A VOW TO KEEP (The Vengeance Trilogy)

by Lana Williams

  Alyna couldn’t help but wonder if the kitchen looked anything like the hall.

  Her grandfather seemed to read her thoughts. “The keep has not yet been set to rights since our return from Poitou, so please forgive the disorder. The steward I left in charge had more interest in the grounds of the castle than in the keep and disappeared before our return.” He shook his head as though puzzled. “Let us ease our hunger while we visit.”

  Alyna removed her cloak and laid it on the bench beside her. Only she, her grandfather, and Nicholas sat at the head table, but others sat at the tables nearby. The hall was less than half full much to her surprise.

  “I trust Royce treated you well?”

  She looked at him, trying to determine what he meant and how she should respond. Did she tell him Royce had scared her half to death and then seized her when she tried to escape? Just thinking of the incident brought heat to her cheeks. Then again, she’d hit him with her basket hard enough to leave a mark. Perhaps they were even. “Royce surprised me and was...most insistent that I accompany him with all haste.”

  She could feel her grandfather studying her expression, so she kept her gaze on the food before her until she could think of some way to change the subject. “I’m eager to hear what you have to say, especially of my betrothal.”

  Her grandfather looked away. “This is a difficult and complicated situation and I would speak with you in private.”

  Alyna nodded, disappointed that she’d have to wait. “As you wish.”

  “Tell me how you’ve fared these past years. Is your father well?”

  “Aye, he is...fine.” She could think of nothing more to say about her father that would be both truthful and pleasant, so she moved on. “Montvue has done well. Our harvests have been plentiful, and the villeins healthy.”

  Lord Blackwell glanced at Nicholas, then looked back at her and lowered his voice. “Alyna, is the child Tegmont’s?” His eyes were so big that it might have been comical had he discussed any other subject.

  “Nay, Tegmont is not his father.” The mere idea of it made her shudder. She gave a quick prayer requesting forgiveness for her lies as an omission of the truth was no less than a lie. “His father died before he was born.”

  “I see.” He stared at Nicholas and rubbed his chin as he absorbed her explanation.

  “He’s a delightful boy and a true joy to me. I think you’ll enjoy getting to know him.”

  He turned and looked at her, as though still trying to understand how all this could’ve happened in his absence. “Indeed. I’m pleased to have the chance.”

  “Might I send for my servants, Charles and Enid? I was not able to tell them I was leaving when Royce came for me. I’m certain they’ve been terribly worried about my absence.”

  “Aye. We’ll send a message at once.” He took her hand in his. “I know I’ve lost touch with you, but it is my intention to rectify that, if you’ll let me.”

  Touched and pleased, Alyna gave his hand a squeeze. “I would like that, too, Grandfather.”

  As the meal progressed, he left her little time to observe, so intent was he on learning more of her life. He treated her with warmth and kindness, just as she remembered. He kept Nicholas entertained as well. The boy’s laughter warmed Alyna’s heart.

  All of her grandfather’s attention was not enough to distract her from the meal. While the serving dishes appeared clean and the meal edible, the pheasant lacked much in flavor and the sweetmeats were hardly that. Alyna thought longingly of her well-stocked spices and bountiful herb garden at Montvue. Perhaps at a later date her grandfather would allow her to give some advice to the cook.

  After their appetites were satisfied, her grandfather refilled their cups and continued their conversation. The hall had been cleared and grown quiet before at last he rose from the table. “Let me show you to your solar. I’m sure you’re in need of rest.”

  Alyna nodded and rose before lifting a sleepy Nicholas into her arms. She was certain her grandfather would explain everything to her once they reached the privacy of her chamber.

  He gestured toward the stairs and followed them up to the second floor where he opened a door to reveal a room generous in size with two narrow windows. A large tester bed dominated the room, draped with red woolen curtains coated in dust. Cobwebs clung to the corners. Time and effort would be needed to set the room to rights. Nicholas wiggled to be let down and hurried to the window.

  “Oh, dear,” her grandfather said as he looked around with dismay. “I thought Florence was going to see to the room. I’m sorry, Alyna. I’ll send someone up to get it cleaned before you settle in.”

  “Thank you.” Relieved, Alyna moved to where Nicholas peeked out the windows. One overlooked the main inner yard and the other the herb garden, or at least what used to be the herb garden. In the distance, she heard the ringing of the blacksmith’s hammer.

  She wondered how long ago the steward her grandfather had mentioned had left. Who was Florence and why hadn’t she seen to the cleaning of the keep?

  “I’ll send a maid.” He turned to leave, much to Alyna’s dismay.

  “Grandfather, I was hoping we could speak of the reason for my being here.”

  “We will. Very soon.” He placed a hand on the door. “You and Nicholas need a chance to recover from your journey.”

  “What I most desire is an explanation,” she argued as her frustration spilled over at last. “I was taken from my home against my will by a knight I’d never met before. I don’t even have any clothing except what I’m wearing. I would appreciate some sort of account for all of this.”

  Lord Blackwell turned back from the door to face her. “Alyna, I know you don’t know me well, nor do you have any reason to trust me. But I would assure you that I have your best interests at heart.”

  She waited, but he said nothing more. “Your words mean much, but I would still like to know why you brought me here.”

  He moved toward the window where Nicholas stood. Blackwell smiled down at him and tousled his hair before addressing Alyna. “I’m not certain of the depth of your affection, if any, for Lord Tegmont.”

  He turned to her and paused as though waiting for her to confirm or deny, but as he said, she did not know him well, and until she knew what this was about, she would keep her own counsel.

  With a sigh, he looked out the window again. “Nor do I know why your father chose to make such an arrangement, but your marriage to Lord Tegmont would be most unwise, in my opinion.”

  Alyna waited, but again he remained silent. While she agreed with his assessment and had no desire to marry Tegmont, she still felt she deserved more of an explanation than that. “Unwise? In what way?”

  Lord Blackwell pursued his lips as though he’d tasted a sour apple. “It would be a poor match for a variety of reasons.” He nodded as though he thought that should be sufficient.

  Alyna gathered her patience. “It would be most helpful if you could tell me more.”

  “Aye, well, I’m sure it would. As I said before, this matter is quite complicated. Let us address it once you’re settled and rested from your journey.” He laid his hand on her shoulder. “I truly am pleased to have you here. I hope you’ll consider staying for a time, at least until all this is sorted out. It might take time to do so. I can tell you that much.”

  Alyna could tell his words were spoken with sincerity and that pleased her. Not knowing the real reason for his objection to her betrothal made her uneasy, but he was obviously not going to tell her now. Did it matter when she objected to it as well?

  “So, I’m a great grandfather now, eh?” He shook his head and smiled at the thought.

  Alyna ruthlessly squelched her feelings of guilt as she smiled in return. Mayhap one day soon she would explain the full circumstances of Nicholas’s birth, but that day would have to wait until she knew her grandfather better.

  Besides, he was withholding information from her as to why he didn’t want her to marry Lord Tegmon
t. Surely turnabout was fair play.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Enter,” her grandfather commanded.

  Matthew stood at the door, his face flushed, as it always seemed to be when Alyna saw him. “My lord, my lady.” He looked at each of them uneasily.

  Alyna’s breath caught in her throat. Something was wrong.

  “My lord, I beg your pardon, but there are some people at the gate, and they insist upon speaking with you about Lady Alyna.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Sage can calm those in a fit of temper

  but add a bit of rose to further please their spirit.”

  Lady Catherine’s Herbal Journal

  Alyna paced her chamber, alternately peeking out the door to listen for sounds of her grandfather and looking out the narrow window at the yard below.

  Neither provided her any satisfaction.

  Who could possibly be at the gate asking about her? No one knew she was here.

  Was it her father? He might’ve guessed where she was though she thought it unlikely. She knew his search for her wouldn’t be driven by concern but anger that she’d interrupted his plans.

  She sighed in frustration. Why hadn’t she heard anything by now? Unable to remain where she’d been instructed she gestured for Nicholas to follow her and descended the stairs only to find the great hall empty.

  She looked with impatience at the door of the keep but her grandfather had specifically told her to wait inside. Perhaps he, too, thought her father might be here and wanted to keep her hidden from view.

  “What should we do, Nicholas?”

  The boy looked up at her and shrugged before returning his attention to his wooden knife. What else had she expected?

  Just when she thought she could bear the suspense no longer, she heard commotion outside. Her lip between her teeth, she hurried to the door of the keep. Surely no harm could come if she took a quick look. She eased the heavy door open a crack to peek out.

  Her heart rejoiced!

  Charles and Enid rode toward the keep with her grandfather walking alongside them.

  Alyna hurried down the stairs with Nicholas beside her. “Enid! Charles!”

  They reached the group and Nicholas flew into Enid’s arms with a squeal of delight. The maid laughed as she steadied them both and squeezed him as hard as he squeezed her.

  “We found you!” Nicholas declared.

  “Aye, that you did, you clever boy.” Enid shifted Nicholas as he reached for Charles.

  “How did you know where to look for us?” Alyna asked as she hugged them both, pleased beyond words to see them safely arrived.

  Charles shook his head, his relief obvious. “In truth, we didn’t come here looking for you, but for help. When you didn’t return to Montvue at dusk, I went to see Sarah and found your basket. I knew something was wrong.” Charles’s gaze found Enid’s. “We didn’t know what could’ve happened to you.”

  “The only thing we could think to do was come here. We rode through the night.” Enid laid a hand on Alyna’s arm. “We hoped that perhaps Lord Blackwell had returned and would help us find you.”

  “Father doesn’t know where I am, then?” Alyna asked.

  “Not that we know of, but we left soon after night fell.” Enid’s pale face and slumped shoulders told of their exhausting journey. She held Charles’s gaze, making Alyna wonder what had occurred between the pair along the way.

  “We rode a very long while. Did you?” Nicholas asked as he slung his arm around Charles’s neck.

  The tired servant sank to the steps as though holding the boy was too much. “Indeed. That was far too long on horseback.”

  Alyna lifted Nicholas from his lap. “Charles and Enid are even more tired than we are. We’ll need to help them get some food and then get settled so they can rest.”

  “Come rest, Enid.” Nicholas took Enid’s hand and led her to sit beside Charles.

  “These two are very dear to me,” she explained to her grandfather. “They’re the ones I wanted to send a message to.”

  “Alyna and Nicholas have been worried about you,” Blackwell told them.

  “How did you come to be here, my lady?” Charles seemed very puzzled, his face drawn with exhaustion. The journey had obviously been hard on him as well. Dust grayed his tunic to the same shade as his thinning hair.

  Lord Blackwell cleared his throat. “I wanted to speak with Alyna and, as I didn’t think her father would consent to that, I sent Sir Royce to bring her here. I’ll leave Alyna to help see you settled.” With a nod, he crossed the bailey.

  Enid leaned close to Alyna. “You look tired, my lady.”

  Alyna nodded. “As do you. The past few days have been challenging.” She tapped Nicholas on his nose. “And you, Nicholas? Are you tired, too?”

  He giggled and shook his head.

  “I was afraid of that. You never want to rest when we do. Why is that?”

  The boy giggled again as they made their way slowly up the steps, as happy as Alyna to have their little family together again.

  ***

  The next morning, Alyna stood in her chamber with Enid and Nicholas, attempting to reassure the maid. “Truly, Enid. It looks worse than it is. A thorough cleaning will set it to rights in no time.”

  Enid sighed and looked about the room yet again. “If the solar your grandfather gave you looks like this, what must the rest of the keep look like?”

  Alyna hid her smile. She’d had the same thought. Despite her grandfather’s promise, neither Florence nor a maid had appeared to clean the room the previous day. She and Enid had been too tired to do more than shake out the linens enough to sleep on them. Unfortunately, a good night’s sleep hadn’t improved the appearance of the room at all. “Grandfather did say he’d send a maid up to assist us.”

  Enid gave another heavy sigh. “He’s a man, so I’m guessing he’s already forgotten about that promise. I’ll go below stairs and see if there’s a maid or two or ten to help us.”

  Alyna shared a look with Nicholas as Enid shut the door behind her. “How about you and I go outside and explore for a bit while Enid finds some help for us?”

  He nodded emphatically and darted to the door.

  Alyna chuckled. “Wait for me.”

  He grabbed her hand, pulled her out the door and down the stairs. He kept going until they stood at the front door of the keep. Try as he might, he couldn’t budge the heavy wooden doors. That was a good thing, she decided, as he wouldn’t be able to go outside without someone knowing.

  She guided him around the side of the keep to where the herb garden was, curious to see what state it was in. If she was going to try to improve the meals here, she’d need all the herbs she could get.

  Nicholas fought imaginary foes with the wooden dagger Royce had given him while she poked through the herbs. Much like her solar, the garden would need some work, but quite a few of the plants were salvageable. There was even some parsley growing that could be used for cooking. If her grandfather didn’t mind, perhaps she could get Charles to help her with it soon. She knelt down to more closely examine some green sprouts pushing their way out of the ground, hoping to determine what they were.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Alyna bolted upright at the stern tone to see a lady dressed in fine clothes.

  “Who are you?” the lady asked rudely.

  Some might describe the mature woman as attractive but for the scowl upon her face. Her eyes were a deep blue and her golden locks were artfully arranged and covered with a fine net. She’d surely seen many more years than Alyna, and those years had not treated her kindly. The biggest mar on her looks was her expression, which held a bitterness that Alyna doubted could be erased by a smile, if she ever chose to do so.

  Embarrassment flooded Alyna. Though she’d washed with a basin of water the previous evening, there hadn’t yet been time for a proper bath, nor had there been any point in thoroughly cleaning before scouring her ch
amber.

  At this moment, she felt every tiny speck of dirt from the journey from head to toe. She drew herself up and took a firm grip on her emotions. Without looking down, she held out her hand for Nicholas. His warm little hand gripped hers tightly, and she took great comfort in it. “I am Lady Alyna, Lord Blackwell’s granddaughter.”

  A startled expression passed over the woman’s face before she masked it. She looked Alyna up and down. “And what is it you think you’re doing?”

  Alyna straightened further as ire filled her. She had done nothing wrong and, until she knew who this woman was, owed her no explanation. “Who are you?”

  “I am Lady Florence.” She raised her chin in the air as she announced her name and waited for Alyna’s reaction.

  Only Alyna’s good manners stopped her from an inappropriate response. Instead, she continued to look at the woman, wondering what reaction she’d hoped for.

  With an impatient sigh, Lady Florence crossed her arms in front of her. “I am your grandmother’s younger sister.”

  Taken aback, Alyna could only stare at her. She didn’t remember her mother mentioning an aunt of any sort. Nor could she see any real family resemblance, and there was the age difference to consider. “I wasn’t aware my grandmother had a younger sister.”

  Lady Florence huffed, apparently annoyed she had to provide any further explanation. “We shared the same father, but different mothers.”

  “I see.” Alyna realized this was the person her grandfather had mentioned when he’d shown her to her dirty chamber. That made her resent Florence even more. “How...nice to meet you.”

  She ignored Alyna’s words and moved nearer, trampling the budding plants Alyna had been examining. “From now on, you will check with me before you wander about the grounds.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “I’m surprised Lord Blackwell didn’t tell you, but I am acting as steward until he’s able to find a suitable replacement.” She plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve, then raised her nose into the air again. “In order to properly act upon my duties, I must be kept informed of all things at all times. I have complete authority here.”