Midnight Shadow

by Laurel O'Donnell

  Bria reached for him. “Yes,” she said. “It’s me.”

  “Bria!” His ragged exclamation was choked with emotion and worry. He clasped her in a warm, tight embrace, an embrace that bound her to him. She lifted her hands, encircling his back. Even though her arms felt heavy, she managed to hold him close.

  “Oh, Bria,” he whispered, pressing kisses against her hair. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Bria sighed, relaxing in his hold. His strong arms engulfed her, pressing their bodies so tightly against each other nothing could come between them. Relief filled every one of his kisses. Warmth flooded her.

  Everything would be all right.

  Terran pulled back and looked into her eyes. “How do you feel? Is there something I can get you?”

  Bria smiled at him. “I feel like I slept for days.” She sat up, looking around. “Is it morning?”

  Terran glanced at the shutters, giving Bria a chance to study his rugged profile. He was a vision she didn’t mind waking to -- his strong Roman nose, his perfect, chiseled jaw, the soft strands of dark hair curling around the tops of his strong shoulders. She reached up to touch his hair.

  “It’s dawn,” Terran answered, returning his gaze to hers. He captured her outstretched hand in his, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “You’ve been asleep for an entire day.”

  “A day!” Bria exclaimed. “No wonder I feel tired!” As she sat up, the room spun and she reached out for Terran. He steadied her with a firm hand on her shoulder.

  “Shall I get the herbalist?”

  “Herbalist?” Bria’s mind reeled as a torrent of memories flooded back to her. Running from Kenric. A slap. Kenric forcing the poison into her mouth. She gasped, grabbing Terran’s strong arm. “Terran, Kenric poisoned me.”

  Terran nodded. “Just rest right now.”

  “He had your herbalist make a poison and killed Odella. I saw him kill the old woman, your herbalist. That was when Mary was taken. I ran away. He tried to kill me because I saw him!”

  “Shh,” Terran soothed. “Don’t worry. You have to rest.”

  “Terran, you have to believe me. He said Odella knew too much and that was why he poisoned her,” Bria said.

  A scowl crossed his brow. “Too much about what?”

  Bria’s troubled gaze met Terran’s. She didn’t know. She didn’t have the answer to the puzzle. The more she thought about it, the more exhausted she became. “Please be careful, Terran,” Bria finally said. “Kenric might try to kill you.” She lay back on the bed, weak from fatigue.

  Terran bent over her to lightly kiss her lips. “I will, my dearest,” he promised. “You rest.”

  Bria’s eyes closed and her worries faded away beneath a blanket of blissful sleep.

  ***

  Terran entered the Great Hall to find Kenric lounging near the hearth, laughing with Sir William, Terran’s captain of the guard. A dark scowl crossed Terran’s features; his fists clenched tight at his sides. He moved toward his cousin.

  Kenric turned to him, his smile fading. “M’lord, how is Lady Bria?”

  Terran ignored him. “I would have a word with you, cousin.”

  Kenric nodded stiffly, if a bit apprehensively, and Sir William moved away.

  “She said you poisoned her,” Terran said through clenched teeth.

  “What?” Kenric gasped. “Me? I would never... you can’t believe that!”

  “Did you poison her, Randolph?” Terran demanded.

  “Why would I poison her? She is my lady!”

  “Did you poison her?”

  “No!” Kenric shouted, drawing stares from the others in the room. He lowered his voice. “Don’t you see what she’s doing? She is trying to turn us against each other.”

  “There’s no reason for her to do that.”

  “No reason? The Midnight Shadow is her reason! They’re working together against us. I’m trying to stop him, and all she does is defend him. She’s trying to distract us. We must stay focused on getting rid of that thief.”

  Doubt settled in Terran’s mind. The Midnight Shadow. He wasn’t Bria’s lover. What was he to her, then?

  “Has she told you who he is?” Kenric persisted.

  Terran looked away.

  “How can you believe anything she says if she won’t give you the name of your enemy?” Kenric asked. “Women are dangerous creatures, m’lord. Never to be trusted.”

  Terran glanced at Kenric. His cousin was right. While the Midnight Shadow still lived and breathed, he could never truly trust Bria. She still keeps secrets. How can she expect me to believe her? Randolph wouldn’t have poisoned her. She poses no threat to him. But who had? And why?

  “Lord Knowles!” a voice boomed from behind them.

  Terran turned to see two men marching toward him -- two familiar men. Terran faced them.

  Lord Delaney glared at him. Harry Delaney stepped forward and announced, “We’ve come to take Bria home.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  A fierce protectiveness flared inside Terran. “She is my wife, sir,” he replied stiffly.

  “You tried to kill her!” Harry spat.

  Terran’s jaw clenched. They thought he had poisoned Bria!

  “Father,” Lord Delaney commanded in a stern voice, quieting the old man. He turned to Terran. “We see what a mistake this marriage has been. You don’t want her any more than I want her to be your wife.”

  Terran fought back the urge to challenge Lord Delaney, to call him out for his slanderous words. “Regardless, the act is done,” Terran replied.

  Lord Delaney straightened slightly. “Be reasonable, Knowles.”

  “We will not tolerate your abuse of Bria,” Harry said. “She means more to us than that. You can keep the wretched dowry if it means that much to you, but let Bria go.”

  Terran stared hard at Harry. He would never let Bria go! She was his wife, and she meant more to him than anything -- more than the infernal dowry that would save his castle and lands. Why, he’d give it all back to keep her, every damned bit of it. Angry at the thought the Delaneys put in his mind, he strode from the room, ignoring their calls.

  “Do what you must,” Harry cried, “but she is returning with us.”

  Terran tried to calm himself. They were just trying to protect her. But the very idea that he, her husband, her lord, would poison her was preposterous. He’d do everything in his power to keep her safe. To keep her from harm.

  And how are you going to do that? an inner voice challenged. He’d have to watch her every moment of every day, watch what she ate, to whom she spoke, what she touched. Even then, he couldn’t guarantee her safety.

  The thought that he couldn’t protect his own wife pierced his heart and his pride.

  “M’lord!”

  Terran turned at Kenric’s voice.

  “Shall I escort the Delaneys from our lands?”

  For a long moment, Terran studied Kenric’s face. His trusted cousin, the sheriff of his lands, and more importantly his friend. How could he be capable of harming Bria? Yet Bria insisted he’d poisoned her. He wasn’t sure. Damn it, he just wasn’t sure. Could he risk her life?

  “No,” Terran replied. “Not just yet.”

  ***

  Bria felt jubilant and more alive than she ever had. Terran had remained at her side for two entire days, only now allowing her to accompany him to the Great Hall to eat. His power and presence radiated over her like a shield, protecting her with its invisible force. She felt safe and happy. Terran was a good, decent man. He wasn’t her enemy. He never had been.

  She held his arm, her hand resting on his forearm, proudly accompanying him through the hallways.

  The Great Hall was empty of servants and peasants. How strange, she thought. She scanned the large room and saw all the tables and benches had been removed except for the head table. Near the head table stood a group of men, two of whom she recognized instantly. A huge grin lit her face.

  Bria broke free of Terran’s ar
m and raced to embrace her father. Then she turned to hug her grandfather. She looked back at her husband. “Terran,” she began, but stopped when she saw his expression.

  His face was a mask of stone. He moved to stand beside Kenric. Dread and confusion filled her. She was standing but a few feet from her would-be murderer. Why wasn’t Kenric locked up somewhere? Didn’t Terran realize what a madman he was?

  Bria stepped forward. “Terran,” she whispered beseechingly, “what’s going on?”

  On Kenric’s lips was a victorious smile.

  Bria refused to acknowledge it, refused to let the shivers going up her spine alarm her. “Terran...”

  “You may take her now,” Terran said impassively.

  Her father put his hand on her arm. She lifted a baffled gaze to him, then broke away, stepping toward Terran. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “There’s nothing to understand,” he said. “I don’t want you any longer.”

  She recoiled as if struck in the chest by a war mallet. “What?” she gasped.

  “Sheriff Kenric told me you rode out of the castle to rendezvous with your lover. You aren’t fit to be my wife.”

  Bria’s gaze shifted to Kenric. “But he tried to poison me!” she protested. “How can you believe him?”

  “How can I believe you?!”

  Tears filled Bria’s eyes. “I wouldn’t lie about this,” she whispered. “You must believe me.”

  “How can I?” Terran asked firmly.

  “Terran,” Bria pleaded. “Please. How can you do this?”

  “Then tell us who the Midnight Shadow is,” Kenric said.

  Bria’s eyes didn’t move from Terran. It was as if Kenric hadn’t spoken. She saw the disdain in her husband’s eyes, saw the clenching of his jaw. It wouldn’t matter if she told him who the Midnight Shadow was. Terran would never love her.

  And that realization shattered her. Her world crumbled. The incredible happiness she’d felt mere moments before disappeared without a trace.

  Someone touched her arm. “It’s all right, Bria,” Harry whispered. “You can come home with us.”

  Bria swallowed hard and lifted her chin against Terran’s coldness. “I am home,” she proclaimed. “I am lady of Castle Knowles, and this is where I shall remain.”

  Fury flamed in Terran’s eyes. “Didn’t you hear what I said? You are not welcome here! I don’t want you. I never have. You are to leave Castle Knowles at once.” He turned his back on her and stormed from the hall.

  Bria stood aghast, horrified and embarrassed, but mostly devastated. She felt as though he was ripping apart her heart.

  “He’ll try to kill you again, Bria,” Harry whispered to her. “You’d best come home with us.” He gently took her arm.

  Bria savagely yanked her arm free of his hold. “Didn’t you hear me? It wasn’t Terran! It was Randolph Kenric! He tried to poison me!”

  Harry and Lord Delaney’s eyes turned to Kenric.

  Kenric bridled. “She is mad,” he said. “What reason would I have to kill her? I convinced Terran to marry her.”

  “You wanted me gone, out of the way. With my leaving Castle Knowles, you’ve accomplished that, haven’t you?” She stood toe to toe with the man, glaring up at him with all the hatred and agony swirling inside her. “This is your fault,” she snarled, “and I won’t let you get away with it.” She swept up her blue satin skirt and raced for the door, running after Terran.

  He will be long gone, she thought as she burst through the doorway. But to her surprise, he stood just down the corridor, speaking with a pair of guards. His earnest expression should have alerted her to the seriousness of his conversation, but Bria was too hurt to notice anything but the pain inside her.

  She marched up to him. “I deserve answers,” she said.

  He turned to her, shock on his face. Then his eyes darkened. “You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”

  “Easy?” she demanded, rage knotting her fists. “I’ll make it as easy for you as you are for me.”

  He seized her arm in a tight hold and dragged her down the hallway, turning his head from this door to that. Finally, he settled on a room and opened the door. It was empty and dark. He propelled her inside with a shove.

  Bria almost fell to her knees, but caught her balance. He closed the door, sealing them in the darkness. There was complete and utter silence between them for a long moment. Bria could hear only her own heavy breathing.

  “What answers would you like?” Terran demanded.

  “Why? Why are you doing this?” Bria asked, trying desperately to keep her voice even.

  “I told you. You are a failure as my wife.”

  “What have I done?” she implored, angry at herself for sounding so desperate.

  “Your consorting with my enemy is intolerable,” he retorted.

  “I am not consorting!” Bria felt tears burning in her eyes.

  “Then tell me where you go in the middle of the night. Tell me who you meet.”

  “I have never lied to you, Terran.”

  “Omission is just as much a lie,” he snapped. “You plot against me with this criminal.”

  “No,” she whispered, stepping toward his outline in the gloom. “I try to help you. Your people are living in fear –”

  “So you’ve said.”

  “But you don’t listen! How can you run a castle if your people starve in the winter? Who will plow your fields then? Who will –”

  “Enough!” The word resonated through the room. “Don’t do this, Bria, please. Just leave.”

  “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “The choice isn’t yours to make,” Terran answered.

  The tears burning her eyes ran over her cheeks. “Why save me to destroy me?”

  “You aren’t professing love, are you?”

  “And if I am?”

  He turned away before he answered. “I would pity you. Kathryn satisfies my physical needs. And my heart... belongs to Odella.”

  Bria’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces. How could she have mistaken this cold, uncaring person for a man who loved her?

  “Then why did you make love to me?” she cried.

  There was silence before he finally said, “I thought to prove you were a whore. Imagine my surprise to find you a virgin.”

  Bria’s entire body shook, trembling like a leaf being blown about in a violent wind, and she couldn’t hold back a sob.

  “Bria.” The whispered tenderness in his voice confused her. “Why do you make me hurt you like this? Just go.”

  Bria didn’t understand. She didn’t want to understand the deceitful treachery behind Terran’s actions. How could she have been so wrong about him?

  She took a teetering step backward, her world blurring before her eyes, before whirling and running out of the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Terran had never cared about the ledgers, but now he immersed himself in the harvest tallies. He frowned. The accursed tallies weren’t making sense to him. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the entries again, but his thoughts weren’t focused on the tally lines scribbled on the parchment before him. Where could he start?

  How can I discover who poisoned Bria? His heart told him to start with Kenric. Bria wouldn’t lie. But his mind argued there was no reason for Kenric to poison Bria or Odella.

  No matter how hard he tried to focus his mind on something else, he couldn’t get the image of Bria’s tearful face from his mind. He’d wondered if perhaps she might be glad to be leaving him. But he’d been wrong. Very wrong. He knew that now.

  Nonetheless, he did what had to be done. He had to get her out of the way in order to figure out what was going on. He couldn’t risk her life. He couldn’t risk someone’s harming her again.

  But now his mind was refusing to focus on the job at hand.

  He shook his head firmly, gazing at the small lines and tallies on the page beside the names of the peasants and merchants and farmers w
ho lived under his rule. They meant nothing to him, not compared to Bria.

  Terran slammed the book closed and rose from the table, turning to head out the door. He hurried down the hall toward the main balcony. I hope I’m not too late. I hope I can get there in time, just see her once more so I can concentrate on what I have to do. With each step the urgency grew. He had to see her. He had to assure himself that she’d be all right. He was almost running as he reached the balcony which overlooked the courtyard. He placed his palms on the edge of the railing, only to see the Delaney procession riding away in the distance.

  He couldn’t see Bria. With this thought came an anguish he’d never known. His wife was riding away from him, and he’d driven her away. His chest constricted painfully, and he bowed his head. She was gone.

  It’s the only way, he thought, struggling to convince himself he’d done the right thing. The only way to keep her safe. When it was all over, he would get her back. He’d make it right. He had to.

  Thunder sounded in the distance, and he lifted his head to see dark black clouds churning in the sky just in front of the procession.

  ***

  Soaked and numb, Bria sat before the hearth in her room. They had not reached Castle Delaney before the downpour began and had been unable to avoid the torrential wall of rain. The flames snapped and danced, their movements reflected in her eyes, but she didn’t see them.

  She shivered in her wet clothing. Her maidservant Deb had suggested she change, but she’d refused. They were the last thing that held the memory of Terran’s touch.

  Someone hung a warm, dry blanket about her shoulders, but she didn’t look up.

  “Bria.” Her father knelt before her.

  Bria shifted her eyes to him, hoping to find comfort in his presence. But he wasn’t Terran, and only Terran could stop the pain burning in her chest. She turned her gaze back to the fire.

  “We can petition the king for an annulment. We’ll get the dowry back,” he vowed. “That cur shall have none of your coin.”