Hesitantly, Mara allowed Niles to lead her at a leisurely pace toward the keep. "Niles?" she asked softly.
"What is it, my lady?"
"Why... why does Johanne tend her brother as if he were her lover? Are they so close?"
Niles did not reply for a moment. "'Tis their way, Mara. Never ask more than that."
She was more puzzled than ever. "But Johanne said she would teach my sister what she needed to know in order to please Edmund." She came to a halt under the bright winter sky, looking to the tall knight. "What on earth did she mean by that? How could she possibly know?"
Niles sighed. "Trust me, Mara, you would not like the answer," he said, resuming their walk. "Have you spoken with Kirk this morn?"
Mara knew he was attempting to change the subject. "Nay, I have not. And I have no intention of speaking with him ever again." She cast the knight a long look. "Why won't you tell me what Johanne meant by her strange words? And why wouldn't I like the answer?"
Niles sighed again, heavily. He did not like the determined look in her eye.
***
The kitchen yards vacated, not strangely, the moment Edmund and Johanne entered. Edmund kicked at a dog that came too close as they moved for the postern gate cut into the fortified wall.
"Why did not you simply tell her the truth?" Johanne asked as the passageway enveloped her.
Edmund followed behind. "Because it is none of her affair. Moreover, I do not believe we will have to worry over the Lady Mara much longer."
"She does not worry me," Johanne snorted, casting her brother a long look. "Even so, you sound rather sure of yourself. What did you have in mind?"
Edmund smiled as they emerged into the knee-high grass beyond the wall. "I have been considering the situation and I do believe I have come up with a brilliant plan." He took his sister's hand again. "Kirk is traveling to Quernmore Castle tomorrow, is he not?"
Johanne nodded. "He is. And I am rather displeased with the fact that he will be seeing Lady Lily again. You know how infatuated she is with him."
"Never mind about Lady Lily. She is already pledged and certainly no threat to you," Edmund grasped her by the shoulders, returning the subject to its original course. "As I was saying, Kirk will be meeting with Lord le Vay. A widower, is he not?"
A flicker of understanding glimmered in his sister's eyes. "You do not mean to suggest...?"
"Of course I do."
"Oh, Edmund," she gasped. "Of course! How perfectly convenient!"
Edmund nodded smugly. "Kirk will carry not only a request for military assistance for my Wicklow holdings, but he will also carry a sealed missive proposing a betrothal."
Johanne threw her arms around him and they giggled happily. "Le Vay has expressed the desire to wed again, especially after his son died of the fever two years ago and left him without an heir," Johanne kissed her brother loudly on the cheek. "He'll wed the little chit and we shall be done with her."
Edmund patted her on the cheek. "Mayhap we shall even send her along with Kirk for the baron's inspection."
Johanne giggled again and Edmund was relieved that she had agreed to sending the woman away rather than wishing her away. That was what she called it; wishing, as in wishing for death. But Johanne's mood was particularly good today and Edmund was thankful; with Kirk's interest in the girl, arranging her disappearance would have been difficult enough, if not impossible. Even so, he suspected the betrothal to Lord le Vay, once revealed, would not be well met and he realized he walked a fine line between keeping Johanne happy and avoiding Kirk's wrath.
But family came first, and his sister's delighted expression was an indication of his supreme devotion. "Now you will not have to wish her away," he said. "Save your powers for something worthwhile."
"Like what?"
Edmund shrugged as they headed down the hill toward the grove of gnarled oak. "My wife, of course," he snorted. "While the sister's at Quernmore, mayhap we shall have a chance to see if she will fit well into our lifestyle. If not..."
"If not, she'll vanish like all the rest."
"Precisely."
The birdsong was sweet overhead as the shielding branches of the old oaks swallowed them. "Let's take her to bed with us tonight," Johanne grasped her brother's hand affectionately, savoring the power she commanded over Life and Death. "Mayhap she'll be more... cooperative."
Edmund lifted an eyebrow. "For her sake, I hope so," his voice was serious as well as frightening. "Indeed, I do."
CHAPTER NINE
The nooning meal was less than an hour away. Kirk sat in the chilly solar, going over the maps of Edmund’s Wicklow holdings and struggling to keep his thoughts from lingering on Mara. He was faced with a very important task and was in desperate need of his mental facilities, even those that would rather seek out the little hellion and apologize rather than focus on the task at hand.
He convinced himself he could not spare the time to apologize to her. He had more pressing duties and his personal feelings for Mara would simply have to wait. So he had planted himself in Edmund’s dimly-lit solar, refusing to cower at Mara's feet simply to ease the tension between them. He had hoped she had learned something from their negative encounter, although he would have been truly surprised if she had. All he had learned was that he missed her terribly.
Time passed at a painful pace as he endeavored to lay out a plan of containment against the Wicklow estates. Having no knowledge of the true scope of the revolt, a general course of action was the best he could do at the moment. And in the interim, he realized he had managed to quell his surging emotions somewhat and was pleased with his self-control. Self-control against a woman who inflamed and entranced him at the same time.
Hunched over the map table, sturdy boot falls approached from the foyer and he glanced up as Niles entered the room. The expression on the man's features was enough to distract Kirk from his turbulent thoughts.
"What's the matter?" he demanded. "Why do you look like that?"
Niles was beyond grim. He was miserable, actually. "Kirk, I have done a terrible thing, I think."
Kirk cocked a droll eyebrow. "Pray tell, lad."
Niles shook his head. "This is serious, Kirk. I have just come from Mara and...."
The mention of her name stirred Kirk intensely, dashing his recently-managed emotions. "What about Mara? Is she well?"
Niles nodded quickly, seeing the urgency in Kirk's eyes. "She is fine, Kirk. But we had a long conversation today and somehow I managed to tell her of Johanne and Edmund’s relationship. Christ, I have no idea how it slipped out, but it did. She badgered me and badgered me and before I realized what had happened, she knew the truth of it."
Kirk looked at the man as if he wanted to strangle him. "Damnation," he hissed. "How could you, Niles? Mara, of all people, should know nothing!"
Niles wished the earth would open up and swallow him. Surely it would be less painful than Kirk's wrath. "I do not know, I tell you. She pestered me until I was crazy!"
Kirk shook his head, the veins in his temples pulsing. "Where is she now?"
"She ran to her chamber. I can only imagine she's with Micheline."
Kirk's face paled. "Oh... Christ!" he bolted past Niles, heading for the foyer. The knight raced after him.
"What's wrong, Kirk?" Niles was having difficulty keeping pace. "I thought you would be pleased to know she was with her sister. Surely Micheline will calm her!"
Kirk mounted the stairs three at a time, hardly pausing to reply. "Under normal circumstances, I would," he breathed as they topped the landing and headed down the corridor. "However, Micheline’s first experience with Edmund’s husbandly attentions was not a pleasant one. If Mara forces her sister to tell her...."
They rounded a corner, picking up speed. "Tell her what?" Niles demanded.
Kirk did not reply until they reached the ladies' chamber. Scarcely stopping, he cast Niles a long look as he grasped the latch. "Johanne was a participant, Niles. Out of respect for Lad
y Micheline, I shall not tell you more than that."
As Niles struggled to overcome his shock, Kirk was already into the chamber, his eyes searching for Mara. But the only face he came into contact with was Micheline's.
"Where's Mara?" he demanded.
Micheline's eyes were wide. Accusing, he thought. "What did you tell her, Kirk?"
Kirk shook his head. "Nothing, my lady. I have not seen her. What hap..?"
Micheline cut him off, as livid as he had ever seen her. "Some fool told her of Edmund and Johanne. After she realized I was not going to tell her all that had transpired in my wedding bed, she ran from here like a madwoman. I have no idea where she might have gone."
Niles, lingering by the chamber door, cleared his throat guiltily. Kirk glanced at him, a look of pure exasperation on his face before returning his focus to Micheline. "When did she leave?"
"A minute or so before you arrived. I was just coming to find you myself."
"Did she say anything that might lend clue to where she was heading? Anything at all?"
Micheline shook her head. "Nothing. I tried to keep her here, but she shoved me to the ground," she sighed, her anger replaced by a genuine fear. "I am worried for her, Kirk. There's no knowing what she might do."
Kirk scratched his head, a nervous gesture. "Why are we so sure she is going to do anything," the itching hand dropped to his side. "I came up here merely to prevent her from forcing the truth from you and thereby preclude a hysterical situation. Since you refrained from telling her anything, mayhap she's simply run off to sulk."
Micheline shook her head. "Even if I did not tell her, it was evident that she suspected... something," she kept her voice low lest Niles hear of her shame. "Mara is not stupid, Kirk. She suspects something humiliating happened. But she does not know what."
Kirk stared at the woman a long, long moment. "And the only other person capable of telling her..."
"And gladly, I would think."
"…would be Edmund."
Kirk was already moving for the door, a sense of urgency filling him like nothing before. Micheline ran after him, her chest swelling with terror.
"She is capable of using a dagger," she gasped. "I have seen her!"
Kirk paused long enough to cast her a disturbed expression. "You have seen her?"
Micheline nodded, pale and trembling where she had been furious not moments before. "When... when she was young, nine or ten years of age. She defended me in a tavern against a zealous soldier. She was forced to stab the man while our father stood by, drunk and inactive and involved in his dice game. There was no choice, mind you; if she hadn't stabbed the man, he would have done unspeakable things to me."
Kirk stared at Micheline before letting out a sharp, ragged sigh. "Christ," he muttered. "Has she always been defending you so, Micheline?"
"Always," Micheline whispered in reply. "She will do what she feels necessary."
Kirk did not like the sound of that at all.
***
Mara hadn't been hard to follow. There were very few raven-haired ladies running about Anchorsholme with murder in their eye. Kirk and Niles tracked her to the kitchen yard, helped along by four children who indicated that Lady Mara had left the enclosure through the tunnel in the wall. Emerging into the tall grass, the knights continued their pursuit.
The children in the yard were chatty enough to inform Kirk that Edmund and Johanne were also beyond the walls, feeding Kirk's anxiety that Mara was either intent to do them great bodily harm or that, in doing so, she had been overcome and now lay dead or dying. Either scenario was terrifying and as he entered the cool grove of oak, he found himself praying for Mara's safety. Fervent prayer that hadn't touched his lips since his knighting ceremony.
He and Niles quieted as they reached the shielding trees, alert for any sounds or movements. Kirk split away from the knight, taking a path through the heavy foliage, hoping he could find Mara before it was too late. Knowing that, in spite of her hasty judgment and foolish nature, her true motivation was the protection of her sister. In however form that protection might come.
Aye, the woman had a heart of gold. And the mind of an imbecile at times. Kirk shook his head even as he moved silently among the trees, thinking that mayhap he should spank her again for being foolish enough to take the offensive against Edmund and Johanne. And after he spanked her, he would plead forgiveness for his harsh words and beg her to marry him once again. He simply couldn't stand to be away from her, not even for a few lonely hours.
Twisting his way along a holly bush, Kirk suddenly came to a halt. In the distance, he could hear the faint rumble of conversation and immediately recognized Edmund and Johanne through the trees. Crouching low so they would not see him, he saw Niles do the same from the corner of his eye. If Mara was after the pair, then she had to be close. Very close.
And he wanted to get to her first.
***
The bark of the tree was scratchy. As Mara pressed herself against the bark, bright blue eyes watched Edmund and Johanne as they moved through the dense brush, holding hands and giggling softly. And the more Mara observed, the more sickened she became.
To have an intimate relationship with one's own sibling was beyond her comprehension. Niles had been delicate when had explained their association, but even so the pure wickedness of their actions was more than she could bear. And poor Micheline had been thrust into the middle of it, unknowingly.
There had been a time when Mara had cursed Kirk violently for not having had the courtesy to inform Micheline of the situation; but the truth was, there was nothing any of them could have done even if Micheline had known. And Mara accepted the truth, even though her anger had not yet abated. Anger now directed at the two twisted siblings strolling through the trees.
Their taunts in the kitchen yard had upset her. Niles' reluctant explanation had upset her further. But the final straw had been Micheline's staunch refusal to tell her anything more. Even when she could look into the woman's eyes and see what her lips were incapable of bringing forth.
Therefore, she was determined to find her own truth. Out in the wood, where no one could hear the vile conversation. Aye, she was determined to learn the truth of whatever Micheline was in the middle of. To learn the truth and then protect her sister as best she was able.
Edmund and Johanne paused in a small clearing, kissing and fondling one another until Mara thought she truly might become ill. But it only served to reinforce her conviction to clarify the situation and she stepped away from the tree, completely focused on the two wicked participants of incest. Taking a step in their direction, she made her advance.
Until a hand clamped over her mouth. A huge arm went about her waist, hoisting her into the dense trees before she could utter a sound. But the shock quickly wore off, turning into an explosion of panic and she kicked violently, struggling to free herself. Deeper and deeper she was dragged, the canopy above blocking out the sun, until her attacker suddenly dropped to his knees and took her down with him.
"Not a word, Mara." It was Kirk, hot on her ear.
Shaken and disoriented, Mara tried to twist away from him. But he held her tight, grasping her wrists when she tried to hit him. In their battle, Mara ended up on the carpet of leaves and Kirk was pressed atop her, his stone-gray eyes blazing.
"Enough!" he hissed.
Chest heaving with exertion and fright, Mara met his intense gaze with her usual defiance. "Let me go!"
He shifted his weight in response, nearly crushing her. "Do you have a dagger somewhere on your person that I should be aware of?"
She grunted as his body smashed her, finding it difficult to breathe in more ways than one. "A... a dagger? Of course not! Where would I get one?"
He shushed her sternly, glancing over his shoulder to see where Edmund and Johanne were. He caught sight of Niles, watching him from several yards away, and nodded his head curtly at the man. Niles took the hint and disappeared in the direction of the Castle.
<
br /> Kirk remained silent as Edmund and Johanne, completely oblivious to the chaos going on around them, continued their walk and faded into the distance. Then, and only then, did Kirk rise and haul Mara to her feet.
"What are you doing out here?" his tone was not kind.
She brushed off her bum, rubbing her ribs where his torso had bruised her. "Looking for answers," she said boldly. "If no one will tell me what I wish to know, then I shall find out for myself."
"By attacking Edmund and Johanne?"
"I wasn't going to attack them. I was going to speak with them and demand they tell me the truth."
Kirk's expression was stern. "It's none of your affair, Mara. Micheline told you as much and you would do well to heed her."
He could see the hurt, the confusion, in her eyes. After a moment, he saw the wall of defiance crumble and suddenly he was looking into a very sad, very lost, expression.
"Why?" she demanded, her voice a hoarse whisper. "Why won't anyone tell me what is going on?"
He felt himself weaken. But when he instinctively reached out to touch her, she pulled away. Kirk gazed at her, feeling her rejection to his soul.
"What do you want to know?" he asked softly. "And, more importantly, does your very life hang in the balance if you do not discover these answers?"
Mara turned away from him, her worn slippers crunching the moldering leaves. "Something happened to my sister in Edmund’s bedchamber and no one will tell me what it was. Not even my sister."
Kirk watched her deliciously petite figure, wishing he could simply reach out and hold her. "What happens between a wife and her husband is a private matter, Mara," he followed her, slowly, as she moved away. "And what led you to believe that anything out of the ordinary happened?"
She paused, picking at her nails as she so often did when subdued or confused. "Edmund and Johanne inferred as much. Edmund said my sister pleased them both. And Johanne said she would teach my sister what she needed to know in order to please Edmund," she suddenly turned on him, the brilliant eyes filled with emotion. "If it was your sister they were speaking of, how would you react?"
Lords of Eire: An Irish Medieval Romance Bundle Page 84
