His patience wore thin as he waited for the letter from the king to be read aloud, passed, discussed, and all agreed the besiegers no longer had reason to remain. Sir Robin of Escewiche was not dead, the letter explained. He would travel here soon they were assured and would deal with the murdering witch inside when he returned.
Finally the gate was opened, the portcullis raised. Robin had to fight the urge to ride ahead and instead rode behind her brothers. He was grateful of his helmet, for the sight of his beloved home, a sight he never expected to see, unexpectedly raised water to his eyes. No doubt caused by the lump lodged in his throat.
Piper made her way to the bailey, Edwyn close, both running when they passed the last step. She absently noted how the bailey would seem to those newly admitted. But she’d like to know how she was supposed to have kept all inside alive if she hadn’t reduced the inner and outer bailey to field and garden? God’s bones, she’d all but whored herself to keep the people of Escewiche fed!
“Peter! Dun!” she cried as she launched herself at her brothers. “Where have you been? It was ages ere I sent for you!” She laughed, tears running down her cheeks. She didn’t care. She laughed again. It was over!
Frenzied words and much laughter later, she learned neither had received the missives she’d sent. Peter had been forced to flee to Wales because of a trumped up charge of treason. Dunstan, too, had hidden himself at Penclyst, charged with a murder he’d not committed. Both, everyone was pleased to hear, were cleared of all charges. And in full favor of the king —for what that was worth at the moment.
“How did you know to come?” Piper asked, touching their faces as if to assure herself they were truly here.
Peter and Dunstan looked at one another and then looked behind them, to the man still wearing his helmet. They stepped to the side and the helmeted man stepped forward.
Robin saw Piper’s lips part as she stared at him. Saw her draw back her golden hair from her face. Bitch. He kept reminding himself she was a perfidious bitch. So her joy at seeing her brothers appeared unfeigned. Haps she was gladdened to see them. She had been under siege, after all. But what in God’s name had she done to his bailey?
He straightened and raised his hands to remove his helmet. Voices grew quieter. Slowly he removed his helmet, lifted it off and flung it away. His gaze swooped onto her face. He saw her eyes widen. Her face blanched. Her lips move soundlessly. Ah! She was shocked to see him! Yet the satisfaction he expected to feel wasn’t there. Her words, when they came, were whispered.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
The wish had brought him back to life.
That was her first thought. Her wish had brought him back to life!
But nay, she could see he was alive, was real. His dark hair and blue eyes were just as she remembered. Murmurings grew to a swell as all in the bailey saw their master return to them alive. It was as if someone else had stepped forward and slapped their palm against his cheek. And uttered the words, uncaring bastard. Yet the second time her unruly hand made to swing itself at his face, her wrist was caught. That was when Piper knew she’d been the one to slap him. And then the twins descended.
“Robin! You’ve come to save us!”
Piper turned and glared at the two ungrateful brats. They ignored her and flung themselves onto their brother.
“Look at what she has done to us!” cried Emma.
“And we’ve been hidden with the goats!” Alice sniveled.
Disgusted, Piper rolled her eyes. So she’d cut their hair—it would regrow. She’d made them dress as boys—easily changed. And, she’d decreed their skin be rubbed with dirt and dung to disguise their sex and their beauty—now they could bathe. None had ever discerned their true identity, had they? She’d kept the twins safe and untouched as Lady Elizabeth, their mother, had requested, hadn’t she?
Piper looked at Robin and stepped back from the look on his face. “I—”
“Say not a word, Lady Piper.” He looked at the people gathered ’round. “It is I, Robin of Escewiche, returned to you. I am come to resume my rightful place. To see wrongs are righted. To punish those who have done wrong to mine own.”
Piper allowed a small smile to play on her lips. Ah, she’d like to see Robin have a go at Sir Geoffrey. Her eyes widened slightly when she heard his last pronouncement. She was to what?
Peter and Dunstan protested loudly, but Robin had expected such. “You knew from the beginning I was aware of her treachery. Why now protest when I place her under guard?”
“You have no—” Peter began.
“You haven’t heard—” Dunstan said.
“She is evil, Robin!” said Alice.
“She wants Sir Geoffrey for herself. And you know he was promised to me!” Emma whimpered, her lips quivering.
Robin held his sisters to his chest and stared narrow-eyed at Piper. You’re supposed to be dead. Her first words had condemned her. “She will answer for each and every offence.”
***
As the guard locked her in the cell, Piper had tried to smile at him. She’d tried to show she knew he had no choice but to follow Robin’s orders. But God’s bones, it was hard to smile when she felt her world crashing down on her. She’d tried for so long to protect Escewiche, and all those inside her walls. It hadn’t been easy. Nor had it been a responsibility she’d asked for. God’s bones, she’d come for the summer, to further her acquaintance with his family! Who would have thought when Robin rode out one day he’d never return? But she’d done what she thought was best. She’d kept most alive. How dare he gainsay her? Just because he appeared after she and everyone else thought him dead these three years... Appeared with no explanation and put her in a cell. A cell!
Piper looked around her prison and felt warm tears brim over her eyes. Well. She was due a good cry.
Robin smiled and raised his cup and laughed with good cheer. He was determined to be happy. He was free; he was back at Escewiche where he belonged. The bitch was locked away. Peter and Dunstan, he saw, did not smile or laugh. Edwyn sat and stared into his cup, or else stared at him, awaiting his chance to speak.
Emma and Alice sat on either side of him at the high table. They laughed with abandon and giggled over the plight of Lady Piper. He assumed they thought he would appreciate their humor. He didn’t. As much as he wanted to find fault with the bitch...he couldn’t smile over the fact she was sharing a dark cell with rats and vermin. Why was there a niggle of guilt over where she was? She’d brought it on herself.
She’d looked thin; gaunt. So did all his people. The extra food he brought wouldn’t last long—these people were near starving. He was given to believe as each platter was thumped before him, each by a different servant, that Lady Piper managed to procure a goat and cow as needed, seeds for planting. How she stood firm in their daily allotment of food, even giving a portion of her share to new mothers—how she’d kept all from starving. It was not what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear how selfish she’d been, not how noble.
Ah! Of course she would’ve wanted those at Escewiche to survive. If all died of starvation, who would serve her? She needed them alive—’twas all it was.
Except, Robin couldn’t help but note, these people, his people, appeared to resent the fact she was imprisoned. He snorted softly to himself. They didn’t know the truth about her. They’d change their minds once they heard of her treachery to their lord.
“Where have you been, Robin?” asked Emma. “Why did you stay away for so long?”
“Everyone said you were dead,” said Alice.
Robin leaned back in his chair. Just the opening he needed. “Three years ago, on our way to London, my men and I were attacked. I was taken prisoner and held.” Robin noted the silence his words produced.
“But who...” Alice began.
You’re supposed to be dead. “I never learned who attacked us. I suspect I know why I was kept alive, hidden, and moved from cell to cell. What I do know is the identity of the
one behind my capture—Lady Piper of Auban.”
***
Piper sniffed and wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands. She felt better. A good, private cry always cleared her head. Now she could focus her attention on this latest disaster.
Why had he imprisoned her? Why hadn’t she asked? God’s bones, she’d been so shocked to see him, her mind went blank when she realized it was Robin come back. Then her foolish notion she’d wished him alive. She snorted loudly. She supposed she should have worded her wish differently. And ought not to have slapped him.
“Do you wish to come away with us now, Piper?”
She swung her head and focused on the direction of Terialis’ voice. He was always quiet, stepping out from the Shadow. The cell was dark, but she could see the light that illuminated his body. If he allowed himself to be seen, most would call him elf, faery, or even angel. He was Dennene, as she herself was in small part Dennene. She sighed. “My brothers have come. I no longer have need for the Shadow.”
Terialis gazed at her as he had when first she saw him after trying to escape Escewiche by entering the Shadow; his face blank, his eyes full of acceptance. He’d found her, brought her back from the terror of her first entry into that in-between world. Since then he’d assisted her, although Piper thought it was more like keeping watch on her, to make sure she didn’t enter the Shadow alone. She smiled, but his expression didn’t change. It never did—‘twas said the Dennene had no emotions.
She lifted her hand onto his arm. “I thank you for all you have done for me, for all of Escewiche, that we survived. And you have kept me sane.”
“Why do your brothers allow you to remain in a cell?”
Piper withdrew her hand and turned her face away. Leave it to a Dennene to ask a question one didn’t want to answer, or could not. “I know not.”
The tumult caused by his words died slowly. Peter and Dunstan had risen, as had Edwyn, to glare at him. All in the hall ceased shouting at one another, and now edged toward him, determined to speak their piece. It was clear he’d struck a nerve. Also obvious none believed him. Well, his sisters hooted with glee before repeating to him all the evil things Lady Piper had done to them.
“Silence!” shouted Sir Edwyn at the twins.
The hall grew quiet as Edwyn stood before Robin, his face flushed, his finger shaking at his sisters. “For shame! Nigh three years Lady Piper protected you two churlish girls. Hidden the two of you as boys, kept your identity from those who would have used you immodestly. She took on burden of those who invaded, after—” and here he swung to shake his finger at Robin—“after your body was brought back for burial!”
Robin’s midsection felt as if he’d been hit hard. There had been a body? He shook his head. “Nay, ‘twas Lady Piper—”
Edwyn continued as though Robin hadn’t spoken. “None knew where you’d gone, or why. A month after you’d left, your body was returned by your cousin, Sir Nigel. After a month, you can imagine the state of the body. We saw and recognized your clothes, and were quick to bury you. As for Sir Nigel, who by his own words miraculously survived, once he entered Escewiche the man never left until he was carried out, dead, some months ago.
“Sir Nigel demanded Lady Piper wed him. He didn’t care about her, he wanted Escewiche and the treasure he felt certain was hidden within these walls. She hid where he and his men couldn’t find her. So Sir Nigel took your mother to wife instead. When Lady Piper was found she was forced to wed Sir Unger. Soon after, your mother was found dead at the foot of the stairs. Less than a sennight later Sir Unger was dead and Lady Piper was wed to Sir Nigel.”
Edwyn leaned closer. “For near two years he kept Lady Piper locked away. In the beginning he beat her, to force her to tell him where the treasure was hidden. She said naught. We knew she’d never tell what she knew.” He looked around the hall, pride showing plainly on his face. “We devised a plan to make Sir Nigel believe ghosts were haunting the walls, disturbed by his searches. We may also have put about Lady Piper was a witch. Sir Nigel believed us, for he stopped beating her. Although that may also have been due to the fact he became violently ill after each time he struck her. When he finally died, his men were anxious to leave Escewiche.”
Stunned, Robin sat silently, staring at Escewiche’s seneschal, his fingers drumming the table. “None knew I traveled to London?” He shook his own head. Nay, Nigel was supposed to have returned to Escewiche to inform all where Robin had headed. Of course, he’d always suspected Nigel’s part in the attack—he’d just assumed Piper was behind it as well. He shifted uneasily in his chair. To find Piper had been wronged as well as he... Robin didn’t know if he could give up his sense of outrage, his anger at her.
“All believed I was dead?”
“Lady Piper took it hard, My Lord.” Edwyn nodded. “We feared...she was young and delicate if you recall, and we feared ...”
Robin remembered Piper as she’d been. An innocent, with soft curves and rosy, plump lips. Quiet, modest, with hazel eyes he never tired of studying. Very different from the shrieking shrew he’d seen earlier. But she had survived. And so had he.
“She doesn’t deserve to be locked away, My Lord,” said Edwyn.
“She tried to steal my betrothed away from me!” Emma declared.
Robin’s brows arched and he looked at Edwyn.
“Sir Geoffrey,” said Edwyn, with obvious distaste, “refused to aid us when we were besieged, unless concessions were granted him.”
“Concessions?” Robin’s eyes narrowed.
Edwyn stood tall. “Lady Piper refused. He came back with a counter offer. She accepted.”
She accepted? “What was the counter offer?”
“I’m not aware of their entire agreement, but Sir Geoffrey would come to our aid only if it looked as if the besieging army would overcome us.”
“You see?” said Emma. “If she would have allowed me to wed him, Sir Geoffrey would have gladly rendered assistance to Escewiche!”
Robin looked at his sister. Granted, she needed to bathe, clothe herself as a lady, and her hair was short, but still...other than their dowry, Emma and Alice would need a few more years before a man would find something to appreciate about them. Robin doubted Geoffrey’s interest went beyond Escewiche. If the man had come to their aid, he wouldn’t have departed, either. So, Piper had again come to their rescue.
Damnation. He’d wronged her. He’d have to apologize. Damnation.
“What about the treasure Sir Nigel was after?” asked Peter.
“He never found it,” said Edwyn. “Lady Piper hid it well.”
Robin’s eyes widened. “Lady Piper hid it? She knew where it was?”
Edwyn nodded. “Told her first thing when they said you were dead. Thought it best.”
“There was treasure?” asked Dunstan. “But you always said Piper was...your treasure.”
Robin’s brows snapped together, and he wondered if Dunstan might actually faint away; the man’s face was white. “What’s wrong?”
Dunstan looked as if trying to smile. “Well, bugger me blue, but I...I might have said something to your cousin Nigel about...your treasure here. But I meant Piper.”
“Speaking of my sister,” said Peter, “when will you release her?”
Robin knew it was time. Damnation. Never, in all the scenarios he’d created in his mind these three years past, had he expected he would have to apologize to her.
***
Piper shielded her eyes against the bright fire of the torch, and knew it was Robin come to her before she saw him. She’d reasoned out that her act of slapping him instead of welcoming him with smiles was why she was locked away. Men! She’d had enough of their emotional outbursts, illogical thoughts, not to mention their bullying. However, she hadn’t expected it from Robin. ‘Twas obvious he was a man no different from the rest. One had to be careful what one said around men—one never knew what would enrage them. Due to past experience, and no desire to sleep with the vermin, she knew
what needed to be done. She rose to her feet and addressed his chest.
“I pray you forgive me for my earlier transgression, My Lord. I should have met you with a warmer welcome and...smiles.” She moved her lips to what she hoped bore some resemblance to a smile. “My presence here is surely as distasteful to you as my being here is to me. Escewiche now has her lord, and all is well. I pray you not hold my brothers accountable for my… thoughtless actions, and allow us to be gone as soon as may be. Before dawn would suit.”
Her lips refused to do more than bare her teeth—but she didn’t care. She’d groveled sufficiently, hadn’t she? Be damned to him if he expected more. She raised her chin and kept her gaze on his arm.
Silence didn’t bother her. She found men needed these minutes to chase after thought so as to put them in order to make their simple sentences. Some never bothered, but bellowed the first vapid thing that sprang to mind.
“You would leave Escewiche?”
Piper kept her eyes from rolling. “I believe I just—”
“Wait. Did you know I was told ‘twas you who was behind my imprisonment?”
Astonished, Piper’s gaze jumped to Robin’s face. “You were imprisoned? All that time?”
Robin hadn’t known what he would say to her. Didn’t know how she would receive him.
She had changed.
No longer the sweet, biddable girl he remembered. But then, hadn’t his perception of her changed after he thought she’d caused his imprisonment? She had changed. Piper was now a woman. A strong woman. What some might call a shrew. He smiled at her, and his smile increased when her nostrils flared and her lips thinned. But she’d kept Escewiche from those who would have taken her. Kept his sisters safe. Fed his people. His eyes roamed her too thin body, rested on her nose. Saw her put her hand to cover it.
“It was broken,” she said.
Robin’s smile faded. It was time they spoke. Time she knew what had happened, what he had thought about her. And time for him to hear what she had gone through, too.
Blue Moon Enchantment (Once In A Blue Moon Series) Page 15
