“You are right, Gavin,” she agreed. Her hands roamed his hard torso as she said, “There is something else that troubles me. You must use another horse during your raids, my love, for Trojan is easily recognized. I have heard him described several times, and knew at once who his master was. He is a rare steed, so he can point a dangerous finger at you.”
“What a reckless mistake,” he chided himself “I mask my face to conceal my identity, then ride a one-of-a-kind stallion! When I was trying to snare their attention, I wanted others to see and report who I was. But you are right—it is dangerous to be recognized now.”
Gavin lifted her chin and looked into her worried eyes. “I have chosen myself a keen-witted, sharp-eyed woman to love and wed. I adore your mettle, m’love, but do not try to ride alone to your king again. The distance is too great and perilous. I swear to you, I have sent messages to King Bardwyn about Damnonia’s troubles. You told me others had done so too. Your king cannot ignore so many summonses.”
“I will obey you, my wandering warrior,” she promised, hugging him.
“No matter what command I give?” he asked, nibbling on her ear.
She looked into his eyes and watched as passion flickered, then blazed within them. There was something so special, so appealing about his grass-green eyes. Not just their color and shape, but their range and depth of expression. He had a way of slightly lowering his handsome head and gazing from beneath his upper lids and brows that caused her flesh to tingle and her heart to race. His nose was so pleasingly shaped that it enticed her to kiss it, as did his sensual mouth. There, too, he had a way of holding his lips that demanded kisses. There were so many compelling features and traits about him that her soul soared with love.
“If you do not command me to make love to you, I shall order you to take me home this moment,” she whispered.
“How could an enthralled adventurer not obey his ravishing captor when she is a beautiful and powerful princess? I am yours to own and command for life, m’love.” The message in her intensely blue eyes was clear: take me.
Slowly and tantalizingly Gavin undressed Alysa. He lifted her long curls and placed them behind her, baring her entire body to his smoldering gaze. Then he sent his adoring eyes to wander leisurely over her sleek flesh and lovely face. She did not protest her nudity and his boldness, or try to shield herself from his enflaming touch. His fingers moved over her lips and she kissed them until they drifted down her slender neck, between firm breasts, and circled each in turn. Each of Gavin’s strong hands gently cupped a breast and began to caress it. His thumbs sensuously stroked the taut nipples and caused them to grow larger and harder. She watched him bend forward to playfully tease the aching peaks with his lips and tongue. Alysa closed her eyes and allowed her head to drift backward as she absorbed the splendid sensations.
Gavin eagerly spread kisses over her shoulders, chest, and midriff. His hands roamed past her slim waist, over rounded hips, and into her feminine region. He whet her appetite for him until she was ravenous with hunger. His hands guided his lips on an exploration of her body, leaving her limp and quivering.
Alysa could wait no longer to have him. She followed his lead, boldly and shamelessly undressing him and exploring him. Her hands and lips traveled his golden frame until he was shuddering with need and restraint.
He quickly lifted her and carried her to their makeshift bed. He loved her until their mutual cravings were sated, an intense experience that was reality-shattering and emotionally binding. While he was still breathing hard from his loving exertions, he gazed into her eyes and murmured, “I would perish if I could not have you forever.”
“That is what Prince Moran said,” she unwittingly said.
Fury flooded Gavin’s eyes and he coldly vowed, “I would slay him before I allowed him to touch you with one finger! No matter what threat they use, Alysa, flee the castle if he comes near you.”
There was something about his tone that intrigued her. Sometimes he sounded and acted just like Granmannie! How strange, she mused, that she should think that….
After Alysa related her dislike for her stepbrother, Gavin calmed down and felt sheepish about his outburst. “I belong to you, Gavin, and no one shall ever take me from you. I swear.”
“I am twenty-seven, Alysa. Until now I have loved no woman nor wanted to marry. You ensnared me and bewitched me, so you are responsible for my life and happiness.”
“The same is true of you, my love,” she retorted,’ kissing his cleft chin. Then they rolled upon the blanket, tickling and teasing each other as they shared mirthful laughter and heady kisses.
After dark Gavin and Alysa left the romantic cave and rode toward Malvern Castle. Gavin stayed on full alert to avoid running into anyone. An hour before reaching the castle, he bound and gagged Alysa securely, then blindfolded her. “I am sorry, m’love, but the bonds need time to make marks on this exquisite body. From here on I must not speak. I shall take you near the castle, then Calliope will do the rest. I love you, Alysa, and soon we will be together again.”
Gavin followed their plan, stopping within sight of the stone battlement and urging the dark horse onward. Calliope trotted to the castle entrance and whinnied several times, then stamped his foot impatiently. Two guards unlocked the gate and led the horse inside. One cut Alysa’s bonds free from the pommel and helped her dismount before removing her gag and blindfold.
“Home?” she murmured, then pretended to faint. The guards carried her inside the Great Hall and lay her on a table. Quickly Leitis was aroused to tend Alysa, and as she did so, Isobail was summoned. Alysa’s stepmother arrived and observed Leitis affectionately examining the young girl and spouting her outrage at the abrasions upon Alysa’s wrists and face.
Alysa tried to calm the frantic head servant as the woman placed ointment on her scraped wrists and used a cool cloth to soothe the redness around Alysa’s eyes and mouth.
“Fetch. Princess Alysa some warm milk with honey,” Leitis shouted to a serving wench standing near the door. “How dare those ruffians kidnap my sweet princess! They must be hunted down and slain! Beasts!” she sneered, then mumbled, “They knock this child unconscious, then injure her like this. Devils!”
“Please, dear Leitis, I am home now and barely harmed.”
“But you were unconscious and bound,” a guard protested angrily.
“They should be hanged for what I saw done to you! A daring crime indeed!” the other guard added.
Alysa smiled gratefully at them and teased, “Never have two faces looked better to these eyes than yours did when you removed that dirty blindfold. I do not know why he—”
Isobail stepped forward and halted Alysa’s words with a command: “Leave us. I wish to speak with Princess Alysa alone.” She sat down beside Alysa and smiled. “I will tend my second daughter myself.”
Leitis did not like being forced to leave, but she obeyed. Everyone else did, too, and the room seemed very large and quiet.
“Are you all right, Alysa?” Isobail inquired.
“I think so. It happened so quickly and strangely.”
“Tell me everything,” Isobail ordered softly, patting her arm.
“I was in the village strolling around, and everything went black. When I awoke, I was the prisoner of a terrible villain and his men. They bound and gagged me, so I could not speak or move. I was terrified. The big, ugly man ordered three others to sell me to the Jute Hengist.”
Alysa’s eyes widened as she said, “Do you know what they dared to do? They tied me to Calliope and hauled me away like a slave! We rode for hours in the dark. When we halted to rest, they gave me little to eat and little privacy, then bound me to a tree!”
“What happened later? You have been missing for two days.”
“That is the strange part,” Alysa mused. “A warrior— I think he was a warrior from his garments and size-entered the camp and killed the three bandits. I could not see his face, for he was masked. He told me not to be afraid,
that he was taking me home. He said I had been redeemed by Princess Isobail for a great many coins and jewels. He said he had learned I was stolen and where I was being taken, so he bargained with Sheriff Trahern for my rescue.”
Alysa pretended not to notice how Isobail reacted to that astonishing news, as Gavin had made up the ransom story to pretend to deceive Alysa and to cover Isobail’s part in this deception. She went on, “He kept me bound, gagged, and blindfolded until I reached the castle. He said if I told anyone he rescued me and sold me to you, he would capture me again and beat me. I was ordered to tell you and the sheriff the same thing. We are to claim those three bandits ransomed me and fled into the night. Is that not strange?”
“We must do as he said, Alysa. He knows who we are and where to find us, but we have not seen his face. I am sure he does not want that fierce bandit leader to hear of his deed and chase him with a blood lust. If we keep his secret, perhaps we can hire him again to help us thwart those bandits. I cannot tell you how glad I am this warrior earned the reward I gave to Trahern to pay for your rescue,” she said, knowing there had been no ransom paid to Gavin. “You never saw his face?” When Alysa shook her head, Isobail asked, “Would you recognize his body or his horse?”
Alysa pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “I did not see his horse, and he was clothed in a tunic and breeches like most fighters. And when he talked to me, he whispered so I could not catch his voice.” She added slyly, “I overheard a few of the bandits’ words. They said I was being sold to the Jute chieftain. The big, ugly one hinted that I was worth a fortune to Hengist. There must have been more bandits elsewhere because he talked about not splitting my reward with them. I could tell some did not like this idea. I heard a bandit call him Skane. Do you think my rescuer is one of the bandits, perhaps a malcontent one? But as my champion, if only for hire, he certainly did not have to be so mean to me!”
“How so?” Isobail asked, intrigued.
“At first he did not bind me securely, and I got free. When I tried to yank off the gag and the blindfold, he was angry. He tied my wrists so tightly, they ached. Look at them,” she stated, holding out the chafed flesh. “I could hardly breathe after he tightened the gag, and I was frightened at being unable to see. I hope you catch him and punish him! Moran will be furious at this dark deed.”
Alysa asked hurriedly, “Have you sent word to him about my abduction? He will be frantic.”
Isobail responded, “I have tried to keep it quiet to protect your honor. There was nothing Moran could do that was not being done by my soldiers, so I did not worry him. He is to arrive for Kyra’s wedding Sunday. We will tell him everything then.”
Alysa sighed and declared, “That is a relief, else he would worry himself ill over me. I am glad Kyra’s wedding plans have not been halted by this wicked act. What should I say to the others? You said to follow the bandits words, and I am afraid to disobey him. He could walk up beside me and I would not know to scream and run.”
“Since we have no clues to unmask him, we must do as he says.”
Alysa apologized, “I am sorry you had to give him your jewels and coins to pay for my return. Perhaps you shall get them back if ever he is captured; I hope so. Does Father know about this?”
“He has been too ill to tell him. Soon you will be my daughter twice over, so do not worry about the bandit’s reward,” Isobail said soothingly. “Perhaps he will approach us again, and we could find him useful.”
For the first time Alysa embraced Isobail and said, “Thank you for saving my life and honor, my generous stepmother. I shall not forget this deed. It will bind us together as friends and family.”
“Go to your chamber and sleep, Alysa. This ordeal has been rough on you. We will speak more tomorrow. Follow my lead around others.”
Isobail returned to Trahern’s side in her bed. She laughed and remarked, “The Hawk is smarter than we imagined, my love. He convinced the little fool she was ransomed by me, and he never even let her. glimpse his face. He scared her into keeping her mouth shut and into letting Skane’s men take the blame for her return. When you meet next with Gavin, tell him to get rid of Skane immediately.”
Gavin went to see Giselde and relate Alysa’s rescue, and found distressing evidence of a fight and robbery. He noticed the broken jar with dried blood on it, and the suspiciously dark spots on the hard earth floor. His sharp eyes scanned the plundered abode, and when he saw the unlocked, open chest, worry consumed him. Gavin had seen many coins and jewels there another day, but found none tonight. Anxiously he pried open the secret compartment and sighed in relief to find Giselde’s wedding ring still hidden there. The clues added up badly, especially Giselde’s absence. Knowing something had happened to the old woman, he put the precious ring in a small leather pouch that hung from his belt, then went to look outside.
Since it was too dark to see anything, Gavin returned to his camp without finding her. He told his men about the rescue, and the girl’s identity. He related his grim suspicions about Giselde’s disappearance: bandits or Isobail. “At first light we must scour the entire area for her. Any news from Skane or Keegan?” he inquired, and was answered no about both.
Gavin was gravely concerned. There was no way to get word to Alysa. Alysa… If Giselde had been unmasked, that meant his love could be in peril. No, he decided, something else had happened to Alysa’s grandmother, and he would discover what.
On Friday Alysa slept until past noon. She hoped by the time she appeared, everyone’s questions about her ordeal would be answered. By now there was no doubt in her mind that Isobail was a traitor, and she could prove it when King Bardwyn arrived. She prayed that her grandfather would hurry, as things got worse each day. She summoned her handmaiden to her side.
During her bath Thisbe related the stunning news about Baltair’s death and Princess Isobail’s commands concerning it and him. She listened as her friend revealed the shocking account of the seneschal’s alleged attack on Kyra. Alysa could not believe what she was hearing. She had known Baltair since her birth and had spent many hours with him over the years. Baltair was a good and kind man; he would never attack any woman! “It cannot be, Thisbe,” she argued. “He was such a gentle man. Why would Kyra lie about him and get him slain?”
Thisbe told her what the guards and servants had said, but Alysa knew something evil had occurred in that room. Baltair gone… His name and existence stricken from their land forever… What, she fretted, were Isobail and Kyra plotting these days? Yet in view of Isobail’s clever edicts, she could ask no questions about the shocking incident. She wept for her old friend, vowing to restore Baltair’s honor when this evil was conquered.
Later Alysa headed for the stable, but was halted by Isobail, who asked, “Are you going riding again?”
“Nay,” Alysa replied quickly “I was going to check on Calliope. I wanted to make certain he is all right after that terrible incident.”
Unconcerned and duped, Isobail returned to her business. She despised the idea of having to deal with Alric for the next few days, but in order to delude the people it was necessary to let him make an appearance.
In the stable Alysa stroked Calliope’s neck and fretted over the news of her friend’s death. She had been wise enough to let Gavin keep her pouches to make certain her real actions—that of running away from the castleremained a secret. When Piaras entered Calliope’s stall to check on her, she smiled. Hoping she could trust him, she asked, “Can you get a message to the old woman in the woods for me, Piaras? We are friends, and I do not want her to worry about me. But you must promise to tell no one—no one—about the message.”
Piaras confided, “The old woman has vanished, Princess Alysa. She knew of the trouble here and was trying to help us by getting a message to King Bardwyn. When I went to see her Wednesday afternoon, I found a terrible sight.” He related the grim evidence he had found in Giselde’s hut. “I checked again Thursday and this morning, but she was still not there. She is a good
woman. I fear for her life.”
Alysa wondered if Isobail had unmasked Baltair and Giselde and gotten rid of both of them. She feared that help might not be on the way after all. Suppose the messenger had not gotten through… Suppose Isobail also knew about Gavin… He could be in great danger! Yet with the gates locked to her, she could not get away to warn him. The important thing was to protect her father by playing along with these villains until she could slip away unnoticed.
Later she talked with Kyra, telling her stepsister she was sorry for her trouble, meanwhile hoping to extract clues from her. Kyra offered none, saying she was glad “the ferocious beast” was dead, and reminding Alysa that Baltair was a dead subject because of Isobail’s edict.
Alysa was allowed to see her father for a short time. His head seemed to be clearing slightly, and Alysa guessed why: Isobail must somehow be helping him recover to allow Prince Alric to appear at Kyra’s wedding and allay the peoples fears about his condition. She dared tell her father nothing, as his life could be in peril if he knew what was happening and tried to do something about it. Yet she wondered why he said nothing about his friend Baltair’s alleged behavior and death.
The day’s meetings left her forlorn. If the message had reached King Bardwyn, she thought, as Baltair believed and hoped, the king should have arrived by now….
Saturday morning all Alysa could think about was the trap closing swiftly around her and her father. She knew Moran was on his way, and she feared Isobail would try to betroth them. Guests were arriving steadily for the wedding tomorrow, including Sir Calum, so the gates remained locked and guarded to prevent anyone without reason or invitation to enter Malvern Castle.
News had spread swiftly about the bandits’ alleged ransom of her—the only good news to be heard, along with that of her father’s gradual recovery, which she knew would be short-lived. Even so, she watched him greet his lords and retainers, glad to see a little happiness and health in his life. Yet, again today, his eyes seemed too bright and his mood too gay…
Wild Is My Love Page 33
