“My brother has need of me,” he said evenly. “I will not be gone long.”
“May I come?”
Keir looked at her. “How do you feel?”
She shrugged. “Better than I have in days,” she said. “I am sure it has everything to do with your return.”
He smiled in response. “How is your back?”
“It hurts, but the warm bath helped. May I at least walk with you wherever you are going?”
Keir found his boots and sat on the edge of the bed to pull them on. “Nay,” he said, pulling on the first boot. “You will remain here and rest. I will return for you shortly and we shall go for a walk.”
Chloë didn’t argue but she did gaze at him with big, sad eyes. “Promise?”
“Of course I do.” Keir yanked the other boot on and stood up, moving to Chloë to kiss her swiftly on the lips. “You will stay right here and rest for now.”
She nodded seriously. “Aye, Keir.”
He kissed her again, winking at her as he made his way to the door. “That is my good girl.”
He followed Kurtis from the room and the door shut behind them. Out in the landing, Keir grabbed his brother’s arm as they moved for the stairs.
“Now,” he hissed, “what is so important that you would drag me from a dead sleep?”
Kurtis’ jaw was set. “Ingilby has arrived.”
Keir’s brow furrowed in disbelief, then lifted in flagrant surprise. He almost stumbled on the stairs in his shock.
“Ingilby?” he repeated, incredulous. “Here?”
Kurtis grabbed his brother to keep him from tumbling down the steep stairs. “Aye,” he said ominously. “I was packing my charger for my return to Alnwick when the sentries took up the call. Ingilby announced himself in a big way and I told the sentries to deny him entrance until Lord Byron gave the word. Then I came for you.”
Keir’s eyes were wide with astonishment. But just as quickly, the fire of fury began to burn, so hot that Kurtis could see the sweat popping out on his brother’s brow. Keir’s pace down the narrow stairs quickened.
“He is here to claim his prize,” he growled. “He is here in response to the missive Chloë and her mother sent.”
“What will you do?”
Keir’s jaw was ticking so furiously that Kurtis was sure his brother was about to break his jaw. It was a struggle for Keir to keep calm, knowing why the man had come.
“Did you send for the priest as I asked?” Keir queried through clenched teeth.
Kurtis nodded. “I did,” he replied. “The man arrived a couple of hours ago. I did not want to wake you so I put him in the knight’s quarters for rest and food until you awoke.”
They had hit the entry level and could hear voices in Lord Byron’s solar off to the left. Keir grabbed his brother by both arms.
“Go get that priest and bring him to me,” he hissed. “I will marry Chloë this instant and there is nothing that Ingilby can do about it. She is mine, body and soul, and I will kill the man if he presses his suit.”
Kurtis’s expression was serious. “It may come to that.”
Keir’s jaw began ticking again as he pushed past his brother. “I know,” he muttered.
Keir entered Byron’s solar as Kurtis quit the keep. It was warm, almost overly, in Coverdale’s solar as Byron, Anton and Blanche huddled in a small group near Coverdale’s massive table, quite clearly in conference until they saw Keir. At the sight of the massive knight, Coverdale pushed his way through Anton and Blanche, making his way towards the knight.
“Keir,” he said, some trepidation in his voice. “I am glad you are here. There has been a….”
Keir put his hand up to silence his liege, struggling not to become furious with the mere sight of Blanche.
“I know that Ingilby has arrived,” he said flatly, his gaze moving pointedly to Blanche. He couldn’t help it. “I also know the man has no claim. He must be turned away immediately.”
Blanche responded, attempting not to appear too intimidated. “Chloë and I sent him a proposal, Sir Keir,” she said evenly. “It is a legal offer.”
Keir shook his head strongly. “It is not,” he countered firmly. “Ingilby’s missive was sent to me and by rights, only I am allowed to read it and negotiate any terms. You and your daughter took matters into your own hands, matters you had no right to negotiate, therefore making your offer null and void. Surely you realize that.”
“He believes he is here to negotiate in good faith,” Anton said weakly, trying to support his wife’s actions. “The sentries said he has brought at least two hundred men with him.”
Keir’s brow furrowed at the man’s weak stance. “And you are afraid of two hundred men?” he asked, incredulous. “I have fought two hundred men myself and have emerged without a scratch. We have almost a thousand men housed here at Aysgarth. What on earth are you afraid of?”
Anton backed down. He was uncertain in his dealings with Keir, a much stronger personality, and had no desire to butt heads with him. When Anton looked away, Keir turned back to Coverdale and Blanche.
“I will go to the gate and explain to Ingilby what has happened,” he told them in a tone that left no room for dispute. “My lady, you will attend me when I do this and recant your offer so he understands. As we speak, my brother is escorting a priest to Chloë’s bower and I will marry her before the hour is out. We will be done with this once and for all.”
Coverdale and Blanche passed concerned glances but said nothing. Keir stood there a moment, glaring at the both of them as if daring them to contradict him, but no one dared to speak on the subject. Finally, Coverdale put a hand on Keir’s shoulder.
“We should make preparations for all possibilities,” he said seriously. “Ingilby will undoubtedly not take kindly to this. Moreover, I doubt anyone has had the opportunity to tell you that we are holding one of his men in the vault. He will more than like be demanding the man’s release.”
Keir eyed him curiously. “Why are you holding him?”
“Because he delivered Ingilby’s missive regarding the exchange of Chloë for Merritt. Kurtis was so incensed that he nearly killed the man before Michael was able to remove him to the vault.”
Keir stared at Coverdale a moment, eventually scratching his head in thought. “I do not want anything of Ingilby here after this day,” he grumbled. “Turn his man back over to him and let us be done with this. I do not want to give Ingilby any excuses to return to you, me or Aysgarth. Let us rid ourselves of him once and for all.”
Coverdale agreed. As he and Keir swung into action, Blanche and Anton regrouped around Coverdale’s enormous table, softly speaking of the course their future was about to take.
*
“What are you looking at?”
Cassandra heard her sister’s soft question, turning away from the lancet window that overlooked the bailey of Aysgarth. She had been mostly looking for her husband but had instead spied a small army amassing outside the gatehouse.
“I am not sure,” she replied. “There seems to be a great many men outside of the gatehouse. I wonder who it could be?”
Chloë was seated near the hearth, where she had been ever since emerging from her bath. It felt better to sit up, as her back had been warmed and greatly eased by the bath. In fact, she felt brave enough to stand up and slowly make her way towards her sister.
Cassandra turned around when she heard the shuffling, concerned as she saw her sister slowly making her way to the window. She rushed to help her but Chloë waved her off.
“I can do this on my own,” she insisted, huffing through the pain radiating down her back and legs. “I must learn.”
Cassandra pulled her eager hands back but they hovered around her sister just in case the woman faltered as she made her way to the window. When Chloë reached the long lancet window, she gripped the wall for support and inhaled heavily of the cool breeze.
“Everything smells so wonderful,” she sighed, smiling as she took anoth
er deep breath. “The world is right and new this morning.”
Cassandra watched her sister, suspecting why everything seemed so marvelous this day. “It does,” she fought off a grin,” and I am sure that Keir’s appearance has nothing to do with it.”
Chloë looked at her sister, giggling. “Of course not,” she teased. “Why should it?”
Cassandra laughed softly, her gaze finding the gatehouse and the collection of men outside of the walls. “It should not, I agree,” she said, her smile fading. “But I would still like to know why all of those men are collecting outside of the gatehouse. I wonder if they came with Keir?”
Chloë saw the large group of men as well, soldiers that were armed and two provision wagons from what she could see. “He would not have left them outside of the walls,” she replied. “He will return soon and I am sure he will tell us.”
Just as she spoke, there was a soft knock on the chamber door. Cassandra made haste to open the panel to reveal the small figure of Lady Summer.
“Good morn to you,” Summer said to Cassandra. “I came to see how your sister is faring.”
“Lady Summer,” Chloë was partly blocked by the bed from where she stood near the window. “I am over here and I am faring very well.”
Summer came into the room as Cassandra wriggled her eyebrows. “She is very well because Keir has returned,” she smirked. “The man can work miracles by his mere presence, apparently.”
Summer grinned as she and Cassandra made their way over to the window where Chloë was standing. Summer looked the woman up and down; clad in a lusciously soft blue shift with her amazing red hair freshly washed and cascading down her back, she looked like an entirely different woman. There was color back in her cheeks and lips, and she looked positively radiant.
“Well,” Summer put her hands on her hips as she inspected her. “I see that you did not require my attention at all. Apparently the only medicine you needed was Keir.”
Chloë laughed softly. “That is not true,” she insisted. “Your diagnosis worked wonders. I feel so much better today.”
“Good,” Summer returned her smile. “How is your back?”
“Stiff but manageable. I sat in a warm bath and it helped a great deal.”
“Have you gone for a walk yet this morning?”
“Not yet.”
“Then perhaps you can show me this beast of a castle. A walk in the morning air would do you good.”
Chloë lifted an eyebrow, glancing outside to the busy bailey and the army gathering beyond the closed gates.
“I am not sure we should,” she said. “Keir said he would return for me and we would walk.”
Summer looked out of the window as well because the other ladies were. All she could see were horses, men and animals.
“It would be best to walk while you are feeling up to it,” she suggested. “I fear if you lay back down to wait for Sir Keir, you may stiffen up and it would be painful. Perhaps we shall take a very short walk now to keep your muscles loose and you may take a longer walk with Sir Keir when he returns.”
Chloë didn’t see anything wrong with that and neither did Cassandra. Donning a heavy blue brocade surcoat with magnificent gold trim and gold tassels to secure it around her slender waist, Chloë held out her feet while Cassandra put her hose and shoes on. She still couldn’t bend over. With her glorious hair long and flowing down her back, she held on to Summer and Cassandra as she quit the chamber.
It was very slow going down the treacherous stairs and Chloë took her time, holding on to Cassandra and Summer as she took one step at a time. When she reached the bottom, she felt as if she had accomplished something, as if those damnable stairs could not beat her again.
Taking the next flight of wider stairs down to the entry level, she was feeling happy and energetic. Too many days of depression and injury were fading away, being replaced by genuine joy and recovery.
“Where would you like to go?” Chloë asked Summer. “There is a stable block off to the left. There are some fine horses if you like that sort of thing.”
Summer nodded. “I do,” she said. “It will also give me a chance to check on my own horse. I have not seen him since yesterday.”
Slowly, they began to move for the entry, past the solar where Anton sat around Coverdale’s enormous table. He was tucked back against the wall by the door and did not see his daughters pass. The entry door was open and the ladies stepped through, out into the cool morning sunshine.
The bailey was very busy as they slowly made their way down the stairs. The ground of the ward was soft and moist, but not terribly so, and Chloë was able to keep her footing as they made their way to the stable yard. Several horses were out and being tended, including Kurtis’ big gray charger. Summer and Cassandra had a tight grip on Chloë as they made their way to the stalls.
“My father has fits when I ride my horse,” Summer said. “He is a tremendously large animal but as tame as a kitten. I have raised him since birth.”
Chloë was concentrating on not slipping in any horse droppings as she walked. “You must like horses a great deal.”
“I do,” Summer admitted. “It all started when I was very young with a white pony my father gave me and my love of horses has only grown from there. I have even raised a few to race, but my father thinks it is unseemly for a woman to race horses, so he races them under his name. The horses have won him a good deal of money.”
Chloë and Cassandra looked at her. “Racing horses?” Chloë repeated. “An impressive hobby. Your talents and interests do not seem to be usual, Lady Summer.”
Summer grinned, somewhat embarrassed. “I realize that,” she said softly. “But I am who I am. No one can change that. Being the youngest of five children, and with four older brothers, I have been exposed to manly pursuits more than most. I suppose their influence greatly shaped my views of the world.”
Chloë grinned at her. “I like that,” she said. “Will you teach me what you know about good horses? Perhaps I will want to race them, too.”
Summer giggled as Cassandra shook her head. “Keir would never allow it,” she insisted.
Chloë cast her sister a long look. “If you do not believe I can bend Keir to my will in any fashion, then you are mistaken. If I wish it, he will move heaven and earth to grant it.”
Cassandra made a face at her, prevented from replying when a female dog and her litter of three very small puppies crossed their path. The women fell victim to the cute puppies and soon happy little tails were wagging in their hands. As Chloë and Summer cooed over a pair of cream colored puppies, Garran suddenly emerged from the stalls.
“I thought I heard your voice,” he said to his daughter as he approached. “What are you doing here?”
Summer had her hands full with a happy licking pup. “I am walking with Lady Chloë,” she told her father. “We are taking a short walk to help her back.”
Garran knew what was happening at the front gates; every man at Aysgarth knew, and he was very concerned that the ladies were out of the keep, unaware. He hadn’t expected to see them. He went to his daughter, opening up his enormously wide wingspan and waving his arms in the direction of the keep.
“Go back inside,” he told them. “It is not well for you to be out here right now.”
Three innocent and ignorant faces looked back at him. “Why not?” Summer asked.
Garran lifted his eyebrows at her. “No questions,” he barked softly. “Turn around and go back inside. Make all haste.”
He was waving his arms in the direction of the keep, as if trying to herd animals, so the women put the puppies down and turned for the keep. Chloë was still moving slowly and stiffly, and Summer and Cassandra gripped her from both sides as they walked her back across the stable yard. Garran followed close behind to make sure they did as they were told. His daughter, often, did not.
Clouds were staring to gather overhead, big puffy gray and white clouds intermingled with the brilliant blue sky. The c
ool breeze was kicking up as they crossed from the stable yard into the bailey, now thickly gathered with soldiers and their frightening equipment.
Curious, and slightly apprehensive, the women picked up the pace as much as they were able to make their way back into the keep. Just as they neared the stairs, Keir emerged from the lower level of Aysgarth with another man. He had the tall, dark stranger by the arm as two soldiers followed behind him, heavily laden with weapons.
Chloë paused on the bottom step when she saw Keir, her heart leaping in all directions at the sight of him. He looked so strong and tall and proud. She smiled and called to him.
“Keir!” she waved an arm.
Keir came to a halt at the sound of her voice, his gaze scanning the compound until it came to rest on Chloë. She was either coming out of or heading into the keep; he could not be sure. But he did know that he was furious and greatly concerned to find her outside. He let go of Alphonse, the man he was releasing back to Ingilby, and took a couple of steps in Chloë’s direction.
“Go back inside this instant,” he commanded. “I told you to stay to your room.”
Chloë’s face fell and her cheeks flushed a bright red. “I… I am sorry,” she offered, terrified at the look on his face. “I was walking… that is, Lady Summer and Cassandra are walking with me. My back feels much better… I was not attempting to deliberately disobey you.”
Keir’s jaw flexed furiously and it was a struggle to keep his temper down with her. “Chloë, I am sorry if I am sharp with you,” he said with strained patience. “But I told you to stay in your room and rest. Had I wanted you to come outside, I would have told you to. Go inside this instant. I will talk to you later.”
He seemed so harsh and impatient. Chloë wasn’t used to him speaking to her in such a fashion. Crushed, she lowered her gaze and moved to do his bidding. But she didn’t move fast enough.
Alphonse, standing alone with two sentries a couple of feet behind him, had only seen Chloë de Geld once, on the day he delivered the missive. He’d been hearing tale of her for two long years but had only seen her the one time. After she had heard what was in the missive, Alphonse didn’t expect to see her again. He was stunned to hear the big blond knight utter her name. He realized his luck immediately. If Alphonse was one thing in life, and one thing only, he was an opportunist. And at the moment, he saw a great opportunity.
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