by Julia Latham
Sarah had thought Sir Anthony was guilty, never seeing the truth in two people who’d masked their evil well.
Lady Ramsey slowly rose to her feet, staring wide-eyed at the arsenic scattered on the tablecloth.
Simon seemed distant, almost blank, as he said in a monotone, “Then she started in on the poor young lord. I couldn’t—I just thought we were scaring him, startling the cow. But she wanted more. She wanted his saddle damaged and I refused.”
“So you cut the girth, Lady Ramsey?” Sarah demanded, her hands clenched into fists.
“She tried to hurt Francis?” Margery cried. “Why?”
Lady Ramsey only gazed at her husband, her eyes shining with adoration. “Do you not see, Anthony? You are the one who deserves to be the viscount, not a little boy. I couldn’t let Drayton marry Sarah and have even more children standing between you and the greatness you deserve.”
“Caroline, how could you?” Sir Anthony buried his face in his hands.
Sarah rose swiftly to her feet, coming around the table to face Lady Ramsey. Her body trembled with the effort of restraint. “Only a truly evil woman would harm a child to get what she wanted. But Francis is safe. He was never poisoned. We foiled your plan, so he will remain Viscount Drayton.”
The change in Lady Ramsey’s expression was immediate. Rage rose like a storm in her gray eyes. She ripped the viscountess’s brooch from Sarah’s gown.
“Everything will soon belong to my husband!” she screamed. “You cannot stand in my way!”
“I already did!” Sarah said triumphantly.
Robert rounded the far side of the table to come to her defense. Simon followed him. Robert half turned as if he wasn’t certain that Simon might defend his mistress to the end.
But Simon grabbed Lady Ramsey. “This bitch has ruined enough lives!”
She was no match for his strength. As Sarah watched in horror, Simon lifted the screaming Lady Ramsey and jumped through the mullioned window. In the silence that followed, all she could hear was the tinkling of glass, then distant screams from the courtyard below.
Robert ran to the window and looked out, the others crowding beside him. Sarah stood frozen in disbelief. Her gaze found Sir Anthony, who continued to stare at the broken window as he slowly sagged into his chair. He looked at Francis’s tainted plate of food. She hastily took it away.
At last he seemed to see her. “Have no fear, Sarah,” he murmured. “I am no coward to take the easy way out.”
Was Simon? she wondered, grief mingling with her anger and outrage. Or had Simon simply felt that both he and Lady Ramsey had to pay for their crimes? She would never know.
Robert stared down at the broken bodies in the courtyard below, watching as a frightened crowd gathered. No one appeared to have been injured below. And now Francis was safe, he thought with satisfaction.
The steward and treasurer started to pepper him with questions, but he lifted both hands. “Not now. I will explain everything later.” He sent Margery to Francis so that Walter could join them.
He saw Sarah standing motionless at the table, watching over Ramsey. The man must be devastated, knowing that for his sake, his wife had killed his cousin.
Robert approached him. “Sir Anthony, I am saddened at the way you had to discover the truth.”
Sarah looked from Ramsey to Robert, tears beginning to overflow her brown eyes. Walter stepped into the chamber, taking in the shattered window.
Ramsey slowly raised his head as if he were an old man instead of in his prime. “You have nothing to apologize for, Sir Robert. I knew her barrenness caused her great grief, but I never thought…You must believe that if I would have known it had damaged her mind—”
“I believe you, sir,” he said gently.
“Did you see the truth from the beginning?” Ramsey asked in a bewildered voice.
He shook his head. “Nay. In fact, I thought this dinner would incriminate you.”
“Ah,” Ramsey said heavily. “It makes perfect sense. For my motive would have been the same as…my wife’s.” He lowered his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking.
Walter nodded to Robert. “Let us go below.”
Robert saw Sarah glance sadly at Sir Anthony as they left the solar. “Should I have someone stay to guard him?” he asked.
She shook her head. “He is strong. But he will need time to come to terms with what has happened.”
As they walked down the corridor, Walter said, “Well done, Sir Robert.”
Robert eyed him. “My thanks, but I deduced the wrong villain.”
“As did the League. ’Tis the end result that matters. Your method succeeded in avenging Lord Drayton’s murder. That will not be forgotten.”
By the time they reached the courtyard, the crowd around the dead had grown. As Robert approached, conversations died to murmurs, and they all separated to allow him access.
He heard Sarah gasp. He took her shoulders. “Stay here, Sarah. There is no need for you to see this.”
She nodded, hugging herself. Master Frobisher put his arm around her, and she leaned into his shoulder.
Lady Ramsey and Simon Chapman were dead, of course, their bodies broken. Robert would never condone what Chapman had done on his sister’s behalf, but he could pity the man.
“What happened, Sir Robert?” called Cook, where he stood encircled by his scullery maids. Some trembled and looked away, others craned their necks with curiosity.
Robert spoke in a raised voice. “Lady Ramsey is the villain who killed your lord.”
Gasps and cries of surprise and outrage rose around him.
“Sir Simon was blackmailed into assisting her. Their deaths bring this terrible tragedy to an end.”
He saw several guilty stares granted to Sarah, and then one by one, people went to her. How would she feel, since they’d all suspected she might be guilty?
He noticed that there were several new strangers mixed among the Drayton servants, besides the three travelers from the previous night. Bladesmen all, he knew. He saw the profile of a man dressed in the simple breeches and shirt of a farmer, but in a startled moment, he cared nothing about what he was wearing.
“Adam?” Robert called.
His brother turned to face him, grinning. They shared the same height and dark coloring, even the same cleft in their chins.
Robert lowered his voice as he approached. “Can this be the earl of Keswick in such simple garments?”
“I’ve come to assist my little brother, but I see you have things well under control.”
To Robert’s surprise, Adam enfolded him in a hug.
“Well done, Robert,” he said, his voice gruff.
Robert nodded, feeling embarrassed, even as it seemed a little difficult to swallow.
“Aye, brother,” said another voice, “you have far exceeded my expectations.”
Robert’s breath caught, and at last he looked at the man with Adam. Their brother, Paul, lowered the hood from his head.
“Paul?” he said with astonishment.
He had not seen him in well over a year. He looked none the worse for wear, except that his face was thinner, his shoulders broader, as if he’d worked hard to support himself. There was no demonstrative smile of greeting, not from Paul. He’d always been a serious young man, but now he looked…dangerous.
Robert didn’t care about any of that. He laughed and crushed Paul in a hard hug. Paul hesitated, then patted his back.
“Where have you been?” Robert demanded, as he stepped back and held his brother’s upper arms.
“France and Germany. The tournaments were my livelihood.”
“I am certain you did well,” Robert said dryly. “How could you not?”
“I was successful.” Paul shrugged.
Adam laughed. “An understatement, I am sure.”
“Though glad I am to see you,” Robert said, “why did it take you so long to return?”
Impassively, Paul said, “’Twas time. And then I
returned only to discover that you and Adam had successfully revealed the identity of our parents’ murderer. With no help from the League.”
“The League was invaluable at the end,” Adam said.
Robert didn’t quite agree with that, but it no longer mattered.
“I would say that you have proven yourself to the League, Robert,” Adam said.
Paul said nothing, his brow furrowed, but Robert wouldn’t allow his brother’s bitter feelings to tarnish his own. “Adam, I think I proved something to myself, and that is even more important.”
Sarah heard the well wishes, the apologies, the concern in the voices of the people she’d spent the last two years living with. But it all seemed so distant compared to the bloody death she glimpsed between milling servants. Simon…her suitor…her betrayer. It was all so terribly sad.
She closed her eyes briefly as she turned away. She saw Robert with two strangers. Bladesmen? she wondered. She didn’t want to interrupt him, but she didn’t seem to know what to do with herself. She couldn’t seem to stop crying. His assignment at Drayton Hall had ended with success. But was this the end of their relationship? Would he go back to the life of a nobleman’s son?
And then he was coming toward her, his face full of concern and tenderness. Her love for him ached within her heart.
He put an arm around her. “Come, Sarah, let us leave here. Others will do what needs to be done.”
She nodded and let herself be guided into the keep and up to her bedchamber.
She took a step toward Francis’s door. “I must tell him something, Robert.”
“We will, but not now. Margery is with him.”
She nodded, staring up at Robert helplessly. And then he enfolded her in a fierce hug, and she clung to him, grateful for his strength and his warmth.
“Thank you,” she whispered, then repeated those important words in a louder voice. “Thank you. You saved my life. You saved Francis’s life.”
She looked up at him, and though he smiled, she thought he was a little embarrassed. It was endearing.
“What will you do now, Robert? You are a success in the eyes of the League. I know there are plenty of Bladesmen here to witness it.”
He grinned. “Including my brothers.”
She felt like smiling at last, when she thought she might never smile again. “Those two men—how did I not see it? They resemble you greatly. And one of them you have not seen in…”
“Over a year. Paul is home now, although I don’t know for how long. We can hear the story of his adventures later.”
She was happy for him, but he still had not answered her question. “So that is what you’ll do next, go with your brothers?”
He took her cold hands in his warm ones. “Nay, next I am going to marry you.”
She could only blink, stunned. “But…but you are an earl’s son.”
“Should you not cry out with joy and hug me?” he asked playfully. “I always thought a woman should be happy at such times.”
She bit her lip, trying not to let happiness rise up within her, when reality could ruin everything. “Robert, I am but a knight’s daughter—”
“Say that not again, sweetling. I would not care if you were a dairymaid. I love you,” he said in a low, urgent voice.
The tears started again. “You love me?”
“I do. And I vow to spend every day of my life proving it to you. Never had I met a woman who captured my heart and soul, until I met you.”
Hope blossomed within her, even though her tears didn’t stop. “Oh, Robert, I love you, too. I was afraid to tell you. I always thought I was a failure as a wife, and it has taken me some time to realize that all men are not like my late husband. You’ve shown me such trust, such goodness—” She broke off, her throat tight.
He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them, his ready smile full of tenderness.
Her voice strengthened. “I let my old self be buried under doubt and misery. But I am finding my happiness again, and I owe it all to you.”
“I should have known from the start what kind of woman you are, Sarah,” he said earnestly. “You could never hurt another to better yourself.”
“And I wouldn’t hurt you either, Robert. I would never think to stop you from doing good works for the League, no matter the danger. You care about people enough to risk yourself helping strangers. You—and the League—saved Francis and exonerated me. I won’t forget that. But I know you are still conflicted about the League’s purpose in your life.”
“Nay, I am through with doubts. Regardless of what the League thinks of my methods, it was worth going against them to make a difference in people’s lives. With your blessing, I want to pursue a future with the League, even if I have to force them to take me back.”
She cupped his face with both hands. “You don’t need my blessing, but you have it, my love.”
He grinned even as he kissed her, and she knew she would always associate his kisses with merriment.
“Until you win over the League, what will you do?” she asked.
“Take my bride to my home, of course.”
She smiled with pleasure, though she felt she had to ask, “Your brother’s wife will not mind?”
“Not his home, mine. I have my own manor, my own inheritance from my parents. I’ve never been there, of course, because it wasn’t home to me then. I never had a true home. As long as you’ll have me, Sarah, we can make a home together.”
She came into his open arms and kissed him, knowing that two lonely people had at last found each other, found love.
Epilogue
That evening, everyone gathered in the great hall felt as if a spring wind had blown away the last of a bitter winter. There was no great rejoicing, for death had been too close, too deeply felt, but a new beginning was promised to all.
Robert watched Francis’s glee after being freed from confinement. The little boy chased his friends about the hall, skidding through the rushes as was his wont. He had not really understood what had happened to Lady Ramsey and Simon Chapman, except that an accident had taken their lives. In the way of young children, after momentary grief and confusion, he’d let himself enjoy his freedom.
Robert had taken great pleasure in introducing his brothers to his future wife. Walter faintly smiled through it all as if he’d helped bring them together.
The celebration faded when Robert noticed Ramsey enter the hall. He moved steadily, his face a grim mask, his eyes quiet and grief stricken. People stared and whispered, treating the man as if his wife’s crime were his fault.
Ramsey approached them. “Sir Robert, I have a boon to ask of you.”
“Ask, Sir Anthony, and I will do what I can.”
“Would you assume guardianship of young Lord Drayton?”
Robert exchanged a surprised glance with Sarah. “I do not think my willingness will matter to the king, whose decision this is.”
“He will listen to my recommendation. You are the son of an earl. You would be a good father to the boy, who already worships you. He should never have to live with me, the widower of the woman who killed his father and almost killed him.”
“No one blames you, sir,” Sarah said, reaching to touch his arm.
“I blame myself. I have to find some way to understand how I did not see the evil sickness in the woman I loved. Did I take her devotion for granted, as something due me? How did I not see that it was twisted with jealousy? I do not know, and I must come to terms with it. Will you do this for me, for Francis?”
“Aye, Sir Anthony. If the king approves I would gladly oversee Lord Drayton until he reaches maturity.”
Ramsey nodded, then turned and made his way out of the hall.
Robert felt Sarah clutch his arm, and he could see the happiness shining in her eyes. “You are pleased, sweetling?” he asked.
“Aye, my love, how could I not be? I dreaded telling Francis that I was leaving him. Now he will be able to spend time here, and at our new ho
me.”
Walter cleared his throat. “I do not wish to interrupt your happiness, but Sir Robert, I have something that needs to be said.”
Robert nodded, even as his brothers gathered defensively behind him. Sarah took a step closer as if she’d throw herself between Robert and Walter.
He chuckled as he patted her hand. “Aye, Walter, say what you need to.”
“I think your work was exemplary on this assignment.”
That caught Robert by surprise and he couldn’t help saying, “You do? I know the case was solved, but my methods did not exactly endear me to you.”
“Believe me, Sir Robert, the League will be satisfied with you. They wanted to make sure you could think for yourself, that your upbringing hadn’t made you bow to everything the League proclaimed. They gave you one suspect in Drayton’s murder, but they actually wanted to see if you would broaden the investigation, not follow every order rigidly. You followed justice, Sir Robert, and that is all the League could want from any Bladesman.”
Robert felt almost dazed as Sarah hugged him. Adam clapped his back, grinning, and Paul shook his head, a smile tugging one side of his mouth.
Robert clasped Walter’s hand. “My thanks for your assistance, Walter. You were invaluable.” Then he turned to Paul. “Does this not make you want to rejoin the League, brother?”
Paul clasped his hands behind his back. “I am only here to help you, Robert. Do not expect more.”
Walter turned to give Paul an appraising look. “There is an important mission for which the League has been searching for just the right man.”
“The League has distorted my life enough,” Paul scoffed.
Walter shrugged. “’Tis a vital mission, to protect King Henry himself.”
Paul inhaled sharply, opened his mouth, then said nothing.
Robert laughed, even as he pulled Sarah closer. For three brothers who’d known only the League of the Blade since childhood, both he and Adam had found love and a real home. He prayed that his brother, Paul, could find the same peace and contentment.
He looked down into Sarah’s beautiful face and for just a moment, he was speechless with gratitude and joy.
