Hurriedly, she crept back to the clearing and peered at Stan from behind a tree. He was grumbling under his breath and pacing back and forth with the wineskin in his hand. Then the bald outlaw stopped in his tracks and took a swig of ale.
Kat stepped out of the trees, and in one smooth movement drew her arm back and then forward, releasing One Eye’s dagger from the tip of her fingers. Turning end over end, it flew past Stan’s head and embedded in the tree ten feet behind him.
Stan jumped with a screech, sloshing ale down his tunic. Shocked and sputtering, he stared at her.
Withdrawing her own dagger, she pointed the blade below his waist and mocked, “It appears you have had an accident.”
He looked down at his wet crotch. “Mouthy bitch,” he replied, tossing the wineskin aside. He withdrew a dagger from his wide leather belt. “I’m gonna enjoy slittin’ your throat,” he said, then peered nervously over her shoulder.
Laughter bubbled up from her chest. “I am afraid your friend is in no position to help you. ’Tis just you and me.” Kat closed the distance between them though she remained out of striking range.
His deep-set black eyes jerked back to her. “I’m not ’fraid of ye,” he growled.
“Good. It will make this so much quicker.”
Kat took the measure of her opponent as they circled each other. While Stan held his dagger near his ear in a reverse grip, Kat held her dagger at her waist near her hip, the blade extended forward.
Stan struck first with a downward stab of his forearm to her chest. But Kat was ready. She clutched both ends of her dagger and used it as a shield to deflect Stan’s forearm. As Kat pushed his dagger arm to the right, her left hand slid from her blade and clutched his arm before he could withdraw and strike again. Sweat broke out on her forehead and Stan’s rank odor burned her nostrils. She thrust her dagger at Stan’s stomach, but he pivoted backward on his right foot, barely avoiding a direct blow. He backed away, a red slash on his side where the blade nicked him.
Stan clutched his side, stunned, blood oozing between his fingers. “No wonder yer ’usband paid me to kill ye. Yer unnatural.”
“You are a liar. My husband would never harm me.”
More cautious now, he circled her, gauging an opening. He had brute strength on his side, but she was quick and clever.
“Who really paid you to kill me?” she countered
He shook his head in mock pity, sighing. “I told ye. Yer ’usband, me ladee.”
Kat circled to her left, watching, waiting. “If my husband really hired you, describe him.”
“Tall. Black hair and blue eyes.” He smiled insolently at her. “The face of a man liked by the ladees.”
“I don’t believe you.”
In a single fluid movement, Kat reversed her grip on the dagger so her thumb was by the pommel, and thrust the blade at Stan’s neck. But he caught her wrist and using his greater strength, trapped her arm under his armpit in a strong hold. Kat, drenched in sweat and propelled face down, grunted as she strained to hold onto her dagger and escape the trap. She saw her opening.
Stan made a fatal mistake when he placed his feet behind her body. Kat swung her left leg back in front of Stan’s feet, and lifting his weight over her hip she flipped him onto his back. Stan landed with a painful grunt. Kat knelt down and planted her knee on his chest, then stabbed him in the shoulder twice in rapid succession.
A sudden shout and a horse charging through the trees distracted Kat. The outlaw jumped up and limped for the horses, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Sir Luc bolted into the clearing on his bay horse and pulled to a halt beside her. His gold eyes wide with fear, he bounded to the ground and grasped her shoulders taking in her disheveled appearance before gathering her in his arms.
The outlaw had untied Lightning’s reins, but her faithful mare reared and kicked her legs. Stan jumped back quickly and veered towards one of the other horses.
At the commotion Luc released her. “He’s getting away.” He looked torn between following in pursuit and making sure she was all right.
Stan managed to untie the reins, climb up awkwardly onto the horse’s back and disappear into the trees.
Kat clutched Luc’s arm. “Leave him. We can send some of Edward’s men after him when we return to the castle. He won’t make it far with his injuries.”
“What of you? Did he harm you?” His voice frantic, his gaze searched her for any sign of injury. Her lip was bruised and bloody, and her body ached terribly, but she was all right. “He hit you,” he said, his voice dangerously low. He skimmed his fingers lightly over the swollen flesh.
“Aye, but I am fine otherwise.”
Recalling Stan’s vile hands on her breasts, she shuddered.
As though he read her mind his eyes dropped to her torn bodice, his eyes furious. “My God, Kat.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “Are you sure you’re all right? If he harmed you, in any way, I shall hunt him down and kill him.”
“Nay, I am unharmed,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest. “Just shaken.”
“If aught had happened to you…I would never forgive myself.” His voice shook.
Kat pulled out of his arms. “Don’t blame yourself, Luc. ’Tis naught you could have done to prevent it. I should not have ridden out unattended.”
He shook his head about to reply, but she suddenly thought of something, her brows drawn down in confusion. “Luc, what are you doing here? How did you find me?”
His eyes darted away from her probing gaze. “I knew you rode out this way and I followed you. When I saw the downed cart and discovered signs of a recent ambush, I followed the trail into the woods.”
“I’m glad you did. I don’t know what would have happened if you did not arrive when you did,” Kat said, though she had had matters well in hand.
“Prithee, Kat, I beg you. I do not deserve your praise. Verily, just the opposite.” He looked up at last with a shame-filled gaze.
Kat frowned, confused once more. “What in the world are you talking about, Luc?”
“Tell me what happened. What did that man want?”
Puzzled at the switch in topics, Kat told Luc of her attack. How she had escaped. That the other outlaw still remained tied up in the trees and unconscious.
“Luc. It was Alex. They said he hired them to kill me.” No matter how hard she tried to deny it, pain and anguish seeped out in her voice.
Luc shook his golden head and turned his back to her. “And you believed them?”
“Not at first. But the leader described who hired him in vivid detail. He described Alex exactly. And what would the man have to gain by lying? So, aye, I believe Alex hired those men to get rid of me.” Embittered, disillusioned, her shoulders slumped.
When Luc turned back to her his mouth was drawn down, deep lines bracketing his mouth. He appeared remorseful, despondent. “I have a confession, Kat. I have not been completely truthful with you.”
Kat immediately became alert. Then Lightning neighed and approached her. “Come. I want to leave this place. We can talk as we ride. Someone will need to send the sheriff to retrieve the outlaws.” Her hip aching, she needed Luc’s assistance to mount her horse.
Once on his bay, Luc sidled up beside her. “Kat, I must speak. I cannot wait a moment longer. The guilt and shame are tearing me apart.”
She laid her hand gently on his arm. “Luc. What nonsense is this? I can’t believe you could ever do aught to be ashamed of.”
He shook his head and spoke quickly, as if afraid he would not be able to get it all out. “Nay, your trust in me is misplaced. I’m a fraud. My desire to marry you has been a ruse from the very beginning. When she came to me with the plan over a year ago, I loved her so much I would have done anything for her. I did it for her, you see.” His eyes begged her to understand.
Kat recoiled and stared at him in mute shock, even as everything began to make terrible sense. A woman scorned, revenge upon those she
blamed for her disappointment, a woman who used and manipulated people. Men especially.
Although she knew of whom he spoke, Kat asked anyway. “Who put you up to such a cruel and deceitful thing?”
“Lady Lydia.”
“What was her plan? And what did she hope to gain?”
“She promised if I married you, it would prove to her that I love her, and she and I would be together at last. She felt hurt and betrayed when Alex asked her to marry him, took her virginity, then spurned her. And she blamed you as well.”
“That’s a lie. Alex would never do such a thing. He is an honorable man. He would never have asked Lydia to marry him. He was as good as betrothed to me when they met.” Even as she uttered the words, she realized the truth. That Alex was an honorable man and would never stoop to murder.
Bitterness etched Luc’s forehead and turned down lips. “This I believe. Now. But I loved Lydia. I believed her lies for so long.” He continued. “I’m ashamed to say my collusion did not end when Alex returned from captivity. I knew Lydia would not be satisfied until your marriage was destroyed utterly for all time and I have been working to cause dissention between you and Alex ever since. Then after her arrival at court, Lydia sent me a message telling me to proceed as we had planned.”
“And if her plan had succeeded?”
Luc could no longer look her in the eyes and dropped his gaze. “Her revenge would be complete. She would have succeeded in destroying your marriage to Alex and humiliating you in the process.”
“Why did you do it? I thought you were estranged from Lydia?”
He met her gaze once more, his golden eyes infinitely sad and defeated. “I have always loved her. Since the day she arrived to marry my father. I was mad with jealousy thinking of her with him. Until she confessed she loved me, too. After that we became lovers. Then one night my father discovered Lydia and me in bed together. To protect her, I made it appear Lydia was unwilling. That’s the real reason why my father disowned me. And I have kept up the pretense ever since.”
“You said you did it so you and Lydia could be together. But that would be rather difficult as she was married to your father.”
“Aye, but my father was old, and as he was ailing these last two years, I knew he was not long for this earth.”
Kat could surmise the rest. No doubt Lydia had planned, once Kat married Sir Luc, to be Sir Luc’s mistress. The Church would never have given the lovers a dispensation to marry because they were related via marriage through a direct descendant’s line. Besides, Lydia need not marry the man, Luc was besotted with her and would have done anything she wished. And Lydia would have reveled in humiliating Kat by bedding her husband, and flaunting her sorcery over Sir Luc. But obviously something had changed.
Lightning shifted nervously beneath Kat. She clutched her reins tighter. “Why are you telling me this now, Luc?”
“Because I have come to care for you as a friend. And I realize now Lydia never loved me. I suspect she craftily arranged for my father to discover her and me in bed together, then manipulated my love for her to gain revenge. I know it does not absolve me of my guilt, but I never intended it to go so far. Believe it or not, I used to be an honorable man before I met Lydia,” he said, his lips twisted in a bitter expression. “But there is more, I need to tell you the rest. Lydia—”
A familiar whooshing sound hummed in the air a moment before Luc’s confession abruptly ended. He shouted and clutched his side. His eyes wide from shock, he stared down at the arrow protruding from his stomach, while blood trickled through his fingers. Then he slowly slumped over his horse.
Held immobile by surprise, Kat jerked her gaze up. The cold, calculating perusal of the man across from her caused a shiver to race down her spine. Not to mention the arrow pointed directly at her.
Chapter 26
Alex rode through the palace gate, slid off Zeus and tossed the reins to his squire, Jon. His shoulder throbbed, but he ignored it and strode purposely to the nearest palace entrance. He desperately wished to see Kat. He needed to tell her of Scarface, of his failed attempt to discover the man responsible for his captivity. Long had he wanted to confide in her, knowing she would understand his need for vengeance. But fear had kept him silent.
Now it might be too late. He could not forget the look on her face this afternoon when she beseeched him to tell her the truth, or her devastation when he turned away. Having kept his suspicions secret, it was as if he had betrayed her all over again. He should have trusted her from the beginning, but he had taken a vow to protect her, and duty had been ingrained into his blood and bone and sinew. Still, he should have found a way to be honest and protect her at the same time.
Upon entering the palace’s darkened structure, he searched the ground floor first, checking the dining hall and chapels. Next he glanced into their chambers upstairs. Seeing no sign of her, he headed for the queen’s solar where the ladies often entertained at court.
Fear had also kept him silent in regard to his true feelings for his wife. He had wanted to be sure she loved him before he confessed he had fallen in love with her. But he had wounded Kat deeply when he deserted her after their wedding, so he knew the next step was up to him. He must risk his own heart if he was ever to find the happiness he sought.
His thoughts were interrupted when he rounded the corner to the solar and collided with another. A soft, feminine gasp alerted him to the woman’s identity. Alex groaned inwardly. Light from a sconce shone on her golden hair like a halo, though her eyes remained in shadow.
“I beg your pardon, Lady Lydia. If you will excuse me?” He made to step around her but she reached out and clutched his sleeve.
She smiled, a stingy lift of her lips. “Are you looking for your lady wife, perchance?”
Alex stiffened. It was difficult to interpret her tone but he got the feeling she was gloating, a spider stringing him along her web into a deadly trap. How could he ever have been fooled by her coy, innocent act? “I am. So if you will excuse me?”
“I know where you can find her, Sir Alex.”
Though he was unwilling to ask aught of her, he was curious. “And how come you to know my wife’s whereabouts?” he asked suspiciously.
“I was in the garden this morning when I accidentally overheard a very illicit, private conversation. Can you imagine my dismay?”
Alex glared down at her. “Nay, I cannot. Nor can I imagine what that has to do with my wife?”
She gazed at him pityingly. “I’m so sorry, Alex. But it appears the woman you are so besotted with is not worthy of your love.”
His jaw clenched. “Lydia,” he growled, “explain yourself.”
“Very well.” She sighed. “The conversation I overheard was between Lady Katherine and Sir Luc. They were making plans to meet at some hunting lodge for an assignation. Then shortly after you left the palace, I saw her ride out, Sir Luc fast behind her. If I were you I would check the lodge. Do you know of it?”
He grabbed her shoulders in a tight grip. “You are lying, Lady Lydia. My wife is no whore.”
She squirmed to be free and he released her. Then she shrugged as though unconcerned. “I guess there is only one way for you to find out. But I can understand why you would not want to learn the truth. Good day, Sir Alex.”
Lydia left him staring at the gray stone walls in disbelief. Swiftly, memories of the last few days assaulted him one after another like fiery missiles slung from a trebuchet. Beginning with the day he had awakened from delirium and had discovered his wife on top of him, her hot center open and vulnerable to invasion. Kat had wanted him as much as he wanted her. But he was in no condition to make love to her.
Later, when she had returned from the kitchens with nourishment, she had tended to his needs most attentively. Then everything changed that evening after Rand had visited him. She became distant and cold. And no persuasion on his part could get her to tell him what was troubling her.
Now Kat, if he were to believe Lydia, had
cuckolded him with the man she nearly married. The man Alex loathed for no other reason than jealousy. Nay, he would not believe Kat capable of such duplicity. But a niggling doubt festered and grew, compelling him to seek out the truth no matter the cost.
Alex rushed back to his chamber, dug the Beaumont dagger out of the chest, and tucked it inside his wide leather belt. When he exited the palace, he dashed across the courtyard and into the stable. Kat’s mare was not in its stall. Neither was Luc’s bay gelding. But there could be some other reason for Luc to have taken his horse. So Alex sought out the lad he had paid to keep an eye on Kat.
Alex found Tim replenishing the hay in one of the stalls’ mangers, and pulled the boy aside so none could overhear. “Did you see my wife ride out today after I left the palace?”
The lad’s eyes widened with fear. “I, um, I don’t know, Sir Alex.”
“What do you mean…?” Alex’s voice grew louder. He paused, constricted the rage growing inside him and lowered his voice. “What do you mean you don’t know? I paid you to get word to me or my friend if my wife left the castle grounds on horse.”
Tim gulped and shuffled to his other foot. “Aye, sir, you did. But the head groom sent me on an errand to the tanner. I did not see your lady leave.”
Alex cursed.
Fear lit the boy’s eyes. “Did I do wrong, milord?”
“Nay. ’Tis not your fault. But mayhap you can still help me. Can you tell me who has ridden out since your return?”
The lad took off his cap wringing it in his hands. “Not many, Sir Alex. A small party of ladies traveled to London town. And Sir Randall, Sir Connaught and Lord Calvert rode out to the hunt.”
Alex reached out and clutched Tim’s shoulder. “Can you remember aught else?”
Vow of Seduction Page 27
