by Alexa Aston
Ronald, the squire who’d accompanied them, helped Hal from his armor. He left all weapons behind save for a baselard tucked inside his boot. As he wove his way through the thick woods, his heartbeat picked up. Excitement rippled through him. All he could think about was wrapping Elinor in his arms and kissing her senseless.
Reaching the clearing, he saw a man standing next to the empty broad perch. His right hand was raised, shadowing his eyes as he searched the skies. His left hand wore a gauntlet.
Had the baron already added a new falconer?
Hal strode into the clearing, taming the anger and uncertainty that raced through him.
“Greetings,” he called. “I seek Elinor.”
The man dropped his hand and faced him. “Elinor is no longer at Whitley,” he said, his words tinged with sorrow.
“Not here?” Hal stood a moment, dumbfounded. “Where is she?”
“Gone.”
His heart pounded fiercely in his chest. “Gone where?” he ground out.
The man shrugged. “No one knows. I am Gerald. I was hired by the baroness to be Whitley’s falconer. Elinor helped me get to know Bess and Tris as she evaluated my skills. She went to the keep to let the baroness know I would be a suitable replacement. Then . . .” His voice trailed off as his feet shuffled in the dirt. “There was . . . trouble. She’s gone. Never came back to tell the two raptors farewell.”
This sounded nothing like the Elinor he knew, a woman both responsible and caring. She never would have left her falcons without saying goodbye to them.
“Wait,” he said, puzzling over the man’s words. “You said two raptors. There are four. Did she take Horus and Cleo with her?”
“Nay.” Gerald shook his head. “Horus took ill. He died only days before I arrived. And poor Cleo?” The man’s lips trembled. “She grieved herself to death. Elinor took their deaths hard.”
Hal’s head spun. Elinor had lost Jasper and then the very raptors she’d spent most of her life with. He’d also deserted her by heading back to Kinwick. Why hadn’t he told her who he was before he left? Declared his feelings for her? Or better yet, taken her with him? His foolishness had only left her with heartache.
And he had no idea where she was. She could be anywhere. Anywhere.
A calling startled him from his thoughts. Hal looked overhead and saw Tris sailing through the air toward him.
He called out, “Toss me your gauntlet!”
Gerald responded quickly. Hal barely had time to slip on the glove before Tris landed upon his fist. He sighed in relief, knowing the raptor’s sharp talons would have sliced his hand to pieces.
“How’s my pretty girl?” he crooned as he held out his free hand to Gerald.
The falconer understood and placed a bechin in his palm. Hal brought it to Tris and the falcon gobbled it down.
“You’re such a good, good girl,” he told her. “I’ve missed you and Bess.”
Gerald stepped closer. “So you know the pair?”
“Aye. I saw these eyases born. Worked with Elinor for a couple of months with them.”
Hal heard Bess overhead and prompted Tris to take her place on the perch. Bess swooped down and greeted him. She even pecked him on his cheek. Gerald whistled low.
“I’ve never seen a falcon do that,” he said in wonder.
Hal rubbed the pad of his thumb on Bess’ forehead and placed her on the perch before he gave Tris a fond stroke in the same spot. He removed the gauntlet and handed it back to Gerald.
“I am going to see the baron. He might know where Elinor went. Thank you for letting me see my girls.”
Gerald looked as if he wanted to say more but shook his head. His eyes fell to the ground.
Though Hal had gone most of the way to the castle with Elinor and could have walked to it from her former cottage, he decided a show of strength would be important in dealing with the Baron of Nelham. He returned to his men and told them where they would ride next. Replacing his armor with Ronald’s help, he led the guard of ten to the castle. They easily gained entrance. The gatekeeper had fought in France years before and had met Geoffrey de Montfort at Poitiers.
“Your father was one of the bravest men I ever met,” the man said in awe. “England is better off with soldiers like him fighting for our country.”
Hal brought his group to a halt near the keep. A balding servant hurried down the steps and asked him his business.
“I am Sir Hal de Montfort. I need to see the baron at once. And the baroness,” he added since Gerald had mentioned the woman hired him. Something seemed odd about their conversation. The falconer had mentioned trouble but did not elaborate. If this trouble involved Elinor, Hal wanted to know so he could remedy the situation.
“Have your men take their mounts to the stables,” the servant said. “They can water their horses while you speak with Lord Nigel.”
Hal handed his reins to Ronald and followed the servant into the keep.
“Wait here, my lord.”
The servant scurried up a flight of steep stone steps and disappeared. Hal turned slowly in a circle, taking in everything around him. At one point, an older woman with graying hair passed by him, a curious look on her face as she openly studied him before exiting through the front door. He wondered who she might be.
The servant returned. “Come with me, my lord.”
He led Hal upstairs to the keep’s solar, where a nobleman he estimated to be close to a score and ten sat in a chair near a blazing fire. A heavy air of sadness enveloped him.
“Sir Hal de Montfort?”
“I am he.”
“Please, have a seat.” The baron indicated a chair across from him. “I am curious as to your business with me since we have never met. I am Lord Nigel Swan, Baron of Nelham.”
“I came to find out what happened to Elinor. Where she is now.”
The nobleman sputtered. “Elinor? You know Elinor? How? She has lived in the forest for almost a score with the falconer who took her in after . . .” He abruptly stopped.
“After?” Hal prompted, his voice low and menacing.
“After . . .” The baron pushed his sleeve against his forehead, wiping away a trickle of sweat that had begun to roll down it. “You said you knew Elinor. Then you must know about . . . it.”
“Enlighten me. About it.”
Hal’s gut told him something was terribly wrong here. The baron’s hands shook. His eyes kept darting about, looking for an answer that did not appear.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Lord Nigel began. “I was merely a cousin to Elinor. I didn’t live at Whitley then.”
This nobleman was Elinor’s cousin?
Masking his surprise, Hal merely nodded.
“If my uncle did not have a son, then I was to inherit. My aunt produced Elinor less than a year after her marriage but Elinor was the only babe to survive. Several times, she lost the babe a few months after conceiving. Twice, she had stillborns. Each time she failed to produce an heir, my uncle grew more angry.”
Understanding began to dawn within Hal.
“We came for a visit, my father and I, the year I became a squire. We came each year so that he could visit his brother. That is when we learned that Uncle had exiled Elinor. He had no need for a female child. My aunt and the final babe, a boy, died during childbirth. Uncle told us he chose not to be reminded of all the failures and demanded Elinor be removed from his castle. He never wanted to see her again. The estate’s falconer spoke up and said he would take her in.”
Anger sizzled through Hal. “You are telling me that Elinor’s father gave away his only child?”
Nigel Swan nodded. “We were never to mention her again. In all the years I came to visit Whitley, I never saw Elinor until after my uncle died. I came to Whitley as its new baron a few months ago.”
“A few months ago,” Hal echoed, menace dripping in his tone.
The baron licked his lips nervously. “Aye. I saw Elinor when she came to the funeral mass for her
father. Apparently, she had not set foot inside the castle walls since she was a small child.”
Hal leaned forward. “I’m sure you wished to right the wrong your uncle had done all those years ago. Surely, you invited Elinor to return to her home in order to be restored to her rightful position.”
Lord Nigel stood and began pacing. “Frankly, she was like a wild thing. Dressed as a young boy. No manners to speak of whatsoever. My wife and I were appalled. I asked Elinor about her life. She claimed to be happy as a falconer. My wife . . . that is, we thought it best to allow Elinor to remain where she was. Rohesia—my wife—believed Elinor would be an unsuitable influence on our children if she lived with us in the keep.”
Hal saw everything clearly now. How Elinor had been rejected by a savage parent and sent to live with a man she didn’t know. How she’d gone from a privileged life in the castle to a life of little means. And probably her hopes had risen when she learned of her father’s death because her cousin, whom she would have known as a young girl, would assume the title. Then Elinor had met with rejection again because the man in front of him had allowed his wife to dictate to him.
“She said . . . she said she liked birds better than people. Who was I to take that away from her and force her to return to—”
“Who were you?” roared Hal. “You were the man with the power to change her life for the better. She’s had nothing for years, not her name or position or a family’s love. No material wealth. No attention. Elinor is a woman who has her pride and little else. When your wife made it clear that Elinor would not be welcomed again as a true family member at Whitley, of course she would have claimed to be happy with her life as it was. Her fate lay in your hands, Lord Nigel, and you dashed all her hopes. You are a coward, man. A sniveling bastard. I hope you rot in Hell for the wrongs you have done to her.”
Red mottled the nobleman’s face. “You dare come in here, a total stranger, and make such accusations? I am a man in mourning. My beloved Rohesia died while I was away on business. For that, I will never forgive myself. I now have two motherless children to raise.”
Hal shot to his feet and narrowed his eyes. “Then I hope you show them more love and care than your cousin ever received. As for me, I intend to find Elinor and make her my bride. I’ll see that she never sets foot on Whitley lands again.”
He stormed from the room before he pummeled Nigel Swan to a bloody pulp. Hal knew if he didn’t leave now, he would kill the idiot.
As he hurried down the corridor and stairs, emotions swirled inside him. Rage and shock at how Elinor had been treated for most of her life dominated them. He pushed those aside and concentrated on the good.
He loved Lady Elinor Swan. He intended to make her his wife and never let any of her hideous Swan relatives near her again. Hal and all the de Montforts would wrap Elinor in love and never let her go. She might have suffered rejection and isolation for years but he would make it up to her every day for the rest of their lives together—even beyond the grave.
Throwing back the front door to the keep, he stepped into the spring day and its sunshine. His mission now would be to find Elinor.
But where would she have gone?
She had no other relatives to turn to. The baroness had brought in a new falconer, so Elinor no longer had a purpose at Whitley or a place to live.
He looked about in frustration, unsure where to begin his search.
“My lord?”
Hal turned and saw a priest making his way toward him. He smiled. Experience had taught him that priests heard and observed things that others didn’t. If anyone might be able to help him, it would be this man of God.
“Greetings. I am Sir Hal de Montfort from Kinwick,” he said, using his most charming smile.
“I am Father Leo. ’Tis not often we get such important visitors at Whitley. I hear a guard of ten accompanied you and are at our stables now. Are you friends with the baron?” the priest asked nonchalantly.
Hal stifled his smile, knowing the priest wanted information. “Nay. I only met the man today and cannot abide the fool.”
Father Leo’s eyes widened. “So you say.” He studied Hal. “Wait. You said your name was Sir Hal?”
“Aye.”
“Then you know Lady Elinor.”
Hal’s senses went on full alert, hearing her called lady. “I do,” he said cautiously. “You know Elinor?”
The priest nodded. “All of Whitley knows of Lady Elinor and the wrongs done to her. By this baron and the previous one, her own father. I did not know she was Lady Elinor Swan and a daughter of the house until recently. I only came to Whitley a few years ago and had never caught sight of her until her father’s funeral mass. After Lord Nigel arrived, I found out from Eunice what had occurred years ago.”
“Who is this Eunice?” Hal demanded.
“I am Eunice, my lord,” a voice behind him said.
Turning, Hal saw it was the gray-haired servant who had looked at him with interest inside the keep.
“You seek Lady Elinor?” she asked hopefully, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“I do. I love her. I plan to wed her,” he declared.
“Thank the Living Christ,” she murmured. “That child has suffered so much.”
“Do either of you know where she has gone?”
Both Eunice and Father Leo’s mouths set. They shook their heads.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked.
Eunice spoke first. “The baroness summoned Lady Elinor. Lady Rohesia had sent for a falconer from her home in the north. Lady Elinor was to see if Gerald was suited to the task and report to Lady Rohesia about his skill with the birds.”
“Did she?” prodded Hal.
“She came to the keep and met with the baroness. I overheard some of their conversation. Gerald was to be the new falconer, while Lady Elinor would be sent to live near the Scottish border with Lady Rohesia’s cousin.”
New waves of anger poured through Hal. “Banishing her from the castle wasn’t enough? Lady Rohesia wanted her exiled to the far north?”
“Aye,” Eunice confirmed. Then a tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “But Lady Elinor was having none of that, my lord. She told off the baroness but good, though the baroness continued to demand blind obedience from her. The baroness chased after Lady Elinor. In her fury, Lady Rohesia was careless and tripped. She fell down the stairs,” Eunice said, not a hint of compassion on her face. The servant shrugged. “No more baroness.”
“Unfortunately, no Lady Elinor, either,” Father Leo added. “She vanished soon after. No one saw her leave the castle grounds. I went to the cottage but she never returned there. She still hasn’t.”
“You are saying Elinor is the last person to have seen Lady Rohesia before her accident? Before she died?” Hal asked, trying to understand everything that had unfolded.
“Aye,” Eunice said. “I was upstairs, waiting to continue hemming the baroness’ hem. She had just put on a new cotehardie when Lady Elinor arrived. ’Twas the extra material dragging the ground that Lady Rohesia tripped on when she chased Lady Elinor, screaming at her to submit to her authority.”
“So Elinor witnessed the baroness fall?” Hal asked.
“She must have,” said Eunice.
“And she disappeared right after that?” He expelled a long breath. “Elinor ran—because she thought she would be blamed for the noblewoman’s death.”
It made perfect sense now that he had all the pieces of the story. Why she hadn’t returned to the cottage to bid her raptors farewell. Why no one had seen her once she’d entered the keep. Elinor fled because she thought no one would have believed that the baroness’ death had been an accident.
“Did the baron accuse Elinor of causing Lady Rohesia’s death?” he demanded.
“Nay,” Eunice said quickly. “I made sure that no one mentioned to him Lady Elinor was at the keep when the accident happened. Gerald had already taken her place. The baron only needed to know that
he had a new falconer and that the old one was gone.” Eunice set her mouth in a firm line.
“So no one knows which way she might have gone?”
“Nay, my lord,” Father Leo said. He told Hal how long Elinor had been missing.
Hal cursed under his breath.
It would take a small miracle to find the woman he loved—but he would search to the ends of the earth to reunite with her.
Chapter 19
Elinor collapsed a few feet from the road. She leaned against a thick oak for support. Hunger gnawed at her belly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, other than picking a few unripe berries in the woods. Though she’d never had an overabundance of food, the raptors had always provided enough game for her and Jasper throughout the year.
But she had no raptors. No home. No coin. Only the clothes on her back, and they were wearing thin, the same as the soles on her boots. She resorted to stealing food a few times but felt guilty that she’d taken it from the mouths of others and had stopped doing so. When tempted to try it again as hunger pangs caused her belly to spasm, she feared being caught. She already was wanted for murder. If someone caught her stealing and handed her over to the authorities, she would certainly swing from a gibbet.
She’d lost count of the number of estates she’d stopped at as she’d pushed south. Trying to gain a place as a falconer—or even an assistant to one—without a gauntlet or lure to her name had proved impossible. If only one person would have given her a chance to show what she could do. Instead, she’d been met with everything from laughter to derision.
Putting falconry aside might be the only way to survive. Though her skills lay with training raptors, Elinor knew she was capable of other tasks. If she could find work, she could put aside money to purchase a new gauntlet or even buy the leather and create the glove herself. Her decision made, she pushed herself to her feet and continued trudging down the road. Her steps grew slow due to how weak she was. Eating soon had to be her priority. Starving to death couldn’t be an option.
