Vow of Seduction

by Angela Johnson

  The boy dropped his gaze. “I wish I could help you, milord, but…” he broke off, then his wide-eyed gaze shot up again, “Oh…wait, I just remembered something.”

  Alex nearly shook him. “Go on.”

  “When I returned from the tanner, one of the lads was complaining because Sir Luc boxed his ears for being too slow saddling his mount. His lordship was in a mighty hurry and finished saddling his gelding himself. He’s not returned yet.”

  His last hope that Lydia had lied shattered at the mention of that one name. Alex slammed his fist into the wall. “Get my saddle.” Then he turned on his spurs and went to the stall holding Zeus.

  He opened the door, pulled a lead rope over the black’s head and led him out into the yard. Sensing Alex’s anger, Zeus sidled away from him. Alex relaxed, breathing deeply, and ran his hand down the stallion’s neck. “Easy boy. I know you’ve earned a rest. But I need you for one more mission.”

  Impatient, Alex watched as the lad saddled his horse. He would have tacked his mount himself, but the range of his injured arm was limited. Alex paced back and forth, restless, feeling caged. The demons he worked long and hard to bury clamored and clawed to dig their way free. Their claws scraped beneath his skin, undermining his iron control, while a tic at his temple pulsed with each rapid beat of his heart.

  He was going to kill Sir Luc. But first he was going to sever his cock and shove it down his throat. And his darling wife….

  Jon jogged into the courtyard from the direction of the household barracks. “Is aught amiss, my lord?”

  Alex mounted his horse, groaning beneath his breath from the pain. “Nay. Naught I cannot handle on my own.”

  The squire’s eyes widened when he saw the Beaumont dagger at Alex’s waist. “My lord, wait—”

  But Alex rode away without a backward glance.

  Kat tried to rouse from the murky shadows, but total awareness was beyond her reach. Her skull reverberated with a pounding ache and a heavy weight upon her eyelids prevented her from opening them. Her battered and bruised body throbbed painfully.

  A tug on her skirts alerted her to the danger; cloth ripped, cold steel grazed her calf. Her heart beat wildly as panic flooded her. She tried to kick out, but her ankles were bound tightly together. Her head began to pound louder. Then someone cursed, grabbed her hands together in front of her and bound her wrists. As darkness pushed her under again, she recognized the sound of hoofbeats approaching.

  The next she woke her mind was clearer, though her head ached and her swollen lip throbbed. She dared not move and alert her abductor that she was awake. After the fiend had shot Sir Luc, he had ordered her to get off her mare and to turn around. Then everything went black. He must have knocked her out, but where was she now?

  Kat vaguely remembered being lifted into a cart and then her body being painfully jostled over rough terrain. She slowly cracked her eyelids open to ascertain her whereabouts. And almost gasped as her gaze landed on Sir Luc. He lay deathly pale beside her in bed, his breathing shallow and labored. The coverlet was pulled up to his bare chest. They were at the hunting lodge. She remembered the bed vividly from the time her and Alex had rendezvoused here during the rain.

  Why had Sir Stephen brought them here? she wondered. If he meant to kill them why go to the bother of bringing them to the lodge? Which led her to question why he intended them ill in the first place?

  Then she remembered the hoofbeats she heard earlier.

  Her fear escalated and she searched deeper into the shadows. She gasped aloud this time. Alex sat slumped in a chair beside the bed, his chin resting on his chest. He was trussed to the chair, the rope looped several times around his chest, feet, and hands.

  Then the significance of her and Luc in bed together finally registered. Oh God. Alex. Alex was his target. A bead of sweat popped out on Kat’s temple. All along Sir Stephen had been the traitor Alex sought. But what could the man possibly have against him? It made no sense.

  A light flared, growing larger and brighter as Sir Stephen approached the bed. “Good. You are awake. We can proceed now.”

  The glow of the lamp shone on Alex, revealing a trail of blood down his temple. But he was alive or he would not be tied to a chair.

  “W–what have you done to Alex?”

  He smiled with a satisfied leer. “Just a blow to his head. He will wake with a headache. Never fear, I shall give you one last chance to speak to him before I kill you.”

  She glared up at him. “You shall not get away with this. The king knows you are responsible for Alex’s disappearance in the Holy Land. That you hired Scarface to do the job,” Kat bluffed.

  His close-set weaselly eyes revealed his surprise. “You lie,” he hissed. “If that were so I would be in the Tower right now.”

  “Dare you take the chance I lie?”

  “I don’t believe you. But if what you say is true, then I have naught to lose by killing you, do I?”

  His boots rang on the floorboards as he stomped away. He strode back to the table behind Alex and placed the lamp on it. Sweat dribbled down her neck as she tested her bonds beneath the coverlet. Her feet were tied together, as were her wrists, but she was not restricted in any other way.

  Relief flooded her, for Sir Stephen had not discovered her dagger strapped to her thigh. With a little maneuvering, she could retrieve it and cut free of her bonds.

  Shuffling footsteps were the only sound in the stuffy darkened lodge. Sir Stephen reached down and picked up a bucket, then threw the contents over Alex’s head.

  Icy water slapped Alex in the face, bringing him around. He shook his soaked head and a jabbing pain seared his skull. He groaned. Blinded by a bright light, he blinked several times. A man’s form took shape as the light dimmed. Alex looked up at the gloating countenance of Sir Stephen. His first thought—what has the bastard done to Kat? Alex surged up, furious. The chair legs scraped the floor beneath him, but tied to the chair he was unable to get up.

  He strained against the ropes, his face flushed with exertion. “By God. What have you done to Kat? If you have harmed her—”

  “I am here, Alex. Unharmed, but bound same as you.”

  Alex stared into the shadows, he could see little except the outline of the bed. Sir Stephen moved to the other side of the bed and lighted a hanging cresset lamp. Light shone down on Kat, her hair was disheveled and fear glazed her eyes. Alex had never been more relieved to see his wife. Or scared for her life.

  “Kat. Thank God. Are you all right?”

  “Aye, but Sir Luc is seriously wounded. Sir Stephen gut-shot him with an arrow.”

  Alex followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes upon Sir Luc, who lay beside her in bed, his face pale and covered in the sheen of sweat.

  “They look cozy do they not? Such a handsome couple,” Sir Stephen mocked. Alex’s second thought—he had discovered the traitor at last.

  “Go to hell, you spineless bastard,” Kat spit out.

  Sir Stephen took a threatening step towards Kat, his face contorted in hatred. Alex drew Sir Stephen’s attention away from his imprudent wife.

  “You shall pay for your transgressions, Sir Stephen. Unless…Release us now and I shall ask the king to go leniently with you.”

  Sir Stephen returned to stand before him, gloating. “Nay. I think not. With you dead, I shall have everything I ever wanted.”

  Alex shook his head. “You make no sense. What could you possibly gain with my death?”

  “Revenge, for one. Your sister murdered my cousin,” he snarled. “Bertram was the only person who ever loved me, who treated me with respect. And I want her to suffer, as I have suffered, for the rest of her life.”

  “Nay. You are wrong. My sister could not kill anyone.”

  Stephen shoved his face in Alex’s and swore, “I have a witness who says otherwise.” Spittle splattered Alex’s face.

  “Then why did he not come forward when your cousin died?”

  Stephen spun around, stalked to
the post at the foot of the bed and gripped it with his hand. He stared down pensively at Sir Luc lying still and as pale as bone. “She feared the repercussions of doing so. But it matters not anymore. I shall deal with your sister in my own way.”

  Alex kept him talking, hoping to discover a way to break free, but the situation looked hopeless. “Whether my sister was responsible or not, your cousin died two years ago.” Alex glanced at Kat uneasily. “That does not explain why you hired Sir Hugo Krieger to attack me in the Holy Land.” At Sir Stephen’s surprised look, Alex continued. “Aye. The king has Scarface in custody at the Tower. The mercenary admitted to me just this day that you hired him to capture me and sell me to the Mamluks. The king has ordered your arrest and even now his men are searching for you.”

  Sir Stephen smiled, his expression smug. “You’re bluffing. Your wife tried the same trick on me. But she could not possibly know Sir Hugo confessed if he just admitted it to you. I think you both lie.”

  Surprised at this revelation, Alex glanced at Kat. She held his gaze steadily. Suddenly her recent mood shift made sense. Somehow she had learned about Scarface. That Alex had been lying to her for some while.

  But Alex had no time to continue speculating. “Yet I notice you do not deny you hired Scarface. I have yet to understand why, though. What motive could make you do such a thing?”

  Sir Stephen laughed gleefully. “Exactly. It’s brilliant. No one will suspect me of your demise. For what reason could I wish you dead?”

  Surprisingly, it was Kat who enlightened Alex. Her gaze meeting his confused one, she explained. “He has an accomplice.”

  Of course, Alex thought. He should have realized it sooner, but he had been completely absorbed in discovering a way to escape Stephen’s deadly trap.

  “Lady Lydia,” Alex breathed the words.

  He glanced at Kat again. “When I returned to the palace looking for you, I ran into Lady Lydia. She said she overheard you and Sir Luc making plans to meet at the hunting lodge. I didn’t believe her at first, but—” Alex shook is head with regret. “Obviously it was a trick and she has been behind the attacks all along.”

  She gave him an enigmatic smile, though slightly strained. “Indeed. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

  Chapter 27

  Sir Stephen stopped laughing and turned to Kat. “How did you discover my involvement with Lady Lydia?”

  Alex was curious to know that question, too.

  Though Sir Stephen asked the question, Kat did not move her gaze from Alex. “Sir Luc,” she replied, her lips down turned in a bitter smile, “confessed to me that he had intended to marry me under false pretenses. Luc said Lydia concocted the whole scheme to revenge herself on you and me because she hated you for refusing to marry her.”

  Alex dug his fingers into the chair’s armrests. “But why would Luc agree to such a plan? I thought he despised his stepmother.”

  A bark of bitter laughter burst from her lips. “Just the opposite. Luc was in love with her and she convinced him that if he did this for her, they could finally be together. With Luc’s revelation, I realized Lydia was the missing link that connected Scarface’s first attack on you before we were married, and your captivity in Syria. ’Twas a simple matter of deduction that she manipulated Sir Stephen, too.” Kat’s gaze moved to Stephen. “What I do not know is why you agreed to the plot.”

  Alex stared at his clever wife in amazement.

  Could it be so simple? he wondered. Looking back it made so much sense. As Kat mentioned, it explained the mercenary’s first attack on him the day of his betrothal to Kat. Lady Lydia must have put the plot into motion after Alex refused to marry her. When the first attempt failed, she bided her time and waited for another opportunity.

  A loud crash splintered the silence. Stephen had kicked the bucket across the room and it now lay smashed on the rush-covered floor, his face twisted in evil menace. “Lady Lydia was not using me. No one uses me. Sir Luc was my pawn.”

  Kat turned her gaze on Sir Stephen, her voice mocking. “Lydia enjoys manipulating men. If you think back I think you will agree. You and Sir Luc were her pawns. And I would guess there is no evidence to tie her to any crime. Am I right, Sir Stephen?”

  Hate distorted the blond man’s features. “Goddamn deceiving bitch. It was my cousin Bertram. Lydia and he were lovers. At her behest, he hired a mercenary to get rid of you. But Bertram sent me to the Continent to hire him. So there is no evidence that can point to Lydia as the instigator.”

  Stephen grew more agitated, murmuring under his breath as he paced before the bed. Alex, needing to keep him talking, but unwilling to provoke him, spoke in a neutral tone. “Then I unexpectedly returned from the dead.”

  Sir Stephen spun around and snarled, “You should have died in prison!” He grabbed Alex by the throat and squeezed, cutting off his air passage. Alex choked, his face reddening as he tried to inhale air into his lungs. Spots danced before his eyes, his body jerking with the force to breathe. He heard Kat scream, then the pressure lessened and Stephen stepped back. “But it would seem you are a hard man to kill.”

  Alex sucked in deep breaths of precious air. The man’s emotional imbalance, shifting from rage to satisfaction in the blink of an eye disturbed Alex. At any moment his rage could push him over the edge of madness. He needed to keep Sir Stephen calm, distracted.

  “And when I returned?” Alex choked out, his throat scratchy.

  Stephen’s gaze glittered black with hatred. “I decided to take matters into my own hands when you returned. Originally I hired the mercenary at Bertram and Lydia’s behest, but now I want revenge for his murder. When Lady Lydia arrived at court, together we began to plot your demise.” He turned and stared at Kat slyly. “’Twas Lydia who arranged today’s roadside attack on you. You and Luc fell neatly into her trap.” Stephen sneered, his maniacal laugh grating.

  Alex swung his gaze to his wife. Kat was attacked today? Upon closer inspection, he noticed the bruising on her cheek and lip. In the shadowed canopy bed it was unnoticeable at first. Fury welled up inside him. His fists clenched, he strained against his bonds.

  Kat gazed at Sir Stephen in contempt. “I was not the only one Lydia manipulated. You had no idea Lydia and Luc were lovers. That she plotted behind your back with him.”

  “Nay. The bitch lied to me. Nor did Sir Luc seek to enlighten me, either.”

  Alex jerked in surprise. “Do you mean that Sir Luc was involved with your plot, too?”

  “Aye.” The blond man smiled in evil satisfaction. “I approached Sir Luc after you returned to England. I realized I could use him to stir up trouble between you and your wife. You see, he thought my goal was to destroy your marriage.” Then he frowned, remembering Luc’s ulterior motive. “But at the time I thought he was doing it to win Lady Katherine, not Lydia.”

  Alex shifted in his chair. The ropes binding his wrists, which he had been working to loosen while distracting Sir Stephen, slackened a little. On the bed he heard Kat moving about quietly and wondered what she was about. But he dared not look her way.

  “So you used Sir Luc to cause trouble between Kat and me. Was Luc involved in the plot to kill me? Did he have aught to do with the arrow attack in the woods, or the bear attack at the faire?”

  Cruel satisfaction gleamed in Stephen’s eyes. “Nay. The fool. He had no idea I had anything to do with your captivity, or my attempts to kill you. He is a weak man and I could not trust him with all my plans. And obviously I was right because he could not even keep his mouth shut about his association with Lady Lydia.” Stephen glowered at Kat. “But enough of this,” he said, slashing his hand in the air.

  Panic assailed Alex. His hands were still bound and he had yet to form a plan to escape and save Kat. “Wait. You said revenge was only one motive. What other reason could you possibly have to want me dead?”

  Stephen grinned. “Land and power, of course. With you dead and your father another victim of a freak accident, I’m sure the
n King Edward will give me wardship of my nephew. Young children are so vulnerable, what with illnesses and accidents. A shame, really.”

  “Never. I shall see you dead,” Alex swore.

  Sir Stephen, his eyes glittering with madness, fingered the Beaumont dagger at his waist. “You are in no position to stop me. I’m the one in control. Do you not wish to know what I have planned for your deaths?”

  Kat spoke up, shifting in the bed. “Sir Stephen. Do you really expect that you can kill us and get away with it? King Edward will hunt you down till you are captured or dead.”

  Sir Stephen ignored her. He paced to the end of the bed, withdrawing the jeweled dagger and digging the tip into the flesh of his palm. “My plan is brilliant.” He cackled. “Sir Alex, having discovered his lady wife fornicating with her lover, went on a murderous rampage and brutally stabbed the lovers to death.” Alex exchanged a fearful look with Kat. Sir Stephen spoke as though they were already dead. “When Sir Alex realized what he had done, he committed suicide in despair. They say his body was found floating in the Thames. How sad. How tragic.”

  Alex jerked in his chair, sweat beading his forehead as panic overwhelmed him. “You shall not get away with this, Stephen. King Edward will never believe that story, no matter the evidence you concoct.”

  Stephen moved closer to Kat, his gaze unblinking, emotionless. “On the contrary. He may be suspicious, but there will be no proof of foul play. The court will revel at the salacious nature of the killings and be all too willing to believe the tale.”

  Then he held the dagger up to the glow of the lamp. “After all, Sir Alex’s dagger was discovered with the bodies to lend credence to his crimes.”

  Alex began to struggle in his chair, his heart hammering. Kat stared up at Sir Stephen with a feverish intensity, the light refracting off the jeweled-pommel splashing red across her drawn face. “You have always been a coward, Sir Stephen. Release me and fight me like a man!” Alex yelled desperately.