by Marie Hall
"Io, come inside." He stopped directly in front of her then stepped to the side so he'd the advantage of her being in the light while he was mostly in shadow.
"That almost sounded like a request, Lord Brice. But I prefer where I sit. Leave me alone would you?" She kept her voice level.
"Io, we must—" Xavier sounded tired.
"There is nothing we must, except perhaps hurry this parting."
"Io, there will be no parting." From tired to angry just that fast.
"Yes, if you say," Io said with a wry smile on her lips. "Not that much of what you ever said has remained true."
She was surprised to hear him mutter an oath and when he turned and walked away, she did hope he was leaving, but he came back got down on his knee and grabbed her arms. "Io, whatever you have in that head of yours, wherever you gained your current opinion of me, I am not deserving of it. I have not betrayed you or our vows and I—" He stopped when she snorted.
"Leave me alone. I have no care to hear anything you might say. I am sure by now you are late for your nightly talk with the ladies of the house. You should go before they feel slighted by you."
He let go of her and stood. "All right, I can wait. If this is how you want it to be. I will wait. I am sure in time we will find a resolution. Until then, I am lord here and you will obey me." He paused and Io tipped her head back to look at him. "You will not leave the house again. Not without my express consent and not on foot. If you do not ride, you will not go. Not to the orchards, the lake or any place. Do not defy me on this or I will have you just as publicly punished as those soldiers will be."
"You have no justification to whip those men, Lord Brice." Io got to her feet. "Do not even think to make your blood lust about me. Do not attach me to such wickedness."
"Do not attempt to leave this house, Io," he said and walked away. He closed the door behind him and Io was again alone in the dark.
Io couldn't care about his demands to not leave. She could if she wanted get out without anyone knowing; she already done so dozens of times. But she did care if people were hurt and they believed it was because she was offended. She took back her seat in the grass and leaned against the wall. With a sigh she closed her eyes and willed this part of her life to be over soon.
* * *
"Io, Io." Sarah's voice called Io from sleep.
"I am awake," Io told her when Sarah shook her again. She opened her eyes blinking at the glare of the morning sun.
"Did you sleep out here all night, Io?" Sarah took her hand and pulled Io to a sitting position.
The question was rhetorical and Io responded with a shrug. Noise from the house caught Io's attention. "What is happening?" She climbed to her feet and brushed at her skirts.
"The people are gathering to watch the whipping," Sarah said like it was of little matter.
"No." Io rushed forward. "I said no. I gave them my permission to leave."
"Io, it is going to happen. The only reason it has not already is that Xavier and Gunther have been arguing over how many strokes," Sarah said grabbing Io before she could make it to the yards. "Dereliction of duty is a grievous act. They should each be facing ten strokes. For some reason Xavier has deemed three to be enough."
"They should not receive any. I gave permission for them to leave." Io pulled free and ran for the front yards. She skidded to a stop behind a crowd of people blocking her path. "Move," she ordered pushing and shoving her way through. She squeezed through the last line to see the two soldiers who were her escort chained down over a large barrel set on low stand. Their backs were bare and behind each stood a man holding a whip. Io wasn't at all sure what signal was given, but before she could move, leather was flying and screams pierced the air.
"No," Io screamed and lurched forward only to be grabbed back by someone in the crowd. Her protest deterred no one and the whips cut down again. She struggled to get loose even as the final stroke landed. The deed done, the crowd was quick to dissipate. The restraining arms let go and she was free to rush to the men.
"Let them loose," Io demanded. "Let them up and get them in the house to be treated."
"They will stay until sundown," Gunther said, stepping up behind her.
Io spun around and the crack of her hand on the man's face was nearly as loud as the crack of the whip. "Do as I say," she ordered, watching as he rubbed his face where she struck him.
"Io," Xavier called from behind her. Again as she turned her hand came up ready to strike. But it was caught and restrained by Gunther.
"You will not, my lady," Gunther said, tossing her hand back at her and meeting the challenge of her glare.
Io looked between the two men. The loathing for them so acute she was sick with it. "I hate you both," she said then ran for outer bailey. She'd leave today and she'd never come back. She wouldn't live here with any of these people one more day. She'd kept her head down as she ran and didn't notice the exit was blocked until she ran into the guard.
"I am sorry, Io, I cannot let you pass. By Xavier's orders you are not to leave this house," the man said, matching her step for step as she tried to get by.
"Io," Xavier called. She was still trying to get past when Xavier took her by the arm and pulled her back. She didn't brother to fight. These kinds of battles were lost fast at great expense. So she stood still looking at the ground and refusing to shed tears. "Io," Xavier started, his voice low and even. "I know that upset you but you must understand I cannot have men in my ranks who will willingly dismiss my commands. They were held in account the very same way I hold you to account for the same offense."
"I told them—" Io muttered.
"It matters not, not when I told them, all of them the day I set you in here, they were never to abandon you if you were outside the gates. Their duty as set by me supersedes any order you might give."
"Yes, I should know this. It is why I no longer have the house. Your orders that your mother rule here supersede any I might give. Lesson learned; I will give no order ever again." She stepped away. "Leave me be."
"Io." He sounded tired. "You need to give orders. As lady of this house—"
"Stop," she yelled. "Stop, I am nothing in this house as you have proven completely so stop saying it. Stop." Io turned and walked over to the wall—the only thing between her and being gone. "I am done with it all. Leave me be." She put her back against the hard stone and slipped to the ground to sit. "Just leave me be."
Io stayed right where she sat for three days. She watched the people come and go in their daily routine. She listened to the whispers and bold comments made about her. She ignored the pleas to eat or come inside. And she planned. She planned ways to try and go on living after this experience.
* * *
Xavier rode through the gates at midday. His eyes instantly going to the spot Io stubbornly occupied for days. He planned to make her come inside. To make her eat and bathe and even sleep in a bed. But he'd planed to do that every day since the whippings and every day he let her be because he couldn't bring himself to make demands on her.
So when he rode through and found the spot where Io should've been vacated, he was startled. Dismounting, he grabbed the nearest man and pointed, questioningly, to the empty space.
"I do not know my lord. A woman stopped by and spoke with Io and when she was done, Io ran into the house."
"She has been in the house all day?" Maybe she was eating or bathing.
"No, my lord, she only went in a short time ago."
Xavier let the man go back to his duties and headed towards the house. He reached the foot of the steps to see Seth burst out.
"Brice, I was coming for you. You have to get inside now. Io and your mother…" Seth rushed his words as he ran down the steps grabbed Xavier's arm and pulled him inside. It took until he reached the bottom of the stairwell leading to his apartments before he heard it.
Raised voices and the sound of things being thrown around. The next crash was loud enough Xavier wondered if a wall w
as brought down. He climbed the stairs with purpose. The words being spoken became clearer and left little doubt the level of hate shared between his wife and his mother. Xavier pushed into his mother's rooms as a small chest hit the wall beside the door.
"You are a vile little bitch. I will see the end of you with pleasure," Charlotte yelled.
"Where is it? You will give it back to me and you will rot in hell, you witch," Io screamed back and toppled a stack of trunks to the floor. "Give it back."
"There is nothing in this house that is yours."
"What is going on in here? Mother? Io?" Xavier stepped into the room looking between the two women and the destruction in the room. Everything was dumped on the floor, bedding pulled off, and even tapestries lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"That little beast should be chained to a wall," Charlotte raged.
"Better a beast that a thief," Io spat.
Xavier never saw his mother cross the room. It was the crack of the slap delivered that gained his attention in time to see Io set her left hand on her cheek and strike his mother's face with her right.
Charlotte stumbled back; the shocked expression would've been amusing if the situation wasn't so serious. Xavier moved between the two. He wouldn't have a physical altercation erupt when the verbal one caused so much damage.
"What the hell is going on in this house?" Xavier turned first to Io. The entire side of her face was red and bruising. When he glanced at his mother he could say the same for her. "I asked you a question. What is going on in here?"
"She stole from me I demand she give it back," Io answered pointing a finger at his mother.
"You are no one to demand anything, you whore," Charlotte snarled.
"Mother," Xavier admonished. "What are you claiming she took from you, Io?"
"Not took, stole. She is a thief. She should be arrested." Io shifted her eyes from Charlotte to him and he saw the challenge she was giving him. She was demanding he take sides, that he support her and act against his mother. "There are rules, laws that apply to this house and the people within are there not?"
"Io, what did she take?" Xavier asked, hoping for a middle ground solution.
"She stole my fabric. I paid for it. It was mine."
"You arrogant little… nothing in this house is yours. It all belongs to my son."
"Mother," Xavier warned. Had his mother been saying such things to Io for long? No wonder she questioned him.
"I paid for that cloth with my own monies," Io informed them.
"Just because you spread your leg—"
"Mother." Xavier cut in.
"That he gave you money doesn't make it yours."
"I did not use Lord Brice's coins. I used mine."
"Mother, do you have Io's cloth?" He'd ignore Io's address.
"Of course she has it. Mistress Beth told me she took it from her last week."
"Mother where is the cloth?" He'd get Io back the cloth and then he'd speak with her about the last weeks.
"That material was far too fine a product for the likes of you," Charlotte remarked refusing to give up the item.
"Mother," Xavier put an edge to his voice. He wasn't going to have this matter drug out any further. "Where is the cloth?"
"I had it cut for a gown for Sabrina. She will be beautiful. Perhaps it will be her wedding finery." Charlotte was remorseless.
Io gasped. Xavier saw the tears well in her eyes. He set his hands on her shoulders. "Io, I will get you more cloth. Mother will repay you."
"That is your solution? She stole from me. She didn't take what you said was mine. She took what is mine." Io shrugged off his touch. "She is a thief. I would have her treated as one."
"Io, you will be compensated. I—"
"I do not want compensation I want justice. I want her held to the same standard you hold me. As impossible as you make them."
"Io, please do not…" He bit his tongue before he called her unreasonable. "Io, is there not another fabric in this house you might…" He watched Io turned and walked out of the room. She didn't even slam the door behind her.
"You will not let her walk out. Look at what she did to my belongings," Charlotte huffed.
"Pack your things Mother. You are leaving this house." Xavier turned and followed Io out. He caught a glimpse of her as she entered their apartments and he sent a prayer of thanks to heaven. "Io?" he called out when he entered the rooms. "Io?" Xavier stopped and watched Io open the trunk at the foot of their bed. A knot formed as he watched her pull out a little sack and a handful of clothes.
She turned, brushed past him and headed to the door. "I will have this." She plucked at the gown she wore. "Back to you as soon as I have changed."
"Io?"
She waved her hand around indicating the space. "Everything should be here. This dress will be the last of what you said was mine. I will make do with what I had before you." She walked out leaving Xavier standing in a room full of things he'd given her and she now disowned.
He scrubbed his hands over his face and took a deep soothing breath. If this was how she wanted it. Xavier stepped out and shut the door behind him.
* * *
"…then you need to speak with him." Xavier stopped at the sound of Sarah's raised voice.
"I will not. It is no more my place than it is yours and you will stop putting yourself in the middle of this." He heard Lucas counter.
"I am not in the middle. Neither am I going to stand idle while Io suffers. I do not understand how you can do nothing and call yourself her friend."
"What am I to do? Io is doing this to herself—"
"She has not eaten anything in four days. Last night she wouldn't even take water from the well when the bucket she had spilt."
Xavier's fists clenched as he listened to the siblings discuss his wife. He'd known the situation was decaying but not that Io was becoming so extreme. He'd until now hoped when she reconciled the events of the last week, the whippings and the incident with Charlotte, she'd be open to speaking with him. As it was, he was happy if she even looked his way. He'd be pleased to hear her curse him to hell as long as she'd take a meal and come in the house for the night.
"Sarah it is not our place to—" Lucas started only to have Sarah's frustrated screech cut him off.
"Is it our place then to watch her shrivel up and die? She will take nothing brought in past the gates. I went all the way to Mootly for that bread and milk. She would not take it because I brought it past the gates and, therefore, it belongs to that woman as far as Io is concerned."
"There is nothing to be done if she is going to be willfully childish and… Ow, Sarah, do not hit me."
"Speak with him. At least try and get him to allow her to go out to the orchards. If she is out beyond the gates she might eat." Sarah's voice became more pleading.
"Sarah," Lucas was about to start again when Xavier decided to step around the corner. Their surprise at seeing him clear, both wondering how much he might have heard. "My lord." Lucas pulled Sarah behind him like he actually feared for the woman.
"Where is Io?" He'd end her little childish fasting.
"I saw her—" Lucas stopped when Sarah shoved him.
Xavier sighed and stepped closer. "You do her no service, mistress." He wasn't at all surprised to see Sarah hold his stare. Her commitment to Io was no different than his. The problem though was he had to temper his commitment with responsibility. It was responsibility which made it impossible to simply do and say only what Io wanted.
"Behind the stables," Lucas blurted then with a nod he grabbed his sister's arm and stormed away. Xavier could hear him chastising her about challenging the lord of the house.
Xavier headed towards the stables. He'd an idea of where Io would hide and made his way to the bins where grain was stored. He purposefully eased his stride and focused on walking on the balls of his feet. Even on the gravel he made little sound.
His approach was quiet enough when he peered over the bins he found Io cu
rled in the corner sleeping. Despite her stubbornness, her unwillingness to cooperate, the hurt she caused him, looking at her now, all he wanted was wrap her in his arms, take away the hurt and give her back the confidence she displayed when she first came here. More he wanted back her trust. That, he knew, would have to wait until his mother was gone.
He came around the bins, his foot crunched down and the sound woke Io. She seemed both startled and pained. And when she turned her eyes on him, he felt those things too. Anger then pushed down those feelings. She did this out of spite and she'd stop.
He reached in, snagging her arm and dragging her from the shelter. "Look at you," he chided. "You hurt no one but yourself with your willfulness, Io." He pulled her along as he headed towards the house. She dug in her feet.
"Let me go." She tried to jerk free. "I will not go into that house again."
"You know not what you will or will not do." Xavier adjusted his hold so he held her by both arms and she walked ahead of him.
"I will not go into that woman's house," Io yelled as she managed to brace her feet on the step, stiffen her legs and lean back so he couldn't move forward.
Xavier walked her back then lifted her up cradling her in his arms. "This is your house, Io. And it is mine before it is anyone's." He tightened his grip against her struggles before ascending the steps.
"Put me down," she hissed.
"Stop struggling." Xavier squeezed her so tight she squeaked. He carried her in and then up the stairs to their chambers.
"No," she protested as he pushed through the doors.
"Io, you will bathe and you will dress and you will be at the table for supper." Xavier stepped back in the hall seeking a servant.
"I am leaving." Io tried to push past, Xavier blocked her.
"No you are not and if you continue with this, you will be sitting painfully for the meal."
"You have no authority over me. You set me aside. I am nothing more than a prisoner here."
"You are my wife still, and even if you were not, I am responsible for your care and well being," Xavier told her as he shoved her back into the room. "Landon," he called when he spied his squire. The man stopped. "I want a tub and water brought now." The man gave him a sharp nod and scurried off.
