“Most likely.” The knife became a blur as Geary whipped it across the fat throat. Hugh closed his eyes. He heard a strangled groan, felt hot droplets spatter him. The floor shook; something landed heavily in the rushes.
When he opened his eyes he found Sir Roger facedown at his feet—and Will Geary’s chilly gaze boring into him. “Help me to find her.”
Hugh backed up a step into the main hall.
Pigot walked toward him, wiping the knife absently on his tunic—strange, considering how fastidious he’d always seemed. Clearly he was even less in control than usual. “I’ve got to find the bitch and make her suffer. On top of everything else, she’s cost me a pound sterling. Damn!”
Wheeling around, he kicked the nearest object—one of the giant sacks of grain heaped against the wall. A gasp emerged from behind the sack.
Oh, no...
The mad surgeon grinned. “What have we here?” He grabbed the sack and flung it aside, revealing Constance huddled against the wall. Snickering, he reached for her. “Now we’re going to have a little fun.”
Her foot shot out with lightning speed, ramming him in the stomach. He toppled over, sucking great lungfuls of air, as she darted to her feet. She ran, but he grabbed her leg, and down she went. She kicked and clawed, but he stilled her with a knife to the chest.
“Stand up,” he demanded breathlessly.
She did.
“I promised,” he said, “that I would punish you exquisitely, and I always keep my promises.” He turned her toward the corner staircase that led to the undercroft and urged her forward with the knife. “We’ll have more privacy downstairs,” he said. “Move!”
Not knowing what else to do, Hugh uttered a quick and heartfelt prayer for guidance as the two disappeared in the stairwell. In the silence following their departure, he thought he heard hoofbeats in the distance.
* * *
Corliss concentrated on taking deep breaths as she descended the narrow, winding stairwell. Keep your head... keep your head...
If Will had been insane before, he was doubly so now. She felt the tip of the knife quiver as it propelled her down the stairs. She shivered as she entered the chilly undercroft—a vaulted cellar lit only by a handful of arrow slits set high in walls of moist rock. On the west side, hazy slices of sunlight streamed through the slits to play over the barrels, baskets, and chests lining the walls of the musty chamber.
Will prodded her forward until she faced a wall fitted with hand and leg irons, then chucked his knife into the earthen floor and reached for her. “No!” She turned abruptly, but he seized both hands and swiftly shackled them above her head.
He retrieved something from a corner—a huge mallet. The handle was almost as long as a man, and the head—which had the dull, heavy gleam of lead—was adorned with a spike. Corliss had seen farmers use such a tool for driving stakes and the like, but she suspected Will’s intent to be a good deal less benign. He tested the mallet’s weight in his hand, then brought his face very close to hers. His pupils were so small that his eyes looked blindingly silver.
“The first time I met Roger Foliot,” he said, “he brought me down here and had me watch while he used this to crush a young man’s legs. And all I could think was, if I’d been charged with punishing a runaway, I wouldn’t have stopped with just the legs. Punishment needn’t be so crudely simple. It can be elevated to an art, if one truly has the soul of an artist. Of course, art takes dedication and perseverance... and a certain measure of natural talent. All of which I have in abundance.”
He smiled and stepped back, taking practice swings with the mallet. “The legs first, just to give you a taste. Then the rest.”
* * *
Rainulf’s mount was in a lather by the time he reined the poor beast in and dismounted in front of Roger Foliot’s manor house. A man appeared at the top of the staircase leading to the upper hall. Although a stranger to Rainulf, he appeared to recognize him. He gazed heavenward and executed a frantic sign of the cross. “They’re inside,” he called out. “Downstairs. This way.”
Rainulf raced up the outer stairs and through the main hall to a winding staircase in the corner.
“Here!” The man handed him a dagger. “It’s all I’ve got, but you’re welcome to it.”
Rainulf took the dagger and descended the stairs silently, hoping to take advantage of the element of surprise. He paused at the bottom and heard Will Geary’s voice: “Shall we begin?”
As he stepped out into the undercroft, Rainulf thought Let him have his back turned!
He didn’t. Will blinked at him, his expression of astonishment turning into amusement as he took in the dagger—a pitiful weapon with which to defend oneself against a mallet of the size he wielded. Rainulf’s heart lurched when he saw Corliss against the wall, her hands in irons. She met his gaze, her mouth forming his name.
Rainulf, she pleaded silently, Go... please! He’ll kill you! Don’t make me watch him kill you.
“Move away from her,” Rainulf told Will.
“Or what?”
“Or this.” Corliss saw Rainulf shift his grip on the dagger and throw it, aiming for Will’s chest. Perhaps madness imparted superior reflexes, for his opponent moved as the blade approached, taking it in the upper left arm, where it stuck. He screamed and yanked it out, then began to laugh uproariously. “Congratulations—you’ve unarmed yourself. And done yourself a disservice in the process, for pain only makes me angrier.”
Will tossed the dagger into a corner and wrapped both fists around the handle of the mallet, swinging it in wide arcs as he edged toward Rainulf. “What about it, Magister? Shall we see what pain does to you?” He charged, aiming the weapon at Rainulf’s head. Corliss screamed. Rainulf ducked and struck out with a foot, catching Will in the leg.
An enraged bellow filled the undercroft as Will toppled to the ground. The mallet rolled away, and he reached for it as he rose. Rainulf, on his feet, kicked it away and grabbed Will by the tunic, landing him a hard punch to the head.
Will staggered, but recovered quickly, hunkering down low and ramming his fists into Rainulf’s stomach. Rainulf countered with blows of his own.
Corliss shut her eyes, listening to the brutal sounds of fists against flesh... the grunts of pain. I can’t bear this... When she looked again, Rainulf and Will were circling each other, bloodied and wary.
Will glanced toward the mallet lying a couple of yards away. Rainulf saw this and dove for it, but Will was closer and got to it first. Seizing it, he spun around to face Corliss, brandishing the weapon.
“Nay!” Rainulf grabbed the head of the mallet. Will wrenched it away and slammed it into Rainulf’s midsection. He doubled over, gasping, then straightened and lunged for the mallet again, but Will sidestepped him easily.
“The only way you can stop me,” Will said as he took up position in front of Corliss and prepared to swing again, “is by killing me, and I don’t believe you’ve got the stomach for that.”
Rainulf pressed a hand to his middle and rasped, “I killed on Crusade.” And tormented himself about it for years afterward, Corliss knew.
“That was a long time ago, Magister.” Will grinned, as if at a child who’d overestimated his own abilities. Turning toward Corliss, he hauled back with the massive weapon, aiming for her legs. “You’ve forgotten how.”
Rainulf moved with breathtaking speed. This time he seized not the mallet, but Will’s head, closing his hands around it and twisting sharply. The mallet fell from Will’s hands. He grew rigid, and looked startled for a moment; then his eyes closed and he went slack. “It’s not the kind of thing one forgets,” Rainulf said grimly as Will slumped to the floor, limp and—Corliss quickly realized—lifeless.
A flood of almost painful relief consumed Corliss; her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to say something, but couldn’t wrest words from her throat.
Rainulf took her face in his hands and rested his forehead against hers. “Oh, God... Corliss.” Working quickl
y, he freed her hands from their shackles. Her legs were trembling. She didn’t know whether she was laughing or crying; tears streamed down her face.
“Come.” Wrapping an arm around her, he guided her up the curved stairwell. Hugh Hest crossed himself and fell to his knees when he saw them.
“Let’s get out of here,” Rainulf said. They stumbled down the outer stairs and made their way to the middle of the lawn before their legs gave out simultaneously. Sinking to their knees, they held each other tight, Rainulf murmuring reassurances and words of love until at last she stopped shaking.
“Do you think you can ride?” he asked, drawing back and threading his fingers through her hair.
She nodded as she used her sleeve to wipe the blood from his face.
“Let’s go home, then.”
Fresh tears stung her eyes. Home. It sounded so wonderful... and so impossible. Summoning all her reserves of strength, she said, “I... I can’t. I can’t go back with you, Rainulf.”
He gripped her shoulders hard. “Corliss...”
She caressed his cheek with her palm. “I can’t. I left once. I don’t think I can do it again.”
“You don’t have to leave.”
“I can’t stay in Oxford. ‘Twould be too painful.”
A hint of a smile played around his lips. “Would it be less painful if you had your own shop?”
She shook her head. “I can’t afford my own shop yet, and besides—”
“I bought Mistress Clark’s shop for you,” he said.
Corliss stared at him, dumbfounded. “Why did you do that?”
He shrugged. “Oxford can use another bookshop. Especially one as ambitious as what you have in—”
“Oh, my God.” She rose to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides. “You did it, didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
“Bought me a gift, as if I were one of your... your...”
“Ladies who aren’t mistresses?
“Aye!”
He stood and reached for her, but she pulled away. “Believe me, Corliss, I never bought one of them her own business.”
She turned her back to him. “Am I supposed to be flattered? Rainulf, why did you have to—”
“I thought you’d be pleased.” He paused. “I even hired someone to paint a sign to go over the front door— ‘Corliss Fairfax, Venditrix Librorum.’”
She slowly turned to face him. “Corliss what?”
He tilted her chin up and kissed her lightly. “Fairfax. It’s not a parting gift, you little idiot. It’s a wedding gift.” His smile widened... and then faded. “That is... if you’ll have me.”
“If I’ll...”
“I know I’ve been more trouble than I’m worth. I’ll try to be easier to deal with, though. I’ve resolved to take your advice and keep my doubt in the lecture hall, where it belongs.”
“Now you’re being an idiot,” she chided gently. “How could I possibly not want to marry you? But...”
He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. “Then you’ll—”
“Rainulf... please. You know I can’t.” His crestfallen expression took her by surprise. How could he not understand? What was he thinking of? “It’s completely impossible.”
“Why? The chancellorship?”
“For one thing.”
“I’ve done a lot of thinking about the chancellorship the past few days. And about teaching. And about you.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ve tried to just... live in my skin, as you put it. To just be myself and feel what I feel, want what I want. I discovered that what I want, more than anything, is you.”
He closed his mouth over hers and kissed her, a long, sweet, ardent kiss full of hope and promise.
“And,” he added when they drew apart, “to teach. You were right about that. I decided Bishop Chesney will just have to find another chancellor to create his grand university.”
“No one else is qualified—you know that.”
He shrugged carelessly. “Then Oxford will just have to remain a humble little studium generale until he finds someone who is.”
“I’m pleased,” she said. “You were born to teach. But there’s still the matter of Wulfric’s baptism. Father John said we were spiritually bound when we lifted him from the font. The Church won’t let us marry.”
He chuckled and pressed his lips against her eyelids. “You and I were spiritually bound from the moment we met.” He kissed her nose. “From the beginning of time.” He brought his mouth to hers, murmuring, “We’ll be bound to each other always and forever. I hardly think that should be an impediment to marriage.”
“Aye, but the Church—”
“The Church,” he said, “makes her rules, and from time to time the thoughtful man must think of ways to circumvent them. I’ve already put Father Gregory to work arranging a dispensation for us.
“Is that possible?”
He smiled indulgently. “If I can get out of my vows, anything is possible.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“I’ve always been thorough.”
“I know.” She allowed herself a wicked grin. “Quite exceptionally thorough at times.”
He kissed her again, deeply, his hand gliding down her throat to her chest. She felt his frustration as he tried to caress her through her tunic and the strip of linen wound tightly around her breasts. Breaking the kiss, he growled, “Damn those bindings of yours. And those chausses and tunics. The first thing I’m going to do when we get back to Oxford is order a dozen kirtles made up for you. Silk kirtles,” he murmured. “Thin ones that rustle when you walk.”
“That’s the first thing you’re going to do?” She asked playfully as she stroked his shoulders, his back, his hips... pressing him to her as she moved languidly against him.
“Perhaps the second,” he amended with a smile. “You’ve turned into quite the tease, my love.”
She had to ask: “Please... say that ag—”
“My love,” he whispered against her lips. “My love,” he breathed into her ear. “My love.” He kissed her temple, her hair, and then her mouth again, with great passion and heartbreaking tenderness. “My love... from the beginning of time until the end. Always and forever. You’ll always be my love. Always.”
Epilogue
Rad the Peddler stood half-hidden behind a pillar in the shadowy nave of St. Mary’s Church. Outside, an enormous crowd of townspeople, their hands filled with seeds, waited in the bright September sunshine. Rad had never heard so many people make so little noise; their silence made him feel warm and shivery at the same time. They were quiet out of respect, he knew. They were quiet because Oxford’s Master of Schools, Rainulf Fairfax, was getting married.
The bride and groom had already exchanged vows on the church steps. Now they were inside. They knelt on the altar, their backs to the hundreds of black-robed scholars who’d gathered to witness their union, as Father Gregory celebrated the nuptial mass.
Masses had always perplexed Rad. Ordinarily he avoided churches entirely, but he was happy to be here today—happy and proud. Master Fairfax had wanted him here, had asked him to come! He’d even tried to get Rad to stand up with him, alongside the Saxon baron. But he couldn’t have. He never quite knew what to do in church. And there’d be all those people, looking at him...
No, he was happier where he was, in back where he wouldn’t draw attention. He could see everything he needed to see. He could see her.
She looked like an angel, in glimmery silks and veils, emeralds sparkling as she moved. She didn’t look like a boy anymore, that was for sure. Of course, he’d always known she was a woman, right from the very start. She had a woman’s silvery light shimmering around her. How could anyone ever have been fooled?
She belonged to Master Fairfax now. Rad didn’t have to watch out for her anymore. Master Fairfax would take care of her. He was smart. He’d figure out a way to do it so she didn’t know he was doing it.
A baby cried.
A woman in the front row—the Saxon’s young baroness—hefted the squalling child onto her shoulder so he could look around. Rad smiled as he watched the infant’s curious little eyes survey the sea of black robes. He liked babies. He’d rather watch a baby than listen to mass any day.
The couple rose for the kiss of peace. Master Fairfax, tall and elegant in a long, ceremonial black tunic, received the kiss from Father Gregory and turned to Corliss, lifting her veils. They smiled at each other. Rad thought maybe she was crying; he wasn’t sure, because then the kiss began, and it didn’t stop for a long time.
The scholars laughed and cheered as their magister and his bride walked hand in hand down the aisle, smiling as if they’d never stop. Rad tried to hide in the shadows as they passed through the nave, but they saw him anyway. They both embraced him.
She kissed him on the cheek.
When they reached the steps of the church, the townspeople roared happily and showered them with their seeds. Master Fairfax pulled her into his arms. They kissed as the seeds rained down on them, twinkling like gold dust in the sunshine. Her silver light was glorious against the bright blue sky.
Rad stood mesmerized by the sight... the sparkle of gold, the glow of silver, the kiss. It looked like everything good and beautiful in the world.
It looked like Heaven.
~ THE END ~
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