Father, help me. Give me wisdom. Open her heart to me. You know that I would rather die than hurt her. Give her the strength to trust me. Please.
~~~~~~
Jayne attacked the floor with a vengeance. Her ribs immediately began to ache in protest, but she ignored them. If she abused them enough maybe the pain would crowd out the feelings that struggled within her. Her stomach’s strange reaction to the touch of Liam’s fingers against her skin kept leaping to the forefront of her thoughts. Leaning harder on the brush, Jayne concentrated on the knot changing from golden to a deep brown as the water soaked into the wood floor.
He is just like every other man who has touched you. He wants to hurt you. Sure he seems kind and considerate now, but just watch. You let your guard down for a second and he will thrust a blade through.
The little voice that had counseled her through the years sang through her thoughts. Grasping at the anger that for so many years brought her through, Jayne tried to wash out the feelings that were coursing through her.
The gentleness of his touch, the concern in his voice, the warmth in his eyes, all of them contradicted the voice in her head. The kindness he demonstrated to the children, seeing to their needs without drawing them away from her. He took them in, giving them shelter, a way to earn their keep, and the male friendship the boys needed, never asking for anything beyond friendship in return.
A warmth she only vaguely remembered experiencing before sparked to life within her chest. Was it possible he really did only want friendship?
Think of something else, she ordered herself. The suds were growing brown with grime. Dropping the brush into the pail, she swished it around as alternative topics cascaded through her mind. All of them led quickly back to Liam. The boys were growing and happy. The girls talked her ears off with stories they heard from him and Braxton. He praised her work. Her cheeks warmed as she remembered his words. He had almost read her thoughts.
She shivered and dropped the brush. It has already happened, she realized suddenly. He is too close. He sees too much. He knows me too well. Panic settled into her soul as she remembered her reactions to his presence. He was weakening her resolve. I have to do something or I will lose myself.
Throwing the brush into the pail, she rose. “I have to leave.” It sounded so frightening spoken out loud, but she could not think of anything else to do.
“The children will be safe here. Liam will take care of them and keep them from Klian. Besides, without me, Klian will have no reason to take them. He won’t touch them, if I am not here to be intimidated.” The idea grew clearer with each sentence. “I can hide better on my own and Klian will not be able to find me. He will also have no further reason to bother Liam.” It would hurt to leave the children, but she could explain it to them before she left.
No. She shook her head to try to clear her senses. What am I doing? Running away just because Liam is getting through my defenses? I cannot do that. This is the safest place for me and the children. I cannot leave. Sinking to her knees again, she reached for the scrub brush. I am just going to have to avoid Liam. If I avoid him, he cannot unsettle me.
Ignoring the small voice in the back of her head that was telling her it would never work, Jayne concentrated on the floor. She was still struggling to keep Liam from her thoughts when someone cleared their throat behind her.
Leaning back on her knees, she looked over at the open door. She was surprised to spot Helana, one of the girls that came up from the village to help serve the meals.
“Excuse me, my lady,” she exclaimed breathlessly. “Rowana was playing in the stables and a horse kicked her. Braxton said to come fetch you immediately.”
For a spilt second, Jayne didn’t react. Then suddenly, as if she had been doused in freezing water, the icy chill of panic slipped through her. Horse kicking injuries were almost always fatal or maiming. Not bothering to pick up the discarded brush or to pick her way across the slick floor, she jumped to her feet and ran to the door.
“Where was she kicked?” she asked the girl as she grabbed her arm and dragged her down the corridor. “Head, chest, back, legs?”
“Chest.” Helana gasped for breath as they rounded the first corner and plowed toward the stairs. “Let us take the back stairs, it is faster.”
Without thinking, Jayne agreed and changed direction, going back the way they came. “They know not to move her, right?” She struggled to untie the lines that hitched up her skirt and get to the stairs at the same time. Her mind raced. Father, please spare Rowana. Taking the steep, narrow descent two at a time, she flew down toward the second floor. Helana followed close behind.
“What was she doing in the stables?”
“You know how children are, especially girls, enamored with horses.” Helana’s breath came short and fast as she tried to keep up with Jayne.
“Not Rowana,” Jayne commented when they reached the landing. “Ryana, maybe, but not Rowana. She has been afraid...” Suddenly it began to sink in. Rowana was terrified of horses. She wouldn’t be in the stables unless she was forcibly dragged there. Then Liam’s warnings about Klian using the children flooded her mind.
So, it was a trap. That was why Helana suggested the back stairs, they were deserted this time of day. Everyone was in the great hall for the meal. On the first floor landing, Jayne grabbed the newel post and swung herself to an abrupt stop. Helana plowed into her full tilt causing Jayne’s healing ribs to ache three fold. Still, Jayne’s grip on the wall stopped them from tumbling down the last flight of stairs.
“What is going on?” Jayne asked. “Rowana is scared speechless of horses.”
Helana was about Jayne’s height and weight, but Jayne had the advantage of a life full of hard work and fighting. She was confident that if it came to a fight, she would win.
Helana, huffing slightly from their mad dash down the stairs, frowned and failed to appear worried. “I don’t know. I am just doing as I was told. It might have been Ryana. There was so much blood and...”
The woman babbled incomprehensively. For a moment, Jayne felt sorry for her, but that moment was fleeting when she heard the heavy tread of a man coming up the stairs from the first floor.
Turning to see who it was, Jayne shifted her attention for only a moment. Helana lunged and shoved. Losing her balance, Jayne fell forward. She reached for the rail, but her fingers closed on air. Careening down the flight, she ran full force into the man coming up the steps. Her chest ached, but not much worse than before the fall. Thankfully he caught her. At least she was grateful until she looked up into a terribly familiar face.
“Turtkin,” she gasped.
“Aye.” He grinned down at her, teeth gaping. “It seems Klian is eager to meet with you.”
Chapter Ten
As they approached the bend in the road, a twinge of disquiet caused Liam to scan the road ahead. The road turned as it entered a sparse stand of trees, concealing any travelers from both the vargar behind and the village farther down the valley. Braxton is influencing me. Liam frowned. His paranoia is making me jumpy.
Shaking off his reservations, Liam urged his horse into a canter. The sooner they got to the fields and dealt with these ruffians the sooner he could get back to Jayne. They still had a great deal to discuss.
His paranoia returned full force as they passed beneath the shadowed recesses of the thickly grouped trees and his eyes adjusted to the dimness.
“My Lord Tremain,” a voice called out of the darkness.
Liam whipped his blade from its scabbard amid the sounds of his escort doing the same.
The voice laughed as the forms of a large company of men stepped out of the gloom and into the road. With a soldier’s eye Liam assessed the situation. Twelve heavily armed horsemen closed flanks around them. Outnumbered and with no reinforcements in sight, Liam hoped that the leader desired simply conversation.
“Dismount!” one ruffian ordered, gesturing with a naked blade. Liam played with the idea of attempting to
fight his way free, but he would know nothing more than he did now. Putting away his sword, he signaled to the others to do the same and dismounted. But as he turned his attention to the heavily armored man entering the circle of spears and swords, his heart sank.
“Well met, my lord,” Klian greeted.
“On the contrary, Klian, I find your greeting in poor taste. Why are you on my land with a host of armed warriors? Surely you know that I am forced to perceive such a foolish move as an action of war.”
Klian looked around at his men. “This is hardly a host, Tremain. I have set foot on these lands with far more, and Lord Ashwyn greeted my arrival with open arms. Besides, this will only become an act of war if I choose to let you walk away.” He unsheathed his sword and made a show of admiring the hilt.
“Waylaying the current Lord Ashwyn at sword point isn’t reason enough for war?” Liam asked.
“Ah, my lord, I would choose my words carefully if I were you.” Readjusting his grip, Klian lifted his sword into an aggressive position. “You are trying my patience with all your concern for war. It was you who declared war on me the moment you stepped on this land.”
Klian grinned wickedly. “See, you have made me think unpleasant thoughts toward you. Now, I am disinclined to be gracious. I think instead I shall take you home with me.” He turned his horse away.
“Why not kill me?”
Klian looked back over his shoulder. “Oh, you are eager to die?”
“No, but it would further your plans the most.”
“Ah, but you are forgetting one problem, a rather shapely and stubborn one. If I kill you, the king will send another like you, and Jayne will disappear again. However, if I marry the vixen, break her, and then kill you, I will have the title and lands legally.”
Klian urged his horse alongside Liam, leaning over so that their faces were inches apart. “I know that even if I get Jayne, she would rather die than marry me. You, my dear Lord Ashwyn, are going to help me get her past that inconvenient abhorrence. If the ice maiden has thawed for you, then I will use you as a tool to make her thaw for me.”
Liam fought to keep the anger from his eyes. Rage flooded through him at the thought of Klian touching Jayne. “You will never get your hands on her.”
“Oh, no?” Klian straighten and laughed. “I will have her by end of this day. In fact, I believe that she is crossing the border of your lands even as we speak. Ah, yes, I shall be touching her tonight. The soft fall of her hair, the silken skin of her cheek, the delicate curve of her throat...”
Liam’s hand instinctively went to his sword, but Klian only smiled. “I wouldn’t be so rash, my lord. These men are instructed to bring you alive. I didn’t specify unharmed, but I was clear about you being alive. Either you come willingly and whole, or reluctantly and in pieces. Regardless, you shall be coming.”
It took all of Liam’s self-control for him to loosen his grip on the hilt of his sword.
“Wise choice, my lord,” Klian said smugly. “Relieve him of his weapons.”
His sword belt was roughly stripped from his waist and a second man checked him for hidden weapons. By God’s grace the searcher overlooked the knife in Liam’s boot. There was hope. With the Kurios there was always hope. Father, protect us, Liam pleaded silently as an armed lackey roughly bound his hands.
~~~~~~
Jayne closed her eyes against the sight of Turtkin’s knee inches from her face. She wished her hands were free to stop her ears, but it was a vain thought. The rope chaffed her wrists and the edge of the saddle bit into her midsection with each step of the beast beneath it.
“... you should be grateful that I want you,” Turtkin said with a laugh. “Klian doesn’t want you. He just wants your inheritance. He promised you to me after he has married and bedded you. We shall see about your high and mighty ways then, wench.”
The horse stumbled slightly, driving the ridge of leather into her middle and driving the breath from her lungs.
“You should thank me,” he continued. “After all, I am the reason you will live longer. So, be pleasant,” he ordered, slapping the back of her head. His knee impacted with her mouth. The sting of the blow mingled with the warm flow of blood.
As he gloried in all he would do to her, Jayne closed her eyes against the internal pain of anticipation. The past few months will be like a dream, ethereal and passing. I went to sleep when my father died and reveled in the foolish fancy of freedom.
Remembering Liam’s kindness and gentle care, Jayne wished she didn’t have to wake to this reality. If only I had swallowed my pride and fear. If only...
Snap out of it, Jayne! she scolded. This is your life. Shouldn’t you be used to it by now? Instead of feeling better, the mental rebuke lowered her spirits. At least the children are safe. Liam cares for them and he will not abandon them. She shivered as the wind picked increased.
“What ho? Who goes there?” A voice called in the distance.
“Turtkin,” her captor replied.
“Raise the gate!” The order was followed by the grating of metal against metal and the groan of wood. Too weary to look, Jayne hung with her eyes closed. If she was fortunate, Turtkin would think she had passed out.
~~~~~~
As dungeons went, Klian’s facilities were nasty. Liam and his three men sat in darkness with the constant drip of a leak in the corner of the ceiling to measure the passage of time. By Liam’s guess, four hours passed while they got to know each other and assessed the situation. Unarmed, except for Liam’s knife, imprisoned, and with Jayne as a hostage of their jailer, Liam was at a loss for an idea.
Hoss, the youngest of the bunch had suggested jumping the guard when their food came, but Sander shot that theory to pieces. The door had a slot at the bottom for shoving things like food through. Davorn also pointed out that the hinges were on the opposite side too, meaning the door swung outward eliminating the chances of hiding behind it. Finally, they hunkered down where they could find dry space and settled in to wait for Klian to make a move.
In the silence, Liam’s thoughts were chaotic. The sight of Jayne lying on the ground near the well kept reappearing in his mind. The look of suspicion in her eyes as she surveyed him at their first meeting haunted him. She told him what her father had done, and her eyes had spoken of her fear of Klian. She thought the man the worse of two evils. Seeing how Klian functioned, Liam believed the fear justified. Somehow he had to get out of this dungeon and get to her before Klian did something.
Footsteps outside their cell door brought all four men to attention. Hoss rose to his feet and Davorn, the closest to the door, slid up the wall. Sander didn’t rise, but Liam heard him shift in the darkness. Somewhere deep within the fortress above them a gong sounded. The sound confused Liam. It was now far past any reasonable time to be eating.
The jingle of keys drew his attention back to the door just as it opened. A torch appeared, its bearer thrusting it forth into the dimness, momentarily blinding them. “Lord Tremain?” an unfamiliar voice queried.
“I am he,” Liam replied as he stepped into the circle of light.
“Your presence is required above, my lord.”
“And my companions?”
“They shall remain here.”
With a brief glance to Davorn, the highest ranking man, Liam followed the stooped figure with the torch.
~~~~~~
“I know your secret, Jayne,” Klian crowed as he waved a full wine goblet in her direction. Red liquid dropped onto the thick carpet of Lord Klian’s bedroom, mingling with the blood hue of the roses woven into it. He paraded before her. Dressed in a silk shirt that cost more than she made in a year and decadent leggings, he waltzed across the room. Jayne, with her hands bound behind her, observed impassively.
“The ice maiden has melted for a man at last and not just any man, the master of her land, her father’s lands that could have been hers if she had married me. Thought he would share them, did you?” He arched an eyebrow and took a g
ulp of wine. “He promised you half, or love, or freedom. Ah, I can see the scene now, you giving him that cold look you do so beautifully, the one that freezes even the air it passes through, and he on his knees begging you. He has never seen another so lovely in his life. He cannot live without having you. You are his breath, his life, his joy...”
Liam wouldn’t do that. If only he felt that way. The thought rose unbidden to mind stunning her more than anything Klian could say. Where did that come from? The memory of security in his presence flooded her mind. His firm, steadfast care while she was injured and the possessive touch of his hand on her arm in the hall while she faced Klian. Oh, how she longed to have his steady attendance at her back right now.
“Is this how he won you? Vain promises from the lips of a desperate man languishing in love for you.” Klian laughed in her face. His long thin fingers grabbed her chin, nails digging into her skin.
Closing her eyes against the sight of his leering face, Jayne remembered the gentleness of Liam's touch. He had grasped her chin thus and forced her to look where she didn’t want. However, his grasp had been firm and gentle, not harsh like Klian’s. How had she ever thought that they were of the same make? Tears flooded her eyes as she realized that she would never have a chance to tell him she had been wrong.
Her chest ached and a tear slipped past her mask. Is this how it is Lord? Is this how it will end? I realize too late that I have scorned his friendship. I should have accepted and cherished it. I am sorry, Lord.
“Ah, I have touched the girl’s ice coated heart.” He dug his fingers deeper. Jayne focused to find Klian’s triumphant face inches away. The gloating glare of his blue eyes annoyed her.
“That is not the way of it at all,” she stated firmly.
“Ah, we shall see about that, my girl,” he declared as he swung away, releasing her face. “Bring him!”
The Reward of Anavrea Page 9
