The Conqueror (Hot Knights)

by Gillgannon, Mary

  The squire returned with the blazing torch. Jobert had the young man pull open the door for them. “After you, my lady,” he said.

  Edeva felt her way down the slippery stairs. Although the ground had not yet frozen, the cellar was numbingly cold. She thought of her brother, left there with no source of heat. Had they fed him? Brought water?

  “This way,” Jobert said, touching her shoulder to urge her down the right-hand passageway. He need not have given her directions. She recalled the way from when she had been imprisoned there.

  But that was early autumn, before the stones seeped bone-chilling dampness. And she had been so unholy angry then, so eager to kill the first man who approached, that she had scarce noticed the misery of her circumstances.

  They entered the chamber and saw the prisoners, and a wave of relief washed through her. Although they were shackled, both Alnoth and old Withan seemed unharmed. The prisoners stood as they entered. Edeva sought to send a message of reassurance with her eyes. Then Jobert’s big arm came around her body.

  Withan remained impassive, but Alnoth’s gaunt face twisted into a mask of hatred.

  “Ask them how they fare, Edeva. If they have been well fed. If they are comfortable.”

  The words were taunting, but more distressing was what Jobert did. His hand came up to cup the swell of her breast. Edeva saw Alnoth suck in his breath, and his expression grew murderous. Did he mean to provoke her brother into attacking and then kill him?

  “Speak to them,” Jobert urged. “I trust you will repeat my words as I give them.”

  The word “trust” was laden with mockery. Edeva like an animal in a trap. She cleared her throat. “My lord asks if you have been fed.”

  “Aye,” Withan answered. “We have been treated well enough.”

  “You are not too cold?”

  The old man grinned crookedly. “A blanket would not come amiss, my lady.”

  “Oh, Withan, I am so sorry!” The words came out before she could stop them. The old man’s bravery broke her heart.

  Jobert gave her a shake. “I think you have said things I have not. Will you obey me, for once?” His hand tightened on her breast. “Mayhaps you should tell them how you saved their lives. What you did to buy my largess.”

  The rancor in his voice cut into her. Edeva gave a kind of moan. Was this what her future held? She was not certain she would not rather die than face Jobert’s cold contempt each day.

  Alnoth stared at Jobert’s hand, touching her so familiarly. He took a step forward, and his eyes blazed with fury. “Has he hurt you, Edeva? Has he ravished you?”

  She shook her head, realizing that she dare not let her brother see her distress. “Nay, nay, he has been just and reasonable. He has treated our people with respect and tolerance. He even allows me to order the manor as I see fit.” Questions still lingered in Alnoth’s eyes. She took a deep breath and added, “I share his bed, aye, but it is by choice, not coercion.”

  Alnoth’s gaze grew horrified. Edeva feared he might try to lunge at Jobert, despite his shackles. Withan seemed to anticipate her concern. “There now, boy.” He took hold of Alnoth’s arm. “You cannot expect a woman to do otherwise under the circumstances. If she is satisfied with her treatment, you will have to accept it.”

  “Is that true?” Alnoth asked, his voice cracking. “Is it true you are satisfied with him as your lord?”

  Edeva nodded. So help her, it was true. Somehow her enemy had suborned her hatred and stolen her heart. If only he would forgive her.

  “What do you tell him?” Jobert asked.

  “I said that I shared your bed by choice. That you treated me well.”

  Jobert was silent for a moment, then he said, “If only I understood Saxon. If only I could be certain you do not lie.”

  “You said once that my face shows everything,” Edeva whispered. “Do you really think I could have pretended all of what passed between us last night?”

  She heard him take a deep breath. He remembered. He could not block out the magic of their joining.

  His hand left her breast and moved to her waist. A possessive gesture, but not a humiliating one. “I won’t hang them, Edeva, but neither can I let them go. Can you accept that?”

  She nodded. “Mayhaps someday, if they swore allegiance to you, you could set them free.”

  “Mayhaps. But not now, not while Rob and Niles’s lives hang in the balance. Do you think they can endure imprisonment? With some men ’tis more cruel than hanging.”

  “I will ask them.” She took a deep breath. “Alnoth, Withan—my lord says he cannot release you until things improve between his people and yours. Can you accept being prisoners, not knowing if you will ever be free?”

  Withan smiled wanly. “My lady, you do not live to the age I am by acting foolishly. Of course I choose life over death. At least that way, there is hope. If he hangs us, that is the end.”

  “Alnoth?” Edeva prompted.

  Alnoth moved restlessly, his shackles clanking. “How long, sister? How long are we to be kept here?”

  “It depends on what the others do. If they continue to make trouble, to attack the Normans, Lord Brevrienne cannot risk letting you go.”

  “I would swear to him!” Alnoth cried suddenly, “Give him my oath not to fight him any longer!”

  Edeva sighed. Once that might have been enough, but now? “I don’t know, Alnoth. I imagine he will have to think on it, see how events unfold.” If she could regain Jobert’s trust, there might be hope for her brother.

  “In the meantime, are we to remain here?” Alnoth looked distraught. “Even sleeping in the forest was not so cold. And I hate the dark.”

  “Mayhap there is somewhere else . . .” Edeva faced Jobert for the first time since they left the hall. “My lord, I have another boon to ask of you. Would you consider moving the prisoners to somewhere less cold and confined?”

  “Another boon, Edeva? And what will my generosity rain me this time? You have already promised me ‘anything’. What else can you offer?”

  She lowered her gaze. “Please, Jobert. I ask you this out of simple Christian charity. My brother is young and already thin and weak. Withan is an old man. If you leave them here, they might well sicken and die.”

  Jobert set his jaw. Was he a fool? Edeva’s plea moved him. If he showed mercy by not hanging these rebels, then mercy also demanded that he give them a chance at life. “If I can find a place that is secure and not too difficult to guard, yea, I will move them.”

  Edeva heaved a deep sigh. Even in the dim light, he could see tears of gratitude shimmering in her eyes. How could he condemn her for trying to save the people she loved? Would he not do the same in her circumstances?

  Besides, it was her kind heart that had won his affection. That and her proud, tenacious spirit. If he thought about his feelings for her, it was frightening.

  But he must not give in altogether. There were still many questions Edeva must answer. That she fought so valiantly for her brother’s life made it reasonable to think she might aid the rebels if she had other kin among them.

  “Come, Edeva,” he said. “I will send someone with food and blankets for them.”

  He took her arm and led her out the narrow passageway. As always, the dark, enclosed nature of the place made his flesh crawl and his thoughts fill with haunted memories.

  He was glad to have Edeva near, to feel her warmth and life as a remedy for his fears.

  When they had climbed the stairs and were out in the open air, Edeva turned to look at him, her eyes yearning. He made his expression stern. “Go to the bedchamber and await me there.”

  The look of tremulous hope she gave him nearly made him weaken. She was so lovely, so beguiling. The sight, of Alan approaching across the yard brought him to his senses. “Go, Edeva.”

  She hurried off, moving with that proud grace he so admired.

  Alan shot her a glance, his eyes narrowed. “Will you do as she bids? Do you spare her brother?”<
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  “Yea, I do.”

  “Your pity is misplaced.”

  “I do not think so. What profit is there in hanging an old man and a boy?”

  Alan exploded. “To show the others how we deal with rebellion! To make an example of them!”

  “We have already done that. We hung the prisoners we took when we first arrived. If that did not deter the rebels then nothing will.”

  “But what of the villagers? The Saxon servants? They will think you soft!”

  “Nay, they will think me reasonable and compassionate. I would not have them hate me nor believe me to be heartless monster.”

  “A commander must be powerful and ruthless, else he will lose all!”

  “A commander, yea, that is true, but a lord’s role is different. The war for England is over, Alan. Now we must make peace with her people. They are the ones who till the fields and reap the land’s bounty. They are the ones who will make Oxbury prosper.”

  Alan shook his head. Jobert continued, “Can you not see how far we have progressed by gaining the Saxons’ cooperation? The people have returned to the village. The servants do their duty instead of defying us. Have you considered that when the rebels attacked, the villagers did not aid them?

  “They were busy putting out the fires, saving their homes.”

  “Exactly. The rebels, their own countrymen, have become their enemies, and we, the invaders, were the ones who saved them. I believe there will come a time when the people of Oxbury will begin to work against the rebels. They will not want anything to bring down our wrath upon them—they might even alert us before an attack.”

  Alan rubbed at his face, suddenly looking weary. “There is sense in your words, but still, I am dissatisfied. I did not imagine when I decided to follow William that I would end up like this. I no longer feel like a warrior.”

  “If you wish to return to a life of war, I will release you from your obligation to me. I’m certain William would be happy to have another knight to fight for him, especially one who has no interest in owning land someday.”

  “I did not say that!”

  “But ’tis what your words mean. To have land means to be a farmer and an administrator rather than a warrior.”

  “A lord must always fight for his land.”

  “In Normandy that was true, but one of William’s goals for England was to keep Norman from fighting Norman. To that end, he has outlawed private war. I know the peace won’t hold forever. There are always greedy men who want more. But for now there seems to be enough land for everyone.”

  Alan was silent. Jobert wondered what his captain would decide. While he would hate to lose such a capable officer, there was no profit in having a man who desired war over peace in command of his household force.

  “Mayhaps you should wed,” Jobert suggested. “Having a wife might ease your restlessness. ’Tis clear you are fond of Wulfget.”

  “Wulfget! She is a Saxon!”

  “Nonetheless... she seems to have gained your interest.”

  “She is...” Alan fumbled for words, “She pleases me, that is true.”

  “Have you bedded her?”

  “Nay.”

  “Why not? She is only a Saxon.” Jobert repressed a smile. He found it rather entertaining to turn Alan’s words against him. The knight clearly felt much more for Wulfget than he was willing to admit.

  “I fear to hurt her,” Alan answered. “She is so delicate and slender.”

  “Hurt her?”

  He nodded. “She is a virgin. You must know that the first time, the woman bleeds and it pains her.”

  Jobert raised his brows. He had not agonized greatly when he took Edeva’s maidenhead. He had tried not to cause her more discomfort than necessary, but he had always anticipated that the pleasure he could give her would be much greater than the pain.

  “Wulfget is like a rare, lovely flower,” Alan said. “I cannot see her indulging in a crude, carnal act.”

  “Mayhaps she would like it.”

  Alan shook his head. “She is not like Lady Edeva. She is not earthy and strong.”

  Jobert considered Alan’s description of Edeva. The fool had no idea how appealing “earthy and strong” could be. ’Twas a delight to bed a substantial, spirited woman he did not have to worry about crushing beneath him, to know his bedpartner was capable of matching him in vigor and enthusiasm. He did not think he would care to bed a timid thing like Wulfget.

  He said, “If you do not have interest in Wulfget as a wife, mayhaps another man would. Edeva has urged me to find husbands for some of the other maidservants, lest we have a crop of bastards next summer. I feel I should marry off Wulfget as well, for the sake of propriety.”

  Alan’s mouth dropped open. “How can you think of giving her to another man?”

  “You have said you do not want her. And I certainly cannot have you wed a healthy young servant like Wulfget and then be squeamish about bedding her. There is no profit in it for me. If Oxbury is to grow and prosper, there must be babies born of every union where God wills it.”

  “Of course I would bed her if she was my wife!”

  “For that matter, are you certain Wulfget is still a virgin? Plenty of other men have shown an interest in her. Mayhaps one less chivalrous than you has already planted his seed. If she is with child, I would obviously have to marry her off immediately.”

  “She is a virgin yet! I would swear my life on it!” Alan’s face had turned bright red and his eyes were wild. Jobert could almost take pity on the hapless knight—if he did not think too much about the way Alan had always treated Edeva. Mayhaps he would tell her about this conversation, Jobert thought. She might know vindication of a sort to see her provoker suffer the tortures of the lovelorn.

  But he got ahead of himself. He was supposed to maintain his suspicions of Edeva until she satisfactorily answered his questions about the raid. ’Twas going to be difficult to interrogate her with all this talk of “carnal acts” fresh in his mind

  Jobert excused himself from Alan, certain he had left the knight with enough to think about, and then headed to the hall. He went directly to the area where the wounded men were. There was no sign of Wulfget. Eadelm, the plain brawny girl that Edeva had said she was training as a healer, watched over the men.

  Jobert nodded to the maidservant, then went first to Niles’s pallet. The wounded man sat up, “My lord.”

  Jobert waved him down.

  “Nay, I would sit awhile. Indeed, I fear I will go mad merely lying here.”

  “You feel strong enough?”

  “Yea, except for my arm. I don’t know if it will ever work right, but at least ’tis shaped like an arm again instead of a lump of mangled gristle. Your lady, I must commend her. She has amazing patience. They say it took her near two hours to sew me up, and all the while her hands stayed steady.”

  “She is a very skilled seamstress. Although, I vow, I would rather she practice her art on cloth than the flesh of my knights.”

  “I, also.” Niles grinned back at him

  Jobert felt unsettled. This was not going as planned. He’d gone to see the wounded men as a reminder of how disastrous the Saxon attack had been, not to hear Edeva’s praises sung.

  He gave Niles a few words of encouragement, and then went to see Rob.

  The knight greeted him with a cheerful expression. “You see, Jobert? I have found the perfect way to avoid work, to lie around all day with lovely ladies waiting upon me.” Rob smiled warmly at Eadelm as he said this, and the young woman’s homely face grew almost radiant. Leave it to Rob to be chivalrous, even from his sickbed!

  “’Tis pleased I am you enjoy lying on your lazy arse,” Jobert said, mouth quirking, “but I vow it can’t continue. There is much work to do. I cannot afford to have you shirk your duties much longer.”

  “I will do my best to heal, milord.” Rob grinned back gamely.

  “In truth, how do you feel? Is there anything I can get you?”

  “N
ay, I have everything a man could want, except the food leaves something to be desired.” He made a face at Eadelm. “Always it is gruel, gruel and more gruel she brings me.”

  Eadelm approached the bed, looking distraught.

  “Nay, nay, you’ve done nothing wrong,” Rob reassured her. He turned to Jobert. “I know she’s done her best for me. And at least I have not fevered. Lady Edeva says that is an excellent sign.”

  “It is,” Jobert agreed. “If the wound was poisoned, you would have sickened ere this.”

  They were both silent, as if praying that his optimistic words were true. “Has the priest been to see you?” Jobert asked.

  “Nay, not since he thought to give me last rites when I was first brought in.”

  Jobert frowned. What a useless bastard Father Reibald had turned out to be. He never seemed to be around when his services might be needed. What did the holy man do with his time?

  He turned to Eadelm, wondering if she had learned any Norman French. He pointed to Rob. “Take care of him, keep him as comfortable as possible.”

  She nodded fervently.

  “She understands a little,” Rob said. “I have naught else to do with my time, so I’ve been teaching both Wulfget and Eadelm to speak our language.”

  “Wulfget also?”

  “Yea, she is eager to learn.”

  Jobert nodded thoughtfully. Rob would make a worthy rival for Alan. ’Twould be interesting to see how things played out. If nothing else, worry over Wulfget might distract Alan from his obsession with persecuting Edeva.

  Did she deserve to be spared? He wondered as he climbed the stairs. What if she really was a spy and a traitor, and Fornay was the only one who discerned it?

  The thought caused a chill along his spine. His feelings for Edeva might well blind him to her true nature. Heaven knew, he was besotted with her, and lovesick men were not known for being rational or wise!

  He paused in the stairwell. Should he keep his distance for a few days, and then question her? By then, the intensity of his erotic memories would have ebbed, and he could deal with her more dispassionately.

  But his desire for her was not likely to wane, and the cost of the ambush was fresh in his mind. If Rob and Niles healed and all was well, ’twould be easy to forget the deadly trap the Saxons had set... until the next time. Resolutely, he strode up the stairs.