The Maiden and Her Knight

by Margaret Moore

  “Please be quiet. Sit beside Isabelle and I’ll explain.”

  “We can’t leave Montclair. I’m the earl now and—”

  “Sit down, Edmond, and let me explain,” she said firmly, still in a whisper but determined that he understand. From now on there would be no secrets or hiding the truth from them.

  Despite her determination, she was relieved when he obeyed.

  “I have kept many things from you both,” she began. “Ever since Mama died and Father became as he was, the baron has been slowly, carefully taking command of Montclair. I truly believe that Rennick DeFrouchette will never give Montclair up.”

  Again Edmond started to protest, but she held up her hand to silence him. “Please, hear me out. For some time I have also been learning about his evil deeds on his own estate. He is a vicious, greedy brute, yet I thought that if I agreed to be his wife, I would be able to protect you from the worst of his machinations. As his wife, I would have the right to question things, and to learn some of his dealings, either directly or by subterfuge of my own.

  “Now I think otherwise. I have come to see that he may be more evil and more determined than even I believed. And the situation has grown worse, because Rennick has been made our guardian, confirmed by the king himself. Any restrictions he may have felt are gone. In fact, his threats are no longer implied. When I asked him to break our betrothal because I have fallen in love with Connor, not only did he refuse, he told me to my face that if I do not marry him, he will have his vengeance not just on me, but on you both, and even Connor’s family. I believe Rennick is capable of harming anyone, for any reason. Although Connor offered his protection, I asked him to leave for his own safety.” Her voice softened as she remembered those last poignant moments. “And he finally agreed.”

  Then her resolve and her voice grew in strength. “But afterward I realized that was a terrible mistake. If we stay, we will never be free. Not me, not you, Isabelle, or you, Edmond. We will be Rennick’s prisoners. Nor do I believe that Rennick will let Connor and his family escape his wrath. He will move against them whether I marry him or not.”

  “What about Montclair?” Edmond asked, jumping to his feet. “This is my estate.”

  “Montclair is yours in point of law, and nothing Rennick can do will change that. But if we stay here, we will be little more than hostages. He will rule, not you.”

  “When I come of age—”

  She gazed at him steadily, willing him to see the truth of her words, to suddenly understand that the world could be a vastly different place from what he knew. “If you come of age.”

  “He wouldn’t dare to kill the earl of Montclair!”

  “He may dare.” Holding onto his slender shoulders, she bent down so that they were eye to eye. “Either way, we will never know what he might do, should we cross him. That is what I’m trying to tell you, Edmond. If we go with Connor, we will have a measure of safety and freedom. If not, we are condemned to be Rennick’s prisoners, for as long as he decides.”

  “You just want to be with your lover!” Edmond declared with disgust as he twisted away from her.

  “Yes, I want to be with my lover,” she agreed quietly as she straightened. “And I will make no apologies for that. I have done all I could to keep you safe, and it has not been enough. Now I will accept his offer of help.”

  “Then go with him and leave us here in our home!”

  Resistance from her proud and stubborn brother didn’t surprise her—but she could be stubborn, too, especially when she feared for their lives. “I won’t abandon you.”

  “I won’t go!”

  Isabelle looked from Allis to Edmond and got to her feet. “She’s right, Edmond. We have to leave. The baron is an evil man.”

  “You just want to be with Connor, too! I’ve seen the way you look at him!”

  “I don’t want Connor. He loves Allis.” She clasped her hands together and spoke with insistent fervor. “Allis has always put our needs and our safety before her own, and if going with her means she can be happy, we should not begrudge her that. You are not the only one giving up something, Edmond. You at least will be able to reclaim the estate. Who can say what dowry might be left for me? But I will give it up, and gladly, because of all that Allis has done for us. I would go with her now simply because she asked it of me, even if I didn’t know the kind of enemy the baron is to us.”

  “Father didn’t think he was bad, or he would never have made the baron our guardian.”

  Again her past reticence rose up to haunt her. If she had told Edmond even a part of what she suspected, he would be more willing to believe her now. He had to believe her now, and come away. “His grief made Father no fit judge, especially at the end, and I did not voice all my concerns to him, to my regret. Besides, you like Connor. He can continue teaching you how to be a knight. Think of the day you ride back into Montclair and claim it, wearing armor and on a fine war horse.”

  “I’m not a little child to be bribed with fairy stories,” Edmond grumbled. “I understand what you are saying.”

  But still he did not agree.

  Sweat trickled along her sides as her desperation mounted. They could not linger much longer. They had to leave before first light.

  She knelt in front of Edmond and took his hands in hers. “As I love you, I beg this of you. You must leave Montclair. It is the only way we will ever be free. You will still be the earl of Montclair, and one day, the estate will be yours. Will you come with us?”

  He looked at her for what seemed a lifetime before he nodded his head. “If I must.”

  Weak with relief, she got to her feet. “Believe me, Edmond, if I thought we could stay here safely, we would.”

  He began to dress, while Isabelle helped Allis tie the leather pouch. “How are we going to leave without the guards seeing us?” she asked. “And when the baron realizes we have gone, he will surely search for us.”

  “We shall go to the kitchen, and from there to the stables. I shall saddle the horses, while you and Edmond go to Connor and tell him we are going with him after all.”

  Isabelle straightened abruptly. “He isn’t expecting us?”

  She shook her head. “I realized my mistake after he had gone and didn’t dare risk trying to speak with him. It was too late for him to be on his way before dusk, or he would have been benighted on the road. Rennick gave him until the noon to go, but we should slip away before first light.”

  “What if he refuses to take us?”

  “He won’t,” she replied, believing that to the very core of her soul.

  “How will we get past the guards?” Edmond asked warily.

  She blew out the candle, so that only the bright moonlight illuminated the chamber. “There is a way to the inner ward beneath the wall in the stables,” she said as she picked up the pouch and slung it over her shoulder. “Originally it was an error in the building, and some stones fell away. Father showed it to me once, shortly before Mama died. As a temporary measure they had piled some old beams in front of it. I made sure they are still there, so it was never repaired. I don’t think the baron knows about it. I have certainly never heard him mention it, or anything about fixing it. You will go to Connor and rouse him, and I will bring the horses.”

  “How are you going to get three horses past the guards at the gatehouse?”

  “I am still the lady of Montclair, so I hope they will not try to stop me. If they do and you hear the alarm being raised before I can reach you, go without me. She took off the crucifix of gold and rubies she wore around her neck and pressed it into Isabelle’s hand. “Sell this if you must, for food or horses. Connor will watch over you, and I have every faith that he will keep you safe.”

  Isabelle’s lower lip started to tremble. “We won’t go without you.”

  “Tell him that I said you must, and make him take you away from here. Otherwise, all my planning and concern for you will be for naught. Either way, I expect an alarm to be sounded as soon as we ar
e discovered to be missing, but it takes time to mount a troop of men. Then they will expect us to ride for Wales, and I have another plan.”

  Traveling by lesser roads, they would head south for the coast and drop hints that they intended to take their quarrel with the baron to the king. After laying a false trail, they would sail to the Welsh coast and land in one of the isolated bays, and go to Connor’s home. She hoped that a brother’s love would overcome whatever animosity Caradoc felt toward Connor and then, if Connor’s brother was anything like her beloved, Rennick would find himself facing not just one dangerous opponent, but two.

  If Caradoc refused to help, they would live however they could. At least they would be together, and they would be free.

  She took one last look around her chamber, her heart sorrowing for the home they must leave behind, before she went to the door and listened.

  All was silent. “Come along now,” she whispered, herding Edmond and Isabelle out into the corridor.

  Hurrying down the stone steps and into the hall, they made little noise. The soldiers sleeping in the hall were not disturbed, and although the dogs awoke, they raised no cry. These were friends, after all, not enemies.

  As they passed by, she imagined the uproar when they were found to be gone. Rennick would rage and send out patrols searching for them. He would question the servants close, but none of them knew anything. Surely he would realize the reticent lady of Montclair was quite capable of planning an escape on her own.

  Nevertheless, as they continued into the dim kitchen, a pang of sorrow and regret struck hard. She might be putting her people in danger, and it was possible that her brother might never see his inheritance again.

  The cooking fire was banked, and more dogs slumbered by its lingering warmth. Although the cooks were the first to rise, she paused a moment at the storeroom to snatch a loaf of bread and some apples before sneaking into the courtyard behind her brother and sister. The night was clear, the stars twinkling in the heavens unobscured by clouds, and over Montclair hung the silver orb of the moon to light their way.

  And to shine down into the courtyard. “Stay in the shadows of the walls,” she whispered, pointing at the sentries. Although their watch was over the outer walls to the area beyond the castle, figures surreptitiously moving about the courtyard would be cause for them to raise an alarm.

  Mercifully, it was but a short way to the stables and they reached them without being seen.

  As they crept inside, she inhaled the scent of hay, horse and leather. For a moment, it was like being back in the hut with Connor, and a reminder of the joy of that afternoon.

  The eyes of a cat, there to keep the mice under control, gleamed in the darkness before it slowly padded away. Disturbed, the horses made some sounds, but again, not enough to wake the stable boys or grooms slumbering in the loft above.

  She led her brother and sister to the pile of old beams. Moving as quickly and silently as they could, she and Isabelle and Edmond shifted them until they could see the small opening, barely big enough for Isabelle to squeeze through.

  “Go to Connor,” she whispered. “If there is trouble—if I am not there by the time you see the first light of dawn—go without me.”

  Isabelle looked about to protest again and Allis turned to Edmond. “As the earl of Montclair, you must see that she does.”

  His expression was enigmatic as he nodded his agreement.

  She was asking so much of him! She silently vowed that one day, she would see him in the great hall of Montclair, enthroned on the dais as the earl, with all his land, rights and privileges restored. “I shall see you in a little while.”

  Sniffling, Isabelle nodded and crawled through the small space. Without a word or backward glance, Edmond did the same.

  It was enough that he had agreed to come with them, she thought while she struggled with the heavy saddles. She truly didn’t know what she would have done if he had refused.

  She tied the pouch to her saddle, then led the three horses into the courtyard. The noise of their hooves was loud in the silence, and they would be easily seen in the moonlight, but there was nothing else to be done, so she boldly—and swiftly—walked toward the gate.

  “My lady?” one of the two guards asked as he moved to block the entrance. It was Bob, and he was clearly puzzled, as well he might be.

  “Yes, it is I.”

  “Where are you going?” the other queried, and she realized it was Harry. “It’s night.”

  “I know that.” She drew herself up and spoke in her most imperious manner. “I am the lady of Montclair, so what I do or when is none of your concern. Now let me pass.”

  Exchanging uncertain looks, they were about to step aside when the sight of something behind her made them hesitate.

  Then Rennick DeFrouchette’s voice echoed through the courtyard, loud and mocking. “Where are you going, my lady of Montclair?”

  Chapter 24

  Caught. Caught like a criminal at the gate of her own home. Caught by Rennick, the man she hated. Caught, perhaps never to be with Connor again. Never to feel the bliss of his embrace and the warmth of his love.

  As despair settled over her, she slowly turned and saw Rennick marching toward her, a torch in his hand that he must have taken from one of the sconces in the hall. It illuminated his rage, and his sword dangling from his belt slapped against his thigh. He wore a cloak, but no tunic, just a shirt, breeches and boots, as if he had dressed in haste.

  A swift glance at the wall walk showed the watchmen moving about, kindling torches and rushing to see what was afoot in the courtyard below.

  Please, God, she prayed as Rennick bore down on her. Let Isabelle and Edmond see and take flight. Do not let them wait or try to rescue me.

  “I asked you a question, my lady. Where do you think you’re going?” Rennick repeated as he came to a halt in front of her.

  She must be as courageous as Connor and as strong as her father had been in the prime of his life. “Obviously, I am going out of Montclair.”

  “At this time of night, and with three horses? I think not.”

  The door to the hall opened and more soldiers, as well as servants, came out, curious to see what was going on.

  Let them look. She didn’t care. All that mattered was buying time for the others to get away. “I don’t particularly care what you think. I can do as I wish. I am not a prisoner here, am I?”

  “Ah, Lady Allis, you are indeed a spirited creature, like a pretty bird,” Lord Oswald remarked as he sauntered toward them. He, too, had obviously dressed speedily, for his long indigo tunic was not fully laced. He had on his cloak, and like Rennick, a sword belt and scabbard. His tone changed, to one cold and unfriendly. “A bird who needs her wings clipped.”

  She didn’t hide the scornful curl of her lip as she looked at the man who had betrayed her trust. “My lord, this is just another lovers’ quarrel, so I suggest you retire before you get a chill. The night air is dangerous for one of your age and girth.”

  Oswald’s eyes flickered in the torchlight and his expression soured. “My lady, have a care—”

  “No! You have a care, my lord. As I am still the lady of Montclair, you would be wise to let me leave.”

  A dumbfounded Auberan joined the small crowd. “What’s amiss?”

  Rennick ignored him. “Why do you have three horses, my lady? And perhaps it has escaped your notice, but it is the middle of the night.”

  “Since I am not yet your wife, I do not have to answer your questions or explain myself to you—or Lord Oswald, either.”

  “Yes, you do, for the king has made me your guardian.” He came close, smiling cruelly. “You cannot escape the law, Allis. Not you, or your brother or sister. So where are they, eh? It would be better for you, and for them, if you tell me quickly and do not try my patience further.”

  He was right; she was bound to him by her father’s will. But she would say nothing.

  Lord Oswald’s lips turned slowly up into
a smile even more cruel than Rennick’s as he looked past her. “Calm yourself, Baron. Here they are.”

  Agony drowned her as she turned.

  Their eyes wide with fear, Edmond and Isabelle stood just outside the gates, Rennick’s soldiers behind them. Rennick must have ordered some of his own men to watch the gate, lest she try to run away.

  She had left this too late, seen the truth too late, changed her mind too late, had faith in Connor too late. What remaining hope she had disappeared like the morning mist in sunlight, leaving only dark despair, as Edmond and Isabelle were marched into the courtyard.

  She took a step toward them, but Rennick grabbed her and pulled her back. Although his grip tightened on her arm, he could have wrenched it off before she would give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain.

  “Sir Connor has already departed, my lady,” Oswald announced. “He rode off before nightfall. Indeed, he was most impatient to be gone. Perhaps he decided you were not worth the trouble, after all.”

  She straightened her shoulders and raised her brow haughtily, every inch proclaiming her unbeaten and unconquered.

  “Traitor” was all she said, but never had she infused a single word with such scornful derision.

  Oswald’s fat hand struck her cheek with a slap that resounded through the yard and sent her staggering back. She tasted blood, hot and coppery, as she struggled to regain her balance.

  “You can’t do that to my sister!” Edmond cried as he broke away from the men holding him and ran toward them.

  Rennick took hold of her again and tugged her back, and she collided hard with his chest.

  “Shut up, boy,” Oswald thundered, stepping between them. “You will all do as you’re told.”

  Edmond skittered to a halt. “I won’t! I’m the earl!”

  As she struggled in Rennick’s grasp, Oswald moved with surprising speed. He grabbed Edmond by his tunic and lifted him up, until they were nose to nose, Edmond gasping for breath.

  “What arrogant pride did those parents of yours breed in you all, eh?” Oswald snarled. “Your sisters do not know their place, and you, boy, had better learn when to keep quiet!”