“You did!” he accused. “Henry ordered you to disable his unfaithful, and you started with the de Rydal heir in hopes of wiping out the entire barony. With Tad gone, the legacy dies. All of this talk about defending Arissa’s honor was a ploy, a ploy invented by you to convince me that Tad de Rydal was a dishonorable man,” he suddenly stopped in the midst of his ravings and jabbed a thick finger at Richmond. “You wanted me to throw Tad from Lambourn so that you could do away with him and make it look as an ambush.Youare to blame for this, Richmond. You have brought Henry’s war down upon us.”
Richmond sighed, passing a long glance at Gavan. The situation was moving from bad to worse, the rantings of a man far gone with grief clouding the issues. The further he spouted, the more apprehensive Richmond became.
“You are mad, William. I shall not listen to this nonsense any longer.”
William, his teeth clenched tightly, threw himself in Richmond’s path as the knight attempted to quit the solar. His chest was heaving with emotion and pure dementia, his foul breath cloaking the air.
“You and that bitch are to blame for my son’s death,” he rasped. “I shall gladly allow the Welsh bastards to have her so long as they leave us in peace.”
A massive hand shot out, grasping William around the throat. Gavan and Daniel leapt on Richmond as he shoved William back, back into the wall in a crash of armor and flesh. Pathetic grunts and the sounds of a struggle filled the small solar to the rafters, threatening to rupture the very walls.
Ignoring Gavan’s pleas for calm, Richmond focused on William. “You will listen to me and listen well,” he hissed. “I havebeen Arissa’s guardian for eighteen years and I will not hesitate to kill you if your threat is sincere. However, considering your grief, I will spare you for the moment,” even as Gavan and Daniel struggled to prevent him from strangling William, his grip tightened. “But hear me; I had nothing to do with Tad’s ambush, and Arissa had nothing to do with the attack upon Lambourn. She’s a victim in all of this, just as you and I are, and I shall not listen to your slander. Your son is dying because he showed an ounce of courage to defend a fragile, weak woman, and for no other reason than that. I will not allow you to cast the blame where it does not belong.”
In Richmond’s mighty grip, William labored to breath. Although somewhat subdued, his insanity was not diminished. If anything, it was growing.
“I…. I am an earl,” he rasped. “You will remove your hands under penalty of death!”
Richmond’s grip tightened slightly, his nostrils twitching with menacing flare. “And I am the guardian of royal blood. I will do what is necessary to protect her.”
With that, he released the heavy man. William collapsed forward onto his knees, gasping with every breath. Richmond turned away, moving for the door with Gavan on his heels. Only Daniel and Mossy remained, staring at William as if he were a creature from the unknown.
Daniel felt the sticky terror and it frightened him; swallowing hard, he glanced from William to Mossy and back again. He had no idea what to think, for the words he had heard coming forth between the earl and Richmond were staggering. A fairly simple man with simple thoughts, he could barely comprehend what he had heard.
As Richmond hit the threshold of the room, William coughed violently and cried out to him. “You will leave Lambourn and you will take her with you. If I see her again, I shall kill her!”
Richmond paused, his expression one of utter enmity. Gavan, directly behind him, put his hands against his friend to prevent him from killing the man. The mood filling the air was chaotic, completely erratic.
“No, Richmond,” Gavan commanded softly. “Let’s go. We shall leave this minute.”
As Gavan forcefully shoved Richmond from the solar and into the foyer, William began to pound his hands against the floor. His mad ravings turned to hysterical tears and he collapsed in a heap, clawing at the stone in his throes of grief.
“My son, my son,” he sobbed, spittle running from his mouth and onto the stone. “My legacy. All is lost without you.”
Over in the corner, Mossy drank the last of his wine. Not bothering to refill the chalice, he drained the entire flask.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Bundled in layersof wool and covered with a heavy oiled tarp, Arissa sat beside one of Richmond’s soldiers on the bench of a wagon. Weeping softly, she hardly noticed Richmond and Gavan move their company of weary men through the battered front gates of Lambourn. Around her, the destroyed bailey was eerie and silent in the midst of the driving rain, but she ignored that as well. She could only focus on her grief.
Not an hour before she had been whisked from her cozy bed by Richmond. With barely a word, he commanded her to dress as warmly as possible while he and Gavan packed everything they could fit into a single large trunk. When she demanded to know what was amiss, her inquiry had been met with silence. And when Regine and Emma had come to the door to see how she was faring after her harrowing day, Richmond had barked them away so severely that Regine had burst into tears. Arissa could still hear her sister crying through the closed door.
It did not take an over amount of intelligence to realize they were leaving. But she hadn’t been permitted to say farewell to anyone and Richmond had carried her, puzzled and bewildered, from the warmth of her bower into the mess that had once been the bailey of Lambourn. As her bafflement wore thin, the tears of fright and disorientation came and she struggled with them even now as Richmond mounted his weary charger and ordered the wagon forward.
He reined his mount next to her as the rig exited the open gates, partially burned from the siege. Her pale green eyes fell on the thrashed panels of wood, turning to gaze at her cherishedhome as the wagon made way into the night. The tears fell harder and faster as she returned her gaze forward, mystified and sorrowful.
They were leaving, never to return. Even though he’d not said a word, she knew in her heart that she was seeing her last of her beloved Lambourn.
They were barely clear of the gates when Richmond reached out to touch her hand. Startled, not to mention suddenly furious with him for his silence and cruelty, she yanked her arm away. He did not say a word, nor did he look to her. After a moment, he simply drove his charger forward into the midst of the column.
She watched him from behind her soaked handkerchief, her fury rapidly fading. She resisted the urge to call out to him, to apologize for her flash of anger. But, Sweet St. Jude, she did not understand any of what had happened. Being swept from her warm bed and thrust out into the raining dead of night had left her rattled and bewildered.
Beyond her grief and disorientation was the deeply puzzling question as to where, exactly, was their intended destination. She suspected that Richmond was terribly uncomfortable now that the Welsh rebels knew the whereabouts of Henry’s illegitimate daughter. They would return for her as they promised, and Richmond had decided to move her immediately.
…. but move her where?
Another charger moved beside her, jolting her from her thoughts, and she found herself passing a long glance at Gavan. His visor was raised, keeping the rain off his face, and he smiled when their eyes met. But she was not ready to give into his kindness, either, and she lowered her red-swollen gaze. Gavan’s smile faded as his eyes lingered on her shrouded head; spurring his steed forward, he charged through the rain and mud to reach Richmond.
“Talk to her, Richmond,” he said softly. “She’s bewildered and hurt, and you are making it worse with your silence.”
