“I am afraid I ruined it,” she said, sorrow in her voice. “I did not mean to but… you were in the room and those knights, and I was in the tub with no clothing on and I… I had to cover myself.”
Chad knew that. His gaze on her was soft. “I am sorry we upset your delicate balance so,” he replied, “but there was no time for proprieties. We had to put the fire out and I am sorry that in our haste, we made you uncomfortable.”
Alessandria stuck a hand out from the drying linen and reached down, gingerly picking the dress up and draping it over the tub in a futile gesture to somehow hang it to dry.
“It was my fault for setting the blanket ablaze in the first place,” she said. “I must have gotten too close to the fire. You did what needed to be done so I did not burn the entire place down.”
She was calm, much calmer than she had been only moments before, but Chad thought she sounded rather sorry for herself. Not that he blamed her. “My mother and sister have gone to bring you more clothing,” he said gently, trying to comfort her because he felt as if, ultimately, he was the root of her problems. “They will return shortly but before they do, I must speak with you. The men that were chasing us – Henry’s men – are here at Canterbury. They are in the keep. As I told you, they have come to take you on Henry’s orders but not for the reasons we believed. I am told that Henry does not wish to take you hostage.”
Alessandria looked at him, her eyes widening with surprise. “He doesn’t?”
“Nay.”
He thought he saw some outrage flash across her face. “Then you were wrong?” she said. “You took me from Newington for no reason at all?”
He held up a hand to soothe her rising anger. “It was still the right thing to do, my lady,” he said. “Henry does not want you as a hostage but he has another purpose for you. He wants you as a wife for one of his knights.”
Her outrage turned to confusion. “A wife for – ?” she couldn’t even finish the sentence, so great was her bewilderment. “Why would he want me as a wife for one of his knights? I am of no political value to anyone. It makes no sense.”
Chad wondered just how much to tell her, thinking to spare her fear, but he opted for all of it. It was her life and she had a right to know what was happening.
“With your cousin, Tiberius, married to the daughter of one of Henry’s greatest supporters, marrying you to another of Henry’s knights would only strengthen his ties to the House of de Shera,” he said quietly. “It is a political move, my lady. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Alessandria had to digest that. It was shocking to say the least. “But… but I am a ward of the church,” she said, baffled. “I have spent the past six years at Newington, living a simple life. I am not a fine lady with fine skills. I know how to sew and weave and harvest vegetables and mix herbs for healing, hardly the skills the wife of a fine knight needs. Does Henry even realize this? Does he even know anything about me or does he see the name and assume I am a fine and cultured lady?”
Chad folded his big arms across his chest, leaning back against the doorjamb. “I am sure that he sees only the name,” he said honestly. “That name means something to him. The knights that were chasing us… one of them is the man slated to be your husband. He was coming to the priory to marry you, so he says.”
She cocked her head curiously. “You sound as if you do not believe him.”
Chad shrugged, averting his gaze. “I do not,” he said frankly. “I do not really believe that Henry wants a marriage. I believe that the knight told me that to lead me astray from Henry’s true goal with you.”
Alessandria wasn’t a fool. She was, in fact, rather astute. She could see where he was leading. “You mean as a hostage?”
Chad simply nodded. “I have been discussing your situation with my father and he believes it would be safer for you if I took you to Isenhall Castle to be with your family,” he said. “I must agree with him. Better to take you to your cousins and let them protect you. My mission was to remove you from the priory and I have done that. Now, I must take you to Isenhall so that your family may protect you.”
Alessandria deliberated on what she’d been told. It was unpleasant to say the least. Even if Henry didn’t want her as a hostage but rather a bartered bride, she wanted no part of a marriage contract. She wanted no part of politics or intrigue or whatever else her cousins were involved in. It was a big and frightening world.
“When you found me at the priory, your first words to me were that the men who had killed my father were now coming for me,” she said quietly. “Do you remember the words you spoke to me?”
Chad nodded faintly. “I do.”
“Is Henry one of those men?”
Chad sighed faintly. “I do not know if he truly wants you dead,” he said. “In fact, I do not know what he really wants of you. All I know is that men who want you for Henry’s purposes, whatever they may be, are here and I cannot give you over to them. I will take you to Isenhall where you will be safe.”
“And I am not safe here?”
Chad reflected on the conversation he’d had with his father about putting his mother and sister at risk should Henry decide to ride on Canterbury. “My father believes you will be safer with your kin,” he said, avoiding telling her that she was creating danger for his entire family. He didn’t want to hurt her for something that wasn’t really her fault. “They are the Lords of Thunder, after all. They will make the right decisions for you and they will protect you from Henry.”
Alessandria studied him a moment. He seemed rather sedate but with an edge of frustration about him. It was difficult to put her finger on but she got the distinct impression he was sorry that he had involved himself. He wouldn’t look her in the eye, which seemed strange for him. She’d never seen that side of him before.
“I did not ask for any of this,” she said, feeling defensive for reasons she did not understand. “You can just as easily return me to Newington and no one would be the wiser. I want to go home, Sir Knight, and my home is not Isenhall. I want to go back to the priory.”
Chad looked up at her, hearing the anger in her voice. “Chad,” he finally said. “Please call me Chad. Sir Knight sounds so… formal and stiff. I would hope after experiencing the raging river together and sneaking across miles of forest and swamp to reach Canterbury that you and I would have formed a bond, like brothers in sorrow and all that.”
Her defensiveness eased somewhat. Plus, he had the hint of a smile on his lips, which told her he was jesting with her a bit, trying to lighten the mood. She gave in to his attempt, smiling weakly.
“I have never called a man by his Christian name before,” she admitted. “I have not known enough men to become comfortable enough to do that.”
“I would hope you are comfortable with me.”
She shrugged. “Obviously, I am somewhat, if I am standing here with only a drying towel to protect my modesty.
She watched him grin to that statement. She rather liked his smile and as she watched the curve of his lips, she felt some curiosity about him. So they were brothers in sorrow, were they? Odd that he should say that. Although she had friends at the priory, she’d never truly been through the tribulations with them that she’d experienced with Chad. He was right – it had bonded them somehow. They were now linked in a way she’d never before experienced. It made her want to know a little something more about the handsome knight with the long blond hair.
“Chad is an unusual name,” she finally said. “I have never heard that name before. What is your birth name?”
His smile broke through. “Chadwick,” he said. “It is a very old name meaning the warrior’s city.”
“Oh.”
“Alessandria is an unusual name, too.”
“I know. The Mother Prioress didn’t like it and only called me Aless. She said that was a proper, humble name.”
“I like it very much. May I call you Aless, too?”
She flushed; he could see it. “If you wis
h.”
The mood between them had eased, growing more comfortable now. They were speaking of something other than Henry and marriages and hostages, now coming to know one another on a more personal level. Chad thought he might have even felt a spark of something between them, of warmth perhaps, but he quickly chased that thought away. She wasn’t meant for marriage. That was very clear.
Unlike his brothers, who had no interest in marrying, Chad had some interest in it. But finding a suitable candidate had been something of a challenge. In looking at Alessandria, it crossed his mind that had the circumstances been different, she might have been a worthy candidate, indeed.
But that was impossible and he had a mission to complete. The woman needed to be cleaned up, fed, and properly dressed so that they could flee Canterbury as soon as possible. The longer they lingered, the more chance there would be of being unable to escape de Serreaux and his men unseen. That was his priority and he forced himself away from the feelings of attraction and back to the situation at hand.
“My mother and sister will return shortly and I am sure my mother can help you with the red color that leeched onto your skin from the dress,” he said, indicating her skin. “I wish you had all of the time in the world to bathe and be comfortable, but unfortunately, we do not have the time. You must bathe and dress as quickly as you can. We must leave for Isenhall while Henry’s men are eating and resting. It will buy us time.”
Alessandria looked down at her red hands, embarrassed that she was such a mess. “I grabbed the garment in haste,” she said. “I was afraid… I am so ashamed that I acted in such haste. I hope your mother is not too harsh with me.”
Chad eyed her. “She will not be harsh at all,” he said. “It was an accident. You had men in this room while you were in a rather compromised position. Anyone will understand that.”
Alessandria continued to look at her red-stained hands, her gaze inevitably trailing to the bathwater, now lukewarm, that was a faint shade of red. She sighed.
“I feel as if I have made a mess out of everything,” she said. “I burned the blanket then ruined the garment. It would be well within your mother’s right to beat me.”
It was the second time she had mentioned harsh treatment from the lady of the house. “My lady, I promise that no one will beat you or become harsh with you for an accident,” he insisted. “I am not sure why you think that she would, but you are a guest. Most certainly we do not punish guests.”
Alessandria pulled her gaze away from the tub, looking at him. She seemed confused by the concept of an unpunished transgression. “I did not mean to intimate that your mother was cruel,” she said quickly, hoping she had not offended him. “ ’Tis simply that… well, I fostered at Orford Castle prior to my tenure at Newington and the lady of the keep had little patience with accidents. Or with me, in fact. That is why I was sent to Newington – because Lady Orford’s daughter and I did not get on well.”
“I cannot imagine that you did not get along well with anyone,” he said. “You are not a disagreeable creature.”
She shrugged. “It was not me who was disagreeable,” she said. “Lady Orford’s daughter was disagreeable enough for the both of us. She invented new ways to bring her mother’s wrath upon me and Lady Orford was not hesitant to take a willow switch to my backside. The beatings were fairly regular.”
Chad didn’t particularly like the sound of that. “The woman beat you?”
“Whenever she could.”
He was appalled. “Did you write your father, then, and ask to be removed?”
She shook her head. “Lady Orford wrote to my father and told him how terrible I was,” she said. “My father had me quickly removed and sent to Newington. I told you that I had no love for my father… he took Lady Orford’s side against me. He never even asked me what had happened. He simply sent a man to Orford Castle who escorted me all the way to Newington, nearly as far away from my father, and home, as I could go. The man drank heavily on our trip south and he told me, more than once, that my father wanted no hint of the sight of me. Then my father’s man made advances against me and… forgive me. That is more than you need to know.”
Chad frowned deeply. “He tried to molest you?”
Alessandria was somewhat embarrassed that she had prattled on so, but Chad was easy to speak to. It had all come out before she could stop it.
“He tried,” she said, sheepish. “But he did not succeed. Because of my resistance, he only took me as far as Rochester and then told me to find my own way on to Newington. A kindly merchant took pity upon me and escorted me the rest of the way.”
It was quite a story, one that had Chad genuinely outraged. This petite, beautiful woman seemed to have a bitter and cold past, something he found difficult to accept. She was intelligent and kind; he had spoken to her enough to see that. He believed she had a good heart. But it seemed she had been treated abominably in the past, only finding peace at Newington until he came along to brutally yank her from her haven. Now, she found herself an unwilling pawn in Henry’s political game.
That understanding, of her sorrowful past, lit a fire in Chad. The de Lohr men, historically, were do-gooders, men hoping to change the world and protect the weak, and Chad was no exception. He had that innate sense in him. What he saw before him was a woman who needed protection, but it was more than simply protection against Henry. It was as if she needed to know that there were genuinely kind people in the world, people that would treat her with respect. He wanted to be one of those people. He wanted her to know that not everyone was lecherous, or careless, or mean. There were men of honor still left in the world.
She needed someone to be kind to her and he wanted that kindness to come from him.
Pondering the situation, he was distracted when servants began heading back into the knight quarters with buckets of hot water and also empty buckets to remove the red-tinged water from the tub. He started to stay something to Alessandria but she heard the servants, too, and her easy manner fled. She grew nervous again and pulled the linen cloth around her as tightly as it would go, covering everything but her feet and head from the servants, several of whom were male.
Chad watched her back away from them, standing over by the wall as they moved around the chamber quickly and efficiently. He thought about going to stand with her, simply to make her feel less nervous about the strangers in the room, when he heard his mother entering the knight quarters.
Liselotte came bustling in through the entry door, speaking to Veronica, who was coming in behind her. Both women had linens and other items in their arms and Veronica raced past her brother, arms full, and on into the room where Alessandria was practically cowering over against the wall. Chad watched as his sister went to Alessandria, making the woman feel comfortable again, but he was distracted from further observation as his mother tugged on his arm.
“We will take good care of the lady now,” she said, her gaze moving over her eldest son. “You look tired, Chad. Go inside and have a meal and rest, and I will send for you when the lady is ready to go.”
Chad cocked a serious eyebrow at her. “It must be very soon, Mother,” he said. “I must remove her while Henry’s knights sleep from their long night.”
Liselotte smiled knowingly. “Not to worry about them,” she said, lowering her voice. “I had the servants slip a poppy draught into the wine they are drinking. It will put them to sleep until tomorrow, at least. You have time.”
Chad looked at his mother in shock. Then, he chuckled. “You did that?”
“I did.”
“You drugged them?”
She shrugged, almost defiantly. “Your father suggested it,” she said. “It will not hurt them, but it will buy you time. Now, go inside and eat and rest. I will send for you as soon as the lady is ready.”
Chad continued to chuckle at his parents’ devious ways as he put his arms around his mother and kissed her on the head.
“I adore you,” he said before releasing her. Then,
he sighed as if suddenly feeling his exhaustion. Now that his mother had worked her poppy magic with de Serreaux and the others, he did, indeed, have time to rest a bit. And, God only knew, he was desperately tired. “If I do not hear from you in an hour, I shall be back.”
Liselotte pushed him towards the exit of the knight quarters. “Two hours.”
He kept walking, nearly stumbling as his exhaustion caught up to him. “One.”
“Three!”
He simply grinned at his mother, waving her off, as he quit the structure. The opportunity to rest was entirely unexpected and the closer he drew to the keep, the more weary he felt. By the time he hit his chamber on the third floor next to the stairwell, he was dragging horribly. Stefan was on another bed in the chamber, snoring away, but Chad didn’t give his noisy brother a second thought. All he could see was the bed before him. He remembered throwing himself onto it, but little after that.
Two hours later, a servant awoke him from a heavy sleep with a message from his mother and he bolted back for the knight quarters.
CHAPTER SIX
The only reason Torran had awoken was because he needed to piss, badly. It was all of the wine he had consumed, lavished upon him by Lord Daniel and his servants. He had consumed a good amount of it and then he found himself waking up because he had to piss so badly.
Truthfully, he wasn’t even sure where he was. He remembered being in a small hall inside the keep of Canterbury but at this moment, it was quiet, the sounds of snoring men around him, and he didn’t recognize where he was. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at the horizontal view of a tabletop. He had fallen asleep on the table.
His bladder was killing him, preventing him from falling back asleep. He tried to lift his head but it felt as if it weighed one hundred pounds. It was swimming and heavy and throbbing, all at the same time. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He looked around; he was still in the smaller hall only now it was empty except for his men.
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