yes.”
“Only?” Gage repeated. “May I ask why you didn’t mention this … husband.”
“Why should I? What difference would it have made?”
Delmas had drawn close to Gage and glanced up at him eagerly. “Greetings, my lord. Welcome to Redfern.”
Gage ignored him. “What difference would it have made?” he echoed. “Why none, of course.”
Delmas took a step nearer. “I would not offend you, my lord, but I wonder if you could do without Brynn for a short time? It has been long since we were together and I would—” He broke off as he met the Norman’s gaze. He took a step back, his eyes widening.
Gage was going to kill him, Brynn realized. Delmas was within an inch of death.
“No!” She did not even realize she had slid out of the wagon until she was standing between Gage and Delmas. She pushed Delmas toward the stable and quickly started after him.
“Brynn!” Gage’s voice was low, but a shiver went through her. “Come back here.”
She didn’t stop, her pace quickening until she was almost running. “I’ll join you in a short time. I must talk to Delmas now.”
“Come back here!”
She didn’t stop. “Soon.”
For a moment she thought he would follow her. She felt his gaze on her back until she disappeared into the stable. She halted just inside the door, her heart beating painfully hard.
“Whore!” Delmas’s palm cracked against her cheek. “He would have slaughtered me and it’s all your fault.”
Anger flared through her. Why had she interfered? Delmas deserved to die. She should have stifled the impulse to save him and let Gage rid her of this burden.
Delmas raised his hand again.
“No,” she said coldly. “You will never strike me again.”
Delmas hesitated and then decided to bluff. “I will do as I like. You are my wife. Nothing has changed.”
“Everything has changed.” It was true, she knew suddenly. Delmas could neither help nor harm her. She had been beneath his yoke for so long that the idea was strange to her.
“Because you’re the Norman’s whore? I’ll petition the church to make him return you to me. We said holy vows.”
“I made no vow.”
He ignored her protest. “Even the Normans will not flaunt the edicts of the Pope.”
“All of England is in turmoil. Do you think the church will pay heed to the whining of one slave?”
“Lord Richard will help me,” Delmas said. “He won’t permit this Norman to have you.”
She went still. “What have you told Lord Richard?”
He looked away from her. “I told him what I needed to tell him. I had to bring you back here.”
“Gwynthal? You told him about Gwynthal?”
He nodded jerkily.
Brynn drew her cloak closer about her as a shiver ran through her. She had not imagined Delmas would ever tell anyone of the treasure. He must have been desperate indeed to trust Richard with that knowledge. “You’re a fool. He will kill you.”
“No, he needs me. We need each other.” Delmas paused and then smiled craftily. “But, it’s true, he’s a brutal man. He will not treat you as gently as I have.”
Gently? She stared at him incredulously.
“We could run away from Redfern tonight,” Delmas murmured. “You need have nothing to do with Lord Richard or the Norman. We could go back to Gwynthal and you could give me—”
“No.” Even now he could not believe he could no longer use her. He sickened her; she could bear no more. “I can’t go anywhere. How is Lady Adwen?”
He shrugged. “Well, I suppose.”
“What do you mean? Don’t you know?”
He frowned. “She is no longer of importance to us. You will rue your decision not to go with me. Lord Richard is—”
She turned toward the door. “I’m going to the manor to see Adwen.”
“She is no longer at the manor.”
She stopped and turned. “What?”
“Lord Richard said—” He broke off. “She offended him. He wanted her out of his sight.”
“She offended him?” Her hands slowly clenched into fists. “Where is she?”
He nodded at the small room at the back of the stable.
She couldn’t believe it. It was the same room where she had fled to see the comet and was little larger than a horse’s stall. She gave a low exclamation, strode toward the door, and threw it open.
A small, still figure was curled beneath a faded blanket on a cot under the window.
Too still.
She moved swiftly across the room. “Adwen!”
Sweet heaven, what had he done to her? Her eyes were sunken and smudged with dark circles, her lips swollen and cracked, her hair lank and lifeless.
Brynn sat down on the cot and gathered Adwen’s hands in her own. They were as cold and inert as the rest of her. “Adwen, wake up.”
Adwen stirred and opened her eyes. She whispered, “Brynn?”
Relief surged through her. “Yes.”
“I … didn’t think you were coming back. He said you were—” The words faded and it was a moment before she could speak again. “I felt so alone.”
Brynn blinked back the tears. “You shouldn’t have believed him.” She pulled the cover higher around Adwen’s shoulders. The blanket was thin; it could not possibly have offered much warmth. A flare of anger went through her as she looked around the room. Dirt covered the bed and the one small window. Cobwebs hung from the timbers of the ceiling, and a foul odor issued from the bucket beside the small cot. “You should not believe anything he says to you.”
Adwen’s eyes closed. “I know.”
Brynn looked at her, startled. The Adwen she knew would never have doubted her beloved Richard.
“He wants me to die, you know.…”
“Did he tell you this?”
“No.” Her eyes wearily opened. “But I am not stupid. He would never have put me out here with no attendant if he had not wanted to be rid of me. I couldn’t believe it.…” Her voice strengthened with sudden ferocity. “I will not die. He should not have done this. No one should have the right to discard a woman as if she were nothing. It’s not fair. I won’t let him. It’s not—”
“Hush.” Adwen was getting too excited, and Brynn was afraid that fragile strength would snap. “You won’t die. I won’t let you.”
“No, I won’t die. I swore on my hope of heaven I wouldn’t.” Adwen’s eyes brimmed with tears. “But I’m glad you’re here, Brynn. It will be easier now. I felt so alone when Richard told me my father had died.…”
“He told you that? Lord Kells isn’t dead. He was only taken prisoner.”
“You’re certain?”
“He’s been taken to Duke William’s camp. I’m not sure what fate awaits him, but it won’t be death.”
“So he lied in that also. So cruel. He wanted to take all hope away from me.…” Her eyes closed again. “Would it be all right if I go back to sleep? I think it strengthens me. I have to fight …”
“Yes, go back to sleep.” She squeezed Adwen’s hands affectionately and stood up. “Let me fight now.”
“No, it has to be me.”
Brynn stood looking down at her. She had changed. She appeared even more fragile and ill than she had
since those first days Brynn had come to Redfern, and yet she glimpsed a strength she had never before seen in her. It was like catching the gleam of a sword lying beneath cloudy waters.
“We’ll do it together,” Brynn said gently.
“Together … yes.” The next moment Adwen drifted off to sleep.
“Leave her,” Delmas said from behind Brynn.
She glanced over her shoulder to see him frowning at her from the doorway. “As everyone else has done? How could you have known she was here and not helped her?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Lord Richard said she was to be left alone.”
“To die in this filthy hovel?”
“It was not my fault. I only obeyed his orders.” He took a step into the room. “As you must do. He is master here.”
“A master who obeys Lord Gage’s slightest command.”
He smiled slyly. “Not for long.” She was immediately suspicious.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think he would truly offer Redfern to Lord Gage? He only wanted you returned to Redfern.” His smile became even more crafty. “It is possible an accident may befall the Norman.”
She stared at him, startled. “He would murder him after inviting him beneath his roof as a guest?” It was against all the rules of Saxon hospitality. Surely even Richard would not commit such a breach of honor.
“I didn’t say that,” he said quickly.
But it was true. Why was she even surprised when he had put his own wife out here to perish from cold and neglect?
“But it would be wise of you to curb your unruly ways and tell us what we need to know,” Delmas said. “Why must you be so stubborn?”
“Adwen must be taken from this place.” She turned and moved toward the door, “Carry her.”
“You give me orders?”
“Carry her,” she repeated. “Or I will go to Lord Gage and tell him you’re conspiring with Lord Richard to harm him.”
He blanched, obviously recalling that terrifying moment in the courtyard. “You would not.”
No, she would not do it, but he need not know that. “Carry her.”
He reluctantly moved across the room toward the cot. “Lord Richard will not be pleased.” He lifted Adwen’s frail form. Adwen stirred but did not waken. “With either of us.”
Brynn paid no attention as she strode out of the stable and into the sunshine. Gage had vanished from the courtyard, but LeFont was still there, giving orders for the dispersal and accommodation of his men. She marched up to him. “I must see Lord Gage. Where is he?”
“He’s also very eager to see you,” LeFont murmured as he glanced curiously at Delmas and Adwen. “He told me to go after you and bring you to him. I’m glad you spared me the task.” He nodded at the manor. “I believe Lord Richard said he had ordered a bath for my lord.”
“And where have they put Malik?”
LeFont shrugged. “He said the South Chamber.”
Adwen’s chamber. She gestured to Delmas to follow her, then entered the manor and made her way through the hall, up the stairs, and down the corridor toward Adwen’s former room.
Malik occupied the wide bed and warningly shook his head at Brynn after she threw open the door. “I am well and comfortable. Go to Gage before his anger has time to build.”
She ignored him and entered. “Presently. I’m here to make you less comfortable. Slide over on the bed.”
“Why?” He saw Delmas with his burden. “Ah, you’ve brought me a woman to warm my nights? How kind of you. And I was beginning to think you had no compassion for my needs. You must truly think I’m getting better.”
“She’s not for you. I only need a safe place to put her until I can make arrangements for her. Move over.”
Malik sighed. “I take it you have a new charge to heal?”
“Not new. This is Lord Richard’s wife, Adwen. You are resting in her bed.”
He slid over to the far side as Delmas placed Adwen on the bed. His gaze raked Adwen’s pale face. “Poor lady. She looks very bad. What is her ailment?”
“Fever, exhaustion, and neglect. She has lost four babes in five years and Lord Richard saw fit to banish her to a dirty little room in the stable and abandon her.” She settled Adwen more comfortably on the pillows before turning to Delmas. “Tell them to bring hot water and clean linens. Where is Alice?”
“She can no longer serve her. She has other duties now,” Delmas said.
“Why can—” She stopped. She had forgotten that Richard had taken Alice to his bed. Well, he would have to give her up. Adwen might need more care than Brynn could give her, and Alice may not have been perfect, but she had never neglected Adwen. “Go get her.”
Delmas shook his head.
“Then I will get her myself.”
“Poor little demoiselle. I will care for her,” Malik said softly.
“You?” Brynn lifted her brows. “You cannot even care for yourself yet.”
“Then we will care for each other.” His expression was meltingly tender as he looked at Adwen’s still face. “I think she needs me.”
“Alice will do as well.”
Malik’s jaw set obstinately. “She needs me.”
She had neither the time nor energy to argue with him at the moment. “Have it your own way. I’ll find Alice and she can tend to both your needs.”
Malik’s expression changed. “Go to Gage, Brynn. Do not delay any longer.” He stared pointedly at Delmas. “And I would not take him with you.”
“No, no, I must be about Lord Richard’s duties.” Delmas moistened his lips as he backed toward the door. “I’ve wasted too much time already.”
The door slammed behind him.
Malik shook his head. “He has no more courage than a cockroach. Gage will crush him and splatter his remains on the dirt of the stable yard.”
“A man should not be killed because he has no courage.”
“You’d be wise not to defend him to Gage. It will only bring the cockroach’s demise that much sooner.” He waved his hand, his eyes going back to Adwen. “Run along to him. I will watch her until you return.”
Brynn hesitated and then moved toward the door. She had no desire to confront Gage immediately, but it must be done. Malik was probably right; a delay would only make the situation worse.
So this is how it came, Malik thought wonderingly. One moment a man was alone, and the next he was given a gift beyond price to treasure for the rest of his days. Adwen was as beautiful and frail as the crystal bell his mother had given him when he had left his village. What beast would try to destroy anything so lovely?
Her eyes opened and looked into his own. She stiffened with terror.
“Shh, do not be afraid,” he said quickly. “Brynn will return soon. I am Malik. I would never harm you.”
“Stranger …”
“Not for long.” He smiled gently. “We were not meant to be strangers. Can you not feel it?”
She continued to stare at him with those huge eyes, the tenseness gradually leaving her. She sighed and closed her lids again.
She was accepting him. Malik felt as if she had given him a gift. “Ah, you trust me?”
“No,” she whispered. “Never …”
“Because I am a stranger?”
“No.”
He went rigid. “Because I am a heathen Saracen?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I cannot trust you.” She yawned and turned over onto her side, her back to him. “You are far too comely.…”
Brynn threw open the door to Richard’s chamber and strode into the room. Gage was immersed in the huge wooden tub, wreathed in steam and the scent of soap and herbs. Alice was kneeling behind him, scrubbing his back.
Brynn stopped just inside the room, her eyes on Alice. It seemed Richard had given Gage not only his chamber but his leman. The intimacy of the picture the two made was affecting her strangely, igniting an irritation that held elements of both a
nger and pain.
“Don’t stop there,” Gage said silkily. “Come closer.”
By the saints, he was angry. She could feel the waves of rage rush toward her. She braced herself and moved forward to stand before the tub. “I came as soon as I could.”
“I realize you had other ‘duties’ to perform. You’ve been away from your husband for a long time.”
“Yes,” she said absently, watching Alice’s hands move around Gage’s body and begin to scrub his broad chest. The maid’s hands were as plump and well shaped as the rest of her and her movements seemed unnecessarily sensual. She tore her gaze away and back to Gage’s face. It was without expression, but she sensed the anger had deepened. His body had turned rigid, and his eyes … She looked back at Alice. “Leave us. I need you to go to Lady Adwen.”
Alice’s hands stopped in mid motion. “I cannot.”
“You will. She needs you. Wash her and make her comfortable. I’ve taken her to her former chamber.”
Alice’s eyes widened in alarm. “You should not have done that. Lord Richard will be very angry.”
“Then he will be angry. Go to her.”
Tears filled Alice’s eyes. “I cannot. Do you not think I wanted to help the poor lady? He will not have it.”
The idea of disobeying Richard clearly scared the woman out of her wits. “Did he not tell you that you were to obey Lord Gage in every way?”
Alice nodded, a flush mounting to her cheeks.
Brynn turned back to Gage. “Tell her to do it.”
“And what if I want her here?”
“You don’t want her here. You want only to curse and bite at me.”
He stared at her and then motioned impatiently for Alice to go. “Go tend this …” He searched for the name. “Lady Adwen.”
Alice jumped to her feet and rushed around the tub toward the door. As she passed Brynn, she whispered, “I truly did not wish her harm. He would not—I had to do as he wished.”
Perhaps the woman was speaking truly and it was not avarice but weakness that had driven her. At any rate, it would do no good to berate her. “Then make amends by treating her with care and gentleness.”
“I will. I will. I promise you.” Alice hurried from the room.