“Edric is going to force me to marry him. Today.”
Ash’s face darkened with rage. “The conniving—” His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword.
“There are two armed guards at my door,” she cut in. “The only way for me to leave is by the window.” She held up her braided cloth rope. “I made this, but I have nowhere to secure it—”
“Is there a heavy table in your chamber? Or a bed?” Ash asked.
The bed. Of course.
She left the window and tied one end of her rope to the bed frame. Returning to the sill, she tossed the other end out. It tumbled down to hang several yards above the ground.
As she grabbed her voluminous skirts, readying to climb out, she heard a key grating in the lock. Edric was returning.
With a frantic gasp, she put both hands on the sill and swung one leg over. The silk of her gown snagged on rough wood.
The chamber door opened. “Rosetta!” Edric cried.
He ran to her, his footfalls as loud as the hammering of her heart. She caught hold of the rope and tried to get her other leg over, but her skirts were firmly caught. Snarling, he seized her arm and hauled her back into the room. Fabric tore.
She screeched as she fell hard on the floorboards.
“Edric!” Ash bellowed from the ground below.
An arrow plowed into the edge of the window.
Reaching back, Edric yanked up the rope, tossed it on the planks, and slammed the shutters. As she scrambled to get to her feet, her shoes sliding on yards of slippery fabric, he hauled her up. “What were you trying to do? Kill yourself?”
“I was trying to get away from you!” Rosetta lunged sideways, grabbing for the dagger still lying on the ruined sheet, but he got to it first and tossed it under the bed, out of her reach.
“If you are wise, you will let me go,” Rosetta said very firmly. “Ash is here—”
“He will not stop our marriage. I just received word that my men found the priest. They are on their way here.” Edric grabbed her arm as shouts reached her from the tavern’s lower level: Ash was coming for her.
Rosetta fought Edric’s hold, twisting her arm to try and break free. When he refused to let go and attempted to draw his sword, she walloped him hard across the face. He grimaced, but his brutal grip didn’t ease at all.
Pounding footfalls sounded on the tavern staircase, followed by the clang of clashing weapons. Judging by the noise, men were battling on the other side of the door.
“Ash!” she shrieked.
Sweat coated Edric’s brow. Drawing his sword, he said, “Now, you are going to walk—”
The chamber door smashed inward. Ash stood on the threshold, his sword gleaming. He glared at Edric.
“Release her,” he growled, “or die.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ash shook with the force of his fury. Edric was holding Rosetta’s arm so tightly, she’d have nasty bruises. She was obviously terrified, and seeing her so afraid made his rage boil to the point of near overflowing.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Ash fought the agonizing pain in his right hand. Naught—especially not his own discomfort—would stand in the way of him rescuing Rosetta. “I told you to release her, Edric.”
The bastard scowled. “You will stand aside.”
“Like hell I will. Rosetta is mine.”
“Not anymore.”
Ash stared Edric down. “I will not ask again. Let her go.”
Edric’s defiant gaze slid past Ash to the corridor, where his unconscious soldiers were being dragged away by Ash’s men-at-arms. If Edric had hoped for help from his lackeys, he’d not get it.
Ash had also asked Lord Montgomery and Justin to clear all of the folk from the lower level, to save them from being caught up in the fight; it also prevented Edric from bribing them for help. The sound of Lord Montgomery’s commanding voice along with the scraping of chairs and the banging of the main door confirmed the tavern was being emptied.
Seizing the advantage of her captor’s distraction, Rosetta bolted sideways. She wrenched free of Edric’s grip, and he grabbed again for her, but she darted back toward the window, her only means of escape.
Ash lunged. Edric raised his sword, and the weapons clashed, just as sunlight flooded into the chamber. Rosetta had opened the shutters.
“Go down the rope,” Ash shouted to her. “Go!”
“A-all right.”
Edric swore and stepped backward toward the window.
Ash curled his free hand into a fist. He had to keep Edric away from Rosetta.
“You should have known your plan would fail,” Ash goaded, drawing Edric’s focus once again. The pain in Ash’s right hand was nigh unbearable, but he would not yield in his duty to protect Rosetta.
“’Tis not over yet.” Edric took another backward step, his foot sliding on crushed petals.
Rushing forward, Ash brought his sword down in a glinting arc. He gasped as Edric deflected the strike and retaliated with several driving blows that forced Ash back toward the door.
“I will stop you from marrying her,” Ash vowed.
“Not if you are dead.”
Ash laughed, the sound full of mockery. “You do not have the mettle to kill me. Otherwise you would have slain me on Crusade.”
Wariness flickered across Edric’s features.
“Instead, you just cut me. A half-finished job.”
Edric glanced at the window, as did Ash. Rosetta was poised to climb down.
“Please, my love,” Edric said, longing in his voice, “I care about you—”
She threw her betrothal ring onto the floor. “You care only for yourself.” She pulled her skirts over the sill and vanished from view.
A violent cry broke from Edric. Eyes blazing, his face flushed with anger, he rounded on Ash, his sword lashing again and again. Steel clashed and clanged. Step by step, Ash lured him out of the chamber. As Ash cleared the threshold, Edric rushed at him.
Ash spun, his back hitting the upstairs banister. He neatly avoided the strike, while Edric tripped on a sword that must have belonged to one of his men. Edric lost his balance, but swiftly straightened to deflect a ringing blow from Ash.
“Rosetta was right,” Ash said, breathing hard. “You are a selfish bastard.”
“Why is that? Because I love her?”
Ash attacked again. He lunged, parried, kept up his relentless assault until his men-at-arms had hauled Edric’s soldiers outside and the front door had swung shut behind them. “Be honest, Edric. You want the gold.”
“Gold?” Edric wiped sweat from his face. “What gold?”
“You know bloody well what gold.” Ash thrust hard with his sword, forcing Edric to the top of the stairwell. “Admit it, ’twas your plan all along. Marry Rosetta, wait for her sire to die so you could claim his lands where the riches are likely buried. Or, mayhap, even hurry things along by killing Lord Montgomery yourself?”
An indignant cry sounded from below. Daring a glance, Ash saw his lordship standing near the bottom of the stairs. Justin, however, was nowhere in sight. Neither was Rosetta. He hoped she’d made it safely down the rope to the ground. If she had fallen and been hurt…
As Edric attacked again, Ash drew upon his seething fury to deliver a swift, punishing blow. Edric slipped, and he tumbled backward down several stairs, unable to stop his fall. His sword fell from his hand and slid down several more stairs, out of his reach. Sprawled against the banister, he struggled to rise.
Ash was on him in an instant, his sword pointed at Edric’s throat.
His breaths hissing between his teeth, Edric glared up at Ash.
“Admit to the truth,” Ash demanded.
“I have told you the truth,” Edric said.
“You have not. Confess,” Ash roared, the sword pressing against Edric’s skin. If he didn’t coerce the truth from the whoreson now, he might never have the chance again.
The creak of a lower stair marked Lord Montgomery’s approach.
“Since I seem to be involved in this matter you are discussing, can I ask what the hell is going on?”
“Milord, you must help me. Ash’s jealousy has driven him mad,” Edric said, his eyes wild. “He insists he is entitled to marry Rosetta.”
Lord Montgomery frowned. “Ash?”
“Do not heed him, milord,” Ash said, maintaining the threat of his sword. “Edric is a lying, treacherous, manipulative—”
“Ash!” Shock whitened his lordship’s features. “To speak of a peer, a champion of the Crusades, in such a foul way—”
“Thank you, milord, for believing me.” Edric grimaced. “Help me, please, before—”
A draft gusted up the stairs as the tavern door opened. Rosetta strode in, carrying a rolled parchment. Justin walked beside her, holding his bow. Seeing them safe sent a flood of relief rippling through Ash.
Rosetta reached her father’s side. Justin halted at the bottom of the stairs.
“My love,” Edric called. “I was worried about you—”
“Were you? Well, you will be glad to know that I am fine, apart from a torn gown.” Her gaze shifted to Ash, while she discreetly lifted the parchment and tipped her head toward Justin.
Ah. What she’d found should not be discussed in front of the boy.
Keeping his gaze trained on Edric, Ash said, “Justin, I have a very important task for you; one I cannot entrust to anyone else.”
“Aye, Uncle?”
“I want you to find the town sheriff and bring him here. Take one of the men-at-arms with you. Agreed, Squire?”
“Agreed.”
“Good. Go now.” The boy hurried from the tavern.
As soon as Justin had gone, Rosetta unfurled the parchment. The thin, cured skin bore a copy of Ash’s sketch of the ring Rosetta had found.
“God’s bones,” Ash muttered.
“’Twas in Edric’s saddlebag,” she said. “There were other parchments, too.”
Edric’s face paled, and he looked about to be ill.
“Where did you get the drawing?” Ash demanded.
“Where do you think?” Edric groused.
“You found it in my chamber at Millenstowe Keep.”
“Millenstowe?” Lord Montgomery asked, obviously puzzled.
“This happened years ago, when we were squires at your castle, milord,” Ash said. He nudged Edric’s leg with his boot. “Well?”
“All right!” Edric snapped. “That day, I knew you and Rosetta had found something that you did not want to share with me. I…resented being left out. When you went to your chamber, I waited outside. You spent a while in there and then, when you left, I stole inside. I saw ink stains on your table and guessed you had written on parchment. When I found the drawing, I made a copy for myself.”
Lord Montgomery was studying the drawing. “’Tis a ring.”
“One made of gold, with a red stone and strange designs etched into the band. I still have it,” Rosetta said. “’Tis in a safe place.”
“You had heard the local tales of a vast hoard to be found in these lands, Edric,” Ash pressed. “You knew the treasure was likely buried on his lordship’s estate.”
“I guessed, aye,” Edric muttered.
“You wanted those riches enough to kill for them.”
“Now you are accusing me of murder?”
“Aye. When you learned of the peasant who had dug up the ancient coin with his vegetables, you paid thugs to beat him for information and then kill him. To your great disappointment, though, you did not get hold of the coin; I was lucky to end up with it.”
“You!” Edric choked out.
“There was also the gold belt buckle. You paid men to kill the poor man who found it, did you not? You wanted to silence all news of the findings, so that no one else could figure out where the treasure was buried and unearth it before you did.”
Edric was silent a moment, and then he chortled, as if greatly amused. “What a fantastical tale you have woven, Ash.”
“’Tis not a tale,” Rosetta said coolly. “The copy of the drawing proves you had an interest in the gold.”
“He also had an interest in you, Rosetta,” Ash added. “One that was far from romantic.”
Anger glinted in Edric’s eyes again.
“He needed to marry you, Briar Rose, because then he could take ownership of the land where the riches are likely hidden.”
“My father would have to die first, though, for him to lay claim,” Rosetta said with a frown.
“I vow he had considered that obstacle,” Ash said. “How would his lordship have died, Edric? Poison in his wine? An unfortunate accident while out riding his horse? Or mayhap he would be attacked by thieves lurking in the woods?”
Lord Montgomery scowled. “Did you plan such wickedness? Well, did you?”
Edric sneered. “What I planned was to have the life I damned well deserved. A beautiful wife, riches to buy whatever I desired—”
“—and John Lackland as England’s new King?” Ash added.
Edric’s mouth snapped shut.
“I know you are a traitor,” Ash said. “I know you are working to overthrow King Richard, and that the treasure was to be used to pay for a rebellion.”
His gaze frosty, Edric said, “You have proof of my treachery?”
“I do.”
A strangled cry broke past Edric’s lips. “Damn you, Ash. Damn you to hell, for you have ruined all!”
“I have, and gladly so.” Ash indulged in a bitter smile. “You intended to eliminate me long ago, did you not? On Crusade, when I said I intended to return home and marry Rosetta, you saw the threat to your plan to claim the buried riches. You waited for the right moment, and then you attacked me.”
“Attacked you?” Lord Montgomery’s voice roughened with horror. “He is responsible for that scar on your brow?”
Edric averted his gaze.
“He is, milord. He also injured my hands.”
“God above!” his lordship muttered.
“You cut me with the Saracen weapon, Edric,” Ash continued, the words pouring out of him as if they’d been dammed up for far too long, “but at the last moment, you could not slay me. I saw that flicker of indecision in your eyes, before you turned and ran. You expected me to die from my wounds; that they would become corrupted and I would never survive the fever. Since you returned to England before I did, no doubt you thought I had died in the East, until you learned that I had been granted Damsley Keep.” Ash tsked. “What a shock that must have been for you. Around that time, your father also died, did he not, making you lord of Wallensford Keep? Was that not when you insisted on finalizing your plans to marry Rosetta?”
“There were rumors about Lord Sherborne’s death.” Lord Montgomery said. “He appeared to have died in his sleep, but some said that he had been murdered. Smothered by a feather pillow, I believe.”
“I heard similar rumors,” Ash said. Holding Edric’s gaze, he asked, “Was he murdered?”
Edric shrugged.
“Answer the question,” Lord Montgomery growled. “Did you murder your sire?”
His expression mutinous, Edric remained silent.
“Speak!” his lordship commanded, his voice booming in the tavern. “You are a knight, are you not? A man who swore an oath to uphold the principles of chivalry? If you have even the slightest shred of honor remaining in you—”
“Fine. I did it,” Edric shouted. “I killed my father. I wanted the gold. I attacked Ash.”
Relief washed through Ash. Finally, an admission of guilt.
“I regret that I ever granted you permission to wed my daughter,” Lord Montgomery said. “You will never marry Rosetta. Never.”
She moved closer, part of her gown dragging on the stairs. “Tell me, Edric. Why did you cut Ash’s face and hands?”
Edric stared up at her, his expression one of a man who had lost all that had driven him to succeed. “You really do not know?”
“I want to hear it from
you,” she answered, her tone softened by anguish.
“Ash gazed into your lovely eyes, so I cut his face. He touched your skin and your hair, so I slashed his hands. He held you in his arms and kissed you—”
“You hurt him because he loved me?”
“I hurt him because you were to be mine.”
Ash sensed Rosetta’s pained gaze upon him, but he didn’t dare take his focus from Edric.
The tavern door opened. “Uncle, I brought the sheriff,” Justin called.
“Good,” Ash called back. “Sheriff, if you will—”
Edric kicked Ash hard in the leg, causing him to waver. The sword nicked Edric’s throat, but he ignored the bleeding cut and threw himself sideways down the stairs. He grabbed for his sword.
Ash lunged for Edric, but Lord Montgomery was faster. He snatched up the weapon and with the flat of the blade, whacked Edric across the back of the head. With a groan, Edric collapsed, unconscious.
“Ash!” Rosetta ran up the stairs between them and threw her arms around him.
He kissed her cheek, her hair, and hugged her tight. Ah, God, how glad he was that she was finally safe. He longed to kiss her, to show her how much he loved her, but he was well aware that such affection might not be appropriate in front of her father.
“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” the sheriff said.
“I will be glad to,” Lord Montgomery replied from where he stood guard over Edric.
As the sheriff and Rosetta’s sire started talking, Ash eased her to arm’s length. Her eyes were shining with love. There was so much he wanted to say to her—
He felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Uncle?” Justin said, standing beside him.
“Aye?”
“What we did today was even more exciting than those old stories. I am glad we were able to rescue Rosetta.”
“So am I,” Ash said.
“And so am I.” Smiling, Rosetta drew the boy in close for a group hug. “I owe you both my thanks. You are the finest, bravest heroes this damsel has ever known.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rosetta paused with Ash and her father near the circle of ancient standing stones. Afternoon sun cast gold over the monument and the surrounding field. The wheat had been harvested days ago; sheaves dried in the sun.
A Knight's Desire--World of de Wolfe Pack Page 15
